$800-900 Gaming and Developer New PC

[faxx1081]

Hello everyone, I'm new to building my own system, as my current computer is an HP Pavilion s3750f that's 4 years old, and want to be sure I've chosen the components well. Anyway, this is what I'm considering:

Approximate Purchase Date: next week

Budget Range: (e.g.: $800-900) After Rebates, Delivery, and Taxes.

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Video Playback, Gaming, Developing Apps, Internet

Parts Not Required: Keyboard (PS/2), Mouse (USB), Monitor, Speakers (2 channel), OS (Win7 x64 & Win 8)

Preferred Website for Parts: newegg.com

Country: Parts will be sent to the USA

Parts: See below.

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI: In the future.

Monitor Resolution: 1440x900 (Monitor - DVI) & 1920x1080 (TV through HDMI)

Parts:
Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129066

EVGA 01G-P3-1556-KR GeForce GTX 550 Ti (Fermi) FPB 1GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130625

Or since there is room in my budget:
EVGA 01G-P3-1561-AR GeForce GTX 560 Ti FPB (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card (234.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130604

Rosewill Stallion Series RD500-2DB 500W ATX12V Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182044

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314

GIGABYTE GA-Z77-D3H LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128543

Intel Core i5-3450 Ivy Bridge 3.1GHz (3.5GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 2500 BX80637I53450
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116506

BYTECC HM-HMMINI HDMI Female to Mini Male Cable Adaptor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812270287

LG Black 12X Internal Blu-ray Drive 3D Playback & M-DISC Support SATA Model UH12LS29 LightScribe Support - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136246
(the BD Drive on my current computer can’t play commercial DVD’s for very long before stopping and I’m well out of warranty.)

However, I will use the 640GB HDD from my current computer as well as its SD Card Reader.

 

[loops]

Newegg: note combos

1

HIS IceQ X H785QN2G2M Radeon HD 7850 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
Item #: N82E16814161405
Return Policy: VGA Standard Return Policy
-$20.00 Instant
$20.00 Mail-in Rebate Card


$264.99
$244.99
1

AMD Gift - Dirt SHOWDOWN Gift Coupon
Item #: N82E16800995124
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
-$59.99 Saving


$59.99
$0.00
1

ASRock Z77 Pro4 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Item #: N82E16813157296
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
-$20.00 Instant


$129.99
$109.99
1

LG Black 12X Internal Blu-ray Drive 3D Playback & M-DISC Support SATA Model UH12LS29 LightScribe Support - OEM
Item #: N82E16827136246
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy


$59.99
1


Rosewill HIVE Series HIVE-750 750W Continuous @40°C, 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified, Modular Design, Single +12V Rail, ATX12V v2.31/EPS12V ...
Item #: N82E16817182133
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case, comes with Three Fans-1x Front Blue LED 120mm Fan, 1x Top 140mm ...
Item #: N82E16811147153
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
-$40.00 Instant
-$30.00 Combo


$179.98
$109.98
1


Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I53570K
Item #: N82E16819116504
Return Policy: CPU Replacement Only Return Policy
CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B
Item #: N82E16820145345
Return Policy: Memory Standard Return Policy
-$5.00 Instant
-$7.00 Combo


$284.98
$272.98
Subtotal: $797.93

You monitor is not very demanding but at this price range you should aim for an i5 +7850.

 

[faxx1081]

Thanks for that - I definitely like the processor better, but I'm a bit wary switching to ATI graphics, as almost everyone I know uses NVIDIA and I've been used to it for 4 years. That's not saying I won't, but thanks for the suggestion.

 

[loops]

Thanks for that - I definitely like the processor better, but I'm a bit wary switching to ATI graphics, as almost everyone I know uses NVIDIA and I've been used to it for 4 years. That's not saying I won't, but thanks for the suggestion.

It is your call but this card is on the same level as a gtx 480, gtx 570 and better than the 560ti

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-4.html
The new Radeon HD 7850 offers performance similar to the defunct Radeon HD 6970, GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448-core, and GeForce GTX 570, but at a lower $250 price point.

Moreover, the Radeon HD 7850 does its job using about half of the power as both older boards based on 40 nm GPUs.

Read our full review of AMD's Radeon HD 7800 series for more information on the card and its accompanying architecture.

If you are shy about the card (and it is a great one) have a look at the gtx 480: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130759

Drivers are good, and will kick ass but it will run warm and use some power. It will do great in game and is an amazing value.

 

[rocknrollz]

The 7850 is the best card that you can get for the price range. It beats all other Nvidia cards in its range.

 

[bliq00]

I feel like a broken record because I say this about every ~$1000 build request, but...

If you're near a microcenter, they have i5-3570K and asrock z77 extreme 4 for $280 bundle price. It's pretty unbeatable, but available in store only.

 

[faxx1081]

Thanks guys! I properly looked up the Radeon HD 7850 (originally I was set on NVIDIA only; that's why I overlooked it in the reviews), and I'm basically sold on it now. It's a massive jump from my 9500 GS, and just like everyone here said - its much better.

I'm also looking to see if I can shave off a few dollars to fit in an external hard drive for backup - with tax, the total is $865 so far; another 100 will put me over 900, which I'd prefer to avoid doing.

 

[loops]

Ways to save:

4 gigs of ram...20 bucks...add 4 more later
Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157314 with10% off w/ promo code EMCNDHJ226, limited offer...20 bucks
2500k: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072 10 bucks
Gtx 480: 44 bucks

Any of these will not result in a significant in game experience; The 2500k can be OC to match the IB i5, the 75 and 77 mobo are not going to up fps much unless OC the cpu is needed very much, 480 can keep pace with 7850, no games out take more than 4 gigs to run.

IMO, there is not much to trim. The build I put has reviews with high marks on the cpu,gpu,case,psu,ram, the mobo company is also good. I'd not mess with the core of the build on things that you can add later tho. Hard Drives and more ram can be added later tho.

 

[faxx1081]

Thanks for your suggestions - they've helped me know what's out there. My brother (I trust his judgement) also helped me out, and I've decided to bring most of the above down a tier since this is much more power than I will actually use, as the most taxing graphics games I really play are Portal 2 & Sonic Generations & HL2, though I might play others in the future.