Ultimate budget pc build

[hardwareballs20]

Hello,

I'm building the ultimate bang for buck pc.
heres what i got so far

phenom II x3 720 be -im going to unlock 4th, and overclock to 3.4 ( 65$)

coolermaster hyper 212 plus (27$)

msi 880gm e-35 + 1stick of 4gb 1600mhz corsair ddr3 ram - (71$ all together)

i got a 400w psu, 7200rpm dvd-rw drive, 320 western digital hdd , and gts 250 from my current pc. ( But looking to upgrade the psu , and gpu

also need a cheap mid tower case

any ideas on what i should get for most bang for buck on gpu and psu, and case?

or any tips would help
this is my first build

EDITED::
Approximate Purchase Date: half purchased

Budget Range: (e.g.: 600-800) 250 - 350

System Usage from Most to Least Important: gaming

Parts Not Required: hdd, dvd-rw drive

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: ebay

Country: US

Parts Preferences: top brands

Overclocking: Yes

SLI or Crossfire: no

Monitor Resolution: 1680x1050 i think for a 22inch monitor

Additional Comments: iso the best bang for buck for gaming starting with buck being most important.

 

[Emelth]

please look at the top of the forums read the stickies and fill out the outline

 

[aznshinobi]

Please fill this out.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261222-31-build-advice

 

[hardwareballs20]

I edited it in. plus im looking to run bf3 , skyrim, gta4, and game coming 2012 on mid-high on dx11

also im getting windows 7 64bit for it

 

[aznshinobi]

What is your resolution? You didn't state. But I think you're stretching this "ultimate budget" thing a little to far. The 250 GTS can't run DX11 only DX10 and below.
Also, if upcoming 2012 games are anything like BF3 you're looking to spend at least $150-$200 on a GPU upgrade, of course this is depending on your resolution. If you want to run them in DX11, I would suggest no lower than the 6870 again depending on your resolution. Crysis 2 w/ DX11 update pushes almost all DX11 GPUs to their max and you'd be looking at a 6870 at least to even run it stable at 30+FPS.

 

[Emelth]

$350 is not enough to make a good reliable system to play all those on mid details. Probably not even on low details. Let me see what I can come up with...

 

[hardwareballs20]

What is your resolution? You didn't state. But I think you're stretching this "ultimate budget" thing a little to far. The 250 GTS can't run DX11 only DX10 and below.
Also, if upcoming 2012 games are anything like BF3 you're looking to spend at least $150-$200 on a GPU upgrade, of course this is depending on your resolution. If you want to run them in DX11, I would suggest no lower than the 6870 again depending on your resolution. Crysis 2 w/ DX11 update pushes almost all DX11 GPUs to their max and you'd be looking at a 6870 at least to even run it stable at 30+FPS.

No im willing to sell my psu and gpu and upgrade them both, unless i can get away with running it with that on mid-high in dx10
with 22inch monitor with 1680x1050

also im looking to buy all items used from ebay, or any good place you guys show me

 

[aznshinobi]

At MOST you'd only get $100 for both the GPU and PSU. @1680x1050 you're defiantly looking at at least the 6870.

I strongly recommend at least having this PSU or something along the lines of the CX430 V2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026&Tpk=cx430
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-CORSAIR-Builder-Series-CX430-V2-430W-ATX12V-v2-3-80-PLUS-Certified-/180752644390?pt=PCA_UPS&hash=item2a15b27926

And this 6870 as the gpu
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161389
http://www.ebay.com/sch/?_nkw=radeon%206870&_clu=2&_dmpt=PCC_Video_TV_Cards&_fcid=1&_localstpos=&_sop=15&_stpos=&gbr=1

 

[hardwareballs20]

At MOST you'd only get $100 for both the GPU and PSU. @1680x1050 you're defiantly looking at at least the 6870.

I strongly recommend at least having this PSU or something along the lines of the CX430 V2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026&Tpk=cx430
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-CORSAIR-Builder-Series-CX430-V2-430W-ATX12V-v2-3-80-PLUS-Certified-/180752644390?pt=PCA_UPS&hash=item2a15b27926

And this 6870 as the gpu
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161389
http://www.ebay.com/sch/?_nkw=radeon%206870&_clu=2&_dmpt=PCC_Video_TV_Cards&_fcid=1&_localstpos=&_sop=15&_stpos=&gbr=1

so my aftermarket 400w psu just wont do it and a 430 corsair will mines is probably not a 80+

and ya i was going to spend about 80-120 on used ati 5870 or 6870 bc what is the difference besides 5870 are cheaper?

 

[Emelth]

I cant do anything that will play those games decently....

 

[aznshinobi]

The 80+ gives indication that the PSU will perform at AT LEAST 80% of its rated XXX watts.

No even though yours may be after market, it doesn't mean it'll even give you 200w of your 400w that it says it gives. What is the brand of the 400w you have?

The 5870 consumes more power and runs a lot hotter, with that said, you'd be looking at at least a 500w power supply to run the 5870 as opposed to the 450w of the 6870. Despite the CX430 rated at 430w it can run the 6870 fine.

I'm also looking at Ebay right now and I see that the 5870s there aren't 80-120 they're practically the same price as the 6870 or even more. Most of those are just bid wars but they'll get to the standard of $150-$170

 

[aznshinobi]

Hardware, I don't want to sound harsh or blunt, but you're just under to small of a budget, maybe $400-$450 would cut it but the budget you're looking at is really tight and even second hand it's hard to get things under that budget. The GPU itself is already half your budget and the PSU 1/7 of the budget.

 

[hardwareballs20]

well im relying on getting good winning bids
ive spent 171$ i got 180 more to spend i guess im just going to have to up the budget to 400$ bc i need a case to sigh.. but i think i can do it with just 180 for used parts.

can i run this on a cardboard sheet for like 2 weeks until i have enough money?
(what i have now + the old 400w psu and gts250)

** and unlock 4th and overclock and all

hey would a 5850 or a 6850 come close to the 6870/5870 ? or would that not even get me into mid range max?

 

[FinneousPJ]

The 80+ gives indication that the PSU will perform at AT LEAST 80% of its rated XXX watts.

No, it doesn't. It indicates the power supply has 80% or better efficiency at 20%-100% load. That means it can supply 100% of its rated wattage at 80% efficiency. You need to understand what efficiency means before spouting this nonsense.

 

[FinneousPJ]

A 6850 is going to be fine if every dollar counts for you.

 

[hardwareballs20]

would a gtx 460ti be better than a ati 6850? or even a 5850 ( i read that 58xx are more powerful)

 

[FinneousPJ]

The 5850 might be more powerful, I'm not entirely sure. Not by much though, couple of percent maybe.

 

[zooted]

^The 5850 is more powerful that the 6850 and gtx460(no such thing as ti) it trades blows with the 6870/560(non ti).

 

[aznshinobi]

Finneous im sorry for my poor choice of words o describe efficiency but thats what i meant. I meant 80% of the max output, but ever.

Now you should stop spouting graphical non sense, at 1680x1050 the 6850 is decent but if OP wants to run DX10 and at high settings the 6870 is recommended. Now the 5850 is not THAT much better than the 5850 since drivers have shrunk that. The 460 is defiantly on par with the 6850 NOT the 6870/560 no ti, the only time you see that would be if you overclocked the 460. But after that the 460 is better, however with current costs the 460 isnt worth it.

 

[zooted]

^was that directed at me? I kinda said the same thing. I agree that the difference is minimal I would say that it falls in between the 6850/6870 while consuming the same power as the 6870.

 

[aznshinobi]

No not you Zooted, it was directed at FinneousPJ

I agree with you Zooted.