Budget Build

[phillylol]

Approximate Purchase Date: Month or so

Budget Range: $700

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Mainly gaming and just day-to-day stuff

Parts Not Required: monitor, speakers, mouse, keyboard

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com

Country: USA

Parts Preferences: not being picky, best bang for the buck

Overclocking: probably not

SLI or Crossfire: no

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080(tv i have)

Additional Comments: This build doesn't have to be up-gradable i only want it to last a year or so. Also, i would like bf3 high settings, gw2 high stetting, and diablo maxed (at least 45fps but i understand this is a tight budget 8).

 

[phillylol]

A build i came up with. http://pcpartpicker.com/p/9xkh

 

[phillylol]

Can anyone speak to the quality of http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009315 for fps's.

 

[geofelt]

Looks good, but raidmax as a brand is not highly regarded.

A good 400w unit should be ok; look at the corsair builder series which are a good value.
The 430w unit is $34 after rebate:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026
A PSU is not the place to go cheap.
Stick with known quality brands such as seasonic, Corsair, PC P&C, XFX, or Antec.

 

[phillylol]

Looks good, but raidmax as a brand is not highly regarded.

A good 400w unit should be ok; look at the corsair builder series which are a good value.
The 430w unit is $34 after rebate:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026
A PSU is not the place to go cheap.
Stick with known quality brands such as seasonic, Corsair, PC P&C, XFX, or Antec.

That was really the only thing i was unsure about. However, how much better would a 6870, 7770 be?

 

[Ironslice]

I thought you said you didn't need a keyboard? Anyway, here is a much better build (no keyboard).

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-2120 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor ($124.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H61M/U3S3 Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($73.97 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($43.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 560 1GB Video Card ($166.97 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 430 ATX Mid Tower Case ($42.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair 500W ATX12V Power Supply ($51.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($25.97 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $705.83
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-06-05 20:16 EDT-0400)

The best GPU's at the price are the GTX 560 and the HD 6870, both which have nearly equal performance. It's up to you to pick what you want.

 

[phillylol]

I thought you said you didn't need a keyboard? Anyway, here is a much better build (no keyboard).

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-2120 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor ($124.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H61M/U3S3 Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($73.97 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($43.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 560 1GB Video Card ($166.97 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 430 ATX Mid Tower Case ($42.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair 500W ATX12V Power Supply ($51.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($25.97 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $705.83
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-06-05 20:16 EDT-0400)

The best GPU's at the price are the GTX 560 and the HD 6870, both which have nearly equal performance. It's up to you to pick what you want.[/quote

As for the keyboard i was seeing what i could get for the money, and this build does seem much better. Do you think it would play bf3 at 45fps on high settings?

 

[Ironslice]

According to Anandtech it plays BF3 on Ultra with 46.8 fps average:

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/GPU12/398

 

[phillylol]

Would it be worth it to get a non-reference design? such as http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121446 or http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127592 or even http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127593. I may decide that i want to OC the Graphics card.

 

[geofelt]

Would it be worth it to get a non-reference design? such as http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121446 or http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127592 or even http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127593. I may decide that i want to OC the Graphics card.

Your third link does not work for me.

Of the two, I like the asus better. The exhaust outlet on the msi looks worthless to me. Heat will stay in the case.

I think I would get the evga unit for the same price. It is already factory overclocked, and has a nice cooler.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130685

Vendors are wise to overclocking and bin their chips. Better chips go in factory overclocked cards, along with a higher price. You might get lucky on a reference card, but there is no guarantee.

 

[Ironslice]

Yeah, it's definitely worth it you can go with the Asus or with the EVGA that geofelt suggested. EVGA is better known/has a better reputation with warranties/rebates.

Also the EVGA is higher clocked so it should be faster.

Don't go any higher than 169.99 on price though, or else you are approaching GTX 560 ti price range.