Quiet Gaming PC sub $1000

[tandee]

I have never built a computer before, but I just can't seem to find what I want in anything pre built. I'm looking for a gaming PC to play SWTOR when it comes out, a little wow, DA2, MA2, etc. I would love to be able to play these games on ultra without suffering in performance.

To throw a wrench in the whole thing my wife can't stand loud computers and I'm not a fan either. A little sound is ok, but honestly the quieter the better. I have approximately $1k I can justify spending, although less is better of course! In a perfect world that would include the monitor and OS, but I expect to be a tad over $1k with all that to still get what I want.

Alternatively if someone knows a great pre built model that is quiet and can do what I'm hoping for I'm open to ideas. Again, I'm new to the building world, so be gentle with me and if you give me a parts list make sure it's complete or I'll be staring at a blank monitor in about a month wondering where I went wrong

Thanks so much!

 

[tandee]

Someone recommended something like this to me:

Cooler Master HAF 932 High Air Flow ATX Full Tower Case Black - (RC-932-KKN1-GP) $120
Gigabyte Socket AM3/AMD 880G/Hybrid CrossFireX/SATA3&USB3.0/A&V&GbE/ATX Motherboard GA-880GA-UD3H $90
AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ955FBGMBOX $120
Zalman CNPS9900LED Ultra Quiet CPU Cooler $55
Sapphire Radeon HD 5770 1 GB DDR5 2DVI/HDMI/DisplayPort PCI-Express Video Card 100283-3L $97
Corsair CMPSU-650HX 650w HX Series 80 Plus Bronze Certified Power Supply $119
Crucial RealSSD C300 CTFDDAC064MAG-1G1 2.5" 64GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) $122
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL $34

Alternatively I looked briefly at these:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=254044&CatId=4928

I have about 3 more interesting builds I've collected from people, but I feel like the more I read the more on the fence I become!

 

[legendkiller]

I Recommend getting an i3 2120 than a GTx 580 than 8GB 1600MHz... Note: the i3 2120 is much like i7 2600 but with 2 cores instead of 4 with lower speed...

I recommend looking at these sites:
Main Source for cheapest price from different sites: PriceWatch.COM

NewEgg.COM
TigerDirect.COM
3BTect.Net
SuperBiiz.COM
BuyXG.COM

 

[z_4]

Here's a build based on i5-2500K, includes OS and Monitor :

CPU & Motherboard : $325- i5-2500K & MSI P67A G45 ( Great Processor and Capable board )

RAM & Power Supply: $120- Corsair Vengeance (2X 4GB) & Corsair Builder Series CX500

Cooler : $30- Xigmatek Gaia (IN case you plan to overclock)

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

Graphic Card : $240-MSI Twin Frozr II 560Ti

Monitor : $160-Acer 23" LED Backlit 1920X1080

HDD: $55- Samsung Spinpoint 1TB

Case : $35- Sentey Black

Optical Drive : $19-LitOn

Total (Excluding Rebates) : 1084 USD

Rebates : 60 USD

If this goes overbudget, possible recommendation include :
1. Drop the cooler. Save $30.
2. Drop the RAM to 4GB (Mushkin Silverline ). Save $20-30.
3. Drop HDD to 500GB ( Seagate Barracuda ). Save $15.
4. Drop the Card to Sapphire Radeon 6870 worth $175. Save $65.

 

[boiler1990]

I Recommend getting an i3 2120 than a GTx 580 than 8GB 1600MHz... Note: the i3 2120 is much like i7 2600 but with 2 cores instead of 4 with lower speed...

What are you trying to suggest here (don't understand what you wrote here)? An i3-2120 + 580 would be a poor gaming combination, because the OP would be severely CPU limited in his games/usage.

Here's a build based on i5-2500K, includes OS and Monitor :

CPU & Motherboard : $325- i5-2500K & MSI P67A G45 ( Great Processor and Capable board )

RAM & Power Supply: $120- Corsair Vengeance (2X 4GB) & Corsair Builder Series CX500

Cooler : $30- Xigmatek Gaia (IN case you plan to overclock)

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

Graphic Card : $240-MSI Twin Frozr II 560Ti

Monitor : $160-Acer 23" LED Backlit 1920X1080

HDD: $55- Samsung Spinpoint 1TB

Case : $35- Sentey Black

Optical Drive : $19-LitOn

Total (Excluding Rebates) : 1084 USD

Rebates : 60 USD

If this goes overbudget, possible recommendation include :
1. Drop the cooler. Save $30.
2. Drop the RAM to 4GB (Mushkin Silverline ). Save $20-30.
3. Drop HDD to 500GB ( Seagate Barracuda). Save $15.
4. Drop the Card to Sapphire Radeon 6870 worth $175. Save $65.

I'd definitely go with an i5-2500K build, since it's the best price vs performance CPU for gaming on the market.

G.Skill RAM tends to be cheaper than Corsair's, so I'd give them a look-see. It performs very well and is quickly becoming a bigger name in the memory industry. 4GB is also plenty for gaming, but 8GB is the pricing sweet spot nowadays.

That 500W PSU won't be enough for a 560Ti; the minimum I'd consider is a 650W for a single 560Ti. The Antec Earthwatts EA650 is a cheap but sturdy PSU. Mine ran an i7-930 + 2x470s very well. The 6870 would also perform well at 1920x1080.

 

[tandee]

Thanks, that sounds really nice, I'm checking a couple of the components right now, how do you think the sound will be? I swear my current setup sounds like a small jet! No, I'm exaggerating some... but not much.

Edit: I just checked out both the video card and the cooler and I'm really pleased with this! I might just build it exactly as stated using boiler's additional suggestions. I'd love any additional input, but I think I may have just found my new computer!

Looking to buy 3 weeks from now when I get my big paycheck, so it's not too late for suggestions if anyone thinks of anything else.

2nd edit:
So this is what I have

CPU & Motherboard : $325- i5-2500K & MSI P67A G45 ( Great Processor and Capable board )

RAM: $50- G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL8D-4GBXM

Power Supply: $75 Antec- EarthWatts EA-650 GREEN 650W ATX12V v2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Certified 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

Cooler : $30- Xigmatek Gaia (IN case you plan to overclock)

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

Graphic Card : $240-MSI Twin Frozr II 560Ti

Monitor : $160-Acer 23" LED Backlit 1920X1080

HDD: $55- Samsung Spinpoint 1TB

Case : $50- Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case, comes with Three Fans-1x Front Blue LED 120mm Fan, 1x Top 140mm

Optical Drive : $19-LitOn

Total (Excluding Rebates) : 1103 USD, which is fine with me since we have the monitor and OS in too


Again, I'm totally new to building. The case you recommended was out of stock, so I subbed in this one. Also I switched the RAM and power supply as per boiler's suggestion. If someone wants to check my work and make sure all this looks like it would work together (especially the ram and case, since I picked those!).

Also, the monitor isn't too big for the video card or anything? This might be a stupid question

Thanks so much guys!

 

[tandee]

shameless bump for a final review of the build

 

[boiler1990]

CPU & Motherboard : $325- i5-2500K & MSI P67A G45 ( Great Processor and Capable board )

RAM: $50- G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL8D-4GBXM

Power Supply: $75 Antec- EarthWatts EA-650 GREEN 650W ATX12V v2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Certified 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

Cooler : $30- Xigmatek Gaia (IN case you plan to overclock)

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

Graphic Card : $240-MSI Twin Frozr II 560Ti

Monitor : $160-Acer 23" LED Backlit 1920X1080

HDD: $55- Samsung Spinpoint 1TB

Case : $50- Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case, comes with Three Fans-1x Front Blue LED 120mm Fan, 1x Top 140mm

Optical Drive : $19-LitOn

Total (Excluding Rebates) : 1103 USD, which is fine with me since we have the monitor and OS in too

There's a Newegg Shell Shocker deal that has an 8GB 1600MHz RAM kit for only 69.99 today.

I'd also recommend a 6950 1GB over the 560Ti @ 1920x1080. It is only $10 more and consistently performs better than the 560Ti in benchmarks at that resolution.

That case should be fine. A phenomenal case in that price range is the Cooler Master HAF 912, which I believe is $60.

 

[tandee]

Excellent, I'll check those out. Thanks so much for your help!