Windows 7 I want to build a gaming pc but dont understand much about hardware.

kevinzeras

New Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2013
Hey guys,

I want to build from scratch a gaming pc! I have a rather good pc at the moment, but I dont think it fully suits my gaming desires. The pc that I'm using now has a i5 processor, 8gb ram, and I recently got it this graphic card! GIGABYTE - Graphics Card - ATI - PCI Express Solution - Radeon HD 7000 series - GV-R797OC-3GD

Well, I dont have alot of cash to spend since I'm only 17, I think I can re-use some stuff from my old pc like the new graphic card. I am from Brazil, but I want to buy everything from the US and maybe ask to deliver it there and I'll get it when I travel to the US. I dont understand much about hardware, and have no idea of how I can mount a gaming pc out of scratch. Would really appreciate help, thanks!
 
Hi kevinzeras,

as you say that's not a shabby pc gaming wise.. I actually bought the same card as you but when I tried to use it the fans were stuck at 100% and couldn't be changed so back it went. (I ended up buying a 680 but thats another story)

Now the thing is, depending on which CPU you have, you might not even need to upgrade much.

Have you considered overclocking? It's entirely possible to glean as much as 20% extra (more sometimes) from a system using a sensible overclocking regime.

Have you built a pc from the ground up before? If not don't worry as we can point you in the right direction and answer any questions you might have. I myself have been building systems for over 10yrs.

Just to get you started on some reading matter, TomsHardware.com do these cool articles on building a pc for x amount of money. Here's a link for one such article but do check the site over for lists on graphics cards, CPU's in fact anything you could think of:

System Builder Marathon, Q1 2013: $1,600 Alternative PC - The Magic Of Anticipation
 
Hey kemical,

as a matter of fact, I've never built a pc from the ground before, the one I am using now is a old pc I had with a different psu and graphic card. I'm actually quite satisfied with my computer performance, but I think it has some space to improve.I'll take a look at the article you told me to read right away!

I have tried overclocking my graphic card using the software that came with my graphic card, its called "Catalyst Control Center" from Radeon, but it froze entirely my pc whilst gaming sometimes and took some time to unfreeze.

I'll just leave here aswell some specs of my pc, used AIDA64 to get the info:

Processor - Intel(R) Core(TM) i5 CPU 650 @ 3.20GHz (its DualCore)

Motherboard - Asus Essentio CG5275

Power Supply - Corsair Enthusiast Series Modular 650W

Graphics Card - GIGABYTE AMD Radeon HD 7970

Memory - 8GB DDR3 SDRAM (I think its name is Apacer 75.A73C1.G02 and I thinks its 4 x 2GB)

Case and CPU Cooler - is the same that came with the pc at first, if you shoot up the motherboard name at google it will show the pc, the motherboard name is the same of the model of the pc.
 
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Hi,

thank you for the information. It gives me a better idea on what we have to work with.

Firstly I just want to mention about you overclocking the gpu using catalyst control centre. It wouldn't surprise me that the reason your system locked up wasn't down to you overclocking the card too much (although that certainly is a possibility) but it was heat that made the system freeze.
Heat is the enemy and the cooler you can get your system to run the better. Remember that if your going to start increasing clock speeds (which should always be done with small steps) that also means an increase in heat and you should always keep an eye on your temperatures. Fortunately with catalyst control centre you can control fan speed too so always make sure it's increased with any type of overclocking.
Guru3D have an article on overclocking the 7970 and is well worth a read:

Radeon HD 7970 Overclock Guide - Introduction

The same goes with your CPU. Faster speeds mean more heat and again this must be monitored. Make sure the cooling is up to the job and if it isn't back off until new cooling is introduced. A new heatsink and fan doesn't have to be expensive.
Try to read up as much as you can about the hardware you own. I can't stress how important this is and being armed with lot's of knowledge will ensure a better chance of success.

I did find a guide on your cpu and hope it's some help, follow the links posted in the thread found here:

Guide to OC'ing i5 650!!

An excellent web site for overclocking in general is here:

Overclock.net - An Overclocking Community

As a general rule always try and get good airflow (whether your overclocking or not) around your system. Try to tidy cables out of the way so air flows better. Here's a couple of snaps of my pc to show you what i mean:

IMGP0015.JPGIMGP0020.JPG

Always make sure your drivers are the latest versions and that you bios is up to date too. Regular cleaning with an app like Ccleaner:
CCleaner - Download and defragging the hard drives certainly helps.

Lastly perhaps one of the cheapest updates but one which will give you a big boost is an SSD, have you considered purchasing one?
Or you could turn two old drives into a RAID 0 device and get some free performance.
 
Hi,

thank you for all the help you're giving me!

It makes sense that the system freezing came from the heat, I haven't changed the fans and I guess the fans currently installed on the pc were not made to withstand my new graphic card full power.

Therefore, I am totally willing to change my heatsink and fans, but am not sure on how to buy a new one, the thing is I don't know which heatsink or fan will be compatible (if there are in any way any kind of compatibility issues with fans) with my pc and I wouldn't even know which fan is good for me to buy!

I've took a look at the guide for overclocking you provided, but as it seems I have a heat problem, I really want to buy the new heatsink and fan to further overclock my graphic card + cpu to its fullest potential.

The system should have everything organised cable-wise since I took it to a technician so he could install the graphic card and psu. Although I am not sure, I will try to get it organised if it has any pathing issue.

About the SSD, I agree I should invest in one and as I have little knowledge about it, I'd like your expertise on what I should buy (I don't really know what is good and if its compatible with my system) if that's ok. I shouldn't have much of a budget limitation around this and am willing on accepting your opinion.

Thanks again!
 
Hi Kevinzeras,

Your GPU should be fine cooling wise as it has the triple fan set up. You may need to turn up the fan speed and one way of doing this is via the catalyst control panel.

As for your cpu, a new heatsink and fan could be obtained from your local e-tailor like Newegg:

CPU Coolers, CPU Fans - Newegg as you can see there are plenty to choose from. Make sure the one you choose is compatible with your socket (1156). I can't really advise you on which is best for your machine as i've no experience of using that chip but googling found this: 1156 Heatsink/Fan for i5-650 I'd use that as a guide and if you can't get the exact cooler suggested try to get one thats similar.

Toms hardware has a great page on SSD's and is well worth a look:

Performance charts Hard Drives and SSDs - Benchmark
 
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