New PC for 1600$

[Veteran007]

Approximate Purchase Date: well, as soon as the build is ready I hope

Budget Range: 1600$ or in my currency 1200€ after taxes

System Usage from Most to Least Important: I am going to play games like LoL and Planetside 2

Are you buying a monitor: Yes

Parts to Upgrade: Everything, including OS and monitor

Do you need to buy OS: Yes

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: website that will ship to Estonia, maybe then Amazon UK

Location: Estonia as said

Parts Preferences: Intel CPU, Geforce series

Overclocking: Yes

SLI or Crossfire: Yes, but that will be later on

Your Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080 I think would be enough

Additional Comments: case should look cool, preferably window on the side, want a build that will play games on high/ultra settings at least 40+ FPS, as a lot of have said here best bang for buck

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: I have laptop and this isn't good enough for the new games I wan't to play

 

[TimeLass]

Try this...
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/CQxD

 

[timarp000]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($148.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($46.66 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.98 @ Outlet PC)
Storage: Crucial M4 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($189.99 @ Adorama)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($369.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($99.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($106.24 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer ($15.98 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Monitor: Samsung S22B150N 21.5" Monitor ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Keyboard: Logitech MK200 Wired Slim Keyboard w/Optical Mouse ($22.41 @ eCost)
Total: $1510.17
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-11 12:06 EST-0500)

 

[timarp000]

you can swap the GTX 670 to a Radeon 7970 Ghz if you want AMD

 

[g-unit1111]

Both of the above builds have to keep in mind that if you order parts from foreign websites and have it shipped internationally you will get hosed for import taxes and customs fees in addition to hefty shipping charges. It's better to buy locally.

For $1600 (1.139,00 €) here's what I would suggest:

Case: Corsair 300R W/ Window - € 77.60
PSU: Corsair TX650 V2 - € 94.45
Motherboard: Asrock Z77 Extreme 4 - € 126.65
CPU: 3.4GHz Intel Core i5-3570K - € 202.00
Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo - € 28.50
RAM: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB DDR3 240pin DIMM, PC3-10600, CL9, 1.5V - € 43.00
HD: 500 GB Western Digital Caviar blue - € 52.50
SSD: 128 GB OCZ Vector - € 137.00
Optical: Samsung 24X DVD Burner - € 13.90
Video Card: Gigabyte Windforce 3X GTX 670 - € 415.80

Total: € 1,194.80

 

[Veteran007]

Thank you for your feedback.
The first build is about 200£ over my price range.
The second is awesome, but as said above, there will be taxes for me, too. It is 20% added to the initial price, I forgot to mention that, so it should be 1300$, so it would stay in my price range.
The third looks awesome, but there is no monitor. So what would you suggest to downgrade to get a monitor and stay in price range??

 

[g-unit1111]

Try to order here: http://lb.hardwareversand.de/basket.jsp

That's a German site - you will still have to pay customs fees and import taxes.

The third looks awesome, but there is no monitor. So what would you suggest to downgrade to get a monitor and stay in price range??

Just take out the SSD and add in whatever monitor you want. You can always get the SSD later.

 

[Veteran007]

Thank you g-unit, for answering, but if I want to have the SSD for OS, then what should I downgrade or dump instead of it?
FYI the price range without taxes would be then 1350$ or 1000€ (20% taxes).

 

[g-unit1111]

Thank you g-unit, for answering, but if I want to have the SSD for OS, then what should I downgrade or dump instead of it?
FYI the price range without taxes would be then 1350$ or 1000€ (20% taxes).

SSD is always optional - you don't have to get one initially. It does speed things up quite a bit. You can add an SSD later on and it would perform about the same. Other than that there really isn't a lot I would say to change. The only thing would maybe get a cheaper video card - you could get a 660TI or 7950 and you'd save a good 100€ there.

 

[Veteran007]

So if I dump the SSD, I save 130€, buy a monitor for the money. But then go for the GTX 660 TI instead of GTX 670, will it be worth it? Is the 660 TI really that close to the 670 performance wise? And for the saved money I should still get a SSD or something else?

 

[g-unit1111]

Yeah there's enough of a noticeable difference between the 660TI and 670: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/598?vs=647

Depending on your monitor resolution both will perform pretty well on at least 1080p.

 

[Praxeology]

I took some time just to give you the best setup for your money, because I don't see it in any of the above postings.

Motherboard 85$

Processor 165$

Cpu Cooler 30$

16GB Corsair Ram(You can get 8 ofc) 82$

SLI Asus GTX 660 360$

Samsung 840 Pro 128GB 106$

Seagate 1TB 7200RPM 64MB Cache 50$

Corsair 750 Bronze 70$

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Paste 6$

Asus Optical Drive 20$

Edit: To give you a general idea on OS/Monitor/Case

Samsung Monitor 21.5 1920x1080 88$

Windows 7, 64Bit 70$

Zalman Case I would never buy personally 50$, I hate amazon's search features so I recommend sifting through the cases from 0-50, find the one that has the most fans that looks aesthetically pleasing to you.

Edited Subtotal:£1183.76, with the above components and some rough math. I would add it to your card/calculate shipping to get something more realistic.



Subtotal: £975.76, What's missing? Case(+50), Monitor(+130-150), Windows(+100)= 300$ Max?! Might go a little over depending on the case/monitor, but well worth it I would say. What are you getting? Best SSD on the market? Check! Highest fps performance at the lowest price? Check! What you don't believe me? Benchmark Numbers? Check and Check! SLI 660 vs the stream of bad opinions Check Mate!

Conclusions? Best bang for buck is an SLI 660/7850(660 for you because Planetside 2)setup. Arguments against it claim SLI has micro-stuttering/insert any other argument. Counter-argument is simple. People who SLI 670/680(Or 660/660Ti/7850/7870/7950/7970)don't seem to mind(They are the ones with the youtube videos showing off the newest games at max settings). And if I gave you the option of choosing one of the following two free systems what would you choose? The first one has an SLI 680 setup and while the second one has a single 680 setup? Keep in mind both are free; and we would of course predict that everyone here would want the first build, unless they're crazy, in spite of their previous bad arguments against the SLI 660 setup. Final thoughts? There is a double standard that says SLI 200 dollar cards(which smokes single any single gpu card)is bad, because of insert bad argument here, but SLI the 400 dollars cards and nerdgasms ensue. You know my recommendation I hope,

-Prax

P.S. Just for further fun here is some graphs comparing 660Ti SLI vs single 670/80(I can't find 660SLI compared to the singles but the point still stands; the fps will be +30 higher! When the 680 2 years from now is running a game at 30fps, the 660 SLI is still 60.) Graph Source@ ClickMeAndSeeForYourSelfDotComsLawl!

 

[g-unit1111]

I took some time just to give you the best setup for your money, because I don't see it in any of the above postings.


Motherboard 85$


Processor 165$


Cpu Cooler 30$


16GB Corsair Ram(You can get 8 ofc) 82$


SLI Asus GTX 660 360$


Samsung 840 Pro 128GB 106$


Seagate 1TB 7200RPM 64MB Cache 50$


Corsair 750 Bronze 70$


Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Paste 6$


Asus Optical Drive 20$

Extra thermal compound isn't needed - the Hyper 212 includes stuff that's better than Silver 5.

Plus the OP is in Estonia - remember they will have to pay taxes and customs fees in addition to heavy shipping charges when importing from other countries. I don't know how many times I have to point this out.

Subtotal: £975.76, What's missing? Case, Monitor, Windows! What are you getting? Best SSD on the market? Check! Highest fps performance at the lowest price? Check! What you don't believe me? Benchmark Numbers? Check and Check! SLI 660 vs the stream of bad opinions Check Mate!

Interesting numbers. I'd still rather go for a single GPU setup then dual weaker cards. But why leave out case? You still need one, I wouldn't suggest generalizing here because there's TONS of crappy, poorly made cases out there and separating the good ones from the crap can be difficult.

 

[Praxeology]

I took some time just to give you the best setup for your money, because I don't see it in any of the above postings.


Motherboard 85$


Processor 165$


Cpu Cooler 30$


16GB Corsair Ram(You can get 8 ofc) 82$


SLI Asus GTX 660 360$


Samsung 840 Pro 128GB 106$


Seagate 1TB 7200RPM 64MB Cache 50$


Corsair 750 Bronze 70$


Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Paste 6$


Asus Optical Drive 20$

Extra thermal compound isn't needed - the Hyper 212 includes stuff that's better than Silver 5.

Plus the OP is in Estonia - remember they will have to pay taxes and customs fees in addition to heavy shipping charges when importing from other countries. I don't know how many times I have to point this out.

Subtotal: £975.76, What's missing? Case, Monitor, Windows! What are you getting? Best SSD on the market? Check! Highest fps performance at the lowest price? Check! What you don't believe me? Benchmark Numbers? Check and Check! SLI 660 vs the stream of bad opinions Check Mate!

Interesting numbers. I'd still rather go for a single GPU setup then dual weaker cards. But why leave out case? You still need one, I wouldn't suggest generalizing here because there's TONS of crappy, poorly made cases out there and separating the good ones from the crap can be difficult.

I agree, he should leave out compound if that is true; I know the OP lives in Estonia and that the costs could be higher("What's missing? Case(+50), Monitor(+130-150), Windows(+100)= 300$ Max?! Might go a little over depending on the case/monitor, but well worth it I would say." -Prax); I don't know why you would rather go with 30 less fps (or even lower, that's pretty conservative estimate I think) but you certainly can do so; I leave the case out because they are personal, and I don't like amazon's search features, however I did provide recommendations on what I would look for personally("I recommend sifting through the cases from 0-50, find the one that has the most fans that looks aesthetically pleasing to you."). I edited the initial post for clarity's sake.

 

[g-unit1111]

I agree, he should leave out compound if that is true; I know the OP lives in Estonia and that the costs could be higher

I have a 212 Evo and that is true, you don't need to buy the extra compound as you're paying for the same part twice.

I don't know why you would rather go with 30 less fps (or even lower, that's pretty conservative estimate I think) but you certainly can do so;

It may be 30 FPS higher but there's always that pesky micro stuttering issue - and that applies to both NVIDIA and AMD cards.

("I recommend sifting through the cases from 0-50, find the one that has the most fans that looks aesthetically pleasing to you." ).

There's definitely brands out there that should be avoided at all costs because of inferior construction and poor quality. That includes Apevia, Raidmax, Coolmax, Diablotek, Xion, Xclio, Ultra, Sentey, and like 100 others. The best case makers are like Antec, Corsair, Cooler Master, Fractal Design, and NZXT.

 

[Praxeology]

I have a 212 Evo and that is true, you don't need to buy the extra compound as you're paying for the same parts twice.

I agree!

It may be 30 FPS higher but there's always that pesky micro stuttering issue - and that applies to both NVIDIA and AMD cards.

Yes that is a minor issue but again people do it and don't really suffer any pain from their SLI systems lol. If you could chose between one free 680 for your computer or two free 680 you would likely take two and SLI them; Hell, they were free! Therefore, to be logically consistent, you should conclude that SLI 660 is the way to go, besides, fps difference is HUGE! Just look at that BF3 Benchmark, the 680 runs a minimum fps of 90, the 660Ti SLI runs minimum of 128, a 38fps difference in MINIMUM fps; Not to mention the 52 AVERAGE fps difference. This isn't a big deal at the settings they were running, allowing both setups 90+ fps. But when the single is at 30fps in some future game/different game-settings/resolutions than used in this one benchmark, while the SLI is at say 70fps, that's when the proof is in the pudding. But regardless, I can agree to disagree.

There's definitely brands out there that should be avoided at all costs because of inferior construction and poor quality. That includes Apevia, Raidmax, Coolmax, Diablotek, Xion, Xclio, Ultra, Sentey, and like 100 others. The best case makers are like Antec, Corsair, Cooler Master, Fractal Design, and NZXT.

Meh; Number of fans, Number of bad reviews, and How it looks to you are the only factors. Brand name doesn't really matter imo@ the 0-150$ range. Good fans, Good reviews, then it sounds like a good product. If you really care about cases, buy a comsos II or better yet wait for the Corsair 900D to hit the stores@3/18/2013

Prax

 

[g-unit1111]

Yes that is a minor issue but again people do it and don't really suffer any pain from their SLI systems lol. If you could chose between one free 680 for your computer or two free 680 you would likely take two and SLI them; Hell, they were free! Therefore, to be logically consistent, you should conclude that SLI 660 is the way to go, besides, fps difference is HUGE! Just look at that BF3 Benchmark, the 680 runs a minimum fps of 90, the 660Ti SLI runs minimum of 128, a 38fps difference in MINIMUM fps; Not to mention the 52 AVERAGE fps difference. This isn't a big deal at the settings they were running, allowing both setups 90+ fps. But when the single is at 30fps in some future game/different game-settings/resolutions than used in this one benchmark, while the SLI is at say 70fps, that's when the proof is in the pudding. But regardless, I can agree to disagree.

Yeah that is a huge difference. I shall investigate this further.

Meh; Number of fans, Number of bad reviews, and How it looks to you are the only factors. Brand name doesn't really matter imo@ the 0-150$ range. Good fans, Good reviews, then it sounds like a good product. If you really care about cases, buy a comsos II or better yet wait for the Corsair 900D to hit the stores@3/18/2013

Actually this is one area where it does. Off brands cut corners on construction and I've seen just what happens when you get a poorly constructed case (I've had to pry stuck power buttons from cases, I've seen doors fall off, I've seen fans short out, the list goes on and on). You don't want to risk your new components to something that will fall apart will you?

I don't trust store reviews in the slightest. 1/2 the positive reviews are meaningless and 1/2 the DOAs could easily be prevented had the users taken the right precautions prior to installation. And if you look closer there's even the fact that a large percentage of the product have nothing to do with the product itself - rather some wankers complain about bad refunds or problems with UPS. A lot of crap also gets really highly rated on Newegg - and it's mainly that "new fresh out of the box feeling".

 

[Praxeology]

Yes that is a minor issue but again people do it and don't really suffer any pain from their SLI systems lol. If you could chose between one free 680 for your computer or two free 680 you would likely take two and SLI them; Hell, they were free! Therefore, to be logically consistent, you should conclude that SLI 660 is the way to go, besides, fps difference is HUGE! Just look at that BF3 Benchmark, the 680 runs a minimum fps of 90, the 660Ti SLI runs minimum of 128, a 38fps difference in MINIMUM fps; Not to mention the 52 AVERAGE fps difference. This isn't a big deal at the settings they were running, allowing both setups 90+ fps. But when the single is at 30fps in some future game/different game-settings/resolutions than used in this one benchmark, while the SLI is at say 70fps, that's when the proof is in the pudding. But regardless, I can agree to disagree.

Yeah that is a huge difference. I shall investigate this further.

Meh; Number of fans, Number of bad reviews, and How it looks to you are the only factors. Brand name doesn't really matter imo@ the 0-150$ range. Good fans, Good reviews, then it sounds like a good product. If you really care about cases, buy a comsos II or better yet wait for the Corsair 900D to hit the stores@3/18/2013

Actually this is one area where it does. Off brands cut corners on construction and I've seen just what happens when you get a poorly constructed case (I've had to pry stuck power buttons from cases, I've seen doors fall off, I've seen fans short out, the list goes on and on). You don't want to risk your new components to something that will fall apart will you?

I don't trust store reviews in the slightest. 1/2 the positive reviews are meaningless and 1/2 the DOAs could easily be prevented had the users taken the right precautions prior to installation. And if you look closer there's even the fact that a large percentage of the product have nothing to do with the product itself - rather some wankers complain about bad refunds or problems with UPS. A lot of crap also gets really highly rated on Newegg - and it's mainly that "new fresh out of the box feeling".

It's settled then.

SLI 660, and have g-unit pick/review the case you might pick OP. /thread!

 

[Veteran007]

So, it is certain, as you suggested:
GPU: GTX 660 193,44 €
CPU: i5 3570k 199€
CPU cooler: Cooler Master 212 Hyper EVO 27€
Memory: Crucial DDR3 PC3-12800 1600MHz 8GB CL10 (Kit of 2 - 4GB) Ballistix Sport 42,23€
MOBO: not certain yet, you suggested so many, what should I get?
SSD: 128GB? Is it necessary? (SanDisk 128GB 88€)
HDD: 1TB or 2TB (cheapest 1TB 59€)
Optical drive: yes, can get a quite cheap one, right? (cheapest 13€)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (White) 90€ (sadly not sold here)
Monitor: don't know it yet
OS: Windows 7 Home premium 64-bit 83,5€
PSU: Corsair TX650 V2, 80 PLUS Bronze 94,5€
Without monitor and mobo 889€, so 300€ to spend on mobo and monitor.
Should I still change anything here?
FYI I used site hinnavaatlus.ee, that searches from every Estonian online shop for that particular part, if it doesn't show in the search, then it is not sold here.

 

[Praxeology]

So, it is certain, as you suggested:
GPU: GTX 660 193,44 €
CPU: i5 3570k 199€
CPU cooler: Cooler Master 212 Hyper EVO 27€
Memory: Crucial DDR3 PC3-12800 1600MHz 8GB CL10 (Kit of 2 - 4GB) Ballistix Sport 42,23€
MOBO: not certain yet, you suggested so many, what should I get?
SSD: 128GB? Is it necessary? (SanDisk 128GB 88€)
HDD: 1TB or 2TB (cheapest 1TB 59€)
Optical drive: yes, can get a quite cheap one, right? (cheapest 13€)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (White) 90€ (sadly not sold here)
Monitor: don't know it yet
OS: Windows 7 Home premium 64-bit 83,5€
PSU: Corsair TX650 V2, 80 PLUS Bronze 94,5€
Without monitor and mobo 889€, so 300€ to spend on mobo and monitor.
Should I still change anything here?
FYI I used site hinnavaatlus.ee, that searches from every Estonian online shop for that particular part, if it doesn't show in the search, then it is not sold here.

Motherboard 85$

Processor 165$

Cpu Cooler 30$

16GB Corsair Ram(You can get 8GB instead ofc) 82$

SLI Asus GTX 660 x2 360$

Samsung 840 Pro 128GB 106$

Seagate 1TB 7200RPM 64MB Cache 50$

Corsair 750 Bronze 70$

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Paste 6$

Asus Optical Drive 20$

Samsung Monitor 21.5 1920x1080 88$

Windows 7, 64Bit 70$
£1133.76

Get that stuff. Specifically, click on every link there, add it to your cart, calculate tax and shipping, and see if you can afford the grand total. Out of what you listed it seems you are using 1 660(Which is fine, make sure it is a 2-fan model) but I would try to fit 2 into the build. The SSD should be a Samsung Pro for 12euro more. And I would get the corsair ram linked above. Motherboard is linked above, the MSI g45; PSU is linked above. If you find that its too expensive to order through amazon and want to use that site you listed, then your build looks ok; try to find the parts above would be my recommendation(Except for the case, pick a case under 50euro that you like.)

GL,

-Prax

 

[Veteran007]

It will come over my budget, with 300€, that is a lot. I have said, without taxes my price range is up to 1000€, 1350$ or 860£. And as you can see, it goes way over my price range.

 

[g-unit1111]

Motherboard 85$

Processor 165$

Cpu Cooler 30$

16GB Corsair Ram(You can get 8GB instead ofc) 82$

SLI Asus GTX 660 x2 360$

Samsung 840 Pro 128GB 106$

Seagate 1TB 7200RPM 64MB Cache 50$

Corsair 750 Bronze 70$

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Paste 6$

Asus Optical Drive 20$

Samsung Monitor 21.5 1920x1080 88$

Windows 7, 64Bit 70$
£1133.76

Get that stuff. Specifically, click on every link there, add it to your cart, calculate tax and shipping, and see if you can afford the grand total. Out of what you listed it seems you are using 1 660(Which is fine, make sure it is a 2-fan model) but I would try to fit 2 into the build. The SSD should be a Samsung Pro for 12euro more. And I would get the corsair ram linked above. Motherboard is linked above, the MSI g45; PSU is linked above. If you find that its too expensive to order through amazon and want to use that site you listed, then your build looks ok; try to find the parts above would be my recommendation(Except for the case, pick a case under 50euro that you like.)

GL,

-Prax

The extra thermal compound is still a waste of money. Arctic Silver is no better than the stuff that comes with the 212 Evo.

 

[Veteran007]

So, what mobo is good and what monitor should I get if I want it to be 22" or 23" and in 1920x1080 resolution. I have 300€ or more if I find a cheaper case to spend on mobo and monitor.

 

[g-unit1111]

So, what mobo is good and what monitor should I get if I want it to be 22" or 23" and in 1920x1080 resolution. I have 300€ or more if I find a cheaper case to spend on mobo and monitor.

Get the Asrock Extreme 4: http://www.arvutikeskus.ee/est/TOOTEKATALOOG/ARVUTIKOMPONENDID-Emaplaadid15/ASRock-Z77-EXTREME4-Z77-DDR3-1600-4xSATA3-RAID-HDMI-GBLAN-ATX-165085

And then for monitor this is one I recently purchased: http://www.arvutikeskus.ee/est/TOOTEKATALOOG/MONITORID13/Asus-ML249H-24anduot-LCD-0265-10M1-ASCR-8ms-Hon178-147865

 

[Veteran007]

I think this is it:
MOBO: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 101,4€
CPU: i5 3570k 197,3€
GPU: GTX 660 193,44€ (later I SLI it)
RAM: Crucial DDR3 1600MHz 8GB (Kit of 2 - 4GB) Ballistix Sport 38,9€
CPU cooler: Cooler Master CPU Cooler Hyper 212 Evo 27€
SSD: SanDisk 128GB 88€
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 80,54€
PSU: Corsair supply TX650 V2 80 PLUS Bronze 83€
Case: Thermaltake Commander MS-I Snow Edition 39,2€
Optical drive: cheapest one 13€
OS: Windows 7 Home premium 64-bit 83,5€
Monitor: I will look it from a store, just to be sure.
The total price is 945,28€ without monitor. As my price range was 1200€, this should stay in price range, as the monitor prices are from 100-200€. If you have more criticism, I would be glad to hear it and also would be good to hear a solution to it. Thank you all, for helping to build this rig.