Looking to lower Price of Gaming PC

[RedArmy991]

So currently I am looking at buying these parts for a gaming computer, but I would like to possibly lower the price. Any combo deals around, or perhaps cheaper parts that perform just as well?

(3) ASUS VX238H $179.99

Any case recomondations?

Radeon HD 7950 3GB $309.99

i5 3570k $219.99

P8Z77-V LK - LGA 1155 - Intel Z77 - ATX $134.99

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) $114.99

SeaSonic M12II 620 Bronze Certified ATX/EPS Modular PSU $89.99

Segate Barracuda 1 TB Hard Drive $79.99

Crucial M4 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive $144.99

ASUS 24X DVD Burner $17.99

 

[marshallbradley]

A great budget case is the Antec One. There's so much out there though, just look and see what companies like Corsair/NZXT/Antec have in like the $40-$80 range (you can get some really solid cases for those prices). Corsair 200R/300R is another great option.

Which 7950 is that?

8GB of RAM will easily suffice for any gaming scenario (and you can always upgrade at a later date by simply buying 2 more sticks). Given the high price of RAM currently, this will save you some decent dollar.

Get a 520W M12II instead, you don't need the 620W, even with mad overclocking.

That M4 is really overpriced. You'd be much better off with a Sandisk Extreme 120gb for about $50 less. The performance is identical. If you want a better SSD than the M4 for less, the Samsung 840 Pro is like $125, and that is the best SSD on the market currently.

Otherwise it's a solid build. What's your budget?

M

 

[RedArmy991]

A great budget case is the Antec One. There's so much out there though, just look and see what companies like Corsair/NZXT/Antec have in like the $40-$80 range (you can get some really solid cases for those prices). Corsair 200R/300R is another great option.

Which 7950 is that?

8GB of RAM will easily suffice for any gaming scenario (and you can always upgrade at a later date by simply buying 2 more sticks). Given the high price of RAM currently, this will save you some decent dollar.

Get a 520W M12II instead, you don't need the 620W, even with mad overclocking.

That M4 is really overpriced. You'd be much better off with a Sandisk Extreme 120gb for about $50 less. The performance is identical. If you want a better SSD than the M4 for less, the Samsung 840 Pro is like $125, and that is the best SSD on the market currently.

Otherwise it's a solid build. What's your budget?

M

This is the graphics card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202026
Ok thanks for the imput! i'll swith che M4 for the sandisk, and change my power supply and ram. My budget is around $1500, but paying less would really help! I am mostly concerned with the three monitors. Are there any cheaper gaming monitors that are just as good for less?

 

[marshallbradley]

Are you wanting to game on all three monitors with Eyefinity? It's not going to run particularly well off of a single 7950 I'm afraid. If you only want to game on one of those monitors, that's much more doable though.

Personally I'd rather have IPS monitors, than TN panels, like the one you've linked. You don't get as speedy of a response time with IPS, but the quality and viewing angle is much higher (which is important, esp. for the two monitors on either side of the main one, since they are generally at an angle). This Acer is a solid budget IPS panel, but it's only 21.5".

M

 

[RedArmy991]

Are you wanting to game on all three monitors with Eyefinity? It's not going to run particularly well off of a single 7950 I'm afraid. If you only want to game on one of those monitors, that's much more doable though.

Personally I'd rather have IPS monitors, than TN panels, like the one you've linked. You don't get as speedy of a response time with IPS, but the quality and viewing angle is much higher (which is important, esp. for the two monitors on either side of the main one, since they are generally at an angle). This Acer is a solid budget IPS panel, but it's only 21.5".

M

Ok so I should get two hd 7950s?

 

[marshallbradley]

No, CrossFire has quite a few issues with "micro-stuttering", so I really wouldn't recommend it. If you want multiple GPUs, it's much better to go with nVidia and SLi (though wait for the 760 Ti to be released to see where all the prices settle). Something like SLi 660 Tis/670s would be a good option. Another option is a GTX 780, which would be about $30 more than two 660 Tis, with probably about the same performance. The nice thing about getting a single card is that you avoid all the extra heat/noise/driver issues associated with SLi setups.

Either way it's going to add quite a bit to the cost of your build. Multi-monitor gaming isn't cheap though, that's simply a fact. For a 5760x1080 setup (including the monitors) don't expect to get much change from $2000, if not a little over.

This is my recommended build for 5760x1080 (sans OS):

PCPartPicker part list

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($169.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($33.24 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($139.20 @ Amazon)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($55.25 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk Extreme 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($92.95 @ Adorama)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card ($648.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (Black/Orange) ATX Mid Tower Case ($85.00 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($88.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Acer H226HQLbid 60Hz 21.5" Monitor ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Acer H226HQLbid 60Hz 21.5" Monitor ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Acer H226HQLbid 60Hz 21.5" Monitor ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1808.55

The case is up to you (I just put in a solid one at a good price that a lot of people like). I also put back in the 620W unit, since the GTX 780 has a higher TDP than the HD 7950.

M

 

[RedArmy991]

No, CrossFire has quite a few issues with "micro-stuttering", so I really wouldn't recommend it. If you want multiple GPUs, it's much better to go with nVidia and SLi (though wait for the 760 Ti to be released to see where all the prices settle). Something like SLi 660 Tis/670s would be a good option. Another option is a GTX 780, which would be about $30 more than two 660 Tis, with probably about the same performance. The nice thing about getting a single card is that you avoid all the extra heat/noise/driver issues associated with SLi setups.

Either way it's going to add quite a bit to the cost of your build. Multi-monitor gaming isn't cheap though, that's simply a fact. For a 5760x1080 setup (including the monitors) don't expect to get much change from $2000, if not a little over.

This is my recommended build for 5760x1080 (sans OS):

PCPartPicker part list

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($169.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($33.24 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($139.20 @ Amazon)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($55.25 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk Extreme 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($92.95 @ Adorama)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 3GB Video Card ($648.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (Black/Orange) ATX Mid Tower Case ($85.00 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($88.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Acer H226HQLbid 60Hz 21.5" Monitor ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Acer H226HQLbid 60Hz 21.5" Monitor ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Acer H226HQLbid 60Hz 21.5" Monitor ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1808.55

The case is up to you (I just put in a solid one at a good price that a lot of people like). I also put back in the 620W unit, since the GTX 780 has a higher TDP than the HD 7950.

M

ok, this looks like a solid build, and i'll wait for the price of the graphics card to drop. What quality setting will this run at, and what will the fps be on games like metro last light and battlefield 3?

 

[marshallbradley]

This review should give you a very good idea of the sort of FPS to expect: http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/geforce_gtx_780_sli_review,22.html

In case you're too lazy, Metro 2033 got 28 FPS and BF3 got 44.

For all the games tested, it seems to be able to handle the games 35-40 FPS (as you can imagine, this would be more like 15 FPS with just a single 7950 -- not very fun).

These reviews are done with the ABSOLUTE maximum possible settings though, and if you turn down the MSAA a notch, you'll easily have 60+ FPS, while staying on very high settings indeed.

Just so you know, it's going to be quite a while before the GTX 780 drops in price (it was just released a week ago). You might be waiting 5-6 months at the very least. If you want to wait for a price drop, I think it would be much better to get 2 GTX 670/680s when they go on sale (which they will since they are end of life, and people want to bring in the new generation). You would need a slightly beefier power supply for that though.

M

 

[RedArmy991]

This review should give you a very good idea of the sort of FPS to expect: http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/geforce_gtx_780_sli_review,22.html

In case you're too lazy, Metro 2033 got 28 FPS and BF3 got 44.

For all the games tested, it seems to be able to handle the games 35-40 FPS (as you can imagine, this would be more like 15 FPS with just a single 7950 -- not very fun).

These reviews are done with the ABSOLUTE maximum possible settings though, and if you turn down the MSAA a notch, you'll easily have 60+ FPS, while staying on very high settings indeed.

Just so you know, it's going to be quite a while before the GTX 780 drops in price (it was just released a week ago). You might be waiting 5-6 months at the very least. If you want to wait for a price drop, I think it would be much better to get 2 GTX 670/680s when they go on sale (which they will since they are end of life, and people want to bring in the new generation). You would need a slightly beefier power supply for that though.

M

So would it be cheaper to buy two gtx 670/680s or one gtx 780?

 

[marshallbradley]

Only time will tell. It's not too hard to pick up a GTX 670 at the moment for like $350, but once the 760 Ti is released (or perhaps even before that) I imagine there will be sales/promos in order to clear out the 6xx Series stock for the 7xx Series. Just keep your eye on the market, and watch out for any nice deals. Depending on how the 760 Ti is perceived, I imagine the GTX 670 will settle for hopefully something like $275-$300, even less if you can bag a nice used one. So yeah, for maybe about $600 a pair of SLi 670s will seriously out perform a GTX 780.

M

 

[RedArmy991]

Only time will tell. It's not too hard to pick up a GTX 670 at the moment for like $350, but once the 760 Ti is released (or perhaps even before that) I imagine there will be sales/promos in order to clear out the 6xx Series stock for the 7xx Series. Just keep your eye on the market, and watch out for any nice deals. Depending on how the 760 Ti is perceived, I imagine the GTX 670 will settle for hopefully something like $275-$300, even less if you can bag a nice used one. So yeah, for maybe about $600 a pair of SLi 670s will seriously out perform a GTX 780.

M

Ok thanks ill be sure to watch the prices! Thanks again for everything!