Help with 700 to 900 Dollar Gaming Build

[kaichmura]

Hello, This is the build I am going to order soon.

1.)Rosewill BLACKHAWK Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

2.)MSI Z77A-G41 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS

3.)EVGA 02G-P4-2660-KR GeForce GTX 660 2GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

4.)RAIDMAX HYBRID 2 RX-530SS 530W ATX12V V2.2/ EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Modular Power Supply, New Version with Build-in LED Fan On/Off Switch

5.)Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I53570K

6.)ADATA Premier Pro SP900 ASP900S3-64GM-C 2.5" 64GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

7.)G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL

8.)Seagate ST310005N1A1AS-RK 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive

9.)LITE-ON DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA Model iHAS124-04 - OEM

10.)Rosewill RNX-N250PC2 (RNWD-12001) IEEE 802.11b/g/n, PCI, Wireless-N Adapter (2T2R) Up to 300Mbps Data Rates, 64/128 bit WEP, complies with WPA/WPA2 standard (TKIP/AES), IEEE 802.1X


I was wondering about the motherboard, as i could get a b75 for cheaper, but I was thinking about using my ssd as a cache, which you cant do on a b75, only a z77. I was also wondering if I should go for the radeon 7850 instead of the gtx 660. Also, will this wireless card work well? (it is only 20 dollars) thanks

 

[aznshinobi]

You could do better IMO, but before suggesting a build please fill this out:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261222-31-build-advice

I would have to say though, a $650 build would be good enough, most games need a better GPU rather than CPU so the FX-6300 is perfect plus it can overclock and you'll be able to upgrade to future chips as AMD plans to just update the chips and not the socket.

Check my $650 build here:
http://www.squidoo.com/electronicandmore#module146695821

If you want an Intel build that can overclock and SLI/CF at 8x/8x in the future check out my $850 build here:
http://www.squidoo.com/electronicandmore#module147086871
If you don't want to SLI/CF in the future drop the 750w down to the Antec Neo Eco 520, cheap but a great alternative.

Anyways, the GTX 660 lacks in comparison to the 7870 for a similar price point. Something to note: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-660-geforce-gtx-650-benchmark,3297-24.html
As you can see in average performance the 7870 encroaches on the 660 Ti.

 

[kaichmura]

Thanks! the $850 build is definitely better for me. I'm trying to save as much money as possible, so I was thinking step down to a 7850 ($180 on Newegg), and step down the motherboard and psu aswell. then I could get it in the 750-800 range

 

[Michael31]

Okay I have made this good budget (815$) PC build It seems to be what your looking for, you can check it out if youd like
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/rThf

And another thing Dont go with the GTX 660 Go with the GTX 660 FTW Signiture 2 It is much faster and about 10 or 20$ more expensive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130833

Also if you live near a microcenter you can always get this an I5 3570K for 170$
http://www.microcenter.com/product/388577/Core_i5_3570K_34GHz_LGA_1155_Processor

Other than that good Luck on your build, I Just ordered the one I put above and will be putting it together soon. Best of luck!

 

[kaichmura]

Thanks! I was thinking radeon 7850 now (cheaper) and putting a ssd in instead. If only I lived near a microcenter... and your build looks sweet

 

[aznshinobi]

If you're trying to save money but get the best gaming performance possible, you should go AMD, most games that are demanding benefit more from a better GPU rather than CPU:
http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/amd_fx8350/8.htm
http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews/1598/pg6/amd-fx-8350-processor-review-battlefield-3.html
http://www.legitreviews.com/article/2055/6/

All proof that AMD chips can hold ground with that said the FX-6300 and a 7950 would be better than an i5 3570K & a 7870. Not to say the FX-6300 is better than the i5 3570K from a chip standpoint, but budget wise you'd be better off with a better GPU.

However, if Intel is your route, then it is your route. SSD < GPU all the time. You can survive with 30-1minute boot times. You can always add an SSD later to cache which will give you SSD speed boottimes but keep your main storage.

 

[kaichmura]

Im honestly not a HUGE gamer, but i would definitely like to have that option. I will also use this computer for school work, watching movies and browsing the web, and ill probably spend about as much time browsing the web as I will playing games. thats mainly the reason I opted for an ssd as opposed to a slightly higher end video card. I can definitely deal with playing games on high instead of max. I was definitely thinking of caching an ssd, but instead i could save like 20 dollars and go for a b75 motherboard, and use the ssd as my boot drive. also, i dont know if this is the right place to ask, but should i opt for a green 1tb drive as opposed to a regular (5900 rpm vs 7200), and if I did would there be a noticable difference in speed? Thanks for you're help!

 

[kaichmura]

Best answer selected by kaichmura.

 

[aznshinobi]

Yes, there would be a pretty large difference, any green drive in general even if it is 7200 RPM will opt for power savings which would slow it down just because of how it was made.

As for your intentions, if that is the case you're better off going with the $650 build, dropping down the 7870 to the 7850, which would bring you down to just about $570. At which point you upgrade the FX-6300 to the FX-8320 putting you up $50 then just adding the SSD, say like a 120GB Kingston HyperX 3K would put you at about $95 more.

Altogether the AMD build that would be more than sufficient costs only $715, Tom's Hardware used the FX-8350/8320 in their 1000 dollar budget gamer and it excelled per/dollar so... Something you should note.

 

[kaichmura]

that is definitely a great idea. I understand that in games AMD FX chips perform as well as, or even out perform intel chips, but, from what I have heard, for the price the i5 is the best option for performance outside of games. that is my primary concern with opting for an amd. the computer I have now is just a laptop with a llano A6, and it has done relatively well, but what I would really like to know is what the difference in speed is outside games as far as an i5 vs a higher end FX chip. the reason I was wondering about the green drives is that they are about half the price of a normal 1TB drive. thanks

 

[aznshinobi]

Well outside of games the FX-8320 is pretty good at performing. In real world differences, the FX-8320 will do just as well as the i5 3570K I will tell you that now. The FX-8320 does a pretty good job of keeping up with 8 threads and plus it is cheaper and that is the stand point you have to look at. THE i5 3570K is $50-$60 more than the FX-8320, you should note that, but the FX-8320 can overclock still if you find the performance sluggish. It's not but if you do again you can overclock.