- Oct 15, 2012
- 186
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Ok, to start off, I've already built the machine, but as I am open to possible component changes I wanted to write this.
I came from a gaming laptop that has had a bad reliability record with me (sent 2x in last year for repairs under warranty which is now expired) so I decided I would build a desktop since I don't go out as often and wanted something more reliable.
Games I play: Sims 3, Sims 2, Command and Conquer 3, Simcity (new), Minecraft, Supreme Commander 1 and 2, Borderlands 1 and 2, probably the most demanding game I have in my library is Crysis/ Crysis 2, or GTA 4. (Not much of a fps but Crysis games were gifted to me and are probably the most demanding games I own, but I don't play them often, come to think of it I haven't played those for about a year almost. But have played the others more often.)
I also do video, and audio editing, as will as music composing on my computer so it warrants an i7 cpu.
My laptop:
i7-3610QM 2.3GHZ
16GB Ram
Nvidia GTX 675M 2GB GDDR5
17" 1920x1080 Display 120Hz capable, but NOT a 3D screen.
MY NEW BUILD! ALL parts where bought from MICROCENTER
i7-4770K 3.4GHZ- $279.99
16GB Ballistix Ram-$129.99
GIGABYTE GA-Z87X-UD3H LGA 1150 Motherboard- $179.99
EVGA GTX 770 SC 2GB GPU- $419.99
Samsung 840 EVO 120GB SSD- $99.99
1TB Hitachi OEM Drive- $59.99
LG Blu-ray Burner Drive OEM- $69.99
Thermaltake Level 10 GT Case- $209.99
Corsair HX850 Professional Series PSU 80+ GOLD- $159.99
Total before savings: $1609.91+ tax = $1722.60 (roughly)
I put the prices I paid for everything, some prices have a bundle price, such as I instantly got $30 off the motherboard for buying it with a cpu, and $10 off each the ram and SSD for buying them with with a motherboard and computer build. The price change is reflected below:
$1559.91+ tax = $1669.10 (roughly)
Now I also have a few mail-in rebates, but I am holding off on those until I get opinions of current build.
But there is these rebates to consider:
$20 rebate on the case bringing the case to- $189.99
$10 rebate on PSU bringing the psu to- $149.99
$20 rebate on GPU bringing the GPU to- $399.99
This brings the full system build cost down to about: $1619.10
I am set on the Case as I am in love with it, lol. But if I can get close to the same fps on most of my games with a lower end gpu say I'd be open to that. I don't NEED the latest and greatest and from what I have been reading the GTX 770 is a GTX 680 with a little more oomph. I only play at 1080p and best graphics settings I can pull off (which is usually Ultra or just below Ultra, usually I have VSync on so most of the time it limits my fps to 60 as I am using a 60Hz 1080p 24" monitor. I also try to keep to the 60 fps if possible as I can't tell the difference after that and it just seems a waste. I don't NEED bragging rights. The i7 is kind of a required evil since I am working with video and such. Plus I would like as futureproofing as possible, which is why I went with the 4770K. Otherwise I would have saved a few dollars and went with an i5 as I read they are great for gaming. Also I went with Haswell as it was a full system build and the cpu was only $10 more over the Ivy Bridge system. Anyhow, I am within the return policy at Microcenter and figured I would see what people thought of my build and ways to cut a few costs. My laptop was pretty much good enough for me in terms of specs, though I know comparing Mobile and Desktop stuff is 2 different things. Which is why I am writing this.
I bought all my parts from: the Central Ohio/Columbus Store
http://www.microcenter.com/
You may need to select the store to see what it has in stock. So if there was a way I could downgrade my gpu and still keep a decent framerate and get a little money back that would be awesome!
I prefer Nvidia, but am open to AMD as long as it runs, lol.
If this is the best I can do on price/ performance, please say so. As I am happy with what it can do with it so far. But if I can cut the costs down some, I will be going back to Microcenter in a day or so to return a few items I didn't need for the build (24- pin ATX and 4-8 pin CPU motherboard extension cables as well as a Flash drive I really didn't need and decided to return.)
Notes: I already have a Samsung 24" 1920x1080p monitor, Razer Blackwidow Ultimate Keyboard and a Logitech G700 gaming mouse and a speaker setup I am happy with, that's why these parts weren't in the costs.
Sorry for being so long winded, just wanted to make sure I had as much info on here as possible. Thanks for the help in advance!
I figured I would put this under "Components" as I am open to revamping the system if it means saved money yet I would still get the performance. But if this is the wrong place I am sorry and can copy/paste it to the correct place and this thread can be removed.
UPDATE: I was thinking of backing down to a GTX 660 ti maybe or a GTX 760. It's a little over $100 cheaper. Not 100% certain on performance, but they each seem to get good enough fps for my uses. Opinions?
Any suggestions please give me a good reference, like a Corsair XXX PSU, or a EVGA GTX XXX Card. I will look into the cases and see if I can find something cheaper that I like. Suggestions would be great on those too. Prefeably a case that doesn't need any Motherboad extension cable is preferable. But this also needs to have the psu in mind as well. So a PSU and case. I AM open to adding more fans if need to (noise isn't much to me) but I liked that the Level 10 GT has 3x 200mm fans in it already and they provide really decent cooling as is. Also a reliable power supply is a must as the system is pretty much an all in one gamer, professional and a home server for minecraft and ftp so it'll be running almost 24/7. That's why I went with the PSU I did, it has a good rating a from what I could read it has very good reliability. (Practically server grade)
I came from a gaming laptop that has had a bad reliability record with me (sent 2x in last year for repairs under warranty which is now expired) so I decided I would build a desktop since I don't go out as often and wanted something more reliable.
Games I play: Sims 3, Sims 2, Command and Conquer 3, Simcity (new), Minecraft, Supreme Commander 1 and 2, Borderlands 1 and 2, probably the most demanding game I have in my library is Crysis/ Crysis 2, or GTA 4. (Not much of a fps but Crysis games were gifted to me and are probably the most demanding games I own, but I don't play them often, come to think of it I haven't played those for about a year almost. But have played the others more often.)
I also do video, and audio editing, as will as music composing on my computer so it warrants an i7 cpu.
My laptop:
i7-3610QM 2.3GHZ
16GB Ram
Nvidia GTX 675M 2GB GDDR5
17" 1920x1080 Display 120Hz capable, but NOT a 3D screen.
MY NEW BUILD! ALL parts where bought from MICROCENTER
i7-4770K 3.4GHZ- $279.99
16GB Ballistix Ram-$129.99
GIGABYTE GA-Z87X-UD3H LGA 1150 Motherboard- $179.99
EVGA GTX 770 SC 2GB GPU- $419.99
Samsung 840 EVO 120GB SSD- $99.99
1TB Hitachi OEM Drive- $59.99
LG Blu-ray Burner Drive OEM- $69.99
Thermaltake Level 10 GT Case- $209.99
Corsair HX850 Professional Series PSU 80+ GOLD- $159.99
Total before savings: $1609.91+ tax = $1722.60 (roughly)
I put the prices I paid for everything, some prices have a bundle price, such as I instantly got $30 off the motherboard for buying it with a cpu, and $10 off each the ram and SSD for buying them with with a motherboard and computer build. The price change is reflected below:
$1559.91+ tax = $1669.10 (roughly)
Now I also have a few mail-in rebates, but I am holding off on those until I get opinions of current build.
But there is these rebates to consider:
$20 rebate on the case bringing the case to- $189.99
$10 rebate on PSU bringing the psu to- $149.99
$20 rebate on GPU bringing the GPU to- $399.99
This brings the full system build cost down to about: $1619.10
I am set on the Case as I am in love with it, lol. But if I can get close to the same fps on most of my games with a lower end gpu say I'd be open to that. I don't NEED the latest and greatest and from what I have been reading the GTX 770 is a GTX 680 with a little more oomph. I only play at 1080p and best graphics settings I can pull off (which is usually Ultra or just below Ultra, usually I have VSync on so most of the time it limits my fps to 60 as I am using a 60Hz 1080p 24" monitor. I also try to keep to the 60 fps if possible as I can't tell the difference after that and it just seems a waste. I don't NEED bragging rights. The i7 is kind of a required evil since I am working with video and such. Plus I would like as futureproofing as possible, which is why I went with the 4770K. Otherwise I would have saved a few dollars and went with an i5 as I read they are great for gaming. Also I went with Haswell as it was a full system build and the cpu was only $10 more over the Ivy Bridge system. Anyhow, I am within the return policy at Microcenter and figured I would see what people thought of my build and ways to cut a few costs. My laptop was pretty much good enough for me in terms of specs, though I know comparing Mobile and Desktop stuff is 2 different things. Which is why I am writing this.
I bought all my parts from: the Central Ohio/Columbus Store
http://www.microcenter.com/
You may need to select the store to see what it has in stock. So if there was a way I could downgrade my gpu and still keep a decent framerate and get a little money back that would be awesome!
I prefer Nvidia, but am open to AMD as long as it runs, lol.
If this is the best I can do on price/ performance, please say so. As I am happy with what it can do with it so far. But if I can cut the costs down some, I will be going back to Microcenter in a day or so to return a few items I didn't need for the build (24- pin ATX and 4-8 pin CPU motherboard extension cables as well as a Flash drive I really didn't need and decided to return.)
Notes: I already have a Samsung 24" 1920x1080p monitor, Razer Blackwidow Ultimate Keyboard and a Logitech G700 gaming mouse and a speaker setup I am happy with, that's why these parts weren't in the costs.
Sorry for being so long winded, just wanted to make sure I had as much info on here as possible. Thanks for the help in advance!
I figured I would put this under "Components" as I am open to revamping the system if it means saved money yet I would still get the performance. But if this is the wrong place I am sorry and can copy/paste it to the correct place and this thread can be removed.
UPDATE: I was thinking of backing down to a GTX 660 ti maybe or a GTX 760. It's a little over $100 cheaper. Not 100% certain on performance, but they each seem to get good enough fps for my uses. Opinions?
Any suggestions please give me a good reference, like a Corsair XXX PSU, or a EVGA GTX XXX Card. I will look into the cases and see if I can find something cheaper that I like. Suggestions would be great on those too. Prefeably a case that doesn't need any Motherboad extension cable is preferable. But this also needs to have the psu in mind as well. So a PSU and case. I AM open to adding more fans if need to (noise isn't much to me) but I liked that the Level 10 GT has 3x 200mm fans in it already and they provide really decent cooling as is. Also a reliable power supply is a must as the system is pretty much an all in one gamer, professional and a home server for minecraft and ftp so it'll be running almost 24/7. That's why I went with the PSU I did, it has a good rating a from what I could read it has very good reliability. (Practically server grade)
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