Gaming Computer build, ~$1200

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nikstykal

Honorable
Apr 2, 2012
34
0
10,530
Approximate Purchase Date: Next couple weeks

Budget Range: $1000-1200

System Usage from Most to Least Important: gaming

Parts Not Required: Keyboard, mouse, monitor

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg

Country: US

Parts Preferences: Any

Overclocking:Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe

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GPU: Radeon HD 7870 $360
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102983

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K $220
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

CASE: Antec 900 $60
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042

HD: Western 1 TB $140
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533

SSD: 120 GB $125
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226236

RAM: PNY 8GB ddr3 1866 $60
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820178412

MB: ASUS P8Z68-V LE LGA 1155 Intel Z68 $133
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131773

POWER: APEVIA WARLOCK POWER ATX-WA900W 900W $90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817148036

CPU FAN: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus $30
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065

TOTAL: $1,218.00
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1. Comments on setup?

2. Improvements overall or specifically?

3. First computer build, any suggestions to make this a simple process/what to focus on?

4. Any way I can save any more money besides just hunting down some deals? Would really like to cut a few bucks off!
 
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A

Akinos242

Distinguished
Jun 23, 2011
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I'd look into a few different parts. For starters, you can swap out the motherboard for this one by ASRock: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271 it's just as good quality wise, and has PCIe 3.0.

You can also swap out the RAM for this G.Skill RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314 There isn't really much benefit in using the 1866mhz, plus this is lower voltage, and manages to be just slightly lower latency.

My only other concern is your power supply. If you're seriously considering doing Crossfire in the future, do not under any circumstances cheap out on your PSU. Your putting more than likely $500 into GPUs, do yourself a favor and get a quality PSU. If you plan on just using a single GPU, check out the Rosewill Capstone series: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182068 will be plenty of power for your current setup, and it's 80Plus Gold certified as well. Review can be found here: http://www.anandtech.com/show/5698/rosewill-capstone-450w-and-650w-80plus-gold

**If you have a Microcenter in your area, I'd check them out for the CPU, the i-5 2500k is $179.99, just thought I'd throw it out there, since that'd save you a good $40**
 
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g-unit1111

g-unit1111

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Moderator
Jul 27, 2011
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My only other concern is your power supply. If you're seriously considering doing Crossfire in the future, do not under any circumstances cheap out on your PSU. Your putting more than likely $500 into GPUs, do yourself a favor and get a quality PSU. If you plan on just using a single GPU, check out the Rosewill Capstone series: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817182068 will be plenty of power for your current setup, and it's 80Plus Gold certified as well. Review can be found here: http://www.anandtech.com/show/5698 [...] 0plus-gold
Click to expand...

Absolutely - the PSU is the most important part of any build and you don't want to skimp or compromise on it if you can help it. I have used plenty of Apevia products and I can say without equivocation that they are a truly, truly awful crap brand.

Try this build:

Case: NZXT Phantom - $119.99
PSU: Corsair Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 - $149.99
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3H - $159.99
CPU: 3.3GHz Intel Core i5-2500K - $219.99
Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo - $34.99
RAM: 8GB Crucial Ballistix Sport 1600Mhz 1.5V - $46.99
SSD: 64GB Crucial M4 - $84.99
HD: 1TB Seagate Barracuda HD 7200RPM - $109.99
Optical: Lite On DVD Burner - $17.99
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 - $359.99

Total: $1,270.89
 
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A

Akinos242

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Jun 23, 2011
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Not really, your going back a generation CPU wise, and the video card is lackluster. At the very least, at least with Sandy Bridge, and socket 1155 there's a good potential to upgrade to Ivy Bridge once it comes out if you so chose. Here, you've got no upgrade path. Your also out an SSD, which will be one of the more noticeable things missing from your machine.
 
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g-unit1111

g-unit1111

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Jul 27, 2011
42,542
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Not only that iBUYPOWER has a terrible reputation among PC vendors due to its' service and support department - it's kind of like Apple in that you're paying way too much for hardware from three generations ago.
 
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Why_Me

Why_Me

Polypheme
Jan 17, 2008
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http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Tower-Case-RC-912-KKN1/dp/B003ZM7YTA/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1333426502&sr=1-1 $59.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Cooler Master HAF 912 Mid Tower ATX Case (RC-912-KKN1)

http://www.amazon.com/OCZ-Series-80PLUS-Performance-compatible/dp/B005A2RJOI/ref=sr_1_9?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1333426441&sr=1-9 $96.87 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
OCZ ZS Series 750W 80PLUS Bronze High Performance Power Supply compatible with Intel Sandy Bridge Core i3 i5 i7 and AMD Phenom

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271 $121.99
ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.amazon.com/Intel-BX80623I52500K-Core-i5-2500K-Processor/dp/B004EBUXHQ/ref=pd_cp_e_0 $204.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Intel Core i5-2500K Processor

http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Hyper-212-RR-212E-20PK-R2/dp/B005O65JXI/ref=pd_cp_e_0 $34.64 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO CPU Cooler (RR-212E-20PK-R2)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231546 $44.99 FREE SHIPPING
G.SKILL Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-1600C9D-8GAB

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226236 $128.99 FREE SHIPPING
Mushkin Enhanced Chronos MKNSSDCR120GB 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Barracuda-3-5-Inch-Internal-ST1000DM003/dp/B005T3GRNW/ref=sr_1_9?m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1333216718&sr=1-9 $109.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Seagate Barracuda 7200 1 TB 7200RPM SATA 6 Gb/s NCQ 64MB Cache 3.5-Inch Internal Bare Drive ST1000DM003

http://www.amazon.com/Asus-24xDVD%C2%B1RW-Serial-Internal-DRW-24B1ST/dp/B0033Z2BAQ/ref=pd_bxgy_e_img_b $19.99 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25
Asus 24xDVD±RW Serial ATA Internal OEM Drive DRW-24B1ST (Black)

http://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-Radeon-PCI-Express-Graphics-11199-00-20G/dp/B007JCNOPU $349.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 GHZ 2 GB DDR5 HDMI/DVI-I/Dual Mini DP PCI-Express Graphics Card 11199-00-20G

Total: $1,172.43

 
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Why_Me

Why_Me

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Jan 17, 2008
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btw that Asus board you have up there is meant for a single card set up. It runs dual cards @ x4 instead of the normal x16.
 
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