$750 budget gaming rig

[TheScarecrow97]

I'll start with what I hope to be doing with this rig. I want to use fraps to record Battlefield 3 multiplayer at high settings; that'll be the most hardware intensive thing this rig will be handling. Other than that I'll primarily be recording lower end games like Minecraft, Tf2, and Dota 2, these at max settings with fraps. Also, I NEED an OS. That will be included in the 750 dollars, which really leaves 650 for parts.

Purchase date: Not sure, probably next month.

Budget range: 700-750$ The closer I can be towards 700 the better, but I'm giving myself 750 so I can squeeze in a graphics card thats a step above the 6870s I typically see recommended at this budget.

System usage: gaming, schoolwork

Am I buying monitor? No

Do I need an OS? YES.

Preferred website for parts: newegg. But I'll settle for wherever they are sold cheapest, so long as they are reasonably well-known/reputable.

Location: USA

Parts preference: In order to fit a 7850 into my rig I went amd and got the 965. It should perform at least on par with, if not exceeding the i3 2120 once overclocked. And of course, it provides better multitasking. Sure, core for core performance will fall behind an intel, but it won't be stuttering on those 64 player maps in battlefield 3.

Overclocking: I will be overclocking the cpu, probably to 3.8 ghz, maybe 4.0

Sli/crossfire: no.

Resolution: 1920 x 1080

Additional comments: none.


Okay, so here's the build:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/i7Xc

 

[lighter17]

With a $750 budget there's no reason to go with an AMD CPU.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($190.39 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock H77 Pro4/MVP ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($87.55 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 1GB Video Card ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Antec Three Hundred ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.98 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($39.25 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS90 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) ($90.65 @ Amazon)
Total: $745.78
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-09-23 00:15 EDT-0400)

 

[TheScarecrow97]

With a $750 budget there's no reason to go with an AMD CPU.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($190.39 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock H77 Pro4/MVP ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($87.55 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 1GB Video Card ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Antec Three Hundred ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.98 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($39.25 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS90 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) ($90.65 @ Amazon)
Total: $745.78
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-09-23 00:15 EDT-0400)

Thanks man, I really appreciate this suggestion. Looks pretty solid. I guess id prefer the end price to be before rebates since I may not get to take advantage of them next month, but its probably worth the budget stretch anyways to go intel
One question question though. At a 1920 x 1080 resolution, will I notice any performance difference between the gpu in your build vs a 2gb version? If so, how much, and how much of an increase will it maintain over a 6870/gtx 560?

 

[devilofdeaths]

can i add a 7870 into the build

 

[boulbox]

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/igqa
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/igqa/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/igqa/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($214.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($27.98 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock Z75 Pro3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot Intel Extreme Master, Limited Ed 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($30.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card ($229.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.49 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling Silencer MK III 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($56.09 @ NCIX US)
Total: $764.51
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-09-23 00:32 EDT-0400)

a little bit over budget. if you think it is to over budget then u can switch the 1tb to 500GB(not really worth it but 500GB will still last quite a bit) or you can take out the fan cooler and use the stock cooler

i really wanted to see a 7870 in here considering the price drops(if you wait longer it might drop even lower) but you can downgrade it to a 7850 also.

this build does not really leave room for upgrades like SLI/CF but you can always switch out the graphics card for a better one and sell yours.

also it has a multicore so it will help with those BF3 64 player maps

 

[boulbox]

also with new builds i usually just reuse my old DVD burner hence why it is not there

also for the Win7 i just torrent and download to usb and install from there

 

[lighter17]

I guess id prefer the end price to be before rebates since I may not get to take advantage of them next month, but its probably worth the budget stretch anyways to go intel
One question question though. At a 1920 x 1080 resolution, will I notice any performance difference between the gpu in your build vs a 2gb version? If so, how much, and how much of an increase will it maintain over a 6870/gtx 560?

This build is only a suggestion for a typical configuration at that price point since prices/specials change on a daily basis. When you get ready to buy you might also be able to save with some of Newegg's combos.

1 Gb of video ram probably isn't a good way to go, but you don't have to spend much more to get 2 Gb.

ASUS HD7850-DC2-2GD5-V2 Radeon HD 7850 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card $177.99 after $10 rebate

As to the performance difference:

6870 vs. 7850

gtx 560 vs. 7850

 

[devilofdeaths]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/igtQ
AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black 3.4GHz Quad-Core $92.99
CPU Cooler Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing $23.99
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-970A-D3 ATX AM3+ $79.99
Memory Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 $38.99
Storage Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM $59.99
Video Card MSI Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB $247.86
Case Zalman Z11 Plus HF1 ATX Mid Tower $49.99
Power Supply Antec 650W ATX12V $54.99
Optical Drive Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer $15.99
Operating System Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) $90.65
Total: $755.43
i know its $5 over butdget but listen with this build you will get atleast 45fps on high in bf3 while recording

 

[TheScarecrow97]

Best answer selected by TheScarecrow97.