New to PC Building

[ApexSutton31]

Hello all. I've, in the past 8 months or so, started to get into major PC gaming and modding of games such as Oblivion, Skyrim, and Fallout: New Vegas. I am running on a MSI GE60 gaming laptop. So naturally, I've grown to realize that laptops are garbage compared to a decent desktop gaming build. So I've been doing God knows how many hours of research of builds and research on just different parts in general. But I still am having trouble finding ideas for parts that would work for the build I'd like to make. I am in the Navy for another 3 years or so, so I have slightly limited space in the barracks for a good sized PC, so naturally, I tossed around the idea of a Mini ATX gaming build. I really like this case (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811553011) but I'm not quite sure exactly what specs on parts are necessary for such a build. I wanna stay AMD for mainly the price tag compared to Intel. I found a motherboard with 2 PCI 3.0 x16 slots for quite a hefty price, but figured it had the necessary specs to be able to handle major gaming and an ability for future upgrades. Obviously, with a Mini ATX build, the main issue that requires the most focus is cooling. And I'm kind of stuck there as well. The case I linked here shows promise in that it has the ability to house quite a few 120mm fans for cooling all around, I believe, but proper fan placement and water cooling is optimal. But then it all comes back to the fact that it would be a Mini tower build, therefore, limited space. Basically, with all this rambling, I'm just expressing that I'm not entirely clueless, but probably nowhere near ready for a challenging build as this without a little help. I guess it's high hopes and hard planning like building cars, as is another one of my hobbies. Lol. Any help at all is very much appreciated. Thank you very much for reading this very lengthy "question."

[ImBleu]

Try M-ATX with a Bitfenix Prodigy, you can also stick with something like a G3258 or a i5-4690 for your gaming CPU (Yes it's Intel, but its a decent price). Couple it with a decent Z97'M' Motherboard and you'll be off in no time. You could get a 760 / 770 for pretty cheap now, or you can go the extra mile with a GTX 970.

 

 

Hello all. I've, in the past 8 months or so, started to get into major PC gaming and modding of games such as Oblivion, Skyrim, and Fallout: New Vegas. I am running on a MSI GE60 gaming laptop. So naturally, I've grown to realize that laptops are garbage compared to a decent desktop gaming build. So I've been doing God knows how many hours of research of builds and research on just different parts in general. But I still am having trouble finding ideas for parts that would work for the build I'd like to make. I am in the Navy for another 3 years or so, so I have slightly limited space in the barracks for a good sized PC, so naturally, I tossed around the idea of a Mini ATX gaming build. I really like this case (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811553011) but I'm not quite sure exactly what specs on parts are necessary for such a build. I wanna stay AMD for mainly the price tag compared to Intel. I found a motherboard with 2 PCI 3.0 x16 slots for quite a hefty price, but figured it had the necessary specs to be able to handle major gaming and an ability for future upgrades. Obviously, with a Mini ATX build, the main issue that requires the most focus is cooling. And I'm kind of stuck there as well. The case I linked here shows promise in that it has the ability to house quite a few 120mm fans for cooling all around, I believe, but proper fan placement and water cooling is optimal. But then it all comes back to the fact that it would be a Mini tower build, therefore, limited space. Basically, with all this rambling, I'm just expressing that I'm not entirely clueless, but probably nowhere near ready for a challenging build as this without a little help. I guess it's high hopes and hard planning like building cars, as is another one of my hobbies. Lol. Any help at all is very much appreciated. Thank you very much for reading this very lengthy "question."

 

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EDIT: A price tag would be nice as well, what are you willing to spend?

[ApexSutton31]

I looked up your suggestions early this morning. Loved the case! I'll be keeping that one in mind for sure. The CPU, well, I should first off respond to your Edit question first. I was hoping to go sub 700, probably closer to 700 because that's what I'm going to try to sell my laptop at. In all honesty, I'd be willing to go slightly above 700, but preferably not by much. That's why I was looking at a lot of AMD processors pared with their graphics cards and compatible motherboards, because they seemed to be the cheapest route. But I do want a very well performing gaming machine, so I might have to broaden my gaze, I'm not quite sure. And another thing I'm not quite clear on is the PCI slots. What is the difference between 2.0 x16 and 3.0 x16? Newegg product descriptions say that with AMD, the only socket that supports PCI 3.0 x16 is the FM2+ socket. Does that mean not FM2 support for those graphics slots? And if so, would a 2.0 x16 setup be better to look into? Also, I don't think I found any AMD CPUs that fit the FM2+ socket, unless I just completely missed it? Thank you for your response by the way, any advice helps because I'm looking to do a build here soon. 

[WoodenMarker]

The Spike is a great budget case but isn't the most suitable for builds with more than one graphics card due to the fan placement. I'd suggest sticking with one card or getting a better case for cf/sli. 

You should probably read this before posting--it could help guide you quite a bit: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/3061-build-plan-thread-recommendations-please-read-before-posting/

[ApexSutton31]

Thank you very much. But since this post, I have spoke to coworkers and other PC enthusiasts and decided to scrap this Mini tower build and just go with a mid tower build for future upgrading as well as upgrading from what I have now. But this is a very good guideline to follow. Probably should've looked around the forums before creating my first post. And my second.... Lol