$1130 build.

[Xerophos]

I'm making a final part check/critique.
If you believe there is something I can save money on, definitely suggest it, as I may be able to upgrade another part due to that.

The main things I think I can downgrade are: HDD, PSU, and the Case. I'm not so sure about the PSU, because I'm generally ignorant of wattage, continuous/peak, etc, but I was told I should have 550w (very vague since I wasn't told whether 550 peak or 550 continuous). Not even sure what wattage I should have for this build.

This will be primarily for gaming, rarely will I record and edit.

CASE: COOLER MASTER RC-692-KKN2 CM690 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119216

HDD: Western Digital RE4 WD5003ABYX 500GB 7200 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136697

GPU: SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6870 1GB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102948

PSU: CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX650 V2 650W http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139020

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231455

MOBO: ASRock Z77 Pro4 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157296

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

FAN: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099

MONITOR: ASUS VH232H Glossy Black 23" 5ms http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236079

-Accessories-
Keyboard: Sidewinder X4 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823109191
Mouse: Razer Deathadder http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826153072
Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver 5 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100007


I believe this build to be very close to full potential for my budget. If you think an alternative part is better than my current one, please provide charts or comparisons of the two.


Thank you so much in advance, I'm very excited to finally (possibly) get this ordered. And hopefully quickly, since some of these promos are gone tomorrow...

 

[azeem40]

Up the GPU to a Radeon 7850 if you can.

 

[Xerophos]

I'm on a budget here... that's almost $100 above my budget.

If you're going to suggest something that exceeds my budget, suggest an alternative for another part that costs less.

... as well as the fact that the 7850 isn't that much better than the 6870: http://www.hwcompare.com/12078/radeon-hd-6870-vs-radeon-hd-7850/

 

[Xerophos]

Side note, if you can't come up with anything to suggest for the current build due to my budget, then say what would currently bottleneck my build(I'll be OCing the 2500k to 4.3 GHz btw.) so I can possibly upgrade it later on.

 

[azeem40]

That website doesn't prove anything. Real time benchmarks are what truly matter.
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/549?vs=540

Drop the accessories as those can be added at any time. You should focus on getting the best performance. Get a 7850, really.

 

[Xerophos]

I can't just drop accessories. I'm going from a laptop with mousepad to those. I'll be playing Tribes: Ascend, and I should run it fine. I want a good mouse and keyboard to improve my ingame performance, as opposed to graphical performance.

 

[azeem40]

There is no such thing as performance boost with accessories. You won't be able to run games real well with a 6870.

 

[Xerophos]

Performance as in how good I play.
Not that my computer would have better FPS if I plugged in a Razer Deathadder.

 

[azeem40]

I believe it matters more of your skills than some keyboard or mouse. Sure it helps, but performance in a game is more important.

 

[Xerophos]

I'd be able to run tribes fine with the build as it is, I'm looking for improvements upon what it already is. Obviously I can get a $20 mouse and keyboard, but that will most likely have too low of a DPI, break/stop working sooner than those of higher quality, or have annoying features.

 

[azeem40]

OK, I overlooked the games you will play. Seems good then!

 

[Xerophos]

For future reference, which Radeon 7850 would I get(XFX, Powercolor, etc. Give Newegg NA link if you can)? And is the GPU the only thing currently bottlenecking everything else?

Thanks.

 

[azeem40]

Nothing is bottlenecking at all. Where did you get that idea?

 

[Xerophos]

I mean which part needs to be upgraded the most. It would be better to upgrade the GPU as opposed to the CPU, right?

 

[azeem40]

Yes, the GPU is the second most important component, but the most important when it comes to performance.

 

[Xerophos]

Meaning, yes, the GPU is currently in highest priority for an upgrade in regards to general ingame performance?

And still, which version of the 6870 would I get?

 

[azeem40]

Yes.. It honestly doesn't matter what brand you get for the GPU, unless it is non-reference, which then you'd get either SAPPHIRE or MSI.

 

[Xerophos]

Well some brands are different prices, and the XFX one even says core edition... I'm wondering if there's a difference at all in performance or quality.

 

[Xerophos]

I think I could scrounge up $20 or so for a better mouse, guess I could get a really cheap keyboard since I definitely value mouses more.

I'm now at 1,110, budget is maybe 1150, suggestions for a good gaming mouse/keyboard?

 

[Xerophos]

And finally, last question here: I'm able to downgrade from a 64mb cache HDD to a 16mb one for $10, is this a bad decision? I'm not sure how integral cache is in HDDs.

PS: Going from the aforementioned HDD to this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148728&Tpk=Seagate%20SV35%20Series%20ST3500411SV%20500GB%207200%20RPM

 

[Why_Me]

I'm on a budget here... that's almost $100 above my budget.

If you're going to suggest something that exceeds my budget, suggest an alternative for another part that costs less.

... as well as the fact that the 7850 isn't that much better than the 6870: http://www.hwcompare.com/12078/radeon-hd-6870-vs-radeon-hd-7850/

Scratch the thermal compound off your list. The CM EVO comes with a small tube of TX-4 which is a great thermal compound.

Also o/c doesn't make much of a difference in FPS in regards to gaming. With that said give this build a look.


Try this.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.939071 $151.98 save: $8.00 - $10.00 Mail In Rebates FREE SHIPPING
Corsair Carbide Series 300R Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Samsung by Seagate Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ/ST500DM005 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.913999 $144.98 save: $15.00
OCZ ZT Series 550W Fully-Modular 80PLUS Bronze High Performance Power Supply compatible with Intel Sandy Bridge Core i3 i5 i7 and AMD Phenom
ASRock B75 PRO3 LGA 1155 Intel B75 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.amazon.com/Intel-Core-3450-Processor-BX80637I53450/dp/B007SZ0ECE/ref=sr_1_15?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1338055945&sr=1-15 $189.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Intel Core i5 3450 Processor 3.1 4 BX80637I53450

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220570 $43.99 FREE SHIPPING
Patriot Signature 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory with heatshield Model PSD38G1600KH

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-AD-7280S-0B-Internal-Drive-Black/dp/B0057FRTPW/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1338056741&sr=1-1 $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.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=MSI-56TIOC $218.99 - $198.99 after rebate Free Shipping
MSI nVidia GeForce GTX560 Ti OC 1GB DDR5 2DVI/Mini HDMI PCI-Express Video Card - N560GTX-TI M2D1GD5 OC

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986 $99.99 FREE SHIPPING
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM

http://www.amazon.com/VS228H-P-21-5-Inch-Full-HD-Monitor-Black/dp/B005BZNDOO/ref=pd_sxp_grid_pt_0_0 $129.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
ASUS VS228H-P 21.5-Inch Full-HD LED Monitor (Black) | LED Backlit with 50,000,000:1 ASUS Smart Contrast Ratio; Full 1080P with HDMI

Total: $997.89 *not including shipping, mail in rebates, and promo codes


alternate vid card...

http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=GA-785OC2G $259.99 Free Shipping
GIGABYTE AMD Radeon HD7850 2GB DDR5 DVI/HDMI/2x Mini DisplayPort PCI-Express Video Card - GV-R785OC-2GD

http://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/gigabyte_hd7850_oc_windforce_review,1.html <----- review of that card w/benchmarks

http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Optical-Gaming-High-Precision-910-002277/dp/B0055QZ216/ref=pd_cp_e_0 $38.05 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Logitech Optical Gaming Mouse G400 with High-Precision 3600 DPI Optical Engine (910-002277)

http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Gaming-Programmable-Controls-910-002358/dp/B005EWB3AU/ref=sr_1_3?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1338134531&sr=1-3 $32.09 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Logitech Gaming Mouse G300 with Nine Programmable Controls (910-002358)

 

[Why_Me]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.910439 $329.98 save: $10.00
ASRock Z75 Pro3 LGA 1155 Intel Z75 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I53570K

 

[Xerophos]

2500k will be just as fine, I don't need an OS nor a DVD drive, and I'm not sure if that PSU is enough :\

I'd rather not change the entire build, especially considering that this one doesn't necessarily seem superior to it.


Could you perhaps suggest a PSU that costs a bit less but will still most definitely support my entire build?

I actually changed a couple items, but I'd rather keep this a bit more simple. Thanks a bunch.

 

[dayman500]

I'd go for Why_Me's build. The i5-3450 is more than enough to play Tribes, and when it comes to gaming a GTX 560 with a i5-3450 will out preform a 6870 with a 2500k hands down. Also 550w is more than enough to run that build at a safe level.

 

[azeem40]

Where are you basing these claims from OP? Everything Why_Me suggested is going to run your games better.