New Budget Gaming Computer

[melinore]

Hello everyone. I am trying my hand at building myself a new computer as my current one seems to be approaching its demise. Partly due I think to some failing parts, but it has also become fairly outdated. What I’m aiming for is a mid-range gaming computer that I can use to run newer games on mid graphics. I’m trying for a balance between a computer that will remain relevant for a few years and budget. Taking a cue from the template posted in the stick thread I will provide the limitations I am working with. Thank you all for your advice in advance!

Approximate Purchase Date: Sometime this month. I’ve already encountered a few close scares with my current computer possibly not rebooting and I want to get its replacement in place before it dies on me.
Budget Range: (e.g.: 600-800) : Ideally my computer should come in under a 1000 dollars and preferably under 800 after rebates.
System Usage from Most to Least Important: My main concern for this PC is gaming. I do a lot of downloading and watching of media on the computer as well as web surfing.

Parts Not Required: The parts will be reusing will be my monitor and my mouse. The monitor is an Acer X193w with resolution 1440 x 900.
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: This would be newegg unless a rather compelling argument is put forth for a different website.

Country: United States
Parts Preferences: I’d prefer AMD and ATI as my previous purchases have been through them and I have confidence in their reliability.

Overclocking: No

SLI or Crossfire: No

Monitor Resolution: 1440x900

Additional Comments: I’m not looking for any frills really just a solid gaming computer without any of additional dressing up.
Currently I have the following selections made, but I’m not sure if they are the best selections or are fully compatible with each other. Any advice on alternatives or optimization would be greatly appreciated.
Case: Rosewill R5 Black Gaming Case http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147161
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-970A-D3 AM3+ AMD http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128521
Video Card: XFX Double D FX-777A-ZDF4 Radeon HD 7770 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150597
CPU: AMD FX-6100 Zambezi 3.3GHz Socket AM3+ 95W Six-Core
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103962
RAM: CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233144
HDD: Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EARX 1TB IntelliPower http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136939

 

[obsama1]

1. If you live near microcenter, definitely get the i5 from there instead. Otherwise, get the Phenom II X4/X6 since FX is meh.

2.What PSU will you use?

3. The 6850 uses more power, but is a lot more powerful than the 7770, and the same price.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150573

 

[TheBigTroll]

here is a good recommendation

http://pcpartpicker.com/ca/p/88Uz

i know its intel based but they do have good gaming performance

 

[gizmo_65]

If you got a HDTV just use that as your monitor. here is an A-8 3870K setup for you its $512 http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.864951 but you still got to buy the graphics for it. i recommend x2 ($60-$90 each) 6670 or a ($140-$160) 6850
here is my computer specs
gaming htpc llano A-8 3870K processor, 500gb seagate momentus hybrid drive, 8gb g.skill sniper ram, sony blu ray player, crossfired 6670, bluetooth, wifi, mini keyboard/mouse combo, 450 WATT 80 PLUS PSU, WINDOWS 7 home premium http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007TN5PZ6

gaming computer fx 6100 6 core processor,nzxt tempest 410 gaming case, 2tb western-digital green hard disk drive, xfx radeon hd 6870, 8gb crucial ram, corsair h60 liquid cooling, samsung blu ray drive, 630 WATT 80 PLUS PSU, WINDOWS 7 home premium http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007T0DXVM

 

[Why_Me]

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Carbide-Series-Mid-Tower-Gaming/dp/B006I2H0YS/ref=sr_1_8?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1336635806&sr=1-8 $75.84 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Corsair Carbide Series 300R Mid-Tower Gaming Case - CC-9011014-WW

http://www.corsair.com/carbide-series-300r-compact-pc-gaming-case.html <----- another look at that case

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0348766 $57.99 - $49.99 after rebate savings +.99 shipping
Antec High Current Gamer Series 520W ATX Power Supply

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.910000 $269.98 save: $10.00
ASRock B75 PRO3 LGA 1155 Intel B75 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Intel Core i5-3450 Ivy Bridge 3.1GHz (3.5GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 2500 BX80637I53450

http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=B75%20Pro3 <----- another look at that board

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-AD-7280S-0B-Internal-Drive-Black/dp/B0057FRTPW/ref=sr_1_2?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1336879031&sr=1-2 $17.99 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25
Sony AD-7280S-0B 24x SATA Internal DVD+/-RW Drive (Black)

http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Barracuda-3-5-Inch-Internal-ST1000DM003/dp/B005T3GRNW/ref=sr_1_5?m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1336761767&sr=1-5 $99.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Seagate Barracuda 7200 1 TB 7200RPM SATA 6 Gb/s NCQ 64MB Cache 3.5-Inch Internal Bare Drive ST1000DM003

http://www.amazon.com/HD7870-DC2-2GD5-DisplayPort-Utilities-PCI-Express-Graphics/dp/B007JLFVNO $334.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
ASUS HD7870-DC2-2GD5 Radeon 2GB DDR5 VGA/DVI/HDMI/DisplayPort GPU Tweak Utilities PCI-Express 3.0 Graphics Card HD7870-DC2-2GD5

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/HD_7870_Direct_Cu_II/ <----- review of that Asus 7870 w/benchmarks

http://www.amazon.com/Windows-Premium-64bit-System-Builder/dp/B004Q0PT3I/ref=pd_bxgy_e_text_b $99.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64bit (Full) System Builder DVD 1 Pack

Total: $956.77

 

[Zero_]

Check my sig

 

[sulumordna]

if you are truley looking to build a buget replacement, go for a sandy bridge class pentium chip and cheap mobo. these things are about even with my phenom ii x4 b55, paired with say an hd 6770 hd or hd 6850 and a cheap intel mobo of course. not an intel fanboy at all (i am running amd after all) but sandy bridge and ivy bridge cpus are awesome.

 

[diellur]

If you got a HDTV just use that as your monitor.

I'd actually not recommend that. Depending on the size of the TV, what looks good across the lounge looks markedly worse when you have it a couple of feet in front of you. When it's in front of your face, you suddenly notice the pixels are huge etc.

if you are truley looking to build a buget replacement, go for a sandy bridge class pentium chip and cheap mobo. these things are about even with my phenom ii x4 b55, paired with say an hd 6770 hd or hd 6850 and a cheap intel mobo of course. not an intel fanboy at all (i am running amd after all) but sandy bridge and ivy bridge cpus are awesome.

+1

AMD, sadly, isn't the best vendor for greatest bang-for-buck CPU performance. The Phenom IIs are old and the Bulldozer architecture was a flop. Check out this motherboard and CPU:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128538 ($10 more than the one you selecteD)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116405 ($40 cheaper than the one you selected)

You could even up the CPU to an i3 and still keep it below the price you had for the AMD CPU, although for a budget gaming system the G860 is very good (see Tom's CPUs of the month article, it's been in it for a while now).

The other advantage is that with a S1155 motherboard, your system is very futureproof...you can, expense allowing, upgrade right up to an i7-3770K if you wanted. There are also plenty of non-overclockable i5 and i7 CPUs you could upgrade to.

I didn't see a PSU in your build...just make sure you get one from a reputable manufacturer. Also, if you can, don't get the 7770...the 7850 is very good, although it is $100 more. The GPU you have will largely determine how good your rig is; a 7850 or equivalent card will have you playing modern games at max settings and do you for probably 2-3 years with a graceful degradation in settings along the way (if you're happy with that).