New Comp cause of D3
 

So the other day, I got Diablo 3 and it said my Operating System (Windows Vista Home Premium OEMAcT) was not good enough. So I went to download and install SP1 and SP2 for Vista. Let's say the Service Packs crippled my computer because it failed to install correctly. My Acer computer is old, so there is no recovery discs for it anymore. I reformatted and installed Vista Home Premium, but I don't have the drivers for internet or audio and etc. I usually avoid installing service packs because it can f**k your computer up.

Since it seems like a hassle to try to fix it and find drivers that most likely won't be easy or safe to get. Although, I wouldn't mind fixing it eventually to use as a spare computer.

So I am thinking of building my first computer. I usually use a computer for 5 or more years. Wanted to ask what you guys think of this build and if there are any incompatibility issues or maybe something doesn't fit.

Motherboard: ASRock 880GM-LE FX AM3+ AMD 880G Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157292
CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ965FBGMBOXhttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103727
RAM: G.SKILL Value Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Desktop Memory Model F3-10600CL9D-8GBNT
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231422
Power Supply: CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX650 V2 650W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High Performance Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139020
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136769
Case: Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129042
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116986
Video Card: Using current GeForce 8800GT

Total is around 550 before tax and shipping. Should cost around 620ish after tax/shipping.

well. i was installing service pack 1. while booting up, it hung up
0xc01a001d !! 36114/168718 (\Registry\Machine\COMPONENTS\DerivedData\...)

spend a little extra on your mobo

maybe this:
ASRock 970 PRO3 AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 AT...


And this PSU will be more than enough
CORSAIR Builder Series CX600 V2 600W ATX12V v2.3 8...

otherwise good.
Maybe give a MAX budget we can probably provision better for you

Would go for something like this instead: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...lock,3159.html

well my max is around $600. prefer to be around $500 .

Good for you building one instead of just buying a pre-built.
Welcome to TPU :toast:

Adjust the build around a bit then. You can get a 6870 for $150 if you hunt around, so that will bring the total to be about $550.

Before, I usually had a family friend build me one (who is now busy/out of country) or I bought a store one and mod it a little bit.

I've been wanting a new comp, but I put it off partly because of money problems. Still have problems now, but no use stalling lol.

Comp is mostly for gaming, browsing, graphic arts.

I am a bit worried things might not fit XD... Like if my vid card is large enough to hinder other component's placements.

Are you one of those idiots who doesn't update their OS? You should have had SP1 and SP2 installed years ago... -_-

i guess you can say that lol.

Your PC is probably riddled with viruses and spyware.

ALWAYS UPDATE YOUR OS.

What's with the harsh words guys, he's a new guy looking for help? Honestly :shadedshu
To the OP, it's always sound advice to have everything up to date driver wise and this includes OS updates.

Always stability test a new build PC to make sure every component is working as it should. There are various bits of software out there that will help you to do this.

MSE (Microsoft Security Essentials) is also a good thing to have running as it won't intrude on games and offers good protection for free. It's always updated regularly as well.

Be aware that some gfx drivers can cause weird issues so always look for information on forums or in the driver release notes.

Good luck with the build :) and welcome to TPU.

There are nicer ways to go about this. How about trying to help him with his problem?

alucard13mmfmj, if you still want to get a new computer, then you may want to consider a better video card. Judging from this article from Techspot it seems like Diablo 3 is entirely GPU dependent. If you can get your hands on a GTX 460, then you should run it smoothly. You should be able to find it for cheap in most places.

Yeah. I figured my 8800GT would have aged by now. Although, I'll see how much life I can get out of it and how it does first. I don't particularly play resource intensive games (usually source mods, quake engine mods and some MMO [although lags with a lotta people in town]). If it comes down to it, I would get a new video card in a month or two with my next paycheck.

Is it possible for you to get Windows 7 locally? If so you can install it over your current computer and see how that works out. I avoided Vista completely and went straight to Windows 7 from XP, but from what I read, the difference between Vista and 7 is night and day. Windows 7 installs most drivers for me from the get go too (but that may not be the case for you).

I installed windows 7 ultimate, but it hung up while booting... "verifying DMI" or something. Ended up installing windows vista basic, for now, which worked. I'll back up my recent goodies on an external HD if I am permitted to do so. It is a store bought comp (with some modifications) and Acer doesn't make recovery discs for my model anymore and its quite old that it's hard to look for the drivers online that doesn't look shady.

Did a quick google on your problem. Have you tried this fix? Although it does sound like your computer is having problems. Might be a hardware issue but don't quote me on that. I can understand why it would save you a headache by buying a new computer (had a issue with BSODs after installing SP3 on XP. Still never figured out the problem :P). The components you listed are good too, although I would highly recommend getting a new video card ASAP.

i did get BSOD from a few automatic windows updates, that i had to do system recovery, which kinda put me off from updating windows related stuff.

yeah. the video card will probably be the bottleneck of the unit. unless i do some "argh matey" with the OS to cut some costs, it's too costly for me to get a 150-200dollar card. im trying to stick with legit stuff. ill get a new card in 1-2 months hopefully.

I understand. I was in the same situation. Keep it legit if you can :) Although I must warn you, even if you buy a new computer, you might notice a minor difference in FPS at most with the new computer compared to your old one. As I mentioned earlier the video card will provide 90% of the performance in Diablo 3.

CPU: Intel i3-2100
Motherboard: BioStar H61MLB
RAM: G.Skill Value Series 4GB DDR3-1333 (I recommend 2, but 1 will work)
GPU: HIS Radeon HD6850
HDD: Rip the one out of your old comp and re-use it
PSU: Rosewill Green Series 530W
Optical Drive: Random Cheap 24x DVD Burner
Case: Rosewill FBM-01 MiniTower
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium x64

Total Cost: $540

Several key points. With the AMD Phenom II's, they are pretty dated, and for 90%+ of games, an i3 will do as well, if not substantially better given it's much greater per core performance. You said you want to use the comp for several years, and spending $400-500 on a PC upgrade and not getting a new GPU is pointless. My HD5850 can handle almost all games fine, and D3 runs maxed out with no hiccups on my setup, so I assume a 6850 can probably handle it just as easily (given the 6870 is a pretty much direct comparison performance wise, the 6850 being not much slower should do fine).

If you could splurge on a better mobo it would be worth it, but the setup I just posted should handle all games adequately with some tweaking.

I like the system you have detailed in the original post.
Sure the Phenom II isnt that fast compared to an i5 but budgets a budget. Motherboard is a bit mediocre thats all.

lol. i read in a lot of places and one of the previous posts that an i3 might be better than Phenom II X4.

yeah. it seems a couple of you guys said the mother board is "meh".

i did look at the ASRock 970 for mobo, but theres no reviews for it yet to procure more subjective/objective info.

iv had fair luck if asrock products they seem to be the up and coming vendor

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...mark,3120.html

In most gaming situations the i3 is better than a Phenom II X4 at stock speeds. Comparing another Blizzard title--Starcraft II--you can tell they tend to favor High IPC Intel CPU's. Continuing to use that 8800GT is going to be the biggest problem though, and if you're going to go AMD, at least make sure to get SOMETHING new, like an HD6850. The difference it will make is ridiculous...