Need Advice on less than $1000 Build

androidrules

Honorable
Mar 6, 2013
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10,510
This is my first build. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Approximate Purchase Date: this week

Budget Range: below 1000, the less the better

System Usage from Most to Least Important: online school; computer programming; web surfing; music

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com - if something's cheaper on another site, i'd love to go there

Country: USA

Parts Preferences: mid tower case

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: Unlikely

Monitor Resolution: 3 1080p monitors

Additional Comments:


This is what I have so far.

COOLER MASTER Elite 431 Plus ATX Mid Tower Computer Case ($54.99 at newegg.com)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119256

CORSAIR CX430M 430W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply ($49.99 at newegg.com)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139049

ASRock Z77 Extreme3 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard ($124.99 at newegg.com)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157330

Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 ($229.99 at newegg.com)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116504

CORSAIR XMS 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory ($47.99 at newegg.com)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145324

Western Digital WD Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive ($99.99 at newegg.com)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533

ASUS 24X DVD Burner - Bulk CD-ROM Black SATA Model DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS - OEM ($17.99 at newegg.com)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 7750 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card (99.99 at newegg.com)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102969

Linksys WMP600N Wireless Adapter with Dual-Band IEEE 802.11a/b/g, IEEE 802.11n Draft 2.0 PCI WPA2 ($49.99 at newegg.com)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833124342

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM ($99.99 at newegg.com)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986

Total: $875

I would really like to get this price down, if possible to the 600-700 dollar range. However, I don't want to sacrifice something that I'll end up needing 6 months down the line. My major problem is, I'm having trouble knowing where I am overshooting. Most of my computer activities are done through the internet, Microsoft Word, and some IDEs. Within those programs, I usually have about 10 - 20 windows open at a time. I also have 3 monitors running, which is a must have. Would I be able to switch out the Intel processor for a cheaper AMD processor and overclock it? Is there any suggestions on different parts I should get?

Thanks for the help and advice.
 

properbuilds

Honorable
Jan 13, 2013
432
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10,810
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3350P 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z75 Pro3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($84.55 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($49.30 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk Extreme 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 6670 1GB Video Card ($73.98 @ Newegg)
Wireless Network Adapter: Rosewill RNX-N180UBE 802.11b/g/n USB 2.0 Wi-Fi Adapter ($20.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Zalman Z5 ATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer ($15.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $749.43
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
 

TemurAmir

Honorable
May 30, 2012
83
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10,640
I would get this since you're not gaming, just normal work so the AMD will do as good as or better than the i5's
USB3 case
blue over black as blacks are not really faster
I went for 2 XxDVI + HMDI for 3 easy outputs
You can add a small SSD if you want

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($189.15 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($85.49 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($37.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($70.90 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 650 1GB Video Card ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $666.47
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-06 22:25 EST-0500)
 

e_X

Honorable
Nov 23, 2012
217
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10,710
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($119.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($85.49 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($37.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 6870 2GB Video Card ($202.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Zalman Z5 ATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $701.40
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-06 22:48 EST-0500)

You can overclock the fx 6300 pretty good and this gpu should be able to handle 3 monitors if you aren't gaming.
 
Solution

masterman467

Honorable
Oct 17, 2012
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10,790


Sure you dident get your username wrong????
Thats the total oposite way to think of it.
Drop the CPU down, up the GPU. not visa versa.


Also, see the link in my sig.

 

TemurAmir

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May 30, 2012
83
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10,640


Why did you recommend a 6 series card that costs 200 bucks? For 200, he could easily get a 7850 if he wanted to game but he's not...

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/I4Pq
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/I4Pq/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/I4Pq/benchmarks/

CPU: AMD A10-5800K 3.8GHz Quad-Core Processor ($119.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: ASRock FM2A55M-DGS Micro ATX FM2 Motherboard ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($49.98 @ Outlet PC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($78.57 @ Outlet PC)
Storage: OCZ Vector Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 6670 1GB Video Card ($59.48 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $602.97
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-07 00:07 EST-0500)
 

TemurAmir

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May 30, 2012
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Are you sure you read the original post? He's not gaming...
 

e_X

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Nov 23, 2012
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10,710


He is running 3 1080p monitors.
 

TemurAmir

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May 30, 2012
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He can run 3 monitors off a cheaper card... I don't see why you recommended that particular one as it's overpriced and an older card? At that price he can almost get a 7870.
 

androidrules

Honorable
Mar 6, 2013
2
0
10,510
Thanks you so much everyone! I was absolutely sure something was overkill. Just wondering, I just found out I may need to run basic Photoshop in the near future. Will these processors be able to handle it well? If the GPU can't, I can upgrade that if I end up running Photoshop, right?

Thanks again! These responses have been great!