Best 700$ gaming PC build?

[greenalientrain]

I've been looking around for about 2 months now and I feel like this pc build is the best I can get for my budget. I am open to all suggestions, however I do not want to go over 700$.

CPU - AMD Phenom X4 965 Black - 90$
Mobo - Asus M5A99X EVO - 110$
RAM - g. Skill sniper 12GB ddr3 - 63$
GPU - XFX HD 7850 2GB - 210$
HDD - Samsung spinpoint 1tb - 90$
SSD - Zalman N Series 128GB - 50$
CASE - HAF 912 - 56$
PSU - HEC 585W - 36$

TOTAL - 705$

 

[DeusAres]

Try this...

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($89.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock 970 Extreme3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($84.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($77.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card ($249.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.49 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling 600W ATX12V Power Supply ($49.99 @ Microcenter)
Total: $667.42
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-08-11 22:25 EDT-0400)

Depending on the vendors you're buying from, I may have went a little over $700. If there's anyway you can get the above build, it's well worth the extra $20 or so.

At your budget, I wouldn't even bother with a SSD. Put all the money you can in the CPU and GPU. SSDs only cut back on load times. It really has no effect on the actual performance of games.

There's also no reason for 12gb of RAM. This particular mobo I'm recommending supports dual channel memory; therefore you're gonna want to get a 2x4gb kit of RAM. It's all you need for gaming. Most games struggle to use up 4gb.

Rule of thumb...never cheap out on the power supply. You're gonna want around 500-600 watts for this build. You also want to make sure the PSU is 80+ certified and made by a reputable company.

Hope this helps; good luck!

 

[greenalientrain]

I figured that I shouldn't have gotten the ssd, but at such a low price, I figured why not. But, and correct me if i'm wrong, but doesn't the mobo only support 1600 ddr3 when its overclocked?

 

[nekulturny]

I figured that I shouldn't have gotten the ssd, but at such a low price, I figured why not. But, and correct me if i'm wrong, but doesn't the mobo only support 1600 ddr3 when its overclocked?

Deus has you set up pretty good.

SSD, I wouldn't bother with, theres something really wrong with a 128GB SSD thats only 50 bucks. That falls under the "its too good to be true" logic. Thats less than half of what comparable quality SSDs of the same capacity cost. See: Crucial M4 128GB.

Hes definitely right about the PSU, the one you had picked wasn't a great choice.

As far as the RAM, correct, the RAM runs at 1333mhz by default. If you overclock at the reference clock you up the RAM. The speed on the ram is what the manufacturer guarentees to be stable at. 1333mhz rated RAM is only a couple bucks cheaper than 1600mhz RAM, may as well. I have 1600mhz rated as well, with my overclock I'm running it at 1485. I could probably get it to 1600mhz if I dropped the multiplier down a peg and upped the ref clock, but then I'd prolly have to increase the northbridge voltage, I'd rather not.

Deus is also onto something about 12GB, its actually counter productive to run 3 modules, vs even numbers, as it will run in "single channel" by with 1 or 3 modules. Not that it matters much, the performance difference is marginal, but even so, its an unnecessary potential bottleneck.

 

[greenalientrain]

What if i said that i could raise my budget to 750$? Would that change anything?

 

[DeusAres]

Meh, not really. Might be able to get a better CPU cooler or possibly a GTX 660 Ti.

 

[greenalientrain]

Nah, the 660ti is going for 300, while I'm getting the 7870 for 230. Should i get 2x8 gb ran? I only want that b/c i like having many things open at the same time. :-D

 

[greenalientrain]

Best answer selected by greenalientrain.

 

[nekulturny]

Nah, the 660ti is going for 300, while I'm getting the 7870 for 230. Should i get 2x8 gb ran? I only want that b/c i like having many things open at the same time. :-D

Yea.. the 7870, while Tom's Benches show it performs a little better than the 660 TI, anandntech's benches put the 660 TI as being slightly better. So, I'll meet em halfway and say they're both the same, when you throw in the price slash, the 7870 is the way to go.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102983

And no, you don't need 16GB of RAM, I bought that myself for the same reason you did, try as I might, I've never managed to use more than 6GB, so 8 is plenty.

 

[DeusAres]

I say put the extra money towards one of these versions of the hd 7870...

GIGABYTE GV-R787OC-2GD Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125418

SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition OC 2GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102983

 

[greenalientrain]

i feel like im asking too many questions =~= But should i get the sapphire 7870 ghz ed. or 2x xfx 6870? and what would a better cpu cooler be?

 

[DeusAres]

Get the SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition OC 2GB.

A better CPU cooler would be the Coolermaster Hyper 212 Evo which is the new model of the hyper 212+.

Or if you feel like investing more money...

Thermaltake Frio
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835106150

Noctua NH-D14
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608018

ZALMAN CNPS12X
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118097

 

[nekulturny]

Stronger single video card is always the best option.

 

[greenalientrain]

thanks a ton guys, i went mainly with the build you guys suggested, except i got 16gb of ram, only because a small tech store i live next to had a buy one get one free on all ram, so 45$ was a good deal. I'll update when its done

 

[nekulturny]

$45 bucks for 16GB of RAM isn't bad. lol. I got hosed on my 2 8GB modules, I bought em not long after 8GB sticks came out, I paid like $70 for each one.