[New System Build] Budget Gaming...

[will759227]

So, i decided to build a rig to take to work each night, it'll be a bit bulky, but i park literally 3 steps from my guard house... lol Laptop's been there done that, doesn't work for me. Just too little power for the $$$...
At first i wanted a i7 920.. now after seeing what the i3 530 overclocked can do... i want that, and i'll save a few hundread bucks in the mean time. Here is what i have so far... The case/psu i am up in the air about.. Heard bad things about the psu from someone, but yet it has good newegg reviews. My other alternative is the mid tower azzaz case from over on slickdeals from a few days ago. The Helios. Which i liked black/Blue led and 5 fans. I believe this one i am including now has 6.. Anyway, here is the hardware i have been looking at and prices ive seen. The Motherboard i changed from a biostar to a gigabyte just because i thought it might OC better since ive heard of them before... this is my first system im building, im excited and exhausted in the research ive done... I had it all set in my mind, 'till i realized the i3 530 it says on newegg doesn't work in the p55 motherboards. so i had to scrap the $150 board and go down to this other one.. Anyway enough rambling , im about to get off work.. So here it goes.

CASE :RAIDMAX Quantum ATX-798WB Black SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail --Combo deal with PSU $42
CPU : i3 530 106
Motherboard : GIGABYTE GA-H55M-S2H LGA 1156 Intel H55 HDMI Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Clarkdale Ready, HDMI, Full 1080P, Gameboost $96
Optical : Need cheap 20-25 optical drive... Staying away from the "Bluebird" LG on newegg for $23...
RAM : G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL8D-4GBHK - Retail $107
Hard drive : Western Digital Caviar Blue WD3200AAJS 320GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive $48
PSU : RAIDMAX HYBRID 2 RX-530SS 530W ATX12V V2.2/ EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Modular LED Power Supply - Retail $40




Any suggestions,tweaks better deals with same specs? or items i listed cheaper?
ram ideas? case ideas or psu ideas?

 

[MadAdmiral]

I have a suggestion. Follow the guidelines from my signature. We can't help you if we don't have a budget...

The i3/H55 is not a good gaming build. It's a great HTPC/low powered build, but is not good at gaming. If you're on a budget of around $1,000, stick to AMD for gaming. If it's higher, then get the i5-750.

RAIDMAX PSUs are POSs. You're skimping on a major component that when it goes bad can take the eniter build with it.

How do you suppose you're going to game without a discrete GPU? It just doesn't work.

I'm guessing your budget is about $500. In that case:

CPU/Mobo: X3 425 and GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P Combo for $124 after rebate
RAM: Mushkin Enhanced Blackline 2x2 GB 1600 mhz CAS Latency 7 $105 after rebate
HDD/PSU: Seagate 7200.12 500 GB and OCZ StealthXStream 600W Combo for $100 after rebate
Case: Antec 200 $40
Optical/HSF: Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus and cheap SATA DVD burner Combo for $44. You only need the HSF if you're definitely overclocking.
GPU: HD 4850 $100

Total: $513 after rebates.

 

[will759227]

The 5770 was the graphics card i was going to get, Should i disregard the 3.5 to 4.0ghz overclocks of the i3 530? i read it outperforms the i7 920 (when it's not overclocked).

 

[MadAdmiral]

Who doesn't overclock an i7-920? I'm not saying the i3 isn't a good CPU, it's just not a good GAMING CPU. I'd highly recommend it for an HTPC or low computing power PC, but it's just not optimized for gaming.

If you're going to buy an HD 5770, why didn't you include it in the list? This is why you should give us an actual budget. We can help, but only if we get information...

 

[will759227]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: As soon as possible
BUDGET RANGE: Less than 1000

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: General use and Gaming, it's only built for gaming, i have a laptop i can use already. But i wanna game. (at work) and no i do not want a gaming laptop.

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: (e.g.: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS) do not need any of the items you listed, actually.

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: whatever is cheapest, and bing is fine too.. COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: usa

PARTS PREFERENCES: Micro or Midtower -- I like this one actually, except black/blue http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10011751&ps=weekly_10011751
AND i only want INTEL cpu, not an AMD person. no matter what.

OVERCLOCKING: Yes SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Maybe

MONITOR RESOLUTION: for now i'll go with 1440x900. Monitor is on the "to buy list" and the one at work, is 1440x900 or lower.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I would like led lighting w/fans. That's why i like the tower i listed.
I do not have a microcenter or frys.., or i would already have bought the i7 920 for $200... but now i guess they changed price... not that it mattered, can't get it online for that. That was my original plan. But then i decided after reading an article on the i3 530.. That it overclocked near 4.0.. it rivaled the i7 920 in benchmarks. Considering the i5's and i7's are all overpriced except at microcenter.. I have read and been told so many conflicting things, i don't know what to think anymore.

 

[MadAdmiral]

OK. Now we're talking. $900-1,000 can get you a great gaming PC.

You're not getting a good Intel gaming CPU for a $1,000 PC. Or at least not one that will ultimately harm the overall performance by sacrificing the GPU. I'll give you two builds, one AMD one Intel so you can compare them.

AMD:

CPU/Mobo: X4 620 and Gigabyte GA-790XTA-UD4 $221
RAM: Mushkin Enhanced Blackline 2x2 GB 1600 mhz CAS Latency 7 $105 after rebate
HDD: Seagate 7200.12 500 GB $55
Case: HAF 922 $90 after rebate
GPU/PSU: HD 5870 and Antec Earthwatts 750W $463
HSF/Optical: Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus and cheap SATA DVD burner $40

Total: $974. A lower CPU, but fits in an HD 5870, which can play any game at max details on a 1900x monitor (which there is a nice Asus 21.5" one for $160 after rebates...)

Intel:

CPU: i5-750 $195. I cannot recommend anything lower for gaming. The older LGA775 CPUs are on a dead socket and just a bad idea. The LGA1156 dual cores aren't great for gaming. The i5-750 is the best gaming CPU out there. The only problem is that the expensive nature of Intel CPUs causes a decrease in gaming performance due to a lower GPU.
Mobo: Asus P7P55D-E Pro $190
GPU: HD 5770 and SeaSonic 650W 80+ Gold $290 after rebate. Couldn't fit in an HD 5850 and a good PSU.
Rest the same

Total: $965. This build will be good at 1600x and lower, but will struggle at 1900x resolutions. And forget about enjoying DirectX 11 games at high details. It just won't happen.

 

[Coheed]

I'd just like to add my two cents to this thread. My i3 530 (OC'd to 3.52GHz) runs COD: Modern Warfare 2, Half Life 2, and many other titles more than sufficiently enough. When playing these games, I've yet to see the i3 over 60% usage.

Unfortunately I think quite a few people underestimate the i3 by far. I use it as my main workstation and can honestly say it's great. Not to mention, even though it's a dual core hyperthreaded, it rivals the i5 750 pretty easily.

Just my opinion.

Coheed

 

[osu43130]

i3 vrs i5 Pretty much says it all.