New Pc for my friend for $1300

[Hoodrych2421]

So i asked about a pc a week or so ago and appreciate you guys help for that. My friend wants one now and i was wondering if you guys could help me out. His budgets 1300 and he needs a OS but not a monitor. He pretty much plays the same games, bf3 minecraft arma 3, gw2, WoW and stuff like that. We dont have a microcenter near where we live so it needs to be stuff you can order online only. Thanks

 

[butremor]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Av8W 870$ + OS still under your budget, so can bump gpu to radeon 7970 and get some other case if your friend has other preferences

Actually here you go http://pcpartpicker.com/p/CgbK changed some things arond

 

[J_E_D_70]

I like that second build plus a 180GB or bigger SSD. In fact, if it's just for gaming get a 256GB unit and drop the hdd completely.

 

[bigcyco1]

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-D3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($51.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial M4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($108.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($393.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($82.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($70.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1278.87
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-08 15:26 EST-0500)

 

[Hoodrych2421]

Thanks for the replies guys quick question what's the difference between the gtx 670 and the radeon 7970? I heard their similar but I heard people have more problems with radeon cards.

 

[bigcyco1]

he 670 and 7970 perform basically the same at stock up to 1080p resolution, trading blows depending on the game. The 7970 most likely will OC better and it will murder the 670 at high resolution (and has way more compute power), the 670 gives you CUDA , PhysX, TXAA, FXAA, ADap. Vsync etc and lower power draw. Both are solid buys.If you still can't decide which card to take try looking at the games that you play or specific features that you want.If cost really matter to you then you might want to go with whatever is cheaper to you.The MSI PE GTX 670 is a beast!MSI's GTX 670 Power Edition uses the famous Twin Frozr IV cooler from the MSI Lightning and comes with a large clock speed boost out of the box, making its default clock speed even higher than GTX 680 stock clocks. My clocks/results on the 670 PE were:


Max OC
Core: 1316 MHz
Memory: 7406 MHz
Fps: 52.6


Standard OC
Core: 1290 MHz
Memory: 7204 Mhz
Fps: 51.5 MSI GeForce GTX 670 Power edition /OC reviews


http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-reviews/56546-msi-gtx-670-power-edition-oc-review.html
http://www.guru3d.com/article/msi-geforce-gtx-670-power-edition-oc-review/
MSI's GTX 670 Power Edition in action http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnLUJxCBZUg&feature=plcp Crysis 2 Campaign MSI GTX 670 OC Test http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiE_4cz0aDo&feature=plcp Battlefield 3 PC Operation Swordfish Campaign Combat GTX 670

 

[Firespert]

AMD Build
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/CkfV

or

Intel Build
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/CklS
You don't need the i7 if you don't want.

 

[Hoodrych2421]

Well like i said this ones not for me its for my friend but if it came down to price he doesnt want to be skimpy on the parts just wants the best available. Hes never had anything but a prebuilt store bought pc so the comps purely for gaming really so i just figured id ask about the 7970 or the 670 since i personally have never used a radeon card. And wouldnt a i5 be better for gaming then a I7? Thought the i7s were just good for like video editing and stuff like that?

 

[Hoodrych2421]

Well after looking over parts how would this setup be?

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/CsoI

 

[bigcyco1]

Well after looking over parts how would this setup be?

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/CsoI

It be fine go for it. Just a heads up this is the EVGA 670 you should get it's top notch http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130787


http://www.fudzilla.com/home/item/27432-evga-gtx-670-ftw-reviewed/27432-evga-gtx-670-ftw-reviewed <--- review of that card

 

[Firespert]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/CxDA
I know this will be a very good build for sure

The gtx 670 is also very good too.

 

[Praxeology]

This is the best PC for the money that works with either 7850 or 660

Edit: Forget ram!

Total Price: 1334.89 + ram = Subtotal: $1,387.88

Links:

Case

PSU

Mobo

CPU

CPU Cooler

RAM

GPU

SSD

HDD

Optical Drive

Windows

Subtotal: $1,387.88

Compared Performance Difference between 7970/7950/etcetcetc:

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/4798/his_radeon_hd_7850_iceq_x_turbox_2gb_in_crossfire_video_card_review/index11.html

And a BF3 Benchmark http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-660-geforce-gtx-650-benchmark,3297-14.html

And to bury any doubt on performance, http://teksyndicate.com/videos/amd-radeon-hd-7870-crossfire-vs-radeon-hd-7970-vs-nvidia-gtx-680

 

[Firespert]

This is the best PC for the money that works with either 7850 or 660

Edit: Forget ram!

http://img577.imageshack.us/img577/8333/37337960.png

Total Price: 1334.89 + ram = Subtotal: $1,387.88

Links:

Case

PSU

Mobo

CPU

CPU Cooler

RAM

GPU

SSD

HDD

Optical Drive

Windows

Subtotal: $1,387.88

Compared Performance Difference between 7970/7950/etcetcetc:

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/4798/his_radeon_hd_7850_iceq_x_turbox_2gb_in_crossfire_video_card_review/index11.html

And a BF3 Benchmark http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-660-geforce-gtx-650-benchmark,3297-14.html

And to bury any doubt on performance, http://teksyndicate.com/videos/amd-radeon-hd-7870-crossfire-vs-radeon-hd-7970-vs-nvidia-gtx-680

^This review is old.

Here are the things I don't completely agree with:
1. You can get a motherboard for the same price + included RAM.
2.The PSU isn't the best value.
3. I would drop the SSD on the price in my opinion.
4. It is probably better for now to get one powerful GPUs over two mid-range GPUs. One GPU is generally much more stable + it uses a lot less power.

 

[Praxeology]

^This review is old.

Here are the things I don't completely agree with:
1. You can get a motherboard for the same price + included RAM.
2.The PSU isn't the best value.
3. I would drop the SSD on the price in my opinion.
4. It is probably better for now to get one powerful GPUs over two mid-range GPUs. One GPU is generally much more stable + it uses a lot less power.

1. You can get a motherboard + ram for the same price? For the same price as that MSI motherboard? I would like to see a good SLI mobo with 4 dimms and a 8GB ram combo for 110$

2. 750w PSU is needed for cf 7850. Perhaps you can link something better.

3. SSD bootable is nice for windows performance/stability. You never see not responding tabs or slow downs really, but I can understand your opinion.

4. How is it better to get 1 gpu vs 2? If people crossfire 7950/70 all the time, why wouldn't someone who can afford 1 7970 buy 2 7850. They will outperform the single card and be just as stable as 2 high end cards in crossfire. 30+ fps at all resolutions for roughly the same price is the better deal.

 

[Firespert]

ASRock Z77 Extreme4 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard -Newegg

LEPA G Series G650-MAS 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply -Newegg

Getting the 7970 and to crossfire it in the future seems like a pretty good idea.

 

[nikoli707]

cpu - 3570k - $200
http://www.techbargains.com/news_displayItem.cfm/335678
cooler - cm hyper 212 evo - $25
http://www.techbargains.com/news_displayItem.cfm/333210
mobo - asrock extreme6 - $140
http://www.techbargains.com/news_displayItem.cfm/334157
ram - 8gb corsair vengence 2133 - $40
http://www.techbargains.com/news_displayItem.cfm/335344
case - cm haf912 - $40
http://www.techbargains.com/news_displayItem.cfm/335056
psu - thermaltake black widow 850w - $70
http://www.techbargains.com/news_displayItem.cfm/335209
ssd - intel 520 240gb - $190
http://www.techbargains.com/news_displayItem.cfm/335117
hdd - wd caviar green 3tb - $120
http://www.techbargains.com/news_displayItem.cfm/335501
video card - xfx 7970 - $350
http://www.techbargains.com/news_displayItem.cfm/334236
optical drive - lg bluray burner - $55
http://www.techbargains.com/news_displayItem.cfm/332446
os - win7 64 - $100
anywhere

$1330 total without tax depending on where you are.

 

[Praxeology]

^This review is old.

Here are the things I don't completely agree with:
1. You can get a motherboard for the same price + included RAM.
2.The PSU isn't the best value.
3. I would drop the SSD on the price in my opinion.
4. It is probably better for now to get one powerful GPUs over two mid-range GPUs. One GPU is generally much more stable + it uses a lot less power.

ASRock Z77 Extreme4 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard -Newegg

LEPA G Series G650-MAS 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply -Newegg

Getting the 7970 and to crossfire it in the future seems like a pretty good idea.

That motherboard is more expensive than the 109$ MSI, 30 bucks more, and it does not include ram. So again I fail to see how you can get a cheaper motherboard with ram included for 109 dollars.

LEPA G series is a no-brand roll of the dice PSU. It does have a good value price though, i'll concede to that.

Getting a 7970 now will cost 400 dollars, and buying one in the future is 300 dollars (Assuming you can even find one, much less a decent model) for a total of $700, + the need for a bigger PSU. It's better to just spend 440$ now for crossfire 7850(Best bang for buck period), and enjoy a minimum of +30 fps over a single 7970 whilst pocketing 300 dollars. Besides even if you spend the extra 300 dollars(Assuming you find a second card a year from now for 300$) you will have 20fps over the 7850s. Really not worth it imo.

 

[Firespert]

With the Asrock Z77 Extreme 4 motherboard it says "Free 8GB desktop memory w/ purchase, limited offer" so it seems fine to me.

The PSU looks perfectly fine to me. Also, 650W should be enough power to crossfire.

I have been informed that micro-stuttering brings down how the gameplay looks by about 20 fps so the 7970 should looks the same in appearance.

 

[Hoodrych2421]

Ok so i want to thank you guys for all the help thanks to you guys me and my friend have come up with this build.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/CV0d

Hes into those phantom cases for whatever reason but yea this is what he wants to order in the next day or so. So before he orders is there anything that could be swapped out for a little better bang for the buck and does this seem ok? He wanted a SSD but no way we could fit it on the budget with him wanting one of those phantom cases

 

[nikoli707]

Trust me, an SSD is by far one of the best upgrades to ANY modern computer... the 10 second boot times alone are worth it. To be honest, with an ssd there is no use for hibernate or sleep. Find a way to fit it in the budget.

 

[Praxeology]

Links:

Case

PSU

Mobo

CPU

CPU Cooler

RAM

GPU

SSD

HDD

Optical Drive

Windows

Subtotal: $1,387.88; Drop the SSD brings price to 1247$, and swap out the cases brings the price to 1277$ 57$ over you and you're friends build. Your build is 60 dollars cheaper but my build run a minimum of 30fps higher. When the 7970 is giving you 30 fps in a game, the SLI 660/7850 setup is running 70.

This build will smoke the 7970 build you and your friend put together. It would be even better to use SLI 660, over 7850 crossfire.

Source

Compared Performance Difference between 7970/7950/etcetcetc: Note the SLI 7850's on the Bottom of the graph; They are running over 30 fps higher than the 7970, whilst costing the same amount.

Source

And to bury any doubt on performance, http://teksyndicate.com/videos/amd-radeon-hd-7870-crossfire-vs-radeon-hd-7970-vs-nvidia-gtx-680

 

[Firespert]

When playing metro 2033 on a resolution of 2560x1600, the 7850 gets 15 fps more on average according to the benchmark. It is also said that the micro-stuttering with crossfireX brings down the look of the gameplay 20-30fps making the 7970ghz a better choice. Well, maybe crossfire while get better in the future.

 

[Praxeology]

When playing metro 2033 on a resolution of 2560x1600, the 7850 gets 15 fps more on average according to the benchmark. It is also said that the micro-stuttering with crossfireX brings down the look of the gameplay 20-30fps making the 7970ghz a better choice. Well, maybe crossfire while get better in the future.

No one has 1600p monitors because they cost 1500 dollars, and the fact that 400$ gpu setup is 15fps higher than the 400+ dollar 7970 at this ridiculous resolution is case and point of the price/performance. Micro-stuttering doesn't bring down the look of gameplay 20-30 FPS, that is nonsense that is promoted by people who run single-card setups(I'd like to see some math on where on earth you pulled that figure from) Any video on youtube showing off a new games max graphic settings are usually running SLI and guess what, they look great. Microstuttering arguments are always used to dissuade people from going SLI 660 but if this same person said my budget is 3-4k, you would all recommend SLI 680. It is inconsistent and illogical, try again please

-Prax

 

[Nympha]

No one has 1600p monitors because they cost 1500 dollars, and the fact that 400$ gpu setup is 15fps higher than the 400+ dollar 7970 at this ridiculous resolution is case and point of the price/performance. Micro-stuttering doesn't bring down the look of gameplay 20-30 FPS, that is nonsense(I'd like to see some math on where on earth you pulled that figure from) Any video on youtube showing off a new games max graphic settings are usually running SLI and guess what, they look great. Microstuttering arguments are always used to dissuade people from going SLI 660 but if this same person said my budget is 3-4k, you would all recommend SLI 680. It is inconsistent and illogical, try again please

-Prax

Prax's logic does make sense, I have never had problems with micro stuttering in my crossfire

 

[nikoli707]

1440p monitors cost $350-400, same thing, never gonna see the difference gaming if on a 1600p, and within a year 2560x1440 will cost under $299

but at the same point, their all still above 60fps and anyone would be hard pressed to see the difference between all of them at 1440p