$1,200 Budget

T

t1337Dude

Limp Gawd
Joined
Mar 29, 2010
Messages
329
I was looking at this. Does anyone have any other suggestions?


1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc Gaming
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included? $~1,200 - Hopefully I'm ordering from Newegg so there's no tax and it must be around $1,200 with shipping
3) Where do you live? Washington
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU
, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific. A tower and everything in it.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model. Auzentech Forte
6) Will you be overclocking? Yes
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have? 22" 1680x1050
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC? ASAP
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc. Don't care about motherboard features, as long as it supports the hardware within and can overclock
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? 32bit or 64bit? Plan to use Windows 7 64 Bit (have it already)
 
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Intel Core i7-930 Bloomfield 2.8GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Model BX80601930 - Retail and GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail Combo $480

CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMX6GX3M3A1600C9 - Retail $165

COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7 compatible RR-B10-212P-G1 120mm "heatpipe direct contact" Long ... - Retail $30

CORSAIR CMPSU-650HX 650W ATX12V v2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Retail $120

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VisionTek 900297 Radeon HD 5850 (Cypress Pro) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video ... - Retail $300

or

XFX HD-577X-ZNFC Radeon HD 5770 1GB 128-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card - Retail $160


SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive $90

COOLER MASTER CM690 II Black Steel body / Plastic + Mesh bezel Computer Case - Retail $80

$1292 Before S&H with a 5850/ $1152 with a 5770...

Storm scout would have issues with larger cards
 
That's pretty much an exact replica of my new system, go for it!
 
Thank you! But why not just get an i7-920 and overclock it? Wouldn't it be a better idea to do that, and use the saved money for the 5850? Any opinions?

EDIT: Oh, I see, it's because of the combo deal. Any cheaper combo deals with the 920?
 
I see. Well, are there any corners we can cut so it's closer to $1,200 with a 5850?
 
Micro center for the CPU and you'll get the i7 930 for $200 or 920 for 180.
 
t1337Dude said:
Only if the site worked. :(

Can't seem to locate any processors.
Click to expand...

$180 - Core i7 920
$200 - Core i7 930

Microcenter rices are in-store only, btw. Another place to cut corners would be the case. And here's a cheaper, but still good quality, PSU:

$65 - Antec NEO ECO 620C 620W 80+ Certified APFC ($15 off Promo: EMCYPNP42; $10 MIR; FS)
$60 - Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower

Oh, also, if you want an SSD:
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1506646
 
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Screw it. Pulled the trigger. I've got graduation coming up - hopefully I get enough extra $$$ to really afford it. Thanks guys.
 
I saw your post, it's just I don't feel like going anywhere and I'm in a very awful spending mood - probably one that I'll regret a few days from now.
 
t1337Dude said:
I saw your post, it's just I don't feel like going anywhere and I'm in a very awful spending mood - probably one that I'll regret a few days from now.
Click to expand...

wasn't just MC links, it was also cheaper case/psu options from newegg. /shrug
 
It's no biggie. It's money hopefully well-spent. Think I'll be able to throw in another 5850 if I ever feel the need to? That would be my future upgrade right there, right?

EDIT: And could you guys project how far I'll be able to overclock this i7?

EDIT 2: Ouch, I regret not getting this case...http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021

Would've cost the same.
 
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HD5850 with a 650W a couple yrs from now? hm... I'd think not.

You'll be able to hit 4Ghz or more. Whether it's with stock voltage or not depends on your batch.

Ugh, 900? i'll take the RC-690 over that crap any day (sorry, I hate Antec's gamer line, especially when its so overpriced). The CM has better cable management, equal or better cooling, and more room to work with... it also looks better, IMO, lol. Eh, cases are subjective, o wellz.
 
650W from a quality PSU won't be enough for XFire 5850s? A friend told me that would be the sweet spot. And I wasn't thinking a couple of years from now, maybe one year from now latest. And thanks for the relief about the case.
 
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Well, the older it is, the less efficient it is, so if you're not doing it too long from now, it should be fine. With the CPU mildly OC'd, you'd probably be around 90% load, if not more, with a 2nd 5850, unless my math is off.
 
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t1337Dude said:
650W from a quality PSU won't be enough for XFire 5850s? A friend told me that would be the sweet spot. And I wasn't thinking a couple of years from now, maybe one year from now latest. And thanks for the relief about the case.
Click to expand...
Still cutting it a tad close:
Two HD 5850 would be about 356W or so. Add the 130W coming from the Core i7 CPU at stock speeds and that's 486W total for the GPU and CPU alone. Considering that most quality 650W PSUs have 52A on the +12V rail, that leaves about 138W of power leftover for the mobo, HDDs, DVD drives, fans, etc. Certainly doable but cutting very very close. And thats WITHOUT overclocking factored in. If overclocking, that pretty much means not doable at all.
 
Danny Bui said:
Still cutting it a tad close:
Two HD 5850 would be about 356W or so. Add the 130W coming from the Core i7 CPU at stock speeds and that's 486W total for the GPU and CPU alone. Considering that most quality 650W PSUs have 52A on the +12V rail, that leaves about 138W of power leftover for the mobo, HDDs, DVD drives, fans, etc. Certainly doable but cutting very very close. And thats WITHOUT overclocking factored in. If overclocking, that pretty much means not doable at all.
Click to expand...


One hard drive and one disk drive and a few fans doesn't take much up at all. It should be doable. Can't a Corsair 650W PSU peak at ~750w anyways? ATI themselves recommend 550w for crossfire 5850s.
 
t1337Dude said:
One hard drive and one disk drive and a few fans doesn't take much up at all. It should be doable. Can't a Corsair 650W PSU peak at ~750w anyways?
Click to expand...

It can output 650W and 650W only. Don't even try to use that HWSecrets review as your proof. Peak does not mean jack shit since it's exactly that: PEAK, not continuous.

A single drive at startup can take up to 25W. A DVD drive takes up about 20W to 25W. That's 50W. In addition, you want to be within the 40% to 60% of a PSU's rated output for the optimal noise, longevity, and temperature ranges.
 
All I'm going to say is that I'm sure it's enough power for two 5850s. I read many people have 2 5850s and a 650W PSU and it works great. If it's not enough power, I can always upgrade if need be.
 
t1337Dude said:
All I'm going to say is that I'm sure it's enough power for two 5850s. I read many people have 2 5850s and a 650W PSU and it works great. If it's not enough power, I can always upgrade if need be.
Click to expand...

And all I'm going to say is that it's cutting it close.
 
Danny Bui said:
And all I'm going to say is that it's cutting it close.
Click to expand...

It wouldn't be my first time :p. Thank you all for the good help. I feel like this will be a very nice system. Probably the nicest I've ever owned :D. Though I do feel like I'm spending a lot (since I've seen others get 5850/i7 builds for $100+ less, what do I have that's better than what they have?).

Do any of you know what I should set my voltage to, so I can keep this as a reference ahead of time?
 
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t1337Dude said:
Though I do feel like I'm spending a lot (since I've seen others get 5850/i7 builds for $100+ less, what do I have that's better than what they have?).
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What was your final build?
What i7/5870 builds are you talking about? Links?
Posted via [H] Mobile Device
 
case and psu could have saved you $100+, assuming you got the parts shiro listed.
 
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