Gaming build around HD 7850

[atomicvampire]

I've already got a Radeon 7850 but need everything else. I snagged the 7850 ahead of the other parts because I found a good deal for it, but I've been waffling on the rest of the build. My original plan was an i3 build that I'd later upgrade to an i5 with a second 7850, but I'm now wondering if I shouldn't just go ahead and get the best bang for my buck now. That said, I thought I'd get a second opinion.

Approximate Purchase Date: by the end of this month.

Budget Range: ~$650-700 after tax and shipping.

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, movies, gaming, surfing the net, gaming

Are you buying a monitor: No

Parts to Upgrade: Everything but the GPU.

Do you need to buy OS: Yes

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: I prefer Amazon because I have prime and a store account. Newegg is, unfortunately, right out because they have a distribution center in the state I live in and the sales tax here annihilates any savings I'd get using them.

Location: Memphis, TN

Parts Preferences: None, really.

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe, though obviously not right at first with the current budget. I'd be open to adding a second 7800-series GPU later if it would actually be worth it.

Your Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

Additional Comments: I'd like to finally be able to play BF3 and I want Total War Rome 2 to look as snazzy as possible. I'm assuming any PC that can handle that can also handle 1080p movies without choking like my current PC does.

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: Because I'm still on an Athlon 64 X2 3800+ and it's past time to be upgrading.

 

[jmeyer]

Hello
Here is a pc I quickly made. It is about 50 dollars below your budget to compensate for the fact that most of the items are from newegg . With your 7850 you should get about 30 fps on bf3 high preset. Feel free to play around with my setup as it is not near perfect

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/kEvH

Good luck!!!

 

[Deemo13]

That RAM kit is for triple channel^^

Also, there is no listed motherboard in that build. This might perform better:

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

CPU: Intel Core i5-3450 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($186.97 @ CompUSA)
Motherboard: ASRock H77M Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair XMS3 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($37.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($55.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Antec EarthWatts Green 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($64.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $558.90
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

Forgot a case. I am going to go with the one listed above:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146075&name=Computer-Cases

 

[Ironslice]

jmeyer no offense, but why in the hell would you buy an APU if you have an HD 7850? It would be much better investing the SSD money into an i5, which will improve the performance exponentially.

The i5-3570k with a CPU cooler is the best gaming processor you can get right now. Although many people don't know about it or consider it, the ASRock Z75 motherboard is actually a great motherboard that will support overclocking the i5 with amazing stability, as you can double check on Newegg reviews. If you don't like it, you can opt for a more expensive Z77 such as the Extreme3.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z75 Pro3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($112.87 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($39.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($62.51 @ Amazon)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) ($93.20 @ Amazon)
Total: $618.53
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

This build actually comes out to about $680; they actually do have the power supply and the DVD burner at amazon, part picker just doesn't have it linked for some reason.

Finally, if you want help overclocking your i5-3570k to achieve maximum performance you can refer to this amazing overclocking guide made for ASRock motherboards: http://www.overclock.net/t/1198504/complete-overclocking-guide-sandy-bridge-ivy-bridge-asrock-edition

 

[excella1221]

Guys, you're forgetting he wants SLI/CF as an option in the future.

Here you go,

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / 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 ($27.05 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (GET IT @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($74.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: OCZ Vertex 4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill CHALLENGER ATX Mid Tower Case ($38.25 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Rosewill Green 630W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($62.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) ($93.20 @ Amazon)
Total: $754.43
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

This build is OC and CF ready.

If you noticed, I did not list any RAM. This is because the Extreme4 currently has a promo on Newegg. It comes with a free 8gb Patriot 1600MHz RAM. So I highly suggest you grab it now before the promo ends.

The 630w PSU is so you won't have to upgrade wattage anymore when the time comes that you'll add another 7850.

The SSD is where you'll install your favorite games/programs for faster boot up and loading times, while the HDD Caviar Blue will serve as your storage drive for large files, downloads, basically everything else.

 

[Deemo13]

Well, I know the H77M lists itself as supporting Quadfire somehow, but not SLI.

Also, considering he put "maybe" in overclocking, its nice to leave the option open.

 

[excella1221]

It is... technically possible.
The problem there is the PCI-E 2.0 is only @ x4, which will bottleneck mid-high end cards.

They make it really confusing. :lol:

 

[Deemo13]

It is... technically possible.
The problem there is the PCI-E 2.0 is only @ x4, which will bottleneck mid-high end cards.

They make it really confusing. :lol:

Wow didn't even realize that......I probably should stop recommending it in CFX setups then :/

 

[atomicvampire]

Best answer selected by atomicvampire.

 

[atomicvampire]

Guys, you're forgetting he wants SLI/CF as an option in the future.

Here you go,

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / 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 ($27.05 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (GET IT @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($74.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: OCZ Vertex 4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill CHALLENGER ATX Mid Tower Case ($38.25 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Rosewill Green 630W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($62.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) ($93.20 @ Amazon)
Total: $754.43
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

This build is OC and CF ready.

If you noticed, I did not list any RAM. This is because the Extreme4 currently has a promo on Newegg. It comes with a free 8gb Patriot 1600MHz RAM. So I highly suggest you grab it now before the promo ends.

The 630w PSU is so you won't have to upgrade wattage anymore when the time comes that you'll add another 7850.

The SSD is where you'll install your favorite games/programs for faster boot up and loading times, while the HDD Caviar Blue will serve as your storage drive for large files, downloads, basically everything else.

Wow, that motherboard deal is amazing. Even after tax and shipping ($8 shipping Newegg? Really? I live like 10 minutes from your DC) it's a better deal than the Gigabyte Z77 UD5H I'd been looking at.