Help me finish my build?

beholder_46

Honorable
Mar 31, 2012
10
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10,510
Due to financial issues and terrible shipping experience, I couldn't get all the parts I need for my build at one time. I want to be able to finish my build in the next week to two weeks - at least have the parts in the mail.

Here is what I have:

CPU: Intel Core i3-2120 Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz LGA 1155 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 2000 BX80623I32120 (#N82E16819115077)

RAM: Mushkin Enhanced Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model 996995 (#N82E16820226191)

PSU: PC Power and Cooling S61EPS 610W Continuous @ 40°C EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply compatible with core i7 (#N82E16817703005)

Video Card: MSI N460GTX Hawk GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card (#N82E16814127518)



I still need a case obviously, and more where I need your help, is a motherboard. .

I was about to get the ASRock Z77 Extreme4 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX (#N82E16813157293 on newegg), but it is currently out of stock. This is a game build (even though not a "hardcore" one), so I am looking for something that would allow me upgrading in the future without breaking the bank at the moment. I don't know what to look for when I'm looking into motherboards.

The case I want is the Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case, comes with Three Fans-1x Front Blue LED 120mm Fan, 1x Top 140mm.

I found the (http://www.amazon.com/LGA1155-CrossFireX-Motherboard-Z77-EXTREME4/dp/B007KTY4A6 sorry, can't paste links for some reason) on Amazon, which I can get, and from what I understand it would work with my parts - I just want to make 1000 sure so I am not stuck with a motherboard that won't work with my parts.


Thanks everyone!

btw:

I can't put links, images or paste any web content into the forum, so this is why it's so text heavy. I don't know why. I apologize.
 

Xttony

Distinguished
Get a mobo with PCIE x16 3.0 as it will come handy in future, try getting one with 8 ram slots in quad channel for ram updradibility. Has both SLI and crossfire support.
My suggestion asus Sabertooth z77 $200-$250.
 

beholder_46

Honorable
Mar 31, 2012
10
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10,510
hmm keep in mind that my CPU is i3 (it's up there). I think my high performance gaming will be restricted by the CPU way before the motherboard... however, for the future, maybe so.

I don't know too much about these things (learning as I go) so what is the difference between the difference between PCIEs? Will it support newer video cards?

This is a jump of 50% to 100% in the price of the motherboard, see. While I do want a computer I could upgrade in the future, is motherboard the most important, or is there a more important part to upgrade first? I understand this is an opinion issue, but that's also why I'm here :)
 

beholder_46

Honorable
Mar 31, 2012
10
0
10,510
Xttony,

I wanted to get the cheapest thing I could. The video card and the PSU are both from my old computer, for example. For all I know, my old computer which had a motherboard that supported DDR2 (had 4GB of RAM, now I will have 8GB, DDR3) and a dual core CPU from 2006 (I forget the specs), could run my favorite games (Arkham city, fallout 3, dead space 2 to name a few) more than "just fine," so I'm under the assumption that this build is already an improvement.

What is the cheapest I could do? So far I spent about $250 between the CPU, RAM, case, HDD. I want to finish it within the whole thing in the $400 range, so a motherboard that costs around $150 with a DVD drive (Gotta install that Vista somehow - and don't worry, will get rid of it as soon as I can) should do just that. Looking for a combo deal, btw, not that it's such a big deal.

I am an old PC user who used a MacBook Pro for a while, and going back to PC (that's another long but interesting story if you wanna hear it, not here probably though...), and the difference between spending almost $2000 on an iMac and $400 or so on a good build is jaw dropping. Just to give you the angle of where I'm coming from. I used to upgrade parts in the past and I forgot how the easy way out (buy something expensive and good) is not always the best for your wallet, for what I need.

Anyway, hope that gives you a good idea. If you play games, tell me where you think I'd see the difference with what I have and what was offered above? If you can? Anything else I should consider?

Thanks, and sorry for ranting
 

Xttony

Distinguished
Go for the gigabyte GA-H77M-D3H? And if you plan to buy a video card go for two used Ati hd 4790. They are awesome. I always test different high end games with my Ati hd 4850 512mB and handled assassins creed 3 at highest settings, (shadow medium), (hdd) with no lag what so ever. Medal of honor warfighter with highest settings (ssd) all at full hd.
Go for ASUS in optioal drive.