$750 to build an i5 desktop

[pater familias]

Howdy,

Complete noob. I want to build an i5 desktop with my 14yo for $750.

Desired uses:

1. gaming - WOW, Civilization, Empire, Call of Duty 2, etc.
2. musical - I'm a musician, home recording with Reaper, listening to audio
3. video - watch Netflix streaming, DVDs, YouTube, etc. Some photo editing
4. general - MS Office software documents, web surfing, downloading music and video

Budget should include everything necessary except monitor, keyboard, mouse, and software other than the OS.

Would appreciate a list of compatible components. Thanks.

Michael

 

[pater familias]

nobody, no help at all?

 

[mosox]

Intel Core i5-2400 + GIGABYTE GA-Z68A-D3H-B3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.654392
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 4GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231425
LITE-ON Black 24X DVD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106289
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500418AS 500GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148395
XFX HD-685X-ZDFC Radeon HD 6850
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150515
Antec NEO ECO 520C 520W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371030
HEC Blitz Black Steel Edition
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811121096
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986

$779.91 - there's also a $20 mail-in rebate for the video card. Register the video card on the XFX site within 30 days of the purchase to activate the lifetime warranty.

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/274745-13-step-step-guide-building
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1y8T8QAsDZs

If $750 is the absolute limit tell me.

 

[pater familias]

Intel Core i5-2400 + GIGABYTE GA-Z68A-D3H-B3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.654392
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 4GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231425
LITE-ON Black 24X DVD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106289
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500418AS 500GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148395
XFX HD-685X-ZDFC Radeon HD 6850
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150515
Antec NEO ECO 520C 520W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371030
HEC Blitz Black Steel Edition
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811121096
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986

$779.91 - there's also a $20 mail-in rebate for the video card. Register the video card on the XFX site within 30 days of the purchase to activate the lifetime warranty.

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/274745-13-step-step-guide-building
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1y8T8QAsDZs

If $750 is the absolute limit tell me.

Thanks mosox.

I used most of your suggestions with a couple of minor changes. What do you think about this list? These components plus the OS total out to about $850, because I "upgraded" a few of the components to ones with top ratings from lots of reviewers.

Intel Core i5-2400 Sandy Bridge
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115074

ASRock P67 EXTREME4 Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157229

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 4GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231425

Antec BP550 Plus 550W Continuous Power ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371016

XFX HD-685X-ZDFC Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150515

COOLER MASTER ELITE 335 RC-335-KKN1-GP Black SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119161

ASUS Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

Any idea how such a system would compare to say a Dell XPS8300?
http://www.dell.com/us/p/xps-8300/pd

I assume I'd still have to add ethernet, usb, etc. ports and wi-fi, right?

 

[mosox]

Better cases
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147153
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119227
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129066
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233
Get that PSU I recommended or:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207013
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371031

Some old products have top ratings going years back.

Dell is cr@p. For $700 you get a dual core, a bad PSU, a cheap mobo and a weak video card. Get the parts and build it yourself, it's easy and you learn a lot of stuff too in the process.

You don't need to add anything except for a $20-30 wireless adapter but that depends on what signal you have in there. The mobo has onboard ethernet and everything else. That Asrock is fine too, a bit expensive though.

 

[dan4patriots]

that motherboard you selected is a P67 and you got a non K SKU CPU so the P67 is pretty much useless unless you get something that can overclock like the i5 2500K

 

[Danger Kid]

i believe bulldozer is slated to launch early june (the 7th?) you should wait a few weeks and see what the launch does to the price points on the intel stuff

 

[pater familias]

that motherboard you selected is a P67 and you got a non K SKU CPU so the P67 is pretty much useless unless you get something that can overclock like the i5 2500K

Okay. I only chose it because it got good reviews and the Gigabyte in th combo recommended by motox got one review that wasn't very good. Of course, the reviewer could've been a complete idiot like me.

 

[mosox]

I picked that because of the combo, that reviewer is a moron, he blasted the mobo but gave it a 5 star rating. Here's another one
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157251

 

[pater familias]

I picked that because of the combo, that reviewer is a moron, he blasted the mobo but gave it a 5 star rating. Here's another one
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157251

Okay, thanks. Yeah, I figured his review didn't make much sense.

I can go with the combo CPU/mobo you recommended, but it concerned me that there basically weren't any reviews of that mobo. Will either one of those mobo's work fine with that Intel i5-2400 CPU?

Do I need also need...

a sound card

a heat sink

and a wi-fi (if I want to stream netflix, etc. to a tv)

 

[pater familias]

Maybe I should just consider one of these SuperCombos?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=30000007%204021%20600084356&IsNodeId=1&name=Enthusiasts%20%2f%20OC%20Gaming

 

[mosox]

You can get one of those two Asrock boards above if you don't trust the Gigabyte, they use the super combos to get rid of some old parts like the HDDs or the PSUs.
You need an aftermarket HSF only if you get the 2500K and you overclock the CPU.
The wi-fi depends on your network, you can use the ethernet for a while. The mobos have integrated sound cards.

 

[pater familias]

Best answer selected by pater familias.