Is this a decent gaming PC setup?

TheironhandTheironhand Centerline, Michigan Icrontian
edited April 2012 in Hardware
Case: NZXT Tempest 210 Mid-Tower Gaming Case (Black Color)
Extra Case Fan Upgrade: Default case fans
CPU: Intel® Core™ i3-2120 3.30 GHz 3M Intel Smart Cache LGA1155
Cooling Fan: Asetek 510LC Liquid Cooling System 120MM Radiator & Fan (Enhanced Cooling Performance + Extreme Silent at 20dBA) (Single Standard 120MM Fan)
Coolant for Cyberpower Xtreme Hydro Water Cooling Kits: Standard Coolant
Motherboard: Biostar H61MH Intel H61 Chipset DDR3 mATX Mainboard w/ Onboard Video, HDMI, 7.1 HD Audio, GbLAN, USB 2.0, SATA-II, 1 Gen2 PCIe, 1 PCIe X1 & 2 PCI [B3 Stepping]
Memory: 4GB (2GBx2) DDR3/1333MHz Dual Channel Memory (Corsair or Major Brand)
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GT 520 1GB 16X PCIe Video Card (Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA)
Power Supply Upgrade: 450 Watts - Standard Case Power Supply
Hard Drive: 500GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD (Single Hard Drive)
External Hard Drive (USB3.0/2.0/eSATA): None
Optical Drive: 24X Double Layer Dual Format DVD+-R/+-RW + CD-R/RW Drive (BLACK COLOR)
Sound: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
Network: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network
Keyboard: Xtreme Gear (Black Color) Multimedia/Internet USB Keyboard
Mouse: XtremeGear Optical USB 3 Buttons Gaming Mouse
Flash Media Reader/Writer: INTERNAL 12in1 Flash Media Reader/Writer (BLACK COLOR)
Internal USB Port: Built-in USB 2.0 Port
Service: STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT

Comments

  • Straight_ManStraight_Man Geeky, in my own way Naples, FL Icrontian
    Hmm, will let others make more recommendations, but would get an i5-2500 instead of an i3 for starters.
  • SnarkasmSnarkasm Madison, WI Icrontian
    edited April 2012
    i3's not ideal, Biostar is a crap mobo manufacturer, 4GB is pretty scant on memory, a GT520 is serviceable, but not great, and if you're at all interested in performance, get an SSD for OS and a platter HDD for files.

    i5 or i7 2600, Gigabyte or Asus, 8-12GB, Radeon 78xx or GeForce 560 (I think), and Vertex 3 for SSD - just my own personal recommendations. You know that saying about opinions and stuff, though.
  • Straight_ManStraight_Man Geeky, in my own way Naples, FL Icrontian
    edited April 2012
    http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=DPCWXN3p&c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&model_id=alienware-x51

    Alienware x51's are well approved by PCMag for entry-level gaming, and have 8 GB RAM and i5 2nd gen processors in them. $949 to start. Note, do not be turned off by the Dell configurer, as Dell owns Alienware now.
  • MrTRiotMrTRiot Northern Ontario Icrontian
    Processor needs an upgrade. Graphics card is alright...

    Not exactly sure why you're liquid cooling an i3?
  • CantiCanti =/= smalltime http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9K18CGEeiI&feature=related Icrontian
    I'd suggest an ECS or Gigabyte motherboard, bigger power supply, and downloading more RAM.
  • TheironhandTheironhand Centerline, Michigan Icrontian
    Thanks for the advice. @Straight_man, I've been thinking of buying that.
  • I'd avoid ever buying a pre-built, generally costs you much more than they are worth. For gaming, an i7 is a bit overkill, you could get away with i3 2120, (generally what I grab for the budget builds for others, not complaints yet) or a 2500k if you plan on overclocking. 6GB of RAM should be more than sufficient, if budget is tight, 1600 can be downgraded to 1333 (the difference is the tiniest margin of speed). Graphics card wise, don't be shy to pick up older cards, especially when they are on sale (Ex: 6870 I got for ~150 the other day) play 95% of modern day games on High/Ultra easily (1080p standpoint). Im not sure of your budget, but 560s are expected to drop in price relatively soon, or if you want some 'extensive' future proofing, a 680 wouldn't be a bad idea either. HDD wise, hdd drives are slowly falling in price again, so a SSD+HDD combo is becoming budget friendly again. Personally, I'd get a 64MB/7200 or 10k rpm drive that is ~750GB and buy 1TB/2TB as you need space. For a Motherboard, if you are going the 1155 route, the Asrock Extreme Gen3 is one of the nicer mobos I have installed for others lately, very user-friendly BIOS if that is uncharted territory to you. Any generic sub $20 disc drive will work. For a case, plenty of choice, but I have bought around 6 Rosewill Challengers lately as I find them very nice to build in and not too much rice. Finally, for a power supply, if you go for a 560/6870, aim for a 600w-650watt powersupply. Corsair TX, and Seasonic are usually my first 2 choices. Any weaker gpus and you could grab a cheap 520watt seasonic modular (pretty nice for the price).
    Apologies for the length of this post, got a bit longer than I would have liked. Finally, if you want any help, feel free to PM and I'd be happy to provide support.
  • doabarrellrolldoabarrellroll San Jose, CA Icrontian
    +1 on the 2500 or 2500k. That proc will last you a long time.

    You can truly build an AMAZING machine for less than $700 if you don't need a case.

    Get an Asus mobo, some of the off brands don't have the greatest reliability record in my experience.

    I don't know why you need water cooling, but, if you want to goof around with modifications sure. Inb4 can I turbo my civic?

    A big improvement could come from a small capacity SSD for your OS and game files. They are around $100 now.
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