It's easy to blow through a big wad of cash on your ideal gaming rig. That's why we always recommend setting a budget. If you're leaning towards better performance, a $2000 ceiling gives you plenty of choices. Fans of AMD hardware currently have a pretty limited choice in high-end processors, since even the top-of-the-line octo-core FX only costs $200. This quarter, Rafeed saved even more by going with the lower-end FX-8320 at $150. A pair of ultra-fast GeForce GTX 780's from EVGA in SLI is what the bulk of this budget was spent on. A 128 GB boot SSD and 1.5 TB WD Green hard drive handle storage duties, while a 850W 80 PLUS Bronze-certified PSU from Corsair's Enthusiast Series powers this beast. A Cooler Master HAF and Noctua NH-D14 keeps the whole thing cool. Congratulations to forum member Rafeed for having his "AMD anti-fanboi build" picked by the Tom's Hardware community this quarter!
| Component | Model | Average price |
|---|---|---|
| Processor | AMD FX-8320 (Vishera) Octo-Core CPU @ 3.5 GHz | $130 |
| Cooling system | Noctua NH-D14 | $80 |
| Motherboard | ASRock 970 Extreme4 | $90 |
| RAM | Patriot Viper 3 8GB DDR3-1600 Kit (2 x 4 GB) | $90 |
| Graphics Card | 2 x EVGA GeForce GTX 780 3GB GDDR3 | $555 |
| Hard Drive and SSD | Sandisk Ultra Plus 128GB SSD | $95 |
| Hard Drive and SSD | Western Digital Caviar Green 1.5TB 7200 RPM HDD | $65 |
| Power Supply | Corsair Enthusiast Series 850W 80 PLUS Bronze | $130 |
| Case | Cooler Master HAF 912 | $50 |
| DVD Burner | Asus DRW-24B1ST 24x DVD Burner | $22 |
| TOTAL : $1,307 | ||