Build Your Own Gaming Notebook

How about the pc which I'm going to build?

Hi, I'm going to build a pc and I have chosen these parts: Case: Coolermaster Elite 310 (silver/black) ATX Motherboard: Asus P7P55 LX (S1156) ATX CPU: Intel Core i3 540 (3 GHz) RAM: 2x2 GB corsair DDR3 1333 Mhz XMS3 HDD: Western Digital caviar blue 500 GB 7200 RPM 3,5" SATA Optical device: Sony NEC DVD-RW GPU: ATI 5670HD (1 GB) PSU: OCZ StealthXStreame 2 500W OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit Display: Already have a Samsung P2270HD (22" full hd 1080p) I'm going to use it as a replacement for my current notebook. Using it for school, watching movies, listening music and playing some games. I won't be needing extreme graphics or anything, just decent frame rates and decent graphics. I do hope the display isn't too "good" compared to my GPU. Thanks and all the help and opinions are welcome ;-) The GPU is 1 GB DDR5.

Public Comments

1. That's pretty decent actually. A lot of people tend to go overkill on the processor, these days you don't really need much processing power for most things.


2. That all looks pretty good except for the graphics card I'd go with an EVGA GTS 450 instead of the older 5670. The 450 is a little bit more at 129.99 but it's a way better card.


3. That's decent value for the money- although I don't know what your overall budget is, or if you plan to upgrade the computer in the future.

   Personally I wouldn't build a socket LGA1156 computer at this point in time- that socket is already obsolete. Why not build a (vastly better) socket LGA1155 Core i3 2100 system instead? Going by Newegg's current prices, you're spending $225 between your processor and motherboard, with a $10 rebate on the back end.

   So grab this:

   http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115078

   Along with either of these motherboards:

   http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131713

   http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128486

   And you've got a much better system (both now and in terms of future upgrade options) for $10 less.

   http://www.anandtech.com/show/4083/the-sandy-bridge-review-intel-core-i7-2600k-i5-2500k-core-i3-2100-tested/20

   If you want a little more expandability (like 4 DIMM slots or a 2nd PCI-E x16 slot) you could buy a more expensive mobo but you probably don't need those.

   Speaking of which, the Radeon HD 5670 is fine for your purposes and the price is unbeatable (just $70). But since you already have a 500W psu, this is much better (especially if you want to play games at full HD resolution of 1920x1080).

   http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121363

   http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Graphics-Cards/AMD-Radeon-HD-6670-and-HD-6570-Graphics-Card-Review-Turks-GPU-sub-100/F1-2010

   http://www.techspot.com/review/240-ati-radeon-hd-5670/page5.html

   You don't need a 500W psu unless you're running graphics cards of the Radeon HD 5770 or higher level. For a Radeon HD 5670, 6670 or GeForce GTS 450, even a 400W psu is enough.

   So if money is tight amd you're sticking with the HD 5670, grab a 430W unit from Corsair or Antec. Or keep that 500W psu to leave yourself some spare capacity for future upgrades.

   Good luck!