$600 budget light gaming build, undecided!

[gammerx]

I have already made a post here before but theres still a few things I haven't been able to decide on. My budget is $600 max, however I am wondering if it is really worth going up to that much for the type of games I play and for the time that I will have it. ( I am currently 17, still a year away from college.)

I only play some steam games and alot of different MMOs (mainly vindictus). I don't want to run BF3 on max settings, but I might want to be able just to play it. I also don't have an HD monitor so that shouldn't be a problem either. Here is what I have right now:

CPU: i5 2500k from microcenter $180
MOBO: Biostar TP67B+ $120 - $40 promo - $20 MIR = $60
RAM: G.Skill 2x2GB ddr3 1333 $40
PSU: Antec HCG 520W $55
Case: HAF 912 $55 amazon
GPU: EVGA GTX 460 $160

Total: $550

ALREADY HAVE KEYBOARD, MOUSE, OS, HDD, OPTICAL DRIVE


CPU I am pretty much set on, for $20 more its a big improvement over the i3

MOBO not to set on this mobo, I don't really need a top end $200 one, I don't think I need to go above $130 on it, since I also get the $40 off from the i5. I heard biostar was crap too, but microcenter doesn't carry asrock so that leaves me with gigabyte or MSI which I like. Also, not sure if I need a p67 or if H61/67 will be enough for me. I might try to overclock in a few months, but I don't plan on sli/xfire in this build.

RAM good to go

PSU good to go

Case: now there are alot of options in the $40-70 range, that's about what I am spending. The HAF 912 looks good, but I might have to buy more fans for it. I was wondering if its better to go with the antec 900 ($70 after MIR on newegg now) or NZXT apollo or something

GPU I was pretty set on the GTX 460 but looking at benchmarks the 6850 performs better? I want to be able to max out the games I play (vindictus, valve, source games mainly) so I need your guys opinion on this and which model.

 

[jackspeed]

the h61/67 cant overclock. both gigabit and msi are good brands amazon has you case for $3 less http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Tower-Case-RC-912-KKN1/dp/B003ZM7YTA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1311178110&sr=8-1

I would go for 8gb of ram http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231311 +$23

Just checking that gtx 460 is 1 gb right and not SE often best buy is way overpriced
edit: disregard above unless you are getting the gpu from best buy.
edit #2: dont forget to budget an OS $100 in there somewhere and I see no dvd drive or hard drive about another 70-80 more if you don't already have those

 

[gammerx]

^ The case is from bestbuy not the GPU. GPU will probably be from newegg. HAF 912 is $50 at bestbuy, cheapest I have seen!

Overclocking isnt necessary for me, but I might want to do it later on. yeah I only listed parts I needed, the OS, mouse, keyboard, speakers, HDD, optical drive I have already.

I am asking about the GPU though, I don't need to go all out, I just want to be able to play some of my games on max settings, but they are older and probably don't require 560 ti to do that. I was wondering if I should save $40 and go for a 6770 instead of a 6850 or GTX 460?

 

[jackspeed]

the haf on amazon is cheaper by $3 and has free shipping and no tax http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Tower-Case-RC-912-KKN1/dp/B003ZM7YTA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1311178110&sr=8-1&tag=vglnk-c1001-20
if you might overclock get a p67 board or z68

 

[nd_hunter]

in your case, i would get an i5-2400/h67 mobo combo on the egg. true, you can't overclock, but the money savings will allow for a better gpu. you should be able to fit a 560ti or 6870 in your budget...this, imo, is more important than overclocking for a $600 build. also, 4GB of RAM will suffice.

just a bit of advice, don't count on a MIR to make your budget. i've had a 50% success rate with them...

EDIT: in addition to what jackspeed mentioned, no hdd, os, or optical listed. are these already purchased or not part of the budget? Win 7 Home Premium is $100, Samsung 1TB HDD is about $60, and an optical drive is about $20, pushing your original list to $725 before shipping/tax.

 

[gammerx]

I'm not relying on MIR at all, which is why I am keeping it at $550 before MIRs. At least my currecnt build anyways. What makes you say go for the i5-2400/h67? I can get the i5-2500k for $140 basically if i buy any compatible board. I won't be able to overclock is on the h61/67 boards but its still faster then the 2400. The price difference between the 2500k at microcenter and the 2400 on newegg is like $5 in favor to microcenter. It won't really save me anything and won't help me upgrade.

I don't know if I need a 560ti really. Will it last me like 6-7 years? I'm guessing the 460 won't last me as long at all, but how important is that big of an upgrade for the games I play.

 

[aznshinobi]

No card will last you 6-7 years gammer. Not even the 2500K would be considered new by that time.

A 460 would last you at least 1-2 years. The 560 Ti would last you 1-3 years. But it is really hard to say. BF3 has graphics to reckon with and it is hard to say whether game developers will follow that path or just keep porting games from systems.

However the wildcard is the next gen systems. They will finally be supporting DX11 and getting graphics revamped. And according to AMD, the 720 will have "Avatar 3D Graphics" as in HD performance. But we will see.

Long story short. Any current card can only be guaranteed for 1-2 years and maybe 3

 

[aznshinobi]

Oh the reason I'm saying that about 2500K is because BD would be released and soon Trinity, as well as Ivy Bridge.

 

[gammerx]

Yeah...maybe I should focus more on making this an upgradable-ready computer? so in 2 years from now I can throw $500 of upgrade into it instead of a whole new system? Or is that not feasible.

I play more MMO games anyways, I don't really think I need a 560ti because I probably won't have BF3 for the computer, it will be on my xbox. I know you helped me out before aznshinobi, and I've learned alot more but I'm still unsure in some areas

 

[nd_hunter]

Personally, I wouldn't go with Biostar. I don't think they are considered in the tier as Asus, MSI, and G-byte. I would spend less on the CPU and a little more on the motherboard. Bottom line motherboard I would suggest is the MSI H67 C-43 for $85. A better one is the Gigabyte H67-UD3 for $130 (both are Newegg prices). I forgot the Microcenter deal...so nevermind that comment. As for my GPU suggestion..do you need it now? No. Will you need it in the future? Probably. So, if you can work some things around and get it now, why not? It's your money, but that's my 2 cents.

 

[gammerx]

This is more of a feel to get me into building computers because I want to give it a shot as a hobby/sidejob type of thing. It doesnt have to be enthusiast level, I just want to play my low end games with pretty good graphics. For vindictus (don't know who else plays here) I have a 2GHz core 2 duo, 4gb ram and a 9500gt and I can run vindictus at 30 fps on lowest settings. I could even just SLI 2 9800GT+ or something xD but honestly, I won't be playing any dx11 games on this computer, MAYBE dx 10 but I am not even so sure about that. So I don't think its necessary to go all out on this build. When I'm a bit older and have more money, that's when I will build some of these $1200 beasts you guys build

 

[jerreddredd]

MicroCenter
Core i5 2500K LGA 1155 Boxed Processor
GA-Z68MX-UD2H-B3 LGA 1155 Z68 mATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.microcenter.com/search/search_results.phtml?sku_list=200121+484998
$275 afer $40 instand combo and another $15MIR

ZALMAN Z9 Plus Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811235027
Item #: N82E16811235027
$69.99
$54.99

EVGA 01G-P3-1371-TR GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130565
Item #: N82E16814130565
-$10.00 Instant
$20.00 Mail-in Rebate Card
$169.99
$159.99

Antec High Current Gamer Series HCG-520 520W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V v2.91 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371047
Item #: N82E16817371047
-$24.00 Instant
$78.99
$54.99

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-10600CL8D-4GBHK
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231180
Item #: N82E16820231180
Return Policy: Memory Standard Return Policy
$39.99
-------
$309.96 Free shipping $20 MIR
$289.98 ($40 incl instant saving in combo) $15 MIR
-------
599.94 there will be tax on the MC stuff (around $25)

you get an OC'd GTX460, which should be good enough for your stated use. if its not $20 gets you a HD 6870 or GTX560 which will for sure be enough.
you get a MB that is made for the i5-2500k
you get Cas8 RAM ($4 more gets you Ripjaws DDR1600
the Z9 Plus is a great case. it has 4 fans and a fan controller (free shipping and onsale until the 24th, so don't wait too long.