New Computer

[psynide]

I'm in the process of upgrading/building a new computer. i don't need all the parts right away, just buying a part every payday or two. I'm just upgrading for games coming out this year.

So far i've bought a 730 watt power supply, and i am planning on getting a gtx460 or something similar, so you know what ill be working with in terms of power.

Right now i'm trying looking for motherboard, processor and a computer case. I dont really know what to look for in a motherboard or a processor though, not computer savvy at all.

So im just looking for suggestions and money isnt too big of an issue, but would like to keep it on the cheap side.

And i figure ill just be taking my hard drive and disc drive from the computer i have right now so i wont be needing any of those. it is a stock asus computer. i5-650 processor and 6gb of ram

 

[Ph?bus]

Don't buy anything yet.
Firstly, you can't just buy a random 730W unit and expect it to work. For all I know, it could be a quality unit, but I haven't a clue what the model is, so I can't really say.

Secondly, what is your budget?

 

[psynide]

its this one
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817152036

im not going to buy a motherboard/processor right now, i just wanted to get an idea of whats good and what to look for.

Budget wise id like to keep it under 200 for each

 

[Ph?bus]

Just as I thought. That PSU is pretty garbage, and I doubt it could actually deliver 730W at a reasonable temperature and noise level.

When will you buy? This market changes fast.

Budget for the whole upgrade/build?

 

[psynide]

probably in the next few months, at least hopefully.
and i can always return it the psu and get a corsair or something.

and i couldnt really give a good idea for a budget. but willing to spend around 700

 

[Ph?bus]

Well, ask again when you're ~2 weeks away from purchasing. Within a few months, new processors from AMD will be rolling out, which pretty much guarantees price changes on current processors.

I would return it, and depending on your budget, get a really nice PSU.

That's a decent budget. But, ask again when you're ~2 weeks from actually buying anything. Do not buy them one at a time over a long time span, that screws the worth the parts because by the time you're done, you've probably wasted a few bucks (few hundred, probably).

 

[psynide]

alright. ill probably wait a few months to get up a good chunk of money and ask again.

 

[Ph?bus]

Sounds like a plan. But spending more than ~$1200-1500 is a waste, because in ~6 months, it will be outdated and something that costs nearly half the price will be as good, if not better.

 

[psynide]

yea i figured as much.
i could save money and not worry about a new motherboard and processor though. how big of an upgrade is an i5-650 to a i7, for example? would it be worth it?

 

[Ph?bus]

Depends on what you're doing. Most gaming? Depends on the game, but you probably will see an improvement. Benchmarking? Absolutely. Video editing and the like, most definitely.

 

[psynide]

well im mainly going to be playing skyrim and d3, but also very excited for bf3. thats mainly what i want to upgrade for.