salty mud
Deity
So many numbers, brands, letters and designs. They certainly don't make it easy for first time buyers. I'd have thought it would be the intention to keep it as simple as possible.
Because more energy consumption = higher energy bills?
Perhaps I should mention that, as a benchmark, I'm using games such as Shogun 2: Total War. My current PC can easily handle games like Portal 2, Left 4 Dead, Fallout and S.T.A.L.K.E.R, but more intensive games such as Shogun is what lets it down. Perhaps I should also say that I am still on XP, and I can only manage DX9. Obviously my new PC will have Windows 7 as an OS (which I can get legally off my friend, for free.) How much effect will the leap to DX11 make?
Well, thats negligible to be honest. Even the most power hoggish computer wont up your bill by that much. You'd save far more money moving your thermostat down 5 degress if thats your concern.
Secondly, if one is so short of cash that they have to try and save 5 bucks (or less) a month on their electricity bill, then why would someone even be buying computer parts?![]()
Maybe if you listed what you have in your current PC and what resolutions you game at, we can help you even more by some specific upgrade recommendations.
Ok, so I've compiled a list here of proposed parts for my PC. It's not finalised by any means, and I still need to find a GPU, but this is what I'm looking at.
http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...t+F3+SATA-II+3.5"+Hard+Drive+?productId=37726
http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...nel+Kit+-+F3-10666CL7D-4GBXH+?productId=46062
http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...s+Silent+ATX2.2+Power+Supply+?productId=39798
http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...hetic+Silver+Thermal+Compound+?productId=9573
http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...er+Hyper+212+Plus+CPU+Cooler+?productId=39577
http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...A1155+Processor+-+Retail+?productId=43216#rqc
http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...DDR3+PCI-Express+Motherboard+?productId=44075
http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...k+Edition+Midi+Tower+Chassis+?productId=45676
Sandybridge processor - expensive, but among the best there is so I'm told. I know I said I had a budget, but that can be relaxed slightly as I won't be building this until later this year, when I can hopefully get some parts for Christmas and my birthday. Of course, I will be funding the largest part though.
I have 3GB RAM, 8800GT and a 2.20 dual core processor. I run at a resolution of 1920x1080.
Ok, so I spotted a full size case on aria.co.uk: http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...ARD+Black+Full+Tower+Chassis+?productId=46223
Quite expensive, but will it be worth the money? Especially since it comes bundled with fans.
Buying individual fans separate isnt expensive, and often the ones you buy are better than the generic ones in a case. Just something to consider. Myself, I wouldnt pay more than 50 to 75 bucks for a case (with no power supply), and you can generally find some very good budget ones that are more than able to keep a non-overclocked CPU cool. Find a good one that has a larger side fan, front fan, top fan and rear fan, and you got all the basic covered. Also, do some research on how you want the fans to blow, that is have a plan for how you envision the flow of air to go thru and over the components in the case. If all you do is have every fan blow into the case with no fan to pull the air out, its not going to be that efficient at cooling the box.
My friend recommended a Nvidea GeForce GTX 560Ti. He said this was a high end card last year, and is half the price now of what it was.
Ok, so I spotted a full size case on aria.co.uk: http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...ARD+Black+Full+Tower+Chassis+?productId=46223
Quite expensive, but will it be worth the money? Especially since it comes bundled with fans.