How to Build a Windows Gaming Desktop PC

[cascaderailroad]

I need everyone's advice and input, as I am just guessing, I may be totally wrong, please correct anything I type here:

You may want to use static wrist straps when touching and installing parts.

First use a full size tower cabinet case (it can be an old XP Windows Desktop metal frame tower). It doesn't need to look pretty, unless you have added money to buy a high priced glitzy tower.

1) Buy, and swap in a Power Supply (@ $80) that is much greater than the low end LiteOff® built-in 300Watt built in Power Supply.

2) Buy and install a motherboard, and install a CPU that has a high GHz speed (3.4 or greater).

3) Buy and install a high priced video card (a GTX980 can cost @ $550).

4) Install added fans so that they blow directly on the video card, as well as a separate one that blows directly on the CPU heat sink.

5) Use Arctic Silver thermal heat sink paste (it is electronically conductive) so don't slop it on, oozing out the chip sides.

5a) Or buy and install a water cooled CPU system.

6) Buy and install a 1-2TB hard drive, or an SSD hard drive.

7) Install RAM chips much greater than 4GB

8) Hook up all the wiring

9) Take it to a computer repair shop, or a knowledgeable friend, to check out all the wiring and hardware installation.

10) Install a Windows OS (higher than Vista).

11) Now that it has been checked out by a professional, fire it up, and hope that it doesn't explode.

12) Operate just normal general PC computing tasks for a couple weeks, until the thermal heat sink paste sets, and bakes in slowly over time.

13) Operate your PC in an air conditioned room, near the cold air conditioner blower vents.

Someday I'm actually gonna do this, but I had a hard enough time changing my Windows7 start up screen .jpg in my oob folder

http://cdn3.howtogeek.com/wp-content/uploads/gg/up/sshot4f6b772b06533.jpg

http://www.joe-ks.com/archives_dec2007/RedneckComputer.jpg

https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/...kDg3f9ySUI3yBXGeNedyRG1I MkUHeGIvndFPuNUtueJ

 

[jjslll54]

Hello,

If you go to NewEgg dot com they have lots of how to videos. I studied a bunch of them deciding what I wanted to build. I ended up buying one of their complete build kits for around two grand a year or so ago. I've been happy with the upgrade so far and Trainz runs much better than my old computer. They have a video for pretty much anything they sell.

Jack

 

[iannz]

4) Install added fans so that they blow directly on the video card, as well as a separate one that blows directly on the CPU heat sink.

All you really need is good air-flow through the case. Having a case fan at the bottom front sucking in and one at the upper back blowing out will do just that. Power supply, cpu and gpu all have fans already.

5) Use Arctic Silver thermal heat sink paste (it is electronically conductive) so don't slop it on, oozing out the chip sides.

Yes, use sparingly, putting to much on can have negative results and cant transfer the heat properly resulting in an over heating cpu. The thinnest layer is the best.

12) Operate just normal general PC computing tasks for a couple weeks, until the thermal heat sink paste sets, and bakes in slowly over time.

No, drive it hard from day 1. The paste needs to get hot to spread and flow evenly. Ideally, you should stress test your computer for at least a few hours first. - many test them for as much as 24 hours straight. This is generally enough and is a good indication of the reliability of your components and heat dissipation.

13) Operate your PC in an air conditioned room, near the cold air conditioner blower vents.

With the correct cooling, its not relevant.
The rest of it, is pretty much ok and not worth picking at.
You cant really go to wrong, make sure you are grounded during assembly.
Good luck if you're going to venture into building your own.
Cheers

 

[lewisner]

This guy has a nice series of videos https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0U...d=BVd9vgpqw78&annotation_id=annotation_648412
He started by buying a HAF-X case (very large) and transferred the components of his old rig into the new case. This is ideal because it gives you an understanding of how the parts are linked plus of course you know that if they are put together correctly they WILL work. In subsequent videos he replaces the components with superior quality components so that eventually nothing is left of the old rig. That's what I did.


Computer Update (6) 3.4.14 par PinzaC55, on ipernity

 

[cascaderailroad]

So how much does it cost (in hardware) to build a low ball gaming desktop PC

In comparison, how much more does it cost you to have one custom built for you by a gaming PC building Company ?

Buying a laptop or a desktop PC is one of the most confusing issues, as there are tens of thousands makes, models, and suppliers to choose from ... How do you go about selecting a supplier ?

Most people think that spending $ 1200 on a BigBox store laptop should run T:ANE, but usually it won't, as the laptop is a $500 marked up, low quality, Turbo Boost laptop, with inferior hardware inside, that has an on motherboard CPU and video chip, which can fry up, and become a laptop genital sterilizaion unit.

Alienware and ROG laptops are in excess of $2700, and some Asus models are good gaming laptops.

Do we really need all this to run Trainz ?

How does one go about choosing ?

Post your laptop and desktop, makes, models, suppliers, specs, here, please

 

[pdkoester]

So how much does it cost (in hardware) to build a low ball gaming desktop PC

In comparison, how much more does it cost you to have one custom built for you by a gaming PC building Company ?

Buying a laptop or a desktop PC is one of the most confusing issues, as there are tens of thousands makes, models, and suppliers to choose from ... How do you go about selecting a supplier ?

Most people think that spending $ 1200 on a BigBox store laptop should run T:ANE, but usually it won't, as the laptop is a $500 marked up, low quality, Turbo Boost laptop, with inferior hardware inside, that has an on motherboard CPU and video chip, which can fry up, and become a laptop genital sterilizaion unit.

Alienware and ROG laptops are in excess of $2700, and some Asus models are good gaming laptops.

Do we really need all this to run Trainz ?

How does one go about choosing ?

Post your laptop and desktop, makes, models, suppliers, specs, here, please

Save $1000, maybe add an SSD (or pocket the money and save another $200), buy this... Asus ROG G751 series and enjoy.

 

[clam1952]

Not sure posting Laptop specs in a thread about building a desktop is going to be very helpful ;o)

 

[pcas1986]

I've been building my own for years but, if you are uncomfortable with that, you can usually find a computer shop that will build one for you. My current PC, that I built for T:ANE (hey, it needed updating anyway) is:

A Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD3H
I7-4770 processor @3.4Ghz
16GB RAM (I may up that to 32GB)
Coolermaster (Seidon 120V)water cooling for the CPU. This a sealed unit and fairly easy to install.
Gigabyte GTX 780Ti 3GB
1 240GB SSD for O/S Win 8.1
1 2TB HDD for all my development stuff (this drive I've had for a couple of PCs)
1 240GB SSD for Trainz (nearly full!)
Coolermaster full tower.

It's now nearly a year old so better hardware is available. For example the new Gigabyte video cards.

I did have to replace the power supply about a couple of months back when I started getting odd failures. On advice from John Citron I bought an EVGA 1000W power supply. Not cheap but a really nice package.

A true gaming machine will have overclocked everything as speed is critical. I don't overclock.

As far as T:ANE is concerned, I think the video card is the one item that affect playability. I don't get wound up about FPS as I've had some sessions run at about 15FPS and you wouldn't notice a problem. Generally, most sessions, except the C&O Hinton sessions, run about 60FPS.

 

[boc61]

Or do like I did, call a custom builder and let them do all that work for you. No fuss, no muss, no worries about making mistakes or bad parts/RMA's. It'll cost more, yes, but money well spent, at least for me.

 

[cascaderailroad]

So @ how much more does one pay for a custom built desktop PC, with a 3.4 GHz speed ... than building one yourself ?

And who built it for you, make, model, supplier please ?

 

[boc61]

I had my machine made here:
https://www.maingear.com/index.php

Mine is the "old" F131, it's been updated since then. there is a configurator where you can put together various combinations to suit your needs and budget.

It's 4 years old now, when built it was $2200

i5 2500 3.3 GHz Stock Cooler
128MM Fans
8GB Corsair 1333 RAM
GTX 680 2GB
Crucial M4 128 GB SSD System Drive
Seagate Barracuda 7200 RPM 1TB HDD
LG DVD/CD Drive
Seasonic Gold 850W PSU
The case is based on the Silverstone FT 01

I added a second SSD for Trainz and doubled the RAM myself.

 

[JCitron]

So @ how much more does one pay for a custom built desktop PC, with a 3.4 GHz speed ... than building one yourself ?

And who built it for you, make, model, supplier please ?

My rig, which is going on 3 years old now, not counting the video card and power supply:

Intel Motherboard: Z75-series, which is obsolete now.
32 GB RAM
i7-3770K
2 x 2TB hard drives internal
1x DVD
1x GTX780Ti
Thermaltake CPU Cooler
1200W Power supply

The Initial build cost me about $1200 3 years ago including the case, which was $350 and highly recommended as it supports both air and water cooling and has wire-hiding panels to help with the airflow.

Today, the same rig would cost about $900 - $1,000 including the case.

Keep in mind I do not overclock and get as many years out of my hardware as I can before replacing components. The system I had before that was 6 years old and well beyond its ROI on hardware.

John

 

[tallyken]

Here's what I'm using for T:ANE, with excellent results:

Software:
-T:ANE Build 75947
-Windows 10 Build 10074 (with Nvidia DX12 driver)

Hardware:
-Asus Maximus VI Hero MB
-Intel I7 4770K
-32GB Kingston DDR3
-EVGA GTX970 4G of GDDR5
-Samsung 840 EVO SATA 6 SSD 250GB
-Samsung 840 SATA 6 SSD 120GB <==(where T:ANE lives)
-Seagate 1TB SATA 6
-Hitachi 1TB SATA 3
-Corsair 1200W PSU
-NZXT Tempest tower case

Just did a quick pricing on NewEgg (upgrading to current products where necessary) $2100

 

[iannz]

Or do like I did, call a custom builder and let them do all that work for you. No fuss, no muss, no worries about making mistakes or bad parts/RMA's. It'll cost more, yes, but money well spent, at least for me.

I build my own and have done since 80286 and DOS days. But yes, I would recommend getting someone who knows how to build a custom gaming machine to do it. And not all shops are into building custom machines with your needs in mind and proper cooling method and cable management etc. And yes paying a bit extra to someone else and having it turn up working is often better than the headaches involved if it doesn't start straight away.
I wish I could give you some ball-park prices to help, but have no idea at all of US prices.

 

[iannz]

Here's what I'm using for T:ANE, with excellent results:

Software:
-T:ANE Build 75947
-Windows 10 Build 10074 (with Nvidia DX12 driver)

Hardware:
-Asus Maximus VI Hero MB
-Intel I7 4770K
-32GB Kingston DDR3
-EVGA GTX970 4G of GDDR5
-Samsung 840 EVO SATA 6 SSD 250GB
-Samsung 840 SATA 6 SSD 120GB <==(where T:ANE lives)
-Seagate 1TB SATA 6
-Hitachi 1TB SATA 3
-Corsair 1200W PSU
-NZXT Tempest tower case

Just did a quick pricing on NewEgg (upgrading to current products where necessary) $2100

Personally I wouldn't touch Samsung or Hitachi gear. Ive seen far to many failures with it. Also you could save yourself a lot on the PSU, 850W would be tons. Put the extra in a larger SSD for TANE, over time, I don't think 120Gb will be enough (Judging that I have 80+ in TANE already and hardly even started downloading yet lol). Just my opinion. Cheers

 

[LNERlover5]

Personally I wouldn't touch Samsung or Hitachi gear. Ive seen far to many failures with it. Also you could save yourself a lot on the PSU, 850W would be tons. Put the extra in a larger SSD for TANE, over time, I don't think 120Gb will be enough (Judging that I have 80+ in TANE already and hardly even started downloading yet lol). Just my opinion. Cheers

I was always under the impression that Samsung are a reputable brand when it comes to flash based storage. Their SSD's are some of the fastest drives available, whilst retaining excellent longevity as far as I am aware.

 

[amigacooke]

Lost me at step 10

 

[iannz]

I was always under the impression that Samsung are a reputable brand when it comes to flash based storage. Their SSD's are some of the fastest drives available, whilst retaining excellent longevity as far as I am aware.

I think they make great TV's cell phones, tablets etc, and I think they are learning from their earlier failures making cheap and unreliable computer components, but I don't rate them as a main player just yet, maybe in a few more years they may be if they continue in the computer component market.

Now, saying that, that's how it is here. In the UK where they have most likely been established longer and possibly have different products available there to what we have here, they may well be a proven brand. (They probably send their budget range down under lol). So my statements could be wrong and you may be very well right which only means good things for us down under in a year or so when we catch up to where you are now.
It would be interesting to hear from John or someone in the US to hear how Samsung is considered over there.
Cheers

 

[boc61]

I use Crucial SSD's now, but I have been looking into upgrading with Samsungs. From what I've read they have come a long way and are considered very good now.

 

[Stationbeem]

Some very interesting tips here. But what seems to be missing is what would be the best Sound card for the optimum Trainz experience?