Hi. I'm configuring a gaming computer for my friend. He will primarily use it for recording games like day-z and cod. His budget is around 1200. Is there any way I can trim about $50 off without performance loss? He does need a monitor and an OS. The reason I went with such a large power supply was because he wants to sli in the future and maybe over clock his cpu. Thanks.
$1,200 build for a friend.
- Thread starter scy1scy1
- Start date
Solution
vmem
Splendid
- Feb 17, 2012
- 3,133
- 6
- 21,465
typically easy places to save a few bucks are:
1. go with stock CPU cooler if you don't plan on OCing (or a cheaper cooler such as CM 212 EVO)
2. Lose the optical drive if you don't REALLY need it
3. Go with a smaller SSD or ditch it entirely. sure an SSD performs great and once you're hooked you can't go back, but there's nothing wrong with 7200rpm HDDs
4. get less EXTREME ram sticks. anything over 1600 mhz is overkill for gaming for the most part. you can easily save $50-100 bucks here and lose less than 1% of gaming performance
1. go with stock CPU cooler if you don't plan on OCing (or a cheaper cooler such as CM 212 EVO)
2. Lose the optical drive if you don't REALLY need it
3. Go with a smaller SSD or ditch it entirely. sure an SSD performs great and once you're hooked you can't go back, but there's nothing wrong with 7200rpm HDDs
4. get less EXTREME ram sticks. anything over 1600 mhz is overkill for gaming for the most part. you can easily save $50-100 bucks here and lose less than 1% of gaming performance
vmem
Splendid
- Feb 17, 2012
- 3,133
- 6
- 21,465
1. here's a cheaper wifi adapter: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833320074
2. Honestly I think you should lose the SSD. it'll increase boot-times and map loading times while gaming, but that's all. SSDs are great, but they're not essential for performance, especially with a tight budget.
other that that, it's a fine build. however, do be aware that the OEM windows licence is tied to the motherboard, and socket AM3+ has been around for like 5 years and is more or less considered dead...
2. Honestly I think you should lose the SSD. it'll increase boot-times and map loading times while gaming, but that's all. SSDs are great, but they're not essential for performance, especially with a tight budget.
other that that, it's a fine build. however, do be aware that the OEM windows licence is tied to the motherboard, and socket AM3+ has been around for like 5 years and is more or less considered dead...
Thank you for your suggestions! I think I will use that wifi adapter and maybe downgrade the ssd. My friend would like to do some hardcore gaming and probably some overclocking, so I will keep the fan. I think he should keep the optical drive so he had easy access for drivers during assembly and different disks like movies later. Is there something I should do about that motherboard/ OEM OS? I think none OEM is much more expensive. Is there a better motherboard?
vmem
Splendid
- Feb 17, 2012
- 3,133
- 6
- 21,465
I do many builds for friends and I haven't been installing an optical drive for about a year or so. the only time where you need it is for OS installation, where I use a bootable USB instead. You should honestly only install the most up-to-date drivers by downloading them from the motherboard manufacturer's website. typically I use another computer to do this and put everything on a USB stick. If your friend will actually make good use of the optical drive, then that's different
As for the OEM OS, I am aware that non-OEM licenses are more expensive, and this is because you can transfer those to a different motherboard, and essentially use it "forever". as for the motherboard itself, it's a fine motherboard. my main problem is with the chipset itself which lacks native USB 3.0 support and PCIe 3.0. but this is common with AMD motherboards (they're taking a break on desktop for a few years).
If you have a microcenter within driving distance, they sell CPU / motherboard bundles VERY cheap. you can get an intel i5 unlocked CPU with a z97 motherboard for the same price
vmem :
I do many builds for friends and I haven't been installing an optical drive for about a year or so. the only time where you need it is for OS installation, where I use a bootable USB instead. You should honestly only install the most up-to-date drivers by downloading them from the motherboard manufacturer's website. typically I use another computer to do this and put everything on a USB stick. If your friend will actually make good use of the optical drive, then that's different
As for the OEM OS, I am aware that non-OEM licenses are more expensive, and this is because you can transfer those to a different motherboard, and essentially use it "forever". as for the motherboard itself, it's a fine motherboard. my main problem is with the chipset itself which lacks native USB 3.0 support and PCIe 3.0. but this is common with AMD motherboards (they're taking a break on desktop for a few years).
If you have a microcenter within driving distance, they sell CPU / motherboard bundles VERY cheap. you can get an intel i5 unlocked CPU with a z97 motherboard for the same price
Thank you very much for all your help! ;D I have updated the build and its turning out great. Your right about the optical drive its mostly unnecessary. Thanks again!
TRENDING THREADS
-
Question How can I make my AMD GPU scale *all* resolutions to 1080p, even resolutions that are "supported" by my TV?
- Started by Sol33t303
- Replies: 7
-
News Microsoft updates Windows 11 24H2 requirements, CPU must support SSE4.2 or the OS will not boot- Started by Admin
- Replies: 13
-
News Windows 11 update brings advertisements to the start menu
- Started by Admin
- Replies: 13
-
Question Is this custom game spyware or malware?- Started by preguntonontrack
- Replies: 3
-
Question New Build GPU help- ASRock Steel Legend OC Radeon RX 7900 GRE - Keeps turning off
- Started by bp240
- Replies: 4
-
Question PC randomly not recognizing USB devices after reboot
- Started by crasherT
- Replies: 4
-
Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite and X Plus: Specs, release date, benchmarks, and more
- Started by Admin
- Replies: 7
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram