Budget Gaming Build $800

[sanford727]

Approximate Purchase Date: Payday is this friday So then.

Budget Range: 800 before rebates. May be able to float a little more if needed

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming that is the only use, I play SC2 and am looking to play Some FPS like L4D and battlefield maybe

Parts Not Required: Already have everything just looking to build the whole computer tower.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: I searched on new egg but if we can find cheaper deals then I will take any website.

Country: USA

Parts Preferences: No Preference

Overclocking: No, I don't dare

SLI or Crossfire: Not yet.

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080 Would be nice but I can do whatever.

Additional Comments: Looking to dual monitor in the future and stream games. I added Windows 7 to my shopping cart because I need an OS.

Here is the build I already started working on. If you can find a way to make it any cheaper I would be happy since saved money is always a good thing.

Thermaltake V3 Black Edition VL80001W2Z Black SECC / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

SAMSUNG CD/DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-222AB - OEM

HITACHI HDS721050CLA362 (0F10381) 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

SAPPHIRE FleX 100314FLEX Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit

Antec NEO ECO 520C 520W Continuous Power ATX12V

Pareema 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM

ASRock P67 PRO3 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67

Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost)

COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM

Thanks for all your help I would like to get some educated suggestions on how to save some money and still get the most bang for my buck. Thanks a lot!

 

[Raiddinn]

If you aren't going to OC the processor then save the money on the Hyper 212 and stick with the stock fan.

Either that or use it to get good RAM instead of the RAM you chose.

If you type into google search "<name of motherboard> crucial RAM" it will come up with a link where crucial will specifically spell out every RAM type it makes that is guaranteed to work with the board and guaranteed to be of the highest quality.

Micron the company behind the Crucial brand name, sells chips that don't exceed its restrictive standards to generic makers. Those makers sift through the "fail" bin looking for things that still perform OK and then they label it with their own name and sell them as generic RAM (like Pareema, for instance).

Generic RAM is pretty much always coming from a "fail" bin from one of the very small number of companies that can actually create those little black RAM chips (of which Micron is one).

Anyway, I would definitely make those switches if it were me.

 

[sanford727]

Thanks a lot man. That makes sense I never knew that. Like I said I am knew so any knowledge you can give me I really appreciate. But yeah I am not planning on overclocking until I really learn my stuff. So I will buy that at a later time but what do you think of the motherboard I chose? Also on a side note how do you think this build will do with SC2 and other games around the same time period performance wise?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148472

Thats the new ram I found. Do you think that will work betteR?

I also switch to a RAIDMAX HYBRID 2 RX-530SS 530W ATX12V V2.2 Since it saved me about 20 dollars and had some good reviews. I also got a cheaper case because I plan on modding the case a little bit and if that doesn't work I will always go all out and get a fancy full size tower case later. I plan on ordering it all friday So if for any reason any of this looks retarded on my part please tell me before I make a huge mistake,

 

[Raiddinn]

The AS Rock brand is a good one. ASRock was formerly a division of Asus which is one of the two top tier motherboard makers (along with Gigabyte).

The ASRock brand was spun off into its own separate company a while ago and I would say they are too new as a stand alone entity to be considered Tier 1 standing alone, but they are a good tier 2 company along with names like MSI and Biostar. Just not quite fully accepted into the Tier 1 yet.

The new RAM you chose is fine. It will work definitely.

RAM usually likes to be installed in sets of more than 1 from the same pack, though, and performs best when that is the case. The motherboard you have chosen has two blue ports and two white ones. Ideally, any time that a stick of RAM is in one then the exact same kind should be in the other of the same color, and if a 3rd one goes in then a 4th one also should and it should be the same as what is in 1 and 2.

Based on that, I would suggest you consider either 2x 2GBs or 2x 4GBs instead of 1x 4GBs. This is basically the same thing x 2

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148476&Tpk=CT2KIT51264BD1339

if you wanted to go with 2x 4GB. I recommend this amount because I know a lot of people that max out 4GBs of RAM on Windows 7 and suffer in performance because of it. 2x 4GBs is really the ideal case for most people as of today.

Next year awesome programs may come out that may render the 2x 4GB configuration sub-par, but if so you can just add another of that same 2x 4GB and you would likely be fine again.

Also, I would like you to read a few reasonably short articles before you make the purchase that are related to PSUs so you can make an informed decision about which PSU is right for you.

First

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Why-99-Percent-of-Power-Supply-Reviews-Are-Wrong/410/1

Second - Antec 520w review

http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=317192

Third - Raidmax Hybrid 2 RX 530 review

... nothing...

I can't find a review of the Raidmax 530w anywhere that uses an oscilloscope. I am guessing because Raidmax isn't in a hurry to send these models to people who do use them like Hardware Secrets or JohnnyGuru.

Guess you can take that for what it's worth. Apparently Antec is OK with people dissecting their PSUs, testing them, and writing about them while Raidmax isn't.


As for the case, for $9 more (shipped) you can instead get an Antec 300 case. It is 33% more up front, but it will save you from having to buy a different case later.

I don't know how important it is to you to do the modding work you were talking about or whether or not you can do it on the 300 case, but the 300 case does come with twice as much exhaust fans standard and 3 ports that are ready for new fans to be inserted right away if you decide you want to go that route. The Thermaltake case has build in capacity for only 1 more from the side.

Personally, I like active fans on the front rather than passive intake and the Thermaltake is only capable of passive by the looks of it.

Anyway, you will probably be fine with whichever case you go with.

I do feel bad suggesting $10 higher alternatives here and there without offering anywhere to shave things down, but I am one of those people that thinks you get what you pay for and its better to pay a little bit more if you get a lot more for it.

Kinda funny that is, because I am on one of the most restrictive budgets around too.

 

[sanford727]

Yeah your exactly right I was just worried for the extra cash the PSU wouldn't be able to power the whole computer. Also I didn't know that about the ram but I might as well go for 8GB and not cheap out since the RAM should give me noticeable performance boost. I mean right now my total is only about 850 with shipping. Wish newegg gave more free shipping but I guess not haha.

 

[Raiddinn]

I have gotten quite a few things with free shipping on Newegg. For that matter most of the things I get there have free shipping, however, I am usually not on a strict timeline and I can wait for a month or two if necessary on things.

They had free shipping on most everything on Black Friday, I got my new video card and case on that day.

 

[sanford727]

Well this is my first time building a computer I have been using the same Laptop for 4 years since I first purchased it on FT Gordan during Training for the Army. I really can't wait to get this machine running it will be sweet. So I plan on ordering it tomorrow when my money hits my bank account. You were a life saver man. I am hoping this machine actually can run all of my games on it with no FPS lag. (SC2, CSS, L4D, BF3) What are your opinions?

 

[Raiddinn]

For 850 USD you aren't going to get ultra settings on all the newest games, but that system is about as about as good as it is going to get.

The way things are going these days it isn't just the video card that is the bottleneck, but also the CPU, and it is good to have a good mix of both. For the money, that CPU + GPU is about the best balanced setup you can get.

Let me know if you find another $1000 somewhere and all, but I think you will be happy with this setup at this cost.

 

[sanford727]

Good thats all I am worried about. As long as I don't make this comp and have it fail me haha.

 

[Raiddinn]

I can only maximize the likelihood of success. It is too bad that I cannot guarantee it.