About $800 Gaming Build

[dragonfly22588]

Ok, my last full computer upgrade is pushing 6.5 years ago and I’m still using that system for “gaming.” I think for the last few years my opponents online have been gaming, I’ve just been fresh meat to devour. Anyway, I intend to use this new system upgrade for some light to moderate gaming keeping in mind I seem to like older games: Counter Strike Source, Company of Heroes, Civilization series. I’m looking to keep this system for another 5 years or so with the understanding toward the last few years it’s not going to be anywhere near top performance but I have a high tolerance for imperfect gaming.

Approximate purchase date: In the next few weeks
Budget Range: About $800 or less
System usage from most to least: Gaming, web browsing.
Buying monitor: No
Interested in SLI: No
Over clocking: Maybe but not likely
OS: Plan on using the copy of XP Pro I have
Preferred website: Newegg
Monitor Resolution: My desktop is kept at 1680x 1050

Case, Rosewill Challenger ATX Mid Tower-$50:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=11-147-153&SortField=3&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Keywords=%28keywords%29&Page=1

Motherboard, ASUS p8B75-V SATA 6 GB/s USB 3.0, ATX -$99:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131835

CPU, Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3 GHz Quad Core-$219:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

Memory, both Gskill 8 Gb, really not sure which one is better- $39.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231455

or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231455

Hard drive, Western Digital 500 GB 7200 RPM 16 MB cache SATA 6.0 Gb/s- $70

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136769&SortField=3&SummaryType=0&PageSize=10&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&IsFeedbackTab=true#scrollFullInfo

Graphics card, EVGA GEForce GTX 480 (Fermi) 1536 MB- $200

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130759

Power Supply, Seasonic 560W rated 80+ gold certified, $124

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151098

Total on newegg- $800

My goal is to try to see if the options I’ve picked are the most efficient for the price range. Thanks.

 

[Bolivious]

Build looks great for the most part. If you don't plan on overclocking I would look at something like:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116781

Save yourself $30 and still get more performance than you will need.

As far as the video card, I would suggest not going with the 480, just because its already 2 generations old at this point. A beast of a card mind you but a blazing power hog.

Something like a 7850 would give you better temps and efficiency and very similar performance.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814129230

Heck of a deal

For not much more you can get a 7870 and combined with the non K i5, you still come in $10 under budget!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161404

Also, if you want to save a bit more, you can get a cheaper PSU. No quality lost and is still Bronze certified efficient. Also not modular, but a $35 savings.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139020

 

[matt_b]

I agree mostly with Bolivious here. The GTX 480 just isn't a very good choice at all. Those things are absolute heaters and can consume some power. The price range, the Radeon 7850 is much better in this regard and the 7870 would absolutely blow it away (more powerful than the GTX 570 in most aspects and close to the 580 in others). If Nvidia really is your thing though, you can always look at the 660 (non Ti version). It isn't quite as good of a bargain as the 7870 is (and very crippled in the memory bandwidth department), but some people stick to brands they identify better with. As to the PSU, it's a bit pricey, but Seasonic is THE premier PSU manufacturer. You aren't just paying for a name though as they really are VERY high quality if you ever pop one open. It's a gold rated unit which is a premium you pay for a little difference with an ordinary 80-plus unit - all depends on your priority here though.

One of the best bargain units for the price is the Antec 620c. The internals are in fact Seasonic (aka S12II). Catch this one on sale, and it's as low as $35.

 

[Bolivious]

That Antec PSU sounds like a great deal and if you can catch it on sale do it.

I use Corsair PSUs in all my builds and have great experiences with them, but with Seasonic guts, you can't go wrong.

Yes, the 660 is the Nvidia flavor you would be looking for in that range if Nvidia is your preference, but like matt_b said, it isn't as good a deal as the 7870.