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DarthScabrous

DarthScabrous

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Jun 26, 2012
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Hey guys! Alright, so I'm going into my 3rd year of college. At first, I thought I would need a laptop more then anything, but these past two years, my laptop has been sitting in my dorm room while I was in class. So, I figured that since I end up buying a new laptop maybe once a year, it would be better for me to buy desktop instead. I'm starting out completely new, so I'll need everything, except for OS.

So, here is the guide:


Approximate Purchase Date: less than a month from now

Budget Range: $650-700 ($700 is my max, but I would like to stay under $650 if possible)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Surfing internet, watching movies, and some gaming, nothing huge! (When I browse the internet, I have tons of tabs open, I don't know if that is worth mentioning)

Parts Not Required: OS and speakers

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg has been good to me, so I love them

Country: USA

Parts Preferences: No parts preferences for the most part, not a real big fan of either

Overclocking: Yes

SLI or Crossfire: No

Monitor Resolution: I would love to have 1080p, but it is not necessary. Also, won't need a huge screen, 20" to 23" will suffice

Additional Comments: I would like a cheap case, under $60, but somewhat ricer. I want to show off what I've done, but I don't necessarily need a window. I had been looking at the A8-3870k, but once someone told me that it was comparable to a Athlon II chip, that worried me. Intel seems to be the general consensus as the best here, but AMD is good too, no?
 
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rdx07

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Jan 25, 2012
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for cpu, i'd go with sandy or ivy bridge k series paired with either z68 or z77. since you're not after the igp, i guess amd's somewhat powerful igp won't be of any use since you'll be upgrading sooner. for your case, how about Antec 300? it seems to be simple but it proves to be good in keeping the system cool :)
 
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DarthScabrous

DarthScabrous

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Jun 26, 2012
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The problem is that I wouldn't be able to get a better cpu for a while, so I thought getting the i5 now would be best. And I want to be able to overclock eventually, but the price that I'm looking at right now is almost $800. I might be able to find a monitor around town someplace for cheaper, so that may take $50 off.
 
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aqualipt

aqualipt

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Jun 15, 2012
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nononono.... trust me, you DO NOT want integrated graphics, they are good for a HTPC and general college stuff like you will be doing computer but definetly not good for gaming

and AMD sucks, i mean... they were great in the past but all their GPUs/CPUs are now garbage, in the lower end segment AMD is still strong when it comes to GPU and they are good enough in the HTPC segment with APUs like the
A8-3870k and lower-end variants but for the rest------> THEY SUCK.

my suggestion for you is to get this build---> http://pcpartpicker.com/p/aLSe but instead of buying a R7850 buy a R6670

Edit: here---> http://pcpartpicker.com/p/aUdr a nice rig that will let you play most games maxed out and some eyecandy games like BF3 and metro 2033 will be playable with very decent setting (but not maxed out) @ 1080p
 
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Merueth

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May 24, 2012
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Read the whole post before answering. He said he needs a monitor.

That aside, this is what I would do:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock Z68 PRO3 GEN3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($104.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($46.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($94.99 @ Best Buy)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: XFX 550W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($63.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Monitor: Asus VE228H 21.5" Monitor ($122.33 @ NCIX US)
Total: $701.26
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)

I'm sure you can find $1.26 somewhere. :p
 
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rdx07

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Jan 25, 2012
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i'm sorry but i can't view this link https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/ [...] D=19682992 ...anyway, i believe you can build intel based pc under or equal to $700 there. and for this "The problem is that I wouldn't be able to get a better cpu for a while, so I thought getting the i5 now would be best.", i5 IS A BEAST! and from the system usage you've listed above, i5 is really enough 'cause you won't benefit from hyperthreading with those usage which is the (i can say) the only advantage of getting an i7. i5 and i7 perform almost the same in games. by the way! what generation or what particular i5 are you going to get?

about your hard drive, SATA HDD is enough too :) maybe 320-500Gb would be enough since you don't need much space.
 
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aqualipt

aqualipt

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Jun 15, 2012
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oops sorry about that :lol: @OP the guy who told you that the A8-3870k APUs CPU performs about the same as a Athlon II is somewhat right :/ look this soo i recomend you to get this build

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/aVe6

It will perform better than AMDs Flagship CPU, the FX-8150 in GAMES .:ONLY:. look this comparation look at the botton of the page... AMD FX - 8150 (200$ W/hydro cooler) = 77.7fps and Intel Pentium G850 (90$) = 89.6fps shame on AMD....
 
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aqualipt

aqualipt

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Jun 15, 2012
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WTF are you talking about mate?!? :eek: IN GAMES i5 performs 11% faster (in BF3) than a i7 with HT enabled, and most people who buy i7s CPU leave HT on, look at the very botton build in my signature, thats my personal build and i have tested all of my games with HT ON and OFF @ 5Ghz and i get a lot more performance with HT OFF, except of course in everything else thats not related to gaming :lol:
 
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DarthScabrous

DarthScabrous

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Jun 26, 2012
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I'm not going to buy the graphics card yet, I'll be buying that next semester, when my schedule isn't so crazy. So that gives me an extra $100-$150 to use, so I went with the i5.

Just to reiterate, there will be gaming on this beast once I get the graphics card, but I will not be gaming anytime soon, so igp is fine for now.
 
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aqualipt

aqualipt

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Jun 15, 2012
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Ohh... well ok! and btw, please get a i5 3570k and not a i5 2500k, the 3570k is a bit faster core per core and its only 10-15$ more expensive, i strongly recomend you this build: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/aLSe but instead of getting the 7850 get a cheap (120-145$) monitor and switch the 3450 to a 3570k
 
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