~$1000 Build

N

Nascair

n00b
Joined
Dec 14, 2009
Messages
8
I built my first computer 2 years ago, but haven't upgraded it since (In sig). I'm giving the computer to my brother, so I'm starting all over.
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Browsing the web, watching movies, gaming (various steam games)

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
My budget is about $1000 before tax and shipping. I can be flexible though

3) Where do you live?
Arizona

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, MB, PSU, GPU, Case, Hard drive(s), RAM, CPU cooler, DVD drive.

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Nothing

6) Will you be overclocking?
Yes

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
26" 1920x1200

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
within the next 2 months

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video? etc.
I want the option to have SLi/CF

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
I don't but I'm not factoring that into my budget.

Proposed build so far
Intel 2500k $224.99
GIGABYTE GA-Z68X-UD4-B3 $189.99
Galaxy GTX 570 GC $284.99
Samsung Spinpoint F4 $79.99
Fractal Design R3
 $109.99
 
First off, you need to narrow down when you're going to build it and then post about 3 weeks ahead of your buy date.

You can save some money by getting an MSI P67A-GD65 in a combo off Newegg. It's cheaper than the Gigabyte board and is a tad better quality. That hard drive is slow. You should look into a faster drive (like the 7200 rpm Samsung F3 1 TB.)
I'm on my phone right now but if I have time tomorrow I'll check back to see if anyone has posted links or a full build yet.
 
I agree with the original board being overpriced. If you do decide to get a small (64GB) SSD you should get a Z68 board (like the one in your original post or the one plugwash suggested) so you have the option of using its new SSD features, but I haven't read up on how effective it is. I think HardOCP has a review on its front page.
 
For a $1,000 gaming build I would put the money into the GPU rather than a SSD.

I agree with the MSI P67 board.

i5 2500k + MSI P67A-GD65 (B3) $390
Corsair H60 $55 AR Link
Corsair TX850 V2 $110 AR Link
G.SKILL Ripjaws X 8GB $95 (2x4) Link
1 TB WD Caviar Black $90 Link
MSI 6950 Twin Frozr II 2GB $265 AR Link

That puts you at $1,005 before case and optical drive. The MSI runs nice and cool for Crossfire / overclocking and the board / PSU give you that ability if you so choose. Only thing about this card is it puts the heat back into the case so I would keep that in mind when looking at cases and planning your airflow, if you do choose that card.
 
TwistedAegis said:
For a $1,000 gaming build I would put the money into the GPU rather than a SSD.

I agree with the MSI P67 board.

i5 2500k + MSI P67A-GD65 (B3) $390
Corsair H60 $55 AR Link
Corsair TX850 V2 $110 AR Link
G.SKILL Ripjaws X 8GB $95 (2x4) Link
1 TB WD Caviar Black $90 Link
MSI 6950 Twin Frozr II 2GB $265 AR Link

That puts you at $1,005 before case and optical drive. The MSI runs nice and cool for Crossfire / overclocking and the board / PSU give you that ability if you so choose. Only thing about this card is it puts the heat back into the case so I would keep that in mind when looking at cases and planning your airflow, if you do choose that card.
Click to expand...

So you're at really at almost $1100 with this budget. And all your prices are quoted after rebate, which assumes two things. One, that the OP has enough money to cover the prerebate price (so now your cash outlay is over budget) and two, that he'll actually get the money back.

Drop the Ripjaws. Get an $80 8GB set of plain G.Skill DDR3 1333MHz CL9 sticks.

Drop down to a 620 to 650W PSU for a single card.

The WD Black is overpriced. The Samsung F3 delivers similar performance at a lower price.

Drop the Corasair H60 unless there actually is room
left in the budget.

You should be able to find a 6950 for quite a bit less than that MSI one.

I'm getting swamped with work so unfortunately I can only respond rather than spend the time to do good research. Maybe next week won't be so bad...
 
Well, he stated he could be flexible.

The H60 - he states he wants to overclock; I would be hard-pressed to find an air cooler that would perform as well for $55. He also wanted the flexibility to run crossfire if he wanted, thus the higher rated PSU.

As for the RAM, HDD and Vid card; all true and could be done based on the preference of the OP.
 
Thanks for the help guys. i missed the drive speed, thank for pointing that out. i think ill change motherboards and get an f3.

@tonytnnt id build this weekend if i was ready to order, i just need to have this built with in the next 2 months
 
Nascair said:
Thanks for the help guys. i missed the drive speed, thank for pointing that out. i think ill change motherboards and get an f3.

@tonytnnt id build this weekend if i was ready to order, i just need to have this built with in the next 2 months
Click to expand...

Yeah the problem is that we really can't guarantee that our parts recommendations will be solid in a month from now let alone two. As such, if there's a possibility that you won't be able to build/buy more than a month from now, just come back when you're about 2-3 weeks away from actually ordering the parts.
 
Sorry I wasn't clear. I will order as soon as I figure out what I want, which could be this weekend, or 4 weeks from now. Just when I'm confident in what I'm buying is when I'll buy.
 
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