[Mattyp153]

Hi, I am looking to build my first computer and have no idea what parts to get or what parts work with what. If someone could recommend a setup for casual gaming that I can upgrade at a later date if I want to for around $600 - $700 that would be great. If any one is going to recommend a setup it must have wifi and I need a screen. Thanks to anyone who helps.

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Describe "casual" gaming. It's not difficult to put together a system that will run older games on medium settings, but the fact that you need to fit a monitor into that budget as well makes it tougher. The basic components you're going to need for a system that would be upgradeable in the future will be a Case, PSU, Mobo, CPU, RAM, OS, and optical drive. If you don't already have a mouse, keyboard, and speakers then you'll need those as well, but they are pretty cheap.

[kidnova]

Describe "casual" gaming. It's not difficult to put together a system that will run older games on medium settings, but the fact that you need to fit a monitor into that budget as well makes it tougher. The basic components you're going to need for a system that would be upgradeable in the future will be a Case, PSU, Mobo, CPU, RAM, OS, and optical drive. If you don't already have a mouse, keyboard, and speakers then you'll need those as well, but they are pretty cheap.

[kidnova]

Here's a stab. Note that this does not include a dedicated graphics card so you'll be using the AMD integrated graphics initially, which should be fine for what most describe as "casual" gaming. You'll want to add a dedicated card at a later date when you have the money if you want improved performance. I haven't looked at AMD's products in a while, but I believe everything I've included is compatible.

Product Description Total Price
AMD A8-3850 Llano 2.9GHz Socket FM1 100W Quad-Core Desktop APU (CPU + GPU) with DirectX 11 Graphic AMD Radeon HD 6550D AD3850WNGXBOX
$109.99
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16819103942

ASRock A55 PRO3 FM1 AMD A55 (Hudson D2) SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard
$74.99
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813157278

Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
$69.99
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16811129066

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM
$99.99
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16832116986

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL
$45.99
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820231428

CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX650 V2 650W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High Performance Power ...
$89.99
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16817139020

Acer S211HLbd 21.5'' 5ms LED-Backlight LCD Monitor Slim Design
$129.99
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16824009261

Sony Optiarc 24X DVD Burner, Bulk Package Black SATA Model AD-7280S-0B - OEM
$16.99
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16827118067

Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
$69.99
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16822136769


Total Price: $707.91

[Mattyp153]

The main things I will be doing are just general web surfing (YouTube, Facebook, eBay), playing games like Minecraft, World of Warcraft, Steam and I will also be using Skype a lot and hosting a private non dedicated Minecraft server requiring about 2GB RAM to run. I live in Australia so I looked through the list and tried to find the same things but could not find much here is what I did find:

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit with SP1 OEM AU$99.00

Acer S220HQLBD 21.5in Widescreen LED Monitor AU$135.00

Western Digital WD Blue 500GB WD5000AAKX AU$75.00

If you could please have a look at this sight PC Case Gear and recommend things from there that would be great, also forget the budget I just need it as cheap as possible and I plan to update it sometime next year I just need a PC ASAP because I'm on a crappy MacBook right now.

EDIT

Almost forgot it must be WiFi so needs something like this: TP-Link TL-WN881ND Wireless N PCI Express Adapter AU$22.00

Edited by Mattyp153, 03 August 2012 - 06:49 PM.

[kidnova]

Okay, well, I need some type of budget to shoot for otherwise it's hard to know what to recommend. If you have a bit more money to spend then I would recommend Intel over AMD for the board and CPU. Also, do you think you might want to run SLI or Crossfire at some point in the future? You can save some money by buying a mobo that's doesn't support dual video card setups.

[Mattyp153]

Well lets say $900 for my budget but its OK if it goes over a little. I probably will be running crossfire at some point in the future so will need a mobo that supports dual card setup.

[kidnova]

Well, this is the best I could come up with from that site. As you can see I've exceeded your budget. You could save some money by holding off on the video card and seeing if you can make due with the integrated graphics on the CPU for a bit. I've read that the Intel HD 4000 graphics are capable of running some of the games you mentioned on low to medium settings, but I haven't tested it myself. I don't think I've overlooked anything.

Case: http://www.pccasegea...oducts_id=19320 - $65
Mobo: http://www.pccasegea...oducts_id=20036 - $165
CPU: http://www.pccasegea...oducts_id=20138 - $239
OS: http://www.pccasegea...oducts_id=17003 - $99
Monitor: http://www.pccasegea...oducts_id=20799 - 135
Memory: http://www.pccasegea...oducts_id=13931 - $59
Harddrive: http://www.pccasegea...oducts_id=15934 - $75
PSU: http://www.pccasegea...oducts_id=17211 - $115
Optical Drive: http://www.pccasegea...oducts_id=11487 - $21
Keyboard: http://www.pccasegea...oducts_id=15397 - $15
Mouse: http://www.pccasegea...oducts_id=11056 - $13
Video Card - http://www.pccasegea...oducts_id=20830 - $135
Wireless Adapter - http://www.pccasegea...oducts_id=19577 - $22

Total: $1158

EDIT: Here an alternative AMD Mobo and CPU that can save you some money as well. The CPU isn't anywhere near as strong as the i5 above, but since the MB is socket AM3+ you could upgrade it in the future. Also note that this CPU DOES NOT have integrated graphics so you have to buy a video card, but you would definitely be better off going with a lesser CPU and better video card for gaming.

AMD Mobo: http://www.pccasegea...oducts_id=17846 - $135
AMD CPU: http://www.pccasegea...oducts_id=18689 - $115

Edited by kidnova, 04 August 2012 - 07:02 PM.

[Mattyp153]

Would this setup work if I was not going to run crossfire in the future?

Case: Silverstone RL01 Redline Black USB 3.0 with Window - $55
Mobo: ASRock H77-PRO4-MVP Motherboard - $99
CPU: Intel Core i5 3570 - $219
OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit with SP1 OEM - $99
Monitor: Samsung S20B300B 20in Widescreen LED Monitor - $128
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 - $59
Harddrive: Western Digital WD Blue 500GB WD5000AAKX - $75
PSU: OCZ Fatal1ty Series 550W Modular - $75
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS90 24x SATA DVD-RW Drive OEM - $22
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD7750 1GB - $105
Wireless Adapter: TP-Link TL-WN881ND Wireless N PCI Express Adapter - $22

Total - $958

[kidnova]

Yes, that should work. A couple of notes:

1) The new monitor you've selected runs at a native resolution of 1600x900, while the Acer us a bit bigger and runs at full 1080P. I'd recommend spending the extra $7 on the Acer.

2) I don't know a lot about that case, but I can see that it only comes with one fan. If you go with that case then you'll definitely want to add at least one additional 120mm intake fan. I would recommend one of these cases instead:

http://www.pccasegea...roducts_id=6754 - $62
http://www.pccasegea...oducts_id=14105 - $69

Edited by kidnova, 04 August 2012 - 09:41 PM.

[Mattyp153]

I was thinking of holding off on the screen for now and just using my 22" TV because it would be going right next to it for now anyway and then get a screen a few months later. Would this work? And also I really like the case I have chosen so I will just get one or two of these: Xigmatek XLF-F1253 120mm LED Fan they are only $11.

[kidnova]

Sounds like a plan. I've never personally used a TV as a monitor, but it should work fine. Make sure you set the screen resolution to be the TV's native resolution and you should be good to go. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[Jakob1406]

Hey, took a quick look over your parts list. Have you considered the Intel core i5 2500k? It's only 10$ more and from what i hear it's a great processor with loads of potential. It has Intel HD3000 graphics.

Now TV as a monitor will work just fine. I used my TV for a week because of late delivery of monitor, and the only problem i can report is sitting that close to a 40" will mess up your gaming

If you're only going to play Minecraft you won't really need a fancy graphics card, but if you're going to run a server i would recommend a wired network and lots of ram (depending on the size of the server).

[kidnova]

The 2500K is a great processor if you plan on overclocking, however, at stock speeds the 3750 is faster and uses less power. It's really a judgment call on that decision.

[Mattyp153]

I will post up exactly what I'm getting when I have decided and when I have got it all up and running I will let you know how it went.

[Jakob1406]

The 2500K is a great processor if you plan on overclocking, however, at stock speeds the 3750 is faster and uses less power. It's really a judgment call on that decision.

Agreed, it's really just a matter of what you want.
Personally i would go for the 2500k, since not only would that give me the option to overclock in the future, it also has better integrated graphics.

http://ark.intel.com...-up-to-3_70-GHz)

http://ark.intel.com...-Cache-3_40-GHz)