Building a New $800-900 Gaming Computer

[blingtehblah]

Approximate Purchase Date: 1-2 weeks from now

Budget Range: 800-900 (will be buying from Amazon rather then Newegg as there is no tax)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: gaming, surfing the internet, watching movies

Are you buying a monitor: Yes

Do you need to buy OS: No

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg/Amazon

Location: City, State/Region, Country - Palo Alto, California

Parts Preferences: No preference

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: No

Your Monitor Resolution: want to get 1920x1080

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: current laptop is too slow to run the games I play


I currently have all the parts I need except the motherboard and the monitor. I'd like some input on what to upgrade and what do buy for the parts I'm missing. The parts are listed below:

Motherboard:
TO BE DETERMINED

Monitor:
TO BE DETERMINED

GPU:
http://www.amazon.com/SAPPHIRE-Radeon-6870-GDDR5-Graphics/dp/B005C8RTTU/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1346005921&sr=1-1&keywords=radeon+6870
$170

CPU:
http://www.amazon.com/AMD-Phenom-3-4Ghz-512KB-4000MHZ/dp/B002SRQ214/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1346005612&sr=8-1&keywords=amd+phenom+ii+x4+965+black+edition
$105

PSU:
http://www.amazon.com/Rosewill-RG530-S12-530-Watt-Certified-Compatible/dp/B004GL4UZK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1344711255&sr=8-1&keywords=rosewill+green+series+rg530-s12+530w
$60

Case:
http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Computer-All-Black-RC-430-KWN1/dp/B003O8J11E/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1345521354&sr=1-2&keywords=full+tower+case
$50

Memory:
http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Vengeance-PC3-12800-1600mHz-CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B/dp/B004QBUL1C/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1344711351&sr=1-1&keywords=corsair+vengeance+8gb+1600
$52

Hard Drive:
http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Barracuda-3-5-Inch-Internal-ST1000DM003/dp/B005T3GRNW/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1344711463&sr=1-1&keywords=seagate+barracuda
$80

DVD Drive:
http://www.amazon.com/Liteon-iHAS324-DVD-RW-Optical-Drive/dp/B002QGDWLK
$25

LAN Card:
http://www.amazon.com/300Mbps-802-11-Wireless-Wifi-Network/dp/B003OZG5NE/ref=sr_1_4?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1345520453&sr=1-4&keywords=wireless+lan+cards
$25

Running Total:
$567

 

[obsama1]

Don't need a LAN card. Mobo has LAN. Also, the RAM is overpriced. Get this kit:
http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-Ballistix-DDR3-1600-240-Pin-BLS2CP4G3D1609DS1S00/dp/B006WAGGUK/ref=sr_1_4?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1346008888&sr=1-4&keywords=crucial+ram

Invest the money in a 7850.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150617

Also, this PSU is better.

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Certified-Compatible-Platforms-CMPSU-600CXV2/dp/B004W2T2UQ/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1346009016&sr=1-2&keywords=corsair+psu

 

[obsama1]

For mobo, get the M5A97 from ASUS.

 

[redguy54]

I agree on the ASUS M5A97, but if you haven't bought the cpu yet, get the i3 2120 and a p67/z68 for a better upgrade path. 965 is pretty much the end of the road for amd. The i3 2120 has the same performance in games and can be upgraded later to an i5.

 

[redguy54]

Also about the RAM you listed it's overpriced like obsama said, and those Heatspreaders are unnecessary and way too big. For the monitor, Just about any 20-22'' 1920x1080 will do.

 

[hillmanant]

Hello Bling

I'm usualy an Intel guy but when your looking for cheap, AMD is the way to go.


I'd switch out the Phenom for a BullDozer Architecture, a Zambezi like this one. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103996

For a MoBo I'd use this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131767
I know you could go cheaper with Gigabyte or ASrock but I'm a firm beleiver in your MoBo being high quality because it is what everything else relies on. If you wish to save a few bucks here and put more twards a better GPU you could use this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157280 but I've already picked a better GPU below.

The Video Card if you want to stay with that one Its cheaper at NewEgg http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102948
but I'd switch to this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150549

Monitor I'd use this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001546

That PSU is borderline if you plan on OC in the future or Xfire I'd go bigger here http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371031&Tpk=Antec%20NEO%20ECO%20620C%20620W%20Continuous%20Power%20ATX12V%20v2
It's not modular but its 80+ certified and a little bigger
Edit: This PSU is better and cheaper with MIR right now so knock $10 off the total.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341018

I'd use NewEgg tax or no, get all your stuff at the same time, same window for returns if anything is defective, and free shipping without the "SuperSaver" card BS.

Case= $50
MoBo= $100
CPU= $110
RAM= $52
Video= $230
HDD= $80
Burner= $25
Lan= $25
PSU= $70
Monitor= $150

Total= $892 Great build and room for improvement later.


Just my 2 cents do with it what you will.

 

[obsama1]

No. Do NOT get the Fx 4100 when the 965 beats it. Just get the 965 and an Am3+ board so you can upgrade the CPU to a Piledriver or Steamroller.

 

[hillmanant]

No. Do NOT get the Fx 4100 when the 965 beats it. Just get the 965 and an Am3+ board so you can upgrade the CPU to a Piledriver or Steamroller.

Agreed, good catch.

 

[redguy54]

Yes, do not get the fx 4100 over the 965, and if you do switch video cards do not go with the 6950, get the 7870 for the same price.

 

[Smeg45]

Steamroller may be a different socket. Still the 965 is perfect for a cheap system. Don't forget that most games are built around 6 yr old console tech and those that are built for PC - Max Payne 3 etc can and will take advantage of 4 cores. At 1080p you don't really need Intel and I wouldn't go lower than a quad in 2012.

 

[obsama1]

The 7870 is $230 after rebate on Newegg and smokes the 6950 plain and simple.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150604

 

[obsama1]

SR will use AM3+. The one after that, Excavator, will not.

 

[hillmanant]

The 7870 is $230 after rebate on Newegg and smokes the 6950 plain and simple.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150604

how the core clock is a bit faster but there are more streaming processors and the effective memory clock is 50Mhz faster

 

[obsama1]

That doesn't matter one bit. The architecture is superior. It's like arguing that an Fx 8150 beats the i7 because it has more cores. Look at the comparison.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/548?vs=510

 

[DeusAres]

Here ya go...

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($28.98 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: MSI 970A-G46 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($77.42 @ NCIX US)
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 ($74.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card ($239.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.49 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling 600W ATX12V Power Supply ($66.79 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Monitor: Asus VH236H 23.0" Monitor ($149.98 @ NCIX US)
Total: $839.61
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-08-26 16:51 EDT-0400)

If you have anymore questions, feel free to ask.

 

[hillmanant]

That doesn't matter one bit. The architecture is superior. It's like arguing that an Fx 8150 beats the i7 because it has more cores. Look at the comparison.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/548?vs=510

Call me convinced

 

[obsama1]

The 7870 even beats the 570. In between the 570 and 580. And with OC, you're above the 580.
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/548?vs=518

 

[hillmanant]

The 7870 even beats the 570. In between the 570 and 580. And with OC, you're above the 580.
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/548?vs=518

Now i wanna sell my 6970 and get a 7950. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150601 with these PCI express 3.0 Cards, they are reverse compatible but can they saturate an express 2.0 MoBo and degrade the bigger cards performance? Would a guy need to get a more expencive MoBo?

 

[obsama1]

Not at all! The 7970 and 680 can't saturate even PCIe 2.0. Only once you get to 2560x1600 and multi-GPU setups does PCIe 3.0 make a difference.

 

[Smeg45]

Shop around for a 7950. I picked up a Gigabyte Windforce model for $299, fire sale. Only 100 up for sale.

 

[obsama1]

The 7950's are dropping to $300-$320 this week, so I wouldn't immediately jump on it. If you want a Windforce, awesome deal. If you want a Sapphire, ASUS, or MSI, just wait a few days.