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$600 Intel I3 Build Advice - Starcraft 2

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Last response: October 22, 2011 12:33 AM in Systems

pyro226

October 21, 2011 7:48:37 PM

I've put together a parts list. Any suggestions about the parts I picked?

Any suggestions on changing the motherboard (to a cheaper or more reliable one)? I don't need SLI, Crossfire, or overclocking. I need a PCI slot (or a new wireless card) and I prefer having 4 slots of ram. Want Ivy Bridge compatibility. Is getting a PCIe 3.0 board recommended?

Approximate Purchase Date: Within a week
Budget Range: Around $600 USD Before Rebates
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Starcraft 2 (Preferably High settings), Fable 3, web browsing
Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS, PCI wireless card
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com
Country of Origin: United States
Parts Preferences: No preference, just has to be decent quality
Overclocking: No
SLI or Crossfire: No
Monitor Resolution: 1024x768 May upgrade in future, but not a high priority
Additional Comments: Need Ubuntu (Primary OS) and XP (Secondary OS) compatibility.

$115 Intel i3-2100
$125 ASRock Z68 Extreme3
$120 SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP
$ 50 Rosewill Green Series RG530-S12 530W
$ 35 G.SKILL Value Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600)
$ 60 Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Case
$ 65 Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache
$ 20 SAMSUNG 22X DVD Burner
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$590 + (shipping)

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zooted

October 21, 2011 8:16:06 PM

1024x768? I think the integrated graphics would be strong enough for that. But the 6770 is a decent choice for when you upgrade your monitor.

You could save money by going with the h61/67 chip set, as you cannot overclock and dont have the budget for ssd caching.

The green series has had some decent reviews, however rosewill isn't top notch for psu's. I would look at the antec 380w or corsair 430 builder series.

For the hdd I would switch out to the samsung spinpoint f3.

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ScrewySqrl

October 21, 2011 8:25:07 PM

by dropping to an AS Rock H61M U3/S3 ($69.99), and the $44 Corsair CX430 PSU, and either the Xigmatek Asgard II or Rosewill R102 case ($30), you shoudl save enough money to get an i5-2400 w/ 8 GB of RAM in a combo ($215), and an HD 6850 ($145)