First build for Linux gaming.

[joshuamurphy]

So I BADLY need a new upgrade as my specs (check sig) are terrible and can't even play videos correctly and I can barely have five tabs loading at once without it totally crashing.

 

Also i'll be using Linux because i totally love it so much. most popular games work under wine and more games are coming out for linux than ever before.

 

 

1. Budget & Location

 

Budget = NZD$1700

Location = New Zealand

 

2. Aim

 

I will be doing mainly alot of Linux gaming and a tiny bit of Linux dev/experimenting.

The first games i will play will be Half Life 2 as well as the episodes which I just brought on the first day of summer sales. Also in my steam account is portal (both one and two) Dota 2, TF2 and Serious Sam 3.

 

I will keep my current computer if I ever need to play a dvd, my new one won't have one seriously who needs one these days?!, or have a mate over and he can game and i'll just be on the net or whatever. I'll also try tell him how much he sucks and i could have made that shot with my eyes closed so yeah just the typical stuff. (PM for my steam ID if ya wanna play.)

 

3. Monitors

 

Monitors = 1 x 23" screen 60Hz 5ms.

I might get a new screen in the future so I can have a dual set up but honestly not sure yet.

 

 

4. Peripherals

 

Peripherals = I will be testing out keyboards and mice in store so I will decide on the spot. I'm thinking Func MS-3 for my mouse and some Cherry MX Reds but i havn't tried any mechanical keyboards thats why I wanted to try some instore. Maybe tell me what you're favouite is and what you use them for.

 

5. Why are you upgrading?

 

The reason i'm upgrading is because my current set up (specs in my sig, not trolling) is unusable for gaming.

 

 

SPECS:

 

OS: Ubuntu 12.04 LTS. Ubuntu really beautiful and as much as other people don't like Ubuntu I think it does a great job.

CPU: Intel i5 3.2GHzi won't do any overclocking so this is alright?

CPU Cooler: Just going for the stock cooler because i'm not going to overclock. maybe i'll pick up a raidator in the future if i decide to get my clock up to 3.5GHz but that won't be soon.

GPU: Nvidia 660 ti. The reason i'm picking a Nvidia card is because i've heard they have had better support.

RAM: 8GB of whatever brand, because i  don't think it matters too much if im correct.

Case: Bitfenix Ghost. It's a really beautiful case in my opinion. also quiet and space for tons of drives.

Motherboard: ?? haha someone help me on this please. they all do the same thing pretty much.

Storage: WD 500GB. Linus convinced me to pick WD because of the computex coverage. might go for a green drive because it was quieter.

PSU: Seasonic 650w

Cooling: The Ghost comes with two fans and i'll also get 4 x Corsair SP120 quiet edition fans.

Sound: Just going to use my marleys with onboard sound.

Also gonna get a wifi card because my board doesn't have on board wifi. It won't be a USB one because in my experience USB ones overheat kinda easily.

 

 

If you read all that then thanks. please comment on your thoughts or send this to someone who can help. i'm hoping to get this done before school starts again which is on two weeks.

 

Edit: spacing and sizing

Edit2: forgot to talk about Linux

[WoodenMarker]

The 660 Ti is quite a bad value right now. A 760 is cheap and performs better. AMD has even better performance/price around at this price range.

Are you settled on this case? It's mid-atx and a micro-atx mobo would save some money over an atx mobo. A micro-atx mobo fits in your case but it would just look awkward.

Are you sure you only want 500GB? That's quite a small hdd for most standards. Even though it's linux, I'd make it a hybrid hdd for the extra snappiness.

The psu is overkill. A decent 500w will be plenty.

The fans seem a bit much imo. You don't need them but it;s up to you.

[joshuamurphy]

The 660 Ti is quite a bad value right now. A 760 is cheap and performs better. AMD has even better performance/price around at this price range.

Are you settled on this case? It's mid-atx and a micro-atx mobo would save some money over an atx mobo. A micro-atx mobo fits in your case but it would just look awkward.

Are you sure you only want 500GB? That's quite a small hdd for most standards. Even though it's linux, I'd make it a hybrid hdd for the extra snappiness.

The psu is overkill. A decent 500w will be plenty.

The fans seem a bit much imo. You don't need them but it;s up to you.

in NZ the 760 is about $590 while the 660Ti is about $380.

i'm kind set on this case. it said somewhere it fits mini micro and ATX.

hmmmm i've never really used up much space but i've also never had much games on my HDD. might go for the 1TB then. and whats a hybrid?

k i'll get a 500w then and just 2 x SP120s quiet edition

[WoodenMarker]

in NZ the 760 is about $590 while the 660Ti is about $380.

i'm kind set on this case. it said somewhere it fits mini micro and ATX.

hmmmm i've never really used up much space but i've also never had much games on my HDD. might go for the 1TB then. and whats a hybrid?

k i'll get a 500w then and just 2 x SP120s quiet edition

Yes, the case does fit micro-atx motherboards but putting a micro-atx motherboard in a mid-atx case just looks awkward. 

A hybrid drive is like the in-between of a hdd and a ssd. We call it a solid state hard drive or SSHD. http://nz.pcpartpicker.com/part/seagate-internal-hard-drive-st750lx003

It's part hdd and part ssd. It takes what you use the most from the hdd part of it and puts it on a cache so that when you use it again, it's much quicker. It does this automatically and is less hassle than a ssd + hdd combo but isn't as fast.

[joshuamurphy]

Yes, the case does fit micro-atx motherboards but putting a micro-atx motherboard in a mid-atx case just looks awkward. 

A hybrid drive is like the in-between of a hdd and a ssd. We call it a solid state hard drive or SSHD. http://nz.pcpartpicker.com/part/seagate-internal-hard-drive-st750lx003

It's part hdd and part ssd. It takes what you use the most from the hdd part of it and puts it on a cache so that when you use it again, it's much quicker. It does this automatically and is less hassle than a ssd + hdd combo but isn't as fast.

 

Yes, the case does fit micro-atx motherboards but putting a micro-atx motherboard in a mid-atx case just looks awkward. 

A hybrid drive is like the in-between of a hdd and a ssd. We call it a solid state hard drive or SSHD. http://nz.pcpartpicker.com/part/seagate-internal-hard-drive-st750lx003

It's part hdd and part ssd. It takes what you use the most from the hdd part of it and puts it on a cache so that when you use it again, it's much quicker. It does this automatically and is less hassle than a ssd + hdd combo but isn't as fast.

ohh right i know what a sshd is. never knew it did it automatically. yeeah wouldn't do that with the mobo.

i brought all the parts todays apart from the case. still need to do that