First time build, shooting for around $800

[scott107]

Approximate Purchase Date: the next few weeks


Budget Range: roughly 800 after rebates, probably have 200-300 wiggle room is there is good value in spending it. I would prefer to stick close to 800 though.


System Usage from Most to Least Important: little bit of everything, looking for some longevity out of the system as i'm just now upgrading my old P4....


Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, wireless internet card, speakers.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg, microcenter


Country of Origin: USA


Parts Preferences: no brand preference


Overclocking: probably in the future.


SLI or Crossfire: no


Monitor Resolution: no monitor chosen yet, probably looking around 1280x1024 as a maximum for now.


Additional Comments: Any help that you can offer would be greatly appreciated. The main problem i seem to be running into is i have zero knowledge of computer part brands, so it's hard to check out prices not knowing what's a worthlessly cheap product, and what is just priced well. Feel free to throw any general insight you think i could use at me as well.


So far the only thing i've settled on for sure is the CPU. Microcenter has the:

i5 2500k on sale for 179.99

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0354589

couple other pieces i'm thinking about:

SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 5850 for 139.99 (worth going up to the 6950?)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102932&cm_re=5850-_-14-102-932-_-Product

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 4GB 46.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231438&cm_re=G.Skill_Ripjaws_X_DDR3_1333_4gb-_-20-231-438-_-Product

i'll be back to check in as often as i can, even if you can just help me narrow a few things down it would be a great help.

 

[mdd1963]

That is an awesome price for the 2500k; buy it! One of the P67 based boards would seem logical, with Asus' P8P67 frequently being one of the most often recommended.

The 5850 is a solid card in that price range, but the 6950 is an exellent card in the $250-ish range...

I'd opt for an 8 gb mem kit if using a 64 bit OS...

As for monitors, there are many 23"/1080P at the $200-$250 level, where this seems a logical starting choice these days...

 

[zooted]

That is an awesome price for the 2500k; buy it! One of the P67 based boards would seem logical, with Asus' P8P67 frequently being one of the most often recommended.

The 5850 is a solid card in that price range, but the 6950 is an exellent card in the $250-ish range...

I'd opt for an 8 gb mem kit if using a 64 bit OS...

As for monitors, there are many 23"/1080P at the $200-$250 level, where this seems a logical starting choice these days...

There are also many 21"/1080p in the sub $150 range =]

 

[scott107]

Monitor wise i'm probably looking more around the 21". Anything is going to look like a huge improvement over my 7 year old monitor so i'm thinking i would rather save the money for the computer components. Depending on what price i come up with for the whole build i can think about upgrading the monitor then.

Is the 64bit OS probably the way to go? (win 7) I admittedly have little to no experience with any operating system past XP.

Is there a video card sitting in between the 5850 and the 6950 price wise that a worthwhile upgrade over the 5850? It seems like i would be skimping a little to go with the 5850 but overspending for the 6950, or it's just my inexperience speaking..

 

[genghiskron]

essentially no. The 560ti is also a good option, but its priced near the 6950. The 5850 is at an amazing price for the performance it offers.

definitely 64 bit.

 

[k1114]

Newegg hasn't updated their combos yet. But it's not going to be possible to get $800, $885 was the best I could do.

■LITE-ON CD/DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA Model iHAS124-04 - OEM
■COOLER MASTER HAF 912 RC-912-KKN1 Black SECC/ ABS Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
■SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
■Acer P215HBbd Black 21.5" Full HD WideScreen LCD Monitor
■SAPPHIRE 100282XTREME Radeon HD 5850 Xtreme 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with ...
■Antec BP550 Plus 550W Continuous Power ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
■G.SKILL NS 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-4GBNS
■MSI P67A-C43 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
■Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit English 1-Pack - OEM
TOTAL: $724.56 Shipping Included. Before MIR.
+160 for the i5-2400k = $885

Microcenter usually has some good mobo+cpu combos as well, that will beat newegg. The 5850 will max any game on a single 1080p monitor.

Edit: Sorry forgot to change the ram, that'll make is $895

 

[scott107]

I might be exposing the age of my computer knowledge, but don't i need a sound card as well?

The 800 isn't really a sticking point, just where i was aiming. I'm alright with spending a little more to make the build worthwhile. Besides that it seems pretty straightforward. I'll keep an eye out for interesting deals on Newegg/Microcenter for a week or two and make my purchases. I appreciate the help, and any other suggestions you might have.

 

[k1114]

On board sound is a lot better than what it used to be and will be sufficient. Save the $100 and put it into the other components.

 

[scott107]

Ah, i see. Last question for you, i hope. Is there any brands of motherboard/power supply i should keep an eye out for in case i can snag a good deal?

 

[k1114]

For mobo - asus, msi, gigabyte, and asrock. For psu - seasonic, antec, corsair, and xfx.

 

[scott107]

i appreciate all the help k1114, i would have been forced to go with a pre-built computer without you!

 

[scott107]

Best answer selected by scott107.