Gaming PC ($600-750)

[raj00]

Approximate Purchase Date: e.g.: This week or i can wait if the parts will be cheaper on Black Friday

Budget Range: $600-$750

System Usage from Most to Least Important:Gaming, web browsing and video streaming

Are you buying a monitor:No and i also have a keyboard and mouse

Do you need to buy OS: No


Preferred Website(s) for Parts: any website as long as its cheap

Location: City, State/Region, Country - Chicago,Illinois in the USA

Parts Preferences: i think intel is the best

Overclocking:yes

SLI or Crossfire: in the future

Your Monitor Resolution: i dont really know but it is a 42inch vizio led tv

Additional Comments: (e.g.: Need to have a window and lots of bling, I would like a quiet PC. Please also list specific software or games you're using)

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: i have a very outdated pc

My pc so far, it is done on pcpartpicker there is a link below.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/iRRm



More details:Will an i3 bottleneck my GPU from playing BF3 or other intensive games at high or ultra settings at 1080p? Is the i5 3570k a better choice to get than the i5 2500k?

It would be very appreciated if anyone can suggest better parts to bring down this build, also i am hoping to be able to play pc games on high settings on my 42inch tv.

Thanks

 

[g-unit1111]

That RAM configuration is kind of weird - just get one set of 2 x 4GB and that's all you need. You could use the extra money to upgrade to a Radeon 7870. Or add a 212 Evo - which you should be doing anyways with a 3570K. No point in purchasing a 2500K anymore as it's been discontinued and replaced.

If you want to keep it in budget here's what I'd do:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.99 @ Newegg)
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: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($88.98 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card ($195.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($63.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 600W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($51.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS90 DVD/CD Writer ($22.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $751.43
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

 

[raj00]

@g-unit1111 i looked over what you would do but wouldn't that mean i cant overclock if i get a h77 motherboard, and btw what is a 212 Evo

 

[malbluff]

If you want to keep overclocking, you would need to add cooler, like CoolerMaster Hyper 212Evo. You could pay for that by losing the "odd" GSKill RAM, and possibly switching power supply to PC Power & Cooling Silencer MKlll, another very good PSU.
You could also, perhaps stretching by a couple of $, use MSI GTX 660, for GPU, which would be a large step up, from HD7850, and beats HD7870, in many games, like BF3.

 

[lunyone]

If you want to keep overclocking, you would need to add cooler, like CoolerMaster Hyper 212Evo. You could pay for that by losing the "odd" GSKill RAM, and possibly switching power supply to PC Power & Cooling Silencer MKlll, another very good PSU.
You could also, perhaps stretching by a couple of $, use MSI GTX 660, for GPU, which would be a large step up, from HD7850, and beats HD7870, in many games, like BF3.

If you go by Tom's review, the 7870 is about 10% faster than the gtx 660 and the gtx 660 is about 12% faster than the 7850. So to recap, the 7870 is the better gaming buy than the gtx 660 (according to Tom's review HERE). This is the average overall performance, so you can extract what you like from the link. I personally would buy the 7870 over the gtx 660, but that is just me.

I also wouldn't limit my self with the h77 based mobo, instead I would go with the z77 based mobo. It allows you to OC better and also has more options, so you won't have to upgrade the mobo in the future if you want more later.

Here is one option:
$95 shipped
ASRock Z77 Pro4 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

or a smaller mobo option
$95 - $15 MIR = $70
MSI Z77MA-G45 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS

Here is guide to the differences that are possible with the different Intel mobo chipsets.

 

[raj00]

Lunyone i like the Motherboard you provided the asrock one its cheaper than mine and same amount of features, also i might be ok with a 7850 becuase it can run alll the games at 1080p according to toms hardware benchmarks at around 30-60fps in some games and over 100 in older ones

 

[lunyone]

Yeah it has similar options and is cheaper, but it's up to you. I'd also make sure you just get 1 set (2 x 4 gb's) of DDR3 with your build.

 

[raj00]

This is my updated pc build it hits 750 but im not quite sure about the hdd

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/iTib

Component Selection Base Price Promo Shipping Tax Price
CPU Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor $229.99 -$15.00 FREE $214.99 @ Newegg
Buy

$15 promotional gift card w/ purchase, ends 9/30

CPU Cooler - - -
Motherboard ASRock Z77 Pro4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard $94.99 FREE $94.99 @ Newegg
Buy
Memory Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory $41.99 FREE $41.99 @ Newegg
Buy
Storage Hitachi 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive $59.86 FREE $59.86 @ NCIX US
Buy
Video Card Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card $199.99 -$10.00 $5.99 $195.98 @ Newegg
Buy

$10.00 mail-in rebate

Sound Card - - -
Case Antec Three Hundred Two ATX Mid Tower Case $49.99 $49.99 @ NCIX US
Buy
Power Supply PC Power & Cooling Silencer Mk II 750W 80 PLUS Silver Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply $109.99 -$20.00 FREE $89.99 @ Newegg
Buy

$20.00 mail-in rebate

Optical Drive LG GH24NS90 DVD/CD Writer $17.99 FREE $17.99 @ Amazon
Buy
Monitor - - -
Operating System - - -
Keyboard - - -
Mouse - - -
Total (before mail-in rebates): $795.78
Mail-in Rebates: $-30.00
Total: $765.78
(Using your selected merchants and only including nearby in-store pickup prices)
Lowest Possible Total: $740.78

 

[lunyone]

Other than the overkill PSU, I think this looks pretty good. The PSU is at least a quality one, so I can't complain there, it's just too much for a build like this. It's ultimately up to you, but that is what I think.

 

[raj00]

Yea what do you think is a PSU that would be better for my pc build as i might be able to spend less on the PSU and upgrade up to a HD7870

 

[stickg1]

Get a good quality 500-550w PSU. You're going to want a CPU cooler if you want to overclock the CPU.

PC Power and Cooling Silencer MK III 500W Modular 80PLUS Bronze Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703035
$64.99 - $44.99 after $20.00 rebate

COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099
$34.99 - $29.99 after $5.00 rebate(s)

 

[raj00]

I was wondering could i get a 32gb ssd and just put all my stuff on my external HDD i already have a Maxtor 500gb HDD that is empty

 

[stickg1]

Is it a USB external HDD? Those are really slow compared to a SATA internal HDD. Just get a 500GB internal HDD and save up for a 128GB SSD later.

 

[TheShepherd]

I agree with stick. The external hard drive is gonna be quite slow, and I don't think you want to play games off of it. I would just get a regular hdd and save up for an ssd.

 

[lunyone]

Just save up for an SSD (I'd go with a 256 gb, if you want to have some room for games/apps/music/etc.). The 500 gb HD now will hold you off for a bit, so I'd stick with that option for now.

 

[TheShepherd]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/iU4f

Here's a decent build for around $750. Keep in mind that you should be able to get it for cheaper if you pick up the parts when they go on sale instead of just buying them all at once.

 

[raj00]

ohh i thought it would be the same speed, then in that case i guess ill just go with the 500gb HDD or a 1tb HDD i also updated my build a bit below.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/iUtS

i upgraded it to the 7870 and got 500tb HDD but much less powerful PSU what do you guys think should i just wait for deals now? Also i might not be overclocking until my CPU becomes a bottleneck which i would assume be a while so would the stock CPU fan be enough or is it required to get a aftermarket cooler?

 

[raj00]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/iU4f

Here's a decent build for around $750. Keep in mind that you should be able to get it for cheaper if you pick up the parts when they go on sale instead of just buying them all at once.

Is the coolermaster haf 912 better than the antec three hundred 2?

 

[g-unit1111]

@g-unit1111 i looked over what you would do but wouldn't that mean i cant overclock if i get a h77 motherboard, and btw what is a 212 Evo

212 Evo = CPU cooler which allows you to overclock better

H77 won't allow you to overclock but on that kind of a budget you have to sacrifice somewhere, and that's usually where I recommend it.

 

[lunyone]

212 Evo = CPU cooler which allows you to overclock better

H77 won't allow you to overclock but on that kind of a budget you have to sacrifice somewhere, and that's usually where I recommend it.

I would recommend the z77 based mobo for about $10 more. This way the OP doesn't have to upgrade the mobo to get OC'ing later, if he wants to do that.

 

[TheShepherd]

Is the coolermaster haf 912 better than the antec three hundred 2?

For the case I wouldn't worry too much about which one is better. Just go which whatever appeals to you aesthetically. Don't go with knock off brands though, that's when you get into trouble.

Also, if you really want to spend less you can go with the 3450 instead of 3570k. Then you could save money on your mobo as well. I wouldn't doubt more price drops on Radeon cards in the near future either(jmo).

 

[lunyone]

Is the coolermaster haf 912 better than the antec three hundred 2?

If front USB 3.0 ports is important to you the Antec 300 II has it and the CM 912 doesn't. I personally have the CM 912 and really like it. I would rather buy the CM 912 and just use an extender cable from the back of the computer to the front for any USB 3.0 devices, but that is just my opinion. The CM 912 has plenty of optional layouts for HD's and it's really easy to move things around and has plenty of room for upgrades, if you need to add them later (fans, SSD's, etc.).

 

[raj00]

Best answer selected by Raj00.

 

[raj00]

If you go by Tom's review, the 7870 is about 10% faster than the gtx 660 and the gtx 660 is about 12% faster than the 7850. So to recap, the 7870 is the better gaming buy than the gtx 660 (according to Tom's review HERE). This is the average overall performance, so you can extract what you like from the link. I personally would buy the 7870 over the gtx 660, but that is just me.

I also wouldn't limit my self with the h77 based mobo, instead I would go with the z77 based mobo. It allows you to OC better and also has more options, so you won't have to upgrade the mobo in the future if you want more later.

Here is one option:
$95 shipped
ASRock Z77 Pro4 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

or a smaller mobo option
$95 - $15 MIR = $70
MSI Z77MA-G45 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS

Here is guide to the differences that are possible with the different Intel mobo chipsets.

Thanks for the motherboard options

 

[lunyone]

Thanks for the motherboard options

No problem at all. Glad I could help