# Building Upgradable Gaming Computer



## Tyrion (Jul 28, 2007)

Where to begin...

I am trying to bid a low to mid end gaming computer! I have spent about 20 hours researching it. I'm glad to see I'm not alone in getting stuff of Newegg. The tricky bit is I want a system that I can upgrade for the nest 3-4 years. My main trouble is with CPU and motherboard. Intel was my first choice because of higher clock speed. Then as I did more research gamers seemed to prefer AMD. The problem was AMD technology was said to go out of date quickly. Also I could not find any AMD boards that can support both ddr2/ddr3
I am hoping to spend between 300-400 dollars on CPU/motherboard.
My other question is for low to mid end gaming is dual video cards needed or will be needed in the next three years?

Any help would be excepted gratefully!

This is the motherboard I had my eye on
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128048


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## Tyrion (Jul 28, 2007)

bump


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## kiwiguy (Aug 17, 2003)

"Upgrade for the next 3 to 4 years"?
Not in reality. By that time a new motherboard, CPU, RAM, Video card will be more than an upgrade, it will be a new PC.

You will get to keep the case I guess.

While I have only had PC's since 1980, in all cases it has been cheaper to replace rather than upgrade, the upgrade path means you always have something that is a compromise yet you sill end up spending about the same amount.


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## Tyrion (Jul 28, 2007)

I have read that the average speed and power of a pc double in four years. So for example
Two gigs of ram now would be equivalent to 8 in four yuears. Most motherboards have atleast room for 8 gigs. Processor wise I belive the pentium 4 has been out for over four years and can still be used for low end gaming. (that is as long as the rest of the hardware is more recent). It would seem to me that a quad core porosssor four years from now would be atleast as good as the pentium is now. My hope was that I could have a system with a motherboard, case, and powersupply that would last me 3/4 years. The proceessor ram video card ect. would be upgrded along the way.

The main thing is I have no expeirence in this realm and have only really become aquainted with basic computer awareness in the last two years.

I had hoped to spend around 800 on this pc. 

My question is: confused: 

1. Do you think it will cost me eight hundred more to upgrade it over the next 4 years
(this is to support low to mid end gaming)
2. Either way should i go with Intel or AMD
3. If i can upgrade would you recommend a board with dual pci E or ddr2/ddr3 compatible


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## kiwiguy (Aug 17, 2003)

That is totally different than the original request "I want a system that I can upgrade for the next 3-4 years", all you want is one that will still be useable in 3 or 4 years?

The PC will always be useable as long as you don't want to run newer software or games that are beyond the capability and resource available.

Sorry can't help on the cost idea, as the relativity of $NS and $US (or are you referring to £ ?) means that comparisons are somewhat meaningless.

But you do need the fastest CPU you can get to get the longest life in terms of new software in a couple of years time.


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## Tyrion (Jul 28, 2007)

Alright, Now that we have that cleared up could you answer my other three questions

Let me just double-check something. Are you saying that my computer will be able handle LOW end gaming in THE FUTURE (this includes new games in the future) if I upgrade certain parts. Such as faster processor (Quad) ram, and video card.
If I understand you correctly my last question is..
What specs should I look for on a motherboard that games will most likely need or that will be very useful in the future?
Also do you recommend AMD or Intel for this venture?
Thanks a lot for your help so far.
I relies I have not been the most precise.


PS.
I was referring to dollars.
Right now I don't need price for the questions I asked


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## kiwiguy (Aug 17, 2003)

Sorry but my crystall ball just seems cloudy at the moment!

You would have to take a punt on what motherboard will support a CPU upgrade, when there is no upgrade path guaranteed. Most motherboard makers will only specify their motherboard for the CPU's that are either in use or known to be due, they too will have crystal ball issues in second guessing the CPU makers intentions 4 years out.

I think you expect too much certainty, I certainly would have no clue on the distant future.

Define "low-end gaming in the future"? Again you need that mythical crystal ball.

Same for Intel vs AMD.

You can only do as suggested and buy the best system your budget allows now, there will be no magic formula for determining if it will handle new games in 4 years time. When you get to the point it will not handle what the new games are, then you go through the same process.

If you are so intensely game focussed, why not buy a games console? 
Will you even be interested in gaming in 4 years time, you may have found more interesting things away from the PC in that time....


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## Tyrion (Jul 28, 2007)

I relise its predicting the future. But isn't it possible to find trend lines.
"likely" needs would be helpful two

I have only had some expeirence for two years

Thats is why I am asking somone with a longer range of expeirence
They can see the trend lines better
What do you personally find makes better processors for gaming?

So preatty much what ure saying is go for the best board on you buget and cross your fingers

That probobly my only choice but still any possible specs. you might reccomend would be welcome.

"low end games in the future"

Four years from now i walk into a store... purchase a new game...

And run it on low setting without it crashing

I am very grateful for time your spending answeing these "fledgling" questions


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## kiwiguy (Aug 17, 2003)

Well, I will leave it to a gamer to answer.

But be very aware, there are Intel fanboys and AMD fanboys out there that regularly slug it out, so you may get very confused. Intel appear on top right at this moment by a small margin, but they "leapfrog" for that spot with each release. 

So in 4 years - who knows, Intel may lose their small margin next AMD release etc.. 

You will, in 4 year be limited to an older processor if you wanted to "upgrade" anyway (that could be harder to find or expensive) as whatever you start with now will be obsolete in terms of socket type - that cannot be changed without a new motherboard, by then the RAM type will also have changed and your video card may not be compatible with the new motherboard. By then you have a new PC, hence the "upgrade" comment earlier.

A core 2 Duo Intel chip is probably one of the best right now, but not all games will be optimised for it. Will they be optimised for something completely different in 4 years?


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## Tyrion (Jul 28, 2007)

Okay!

Thanks for your help!

Its been really helpful

I only have on last question

Will watage be going up or down in the future?


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## kiwiguy (Aug 17, 2003)

Tyrion said:


> Okay!
> 
> Will watage be going up or down in the future?


Watage?

Do you mean Wattage (of the PSU?)

If so, the answer is "yes", it will be going either up or down in the future. Probably up, but a technology shift means it could go down. So definitely, "yes", either up or down.


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## etaylor34 (Jul 27, 2007)

On the topic of being able to use your computer over a long period of time, it's easily possible. I bought a mediocre dell(2.0Ghz cpu, 256 ram, 64mb gpu) nearly 6 years ago and i just got done playing BF2, all in all throughout the years i've spent a little over $600 upgrading it, but that's only cause i made a few mistakes and learned some things along the way. I also zero my drive and reinstall windows about once a year to keep things running smooth.

I more recently added 1 gig of ram to a 512 i upgraded right after i got the computer to get me up to 1.5 gigs of ram
I also just bought a new nvidia 7800gs video card and a 430w psu to go with it. all that together was about $300, i blew the other $300 on a radeon 9800pro a few years ago :-/


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## kiwiguy (Aug 17, 2003)

One of the key things that you note well is to get more RAM as soon as possible, as older RAM tends to get quite expensive once it becomes "non standard" for newer systems.

My last P4 was 5 years old, still going strong. But as I do not play games, the demands of a PC for running a business means that they can last for many yeas. One is still in service after 8 years, only limited by the inability to upgrade RAM above 256 MB.

But as above, you need a crystal ball to be able to determine what game makers will need as minimum specs in 4 years time for the latest then on offer..


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## Cameron_98926 (Aug 5, 2007)

i personally would go for amd i like them better intel has some better quality control but in end it doesn't matter cuz amd has great customer service n will give u a new chip 

if u want i can make up a base computer for u on newegg maybe give u some ideas getting a computer to last for a while isnt that hard if u know how to work with it i have some old parts but i can still run FEAR the only thing i have upgraded on mine is my sound card(i use for my stereo) n hard drive


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## Tyrion (Jul 28, 2007)

The reason I am going with intel is because with top of the line processors right now intel ratest 10 to 15 percent better. I am not getting top of the line now but in the future I will wan't one once the price goes down. The other reason is that you need a compleatly different type of nmotherboard to run quad with amd. Plus still can't run ddr3.

A question!!
If a motherboard is said to have overclocavle ram optiones can it rum 2.2 volt ram if it says one 1.8 on the box?


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## Cameron_98926 (Aug 5, 2007)

more than likely not i wouldnt try it cuz there is a chance that it wont work n u will be ****ed


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## Tyrion (Jul 28, 2007)

This is my hope for a build
Is it compatible
Any suggestiones for better hardware choice will be appreciated

Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16813128050
Is there some specs I'm missing that i realy could use. I am willing to spend up to fifty more
cpu
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16819116238
(Is there a better cpu for gaming out there for a similar price?)

RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820145034
Is this supported by my motherboard? I tried finding out but I could not tell!

Video card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814127293
Do i need 512 ram if I want this for the next 2 years

Power supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817153052
Is this enough power?


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## etaylor34 (Jul 27, 2007)

you may not have noticed but if you buy an an intel mobo instead of the gigabyte you get a 3 year warranty instead of a 1 year. that's definitely a seller for me even if it is a little more expensive

[email protected] is pretty weak even though its a dual 12v, 
you should try to get a power supply with some better amperage, if you're willing to spend a little more money you might want to look at this.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817128002
it has some decent power, and i like the modular cable design cause you can take out whatever cables you don't need and you wont have anything extra hanging around in your case, though if you go with that supply i might cover any of the modular holes i don't use with masking tape to keep dust out.


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## Tyrion (Jul 28, 2007)

Hows this?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182061

Powers the least of my concern

I'd rather put an extra fifty somewhere else


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## etaylor34 (Jul 27, 2007)

it looks like it should do the job if not just rma it for a heavier duty one


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## Tyrion (Jul 28, 2007)

Any other suggestions out there?


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## etaylor34 (Jul 27, 2007)

haha no that one should be good, i was just saying that if for some reason it doesn't live up to your expectations you can always get an exchange from newegg


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## Sins (Nov 11, 1999)

As a recreational gamer, I suggest you go with the best dual core chip and MB you can afford. The programs will become more and more attuned to dual (or better) core processors over time so make sure yours was a top of the line at the time of purchase. I prefer AMD over Itel because I have burned out a few itel chips and have yet to burn an AMD. Your video card / memory is the next biggest hurdle. They improve all the time and you will eventually be limited by what will fit into you MB. Get the most memory possible. The better the starting equipment the longer it will last. Eventually you will have to buy a new system to run the latest software. Good luck! Oh ... you might try installing your games on a portable usb harddrive so that when the system does have to be changed, you will just need to update the registry. Good luck


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