Need a coding and gaming build under $700

[micceo]

Hi,

I want to build a new system with the following points in mind.

Temperament : I am not a hard core gamer, just the occasional types. A cheap graphics card should do. Mostly I want the PC to work with writing codes, running databases and stuff. This is my first build ever, and I dont know from where to obtain parts. So a link to the product on some site which sells it cheap is appreciated. I have a laptop which houses an i5 2nd gen processor so I want a faster experience ( the desktop experience )

Budget : $700 , the lesser is better. $700 after rebates and shipping.

OS : I am a student and have access to free operating systems from Microsoft, alternately I will be using Ubuntu

Monitor : No monitor needed ( I have one with 1920 * 1080p resolution )

Keyboard & Mouse : Already have

Parts not needed : dvd-rom drive ( i think its days are over, i usually do stuff with a flash drive )

Parts needed : I would love to have a solid state drive, a faster ram, some neon lighting to make it look cool , a wireless card.

CPU blues : I am not an intel/amd fan, anything that is good value for money is good, as long as it runs fine and does not hassle me. Confused between high end i5 and low end i7 . ( would love an i7 though )

Overclocking : No.

Finally, i dont rate my self very highly on hardware skills, do i need a cooling system in place ? I was thinking of maybe an i7 , with 8 gb of high speed ram , cheap graphics card , 120 gb solid state drive ( 250 if affordable ) and 1 TB of 7200 rpm drive. Is this possible in my budget?

Date of purchase : within this week

Thanks a lot to all of you for help
I dont have the knowledge myself, so please do help me out on this one.

 

[broodfusion]

Hi,

I want to build a new system with the following points in mind.

Temperament : I am not a hard core gamer, just the occasional types. A cheap graphics card should do. Mostly I want the PC to work with writing codes, running databases and stuff. This is my first build ever, and I dont know from where to obtain parts. So a link to the product on some site which sells it cheap is appreciated. I have a laptop which houses an i5 2nd gen processor so I want a faster experience ( the desktop experience )

Budget : $700 , the lesser is better. $700 after rebates and shipping.

OS : I am a student and have access to free operating systems from Microsoft, alternately I will be using Ubuntu

Monitor : No monitor needed ( I have one with 1920 * 1080p resolution )

Keyboard & Mouse : Already have

Parts not needed : dvd-rom drive ( i think its days are over, i usually do stuff with a flash drive )

Parts needed : I would love to have a solid state drive, a faster ram, some neon lighting to make it look cool , a wireless card.

CPU blues : I am not an intel/amd fan, anything that is good value for money is good, as long as it runs fine and does not hassle me. Confused between high end i5 and low end i7 . ( would love an i7 though )

Overclocking : No.

Finally, i dont rate my self very highly on hardware skills, do i need a cooling system in place ? I was thinking of maybe an i7 , with 8 gb of high speed ram , cheap graphics card , 120 gb solid state drive ( 250 if affordable ) and 1 TB of 7200 rpm drive. Is this possible in my budget?

Date of purchase : within this week

Thanks a lot to all of you for help
I dont have the knowledge myself, so please do help me out on this one.

i7 3770k will cost $320ish,
ssd + hdd will cost together about $200ish, could be a bit less around $180,
a OK graphics card will be around $120, or depending on the type of games you play, you can use the integrated graphics that come with the cpu,
Memory ram is about $40, psu+case = 120ish , plus you still need a motherboard, so in conclusion, $700 is not enough unless you can cut out the ssd.

But if you do this:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/hz0g

it will be sufficient. Note, this does not include taxes, as for shipping you could sign up for a free trial with shoprunner if you are buying from newegg.

Comments about the build: it is not likely that you can get a $700 build including a ssd and a hdd with your requirements, so my suggestion is, if your budget is really $700 then cut out the ssd.

 

[micceo]

How about this configuration

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/hAig

I am not really looking for a $200 graphic card, my focus is on processor and ssd. Also i am thinking of saving up on the optical drive. ( I can always use the optical drive of my laptop ).

This is coming to 693$ and is looking like something i could use.

Should I add a cheap graphic card to this machine - Gigabyte GV-N210SL-1GI for 9 $
or some other cheap graphics card for like under 50$

If i do not go for a video card, can I connect my machine to monitor ( like using integrated graphics )

Help is appreciated,

Also do i need a cooling system in place for this build

 

[broodfusion]

How about this configuration

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/hAig

I am not really looking for a $200 graphic card, my focus is on processor and ssd. Also i am thinking of saving up on the optical drive. ( I can always use the optical drive of my laptop ).

This is coming to 693$ and is looking like something i could use.

Should I add a cheap graphic card to this machine - Gigabyte GV-N210SL-1GI for 9 $
or some other cheap graphics card for like under 50$

If i do not go for a video card, can I connect my machine to monitor ( like using integrated graphics )

Help is appreciated,

Also do i need a cooling system in place for this build

To answer your question about the video card, if you are only playing casual games and not fps games such as battlefield 3 or games like crysis then the integrated graphics card will do the job, that is, if you don't mind playing games on low-med settings, games that don't depend much on a vga card. Example, I could play world of warcraft perfectly fine with on med settings with the newly upgraded integrated graphics from the ivy bridge cpu. Getting a cheap video card will not do you much good as they will become obsolete very soon.

I'm not sure how extensive is your coding/programming going to be, but the difference between i7 and i5 cpu really stands out in that the i7 has the hyperthreading technology that excels in dealing with video editing, rendering, frapsing, etc (i.e. adobe products)...as for gaming, the difference between the two is minimal. So in a sense, a i5 3570k will be enough and also save you $100.

I'm not sure what you mean by a cooling system, do you mean like an aftermarket cpu fan? If that is the case, either get a decent one like this if you are overclocking,

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

or if you aren't, the stock fan will be suffice. $30ish for a 212 hyper evo is a good deal, I mean, it drops your cpu temperature by 8-10C even if your not overclocking. For me, I overclocked my i5 3570k to 4.2ghz with it and stays around 28C idle and 60C max, I could go higher, clocked it at 4.5ghz but spiked up to 79C max...anyway...

The ssd is really a blast, loads windows from the logo animation within 10secs, at least for me that's the case.

For your computer case, not sure about the zalman, might wanna get the cooler master 912 since cooler master is a leader in building cases:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233&Tpk=cooler%20master%20912

Thanks for reading all my rambling...

Conclusion: drop the i7 for i5 if your applications do not take advantage of hyperthreading technology, drop the zalman for the cooler master HAF 912, forget about cheap vga unless you can drop a $120 on it, a $50 vga card is not worth it.

(Perhaps it sells cheaper elsewhere, but I prefer to use newegg when I link them in posts since information about products on newegg is very detailed with many pictures.)

 

[micceo]

Hi Buddy thanks for the help,

What i am thinking is that, by taking a top of the line processor, I may add a good graphic card later when my budget permits.
I decided to drop the K as I wont be over clocking it and i need the virtualization support. With the savings i am buying the after market fan.
I really like the look of the Zalman series . So i think its time to make the order.
Can you have a look at this http://pcpartpicker.com/p/hAF2 the last time.

I am ok with onboard graphics, but can i connect the monitor to cpu ? Where is the VGA port ( is it on the motherboard )

Warm Regards

 

[TopMark]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/hAKc

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($209.98 @ NCIX US)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H77-DS3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($95.23 @ NCIX US)

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($39.99 @ Newegg)

Storage: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($88.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: OCZ Octane 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($89.98 @ NCIX US)

Video Card: Asus Radeon HD 6570 1GB Video Card ($54.98 @ NCIX US)

Case: Rosewill TU-155 II 500 ATX Mid Tower Case w/500W Power Supply ($69.98 @ Newegg)

Other: Rosewill RNX-N250PCe (RNWD-11005) Wireless Adapter ($24.99)

Total: $674.11

*EDIT* I see you already got this resolved.

 

[broodfusion]

Hi Buddy thanks for the help,

What i am thinking is that, by taking a top of the line processor, I may add a good graphic card later when my budget permits.
I decided to drop the K as I wont be over clocking it and i need the virtualization support. With the savings i am buying the after market fan.
I really like the look of the Zalman series . So i think its time to make the order.
Can you have a look at this http://pcpartpicker.com/p/hAF2 the last time.

I am ok with onboard graphics, but can i connect the monitor to cpu ? Where is the VGA port ( is it on the motherboard )

Warm Regards

I overlooked the fact that if you were to overclock you would have to get a z77 mobo, but that's just FYI.

The mobo you picked has no hdmi but it does have dvi which is good. So get a dvi-to-hdmi cable like this：
http://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-HDMI-Adapter-Cable-Meters/dp/B001TH7T2U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1347776859&sr=8-1&keywords=dvi+to+hdmi+cable
This way, you will still be able to have 1080p resolution.

Everything looks good, but the vertex 4 ssd came out recently, its predecessors have been known to fail, not reliable. Since vertex 4 just came out, there is not much track record to say if its good or bad, but if you want reliability, get this, its $6 cheaper and it is REALLY awesome. I believe the majority of the community would agree with this ssd:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147163

Happy building, good luck!

 

[micceo]

Thanks a lot,

I am glad I asked you, reliability is a big issue, going in with the ssd you have posted . Also changed my mobo to include cross fire support, and other features. ASRock Z75 Pro3 ATX LGA1155 ( how about this )


You are great man , thanks

 

[broodfusion]

Thanks a lot,

I am glad I asked you, reliability is a big issue, going in with the ssd you have posted . Also changed my mobo to include cross fire support, and other features. ASRock Z75 Pro3 ATX LGA1155 ( how about this )


You are great man , thanks

looks good for a budget mobo, plus this now has a hdmi port =D

The previous mobo had crossfire support i think, says on the motherboard box logo.

 

[micceo]

yep.. this one has crossfire support too, i guess some investment right now on a mobo can give me more upgrade options in the future.