Gaming Pc build $1700-$1800 Usd (First time)

snnm

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Mar 29, 2013
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10,510
Hello,
i would appreciate if you guys could help me build a PC for gaming and surfing the web. Thx in advance. (I'm a total noob in this subject i don't really know anything about building a good PC)


Approximate Purchase Date: e.g.:June

Budget Range: $1600-$1800 usd

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming,Web surfing

Are you buying a monitor: No


Do you need to buy OS: No

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: new egg or any other cheap one

Location: City, State/Region, Country - Colombia, but in June i will be going to USA(NY).

Parts Preferences: Amd Gpu

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe

Your Monitor Resolution: I don't really know, i will be using a 32 inch TV and it usually is 1080p

Additional Comments: Hm, better if it includes WiFi card and everything that's useful.

 
It may be worth it to wait for Haswell, but ....

This is a bit more pricey, but seeing as you don't plan to SLI or CrossFire, I decided to make it smaller. More portable. Great for LAN parties.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($209.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4-M Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Patriot Gamer 2 Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($47.98 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($139.67 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($67.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card ($389.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Silverstone TJ08B-E MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($94.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1238.57
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
 

g-unit1111

Titan
Moderator
$1800 here's what I would suggest:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($220.98 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U9B SE2 37.9 CFM CPU Cooler ($60.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($134.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($63.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: OCZ Vector Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card ($419.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Titanium Grey) ATX Mid Tower Case ($134.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk II 750W 80 PLUS Silver Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1368.87
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-01 13:58 EDT-0400)

That gives you $400 to add whatever else you need.
 
Solution

snnm

Honorable
Mar 29, 2013
22
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10,510


Thx alot for your help, may you recommend me a good keyboard and a mouse please, and btw if i plan on spending around 1.8k usd should i crossfire? or that would be overkill?
 

g-unit1111

Titan
Moderator


Crossfire definitely isn't overkill depending on how many monitors you plan to run and what resolution they're at.

As far as keyboard and mouse - a lot of that is really personal preference. I typically use wireless keyboards as that gives me more room to move around the room, but answers will definitely vary from person to person. I plan on investing in a mechanical keyboard like the Corsair K90 but that's a long way down.
 

snnm

Honorable
Mar 29, 2013
22
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10,510


thx again mate, btw with those 400$ can't you recommend me a better gpu? or a better fan please or should i get more SSD? also i plan on running only 1 monitor.(1080p).Btw i won't really upgrade in a long time ( atleast 2-3 years, so i hope this build is enough)
Thx in advance :D
 

boulbox

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Apr 5, 2012
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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($209.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: NZXT HAVIK 140 90.3 CFM CPU Cooler ($61.00 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($134.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($56.95 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk Ultra Plus 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($162.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($66.61 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card ($449.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 850W 80 PLUS Silver Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($122.75 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1360.24
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-01 16:49 EDT-0400)

A revised build. $30 more for a 256GB SSD. The Cooler is changeable to whatever fits your need same with case.
The memory are 1866 but can be tuned down to 1600 while being cheaper than the other DIMMs. Got a GPU that has a better cooler, the other choice would be the HIS one. The XFX is cheaper if you go through the rebate process though.

 

boulbox

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Apr 5, 2012
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I would say to switch the motherboard, it does not have an SLI/CFX feature for your 750W PSU. 16GB Ram is not needed but you can get it to just reuse it in a future build since i don't think games will use that much ram anyways. Switch the Cooler, sure it may be like "it is easy to install and you can add tall ram" but the performance of it is not that great compared to cheaper air coolers. Switch the HDD to a Western Digitial Blue as it has a better warranty, price, and quality altogether. Switch Brand of GPU since XFX coolers have not been that great this time around.
 

Valentin_N

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Mar 24, 2013
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Thanks for the input. I know sweclockers tested the XFX and it overclocked well and was quite. What a air cooler do you think of? I am aware that the higher the CFM is the better.
 

g-unit1111

Titan
Moderator


It doesn't get much better than the 7970 GHz edition for a single card. If you insist on AMD a second will run you $450 - going over budget. If you want to stay within budget go for a dual GTX 670 setup - it will give you equivalent in performance to the $1K GTX 690 for $300 less.
 

g-unit1111

Titan
Moderator


You wouldn't gain anything from purchasing an i7-3770K or an i7-3820. The i5 will last you a long time. I have the same CPU and it's fine.
 

boulbox

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Not really on CPU as every years CPU(since i5 release) has only been an increase of a few %. i5 is good for now, my old first gen i5 still performs great for games so i just gave it to my little brother since he is starting to get into computer games and pretty much runs really nice. I would expect the same from this gen i5
 

snnm

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Mar 29, 2013
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Hey hm, should i get the gtx 670 2gb or 4gb?
Btw thx everyone for your replies

 

g-unit1111

Titan
Moderator


The first generation i5/i7 was Nehalem (LGA 1366) and that was a huge improvement over the C2D and C2Q days. Then Clarkdale (LGA 1156) was the first to show only a 10% improvement. Then Sandy Bridge (LGA 1155) and now Ivy Bridge (LGA 1155) showed the same patterns. Haswell (LGA 1150) and whatever comes after that will show the same pattern of performance improvement.
 

snnm

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Mar 29, 2013
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Hey there again^^, thx for all the help you have give me, but i got a question, is that cpu cooler good enough(To let me OC without worries)?
And it is true XFX brand is bad? i have heard that many times
also if you wouldn't mind, may you add more SSD and Storage please?... Sorry for bothering you so much ^^
 

snnm

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Mar 29, 2013
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Larger capacity, i don't really think 128 gb SSD is enough and is there really a big difference between SSD and HDD? ( I don't really know i have always used really bad computers so i expect this new pc im planning to build to amaze me)

 
Yes. A SSD (Solid-State Drive) has no mechanical parts. It is not an actual disk. It's like a bunch of RAM cards. Data you put in it will result in faster load times. While it's not as fast as RAM itself, it is many times faster than a regular HDD.

That being said, a SSD is usually used for faster boot times and faster launch times of your applications and games. A SSD has no other advantages other than that. That is why a SSD is mainly used to house the operating system, installed applications, and a few games and nothing else. Music, movies, etc do not benefit running off a SSD because their load times are fast enough. This is why you will usually see a SSD paired with a HDD. Think of the HDD as storage for everything that should not be in the SSD.

Now, a 128GB SSD is more than enough for your OS, any installed applications, and a few games. I would like to point out that not all games benefit from running off a SSD. Most Valve (Steam) games do not. Most MMORPG games and FPS games do benefit from it. Games that require you to play as a team in coop play usually don't benefit because while you can load the map first, you still have to wait for your teammates.

Feel free to Google to learn more about SSD and how to manage it. A few basic points: do not fill up a SSD to more than 85% capacity, keep writes to a minimal, disable indexing on your SSD, do not disk defrag your SSD.
 

g-unit1111

Titan
Moderator


1. Yes - Noctua makes some of the best air coolers on the market.
2. No - I have heard mixed reviews of XFX overall but I would definitely not say they're a bad brand.
3. I don't usually - you don't really come out ahead purchasing a bigger SSD or HD in terms of cost per GB and SSDs slow down once you load them above 80% capacity.
 

snnm

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Mar 29, 2013
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Alright, Thx for all your help :D.