$700 Gaming Build - Need Advice

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glass lich

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Apr 26, 2012
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Building a new gaming pc for a friend, looking to order the parts tonight or tomorrow. I have been doing research and have put together a build that seems to go along with what everyone has been saying on the forums here. What I'd like to know is if all the components work well together, if there is any 'overkill' with them, and any suggestions for better brand names at equivalent prices etc...

Thanks for your assistance/advice!



Approximate Purchase Date: today/tomorrow

Budget Range: ~$700 (+/- $25 for shipping costs)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming

Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com

Country: USA

Parts Preferences: Intel CPU, Cooler Master HAF 912 or Rosewill Challenger case

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe in the future

Monitor Resolution: Will be using a HD 1080p flat-screen television as monitor

Additional Comments/Concerns: the RAM and PSU (is it powerful enough for the GPU etc.) concern me the most here, along with the motherboard in the combo. Also, is this the best GPU for the money right now? I've read conflicting reports on the forums here...I am a little under budget with what I have here so if I could get some slightly better components with the option for future upgrade-ability that would be fantastic...thanks for taking the time to look this over for me!


1x BIOSTAR TZ77B LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s and 1x Intel Core i3-2120 Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz LGA 1155

$197.98

Rosewill Green Series RG430-S12 430W Continuous @40°C, 80 PLUS Certified, Single 12V Rail and x G.SKILL Value Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3
[url= http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.904096]
$72.98

VisionTek 900505 Radeon HD 7850 2GB GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
[url= http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814129230]
$249.99

Samsung by Seagate Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ/ST500DM005 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
[url= http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181]
$79.99

Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
[url= http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147153]
$49.99

LG 22X Super-Multi DVD Burner
[url= http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136240]
$16.99

Total with Shipping = $674.69

Like I said earlier though, I can afford up to $725, leaving an extra $50 bucks or so to play around with need be.

Thanks again for your time!
 
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aznshinobi

aznshinobi

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Oct 19, 2009
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Ehhh..... THe P8H67 is expensive and still just an H67. Probably the worst board you could recommend for the price it costs. It's cost is basically a Z68 board. Might as well go Z68 or a cheap Z77.

Check out my $650 build here Glass
http://www.squidoo.com/electronicandmore
Switch the 6870 to the 7850 and you should be solid. (+90)
Would suggest waiting for Ivy Bridge next week. The replacement for the i5 2400 should only be $174 slightly cheaper and save you some money.

Course, for my build, if you want to save some money. Just get the Ivy Bridge replacement for the i3 2100/2120 and keep the same motherboard.
 
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glass lich

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Apr 26, 2012
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Thanks for your replies, but I'm still looking for someone to verify that my PSU I selected is powerful enough for my GPU and other components and that the RAM isn't crap...

Also I am not looking to wait for Ivy Bridge next week unfortunately.

I am also growing terribly confused by all these different mobo's and their respective chipsets i.e. Z68, Z77, H67 etc. I just want one that I can upgrade to IB later on perhaps and has some Crossfire capabilities...
 
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aznshinobi

aznshinobi

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Assuming you are referring to this one
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131711
Or even this model
http://www.amazon.com/P8H67-M-LE-REV-3-0-Motherboard/dp/B004QF0VFO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1335483204&sr=8-2
You're paying $100-$120 for a board that can't overclock, is Quick-Sync is limited to not having a dedicated graphics card, mATX, and H67 just has so many limitations.

For the same costs, the Z77 Pro3 is available as well as the Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 which has overclocking available. The Pro3 and Extreme3 are both ATX. The Z77 is $5 less than the P8H67 Pro and can still CF @ 16x/4x, the Extreme3 is $6 more than the P8H67 Pro and can SLI/CF @ 8x/8x and as Gen3 support as well.

Not only that, why get H67 at all when H61 has basically the same features. The Asrock H61M/U3S3 sits at $60-$75 and has the same features USB 3.0, SATA 3.0 for so much less. It's not like anyone would want to SLI/CF on an mATX the board would become way too cluttered and slots start getting blocked.
 
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glass lich

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okay, but from what I've read the differences between IB and the current processors aren't really that substantial so is it really worth it? Or am I simply paying for a technology that isn't that much of an improvement?
 
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aznshinobi

aznshinobi

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Your PSU is good enough Grass. I personally think you could do better but your build is fine. Although sorry to be a bit harsh, but not waiting for Ivy Bridge in just a week would be a stupid and ignorant decision.

Ivy brings slight performance increase, PCI 3.0 support (not the biggest deal), lower power consumption and higher efficiency, native USB 3.0 (not a big deal either). Overall it's the performance increase and @ the same price. Why wouldn't you wait for just a week.
 
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glass lich

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It isn't really my call to wait or not, if the build was for me personally I would of course wait, but unfortunately this is for a friend so unless he is willing to wait this is going to have to make due for now. And by telling me I could do better isn't really helping me...I looked at your builds, but it looks at if they leave out several major pieces for a complete build? Also from what I understand the GPU should be a top priority on a budget gaming build, followed by processor and mobo...so thats why I was attempting to make some slight sacrifices in order to accomodate a graphics card that costs 250. But it seems like the 7850 is the card to get for this price range correct?
 
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aznshinobi

aznshinobi

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What are several major things that were missed?

Also Azeem I don't know how you get the information you get.
http://hexus.net/tech/reviews/cpu/38421-intel-core-i5-3570k-22nm-ivy-bridge/?page=5
The i5 3570K improves in so many areas besides slightly increased temps (1-3*) efficiency increased, the quick-sync is better than before, the i5 3570K is better in most benches and by a decent margin. At the same price, why WOULDN'T you go with the i5 3570K rather than the i5 2500K? That'd just be a stupid decision.
 
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azeem40

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buzznut

buzznut

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And I would say GPU>power supply>CPU>mobo>ram. You need to have a solid PSU, especially for a current hungry gaming rig. I'll admit, Rosewill power supplies are getting better but I'd still get one with a five year warranty and at least 500W for a gaming system.
 
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glass lich

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Apr 26, 2012
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Not to be rude, but my simple post for advice has seem to evolved into some sort of competition about processor benchmarks...All I was looking for was someone to put my mind at ease about the components I had put together for my friend. I am trying to find a better mobo now thanks to your guys' recommendations, but it'd be nice to get a little more reassurance that this build is capable of gaming with reasonable framerates on a HD television...
 
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azeem40

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From the article:
"We've established the CPU side of the Intel Core i5 3570K is little changed but big things have happened with the graphics. How does Intel's new mainstream crowd pleaser perform when you fire her up?

With the clockspeeds and cache staying mostly steady and the cores revised rather than redesigned, we didn't have high hopes for a dramatic boost in performance.

That's pretty much how it plays out.

In the Cinebench 11.5 professional graphics rendering test, the Intel Core i5 3570K edges the old Core i5 2500K 1.6pts to 1.49tps. Factor in the 100MHz clockspeed advantage of the Core i5 3570K and it's clear Ivy Bridge isn't doing anything dramatic.

It's a similar story of very modest performance gains in x264 HD video encoding and the CPU-intensive World in Conflict game benchmark. The Core i5 3570K is quicker, for sure, but the difference isn't nearly enough that you're ever going to feel it.

Intel Ivy Bridge die

That said, we have been expecting some showbiz moves when it comes to overclocking.

After all, Intel has been bullishly bigging up is fancy new 22nm transistors in all their 3D Tri-gate glory. Oh, and as before, that 'K' suffix indicates a full unlocked CPU multiplier for easy overclocking. Time for them to deliver.

What you make of the 4.9GHz result depends on the angle you're coming from.

On the one hand, that's 1.5GHz higher than the Intel Core i5 3570K's guaranteed clockspeed for four loaded cores, which is one hell of an overclock with a simple air cooler.

On the other, it's just 100MHz higher than the old 2500K manages. So much for that fancy 22nm tech, then?

Perhaps, but what's really interesting for existing Sandy Bridge owners is that Intel's new Z77 platform seems to release more overclocking potential from the outgoing 32nm generation.

We reckon the Z77 is worth a good 200MHz to 300MHz with Sandy Bridge chips, which is intriguing even if it undermines the attraction of the new Core i5 3570K and its Ivy Bridge brethren.

As for the graphics, Intel has indeed upped its game.

World in Conflict at 1,280 x 800 jumps from a sluggish 19 frames per second on the 2500K to a borderline playable 27 frames per second on the new Core i5 3570K, for instance. Skyrim performance is up from 21 frames per second to 25.

In reality though you still need a discrete graphics card for enjoyable gaming.

It's hard to know what to make of the QuickSync video transcode core though.

Performance is up by roughly 10 per cent. It's certainly impressive to observe a whole hour-long HD episode of a TV show crunched down for smartphone consumption in just a few minutes.

But with application support remaining somewhat limited, QuickSync still isn't the killer feature it could be.
You might also like...
Intel CPU wafer
Ivy Bridge - the end of an era?Sandy Bridge vs. Ivy Bridge
We liked

The new Intel Core i5 3570K has everything that made its Core i5 2500K such a winning CPU.

Per core performance is the best you can buy.

It overclocks like there's no tomorrow and it's relatively affordable. We're also pleased that it remains compatible with Intel's LGA1155 socket
We disliked

Intel has created a rod for its own back in recent years by delivering ever more performance.

The new Ivy Bridge generation basically puts on the brakes.

No more cores. No more clocks. And no more overclocking headroom.

The improved graphics don't make up for that.
Verdict

A great chip, but Core i5 2550K and i5 2500K owners have nothing to worry about."
 
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buzznut

buzznut

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+1 Asrock extreme 3.
 
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buzznut

buzznut

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Yes, a quad core with an HD 7850 will be a very competent rig for gaming for the next couple of years. At 1080p, yeah no problem.
 
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azeem40

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Corsair is a good brand, but stay away from their GS and CX series PSUs. They are not manufactured by Seasonic and are low-quality units.
 
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aznshinobi

aznshinobi

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Azeem, do you see that that is for people that already have an i5 2500K. It's not worth the upgrade. But if you're just buying a new PC in general, you might as well get the i5 3570K at the same price.

As for the rigs being power consuming. Buzz you're a little bit wrong, no offense on that. The 7850/7870 only needs a 650w to CF according to AMD so TDP's are only getting lower. The i5 3570K is lower on the TDP too than the i5 2500K. Not a huge deal but overall you don't need crazy PSUs like you did before.

As for you OP, the 7850 is a good buy. The build is solid as I've said before. I would just try to wait for Ivy or tell your friend too.
 
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