$900 Gaming Build

A friend of mine is getting a gaming pc from his wife so this is his Xmas present and I'm helping her to get things together along with your help of course

EDIT: 900 dollars not 700!

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
- Gaming, web browsing, etc. Going to be his main rig.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
- Around $900 give or take, excluding tax and shipping but preferably included. There is some wiggle room.

3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
- US, Los Angeles and San Diego. There is a MicroCenter (and Frys) we can pick up parts from if needed.

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.
- Basically everything, CPU, RAM, Motherboard, GPU, PSU, Case, DVD drive, HDD and SSD?

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
- None.

6) Will you be overclocking?
- No, so no aftermarket HSF is needed for now.

7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
- Going to be 1080p.

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
- ASAP! For Xmas if possible

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc.
- None specifically are really needed.

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
- Have this covered!

How far exactly are you from the Microcenter location?

About 30minutes-1 hour from micro center;give or take

30 to an hour? A big difference there.

Simply put, what's the likelihood of it being more than a 35 minute drive? If high, not really worth going to Microcenter then due to the cost of gas.

Danny Bui said:

30 to an hour? A big difference there.

Simply put, what's the likelihood of it being more than a 35 minute drive? If high, not really worth going to Microcenter then due to the cost of gas.

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As a resident of Los Angeles, I just want to say that half an hour to an hour feels relatively similar to us because we drive so damn much every day. But you might be right about the cost of driving because that could be a difference of 2-4 gallons of gas ($8-$16) per trip depending on your car's mpg.

Alai said:

As a resident of Los Angeles, I just want to say that half an hour to an hour feels relatively similar to us because we drive so damn much every day.

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As a resident of Los Angeles as well, I can definitely agree with that.

Alai said:

But you might be right about the cost of driving because that could be a difference of 2-4 gallons of gas ($8-$16) per trip depending on your car's mpg.

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Yeah not to mention the likelihood of running into our famous traffic which further increases the costs.

EDIT: Is the cost of monitor also part of that $900 budget?

Traffic being unpredictable accounts for the 30 minute difference so excuse the lack of being specific.

But I understand the cost of gas can make or break going somewhere for an item.

EDIT: a monitor is not a part of the budget.

Danny Bui said:

As a resident of Los Angeles as well, I can definitely agree with that.


Yeah not to mention the likelihood of running into our famous traffic which further increases the costs.

EDIT: Is the cost of monitor also part of that $900 budget?

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No,monitor is not a part of the budget

$185 - Intel Core i5-3470 CPU
$75 - Gigabyte GA-B75M-D3H Intel B75 mATX Motherboard
$35 - Crucial Ballistix BLS2KIT4G3D1339DS1S0 2 x 4GB DDR3 1333 RAM
$201 - PowerColor AX7850 2GBD5-DH Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card + Far Cry 3 + Medal of Honor combo
$107 - Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2 2.5" 128GB SSD
$85 - Seagate ST1000DM003 Barracuda 1TB HDD
$17 - Samsung DVD Burner
$109 - Seasonic X650 Gold 650W Modular PSU
$80 - Corsair 300R Case
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Total: $894 shipped

With the exception of the video card, all of the parts are from Tigerdirect since they do not charge CA residents sales tax.

EDIT: Swapped the PSU for a way better deal. Get that PSU deal from Newegg ASAP!

no way he needs that large of PSU

I'm running an older Antec TP3 550w and have 3570K oc's and 7850 oc'd and have plenty of room to spare

He can spend 1/2 that for a 500w good unit

I think if Microcenter is an option just get a 3570k and decent mobo as it will have higher resale later

SpeedEuphoria said:

no way he needs that large of PSU

I'm running an older Antec TP3 550w and have 3570K oc's and 7850 oc'd and have plenty of room to spare

He can spend 1/2 that for a 500w good unit

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While you are correct that he doesn't need that large of a PSU, I disagree with your statement that he can find a good 500W PSU for $55. Here's the deal:
- That PSU is modular. The cheapest modular PSU I recommend costs $70 before sales tax and is a 400W. That Seasonic X650 650W is on sale now for $100, only $30 more than the cheapest good quality modular PSU and $40 to $50 cheaper than its usual price of $140 to $150.
- The bloke lives in California which means that all of our usual budget PSU recommendations from Newegg (i.e like the $60 Antec Neo Eco 520C) aren't that good of a deal anymore since Newegg charges sales tax to CA residents. Stores that don't charge sales tax to CA residents tends to overcharge for the budget PSUs.

For $46 more than our typical Antec Neo Eco 520C, the OP can get one of the quietest, relatively high-quality, and modular Seasonic PSUs out there. IMO that's worth the extra cash.

SpeedEuphoria said:

I think if Microcenter is an option just get a 3570k and decent mobo as it will have higher resale later

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CA Sales tax, our relatively higher gas price than the rest of the nation, and the unpredictable traffic more or less negates the higher resale value and any potential costs savings.

Danny Bui said:

$185 - Intel Core i5-3470 CPU
$75 - Gigabyte GA-B75M-D3H Intel B75 mATX Motherboard
$35 - Crucial Ballistix BLS2KIT4G3D1339DS1S0 2 x 4GB DDR3 1333 RAM
$201 - PowerColor AX7850 2GBD5-DH Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card + Far Cry 3 + Medal of Honor combo
$107 - Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2 2.5" 128GB SSD
$85 - Seagate ST1000DM003 Barracuda 1TB HDD
$17 - Samsung DVD Burner
$109 - Seasonic X650 Gold 650W Modular PSU
$80 - Corsair 300R Case
---
Total: $894 shipped

With the exception of the video card, all of the parts are from Tigerdirect since they do not charge CA residents sales tax.

EDIT: Swapped the PSU for a way better deal. Get that PSU deal from Newegg ASAP!

Click to expand...

Everything ordered and shipped.

Thank you a ton Danny!