$500 Dollar Intel Gaminc PC

[xl_480]

Hi,
I'm set out to make a gaming pc but i dont want to spend more that about 550USD (after taxes and discounts) on the components alone. I plan to use the pc to play games like BF3, Borderlands 2, Far Cry 3, Planetside 2, Minecraft, TF2, etc. on medium/high detail 1080p with about 35+ fps. i might make a couple videos like a couple benchmarks when i get it but no professional video rendering. im not terribly interested in overclocking but i will if necessary and i dont care about SLI or X-Fire but i guess having the option is nice. i plan to buy this computer in march.


I tried to make my own build and got this:


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-3220 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor ($121.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI Z77A-G41 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($79.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($37.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 650 Ti 2GB Video Card ($164.99 @ Microcenter)
Case: NZXT Source 220 ATX Mid Tower Case ($40.00 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($15.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $550.90
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-26 14:38 EST-0500)


i dont know if its good or not but the price is attractive but if you have a better suggestion please tell me (Intel Only). the reason i only want intel is because down the line i plan on buying a better CPU, GPU, RAM, Fans, SSD, etc. and intel seems to have a great selection of cpus above the i3-3220.

 

[groundrat]

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/311613-30-comparison-chipsets
Please check out the above thread. You really should go for a Z77 motherboard, especially if you want to upgrade later.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157297

Note that the fan sizes on NZXT cases are different. If you want to add fans you should stick with NZXT, coolermaster fans (for example) will not fit right.

But the rest looks pretty good. Enjoy the build and let us know how it worked out.

 

[xl_480]

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/311613-30-comparison-chipsets
Please check out the above thread. You really should go for a Z77 motherboard, especially if you want to upgrade later.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157297

Note that the fan sizes on NZXT cases are different. If you want to add fans you should stick with NZXT, coolermaster fans (for example) will not fit right.

But the rest looks pretty good. Enjoy the build and let us know how it worked out.

thanks. do you think the GTX 650 ti will be enough to average around 40 fps on med/high detail or should i go up to a HD 7850? Also if i get case fans should i get some like these from NZXT: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835146001 also do you think that i should go for a pentium G2120 or is teh i3-3220 a serious performance increase, on future mark their scores are pretty much the same.

 

[groundrat]

GTX 650 Ti
Core Clock: 1071MHz
CUDA Cores: 768
Effective Memory Clock: 5400MHz
$170

HD 7850
Core Clock: 860MHz
Stream Processors: 1024 Stream Processors
Effective Memory Clock: 1200MHz (4.8Gbps)
$224.

Nvidia and Radeon cards are made quite differently, as you can see in the listed specs. Cuda cores are more efficient than radeon shaders. The 7850 is a very good card and a slight step up from the 650 Ti.

As to the processor, it’s all about the hyperthreading. Even though the 3220 is a dual core and the Pentium is a dual core, hyperthreading makes the i3 perform more like a quad core. Go with the i3. And unless you are forgoing a graphics card, don’t bother with the 3225, the only difference is the HD 4000 graphics package.

I love newegg, but tiger direct is selling the i3 slightly cheaper at $119.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3734679&CatId=1969

Those case fans are just ine.

 

[xl_480]

GTX 650 Ti
Core Clock: 1071MHz
CUDA Cores: 768
Effective Memory Clock: 5400MHz
$170

HD 7850
Core Clock: 860MHz
Stream Processors: 1024 Stream Processors
Effective Memory Clock: 1200MHz (4.8Gbps)
$224.

Nvidia and Radeon cards are made quite differently, as you can see in the listed specs. Cuda cores are more efficient than radeon shaders. The 7850 is a very good card and a slight step up from the 650 Ti.

As to the processor, it’s all about the hyperthreading. Even though the 3220 is a dual core and the Pentium is a dual core, hyperthreading makes the i3 perform more like a quad core. Go with the i3. And unless you are forgoing a graphics card, don’t bother with the 3225, the only difference is the HD 4000 graphics package.

I love newegg, but tiger direct is selling the i3 slightly cheaper at $119.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3734679&CatId=1969

Those case fans are just ine.

thanks,

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-3220 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor ($121.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI Z77A-G41 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($79.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($37.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 650 Ti 2GB Video Card ($164.99 @ Microcenter)
Case: NZXT Source 220 ATX Mid Tower Case ($40.00 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($15.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $550.90
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-26 14:37 EST-0500)

Should i keep the 2gb GTX 650 Ti or should i get the 1gb HD 7850? theyre about the same price.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-3220 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor ($121.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI Z77A-G41 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($79.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($37.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 1GB Video Card ($164.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 220 ATX Mid Tower Case ($40.00 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($15.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $550.90
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-26 15:51 EST-0500)