What the best Build for me with $600

StringentHydra9

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Jun 28, 2012
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Hey there, my name is James and I need a little advice on building my first gaming pc. Below you’ll find a handy list that tells you my budget and whatnot. Thanks for any advice you guys can give!

Approximate Purchase Date: few weeks to a month from now

Budget Range: 600 even for tower components

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming (Guild wars 2, Crysis 3, Blops 2) video rendering since I have a channel on youtube

Parts Not Required: OS, mouse, keyboard, ect, this budget is for the tower.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: not really a preference

Country: USA

Parts Preferences: AMD, everyone I ask seems to tell me i5 2500k or 2600k but they are simply too expensive for my build. GPU everyone seems to recommend a 6850 so I’ll probably chose that.

Overclocking: yes, although this is my first build I definitely want to overclock some

SLI or Crossfire: not for now although it be great if I could upgrade later

Monitor Resolution: not really sure, what is a good resolution? Something around 1280 by 720 perhaps???

Additional Comments: Been a console gamer since I was young and just want to branch out into PC gaming. Want a good simple build that I can have fun overclocking and building but like nothing totally insane. Since I have a YouTube channel video rendering power is also a big plus.
 
Solution
i always recommend to look at
tinyurl.com/falconguide

for first timers as a reference guide, something to build a skeleton out of and then change out items here and there to tweak it to your specific wants
If you prefer Amd here you go but i would recommend Intel MOBO: ASRock 970 EXTREME3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157280#top

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 970
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103893#top

RAM:Crucial Ballistix sport 8GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148543#top

GPU:EVGA GeForce GTX 480
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130759#top

HDD: 500 GB Hitachi Deskstar
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145531

ODD: Samsung DVD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151244

PSU:CORSAIR Builder Series CX600 V2 600W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139028#top

Case: NZXT Source 210
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146076

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065

It would probably also be a good idea to get some cheap but nice case fans later down the road too. A couple of these would probably do the trick (They also come with red or blue LEDs):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103090
 

StringentHydra9

Honorable
Jun 28, 2012
15
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10,510


Thank you for your complete post. I can't tell you how many times in other forums people have suggested a particular MOBO, GPU, or CPU without giving a complete build. I really appreciate your time and will take your build under heavy consideration. Does anyone have a AMD build though? The i5 in this build is really what drives the price up. Also how easy is the i5 to overclock? what is a reasonable figure if the stock speed is 3.4???? without changing out to a new PSU or adding a crazy amount of aftermarket coolers?
 

StringentHydra9

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Jun 28, 2012
15
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10,510

Love your build. Two questions, is the case big enough, and can I swap the GTX 480 for the HD 6850? After looking at reviews the GTX seems more expensive but not any more powerful or advantageous. Also does the case come in black? Kinda hate a bland case after sinking so much into the PC.
 

StringentHydra9

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Jun 28, 2012
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This seems like a problem because the AMD Phenom II X4 970 Deneb 3.5GHz seems to run hot according to people's reviews as well. So if you have a GPU that runs hot and a CPU that runs hot.......
 
Amd makes some good cpus for gaming. But the 3570 doesn't need to be overclocked one bit to beat the amd's in many benchmarks. Overclocking requires a better motherboard and power supply for stability. By the time you spend the extra for the motherboard and ps, you might as well go with Intel. The 3570 is listed in newegg's July 4th email promo for $215, so be sure and register with newegg if you haven't yet.
 

zooted

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Feb 17, 2010
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I'm just telling you the facts. In raw power it is the best you can do at $200, I personally would not buy it due to the issues that I stated.

The 970 shouldn't run too hot especially with the hyper 212 that was listed.

What resolution is your current monitor?
 
Well if you rather not get the 480 i recommend this card then over the R6850 but get what you want if the question is will a R6850 work yes of course it will but it's a very weak card IMO and the reviews your reading are likely fanboy bias ATI makes great cards and so does NVIDIA there is no better between the two it depends which cards your comparing against each other GPU:ZOTAC AMP!GeForce GTX 560 Ti
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500196#top
and here the case in black
Case: NZXT Source 210 black
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146075
 
Jun 28, 2012
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10,540
i always recommend to look at
tinyurl.com/falconguide

for first timers as a reference guide, something to build a skeleton out of and then change out items here and there to tweak it to your specific wants
 
Solution
non sense about the AMD Phenom II X4 970 plus the aftermarket cooler i listed would keep that in check by far i still recommend going with intel though
 

StringentHydra9

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Jun 28, 2012
15
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10,510

Thanks dude, very good guide that has decent components right in my price range. thinking of doing the 625 build, save my 20 with a 500GB hard drive
 

StringentHydra9

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Jun 28, 2012
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I would love too but I simply don't see how if I buy a $225 CPU I'm not going to have to skimp like crazy elsewhere?