Help me finish media center/gaming budget build (~800)

Chinrichs · Mar 30, 2013

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($26.69 @ Outlet PC)
Motherboard: MSI Z77A-G45 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($119.98 @ Outlet PC)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($47.98 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Green 1TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($72.35 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition 1GB Video Card ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Antec Three Hundred Two ATX Mid Tower Case ($66.99 @ Microcenter)
Total: $643.97

Here is my build so far. I really need help picking a good power supply (I'm at a loss for which to buy) and also would like to be able to play Blu-rays. Would that require more than just a blu ray drive?/which blu ray drive do you guys recommend.

burritobob · Mar 30, 2013

Nope having a Blu-Ray drive is all that you need to run blu-ray disks. I would recommend however that you get a 2TB drive if this is a media center only because it may fill up a bit faster than you would like.

But that is only 30$ or so, with the extra 100$ to spend you may want to look into a 7870XT only because that way you can get the best gaming performance out of your PC.

marshallbradley · Mar 30, 2013

Since you'll be overclocking with that setup, something in the 500W+ range from Corsair/Seasonic/PC Power and cooling will do you very well (Antec/XFX are also options).

My recommendation would be something like this: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-power-supply-cmpsu500cxv2 It's actually cheaper than the 430W unit at the moment, so it's a real sweet deal, and will be able to run higher end video cards than the 7770 (which I'd really recommend upgrading, it's not really suitable for modern games at any reasonable resolution). burritobob's suggestion of a 7870 XT is great, and should keep you fairly close to budget even with the Blu Ray drive and PSU added in.

M

burritobob · Mar 30, 2013

I agree with marshall the 500W is good for your purpose and can run better cards.

Chinrichs · Mar 30, 2013

Any specific 7870xt's that you guys recommend?

ballerslife · Mar 30, 2013

All the sapphire cards are out of stock, so I would recommend getting the powercolor 7870 LE, same architecture as the 7870XT

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131484

marshallbradley · Mar 30, 2013

Unfortunately there aren't that many different variants, as a lot of the big companies aren't producing them (such as Gigabyte/ASUS). If you can get a good price on it and find it in stock, the Sapphire Edition is probably the nicest. Don't bother spending money on a pre-overclocked version however. All the variants are fairly good though, from what I've read.

M

ballerslife · Mar 30, 2013

The one I listed has the same architecture as the Sapphire, so the same performance. Although the temps are a bit on the downside. Anyway, its a TomsHardware recommended GPU.

burritobob · Mar 30, 2013

Sapphire is also the cheapest of the 7870XTs, and all of them can overclock VERY well from what I understand.

Chinrichs · Mar 31, 2013

any recommendations on a cheap but good case (no lights as it is going into family room). Not sure I'm dead set on the Antec one. Also, can someone link one of those 7870xt's? I cant seem to find any that are in stock.

Chinrichs · Mar 31, 2013

also. why aren't nvidia cards acceptable? Should I be looking into their cards?

marshallbradley · Mar 31, 2013

nVidia are acceptable, they're just currently losing the price war pretty hard at the price point of a 7870 XT. I think a GTX 660 is about the same price (or within $25 of it), which is even slower than just a normal 7870 (not the XT version). The 660 Ti (which is the next step up for nVidia) is about $300, and still worse than the 7870 XT in most peoples eyes. That's why all the XTs are selling out so very fast.

There's 2 in stock here: http://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-DL-DVI-I-SL-DVI-D-PCI-Express-11199-19-20G/dp/B00A2J4ROE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1364752034&sr=8-1&keywords=7870+xt You have to be fast though, I imagine their selling like hot cakes.

The Fractal Design 1000 is another quality case, that's very subtle and at the budget end of the spectrum: http://www.amazon.com/Fractal-Design-Cases-Black-FD-CA-CORE-1000-BL/dp/B0074V2UXI/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1364752262&sr=1-1&keywords=fractal+design

Another case which I slightly prefer over the one you've picked out, in both price and looks is the "Antec One" (having said that it seems to be a bit more expensive across the pond than it is here in the UK): http://www.amazon.com/Antec-One-Computer-Case/dp/B006TVQU6C/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1364752620&sr=1-1&keywords=Antec+One

Is there anything specifically about the Antec Three Hundred Two that you dislike? The problem with recommending cases is that in many ways they are such a subjective component, much of the 'value' we assign to them is based on how much we like the looks.

M

ballerslife · Mar 31, 2013

marshallbradley :

nVidia are acceptable, they're just currently losing the price war pretty hard at the price point of a 7870 XT. I think a GTX 660 is about the same price (or within $25 of it), which is even slower than just a normal 7870 (not the XT version). The 660 Ti (which is the next step up for nVidia) is about $300, and still worse than the 7870 XT in most peoples eyes. That's why all the XTs are selling out so very fast.

There's 2 in stock here: http://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-DL-DVI-I-SL-DVI-D-PCI-Express-11199-19-20G/dp/B00A2J4ROE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1364752034&sr=8-1&keywords=7870+xt You have to be fast though, I imagine their selling like hot cakes.

The Fractal Design 1000 is another quality case, that's very subtle and at the budget end of the spectrum: http://www.amazon.com/Fractal-Design-Cases-Black-FD-CA-CORE-1000-BL/dp/B0074V2UXI/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1364752262&sr=1-1&keywords=fractal+design

Another case which I slightly prefer over the one you've picked out, in both price and looks is the "Antec One" (having said that it seems to be a bit more expensive across the pond than it is here in the UK): http://www.amazon.com/Antec-One-Computer-Case/dp/B006TVQU6C/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1364752620&sr=1-1&keywords=Antec+One

Is there anything specifically about the Antec Three Hundred Two that you dislike? The problem with recommending cases is that in many ways they are such a subjective component, much of the 'value' we assign to them is based on how much we like the looks.

M

The card you listed isn't a XT card. Get the powercolor card I mentioned, it's the same performance of an XT, but different brand. Marshall's card is just a regular 7870.

marshallbradley · Mar 31, 2013

Oh damn my mistake! Good spot, I saw Sapphire and jumped to conclusions. The Powercolor you mentioned is also out of stock though.

M

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