Budget gaming build ~700-800

[spaow]

Approximate Purchase Date: Within a week/week and a half preferably


Budget Range: under 700 including OS and monitor


System Usage from Most to Least Important: Medium gaming, photoshop, browsing the internet


Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, speakers.


Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg

Country of Origin: United States

Parts Preferences: AMD cpu because it's cheap, easy-to-OC mobo, decent video card, 1080p monitor-size doesn't matter that much but 20+ would be nice


Overclocking: Yes but only the basics. Current mobo has a switch, I don't really want to mess around in the BIOS

---I'm not sure if i need to overclock. It could just be better for me to run stock because I'm not going to be doing anything too high demanding. Tell me what you think


SLI or Crossfire: No

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080


Additional Comments:
I checked the memory through the mobo website so I'm pretty sure that they will be compatible. Other than that, I'm not 100% sure that everything is compatible though so let me know if you see any problems.

The video card has pretty solid reviews and its decently cheap so that's why I chose that one.

I don't really want to play any high-demanding games so I'm not sure if I'm buying higher quality than I need. I play minecraft, league of legends, and I'm going to be buying Team Fortress 2 and maybe some other steam games like Garry's Mod. I don't play crysis or CoD or anything like that.

I do use photoshop occasionally so keep that in mind if it would affect any recommendations you have.

I'm open to any and all suggestions! I don't really want to spend any more money that I am now unless it's a small increase for a large gain in performance. But let me know your ideas anyway!


Also, I have promo codes on NewEgg for the memorial day sale, but they aren't working. All of the stuff in my shopping cart disappeared and after I went and gathered it all back up, the promo codes aren't working. It's not giving me an error, it just doesn't add them after I enter them, and takes me back to the shopping cart page. Any ideas?

I still need a monitor! I want 1080p, 20-23 inches probably. Any recommendations? I'd like it to be as cheap as possible.

Thanks!!!!

HP Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM SATA 24X Multiformat DVD Writer
Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
MSI 870-G45 AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard
SAPPHIRE 100297L Radeon HD 5830 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card w/ ATI Eyefinity Technology
CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ
AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ955FBGMBOX
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit English 1-Pack - OEM

 

[mjmjpfaff]

get this dvd drive- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204&cm_re=asus_dvd_burner-_-27-135-204-_-Product
can you stretch your budget- http://www.amazon.com/HIS-Eyefinity-Display-Express-H685F1GD/dp/B0047N0XBM/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1306599520&sr=1-2

 

[spaow]

I'm not exactly sure what OEM means but isn't roughly that it doesn't come with cables and discs? Do I need those?

Ehh I'm not sure because that's quite a bit more

Thanks for your input!

 

[pteek]

5830 have 1120 shaders.isn't it better than 6850?core clock is also higher.
Edit: Only 16 ROPs tho.How much they matter?

 

[spaow]

I have no idea :/

anyone have any other ideas?

 

[aznshinobi]

^ Check out this build for $600
http://www.squidoo.com/electronicandmore
Just swap out the i3 2100 for the i5 2400 that'll bring you up $60 putting you at $660. Swap the 5850 for the 6850 because of availability. That'll increase your budget by $10. That'll put you at $670, then add the OS. Then you're good to go.

460 1GB vs 5830
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/171?vs=180

With that said. since 460 > 5830
6850 vs 460 1GB
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/291?vs=313

 

[spaow]

I'm trying to minimize the money I'm spending and would like to keep as far away from the top of my budget.

The 5830 on newegg is only $109 whereas the 460 is $150 bare minimum and the 6850 is around $160

Thanks for the help!

 

[aznshinobi]

^ Then just save $60 and get the 5830. That'd put you back at the $610 mark. The i5 2400 beats the 955 in every single way.

2500K vs 970 (The 2500K is basically the 2400 with a slightly higher clock. The 2400 can't overclock which is some what perfect for you since you don't seem like you want to mess around to much with overclocking)
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/186?vs=288

 

[Guest]

AMD is releasing new line of processors approx June 14th so deals will only get better. AMD is big on price drops and stores are selling to make room for new technology. That said, your pick is a solid choice even at that price, but I would personally be excited to wait and see what happens during these next 3 to 4 weeks. Also, AMD is so cheap right now because they're several generations behind Intel in performance. Even at the same GHz speed Intel will outperform AMD by as much as 30% or more. Remember that price is different from value, but for your seemingly light/medium usage, you don't exactly need the newest hardware.


Also, in my opinion, you're buying a bigger power supply than you'll need. 500w is well sufficient for your build, and if you can wait, Power supplies go on sell pretty regularly. Yesterday, the 600w same brand builder series was $35 after rebate. Wait for a sale or find a cheaper power supply. You'll save anywhere from $20-$40.


next warning is that
Increasing memory speed is one of the least cost effective ways to speed up your PC. Scale back to a cheaper DDR3. You'll save at least $10, and if you can wait memory rebates/discounts are pretty common, saving another $10.

Also @ Aznshinobi , I think this guys budget is including monitor, making the new I-series (expensive, add expensive motherboard) comfortably out of his budget. Otherwise I think that's solid advice.

 

[spaow]

Ok, thanks.

When choosing RAM, what do I need to look at to make sure it's compatible? What I did was go to the mobo website and look a the chart of compatible RAM and choose the cheapest one that was 4 gigs. How can I find them cheaper?