Cutting cost without sacrificing performance/reliability

oomwoc

Honorable
Jun 10, 2012
6
0
10,510
Approximate Purchase Date: this month

Budget Range: <= $1000

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, HD video, everything else

Parts Not Required: Keyboard, Mouse, Monitor, Windows

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com or better alternative

Country: United States

Parts Preferences: Intel processor; n/a otherwise

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe

Monitor Resolution: 1920 x 1080

Additional Comments:

I've selected some parts already, but I'd love to knock off as much cost as possible without compromising performance or part reliability. Any other suggestions would also be appreciated. Thanks!

CPU: Intel Core i5-3550 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($127.86 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($46.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($109.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Hard Drive: Crucial M4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 570 2.5GB Video Card ($319.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($52.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 520W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($69.64 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On IHBS112-04 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($69.99 @ CompUSA)
Total: $1107.43
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
 
i can cut cost for you BUT i hope you realize you have to flash the bios on a z68 mobo to use an ivy bridge processor on it. ill give you the choice of:

a) use a sandy bridge processor 2500k version 2500 normal
b) change the mobo
c) find someone with a sandy bridge processor and let them flash it for you.


but really tbh, if your going with a non-k series cpu, your better off with an h6x sandy bridge or h77/b75 ivy bridge mobo to cut cost the most


the other is a tiny gamble, but you can cut a bit of your psu quality and change your case into a rosewill challenger and 550w hive to effectively cut 23$. alternatively, you can pay 5$ for 100 more watts if you wanted. or change the case if you rather want a slightly more upgraded case from rosewill. heres the review for the 650w version of hive if you want to question quality.
 
Cheaper HDD, that runs cooler and quieter and probably actually outperforms the WD 1TB FAEX:
Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200RPM ST1000DM003 $90
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/seagate-internal-hard-drive-st1000dm003

Gigabyte Radeon HD 7850 2GB GV-R785OC-2GD $260 ($7 shipping)
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-video-card-gvr785oc2gd
This factory overclocked AMD 7850 outperforms stock GTX 570s, not always by a huge amount but does so nevertheless, yet it is less power hungry, less hot and less noisy and most importantly it is $60 cheaper.
Here is a review comparing the Gigabyte 7850 against both a stock GTX 570 and an OCed GTX 570.
http://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/gigabyte_hd7850_oc_windforce_review,1.html

Small saving on the RAM, but no difference in performance or reliability:
Crucial Ballistix sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 CAS9 1.5V BLS2KIT4G3D1609DS1S00 $43
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/crucial-memory-bls2kit4g3d1609ds1s00

Looking for combos on newegg can be a good way to shave costs without compromising on performance/quality, but sometimes you don't get the exact parts that you want...
 
You'll get better performance from a stronger GPU rather than a stronger CPU. Games are very GPU intensive - recently upgraded my i3 to an i7-2600K with no effect since I was still limited by my 560Ti.

I'd suggest cutting back on the CPU to a good Sandy Bridge CPU and spending the extra money on a better GPU. The new AMD 7000 series is the best bang for your buck in your price range.
 

oomwoc

Honorable
Jun 10, 2012
6
0
10,510
Thanks for the input everyone. The cost dropped below my budget limit with your suggestions. Awesome!