Need help gaming rig under or little above $800

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christianjk12

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Apr 9, 2011
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Hit me with your best specs!!

Not needed: monitor, mouse, keyboard

needed: a wireless adapter, cheap speakers, and os, and of course the other parts that make up a computer...

what i have so far...

2ev8e3a.png


I have a budget of $800 or just a tad bit over...

i am a little over budget though but its ok

i will be using this pc mostly for gaming and 1080p youtube/video watching

PLEASE ANSWER THIS: will my graphics card be able to play crysis 2 and 1 on MAX or ULTRA settings?
If it does and can do extra please find a cheaper graphics card but will still be able to play those games on ultra or max...

-----THANKS
 
Solution
aznshinobi
Siggy 600$ build.
Then just change the CPU for an i5 2400. So then 600 becomes 680.
With the extra 30$, just add that to the 6850 budget of 180, you get a 6870 and just reach your budget. Plus above 700$. That leaves you 100$ for the Win7

Best Sub-200$ CPU
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-gaming-cpu-core-i3-2100-phenom-ii-x6-1075t,2859.html

i5 2500K vs 970
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/186?vs=288

No i5 2400 vs 955 so I just took top of the line 970, the only difference is core clock so it'd be reasonable to get the 970 vs the 2500K. Same clock difference.

You get better HDD, more CPU power, and similar graphical power.

6870:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.620491

2400...
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imaurer269

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Not a bad build for the amd route I love the mobo you have but that PSU is pretty crappy try something like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341039 and this case is also same price but with rebate and looks a little better http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119227 can save a few bucks with this memory: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820313081

If you don't plan on going crossfire ever:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119227
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157195
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341039
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231193
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.630575
Use promo code OCZAPRIL713 and you should be around $770 shipped but with 60 bucks in MIR
Toss in your cheap speakers wireless card and DVD/CD drive and should be right around the price you had with a few better parts but not as good of a GPU.

If you are planning on playing crysis on ultra might want to stick with a beefy GPU like the one you have, here are the two cards side by side: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/293?vs=330

Edit: Crysis benchmarks for top end GPU's at 1920x1200: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/GPU11/188
 
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aznshinobi

aznshinobi

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Oct 19, 2009
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Siggy 600$ build.
Then just change the CPU for an i5 2400. So then 600 becomes 680.
With the extra 30$, just add that to the 6850 budget of 180, you get a 6870 and just reach your budget. Plus above 700$. That leaves you 100$ for the Win7

Best Sub-200$ CPU
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-gaming-cpu-core-i3-2100-phenom-ii-x6-1075t,2859.html

i5 2500K vs 970
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/186?vs=288

No i5 2400 vs 955 so I just took top of the line 970, the only difference is core clock so it'd be reasonable to get the 970 vs the 2500K. Same clock difference.

You get better HDD, more CPU power, and similar graphical power.

6870:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.620491

2400:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115074&cm_re=2400_i5-_-19-115-074-_-Product

Don't plan to overclock? Take advantage of this combo:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.631830

Plan to crossfire future?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.622955


 
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Solution
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imaurer269

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AznShinobi's build is a better overall build with the new sandy bridge tech especially if you are playing at a lower resolution, I was trying to stick with the GPU you had originally choose or close to it due to crysis being a GPU hog, I don't think crysis 2 is as demanding tho
 
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Dyers Eve

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Don't worry that much about Crysis 2. Good video cards can handle Crysis 2 at extreme details fairly easily. When Crysis 1 came out nothing could really run it at max but that isn't the case this time around. A 6960 2 GB can do 1920x1080 max details very well. I'm not convinced that you actually need the 2GB model or that the 2GB model is faster than the 1GB model to justify spending over $30. In 2-3 years games might require 2 GB video RAM but by then I'll be buying a HD 9950 or whatever.

6950 will run Crysis 2 and then some. 6870 will also do it and you get the shogun game for free. Heck my friend plays Crysis 2 and claims he never dips below 40 fps on a 460 gtx but I think they 460 gtx is starting to get outdated and won't hold up for long. Be aware that some of the cheapest 6950s are getting bad reviews, I suggest paying the extra $10-15 for one with better reviews.

+1 on the suggestion for the i5-2400
 
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Dyers Eve

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Yes, it is a performance hit. I don't know how much because everyone I know who does crossfire already knows to go x8 x8. But I can tell you that 2 years ago cards were starting to throttle PCIe x4 lanes. I don't know any gamer that would use x16 x4. If you plan on crossfire/sli you must get a board with at least x8 x8.
 
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aznshinobi

aznshinobi

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Alright Crysis 2<Crysis graphically.

C1 (Crysis) was really not the best coded game, it was like GTA4 stresses the CPU and GPU more than needed. CryEngine 3 and just programming tweaks have made C2 a bit easier to run and since it is ported from PC to Console (not Console to PC thank god) the graphics are quite the purdiful on the PC.

So yes the 6870 is enough, @ 1680x1050 I play C2 @ max settings just fine with my 5850. If you didn't know 6870>5850

So basically +1 Dyers' 1st paragraph.

2nd, the reason for 6950's bad reviews, it's a really hot card, without custom PCBs it can get very hot. So if you get a 6950 your going to (I would suggest) paying a bit more for a better cooler. Otherwise I say stick to the 6870, it'll be all you'll need.

16x/4x has no hit from 16x/8x or 8x/8x. There is probably only a 1-2% difference but nothing that noticeable.
 
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Dyers Eve

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Hmmmm yeah maybe the performance hit isn't as bad as I thought although I would like to see if that is the case with 580s or 6970s. Here's another link I've found on the subject: http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/HD_5870_PCI-Express_Scaling/4.html. It's not that big of a hit but there are cheap x16 x8 boards out there. Maybe it's just me but if I was planning on going crossfire/sli and I had to buy two cards and a super psu and all this stuff, I'd hate to have any performance hit.
 
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imaurer269

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Thanks for the x16 x4 vs x16 x8 info/links. I had always thought that there was more of a hit in performance and have always paid the extra for the x8 second lane but sounds like it might not always be worth it
 
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JackNaylorPE

JackNaylorPE

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Below $950 there are some compromises to be made.

Case - $70 - Antec 300 Illusion http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129066
PSU - $100 - XFX 750 W Core Edition PSU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207009
MoBo - $395 - ASUS P8P67 Pro http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.622007
CPU - incl above - Intel Core i5-2500K
RAM - $84 - (2 x 4GB) Corsair CAS 9 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145324
GFX - $215 - Gigabyte GTX 560 Ti 900 Mhz http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125363
GFX - Later - Same
HD - $65 - Spinpoint F3 1TB 7200 rpm http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185
DVD Writer - $20 - Asus 24X DRW-24B3L w/ LS http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

A cheaper case saves $10 ...a cheaper PSU saves tops $30 for anything decent.... cheaper / smaller HD saves 410 .... same rest of the way through .... the 560 at $215 is such a great buy that it's real hard to not try and get there.
 
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zepfan_75

zepfan_75

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that card is 240 bucks not 215
 
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dalauder

dalauder

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If you can get that card for $215 or a Radeon 5870 (roughly 6950 performance) for $180, I think it'll be worth the money. $800 for a good build or $830 for a much better build? Your choice.

If you don't do Nvidia 3D or heavy tessellation games, I think the 5870 scales better in crossfire than a GTX 560 Ti and is cheaper. But a GTX 560 Ti factory OC'd is more powerful.
 
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