$900 gaming PC

[calad]

Hey guys, helping my friend build his PC. He has never home-built one before so he asked me for some assistance. Naturally, I come to the guys who helped me with my first couple builds for some advice/criticisms! He wants it for gaming mostly(i expect things like skyrim, League of Legends, etc) and he is expecting to purchase a 23-24"(1920x1080) LED monitor. We will most likely be holding off for 2-3 months on the HD for prices to go down due to the floods in Thailand. Here we go! :

CPU + GPU Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 BX80623I52500K + SAPPHIRE 100314-3L Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

$377.98 (CPU $214.99, GPU $179.99 before discounts)

Mobo: ASUS P8P67 PRO (REV 3.1) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

$169.99

PSU (UPDATED): OCZ ZT Series 550W Fully-Modular - 1 +12v rail / 2x 6+2-pin PCI-E - 90 bucks

$79.99

Memory: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL

$44.99

DVD Drive: LG CD/DVD Burner

$20.99

Case: Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

$56.99

CPU Heatsink/Paste: Coolermaster Hyper 212+/Arctic Silver 5 thermal paste

$25.99 + $12.99

Total (without HDD, of course) $790 dollars, pre-MIR

As for some reasoning for my selections.

-the i5-2500k definitely is where i want to be at this price point i think for the CPU, seems to be the best bang for the buck.

-the graphics card we are still not sure about due to uncertainties in the budget but this is the conservative route, the 6950 has been considered but the 6870 is definitely more than adequate especially for 1920x1080, i am open to a geforce but from looking at benchmarks it seems radeon gets a tad more bang for the buck.

-Motherboard was found through a bit of research over on its respective section on these boards, asus has always been good for me. OC will not be big on this rig (aside from some small easy OCing we can do on the i5 and maybe playing with whatever GPU we get a bit), but we defintiely won't be trying to push any boundries. Maybe we can get cheaper here?

-I wanted something with modular to keep building simple and the airflow up, and it seems 550W is more than enough for the 1 6870 and the i5.

-The rest of the parts all seem pretty standard. My current rig has this exact case running and its great for me, but maybe there is a better one out there in this price range i am not aware of?


Thanks guys!

 

[vitornob]

Yes, 550W is more than enough. But try to get a PSU with only 1 +12v rail, these 1,2,3,etc +12v rails PSU COULD have a problem when combining them.

Another thing, try not to see only the label total wattage. Choose the PSU by the 12v rail label wattage. (It's the most important aspect)

 

[aznshinobi]

Check out my $850 build here:
http://www.squidoo.com/electronicandmore
Without the HDD it comes to about the same price but you get more performance, in the graphical department (much more) and you get more power to CF/SLI in the future if you wanted to plus a cheaper board with more features.

 

[vitornob]

Fast search in newegg gave me this:

XFX Core Edition PRO550W - 1 +12v rail / 1x 6-pin + 1x 6+2-pin PCI-E - 70 bucks
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207013

OCZ ZT Series 550W Fully-Modular - 1 +12v rail / 2x 6+2-pin PCI-E - 90 bucks
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341050

Need to go out to work, though I can help from there.

 

[calad]

Yes, 550W is more than enough. But try to get a PSU with only 1 +12v rail, these 1,2,3,etc +12v rails PSU COULD have a problem when combining them.

Another thing, try not to see only the label total wattage. Choose the PSU by the 12v rail label wattage. (It's the most important aspect)

Sounds fair. Do you have any suggestions on a PSU for me then?

edit- Saw your second reply, the OCZ looks good, and is only 10 bucks more (has modular where the XFX does not)

 

[aznshinobi]

I'd suggest the Antec Earthwatts 650w which is the same price as your BP550
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371044&Tpk=ea650
Or the Antec Neo Eco 520w.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371030

Both are good for the price.

 

[vitornob]

Questions:

1- Do you like Gigabyte products (motherboard)?

2- Do you expect going for crossfire (or SLI) in the future?

3- How many SATA 6gb/s ports you think you going to use?

 

[calad]

Never used gigabyte products but have never heard bad things about their products so i guess i'd be open to it.

I don't believe he is going to attempt crossfire/SLI in the future, hence why we are only looking to get a 550w PSU, but i'd have to double check with him

I believe he is only looking to get 1 HDD and the optical drive, so 2 is probably all he will really need for 6gb/s SATA ports, i dont think an SSD is in the budget at all.

Also, he says he uses wireless internet for his desktop (some gamer ), so unless getting an adapter for cheap is better, builtin wireless would be good.

 

[aznshinobi]

I'd drop that motherboard Calad, get this MB to save money.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271
Gives you just as many features and maybe even more for a lower price. Plus you get Gen3 support for Ivy Bridge and PCI 3.0

As for the PSU, I'd get this just to get more power if he ever did want to SLI/CF plus it costs less than your selected PSU for more power.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371044&Tpk=ea650

Just a suggestion, get the Hyper 212 Evo instead of 212+, gives you more cooling but for just a few bucks more.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099&Tpk=Hyper%20212%20Evo

 

[calad]

anyone else have something to add?

 

[calguyhunk]

CPU: $215 Intel Core i5-2500K

Board: $130 GIGABYTE GA-Z68A-D3H-B3 - better VRM cooling and sturdier compared to the Asrock board for 2x bigger cards. Bit-tech got the 2500K chip to 5.0 on air on this one. X16/X8 SLI.

If SLI is not an option, getting the $125 Asus P8Z68-M Pro makes sense.

RAM: $30 Kingston HyperX 8GB

HDD: $120 OCZ 120GB Vertex Plus

GPU: $250 EVGA 01G-P3-1561-AR GeForce GTX 560ti FPB

PSU: $90 CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 - will SLI your 560Ti if & when you decide to go that way. If you don't want that option, get a cheaper 500 odd watt PSU. The $65 Seasonic S12II 520, is the one I'll go with.

Case: $40 COOLER MASTER Elite 430 - tool less installation, side window, black interiors, good airflow and accommodates 12" long gfx cards.

HSF: $25 COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus

Total: $990 after rebates with the more expensive PSU.

 

[aznshinobi]

^ That means before rebates it's even more than $1000 you do see that right Cal, nearly $200 more infact.

 

[calad]

CPU: $215 Intel Core i5-2500K

Board: $130 GIGABYTE GA-Z68A-D3H-B3 - better VRM cooling and sturdier compared to the Asrock board for 2x bigger cards. Bit-tech got the 2500K chip to 5.0 on air on this one. X16/X8 SLI.

If SLI is not an option, getting the $125 Asus P8Z68-M Pro makes sense.

RAM: $30 Kingston HyperX 8GB

HDD: $120 OCZ 120GB Vertex Plus

GPU: $250 EVGA 01G-P3-1561-AR GeForce GTX 560ti FPB

PSU: $90 CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 - will SLI your 560Ti if & when you decide to go that way. If you don't want that option, get a cheaper 500 odd watt PSU. The $65 Seasonic S12II 520, is the one I'll go with.

Case: $40 COOLER MASTER Elite 430 - tool less installation, side window, black interiors, good airflow and accommodates 12" long gfx cards.

HSF: $25 COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus

Total: $990 after rebates with the more expensive PSU.

I get 890 after rebates on that, looks like a solid build, I think he will most likely avoid an SSD and will not be going SLI/Xfire, so that should knock it down to below 800. Hopefully BF/CM will bring prices down even more

 

[calguyhunk]

^ That means before rebates it's even more than $1000 you do see that right Cal, nearly $200 more infact.

That's a calculating error. I should have typed 890 + shipping after MIR :lol:

Do the math

I'll make one change though. Not a biggie if you're not looking for very high clocks, but if you're looking to get high OC on that 4 Phase board, swap out the 1.65V HyperX with some 1.5V kits - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB or CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB

EDIT:

I get 890 after rebates on that...

At least somebody on this thread knows how to count - and obviously that's neither azn nor me

On a more serious note though, if you're ever gonna get a SSD, now is the time with prices so similar - if not on a per MB basis. Personally, I'll say, get a 120 GB SSD for 120 rather than a 500GB mechanical HDD for $100. Once the prices cool down, you can always get one in a few months time anyways, unless you think that you really need that much storage straight outta the box. Just a personal opinion though, YMMV

 

[aznshinobi]

Lol I didn't even try to add it up. But before rebates Cal, that build is well over $1000 I'm pretty sure since some of those products I know do $20-$15 MIRs. Some may or may not honor them but I won't say which.

 

[calguyhunk]

Some may or may not honor them but I won't say which.

Go ahead - expose the liers

Personally, I couldn't be less bothered with the MIR's mostly but Corsair did honor the MIR they had on the VX550 and CM on their Elite 310 I'll tell you that

 

[aznshinobi]

CM I trust (Returned a 20 w/ my V8 rebate), MAYBE Corsair. But OCZ and Kingston I don't trust completely.

 

[calad]

That's a calculating error. I should have typed 890 + shipping after MIR :lol:

Do the math

I'll make one change though. Not a biggie if you're not looking for very high clocks, but if you're looking to get high OC on that 4 Phase board, swap out the 1.65V HyperX with some 1.5V kits - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB or CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB

EDIT:At least somebody on this thread knows how to count - and obviously that's neither azn nor me

On a more serious note though, if you're ever gonna get a SSD, now is the time with prices so similar - if not on a per MB basis. Personally, I'll say, get a 120 GB SSD for 120 rather than a 500GB mechanical HDD for $100. Once the prices cool down, you can always get one in a few months time anyways, unless you think that you really need that much storage straight outta the box. Just a personal opinion though, YMMV

Yeah OC isn't really a concern here so i suppose ill be disregarding that one. As far as the SSDs go, I'll probably suggest he go with one as well, but i think i found a few HDDs going on sale for 60-70 for black friday (i believe it was a 2TB seagate from a retail store)

 

[calguyhunk]

Yeah OC isn't really a concern here so i suppose ill be disregarding that one. As far as the SSDs go, I'll probably suggest he go with one as well, but i think i found a few HDDs going on sale for 60-70 for black friday (i believe it was a 2TB seagate from a retail store)

What can I say? Grab that Just make sure it's 7200.12