$1000 Gaming Build Review

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wubism

n00b
Joined
Feb 2, 2010
Messages
33
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming mostly, some photoshop and minor video editing.
Games include: Starcraft 2, WoW, Left 4 Dead 2, CS1.6/Source and I want my computer to be able to play Diablo 3 when it comes out.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$1000 not including shipping/tax.
3) Where do you live?
Overland Park, Kansas. I live less than 5 minutes from a Micro Center.
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
CPU, MOBO, RAM, PSU, GPU, CASE, DVD-ROM, HDD.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
None. Just Monitor/Mouse/Keyboard.
6) Will you be overclocking?
I want the ability to, but I dont want it to be the focus of my build. So the answer is yes, but not right away. :)
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
I have a 22" monitor 1920x res 2ms.
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
ASAP but I understand the Intel Sandy Bridge processors are coming out January 9th. I would like to take that into consideration.
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? etc.
I just want a single videocard for now, with the ability to add a 2nd one in the future. I have always bought Nvidia because of Digital Vibrance support. Does ATi have a "Digital Vibrance" equivalent these days?
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Yes. Windows 7 64 bit.

CPU: i7 950 - http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0346210 $199.99
MOBO: GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128423 $209.99
GPU: GeForce GTX 470 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130549 $269.99
RAM: CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) DDR3 1600 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145222 $104.99
PSU: OCZ ModXStream Pro 700W http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341018 $79.99 -$20 MBR
CASE: Antec Three Hundred http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042 $59.95 -$20 MBR
HDD: Western Digital Caviar 1TB 6GB/s http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533 $89.99
DVD-ROM: LITE-ON DVD-RW SATA http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106289 $19.99

Total: $1034.88 Before Rebates/Tax/Shipping.

Any help is greatly appreciated. :cool::D
 
Two changes:

1. Ditch that OCZ PSU and instead get the following PSU instead:

$90 - CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply
The switch to the Corsair 650TX is because that particular OCZ PSU actually flunked [H] testing at 700W. In fact, that ModXStream Pro barely passes muster at 550W. Hence, at its shipped price you'd be paying too much money for what is effectively only a 550W PSU.

2. HDD-wise, the 1TB WD Black WD1002FAEX is very good, but the drive I listed below is a better value:

$70 - SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
The Samsung is just as fast as that particular WD Black - and $20 cheaper to boot.

With those two changes, your total before taxes, shipping and rebates will actually come out to $1024.88 instead of $1034.88.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the reply!

I was not aware of the quality of the original PSU that I had picked out.. I should of done better research. :eek: Do you think maybe I should opt for a maybe a 750-800W if I plan on going SLi in 6-8 months?

Also, I picked the video card because it seemed like a good value for a 320bit card. I don't mind getting an ATi card if they're a better value.
 
If you're planning on SLI, I would go with a better multi-GPU case then:
$90 - Cooler Master CM690 II Advance ATX Case

Yes go for this PSU if SLI or Crossfire is in your plans:
$110 - Antec Truepower New TP-750 750W PSU

GPU wise, at $270, the GTX 470 is simply not worth it. Try to find a cheaper GTX 470.

Finally, I highly recommend waiting until Intel's Sandy Bridge CPUs are available on January 5th. It's only a few weeks away. Those Sandy Bridge CPUs will be faster clock for clock than Intel's current Core i7 lineup while being able to OC very high. In fact, it's been shown that a Sandy Bridge CPU can hit 5Ghz on AIR. If the price leak is true, you can get the i5 2500K for around $253. That's cheaper than the i7 950 and you can get a significantly higher OC on top of the faster clock for clock speed.
 
Danny Bui said:
Finally, I highly recommend waiting until Intel's Sandy Bridge CPUs are available on January 5th.
Click to expand...
Sorry to hi-jack but is that when it would be available at Microcenter?

On-topic will the price of the 470 come down when the 69xx's are released?
 
DarrisBard said:
Sorry to hi-jack but is that when it would be available at Microcenter?

On-topic will the price of the 470 come down when the 69xx's are released?
Click to expand...

I was curious about that also. :p

So the 470 are just overpriced right now? The cheapest 320bit I can find is $259.99..
 
DarrisBard said:
Sorry to hi-jack but is that when it would be available at Microcenter?

On-topic will the price of the 470 come down when the 69xx's are released?
Click to expand...

wubism said:
I was curious about that also. :p

So the 470 are just overpriced right now? The cheapest 320bit I can find is $259.99..
Click to expand...
MC will probably have the CPUs at launch but not at their heavily discounted price. Usually takes 3-4 months for that to happen

Yeah the GTX 470 are overpriced right. They dropped in price half a month ago and then promptly went up steadily as the supply of HD 6870 cards began to dry up. I doubte there'll be another price drop when the 69xx cards are released.
 
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