Hey everyone! I'm building a new desktop for myself and I could use some help selecting some parts. I'm currently a college student and I'd like to have a gaming desktop to play some games (specifically titles such as Battlefield 3 and in the future Crysis 3, Guildwars 2, and other system demanding games, etc.). I also would like it to use this computer to complete my school work and enjoy some multimedia from time to time. (I'm also getting a new laptop or a tablet too, so I can take my school work elsewhere.) Ok, so back to building this system. Here is a quick overview:
Approximate Purchase Date: Sometime this week
Budget Range: $750 (excluding rebates from this estimate)
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming (I play a lot of video games, mainly fps), school work, movies, music, surfing the web, etc.
Parts Not Required: Keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS, DVD drive, gaming headset, and hard drive (I got a 7200 RPM 200 GB one...prices are too expensive right now, so I'll wait for some sales).
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: mircocenter.com/frys.com, so I can go and pick it up. Newegg.com works too. I also have amazon prime, so definitely amazon.com
Country: USA
Parts Preferences: I just want parts that will last me a long time (at least for 3 more yrs until I finish my undergraduate degree, longer would be nicer)
Overclocking: I want to try to, so maybe.
SLI or Crossfire: SLI maybe. I don't want an AMD gpu. Nvida only.
Monitor Resolution: A 24" TV running at 1920x1080
Additional Comments: I really need help deciding on processor/motherboard. Look below to see the two different builds I came up with. I can't decide whether to choose the Intel processor or the AMD processor. (Prices are estimates)
Intel based
CPU: i5-3570k ($190-http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0388577)
Mobo: ASRock Z77 Pro4-M ($110-http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157306)
OR GIGABYTE GA-Z77-D3H ($120-http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128543)
AMD based
CPU: Fx-8150 ($200-http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103960)
Mobo: ASRock 970 EXTREME3 ($85-http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157280)
OR MSI 970A-G46 ($90-http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130637)
OR GIGABYTE GA-970A-D3 ($90-http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128521)
OR GIGABYTE GA-970A-UD3 ($110-http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128519)
Shared stuff in the builds
Memory: 2x4GB= 8 GB DDR3 (It should be around $45. I really don't know which to get, but I was thinking 1833 MHz speed)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 430 ($45-http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master...J11E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1337408213&sr=8-1)
PSU: ZS Series 750 Watt ATX Power Supply ($85-http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0367316#tabs)
GPU (I prefer them in this order): EVGA GeForce GTX 570 ($300-http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130593)
OR 560 Ti ($280-http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130683)
OR 2x GTX 460 SLI ($140x2=$280-http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127646).
So which Processor and mobo option should I choose for my needs? Also any other recommendations?
Thanks! Let me know if I missed something.
Approximate Purchase Date: Sometime this week
Budget Range: $750 (excluding rebates from this estimate)
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming (I play a lot of video games, mainly fps), school work, movies, music, surfing the web, etc.
Parts Not Required: Keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS, DVD drive, gaming headset, and hard drive (I got a 7200 RPM 200 GB one...prices are too expensive right now, so I'll wait for some sales).
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: mircocenter.com/frys.com, so I can go and pick it up. Newegg.com works too. I also have amazon prime, so definitely amazon.com
Country: USA
Parts Preferences: I just want parts that will last me a long time (at least for 3 more yrs until I finish my undergraduate degree, longer would be nicer)
Overclocking: I want to try to, so maybe.
SLI or Crossfire: SLI maybe. I don't want an AMD gpu. Nvida only.
Monitor Resolution: A 24" TV running at 1920x1080
Additional Comments: I really need help deciding on processor/motherboard. Look below to see the two different builds I came up with. I can't decide whether to choose the Intel processor or the AMD processor. (Prices are estimates)
Intel based
CPU: i5-3570k ($190-http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0388577)
Mobo: ASRock Z77 Pro4-M ($110-http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157306)
OR GIGABYTE GA-Z77-D3H ($120-http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128543)
AMD based
CPU: Fx-8150 ($200-http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103960)
Mobo: ASRock 970 EXTREME3 ($85-http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157280)
OR MSI 970A-G46 ($90-http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130637)
OR GIGABYTE GA-970A-D3 ($90-http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128521)
OR GIGABYTE GA-970A-UD3 ($110-http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128519)
Shared stuff in the builds
Memory: 2x4GB= 8 GB DDR3 (It should be around $45. I really don't know which to get, but I was thinking 1833 MHz speed)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 430 ($45-http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master...J11E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1337408213&sr=8-1)
PSU: ZS Series 750 Watt ATX Power Supply ($85-http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0367316#tabs)
GPU (I prefer them in this order): EVGA GeForce GTX 570 ($300-http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130593)
OR 560 Ti ($280-http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130683)
OR 2x GTX 460 SLI ($140x2=$280-http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127646).
So which Processor and mobo option should I choose for my needs? Also any other recommendations?
Thanks! Let me know if I missed something.
Btw, do these cases have better ventilation or more room?
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