[ColonelOne]

Hi, I'm building my first computer and could use a bit of help. It will be used as a gaming computer, but also as a computer for school and video editing. I have a few questions about it, I have made two different builds and want to know which one is better and will last longer.

First build is an AMD based build, and features:
Cooler Masters HAF922
Xion 1000w Power Supply
GIGABYTE AMD HDMI Micro ATX Motherboard
AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition 3.4GHz 125W Quad-Core Processor
1 or 2 OCZ 4GB (4 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 1333
SAMSUNG Spinpoint 1TB 7200 RPM 3.5" Internal Hard Drive

Price thus far: $639.94 or $719.13 (RAM Depending)

I am not sure if I will need 4Gb or 8Gb, and also not sure if I would need additional audio or video cards.

Second build is an Intel based build and features:
Cooler Masters HAF922
Xion 1000w Power Supply
Intel H55HC ATX Motherboard
Intel i5 3.2GHz Processor
1 or 2 OCZ 4GB (4 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 1333
SAMSUNG Spinpoint 1TB 7200 RPM 3.5" Internal Hard Drive

Price thus far: $659.95 or $739.94(RAM Depending)

Again, not sure if I should get 4Gb or 8Gb, or additional AV Cards

For me price needs to be kept low, being a student and all. What are the benefits to an AMD build over an Intel build? Will most PC games work with an AMD Processor? What is the benefit to having 8Gb of RAM over 4Gb? What are some good internal wireless cards that would work in one of these builds? Also, is it worth it to have a fan monitoring system?

Thank you very much for your time,
ColonelOne

[noop]

Welcome to the site ColonelOne!

Quote

For me price needs to be kept low, being a student and all. What are the benefits to an AMD build over an Intel build? Will most PC games work with an AMD Processor? What is the benefit to having 8Gb of RAM over 4Gb? What are some good internal wireless cards that would work in one of these builds? Also, is it worth it to have a fan monitoring system?

1. Unless you are using some really outdated programs, you shouldn't have any problems with using an AMD Processor. Many gamers use AMD processors, so you shouldn't have any problems with that.
2. 8GB of ram is double the amount of 4 lol This will definitely help if you have multiple programs up at once.
3. What kind of wireless access point do you have? Wireless B, G, or N?

As for which build is better? I would lean towards the Core i5 personally, but they are pretty close.

[madmatt2006]

Hello welcome to PC Help Headquarters what games do you intend to play? If your going to game you will need a graphics card. I prefer the Intel build but many gamers like AMD CPU but I guess it really comes down to which brand you like. I like Intel because in they have never let me down!

[ColonelOne]

noop, on 15 February 2010 - 03:18 AM, said:

Welcome to the site ColonelOne!



1. Unless you are using some really outdated programs, you shouldn't have any problems with using an AMD Processor. Many gamers use AMD processors, so you shouldn't have any problems with that.
2. 8GB of ram is double the amount of 4. This will definitely help if you have multiple programs up at once.
3. What kind of wireless access point do you have? Wireless B, G, or N?

As for which build is better? I would lean towards the Core i5 personally, but they are pretty close.

Thanks, Noop.

I am not sure how I would determine the wireless access point, I've typed in my IP to open up the router information, but I can't find the access point type, it's set to "auto".

Would I need a video card or sound card for the Intel option? Also, could the Intel processor be overclocked?

[madmatt2006]

If your going to over clock it avoid an Intel board

[noop]

ColonelOne, on 15 February 2010 - 03:25 AM, said:

Thanks, Noop.

I am not sure how I would determine the wireless access point, I've typed in my IP to open up the router information, but I can't find the access point type, it's set to "auto".

Would I need a video card or sound card for the Intel option? Also, could the Intel processor be overclocked?

What model is your router?

You don't necessarily have to have a graphics card on the Intel motherboard, however if you want to game, it wouldn't hurt to buy a graphics card.

As for overclocking, I would disagree with matt, the core i5 itself is easy to overclock depending on which board you have.

[ColonelOne]

madmatt2006, on 15 February 2010 - 03:23 AM, said:

Hello welcome to PC Help Headquarters what games do you intend to play? If your going to game you will need a graphics card. I prefer the Intel build but many gamers like AMD CPU but I guess it really comes down to which brand you like. I like Intel because in they have never let me down!

I mostly play Crysis, Farcry, BioShock, COD, etc. I have a 42" LCD HDTV that I'd use as a monitor (lol) so I'm wondering what would make the most sense, graphics card wise, to fully utilize the television.

[ColonelOne]

noop, on 15 February 2010 - 03:29 AM, said:

What model is your router?

You don't necessarily have to have a graphics card on the Intel motherboard, however if you want to game, it wouldn't hurt to buy a graphics card.

As for overclocking, I would disagree with matt, the core i5 itself is easy to overclock depending on which board you have.

The router is a NETGEAR wpn824 v3.
Ok, so it sounds like a graphics card is a sound idea.
Does the selected board fir into that category?

Thanks

[madmatt2006]

the CPU is great for over clocking just not in an Intel branded board this is what I meant

[noop]

You will want a graphics card, those games are pretty graphic intensive.

As for overclocking, I misread what matt said. You will not want an "Intel Intel" board to overclock. You will want a board from another manufacture that will allow easier overclocking.

[madmatt2006]

Gigabyte brand are good for over clock.

[noop]

I would recommend an EVGA board for overclocking and gaming. They are awesome boards!

As for a wireless card, you will want a Wireless G card for your pc.

[ColonelOne]

noop, on 15 February 2010 - 03:38 AM, said:

You will want a graphics card, those games are pretty graphic intensive.

As for overclocking, I misread what matt said. You will not want an "Intel Intel" board to overclock. You will want a board from another manufacture that will allow easier overclocking.

I'm not terribly knowledgeable with graphics cards, is a HIS Radeon 1gb Card enough?
http://www.tigerdire...1689&CatId=2234

madmatt2006, on 15 February 2010 - 03:39 AM, said:

Gigabyte brand are good for over clock.

Would the Gigabyte board I mentioned in the AMD Based configuration good for overclocking should I decide to build AMD?

noop, on 15 February 2010 - 03:40 AM, said:

I would recommend an EVGA board for overclocking an gaming. They are awesome boards!

As for a wireless card, you will want a Wireless G card for your pc.

Are EVGA boards really expensive, though?
Also, would a Wireless G card restrict my wireless options? i.e. when I go home would I be in trouble because my parents router is better than mine and I would use theirs?

[noop]

ColonelOne, on 15 February 2010 - 03:47 AM, said:

I'm not terribly knowledgeable with graphics cards, is a HIS Radeon 1gb Card enough?
http://www.tigerdire...1689&CatId=2234



Would the Gigabyte board I mentioned in the AMD Based configuration good for overclocking should I decide to build AMD?



Are EVGA boards really expensive, though?
Also, would a Wireless G card restrict my wireless options? i.e. when I go home would I be in trouble because my parents router is better than mine and I would use theirs?

Yes, that card will definitely help when playing games.

The Gigabit board you have is probably better for overclocking, but I think the Core i5 is a bit better if you are going to be doing video editing/rendering. There are tons of other Intel boards you could go with. Here is a nice board for about the same price as your intel one: http://www.pchelphq....el-motherboard/

What router does your parents have? Unless they have a Wireless N router with only Wireless N devices, you shouldn't be too concerned.

[ColonelOne]

noop, on 15 February 2010 - 03:54 AM, said:

Yes, that card will definitely help when playing games.

The Gigabit board you have is probably better for overclocking, but I think the Core i5 is a bit better if you are going to be doing video editing/rendering. There are tons of other Intel boards you could go with. Here is a nice board for about the same price as your intel one: http://www.pchelphq....el-motherboard/

What router does your parents have? Unless they have a Wireless N router with only Wireless N devices, you shouldn't be too concerned.

If I did decide to go with the AMD build over Intel, would I still need a graphics card? Also, are there better boards out there for around the same price? Better as in more PCI/PCI-E ports, better on-board graphics and audio, etc?

[noop]

You will want a graphics card if you are going to do lots of gaming regardless if it is an AMD or Intel machine.

As for boards, I don't know off the top off the top of my head. I would recommend heading over to newegg.com and doing an advance search to narrow down the boards to compare. Here is a link to all of the core i5 motherboards of newegg. http://www.newegg.co...name=LGA%201156

On the left, you can click Advanced Search to find a motherboard to your needs.

Hope this helps,
noop

[ColonelOne]

Just did a little more research into the RAM, it seems that the RAM I initially chose has a habit of being dead on arrival or stopping working shortly after installation. Is there any better ram for around the same price, 4Gb for $80-100?

[noop]

I would go with this set. They are a little over $100, but have great reviews and have the second lowest cas latency sold at newegg. http://www.newegg.co...ID=3472940&SID=