$800 - $900 Everyday Rig

[BoozeClues]

Approximate Purchase Date: This month.

Budget Range: 800 - 900

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, surfing the internet, music, watching movies..

Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, monitor

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Amazon.com

Country: Guam

Parts Preferences: Whatever has the best efficiency; Intel processor though.

Overclocking: Yes

SLI or Crossfire: No

Monitor Resolution: 1280x1024

Additional Comments: This will be an all-purpose everyday desktop.



______________________________


OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001EYV690/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=A364K5Y86J4MV2


ASUS P8Z77-V LX
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007MKGF82/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&m=A364K5Y86J4MV2


HAF 912
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003ZM7YTA/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER


= $271.25

 

[BoozeClues]

Also, I will want this to play minecraft with realistic shaders; Diablo 3, League, Starcraft 2 on it's highest settings, and play hd videos.

 

[ScrewySqrl]

I see your parts list, but it seems incomplete (a power supply, a motherboard and a case). Do you have other parts in mind? or are you looking for suggestions to fill out the rest of the system?

I'm also going to suggest if you have a 1280x1024 monitor that you go ahead and replace that as well with a circa $100 1920x1080 monitor.

 

[BoozeClues]

Well yeah, I am looking for suggestions to fill out the rest of the system. Budget is $800 - 900

 

[greyphox]

OK, here's what I came up with, using some assumptions.

1) You are sticking with your 1280x1024 monitor
2) You already have a 64bit OS
3) Everything from Amazon

Case: Cooler Master HAF 912
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003ZM7YTA/ref=ox_sc_act_title_10?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER
52.99

Power Supply: OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001EYV690/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER
68.99 (there is also a $20 mail in rebate)

CPU: i5-2500k (Ivy Bridge 3570K should be released next week for roughly the same price, slightly faster, hotter if overclocked, lower power use)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004EBUXHQ/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER
218.98

CPU Cooler: CM Hyper 212+
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002G1YPH0/ref=ox_sc_act_title_8?ie=UTF8&m=A2EUTVCJXLAJ4K
24.51

Thermal Paste: Arctic Silver 5
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002VFXFE/ref=ox_sc_act_title_7?ie=UTF8&m=A2XNAOBSW0CZDL
6.39

Motherboard: Asus 8Z77-V LX
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007MKGF82/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER
139.99

RAM: Corsair Vengeance Blue
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004QBUL1C/ref=ox_sc_act_title_9?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER
48.98

Graphics: HIS Radeon HD 6850
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005D6P0N8/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER
139.99 (there is also a $10 mail in rebate)

OS Drive: Mushkin Chronos 60 GB
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005INAEJG/ref=ox_sc_act_title_5?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER
79.99 (Currently out of stock on Amazon)

Data Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200 500 GB
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005CT56R6/ref=ox_sc_act_title_6?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER
79.99

Optical Drive: Lite-On SATA 20x DVD/RW
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000OR5N7E/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?ie=UTF8&m=A3H4GHJN80AYKZ
15.99

Total: $876.79 + Shipping ($846.79 after rebates)


There are some things that can be changed, but that should give you a good baseline. I went for the 6850 over the 7770 as it generally performs better even though the 7770 is newer and more efficient. If you change your monitor to a 1920 x 1080, you may want to up that card to something better. Most games at 1280 x 1024 will not generally be GPU bound, which is why I picked a lower tier card.

If you can give some more details, we can tweak this a bit to better fit it to what you want to do.

 

[ScrewySqrl]

that build should be fine

even at 1920x1080 the 6850 should handle most games at high settings

 

[BoozeClues]

I actually don't have a 64bit OS yet.

 

[aznshinobi]

Check out my $850 build here:
http://www.squidoo.com/electronicandmore
Wait for Ivy Bridge next week, swap the i5 2500K with the i5 3570K (+0)
Swap the motherboard with this one (-15):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157297
Swap the PSU for this one (-40)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371030&Tpk=Neo%20Eco%20520
Total: $831
You don't need a high power PSU since you don't plan on SLI/CF. The Motherboard is more than enough and a solid one at that. Plus it's capable of Crossfire @ 16x/4x not ideal but it leaves the option open for a low price.

 

[greyphox]

I actually don't have a 64bit OS yet.

What OS do you have? And are you looking to add a new OS into this build?

 

[greyphox]

Check out my $850 build here:
http://www.squidoo.com/electronicandmore
Wait for Ivy Bridge next week, swap the i5 2500K with the i5 3570K (+0)
Swap the motherboard with this one (-15):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157297
Swap the PSU for this one (-40)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371030&Tpk=Neo%20Eco%20520
Total: $831
You don't need a high power PSU since you don't plan on SLI/CF. The Motherboard is more than enough and a solid one at that. Plus it's capable of Crossfire @ 16x/4x not ideal but it leaves the option open for a low price.

Does newegg ship to Guam? OP suggested Amazon, so I figured there possibly were issues with ordering from newegg from Guam.

 

[aznshinobi]

Oh.... Wow, I didn't see that. Yeah just switch the products to Amazon.
Amazon would still be hard. They would charge ALOT for shipping international, that's an assumption though. And yes, shipping Newegg doesn't ship anywhere except Canada and USA. Some parts of China have Newegg to which I thought was interesting.

OP I suggest you find a local store or find local online website.

 

[greyphox]

Oh.... Wow, I didn't see that. Yeah just switch the products to Amazon.
Amazon would still be hard. They would charge ALOT for shipping international, that's an assumption though. And yes, shipping Newegg doesn't ship anywhere except Canada and USA. Some parts of China have Newegg to which I thought was interesting.

OP I suggest you find a local store or find local online website.

ASRock Z77 Pro3 isn't available on Amazon.

The Antec PSU costs $6 more than the OPs suggestion of OCZ. However, I checked the rebate form for it, and its only available to US and Puerto Rico residents. Sorry OP

 

[BoozeClues]

I'll be buying a new OS for this build. And yeah, Guam's very limited when it comes to computer parts; reason why I'm buying it on amazon.com. Also, I'll be ordering these parts piece by piece to lessen the cost of shipping.

 

[greyphox]

I'll be buying a new OS for this build. And yeah, Guam's very limited when it comes to computer parts; reason why I'm buying it on amazon.com

Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit will add $100 to the build http://www.amazon.com/Windows-Premium-64bit-System-Builder/dp/B004Q0PT3I/ref=sr_1_1?s=software&ie=UTF8&qid=1335487750&sr=1-1

What are your storage requirements? Adding the OS puts you over budget with the Amazon build I laid out earlier. What are you willing to reduce to come in on budget? The SSD will definitely give a nice performance boost, but is not technically required and removing it will reduce cost $80, putting you right at $900 with the OS.

 

[BoozeClues]

Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit will add $100 to the build http://www.amazon.com/Windows-Premium-64bit-System-Builder/dp/B004Q0PT3I/ref=sr_1_1?s=software&ie=UTF8&qid=1335487750&sr=1-1

What are your storage requirements? Adding the OS puts you over budget with the Amazon build I laid out earlier. What are you willing to reduce to come in on budget? The SSD will definitely give a nice performance boost, but is not technically required and removing it will reduce cost $80, putting you right at $900 with the OS.

I originally intended for a single 500gb hdd since ssd are expensive, but i am willing to stall the order for the additional cooling and will just wait to overclock the cpu. Also I will be using my optical drive for it is fairly new.

 

[greyphox]

I originally intended for a single 500gb hdd since ssd are expensive, but i am willing to stall the order for the additional cooling and will just wait to overclock the cpu.

Ok, I believe the Intel stock HSF comes with thermal paste pre-applied, so removing the CM 212+, Arctic Silver 5, SSD, and adding Win 7 brings total to $865.89 + shipping.

The stock Intel cooler can probably hold a mild overclock on stock volts to maybe 3.8-4.0 GHz ballpark, but watch your temps if you do that.

Ninja edit Removing DVD drive drops it to $849.90+shipping, so right in the middle of your budget, depending on shipping charges

 

[BoozeClues]

Ok, I believe the Intel stock HSF comes with thermal paste pre-applied, so removing the CM 212+, Arctic Silver 5, SSD, and adding Win 7 brings total to $865.89 + shipping.

The stock Intel cooler can probably hold a mild overclock on stock volts to maybe 3.8-4.0 GHz ballpark, but watch your temps if you do that.

Ninja edit Removing DVD drive drops it to $849.90+shipping, so right in the middle of your budget, depending on shipping charges

I will probably just keep the Thermal paste and fan

 

[BoozeClues]

Best answer selected by Boozeclues.