I recalled an old joke:
On my way home today, I found a small mouse. Now I want to build a computer. What else do I need?
Losing a watermelon for a sesame seed can be considered a unique consumer psychology. I left my old computer in Foshan because, first, its performance was insufficient, and second, the motherboard might have issues causing frequent black screens. So, I took the monitor, hard drive, and power supply with me.
I had been planning to build a computer for a long time but never found the right opportunity. I already had two laptops in use, but their performance was too low to play games. Just the other day, I paid off last month’s credit card bill, so I impulsively decided to go for it.
The sole purpose of building this computer was to play CS:GO.
The initial configuration I considered was as follows:
Intel I3 3220 3.3GHz / Gigabyte B75-D3V / ADATA DDR3 1600 4G×2 / Sapphire HD6850 1G / Cooler Master Classic U3
Adding up to about 780+500+350+1000+200=2830.
Additionally, a SteelSeries mouse for around 300, totaling 3100.
However, I hesitated when submitting the order on JD.com. I thought carefully about my previous experience playing CS:GO. At the office, using an i3 380 processor + 4G 1333 RAM + 8600GT at 1024 resolution with all effects off, I got about 70-80fps. Later, switching to a GT210 graphics card, I could reach over 100fps.
The monitor is a 19-inch BenQ from 2007, 1440*900. With the HD6850 graphics card, the performance would be significantly overkill, and it would be a waste just to play CS:GO.
So, I downgraded the configuration.
For the processor, since CS:GO is CPU-intensive, AMD wasn’t up to the task, but I felt the I3 was a bit wasteful. So, I went with Intel’s latest G2020, also based on the Ivy Bridge architecture, 22nm process, 2.9GHz clock speed, dual-core, 3M L3 cache. Compared to the I3 3220, it’s slightly inferior. The I3 3220 is dual-core with 4 threads, while the G2020 is dual-core with 2 threads; the I3 3220 has a 3.3GHz clock speed, while the G2020 is only 88% of that; other parameters are basically the same. For CS:GO, it should be no problem. After installing Win8 64-bit, I found the CPU usage stayed around 60%.
For the motherboard, since the G2020 doesn’t support 1600MHz RAM, I chose an older H61 motherboard, Gigabyte GA-H61MA-D3V, which supports my two long-standing USB3.0-less flash drives, all-solid-state small board, JD price 400 yuan.
For RAM, I had to go with 1333MHz. Given my full trust in Micron products, I chose a 4G×2 kit with timings of 9-9-9-24, priced at 280 yuan, which should be decent.
The graphics card was a big issue. After checking the graphics card hierarchy chart, I chose the HD6670, a cost-effective and barely adequate performer, priced under 500. With CS:GO at half effects, it can maintain over 100fps, basically meeting expectations.
Choosing the case was quite a hassle. I looked at almost every case on JD.com and didn’t find many appealing ones. Eventually, I went with a friend’s recommendation, the Antec OneS, a full-size case, which still feels too big.
The mouse was also a headache. An IE3.0 had a left-click issue turning into double-click, which I never got around to fixing. A Double Swallow had a broken scroll wheel, and I couldn’t find replacement parts. An IE4.0 seemed to have inaccurate positioning, which was frustrating. I needed a mouse not much smaller than the IE4.0, so I gave up on the SteelSeries and, after several comparisons, found the Razer DeathAdder to be about the right size. Taking advantage of a JD promotion, I bought one for 199.
Thus, my Nth computer was finally completed, with a total cost of about 480+500+280+410+190+200=2060.
Apart from installing CS:GO, I haven’t done much else with it, and the performance is still a bit overkill.