Thread: Laptop Screen Dead - Help me Build Desktop

Why hello everyone, yesterday I was browsing the TTP forums and my screen went blank on my laptop. I did some research and discovered that it's a faulty inverter at the base of the screen, I ordered that part and i'm going to attempt open heart surgery. But in the case that I fail horribly I'm going to be building a desktop.

I'm working with a 1200-1500 MAX budget, anything more than that is not possible. Some basic things i'm looking for:

Core i7 processor (2.6 gHz at the slowest, preferably in the 2.8 range)
Good video card: Nvidia or Radeon, I don't really care. I've been an Nvidia guy for a long time, but the 5000 series from Radeon is niiiice. As far as Nvidia goes, my card of choice right now (for the price) would be a GTX 260 with 1.8 gb dedicated memory (there is a 898 mb dedicated version as well, i don't want that unless it's SLI - which would most likely cost more than a single 1.8gb card)

I also need many of the basics, I've been using a laptop exclusively for the past 4 years so I don't have any parts worth transfering from my previous desktop. So basically I need everything:

Motherboard
Power Supply
Ram - Hoping to get at least 6 GB, hopefully 8 or 9 depending on cost
CD/DVD drive
Monitor (~20" it doesn't have to be huge, just want good contrast + resolution)
Case
I am interested in water cooling if anyone can recommend a good system within my budget

Things I do not need:
Mouse
Keyboard (although I wouldn't mind a new one)

I have experience building computers so this is nothing new for me, nothing has to be preassembled, I can put it together myself.

Thanks again for the help everyone, I think my laptop did the right things dying right here on the TTP forums. Where else would you rather die?

Unless you get a tri-channel mobo then don't expect above 4 GB memory without a hefty price tag (compared to just buying 2x2GB sticks.) Reason being if you only have 4 slots, then when you add another 2GB stick, it will actually slow down intense processes (because it is bottlenecking on the one stick). Albeit it's not bad to have more memory if you actually need 6GB (saves time from page files) but if you have the money for 2x4gb sticks... go for it. It's just that... or just buy 4x2GB sticks... don't know why I didn't say that at first...

Ah.. .2ghz of processing speed on your CPU isn't going to matter that much. i7 has like... 8 cores right? You could prolly over clock the lower one up .2ghz :P

my 2cents

My opinions...

stick with the core i7 920...you wont notice any difference from 2.6 to 2.8 and the price change isnt worth it...invest that extra money in a solid aftermarket air cooler and OC the hell out of that 920, it will go to 3.5-4.0 GHz EASY.

Video cards, stick with the radeon cards, they are just that much better than the nvidia cards for the prices they are offering. If you want to go nvidia, get the gtx 260 and get a 2nd later on. That will run you solid performance in almost any game..If you want a step up, the gtx 275 is not a bad card at all, and you can find them on sale ~220$ (its what i got mine at). I have 2 of these and it blows EVERYTHING away. better than a single gtx 295 in many cases for a lower price.

ram, dont get more than 6, you will be wasting your money. If you intend to run 3 different os's at the same time or do a lot of virualization than sure, get 6....but having more ram will not make you run any faster. having faster ram helps but with that processor, increasing ram speeds do not make a significant difference in performance.

Mobo - thats really your preference. many people will say asus and gigabyte...and I agree, great quality products. I also like EVGA, they have EXCELLENT customer support. If you do intend to overclock, do some research and find out which boards are better overclockers.

My 2 cents for now, hope it helps.

Oh, and if you do plan on investing in water, from what I can tell it is either go all out or go home. Many air cooling systems perform just as well as the basic water cooling systems that are 50 to 100$ more. Water will only be usefull if you are realllllyyyy into overclocking and you want to see that core i7 go up to like 4.5...assuming you have a chip that is capable

I agree with saw here, stick with the lower clocked i7 and overclock it, you can get a modest OC on them without too much heat from an HSF, but they do run hot. I run a single gtx260 and can play basically anything maxed out right now. For a mobo I run an EVGA 3x SLI board (not the classified) and it is has been a very solid board, no issues with it. Besides good customer they also have a knowledgeable forum community as well. Asus also has solid offerings for the 1366 socket, but their service is more than terrible. You could also look into DFI and Foxconn for motherboards.

Yea. That's moreorless what I mean about evga. If their support does not answer your question, someone on the forums will. They have very active oc communities for almost all of their boards too. So if you need help to oc it, there is a damn good chance someone has done it already. I have a foxconn right now and I like the board, but there is no forum/community and the support isn't that great. That turns me off some and I'll probably go back to evga next time.

Thanks a lot for the suggestions everyone. I understand that most people do not need anything more than 4 GB of ram, but I do some things that would require a lot (or at the very least a fast 4 gb). I do some video editing and programming along with lots of gaming, so I like a system that can hold up

SawEmOff: Thanks for the good advice on the processor, I think I'll stick with the 920 and OC like you said. Do I need to get a certain chipset to overclock it? I have a lot of experience with computers so I'm not afraid to do it, I've just never done any overclocking before

Vectus - That's a pretty sweet build for 1100, I will definitely take a close look at those parts. Thanks for the suggestion on the Mobo, that's one thing I have had TERRIBLE luck with in the past so I was really hoping to get a good recommendation.

I'm also a big fan of the 5770 card, I've been reading reviews and they hold up well on almost anything. And you're exactly right, get a second one down the road and I'll be in business for a long time - especially with the Dx11 support.

I do need a monitor, I've been looking that this one. It seems to meet my needs, if anybody has anything better/more cost effective I'd be happy to consider that as well :9
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824236063

I already have a mouse so I'm good there and I have an old keyboard that I could use. But I'd be willing to buy another as long as it's not too expensive. Might turn to ebay for help there. I'm a fan of Razer so I might go with one of their keyboards. But as always, I'm open to suggestions

[IRON] REMY just built a beast.....and is pretty much what you are looking for.

Check it out,here.

It's hard to judge how big that heatsink is for the CPU. Am I going to have any issues fitting things in the case?

It's too bad that HDD is sold out, it gets good reviews from everywhere. Sometimes things just work right, that HDD is an example of something that does. I'll have to look around for a different one or else wait for it to be back in stock somewhere