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wolfkraut

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Oct 18, 2012
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Ok, I already have a thread on here that I have received some good help in, however in that thread I already had a parts list, I would like to start over and see if anyone else here could build something better than what I have from scratch. Sorry if making two threads isn't a good idea.

Approximate Purchase Date: Depends entirely on prices, I was hoping to buy whatever I can afford at the time during Black Friday, but I could buy some things now or I could wait a couple months if needed.

Budget Range: I'm hoping to keep the total price under $550, maybe $600, but again, depending on what kind of deals I can find, I might could go higher.

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming is really my main reason for building a PC and that's pretty much all I can think of for now.

Are you buying a monitor: No

Parts to Upgrade: N/A

Do you need to buy OS: No

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Amazon.com, I'm somewhat locked into buying from them, but if the part is under $80-$100 and would be a much better deal elsewhere, I might could make it work.

Location: Atlanta, GA

Parts Preferences: I have no real preference, I like AMD GPUs, but I'm open to whatever is best for the price.

Overclocking: Maybe, I plan to overclock the GPU and maybe the CPU if needed.

SLI or Crossfire: No

Your Monitor Resolution: 1680x1050 for now, but I plan to upgrade to 1920x1080 in the future.

Additional Comments: I already have a case (Antec Three Hundred) and I'm planning to re-use an optical drive from an old computer (do I even need one? most everything can be installed via USB or downloaded from the internet now). Also, games I'd like to play are Battlefield 3 (lol, who doesn't say that when building a gaming PC), Metro 2033/Last Light, ArmA II/III, Fallout 3/NV with HD texture packs and ENBs, Skyrim with the same and whatever else I pick up during Steam sales. Maxing them out I realize may not be reasonable on my budget, but I would at least like to have medium/high settings with good FPS.

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: Well, really this will be my first PC in four years, as I'm using a Mac right now and really need an upgrade (nothing makes you dislike Apple more than using their over-priced products, haha), not to mention it can only run Fallout: New Vegas on medium with a lot of crashing.

I would like to get a 2GB GPU if possible, as these HD texture packs are REALLY demanding on VRAM, plus it seems like it could be a slight future proofing measure as I can OC the GPU, but I can't add more VRAM without buying a new card. Ok, that's about it, thanks!
 
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wolfkraut

Honorable
Oct 18, 2012
113
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10,710
Wow, that was fast. Ok, maybe I should throw my latest build into the ring and see what you guys think: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/l6hU

I must admit, an i5 and 7950 would be sweet! But I'm afraid such things are a tad out of my budget, plus I can't buy quite yet, so I'm trying to get an idea of what I should buy when I see things going on sale. Anyway, PCPartPicker won't list the i3 on Amazon for some reason, but it's $119 there, cheaper than the older one, actually. Also, prices are really crazy right now, my RAM has gone up and down between $35 and $41 for the same set. I also had a 7870 for $199 at one point, but that sold outt fast, then I had a 7850 for $184, but that deal is gone now, too. Also, I had this as a Phenom X4 system when I started out, but I was told the i3 was better and actually cheaper over-all. Finally, I had considered a $160 6950 at one point, but now that's up to $180 I think. Also, I appreciate the 1TB HDD, but my current computer has a 460GB HDD and I'm using less than half of it, so while a future SSD or something may be worth it, for now I don't need that much space, unless it was cheaper than the 500GB of course, in which case I'll happily welcome the extra space.
 
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wolfkraut

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Oct 18, 2012
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Oh, wow, thanks for that HDD, I like saving $10! Is it on par with the WD drive? I believe my current one is Samsung and it seems fine, although a freeze caused my OS to become corrupted once, but besides that it seems fine, Hitachi is the only brand I'm not open to as I had one totally fail and without a back-up so I shall curse them forever. Also, the RAM, I've never heard of that brand, are they good? I picked the Corsair RAM as it was rated as the best gaming RAM (or at least from what I read), but again, I'm open to anything, especially if it keeps the price down.
 
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wolfkraut

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Oct 18, 2012
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Alright, I'll go with them then.

I just checked my model number and my current HDD is actually Seagate, not Samsung, so if it has worked well so far, I'm fine buying it again.

Ok, I have a few more questions, I'm pretty decided on the i3 now, but so I don't get mad later, I just have to ask about the Phenom, could it still be a budget option or am I being stupid by even thinking about it still? I realize I would have to find a new MB if I went that route. Also, how much can I overclock my GPU by safely? If I get the 7850, could I push up to the 7950 or is that simply not possible? Same with the 7870.
 
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TheBigTroll

TheBigTroll

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Apr 15, 2012
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the phenom performs a bit under the i3 at stock clocks and will pull ahead when overclocked. but in the process draw 2x or more x more power.

you can go the amd route if you like. just that it will run a good bit hotter and draw more power. its fine

id just stick with the 7870. performs too dam close to a 7950 while being a lot cheaper
 
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wolfkraut

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Oct 18, 2012
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PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/l6vs
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/l6vs/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/l6vs/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-2300 2.8GHz Quad-Core Processor ($165.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H61M-DGS Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($44.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Patriot Intel Extreme Master, Limited Ed 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($284.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec Neo Eco 520W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($46.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $622.93

downgrade the gpu to 7870 and it comes to just under 550. Youll be glad you have 4 cores when playing the most intensive games.
Click to expand...

Hmm, I like this build, but the i5 is really pushing it, plus I can't even find that one one Amazon, which is where I'm going to have to buy most of my parts. However, that MB is really catching my eye, I love that price. So why is it so cheap? Surely there must be some reason, because I would like to use that instead of the one I chose which is a bit more. Also, I don't know much about Antec PSUs, I have an Antec case, but there PSUs seem to have bad reviews?



And I would need a CPU cooler to overclock it, right? I guess for my budget an i3 would be better, but I've been hearing a lot about new AMD CPUs coming out soon.

Ok, I'll stick with the 7870 then, I like its benchmarks, I'm just trying to save where I can is all.

Oh, and what parts would you recommend buying first? If I can't build it all at once, what parts are the least likely to have price drops or be replaced and which ones are likely to have the best prices on sale so I know what to pick-up and what to wait on.
 
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wolfkraut

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Oct 18, 2012
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The mobo is cheap because it is a sandy bridge model made for sandy bridge cpu's and 1333 mhz ram. The newer models z77/h77 are much more expensive but are also more full futured. However on a budget sandy bridge is more than fine.

The bigtrolls second i3 build is nice, although id swap out the mobo for a nice asrock h 77m.
Click to expand...

If I got the MB you listed, would it still work with the Ivy Bridge i3? And the 1600 mhz RAM? Oh, and does it have USB 3.0? It's hardly a must have, but it'd still be nice.

Ha, yeah, that was the MB and PSU I picked, he changed the rest.
 
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TheBigTroll

TheBigTroll

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Apr 15, 2012
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you can easily use a sandy bridge chip in a ivy bridge board but its much harder vise versa since you need to update the bios on the sandy bridge board, which isnt possible unless you have a asus board or a sandy bridge CPU

the DGS is super bare minimum. i wouldnt get it myself
 
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wolfkraut

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Oct 18, 2012
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Ah, alright, I'll scratch it off my list then. What is the best MB I can get for around $60? Oh, maybe I should mention that I actually have a Microcentre near me (actually, it's not that close, but if the savings were worth the gas to get there it would be worthwhile), I still can't spend too much there, but perhaps they have some better MB deals? I'd love to get that i5 deal they have now, but it's way too expensive for me right now.
 
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wolfkraut

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Oct 18, 2012
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Alright, I guess I'll go with that one, I have no idea why it is so much more expensive on Amazon, though.

That's a great deal! $150 is just too much for me right now, though.

Oh, do you have any thoughts as to what parts I should buy first as mentioned above? I'm just wondering since I'm still planning to buy what I can on Black Friday as I'm hoping for some great deals.
 
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wolfkraut

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Oct 18, 2012
113
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Ok, then. Sounds good to me. Oh, and what would be the first thing you would upgrade about this rig in say a year?
 
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wolfkraut

Honorable
Oct 18, 2012
113
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So how long to you think this rig will last for gaming then? Two years? What about with an i3? I'm in no hurry to upgrade something I haven't even built yet, but I'm curious as to what kind of mileage I'll get out of it.

Oh, and is OCZ a good PSU maker? I just noticed that their 600W modular PSU is cheaper than the XFX.

Sorry to keep editing, but how is this card compared to a 7870?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00966IREK/ref=s9_simh_gw_p147_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0VCJJXPB1GAZRDKJ20R3&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1389517282&pf_rd_i=507846

It's a bit more than I wanted to spend, but it's currently similar in price to the 7870. I've never had a Nvidia card before, though.
 
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wolfkraut

Honorable
Oct 18, 2012
113
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10,710


Ok, thanks, I'll stick with the XFX PSU. And the XFX 7870 as it looks pretty good and with the rebate it's only $209, a pretty good deal I think.

Sorry if it it's getting annoying, but I wanted to ask about a new motherboard I just found: http://www.amazon.com/MSI-LGA1155-MicroATX-Motherboard-B75MA-E33/dp/B008KW62WK/ref=sr_1_24?m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1351303538&sr=1-24&keywords=Intel

Is this a good one? And would it fit my needs? I've heard of MSI and the board itself seems good spec-wise and it's $10 cheaper than the ASRock, but it's B75 instead of H77. In all honesty I don't know what the difference is.
 
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