600-700$ Gaming PC

[DrLittleTokyo]

Hey all!

I'm finally psyched to get into building my own computer and I've spent some time reading the buying guides here and watching build tutorials, etc, but I still have some doubts. That's where you guys come in! Help an amateur in need with some friendly advice.

Approximate Purchase Date: Within the next week or two.

Budget Range: 600-700$ (before rebate; including OS);

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, Internet.

Parts Not Required: Monitor, mouse, keyboard, optical drive, speakers (I have all these already).

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg

Country: US, Los Angeles area.

Parts Preferences: AMD, Nvidia

Overclocking: No

SLI or Crossfire: No

Monitor Resolution: 1024x768 or 1280x1024

Additional Comments: Looking to make a build for Crysis/starcraft II/ Skyrim (as examples) on high. I have some concerns about my choice for motherboard quality, is a 50-60$ board going to be absolute junk? The case seems like it would have great airflow with all the fans, thoughts?


Case- Rosewill Blackbone Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

mobo- GIGABYTE GA-M68MT-S2 AM3+ NVIDIA GeForce 7025/nForce 630a chipset Micro ATX AMD Motherboard

GPU- ZOTAC ZT-40508-10L GeForce GTS 450 (Fermi) 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

PSU- SeaSonic S12II 520 Bronze 520W ATX12V V2.3 / EPS 12V V2.91 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

CPU- AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ965FBGMBOX

Memory- G.SKILL Value Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-8GBNT

HD- Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

OS- Windows 7 OEM

Total: $602.92

 

[Plasmid]

I'd get an intel build along with a beefier gpu. Crysis is very intensive and with that gts 450 the game will lag badly also intel cpus are better than amd cpus on starcraft 2.

I'd recommend getting a core i3 2100 and a hd 6850 or gtx 460 v2.

 

[adgjlsfhk]

Since you are not overclocking go with the I3-2120. It will give you better performance with lower tdp. Also get a hard drive with sata III there is no price difference and it will perform better.
hard drive $79
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822236028

I3-2120 $127
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115077

GIGABYTE GA-H61MA-D3V $59
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128539

This will give you much better performance at the same price

 

[ddan49]

Yeah... Intel build. adg's is nice. Try as hard as you can to upgrade the GPU... it won't play Skryim on high.

 

[mocchan]

I agree with Plasmid...

Here's a quick build I did on newegg. Total is $521 without Win7+Case. Should be around 650-670 if you add those in.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115078

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131724

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231424

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131374

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139027 (currently 10 dollars off)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136073

If you REALLY want to stick with AMD/Nvidia, though, I would recommend a different motherboard. I personally use a Biostar A880G+ Motherboard which has been working great for a year. It's not for the overclocker, but for stock voltages, and a tight budget, it's great.

Here's my recommendations for an Nvidia card, though - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130625 it's a little more expensive, but it'll perform much better than that GTS 450.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138283 This is the Motherboard I use for my mother's PC/HTPC. It's been working great for a year+.

 

[adgjlsfhk]

ddan49, sorry about my user name. I chose it for ease of typing not ease of pronunciation. You are right, a better graphics card would be nice. One option that would help a lot with graphics at the expense of processing power would be to use AMD fusion and crossfire.

 

[ddan49]

Yeah... but that would be bad...

Sacrifices must be made... I'd try to stay at least with an i3 and maybe a 6870? A 6850?

Your username's fine, adgjlsfhk... once I get the hang of typing it

 

[adgjlsfhk]

The one thing I would change about mocchan's build is I would get the I3-2120 200 MHz is not a lot, but then again, neither is $3.

 

[mocchan]

The one thing I would change about mocchan's build is I would get the I3-2120 200 MHz is not a lot, but then again, neither is $3.

Oh duh! It was 2120 not 2130 :lol: I was wondering why the heck it costed 30 dollars more, when I had seen it for only 5-10 dollars more expensive a week ago.

**EDIT***
The Rosewill Blackbone is decent at most. My brother has it for his rig and it's been an okay case... The airflow isn't all that great, the front intake is barely enough to cool the HDD's and the exhaust is mehhhh.

Cable management...non existent. The space behind the motherboard tray is so little you'll have to sit on the case to close the left side panel! :lol:

 

[MMO Fan]

You dont need Intel if you are just gaming the 965 is plenty good enough but that GTS 450 is garbage for any decent gaming it will sh** the bed.

 

[DrLittleTokyo]

Thanks for the feedback everyone!

Time to reconsider some things and I'm glad I didn't go rush off and buy my original build, haha.

 

[mocchan]

Thanks for the feedback everyone!

Time to reconsider some things and I'm glad I didn't go rush off and buy my original build, haha.

 

[adgjlsfhk]

One last case you might want to look at
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147153

 

[ddan49]

Antec 300 Illusion is better (and so is HAF) in a side-by-side comparison

 

[adgjlsfhk]

I was going to recommend the COOLER MASTER Elite 430 RC-430-KWN1 but I was unable to find it yesterday. I just ordered it for a $600 build that I am making. Anyways, here is the link.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119227

 

[ddan49]

Er... I'd still recommend Antec Three Hundred Illusion... it's a great case that isn't expensive at all. Check a side-by-side comparison if you want to get more specialized settings... but the Illusion has fan controllers (a great element to a $50 case!). Personal preference, though...

EDIT: A whopping FOUR fans! 3 120mm and 1 140mm... each with a three-speed fan controller! Washable air filters! This is a great case!

 

[adgjlsfhk]

which one are you talking about in your edit? I just bought the Cooler Master elite it looks great and came very quickly. I have not installed any parts yet but it looks like it will work very well. Also you get $12 off if you buy it with this.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171060

 

[Pezcore27]

COOLER MASTER HAF 912 - 59.99

SeaSonic M12II 520W Power Supply - 59.99

Intel Core i3-2120 - 127.99

MSI H67A-G43 Motherboard - 89.99

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB - 41.99

EVGA GeForce GTX 560 SE - 129.99

Samsung Spinpoint F3 500GB Hard Drive - 79.99

Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - 99.99

TOTAL = $689.92 (shipping, rebates, promo codes not included)

 

[adgjlsfhk]

Go with this changes to the above build
Better hard drive $79
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148767

 

[Pezcore27]

Same drive, different case...

 

[adgjlsfhk]

No it is not. The one I recommended runs at 6 gb/s and the other runs at 3 gb/s. It makes a big difference for read times.

 

[ddan49]

^He's right.

I was talking about the Antec Three Hundred Illusion in the edit. Its fan setup is great... although it's the same price as a HAF. The HAF gets more publicity, but I seriously think the Antec Three Hundred Illusion is better. However, I provided a side-by-side comparison with review for the OP, and that's all I can do.

By the way, I have never used an Antec Illusion. In fact, I've been suggesting HAF 912s for most people. It was only when I did a comparison that I found out that the Antec Illusion is better... it's not like I'm fighting for the case I use or my favorite case, or something. I just thought that based on the specs, it was the best buy.

 

[Pezcore27]

No it is not. The one I recommended runs at 6 gb/s and the other runs at 3 gb/s. It makes a big difference for read times.

Mechanical drives cannot saturate a sata ii connection @ 3.0 gb/s much less a sata iii connection. So yes other than the sata connection, they are the same drive.