Need advice on my first build ~$700

[mwelch02]

Hi guys, any help would be greatly appreciated.

Purchase date: Within the next month

Budget: I want to be as close to $700 as possible after rebates.

Usage: Gaming, Internet, School

Parts not required: Mouse, Keyboard, Monitor

Preferred sites: Newegg or wherever else

Country: US

Preference: No preference

Overclocking: Don't know how

Crossfire: Maybe later

Resolution: 1600x1200

 

[browsingtheworld]

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/315267-31-budget-build

You can cheapen that a bit to fit in Windows 7 (less RAM, cheaper video card, i3).

 

[r0aringdrag0n]

CPU: AMD Phenom II x4 965 ($10 promo code, so it's the same price as the 955) $120
Graphics: HD Radeon 6850 $170
MoBo: ASUS M5A97 AM3+ $95
PSU: Antec EarthWatts EA-500D Green $70
Case: RAIDMAX Altas ATX-295WB $40 (looks kick ass awesome for $40)
HDD: Seagate Barracuda ST3500413AS 500GB $40
RAM: Mushkin Enhanced 4GB Desktop Memory Model 996573 $32
Heatsink+Fan: Stock $0
DVD-ROM: LITE-ON DVD Burner Model iHAS124-04 $19
OS: Windows 7 Home $100
Total: $686

 

[rvilkman]

^ looks decent.

Couple of changes:
switch mobo to: Asrock 970 Extreme 4 $104.99 lets you crossfire in the future.

Because of Crossfire support, get a 650W PSU.
XFX Core Pro650W $89.99 ( $59.99 after rebate )

And possibly if you can order some of the parts like today I highly recommend getting Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB $49.99 with coupon code (EMCKCKB22).

You can also find good rebates on the 6850's so you can get them for about $140-150.

 

[wenqi]

what about 5850, its (in most cases) cheaper and its a faster card. if you can find one, i recommend it over the 6850

 

[wenqi]

also what about the GTX550ti or GTX560, they will give you physx and cuda

 

[need4speeds]

Grand Total:* $721.41 ($691.41 after rebate code and mir)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811322020
$34.99 Sentey Black Box Series BX2-4284 Mid Tower Computer Case w/ HD Audio / SECC 0.7mm / 2x USB / 4x 120mm Fans (3x w/LED), ATX-MATX-ITX

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157204
$44.99 ASRock N68C-S UCC AM3/AM2+/AM2

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125385
$247.99 GIGABYTE GV-R695OC-1GD Radeon HD 6950 1GB (its the 3 fan overclocked version)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256071
$69.99 SILVERSTONE Strider Essential series ST60F-ES 600W

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820178265
$40.99 $20.99 after mail-in rebate PNY XLR8 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727
$129.99 $10 off with promo code AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM $99.99
Free security software w/ purchase (i have winxp, not sure if win7 64 bit is better or the win7 32bit version but win7-32bit is the same price but no antivirus, (there is always avg free)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.679788
$52.48 LG DVD±RW SuperMulti Drive Black SATA Model GH22NS50 Bulk - OEM
bundled with: 1x Seagate Barracuda ST3500413AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA ...

 

[rvilkman]

There is very little reason to get 32 bit version these days and for new computers really none.

 

[z_4]

Here's a an alternate Sandy Bridge based system that should out-perform AMD counterparts.The only con : lack overclocking.

CPU & Motherboard: $262- i5-2400 & Biostar H67 (mother boards lacks sli/crossfire support though)

OS: $100-Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64bit)

RAM: $35- Gskill NS 2X 2GB

Power Supply: $55-Antec NEO ECO 520

Graphic Card: $175- Sapphire Radeon 6870

HDD: $55- Samsung Spinpoint 1TB

Case: $35-Sentey Black

Optical Drive :$19-LiteOn

Total : 733 USD

At that resolution 6870 should be sufficient, crossfiring will be of no use unless you plan on multi monitor setup.
You can drop down the HDD to 500GB to save money
Read this to get an idea of i5 2400
another link

 

[need4speeds]

Its basically the phenomIIx4/6950 (slower cpu/faster gpu) vs. the i5/6870 (faster cpu/slower gpu)

It depends on the games you want to run, some games favor a faster gpu, some need a faster cpu.

 

[wenqi]

the i3 can out perform the phenom x4 (in gaming)... why not drop down the i5 to the i3 then get a GTX 560ti? it will out perform a 6950 (i know he's getting OC edition). also, if you plan on OCing then why have you got the 965? its the same as a 955 but with a higher clock speed. also why are you buying an AM2+ mobo? you do know you can get AM3+ anyways, i'll see what i can do with $700

 

[wenqi]

here is another intel based build:
CPU: intel core i3-2100 @ http://www.amazon.com/Intel-i3-2100-Processor-3-1GHz-LGA1155/dp/B004JEVGMO
GPU: Nvidia GTX 560ti @ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814261100
MOBO: Asrock H61 @ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157246
CASE: thermaltake v3 @ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133094
PSU: antec high current gamer @ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371047
RAM: Muskin Enhanced 4gb 1600mhz kit @ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226176
HDD: samsung spinpoint F3 @ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

Total: just under $600 BEFORE rebates and postage
add $100 for OS (brings total to under $700), can get cheaper 1333mhz ram (with heat spreaders) from same company for $6 less @ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146740, PSU price is done with the promo, if you can't get it by then then go with the one Z_4 mentioned. you can't SLI on cheaper boards, nor can your PSU take it, so that is why i opted for this board, has SATA 3 and USB 3.0 if you want, bump up the cpu to the i5-2400, but IMO if you want to spend a bit extra, Bump up the Mobo to something that is xX/x8 (something that is SLI capable). chose the 560ti because it has physx and cuda + it is faster than 6950 @ http://www.hwcompare.com/8888/geforce-gtx-560-ti-vs-radeon-hd-6950-2gb/