Middle budget gaming build, suggestions and opinions

[Syrocc]

Hey again hardware lovers!

So, it's been a long 3 days of extensive reviews, questions, answers, opinions, and tweaking, to try to find the best solution for a decently (800$-900$) priced gaming PC that would take care of me for a good while. I've choose all the bits and pieces carefully, trying to build the PC according to my needs as a gamer, but also as a working computer. Tomorrow I'm going to order the parts, so I'd like some final opinions about compatibility, stability, and overall points of view about the configuration. Here it is:

CPU:
Intel i3-540 @ 3.06 ghz, socket 1156 - 140$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115221&cm_re=i3_540-_-19-115-221-_-Product

MB:
Asrock H55M-Ger2.0 - 95$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157211&cm_re=Asrock_H55M-_-13-157-211-_-Product

HDD:
2 x Samsung SpinPoint F4 320GB, 7200rpm, 16MB, SATA2 in RAID 0 - 100$ for both
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152244&cm_re=Samsung_spinpoint_f4-_-22-152-244-_-Product

RAM:
4Gb DDR3, PC-12800, 1600MHz, Corsair CMD4GX3M2A1600C8, CL8, 9-9-9-24 , Kit 2 x 2Gb - 65$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145265&cm_re=CMD4GX3M2A1600C8-_-20-145-265-_-Product

Graphics:
Palit Daytona GeForce GTX 560 Ti 1GB DDR5 256-bit - 330$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814261099&cm_re=Palit_GTX_560-_-14-261-099-_-Product

PSU:
Corsair CMPSU-620HX 620W, - Modular - 110$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139004
(here I haven't found a link for the 620W version, so the link is to the 550W version, same generation PSU)

Case:
Raidmax Cyclone 316B - 40$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811156249&Tpk=Raidmax%20cyclone

Cooler:
CoolerMaster Hyper 212+ - 40$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065&Tpk=CoolerMaster%20Hyper%20212

Total: 920$ (total price of the components in my own country, on newegg, the exact same components would be $150 less, so about 770$)

I have built several PCs for various people recently, but none were for gaming, and this is the first one I've built for myself in years. So I took a lot of time to find the correct components.
Also, the prices listed here are Romanian, meaning they are higher on avarage with 15-20% compared to those on Newegg
I am well aware that this is not even close to a high-end configuration, but it will have to do, since it's the most I can strech my budget too.

So please, let me know what you think. I'm especially curious about the MB and PSU, since the former one is a really low-budget one, but includes tons of good features, and the latter should be able to supply the configuration without problems, right?

Thanks in advance for any opinions

 

[ScrewySqrl]

at your price range, you'll get a much better Pc with a simple substitution:
the Phenom II 955 and an AS Rock 870 Extreme 3 should come in at about the same total price, and destroys an i3-540 in games.

 

[SamiSC]

I honestly think you should go with an i5 2500k sandy bridge build if your budget is $900 at the same price, ill be building one soon, just checking around a little more.

Iam not too sure what your budget is compared to new egg to where you living, but here is what i have lined up on my cart list.

Op-Drive
LG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD±RW SuperMulti Drive $16 Free shipping

GPU
SAPPHIRE 100312SR Radeon HD 6950 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity $290 + $5 shipping

PSU
Antec EarthWatts EA750 750W Continuous Power ATX12V version 2.3 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certifie $80 Free shipping

RAM
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) $50 Free shipping


Combo: CPU and HSF
COMBO: Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor + COOLER MASTER V6 GT RR-V6GT-22PK-R1 120mm DynaLoop CPU Cooler w/ Universal bracket & Dual Fan $260

Case:
NZXT LEXA S LEXS - 001BK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $70 Free shipping

Combo: HDD and Mobo
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000528AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive + ASRock P67 PRO3 LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard $174 Free shipping



totals at $940, but u can change a few things to make it less.

gd luck with ur build

 

[cthunder067]

2 Things - 1 Why would you get 2x samsung 320 HD when you can get just 1 Samsung 1TB drive? Just Curious
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

I would checkout the ASUS GTX 560 higher clocked and cheaper than the Palit
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121424


http://tpucdn.com/reviews/ASUS/GeForce_GTX_560_Ti_Direct_Cu_II/images/perfrel.gif

 

[Syrocc]

I choose the 2x 320 because the SpinPoint F4 series are extremely fast, reaching speeds close to those of SSD's. They won multiple awards for being the fastest and best options for lower budget PC's, and based on the benchmark results in various scenarios, they outperform any other HDD in the same pricerange. One of them however didn't offer me enough space, so I choose two.

Atm, the only 560 GTX available in Romania is the Palit one, they still haven't imported other models yet.

About the sandy-bridge i5. It's about double priced here compared to the i3 540, at all the resellers I checked. Also, the 1155 socket MBs are way more expensive. I know they perform better, but my budget won't allow it.

 

[cthunder067]

I choose the 2x 320 because the SpinPoint F4 series are extremely fast, reaching speeds close to those of SSD's. They won multiple awards for being the fastest and best options for lower budget PC's, and based on the benchmark results in various scenarios, they outperform any other HDD in the same pricerange. One of them however didn't offer me enough space, so I choose two.

Atm, the only 560 GTX available in Romania is the Palit one, they still haven't imported other models yet.

About the sandy-bridge i5. It's about double priced here compared to the i3 540, at all the resellers I checked. Also, the 1155 socket MBs are way more expensive. I know they perform better, but my budget won't allow it.

Well unless you need to have the Palit 560 right now. I would hold off at least a week or tow and see what other imported models come in.

 

[Syrocc]

I guess I can wait for other models, can live with on-board graphics for a few days, won't have time to play during the next few days anyway, however, I've seen a new GTX 560 arrive from Asus today (at several resellers), and it's priced with $120 more than the Palit. Considering the chipset is the same, I think the difference between 330$ for the Palit 560 and 450$ for the Asus one is unjustified.

 

[cthunder067]

I guess I can wait for other models, can live with on-board graphics for a few days, won't have time to play during the next few days anyway, however, I've seen a new GTX 560 arrive from Asus today (at several resellers), and it's priced with $120 more than the Palit. Considering the chipset is the same, I think the difference between 330$ for the Palit 560 and 450$ for the Asus one is unjustified.

Wow! Yeah I totally agree with you.

 

[briovaz]

Hey again hardware lovers!

So, it's been a long 3 days of extensive reviews, questions, answers, opinions, and tweaking, to try to find the best solution for a decently (800$-900$) priced gaming PC that would take care of me for a good while. I've choose all the bits and pieces carefully, trying to build the PC according to my needs as a gamer, but also as a working computer. Tomorrow I'm going to order the parts, so I'd like some final opinions about compatibility, stability, and overall points of view about the configuration. Here it is:

CPU:
Intel i3-540 @ 3.06 ghz, socket 1156 - 140$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115221&cm_re=i3_540-_-19-115-221-_-Product

MB:
Asrock H55M-Ger2.0 - 95$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157211&cm_re=Asrock_H55M-_-13-157-211-_-Product

HDD:
2 x Samsung SpinPoint F4 320GB, 7200rpm, 16MB, SATA2 in RAID 0 - 100$ for both
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152244&cm_re=Samsung_spinpoint_f4-_-22-152-244-_-Product

RAM:
4Gb DDR3, PC-12800, 1600MHz, Corsair CMD4GX3M2A1600C8, CL8, 9-9-9-24 , Kit 2 x 2Gb - 65$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145265&cm_re=CMD4GX3M2A1600C8-_-20-145-265-_-Product

Graphics:
Palit Daytona GeForce GTX 560 Ti 1GB DDR5 256-bit - 330$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814261099&cm_re=Palit_GTX_560-_-14-261-099-_-Product

PSU:
Corsair CMPSU-620HX 620W, - Modular - 110$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139004
(here I haven't found a link for the 620W version, so the link is to the 550W version, same generation PSU)

Case:
Raidmax Cyclone 316B - 40$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811156249&Tpk=Raidmax%20cyclone

Cooler:
CoolerMaster Hyper 212+ - 40$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065&Tpk=CoolerMaster%20Hyper%20212

Total: 920$ (total price of the components in my own country, on newegg, the exact same components would be $150 less, so about 770$)

I have built several PCs for various people recently, but none were for gaming, and this is the first one I've built for myself in years. So I took a lot of time to find the correct components.
Also, the prices listed here are Romanian, meaning they are higher on avarage with 15-20% compared to those on Newegg
I am well aware that this is not even close to a high-end configuration, but it will have to do, since it's the most I can strech my budget too.

So please, let me know what you think. I'm especially curious about the MB and PSU, since the former one is a really low-budget one, but includes tons of good features, and the latter should be able to supply the configuration without problems, right?

Thanks in advance for any opinions

i agree with ScrewySqrl! you can build a better gaming rig by chosing the amd phenom iix4 955 black edition as the processor and the asrock 870 extreme 3 as the motherboard. the amd phenom ii x4 can smoke the i3 in gaming!!!
but its upto you.

 

[Syrocc]

I am not a huge AMD fan, so I think I'm going to stick with the i3 for now. Besides, at high resolution gaming, there is a cpu bottleneck anyway, and the GPU does most of the work. And, Romanian prices at this time would throw in another 70-80$ for an II x4 955 and a decent mobo, compared to the i3 540 and it's counterpart mobo.

Good news however is that, starting from monday, vendows will have other 560 GTX models available, including EVGA, Sparkle, MSI, Point of View, Asus, Gigabyte and Gainward, in more or less the same price range. This made me postpone the graphics card order for the weekend, since I think the EVGA is worth the wait.

 

[cthunder067]

I am not a huge AMD fan, so I think I'm going to stick with the i3 for now. Besides, at high resolution gaming, there is a cpu bottleneck anyway, and the GPU does most of the work. And, Romanian prices at this time would throw in another 70-80$ for an II x4 955 and a decent mobo, compared to the i3 540 and it's counterpart mobo.

Good news however is that, starting from monday, vendows will have other 560 GTX models available, including EVGA, Sparkle, MSI, Point of View, Asus, Gigabyte and Gainward, in more or less the same price range. This made me postpone the graphics card order for the weekend, since I think the EVGA is worth the wait.

What about this combo would it be out of your budget?

Your combo at $271.75 vs my combo at $344.97
ASRock P55 PRO/USB3 LGA 1156 Intel P55 USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Intel Core i5-2400 Sandy Bridge 3.1GHz (3.4GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W
CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop
http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/TemporaryWishList.aspx

I think you should be able to read it.

 

[Syrocc]

Unfortunatelly, i5 prices are EXTREMELY high in Romania, meaning that the i5-2400 you posted would cost me 260$ here. That's without a Mobo and RAM. So yes, out of my budget atm.

Also, the sandy bridge i5 that you posted is not compatible with the Asrock mobo you posted, the mobo being 1156, the sandy-bridges are running on 1155. However, prices aren't that different for the two different socket mobos.

 

[cthunder067]

Oh chit my bad, I thought they both were 1156

 

[ScrewySqrl]

I still say look into AMD, teh Athlon II X3 is *the* budget CPU.