$700 gaming rig

[imspecial]

In lue of Diablo III (hopefully) coming out this fall, my friend is looking to build his own computer for about $700.

Approximate Purchase Date: 1 to 2 weeks


Budget Range: $800 hard cap. Cannot go over (shipping included) But the closer to $700 the better.


System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming (Diablo III, SCII (maybe), does not need to MAX out Battlefield 3 either), multitasking (streaming music, word processing, surfing the web)


Parts Not Required: Mouse and Keyboard, OS


Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg


Country of Origin: US


Parts Preferences: XFX Graphics card preferred


Overclocking: Not right now and probably little to none in the future


SLI or Crossfire: Possibly, but not any time soon


Monitor Resolution: Looking for a monitor at 1920 x1080


Additional Comments: Need a monitor included in the build, as listed below. He will be purchasing W7 Ultimate x64 from school for $100. That price is left out of this build.

Let me know if these specs are good and any advice / tweeks would be appreciated.

Thermaltake V6 BlacX Edition Gaming Chassis Mid Tower - $61.99

AMD Phenom II X4 840 3.2GHz Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core - $104.99

MSI 870-G45 AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard - $69.99

CORSAIR Builder Series CX600 600W - $69.99

Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM - $60.99

XFX HD-679X-ZNFC Radeon HD 6790 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 - $139.99

G.SKILL Value Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) - $64.99

SONY Black SATA DVD-ROM Drive - $16.99

ASUS VH232H Glossy Black 23" 5ms Widescreen Full HD 1080p LCD Monitor - $159.99

Total: $749.91

Again let me know if this looks good or if I should make any changes for my friend.
Like usual, many thanks in advance.

imspecial

 

[imspecial]

Now I feel dumb. I coulda swore I put this under new build subfolder. If I could get someone to switch me over that would be awesome! I sorry

 

[r3xx3r]

the only change i would say is to go with this motherboard as it would allow for future upgrades much easier, the motherboard you picked is pretty old (2 generations)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138318

it is technically a generation old, but it is still very good

 

[Timop]

Looks okay, nut heres some suggestions:

1. Get a 955, L3 helps considerably: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808

2. Perhaps an AM3+ baord if he plans to upgrade, do note that board doesn't do "real crossfire", only the crippled X16/X4.

3. The Samsung F3 is a better HDD for $60, 1TB too: http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Spinpoint-3-5-Inch-Internal-HD103SJ/dp/accessories/B002MQC0P8

4. Get a HD6850 at least: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150505
If budget is an issue, get a CX430 instead: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026&Tpk=cx430
Or this case: http://www.amazon.com/GAMMA-Classic-Interior-Chassis-Black/dp/B002UDK9U6

5. Lower the RAM to 4GB if budget is a bit tight, gaming and light multitasking shouldn't be affected.

 

[imspecial]

@r3xx3r I do like that motherboard. @Timop I did try to get him to the HD 6850, but he didn't want it. I'll ask again. I'll switch out to 4gb ram to make up the extra cost of the 6850 see if I can't persuade him.

I will talk with him and see what he says. What do you guys think of this monitor? He is pretty content on getting it. Maybe a cheaper 1920x1080 monitor? I'll keep looking around as well.

Asus Monitor 1920x1080

If you guys have any more input, please let me know.

 

[imspecial]

He liked all of your changes and I found a smaller monitor, he was fine with a 21.5". Here is the final list.

BIOSTAR A870U3 AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard - $64.99

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core i - $113.99

XFX HD-685X-ZNFC Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 - $165.99

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 - $36.99

Asus VE228H 21.5" Full HD HDMI LED BackLight LCD Monitor w/Speakers - $149.99

HEC Blitz Black Steel Edition ATX Mid Tower Computer Chassis Gaming Case - 39.99

CORSAIR Builder Series CX600 (CMPSU-600CX) 600W - $69.99

Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - $60.99

SONY Black SATA DVD-ROM Drive - $16.99


Total: $718.91

Thank you guys for the advice and input.

 

[manu 11]

go with the samsung f3, as told by timop, faster larger and of same price

 

[z_4]

Here's an alternate sandy bridge based build with monitor :

CPU: $125 - i3-2100 ( Great for gaming. Beats similarly priced AMD Quad core processors where all the four cores are not needed)

Motherboard : $60- MSI H61M (Cheap)

Power Supply :$45- Antec EarthWatts 430D

Case: $30-Xigmatek Asguard

HDD: $55- Samsung Spinpoint 1TB

RAM: $35- GSkill (2X 2GB)

Optical Drive : $19- LG

Video Card : $175- Sapphire Radeon 6870

Monitor : $140- Acer 23" 1920X1080 5ms response time

Total : 684 USD

If you want a quad core processor , the only alternative is AMD. Here's a suggestion :
Other parts remaining same, CPU + MOBO cost $185.

Get AMD Phenom X4 955 BE for $115 and for motherboard Asrock 870 Extreme3 for $75

 

[imspecial]

@manu 11 - I totally spaced off on that hard drive. I will definitely get him that instead.

@z_4 - That Intel setup doesn't seem bad. I would take it personally, but he seems to be content on AMD. That AsRock link is for an open box product. I'll pass, but thank you.

 

[imspecial]

Best answer selected by imspecial.