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$1200 gaming build advice needed

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I play mmo games (wow, swtor) and do some photo/video editing for my family.

Originally I was going to build my own. When I put the compenents together, it looked like I was going to save 100 - 200 bucks when compared to ordering through cyberpowerpc.com. I would build my own computer to save 100 bucks.

However, as I checked cyberpowerpc.com this morning, many of their "specials" were right around the items I was looking to get. Usually this doesn't happen.

Here is a quote I got from them this morning:

CoolerMaster 690 II Advanced
Intel® Core™ i5-2500K
CoolerMaster Hyper 212 Evo
GigaByte Z68X-UD3H-B3 Intel Z68
8GB (2GBx4) DDR3/1600MHz Kingston HyperX
Radeon HD 6850 1GB GDDR5 16X PCIe
700 Watts - Generic Power Supply
120 GB OCZ Agility 3 SATA-III 6.0Gb/s SSD
2TB SATA III 6.0Gb/s 64MB Cache 7200RPM HDD
LG 12X Internal Super Multi Blu-Ray Rewriter
NZXT Sentry-2 Fan Touch Screen Fan Control & Temperature Display
PCI Wireless NIC
No Windows Software Needed

For $1107 or $1182 with shipping.

Granted I was not going to get a generic power supply or that brand of SSD, but my budget also would not have allowed me a 2TB HDD. My budget is $1200.

When I put all this into newegg.com the price with shipping was around $1250.

So I am looking for advice. Advice on component synergy, advice on if I am putting my money into the right areas, and advice on whether I should build or order through cyberpowerpc.com.

I know this is a lot of stuff, but thank you for taking the time to read and hopefully respond.

Blackburn

More about : 1200 gaming build advice needed

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If you can, sign up for newegg's 30-day free shipping trial. Guaranteed 2-day shipping.

Anyway, I think, for a $1200 budget, you are putting too little into the GPU. $1200 can easily fit in a 6970.

Drop the Hard Drive's size down. They are ridiculously expensive. Get like a 500gb HDD now and buy another one later when prices drop.

OCZ is a terrible SSD brand. Try a better brand like Samsung 830 or Crucial M4.

Do you really need a Blu-Ray drive? If you can, get a DVDRW omsyead.

Don't use generic power supplies that come with case or are no-names. Antec, XFX, and PCP&C are much better power supplies.

Yeah, avoid that website. They sell underquality parts for too much. You would save A LOT of money by building yourself or having someone you know do it for you.

LG DVD Burner Black SATA Model GH24NS70 - OEM $17
COOLER MASTER RC-692-KKN2 CM690 II $70
NZXT Sentry-2 5.25" Touch Screen fan controller $25
Seagate Barracuda ST500DM002 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s $85
Rosewill Wireless Adapter NIC $17
XFX HD-685X-ZCFC Radeon HD 6850 1GB $160
Antec High Current Gamer Series HCG-620 620W ATX12V $60
Patriot Gamer 2 Series 8GB $43
GIGABYTE GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 $150
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge $230
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO $35
LG Black Internal 12X Blu-ray Disc Rewriter $80
SAMSUNG 830 128GB SATA III $200

Through newegg.com - $1,171.87 or $1190.38 with shipping.

Better SSD, better power supply, but if you sacrifice those two things... i can get a 2TB hard drive instead of a 500gb and save $8. Plus I get extra fans and mouse/keyboard, etc through cyberpowerpc.

I need a bluray burner for family vidoes (wife's request). So that is 70 bucks more i have to spend over a dvd burner.

Normally I would say buiding mine own would save me money, but I am wondering if i sacrifice to a generic power supply and ocz ssd, I can get a better deal than even building.

What do you think azeem? Thanks for input, more please!

Blackburn
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blackburn11 said:
LG DVD Burner Black SATA Model GH24NS70 - OEM $17
COOLER MASTER RC-692-KKN2 CM690 II $70
NZXT Sentry-2 5.25" Touch Screen fan controller $25
Seagate Barracuda ST500DM002 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s $85
Rosewill Wireless Adapter NIC $17
XFX HD-685X-ZCFC Radeon HD 6850 1GB $160
Antec High Current Gamer Series HCG-620 620W ATX12V $60
Patriot Gamer 2 Series 8GB $43
GIGABYTE GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 $150
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge $230
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO $35
LG Black Internal 12X Blu-ray Disc Rewriter $80
SAMSUNG 830 128GB SATA III $200

Through newegg.com - $1,171.87 or $1190.38 with shipping.

Better SSD, better power supply, but if you sacrifice those two things... i can get a 2TB hard drive instead of a 500gb and save $8. Plus I get extra fans and mouse/keyboard, etc through cyberpowerpc.

I need a bluray burner for family vidoes (wife's request). So that is 70 bucks more i have to spend over a dvd burner.

Normally I would say buiding mine own would save me money, but I am wondering if i sacrifice to a generic power supply and ocz ssd, I can get a better deal than even building.

What do you think azeem? Thanks for input, more please!

Blackburn

The Cooler Master Cases all have plenty of fans, so buying extra ones aren't needed. I guarantee you will not regret changing the SSD. Crucial m4 is more reliable than the OCZ one. The price/performance ratio is much lower if you build your own.

Here is what I would do:
Your same CPU: $230
ASRock Extreme3 Gen3 Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... $122

Your same PSU: $60
Your same Cooler: $35
Your same RAM: $43
Your same Blu-Ray: $80
Crucial M4: 128GB SSD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... $175
Your same Wifi Card: $17
XFX Radeon 6950: $240

Total: $985

Much better value. You get a MUCH better Graphics Card and a MUCH cheaper price. This is about $1000 with shipping or so.

I was actually looking at that mobo. So I make those changes I do get it to $1014 with shipping.

However, that is with no case ($70), no data hard drive ($85 for 500gb or $170 fpr 2tb) , and no temp monitor/fan controller ($25).

Just think the specials on cyberpowerpc, like 110 bucks for a 2tb hard drive are pretty good. Sure caught my eye.

You add the case, the 500gb hdd, and the controller, that is my 1200 bucks and I have a much better gpu, solid components, and only really sacrificed the big hard drive. To upgrade to the 6950 on cyberpowerpc would put the system price very over budget, their sweet spot was with the 6850 card.

Just wish I could get a larger hard drive. I have tons of photos and videos of family and more incoming (daughter 3 years old).

.. and thank you for your input. I have built my own computer the last 3 times (over a 12 year period) and all too often I dont get a display at the start. Bad MoBo, or bad ram, or something and have to send stuff back and get replacements. Then get it to work.

Guess I liked the idea of solid components and having someone else install and test before I get.

Once hard drive prices drop down, you can buy a bigger HDD. If you want to get a bigger HDD for family pics and vids, you can drop down to a 6870, which will still run everything on high.

So if I take your recommendation and add the cm690 case, the nzxt sentry-2 fan controller, and a 2tb barracuda, i come in at $1287. $1300 with the artic silver 5. Wife wont be happy with that!

So my options are to drop the 2tb hhd, drop the video card down (and perhaps the fan controller, or drop the ssd card altogether.

What do you think?

I honestly wouldn't drop down the ssd. It is a big performance boost to the whole system. I am seeing you care a lot about family memories, so just drop the GPU down to the 6870 and get the larger HDD.

OK.... I decided to drop the blu-ray burner. This is what I got:

LG DVD Drive $21
Cooler Master CM690 II Case $70
Seagate Barracuda 2TB Hard Drive $170
Rosewill Wireless PCI NIC Card $17
XFX Radeon 6950 GPU $240
Antec Gamer Series 620W Power Supply $60
Artic Silver Thermal Compound $13
Patriot Gamer 2 Series 8gb RAM $43
ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 Motherboard $122
Intel i5 2500k Sandy Bridge $230
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO $35
Crucial M$ 128GB SSD $175

$1,214.33 with shipping.

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