Need Budget Build with i5 2500k and HD 7850

[Le Reveur]

Hi TH,

I will be building my first gaming desktop sometime in May. With this build, I will be doing a heavy amount of gaming, and will likely play graphic intensive games like Battlefield 3, and military strategy games like Shogun 2 Total War.

I'm looking to play these games, and new games in

*1080p(or a little less) in Med-High detail

I have already decided to use, and have payed for:

*i5 2500k processor
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004EBUXHQ/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

and

*ASUS HD7850
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007JLFV7U/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&m=A1729W3053T57N

While I do plan to do heavy overclocking in the future, I'm on a budget, and only have about 350$ left to spend on fans, the case, the psu, ram, mobo, etc. I will probably only over clock to about 3.8 GHZ upon building, so I don't danger the PC parts.

What's the best build with these items, but still doesn't compromise the life of the GPU and processor. I will likely upgrade this build after the summer, for better cooling and insulation, but for now, I just need a complete desktop.

Thank you for your help in advance.

 

[James McKeane]

Hi TH,

I will be building my first gaming desktop sometime in May. With this build, I will be doing a heavy amount of gaming, and will likely play graphic intensive games like Battlefield 3, and military strategy games like Shogun 2 Total War.

I'm looking to play these games, and new games in

*1080p(or a little less) in Med-High detail

I have already decided to use, and have payed for:

*i5 2500k processor
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004EBUXHQ/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

and

*ASUS HD7850
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007JLFV7U/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&m=A1729W3053T57N

While I do plan to do heavy overclocking in the future, I'm on a budget, and only have about 350$ left to spend on fans, the case, the psu, ram, mobo, etc. I will probably only over clock to about 3.8 GHZ upon building, so I don't danger the PC parts.

What's the best build with these items, but still doesn't compromise the life of the GPU and processor. I will likely upgrade this build after the summer, for better cooling and insulation, but for now, I just need a complete desktop.

Thank you for your help in advance.

$374 at Newegg with mail in rebates.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

Motherboard: ASRock H61M/U3S3 Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($76.97 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($21.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: NZXT Gamma Classic (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair 500W ATX12V Power Supply ($37.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH22NS90B DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $363.91
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-04-29 13:23 EDT-0400)

 

[Le Reveur]

Looks good. I actually don't need the OS, I forgot to mention that. So I have a little bit more cash, for 8gb of ram. Are two of these good, or should I opt for a better quality brand.

On another note, I'm not sure how much 8GB of ram is going to improve performance over 4GB. So maybe I should get 6GB, or spend the extra 50$ on something else altogether?

 

[g-unit1111]

$374 at Newegg with mail in rebates.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

Motherboard: ASRock H61M/U3S3 Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($76.97 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($21.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: NZXT Gamma Classic (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair 500W ATX12V Power Supply ($37.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH22NS90B DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $363.91
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-04-29 13:23 EDT-0400)

Don't get H61 with a 2500K - you forfeit access to the multiplier which would make overclocking a moot point, you also forfeit an additional X16 lane should you decide to add a second 7850 down the road.

 

[Le Reveur]

Don't get H61 with a 2500K - you forfeit access to the multiplier which would make overclocking a moot point, you also forfeit an additional X16 lane should you decide to add a second 7850 down the road.

I do want to make over clocking viable. I'm not going to SLI/Crossfire anytime soon though, and I'm probably going to stick to single card options in the future. Any other MOBO suggestions?

 

[James McKeane]

I do want to make over clocking viable. I'm not going to SLI/Crossfire anytime soon though, and I'm probably going to stick to single card options in the future. Any other MOBO suggestions?

Its really helps if you use the template http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261222-31-build-advice in your OP.

$351 at Newegg:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77M-D3H Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($109.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($42.99 @ NCIX US)
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 430 ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: Corsair 500W ATX12V Power Supply ($37.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH22NS90B DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $317.94
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-04-29 14:47 EDT-0400)

 

[g-unit1111]

Its really helps if you use the template http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261222-31-build-advice in your OP.

$351 at Newegg:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77M-D3H Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($109.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($42.99 @ NCIX US)
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 430 ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: Corsair 500W ATX12V Power Supply ($37.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH22NS90B DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $317.94
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-04-29 14:47 EDT-0400)

Why MATX? I'd go with a full ATX board like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157293

mATX severly limits your expansion options where a full ATX board won't.

 

[Le Reveur]

Best answer selected by Le Reveur.

 

[motorneuron]

Why MATX? I'd go with a full ATX board like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157293

mATX severly limits your expansion options where a full ATX board won't.

+1 to this. Full ATX is preferable, and that linked ASRock board is a good choice.

 

[g-unit1111]

+1 to this. Full ATX is preferable, and that linked ASRock board is a good choice.

Yeah - I'm getting that same board - but I'll most likely go for the Extreme 6 with the front USB 3.0 bracket as my system doesn't have that currently and getting to the back of my case isn't fun as it's in a tight cabinet.