[Solved] New ~$700 Gaming Rig Advice

Forum Systems : New Build [Solved] New ~$700 Gaming Rig Advice

Approximate Purchase Date: Within the week.
Budget Range: $700ish (before rebates, taxes not included)
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, Surfing, video editing, watching movies
Parts Not Required: Monitor, Keyboard, Mouse
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg
Country: USA
Parts Preferences: NOT Foxconn, Biostar, ATX mobo
Overclocking: Nope
SLI or Crossfire: Nope
Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080
Additional Comments: Here's what I have right now: http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/ [...] r=23115927

Thanks!

Reply to clfy23

You need a Power supply!
Antec EarthWatts EA-500D Green 500W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply $49.99 after $15 MIR free shipping.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817371035

Message edited by DelroyMonjo on 01-27-2012 at 06:12:32 AM

Reply to DelroyMonjo

Oh man, how did I forgot that? Alright fixed that up.

What's the big difference between Neo Eco and Earthwatts? Is it worth the extra money?

Message edited by clfy23 on 01-27-2012 at 06:14:08 AM

Reply to clfy23

Best answer

Intel Core i3-2130 Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz LGA 1155 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 2000 BX80623I32130
$149.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115092

SAPPHIRE 100314-3L Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
$164.99 and a $20 rebate makes it $144.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102948

CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B
$49.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820145345

Since you won't be overclocking and you won't be doing SLI you can make a few changes for the better here.
You change the cpu to the i3-2130 which is a dual core but has hyperthreading so it has four logical cores and has a high base clock speed of 3.4ghz.

The savings from that can go towards additional ram at a higher mhz (1600) and more of it (8gb) since you have Windows 64bit. More ram is always better.

Then the 6870 is a higher model video card the has a $20 rebate and ends up less than the 6850 , since you are not going SLI/Crossfire then you do want to get the best video card you can afford.

With these changes you end up with a better Pc for less.

Reply to inzone

^
Isn't having a true quad core CPU more advantageous then having a dual core w/ HT?

You can't use those logical cores for gaming, right? And couldn't I save $20 by going with the i3 2120? I read that 100Mhz doesn't radically increase performance, I don't think that $20 is worth the 100Mhz increase in clock speed.

Message quoted 1 times
Message edited by clfy23 on 01-27-2012 at 06:35:11 AM

Reply to clfy23

XFX Core Edition PRO550W (P1-550S-XXB9) 550W ATX12V 2.2 & ESP12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
$69.99 and a $15 rebate makes it $54.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817207013

SILVERSTONE ST50F-ES 500W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply
$59,99 and a $10 rebate makes it $49.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817256061

With the money saved from the changes I suggested ($20) it would further reduce the cost of either power supply. The antec Neo and Earthwatts both do not come with a power cord so you would have to get one and if you have an old power supply then you could use the cord from that. Buying one would increase the cost of the psu.

Reply to inzone

clfy23 wrote :

The components that I have listed are just an example of what you can get and by no means would it be considered a final option. The reson for posting these suggestions is so you can piece together a good build for yourself.
As for the cpu there are only a few games that actually take advantage of four cores so a dual core is good for gaming and I tried to get the highest base ghz because you were not going to be overclocking. Yes you could save an additional $20 by going with the 2120.

Reply to inzone

$100 isn't. $20 is.

Reply to azeem40

I think I will end up going with a dual core, because as you said, most games use dual core. I just did a quick search on my game list and only BF3, BC2, and a few others use more then 2 cores. Thanks for the help inzone.

Reply to clfy23

Your welcome and I hope that your build goes smoothly and if you do go with those changes then you should have a better performing Pc.

Reply to inzone

Best answer selected by clfy23.

Reply to clfy23

Check This

Intel Core i5-2400 $190 newegg price
ASRock H61M/U3S3 Mobo $70 newegg price
XFX Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 $190 newegg price
Antec 620W PSU $65 newegg price
RAM 1333Mhz[8GB=4GB*2] $40 newegg price
HDD7200RPM Western Digital[160GB] $70 newegg price[**Hard Drive Prices Won't Recede Until 2013.So later upgrade to 1TB]
NZXT Cabinet $40newegg price
DVD WRITER SAMSUNG $15 newegg price

Total $680