masachen

Distinguished
Mar 16, 2009
12
0
18,510
Approximate purchase date: Within 2 weeks

Budget: $800-1000 w/o rebates

System usage: Gaming

Parts not required: Monitor, mouse, keyboard

Parts preference: Buying from local retailers Country of origin: Taiwan

Parts preference: Intel cpu, Radeon 5xxx gpu

Overclocking / Crossfire: No / No

Monitor resolution: 1920x1080

Additional comments:


A while ago Ive asked for help on a ~$2000 gaming build and now both my cousins are wanting to build a new system too since their current is too old to upgrade. The listed budget is for a single computer tho, my cousins both have the same budget so i'll be building two identical PC's for them. I'm able to put together a computer just fine but as far as choosing parts for tighter budgets I'm lost for what gets the best performance. They want a Radeon 5xxx gpu for DX11 and prefer an intel cpu for some reason, no OC and CF. They mostly play fps games, occasionally mmorpgs and strategy.

Now, I have one concern myself. I couldnt really find a better category to post it in so Ill add it along in this post >_< I used to leave my computer at my cousins house and game with them during the weekends, since thats the only time I have to play and I dont have internet at my place. Ever since I've built my $2000 system I've not left it at their place anymore. Reason being, my cousins house is running on two prong outlets, probly ungrounded! I've heard that over time, static electricity will be able to collect and eventually build up to harmful levels. However, my parents house is the same and theyve used 3 laptops and 2 PC's for as long as I can remember and have no issues of hardware failures. My cousins and their parents have been doing this for years too and same, no problems. All the computers at my parents and cousins houses are probly no more than $300 each so they probably didnt care about the risk.

Would the size of the PSU affect this at all? What I mean is would a 750W or greater psu be more vulnerable to possible damages than a 450W or smaller psu on ungrounded two prong outlets? Or were they just lucky with their cheaper systems that are running just fine on two prong outlets until now and probably for years to come? If any of you guys have any input its more than welcome ^^

Thanks!
 
Solution
CPU/GPU combo - $536 shipped!!
AMD Phenom II x4 955 Black Edition/Asus 5870 GPU w/1 gb of DDR5!!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.314272

Mobo - $88 shipped - $10 MIRc = $78!! One of the better boards at this price range!
GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128392

RAM - $94 shipped! One of the faster RAM sets that run on stock voltage (1.5v)!!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277

Case - $100 shipped!! One of the better cases out there in the price range!!
Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021...
Well a quality PSU, whether 400w or 1,000w, will have the same issues with the supply power. The size doesn't matter. What matters is if you use a quality PSU (Antec/Seasonic/PCP&C/Corsair) or not.

Are you buying the parts here in the U.S.?? or do you have a link to a place you buy overseas??
 

masachen

Distinguished
Mar 16, 2009
12
0
18,510
I'll be buying from my local computer parts store here in Taiwan, a lot of them offer the same brands/products at prices equivalent to what I'd find in the US :) If you've got something you can put together for me you can just use the pricing in USD at what prices you can find currently. That should give me a rough idea as to what I should buy and if the prices are slightly off thats fine.

Thanks ^^
 
Here ya go:

CPU/GPU combo - $249 shipped!! Quad core and good for the future!! GPU the best at this budget and has a LIFETIME warranty!!
AMD Athlon II X4 620 Propus 2.6GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Processor - Retail
XFX HD-577A-ZNFC Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.314680

Mobo - $88 shipped - $10 MIRc = $78!! One of the better boards at this price range!
GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128392

RAM - $94 shipped! One of the faster RAM sets that run on stock voltage (1.5v)!!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277

Case - $60 shipped! Has 3 x 120 mm fans!! Great for cooling! Also looks tool-less!!
Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case ,comes with Three Fans-1x Front Blue LED 120mm Fan, 1x Top 140mm Fan, 1x Rear 120mm Fan, option Fans-2x Side 120mm Fan - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147153

PSU - $60 shipped! One of the better PSU's out there in this price range! 36A on the combined 12v rails and comes w/1 x 6 pin & 1 x 6+2 pin PCI-e power connectors for your GPU needs! I'ts also efficient too w/80-85% efficiency. Will allow plenty of room for upgrades later too!
BFG Tech GS-550 550W ATX12V V2.2 / EPS12V V2.8 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817702010

A cheaper Case/PSU combo for $95 - $15 MIRc = $70!!
Rosewill Challenger case w/Corsair 400cx PSU w/ 30A on the 12v rail and 1 x 6 pin PCI-e power connector.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.323346

HD - $55 shipped! One of the faster HD's in the price range and size!
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181

DVD Burner - $30 shipped! Comes with the software to read/burn DVD's!!
LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 24X DVD-R SATA Black 24X DVD Writer - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106334

Monitor - $169 shipped! Plenty of options here, so I'm just listing 1 that I'd consider. If you want HDMI input you can add about $10 - $20 onto this LCD price.
Acer P224Wbd Black 22" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 10000:1 (ACM) - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009174

Total w/BFG PSU - ~$800 - $10 MIRc = $790!!!
Total w/Case/PSU combo = ~$790 - $25 MIRc = $765!!!


Now if you can get more PSU w/this combo:
Rosewill Challenger case w/Corsair 650tx PSU for $130 - $10 MIRc = $120!!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.323345

With the combo above your total would be - ~$825 - $20 MIRc = $805!!!

It's up to you to decide which PSU/Case combo you like, but any of them will work for the build above!

This is a copy of a lower-end build. I'm working on a different one right now, but you get the picture with this one.
 
CPU/GPU combo - $536 shipped!!
AMD Phenom II x4 955 Black Edition/Asus 5870 GPU w/1 gb of DDR5!!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.314272

Mobo - $88 shipped - $10 MIRc = $78!! One of the better boards at this price range!
GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128392

RAM - $94 shipped! One of the faster RAM sets that run on stock voltage (1.5v)!!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277

Case - $100 shipped!! One of the better cases out there in the price range!!
Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021

PSU - $90 - $10 MIRc = $80!! What a steal of a deal for this price :)
CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005

HD - $55 shipped! One of the faster HD's in the price range and size!
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181

DVD Burner - $30 shipped! Comes with the software to read/burn DVD's!!
LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 24X DVD-R SATA Black 24X DVD Writer - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106334


Total ~$996 - $20 MIRc = $976!! Now obviously you probably aren't going to find the same prices/deals, but this would be one kickin' system! You could also drop down the GPU to a 5850 and also at the same time use an i5 750 CPU, if you'd like that, but the better the GPU, the better the gaming (in general)!!
 
Solution