Help on budget gaming system?

s3c7i0n

Honorable
Feb 2, 2013
3
0
10,510
So I'm building my first new system, and so far this is the set up I've made: system build
My question is are there any ways to reduce the price without unreasonably effecting the performance?
 

tenaciousk

Honorable
Jan 18, 2013
1,108
0
11,460
Here are a few suggestions:
Think your motherboard is overkill, should be able to get great performance out of one that is cheaper. I changed the build to the z77 chipset extreme 6. I like these boards.

I changed your Sata hard drive to one with 64mb cache. To help it run faster. The one you have now is 16 mb(this didnt reduce the price. I just think its a better option)

Changed to a cheaper power supply for you. Antec is a great Manufacturer and you wont have anything to worry about with them.

With some of these changes i was able to get it down almost 200 dollars. Without sacrificing any performance.


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Arctic Cooling ACFZ13 36.4 CFM CPU Cooler ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme6 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($139.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($91.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Kingston HyperX 3K 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($109.00 @ Adorama)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card ($214.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Inwin Grone Gray (Gray) ATX Full Tower Case ($158.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Antec Neo Eco 520W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1054.91
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-02 17:15 EST-0500)
 



Actually you can increase the performance for less, drop the 16GB of ram and that overpriced motherboard, and get a better gpu.
Here's the list : http://pcpartpicker.com/p/B5SO

With a psu for two 7950(it's actually 69.99$ with promo code), the motherboard also supports two 7950, with two pcie 3.0 at dual mode 8x/8x
 

s3c7i0n

Honorable
Feb 2, 2013
3
0
10,510
Alright, thanks guys, I used some ideas from both of you, and managed to drop the total price by about $200. A couple other things, do you think it'd be worth it in my case to invest in some higher speed RAM? I decided to go with the Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory for $43.99. Also, is it worth it to use windows 8 over windows 7? price isn't an issue, I can get either for free.