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$700-$800 Gaming PC

Approximate Purchase Date: Today, unless I would be better off waiting. I heard certain parts may drop in price in June.

Budget Range: $700-$800. I'm not big on mail-in-rebates.

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, watching movies, browsing the net, HD video editing

Parts Not Required: Everything outside the tower (keyboard, monitor, OS, etc). I also will not need a hard drive. I have an old HDD I can use for now, and will eventually upgrade to a SSD.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: I've always liked Newegg, but since I'm in Tennessee, I have to pay tax on Newegg. I don't on other sites, such as Amazon.

Country: USA

Parts Preferences: None. Give me the best bang for the buck :)

Overclocking: Doubtful. I've never really done research on this.

SLI or Crossfire: Not sure what this is. You guys tell me.

Monitor Resolution: Not too picky here

Additional Comments: I'm not a hardcore gamer. I don't need to play games at max settings. I just want to have a computer that will stand the test of time and still be able to play new games a few years from now. Like I mentioned above, I may also be doing some HD video editing, but that's not a priority at all.
11 answers Last reply Best Answer
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  1. You said you dont need a monitor. So monitor resolution you should tell us. New Hd monitors are usually 1920x1080. SLI / Crossfire is using two of the same video cards in conjunction with each other to gain a performance boost.
  2. The monitor I'm currently using is 1920x1080.
    Regarding SLI/Crossfire: If it fits within my budget and would be better in the longrun, then I'd want it. If not, I'd be fine without it. My main goal is to make this computer still viable for gaming in a few years, even if I have to do some occasional upgrades every 3-4 years.
  3. Midtower/high tower? If you are interested in video editing, we may put in a 16GB ram. Is your old HDD a SATA HDD?


    Amazon free super savershipping/prime + no tax (depending on state)
    Cooler Master Hyper212 $25.67
    GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-D3HMotherboard $144.99
    Antec 650 Powersupply $67.99
    Sony AD-7280S-0B 24x SATA $21.25
    Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 GHZ OC 2 $359.99
    CoolerMaster HAF932 Advanced $129.99
    ------------------
    Newegg (calculated based on tax of my location)
    Corsair Vengeance 8GB DDR3 $48.25
    ---------------
    $798.13
  4. Thanks for the reply! I think you may have forgotten a processor, though. I'm assuming a 2500k would be my best bet? However, a CPU would raise that price way over my budget...

    I think I would be fine with either mid or high tower. Space isn't an issue. Aside from that, does either have any benefits over the other?

    I think I would be ok with 8Gb of RAM for now. Video editing isn't something I plan on jumping into any time soon. I just bought a new camera and would like to do it eventually, but I can always upgrade my RAM when that time comes.

    Also, yes, my old HDD is a 500Gb SATA WD Caviar. It doesn't specify if it's a blue/green/black/etc. It'll only be used temporarily until I can afford a SSD.
  5. Best answer
    Yikes! My apologies for forgetting to add the processor. The HAF932 is just one of the best aircooled high towers out there. It's not necessarily needed, but I saw the opportunity (until i forgot about the processor -_-) The Rosewill Challenger is a great budget midtower case. Recommended on Tom's Hardware.

    Amazon free super savershipping/prime + no tax (depending on state)
    Cooler Master Hyper212 $25.67
    GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-D3HMotherboard $144.99
    Antec 650 Powersupply $67.99
    Sony AD-7280S-0B 24x SATA $21.25
    ------------------
    Newegg (calculated based on tax of my location)
    i5 2500K $219.85
    Sapphire 6950 2GB $214.49
    Rosewill Challenger $53.61
    Corsair Vengeance 8GB DDR3 $48.25
    ---------------
    $796.1

    Hope my calculations are correct haha.
  6. Ok, would someone mind checking over my list before I make the final purchase? A few of the parts (such as the video card) concerned me because there were multiple variations (e.g. I found like 5 different 8Gb sets of Corsair and a few different Sapphire 6950's). Just want to make sure everything I got is correct and compatible.

    Intel Core i5-2500K Processor - $204.99
    http://www.amazon.com/Intel-BX80623I52500K-Core-i5-2500K-Processor/dp/B004EBUXHQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1337454123&sr=8-1

    SAPPHIRE 11188-22-20G Radeon HD 6950 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card (OC Edition) - $199.99 + tax = $218.99
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102987&Tpk=Sapphire%206950%202GB

    Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case, comes with Three Fans-1x Front Blue LED 120mm Fan, 1x Top 140mm Fan, 1x Rear 120mm Fan, option Fans-2x Side 120mm Fan - $49.99 + tax = $54.74
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147153

    Corsair Vengeance Blue 8 GB (2X4 GB) PC3-12800 1600mHz DDR3 240-Pin SDRAM Dual Channel Memory Kit CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B - $44.99
    http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Vengeance-PC3-12800-1600mHz-CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B/dp/B004QBUL1C/ref=sr_1_31?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1337454853&sr=1-31

    Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler, RR-B10-212P-G1 - $26.49
    http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Hyper-Sleeve-RR-B10-212P-G1/dp/B002G1YPH0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1337454530&sr=8-1

    Gigabyte Intel Z77 LGA 1155 AMD CrossFireX/NVIDIA SLI W/HDMI, DVI Dual UEFI BIOS ATX Motherboard GA-Z77X-D3H - $144.99
    http://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-CrossFireX-NVIDIA-Motherboard-GA-Z77X-D3H/dp/B007R21KBC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1337454772&sr=8-1

    Antec EarthWatts EA-650D Green 650 Watt 80 PLUS BRONZE Power Supply - $79.00
    http://www.amazon.com/Antec-EarthWatts-EA-650D-Green-BRONZE/dp/B004NBZAES/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1337454941&sr=1-1
  7. yup all is correct.
  8. Shell shocker today:
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147160

    Would save you $15.

    That's getting you closer to this XFX 7850:
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150608

    Also, you could get the 7850 if you don't buy the CPU Cooler. (Which I think you should - but you could hold off until you are ready to OC).
  9. There's a $40 difference between the SAPPHIRE 6950 and the XFX 7850. Is it worth the $40? I'm pretty much set on all the other parts except for this. I also noticed the 7850 comes with Dirt3 and Dirt Showdown, whereas the 6950 only comes with Dirt3.

    I also decided to go with this case, instead. It's pushing my budget a little higher than I intended, but I really like it:

    COOLER MASTER HAF 912 RC-912-KKN1 Black SECC/ ABS Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233&Tpk=HAF912
  10. tspirtle said:
    There's a $40 difference between the SAPPHIRE 6950 and the XFX 7850. Is it worth the $40? I'm pretty much set on all the other parts except for this. I also noticed the 7850 comes with Dirt3 and Dirt Showdown, whereas the 6950 only comes with Dirt3.

    I also decided to go with this case, instead. It's pushing my budget a little higher than I intended, but I really like it:

    COOLER MASTER HAF 912 RC-912-KKN1 Black SECC/ ABS Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233&Tpk=HAF912


    I think a 7850 is absolutely worth it if you can afford.

    I've heard great things about the HAF 912.
  11. Best answer selected by tspirtle.
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