Need prof opinions on budget gaming rig

[New_ocer]

Hello everyone, im new to this forum. I have been doing some research on a budget gaming rig that will be around $500-$550. I stumbled across this forum in the process and saw some of the awesome fact-based reasons that some of you guys give about computer components.

I stumbled across this barebones kit, and actually purchased it, but may send it back if i can get better value for my $509 i spent on it.


http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5307927&SRCCODE=GOOGLEBASE&cm_mmc_o=VRqCjC7BBTkwCjCECjCE

sorry couldn't get the url to work in any of my links


The one thing to note is that I have a a graphics card and a DVD-RW drive, so i thought this was a good setup, because my comp would be complete.

The graphics card is only a 8800gt, but ill be happy with that until i absolutely have to upgrade it, no need for overkill when the rest of the comp is very good for gaming.

But doing more research on this kit, i realized that this case for the components it holds is horrible, and that i would need to upgrade my case, pretty much voiding the whole purpose of the barebones because i only saved about the price of the case on purchasing it.

My mission now is to find all of these components for a similar price, but to get a good case, and decent cpu fan for about the same $510 price, assuming i can get some of the other components for a little less than in the barebones, and spend the money on the case and cpu fan/cooler.

Here are the 2 cases im looking at...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811517007

I really like this Azza case for 2 reasons. The first being that it is relatively inexpensive with a mail in rebate, coming to a total of $49.99. And the fact that it comes with 4 large, and supposedly quiet fans standard with it.

&

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5250568&CatId=32

I really like this case becuase it also comes with fans and a temp gauge, is relatively inexpensive at $64.99 and is a good company.


My quest for this rig is to overclock the I5 to 3.5 or 3.6ghz, which shouldnt be a problem with either of these cases (i hope), but it would be a problem with the case from the barebones i ordered.

All in all, I would like some feedback on what you guys think i should do. Should i try to get the individual components for cheaper, and that way have money for a cpu cooler and a decent case? And if i can the same components in that barebones kit for cheaper i would love some links to the sites, because I have been looking for awhile and cant seem to get everything under $550 (the max i want to spend on this rig)

Any help would be awesome, and i know this is long, but at least you cant say i wasn't detailed enough

 

[New_ocer]

Oh i forgot to mention a few things, I am getting Windows Ultimate for $13.00 (yes there are benefits to being a broke college students). And I am planning on getting a 24inch gaming lcd that runs a 1920x1080 resolution. Probably this one

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5074090&CatId=4420

Will my 8800gt and the rest of this I5 rig handle games at that resolution, on high settings? medium settings? low settings?

 

[jbakerlent]

Welcome to the forum. There's a link in my sig which you could fill out as well, but in the mean time, something like this would work nicely.

Intel Core i5 750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115215

ASUS P7P55 LX LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131604

OCZ Platinum 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227478

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181&Tpk=f3%20500gb

CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W ATX12V V2.2 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139004&Tpk=550%20vx

Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129066&cm_re=antec_300-_-11-129-066-_-Product

COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7 compatible RR-B10-212P-GP 120mm "heatpipe direct contact" Long life sleeve
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065

Since you didn't specify a purchase date, I thought I'd list the best parts even though they might be temporarily out of stock.

 

[New_ocer]

Thanks for the quick reply, and i generally agreed or understood the reason for most of the pc you put together for me. I do have a few questions though.

I just added all that up, and even after 3 seperate rebates for +$10 each it came around to about $620, which is a tad high, especially becuase I have to wait for the rebates.

I wanted to know why you chose a different mobo, different HD, and diff case. Im a newb to mobos, so what is the justification for getting that board, possibly better OCing capabilities? As for a HD I dont plan on running more than 1 HD, or any RAID or anything, so im going for any value on a 500gb or more drive, and is samsung known for good hds? And the case is about the same price as the others, is there a reason for choosing it over the others?

But thanks for giving me your opinion, I do appreciate it

 

[sonic-boom]

Both Asus mobos and that case are well respected. As far as the spinpoint f3 its the fastest you can buy.

 

[jbakerlent]

I'll work on getting the price down.
The principal reason for the mobo change is that Intel mobos are quite bad at overclocking when compared to Asus ones (and you stated that you planned on a pretty high overclock). Either of your cases would do, it's just that the 300 is high-quality, and from a reliable company. Yes, the F3 is the best HDD available and Samsung is reliable.

Edit: Sonic-Boom addressed most of this while I was typing.

 

[New_ocer]

ok thanks jbaker and sonic-boom for clearing the reason for the HD, case, and mobo up for me. Next question is, why that 550w psu when i can get

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3276567&CatId=2533

for about $15 cheaper and 200more Watts.

Im still trying to cut costs here and there, tell me what u think.

 

[jbakerlent]

Sorry, I'm not going to mince my words here. That PSU is ***. I understand your thinking, but not all PSUs are created equally - that one doesn't even have Active PFC or 80+ certification! See the PSU section of my guide if you want to read a little more about PSUs.

 

[New_ocer]

thanks for clearing that up jbaker, people like you is the reason why i posted on this forum to begin with, you know what your talkin about.

I just found an I5 for $149.99, that my brother-in-law could pickup for me (since they don't ship), so thats an extra $50 to save, unless there is something wrong with this cpu, or its different in any way.

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0317379

 

[jbakerlent]

Nope, that CPU is just a great deal - no hidden drawbacks.