Need Advice on $1300 or under budget/gaming pc

ecoli8888

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Jul 7, 2012
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10,510
Approximate Purchase Date: By the end of July (Before I return to school)

Budget Range: 500-1300 (total cost of pc+keyboard+monitor+mouse)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, School work, Video/Audio applications, Internet

Parts Not Required: NEED EVERYTHING! (Except speakers, and I do have a 40 in tv but do not know if want to use as monitor)

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com, amazon.com

Country: U.S.
Parts Preferences: I've been raised on Intel, so I don't know much about AMD (I'd prefer the latest Intel) otherwise no preferences.

Overclocking: Maybe? I'm new at this so I'm not entirely sure what this means.

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe? again chalking it up to I have no clue

Monitor Resolution: the best I can get for my money

Additional Comments: I've been researching getting a new pc for quite some time been looking at reviews (pcmag.com, cnet, toptenreviews, etc), asking more tech savvy friends for suggestions, looking everywhere to see my options.

I need a personal computer, my school bought laptop didn't live up to my expectations and it kicked the bucket at the end of the past school year (tech guys said the motherboard got fried, hp elitebook 8530p if you must know).

I'm a gamer, and soon to be audio/digital media graduate with a tight budget. Bottom line I don't want a new laptop, with the research I've done the performance I want in a small package puts the price tag way up. I'd like to be able to move the computer though so I can take it with me to college next year.

Right now I'm pretty much utterly confused, should I build my own? Or should I buy an all in one pc (I'm not a big fan of the mac's limited gaming capabilities a la steam)? Or do I buy and try to configure something from Ibuypower, cyberpower, or another company? And if I do build my own how much will it cost me to add programs onto the computer for school (office,windows 7, etc)?


My tech savvy friends emailed me a bunch of parts as well, but I'm stuck at the crossroads of buying them because I'm not sure if I'm going to get the most for my money? (and that the combination of them plus office or windows 7 puts me over my budget)

ANY HELP WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED I AM SO LOST!!!! And I need need need a new computer that actually works (can game witcher 2, total war shogun 2, audio/music tasks, movie tasks, and type word docs) soon


////////Here is the list of parts they (my friends) suggested:////////
ZOTAC ZT-60301-10P GeForce GTX 670 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card $399.99
Intel Core i7-3770 Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.9GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 $319.99
ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
$129.99
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Desktop Memory Model $82.99
Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
$99.99
Thermaltake TR2 RX 750W Bronze W0382RU ATX 12V v2.3 / EPS 12V v2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
$114.99
Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
$69.99
ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 92mm Fluid Dynamic CPU Cooler
$39.99
Acer G235HAbd 23'' WideScreen LCD monitor
$179.99
Microsoft SIDEWINDER X4 Keyboard

///////and then alternatively suggested these other ones///////

Intel Core i5-3450 Ivy Bridge 3.1GHz (3.5GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD $199.99
ASUS HD7770-2GD5 Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition 2GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready $159.99
EVGA 02G-P4-2643-KR GeForce GT 640 2GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card $109.99
ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
$119.99
CORSAIR Gaming Series GS800 800W ATX12V v2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC High Performance Power Supply


ecoli74


 

aqualipt

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Jun 15, 2012
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11,360
hello, this build will be a lot better for you

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.98 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($134.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($58.50 @ B&H)
Hard Drive: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Crucial M4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($104.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: HIS Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card ($269.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Thermaltake V9 BlacX ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair 650W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($62.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS90 DVD/CD Writer ($22.98 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus VH238H 23.0" Monitor ($159.98 @ NCIX US)
Keyboard: Logitech Call of Duty: MW3 Edition Wired Gaming Keyboard ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1299.36
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
 

boulbox

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Apr 5, 2012
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a kind of "ok" build, this is more for gaming though, if he is running applications like PhotoShop and some video rendering work then an i7 would be the better choice even though it is a lot more than the i5.

i7 will boost the speed on a lot of applications that support it and i am guessing that is what you are looking for when i was reading this thread

considering the price that he has on the budget, i would actually say to go with the i5 with extreme 4

1866 speed rams do not make that much of a difference. i would go with a 1600 speed 2x4GB ram

you do not really need an optical drive. if you have an old computer
1) you can just take the drive off that one just to install win7
2)download win7 into a USB and install it that way

a lot of my friends workstations take a lot of space so i recommend getting more than 1TB
 

cookieninja

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Jul 4, 2012
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Cpu & Mobo:http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.985159

Cpu cooler:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099

Power supply & Ram:http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.995457

Hardrive:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148845

SSD:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233206

Video Card:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150609

Optical Drive:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

Monitor:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009256

Keyboard:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823126260

Mouse:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826153056

Total:1,298.83
 

cookieninja

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Jul 4, 2012
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The SSD would boot up the app more faster
 

boulbox

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Apr 5, 2012
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just a tip for this build

the corsair ram that you have up there can have a few fitting issues with the Hyper 212 evo
 

aqualipt

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Jun 15, 2012
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i dont get why people understimate the i5 when it comes to profesional apps, the i5 will do GREAT but of course... the i7 will do better but for the budget the OP has the i5 is really decent and he can drop the SSD for now to get a i7 and get a Verterx 4, Samsung 830 or Musking Chronos Deluxe SSD later
 

ecoli8888

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Jul 7, 2012
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10,510



Does that get rid of the cost of the operating system? And how would I download that onto a usb? Side question is there any advantage to buying a system from something like Ibuypower or similar company? Would those systems come with running versions of win7 or office? I'd like to factor my 1300 budget into paying for win7 and office (cause i need microsoft word for school papers). Thanks so much for all the quick responses!
 

aqualipt

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Jun 15, 2012
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they will come with W7 is you pay your license, btw.... chek your messages, i left you something that you will apreciate a LOT ;)