$500 gaming PC

[galispo]

Hi, this is my very first post,

Approximate Purchase Date: within a month
Budget Range: <600$
Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers. (Just need what is inside the case)
Country: US (Alaska)


What i have already selected:
Intel Core i3-2120
Foxconn Rattler LGA 1155 Intel P67
Radeon HD 6790 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1

2 x 4GB DDR3 1600
Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s
DVD Burner
Mid Tower Case + PSU

My main focus is to get a good system for the money, without spending too much, and also be able to easily upgrade in the future by buying another GPU and take advantage of the crossfire x16/x16 on the motherboard.

I am open to the possibility of overclocking, if it is worth it.

What do you think?
Would the parts work well together? Would there be some bottlenecks?
What would you change?

Thanks for listening

 

[clarkjd]

Hi, this is my very first post,

Approximate Purchase Date: within a month
Budget Range: <600$
Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers. (Just need what is inside the case)
Country: US (Alaska)


What i have already selected:
Intel Core i3-2120
Foxconn Rattler LGA 1155 Intel P67
Radeon HD 6790 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1

2 x 4GB DDR3 1600
Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s
DVD Burner
Mid Tower Case + PSU

My main focus is to get a good system for the money, without spending too much, and also be able to easily upgrade in the future by buying another GPU and take advantage of the crossfire x16/x16 on the motherboard.

I am open to the possibility of overclocking, if it is worth it.

What do you think?
Would the parts work well together? Would there be some bottlenecks?
What would you change?

Thanks for listening

I am not sure that the Foxconn Rattler does x16/x16 for the PCI/E slots. Both Newegg & Foxconn say that slots 1 & 2 SHARE x16. To me that sounds more like x8/x8.
In fact, this review:
http://www.techpowerup.com/142427/Foxconn-Unveils-Quantum-Force-Rattler-P67-Motherboard.html
confirms that with both slots populated it is x8/x8. That being said, I doubt that you would notice the performance hit between x16/x16 and x8/x8, as we are not close to saturating the PCI/E interface.

However, if you are buying this board just to get x16/x16, then be advised that you will not be getting the full x16 bandwidth for both graphics cards.

BTW, Welcome to Tom's!

 

[maui67]

Welcome to Tom's Hardware!

Here is a possible build:


COOLER MASTER Elite 430 RC-430-KWN1 Black Steel / Plastic Computer Case
Item #: N82E16811119227
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
-$15.00 Instant
$10.00 Mail-in Rebate
$44.99

XFX HD-677X-ZNLC Radeon HD 6770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
Item #: N82E16814150540
Return Policy: VGA Standard Return Policy
-$10.00 Instant
$20.00 Mail-in Rebate Card
$109.99

AMD Gift - Dirt3 Game Coupon - OEM
Item #: N82E16800995114
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
-$49.99 Saving
$0.00

AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ965FBGMBOX
Item #: N82E16819103727
Return Policy: CPU Replacement Only Return Policy
$119.99

COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler Compatible Intel ...
Item #: N82E16835103065
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
-$5.00 Instant
$10.00 Mail-in Rebate
$29.99

Western Digital Caviar Blue WD10EALX 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Item #: N82E16822136767
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
SAMSUNG 22X DVD Burner SATA Model SH-222BB/BEBE - OEM
Item #: N82E16827151244
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
-$10.00 Instant
-$13.00 Combo
$103.98

MSI 970A-G46 AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
Item #: N82E16813130637
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
CORSAIR Builder Series CX600 V2 600W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply
Item #: N82E16817139028
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
-$10.00 Instant
-$15.00 Combo
$20.00 Mail-in Rebate Card
$144.98

G.SKILL Value Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-8GBNT
Item #: N82E16820231424
Return Policy: Memory Standard Return Policy
$38.99

Total ~$593 (shipping not included)(doesn't account for $60 rebates plus $15 in promo codes)

This build has a much much much better PSU than the one that comes with the case you picked. This AMD board also has x8/x8 Crossfire for upgrade later (and the PSU will more than handle the Crossfire).