The Shining Beacon. $600 i3 & GTX 560 Ti

[Andre2807]

Specs
CPU: Intel Core i3 2120 3.3Ghz
Mobo: Asus P8H61 Pro
GPU: Gigabyte GTX 560 Ti OC'ed @ 950Mhz
RAM: Corsair XMS3 4Gb 1333Mhz
HDD: WD Caviar Blue 500Gb
OD: Sony 24x DVD Writer
CPU Fan: Zalman CNPS7500 CU LED (came with case)
PSU: Antec HCG 620W
Case: Zalman Z9 Plus

 

[Motopsychojdn]

Throw these pics into the members gallery mate, you'll get a lot more responses there
Moto

 

[AdrianPerry]

Nice I don't understand how you sit at that desk though There's no where for your knees to go :O ?

 

[Proximon]

That's a nice, simple, clean budget build.

 

[Andre2807]

Nice I don't understand how you sit at that desk though There's no where for your knees to go :O ?

LOL. I remove the doors, and tuck my knees inside When I'm done, I put the doors back on keeping the clean look

 

[Motopsychojdn]

Nice I don't understand how you sit at that desk though There's no where for your knees to go :O ?

Op may be in a chair after a landmine incident, and thats the , oh wait no he answered that already, nvm
Moto

 

[Star72]

Nice looking rig bud.

 

[joemama069]

Nice build man, kudos

 

[Andre2807]

Me Gusta

 

[AdrianPerry]

LOL. I remove the doors, and tuck my knees inside When I'm done, I put the doors back on keeping the clean look

Ahhhh you KNOW you want to get a foot spa in the bottom of that cupboard to dip your feet in Much more relaxing way to game HAHA!!

 

[Andre2807]

Ahhhh you KNOW you want to get a foot spa in the bottom of that cupboard to dip your feet in Much more relaxing way to game HAHA!!

Hahaha that could work! Then I wouldn't get so worked up when someone kills me a lot in World of Warcraft!

 

[Motopsychojdn]

You'd probably get killed more due to the relaxed attitude hehe,
I don't do pvp, too involving and stressy
Moto

 

[Andre2807]

I was killed due to LAG on my laptop. The game was barely playable @ 1024 x 768 everything low, and if you set it to lower resolution, you can barely see the buttons! Put that together with bad latency and you die constantly in BG's, Arena or Raiding.

Now I can enjoy 60FPS constantly @ 1080p, everything ultra, with only latency being a little on the slow side. I'm so happy! Now I must choose. Mic for Mumble or footspa?

 

[Motopsychojdn]

I vote footspa, I may be biased though having just finished a nightshift
Moto

 

[Andre2807]

I'm actually stuck. A stand alone USB mic costs R285 = $36. I have good headphones at home. Is it better to buy a cheap headset with mic costing R60 = $7.5, or get a new headset with mic for R350 = $43.75, or buy the cheap headset with mic and 4Gb 1333Mhz RAM as I only have one 4Gb stick at the moment?

 

[boiler1990]

I think the i3 is underestimated as a gaming CPU most of the time. It can really help a budget build since it does quite well with most games and allows for a much better GPU in the budget.

 

[Andre2807]

Why do you think I bought it?

 

[boiler1990]

I'm just saying, I've helped several people this week with budget builds in about the same price range, and they just don't understand that an i5 + 6770 is going to suck compared to an i3 + 560Ti/6950

 

[AdrianPerry]

I'm just saying, I've helped several people this week with budget builds in about the same price range, and they just don't understand that an i5 + 6770 is going to suck compared to an i3 + 560Ti/6950

+1 - I generally wouldn't recommend an i5 to anyone who's not looking to buy at minimum a 6950/GTX 560Ti. Maybe 6870 at a stretch but as you say, the performance from an i3 with a graphics card a few tiers higher, is going to provide much better performance in games as they stand currently.

I regret pumping so much into my i5-2500k, -v PRO mobo and GTX 560Ti, especially since I don't even find myself gaming on it any more. A nice i3 build like the OP posted would have saved my wallet a little and been more than substantial

 

[Proximon]

I'm running an i3 2120 while my i7 2600K is getting RMA'd, and there is almost no difference in most games.
Now obviously if a virus scan kicked in while I was playing a large map in Civ V, I would take a big performance hit. But, it's a good budget choice. I rate it a bit closer to a Phenom II x4 than most will, and am likely to recommend either one depending on my mood and various minor considerations.

 

[boiler1990]

The nice thing about the Intel platform is that somebody who could only afford a ~$500-600 build today could, with the right parts, be ready for Ivy Bridge in a few months.

 

[kilerp00n10]

What Motherboard is that? a link would be appriciated

 

[Andre2807]

http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_1155/P8H61_PRO

Great mobo if you can't afford a H67 or P67 and not looking to SLI

 

[kilerp00n10]

Does that fan covr up one of the RAM slots?

 

[Andre2807]

Slightly, but I installed the RAM before installing the CPU Cooler. So I can actually use both slots