Advice for a $600 - $700 Gaming Computer

[myrddyn]

I am trying to build my first gaming computer and I would appreciate any helpful suggestions anyone can offer. I have been reading the forums for the past few weeks and have a list of parts I think will fit my budge (prices listed are after rebate).

Thank you


Approximate Purchase Date: Within the next one to two weeks

Budget Range: $600 - $700 After Rebates

System Usage from Most to Least Important: gaming, surfing the internet, watching movies

Parts Not Required: Mouse & Keyboard

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Micro Center but I will order through the mail if I can get a better price/product.

Country: USA

Parts Preferences: none

Overclocking: Not now but possibly in the future

SLI or Crossfire: NO

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080


CPU/Processor $200.00
Intel Core i5-2550K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Without IGP
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0384721

MOBO/Motherboard $125.00
ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0384988

RAM/Memory $30.00
Corsair XMS 8GB DDR3-1333 (PC3-10666) CL9 Dual Channel Desktop Memory Kit (Two 4GB Memory Modules)
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0347304

GPU/Video Card $100.00
MSI R6770-MD1GD5 AMD Radeon HD 6770 1024MB GDDR5 PCIe 2.1 x16 Video Card
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0367844

PSU/Power Supply $50.00
Diablotek UL Series 675 Watt ATX Power Supply
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0371617

Hard Drive $80.00
Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000.D 500GB 7,200RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0375256

CASE $50.00
COOLER MASTER HAF 912 RC-912-KKN1 Black SECC/ ABS Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0343331

DVD Drive $25.00
LG 22x DVD±RW Burner with Dual Layer Support - OEM
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0372836

Monitor $120.00
Acer G235HAbd 23'' 5ms 1920x1080 WideScreen LCD monitor 300 cd/m2 1000:1
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009266&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-RSSDailyDeals-_-na-_-na&AID=10521304&PID=4176827&SID=32wsij9dr2ax

 

[g-unit1111]

PSU/Power Supply $50.00
Diablotek UL Series 675 Watt ATX Power Supply
http://www.microcenter.com/single_ [...] id=0371617

Hard Drive $80.00
Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000.D 500GB 7,200RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.microcenter.com/single_ [...] id=0375256

Oh - both of these are bad news. Diablotek PSUs are incredibly cheaply made and likely to blow up on you and Hitachi HDs have a much higher fail rate than anything else you can get from WD or Seagate.

Get these instead:

- PSU: Seasonic S12 II 620: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151096
- HD: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136769

Fair warning - with PSUs you really get what you pay for and the wrong one can cause serious damage to your system. Tread very carefully buying cheap PSUs.

As far as the 2550K goes - that CPU is kind of ridiculous to get as it's just a 2500 with a slightly faster clock and disables the onboard video. I'd actually recommend dropping that to an i3-2120 and then upgrading your GPU to a Radeon 7850. That's where you'll notice the most difference - otherwise everything else looks good, I love the HAF 912.

I'd also say to get different RAM as well - the Corsair XMS is decent but it has a higher fail rate than a lot of brands you can get. Try this instead:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314

 

[nekulturny]

PSU/Power Supply $50.00
Diablotek UL Series 675 Watt ATX Power Supply
http://www.microcenter.com/single_ [...] id=0371617

Hard Drive $80.00
Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000.D 500GB 7,200RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.microcenter.com/single_ [...] id=0375256

Oh - both of these are bad news. Diablotek PSUs are incredibly cheaply made and likely to blow up on you and Hitachi HDs have a much higher fail rate than anything else you can get from WD or Seagate.

Get these instead:

- PSU: Seasonic S12 II 620: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151096
- HD: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136769

Fair warning - with PSUs you really get what you pay for and the wrong one can cause serious damage to your system. Tread very carefully buying cheap PSUs.

As far as the 2550K goes - that CPU is kind of ridiculous to get as it's just a 2500 with a slightly faster clock and disables the onboard video. I'd actually recommend dropping that to an i3-2120 and then upgrading your GPU to a Radeon 7850. That's where you'll notice the most difference - otherwise everything else looks good, I love the HAF 912.

I'd also say to get different RAM as well - the Corsair XMS is decent but it has a higher fail rate than a lot of brands you can get. Try this instead:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314

I agree with gunit on the PSU, it has all the trademarks of low quality PSU, the HDD I have no experience with to relay, he's probably right though.

And yes, I would get the 2500k not the 2550k if you want an Intel build.

I would consider a higher RAM speed, maybe 1600mhz rated, if you wish to overclock. If not, stick with 1333mhz. The reason I suggest higher rated RAM is because when you overclock at the FSB, you're also overclocking the RAM, 1600mhz rated RAM is guaranteed to run at least that fast by the manufacturer. (or course on a stock clock, 1600mhz RAM will run at 1333mhz)

Also the 6770 is a pretty weak video card, I would consider spending a little more money on a better one. If you're going to buy such a cheap video card for gaming, and theres no additional flexbility in your budget, you would be better off again for gaming, to step down in price and do a Phenom II Deneb build so you have more budget room for a better graphics card.. Games are graphics card limited, not CPU.


I disagree on dropping to a dual core i3. Heres why:

Warning: copy/paste job from another thread I posted in.

I'm of the opinion as it stands now, software is behind hardware technology. (Hell a lot of software is still only 32 bit, including most web browsers) As we progress, software is going to be written more and more to favor quad core CPUs. For that reason, despite how good an i3 is for a dual core, a proper quad is the way to go for a well balanced system on a budget. [/opinion]

By proper I mean 4 physical cores, Intel i3s and AMD Bulldozers "pretend" to have more cores than they actually do, granted Sandy Bridge is a lot better at playing make believe, but the 965BE still smokes it in a lot of scenarios.

 

[Outlander_04]

The radeon 6770 is a relatively weak gaming graphics card for 1080p resolution .

You will be better off using a dual core i3 2100or 2120 and spending more a minimum of a radeon 6850 or preferably a 6870 for that resolution

The diabolical psu is not even going to work well as a door stop . Buy an 80+ bronze rated unit . 430 - 500 watts will do .

The hitachi hdd is not a performance drive and runs a bit noisier than most but it is reliable and well priced . Hard drive speed will not affect frames per second in games or image quality so its an acceptable compromise to save $ IMO