How to save money here and there with this 1500$ build.

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benjaminhogg

Honorable
May 26, 2013
10
0
10,510
Hi everyone

I came across this great build that fits into my budget here; http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Qapn

The only problem is I'm not confident that i've exhausted every option in finding deals/discounts/combos for these parts. Are the websites listed the best I will find or is it worth it to look around for better deals? Has anyone seen anything particularly cheap this week that could be used as an alternative to any of these parts or seen anything that is on this list, listed at a discount?
 
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elemein

elemein

Honorable
Mar 4, 2013
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Answer these questions:

- Are you overclocking? If so, heavily?
- Do you need RAM speed support for up to 2600 MHz?
- Do you need 240 GB for SSD?
- Do you need that case? Any particular reason you need that one particularily?
- Any reason you need that Sapphire 7970?

You can get this build quite a bit cheaper. Answer the questions and I'll see what I can do.
 
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Onus

Onus

Titan
Jan 27, 2006
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For moderate overclocking, a $20 Xigmatek Gaia will be sufficient (both of my rigs use that one).
Unless you're planning on multiple graphics cards, 500W-550W will be sufficient for a single HD7970. I've got one mining BTC 24/7 and it is pulling around 311W from the wall. That's with the GPU running flat out, at up to 99%. While gaming, it won't be so busy.
That is a lot of money on the case. Fractal Design, Corsair, Antec, and Rosewill all have decent cases in the $80-$100 range.
Take a look at the $160 MSI Z77A-GD65 Gaming LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130686
I reviewed it on 5/21 last week; it is a very impressive board, and I'm not generally fond of MSI.
 
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ksham

ksham

Splendid
Mar 29, 2013
8,398
1
29,960
What is the build for? Just gaming?

Try:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.74 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($139.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($51.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Plextor M5S Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($103.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card ($459.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair C70 Military Green (Green) ATX Mid Tower Case ($129.99 @ NCIX US)
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 ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1290.65
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
 
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ingtar33

ingtar33

Glorious
Dec 17, 2012
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well i can get that build down to $1,100... but i'm not sure what you're asking. are you asking "are there parts as good as these that i can get for cheaper?" or as you asking... "can i build a build cheaper then this that will perform as well?

or are you asking "do i need all these parts can i build cheaper and get the same performance for my needs?"

here is matching your basic concept

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.74 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4-M Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Mushkin Redline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($62.98 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($124.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($67.24 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card ($443.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 431 Plus (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer ($17.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1206.87
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-27 22:44 EDT-0400)

if you're only gonna game on one monitor and in just 1080p, you don't need that gpu... and i'd suggest this build.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.74 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4-M Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Mushkin Redline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($62.98 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($124.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($67.24 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card ($191.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 431 Plus (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer ($17.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $919.87
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-27 22:47 EDT-0400)
 
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benjaminhogg

Honorable
May 26, 2013
10
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10,510
Okay. Sorry I didn't provide much info. Let's correct that;

- Are you overclocking? If so, heavily? I will not be overclocking heavily, if I do at all. I have a lot of friends that know their way around a PC so if I do, I'd have to employ their help.
- Do you need RAM speed support for up to 2600 MHz? I don't know.
- Do you need 240 GB for SSD? I heard the SSD is the best and well worth the money. I'd like enough space for quite a number of games, since this will be a gaming PC.
- Do you need that case? Any particular reason you need that one particularly? Yes I need a case, not this one particularly. That said I have had a bad experience with an ANTEC case that had a poorly mounted frontal usb interface, it would get pushed in and moved around every time you plugged something into the usb.
- Any reason you need that Sapphire 7970? Gaming. I want to play BF3 well and have a PC that is a bit future proof.

"do i need all these parts can i build cheaper and get the same performance for my needs?" this one.

The goal with this PC would really be to play battlefield 3 on highest setting with around 90-100 fps
 
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benjaminhogg

Honorable
May 26, 2013
10
0
10,510
One more thing. I have a digital TV that I was hoping to link to the computer, possibly running as a second monitor... f that counts for anything. So is the Radeon 7970 just overkill if you dont plan on running two monitors?
 
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ingtar33

ingtar33

Glorious
Dec 17, 2012
9,024
213
46,040


yeah... generally that's the case. my general rule of thumb is if you're gonna game in resolutions over 1080p or on multiple monitors grab the biggest gpu you can afford.

but if you're gonna game at 1080p or lower, and have just one monitor, you can definitely scale back the gpu... how much you can scale it back depends on your use, the refresh rate of your monitor and ultimately the max res you're gonna game at.

for example if you were gonna game at 1024x768 ~ pretty much anything in the current gen gaming cards will do... heck you might be going overboard with an A10-5800k. thats how lame that res is. but there are people who come around talking about spending $480 on getting a 680 and they're on some 14" 5 year old cheep ass flat screen that can only manage 1024x768 resolution. telling them they should get more gpu then a 7750/7770/650/650ti/6670 would be a crime. frankly, my advice usually includes getting a 7870/660 and a new HD monitor.

at 1080p you probably can be happy with a middle of the road gpu... a 7850/650ti BOOST at the minimum, a 660/7870/660ti or 7950 on the high end... depending on budget. generally the 7950 is a bit too much gpu for a single monitor at 1080p, but it's price is so low and the game bundle pretty enticing, it sorta falls into this middle camp by virtue of the price.

Once people start talking about higher res then 1080p and multiple monitors then you've got to start looking at the high end cards like the 7950/670/680/7970/780/titan. (i generally dislike the concept of the dual gpu cards, so usually the idea of suggesting a 690 or 7990 doesn't enter my head)
 
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ksham

ksham

Splendid
Mar 29, 2013
8,398
1
29,960
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3350P 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($187.98 @ NCIX)
Motherboard: ASRock H77 Pro4/MVP ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($79.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Crucial M4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($113.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ NCIX)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card ($459.99 @ NCIX)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: Silverstone Strider Essential 600W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($58.99 @ NCIX)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Canada Computers)
Total: $1122.90
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
 
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