$750 Gaming Rig

[Aviney]

Okay, I've never built my own system, and I'm not really computer savvy, but after doing some research and talking to a friend of mine that has built several computers, building my own seems like the way to go. I'm a gamer (WoW, Battlefield 3, TF2, CS:GO, Planetside 2, Portal 1 and 2) and I'm looking to build a system for around $750 that will run these games on high settings (if ultra is doable, that would be better, but at $750 I don't expect that much):

Approximate Purchase Date: This weekend/next week

Budget Range: $650 - $750 after rebates

System Usage from Most to Least Important: gaming, surfing the internet, watching movies

Are you buying a monitor: no

Parts to Upgrade: fresh build

Do you need to buy OS: Yes, Windows 7 preferably, but not completely against Windows 8

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: No preference

Location: Port Richey, Florida

Parts Preferences: No real preference

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe in the future

Your Monitor Resolution: 1600 x 900, possibly 1920 x 1080 in the not to distant future

Additional Comments: WoW, TF2, Portal 1 and 2, CS:GO, Planetside 2, Battlefield 3, GW2

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: Fresh build

 

[djangoringo]

With an i5 and a 660 gtx

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock B75M-DGS Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($56.97 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($35.57 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1.5TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card ($194.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Zalman Z9 ATX Mid Tower Case ($31.98 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB/RSBS DVD/CD Writer ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $739.45
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

If you need to lower the price get a 7850 : http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-video-card-gvr785oc2gd

or a 1GB : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150656

 

[Aviney]

Would it be better to go with a Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB Video Card over the GTX 660? It would work out to be the same price, and the reviews on the Radeon 7870 put it about the GTX 660.

 

[djangoringo]

You could go with a 7870 if you want to, but not with that sapphire at 194.99$ after mir, it's plagued by several problems like black screen/freezes, see on the web for reports, also on the sapphire forum and user reviews on newegg.
If you want a 7870 get :

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-video-card-fx787acnfc
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/his-video-card-h787q2g2m
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-video-card-fx787acdfc

Those are fine.

 

[Derza10]

Would it be better to go with a Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB Video Card over the GTX 660? It would work out to be the same price, and the reviews on the Radeon 7870 put it about the GTX 660.

Yes the 7870 will give slightly higher FPS, but gtx 660 will have lower frame latency, adaptive vsync, physx, and 3d vision. So you have to keep those factored in when you make your decision.

 

[Aviney]

Here's what I'm looking at:

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/xUO3
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/xUO3/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/xUO3/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($149.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: ASRock B75M-DGS Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($56.97 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($35.57 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1.5TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: HIS Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card ($209.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Zalman Z9 ATX Mid Tower Case ($31.98 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB/RSBS DVD/CD Writer ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $724.45
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-16 13:17 EST-0500)

All I did was change the video card to the HIS Radeon HD 7870 2GB. Any other helpful suggestions are greatly appreciated.

 

[djangoringo]

It seems fine, the HIS card, is good.

 

[Aviney]

Awesome...looks like I'll be ordering this stuff this weekend or early next week.