1000$ i5 Gaming Build

H

hhara

Gawd
Joined
May 8, 2009
Messages
817
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
PC Gaming
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
1000$ with tax & shipping. I can go above to 1100, or 1200 but I would prefer not to.
3) Where do you live?
Tennessee.
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
CPU, RAM, PSU, Case, Video Card, Motherboard, HDD
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Not reusing parts
6) Will you be overclocking?
No
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
23" Samsung - 1920x1200 native. May upgrade to 30" for 2560x1600 in the future.
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Next week or so
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
Crossfire and SLI would be nice for future upgrades, but not necessary. Nothing fancy is needed.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license?
Yes - Windows 7 64 bit Professional.


Here is what I have so far. But just some comments before I list them.

I am stuck on that case. I would switch to something else if it were cheaper and still have all the properties that one has. I preferably need something with a mobo tray that has wholes for cable management. Needs to be mid tower, and aluminum is a plus.

I am up in the air about the memory I have chosen but it seems alright to me. The differences between the others I were considering are probably negligible since I do not plan to overlock.

I would prefer to stick with a Corsair PSU as they have been the most reliable and just great in general, for me.

I am not entirely sure about the motherboard. It has everything I need, and nothing too fancy. It is Asus, so I am sure it is good.

The most important part, the video card that I selected I am not entirely sure about either. I guess this is a toss in the air, whether it will be worth it to go with something that has DX11 support, or get something a little more powerful like a GTX 260. If I do switch, it has to be a manufacturer that offers a lifetime warranty.

Case: Lian Li Lancool PC-k58W - 80$
Motherboard: Asus P7P55D - 170$
PSU: Corsair 550VX - 81$
CPU: Intel i5 750 - 200$
Memory: Corsair XMS3 2x2GB DDR3 1600 - 95$
HDD: WD Caviar Black 750GB - 80$
Video Card: XFX 5770 - 180$

Sub-total: 885$
Tax: 85$
Shipping: 29$

Total: 998.49$

Thanks in advance for the suggestions!
 
I have about the same budget and I'm going with an AMD build and a much better GPU.

Antec P183: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129061
ASUS M4A79XTD Evo Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131402
XFX 5870 (Whatever brand is in stock at the time): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150443
SeaSonic M12D SS-850 PSU (Overkill but might do CFX in the future): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151067
AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103674
G.Skill Ripjaw 4GB: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231275
Samsung F3 1TB: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185&Tpk=samsung f3 1tb

Total: $1146

You can get a different case and lesser powersupply to decrease to $1000 and switch to a 5850 if you want, but this is better bang for your buck.

I am gaming at the same resolution as well, 1920x1200.
 
I would go the Intel route. However, I would suggest the following changes:

Radeon 5850 - $300 (+$120)
Corsair 650TX - $99 [$79 AR] (+$18)

Total increase in price: $138

That includes a beefier PSU and noticeably better video card (for gaming).
 
PC_User said:
I would go the Intel route. However, I would suggest the following changes:

Radeon 5850 - $300 (+$120)
Corsair 650TX - $99 [$79 AR] (+$18)

Total increase in price: $138

That includes a beefier PSU and noticeably better video card (for gaming).
Click to expand...

May I ask, why would you go Intel over AMD in this scenario? It is pretty obvious for AMD over Intel though - price.
 
in pure gaming rig, there is little to gain from moving from x4 955 to a i5/i7. Onless you are using a crossfire/sli setup.
 
hhara said:
May I ask, why would you go Intel over AMD in this scenario? It is pretty obvious for AMD over Intel though - price.
Click to expand...

Future upgrades, performance outside of games, and the superiority of Intel over AMD. :) If the builds are the same price, why not go Intel?
 
onetwenty8k said:
Because they're not the same price at all.
Click to expand...

I think he was referring to his suggestion (5850 & 650TX) vs your suggestion, which is only a ~6$ difference.Granted though, you are using a 5870 vs a 5850.

Thanks for the suggestions guys!
 
hhara said:
I think he was referring to his suggestion (5850 & 650TX) vs your suggestion, which is only a ~6$ difference.Granted though, you are using a 5870 vs a 5850.

Thanks for the suggestions guys!
Click to expand...

No, he said this
and the superiority of Intel over AMD. If the builds are the same price, why not go Intel?
Click to expand...

The difference in price between Intel and AMD is substantial with little difference in performance unless you are using heavy multi-threaded applications like photoshop and video encoding which you said you are not doing.

I would seriously consider AMD and a much beefier video card, you'll be happy you did.
 
Cases are a matter of personal tastes, but the Cooler Master RC-690 is a decent case at a comparable price.

If you live near a Micro Center B&M store, you could buy the Core i5 750 for $150 and have MC price-match just about any P55 board to meet NewEgg's prices (with a printout of a NewEgg shopping cart, though YMMV).

Go with a 1.5V DDR3 kit from G.Skill or Mushkin. You'll see no noticeable performance difference between CL7 and CL9 RAM, so don't spend any more money on lower latency RAM.

If you're prefer performance over storage capacity, get either the Samsung F3 500GB HDD (when it's no longer OOS) or the WD Black 640GB HDD over the WD Black 750GB HDD. They use 500GB and 320GB drive platters, respectively, that make them faster than the three 250GB drive platters that the WD Black 750GB HDD uses.

While Corsiar is comparatively the better PSU brand, Antec often has the better bang for buck. For example:

$80 - Antec Earthwatts EA650 (free shipping)
$80 - Antec TruePower New TP-550 (+$6 shipping)
$85 - Antec NEO ECO 620C (+$6 shipping)
$100 - Antec Earthwatts EA750 (free shipping & $10 mail-in rebate)
 
Another vote for the AMD build. Unless you have access to a $150 i5-750, this bundle is really unbeatable for gaming.

165.00 Phenom II X4 955
119.99 Asus 790X EVO AM3 Motherboard
93.99 4GB G.SKILL Ripjaws DDR3-1600

TOTAL 343.98
 
Yea I just saw that combo about an hour ago! I think we are going to do that. I suggested it to my friend (who this is for) and he would prefer the AMD setup for lower cost, in order to have a bit more to spend on a better graphics card.
 
Does that combo work for the C3 version of the 955? I seriously would advise against getting a C2. when the C3 is only $10 more.
 
hhara said:
Yeah, I just saw that combo about an hour ago! I think we are going to do that. I suggested it to my friend (who this is for) and he would prefer the AMD setup for lower cost, in order to have a bit more to spend on a better graphics card.
Click to expand...
Sounds great. Good luck!
 
tiraides said:
If the combo deal is from NewEgg, chances are that the stepping/revision of the processor the OP would receive is randomly chosen.
Click to expand...
I can't speak to this particular concern, but reading articles and forums has led me to believe that the difference in steppings is not nearly as sizeable as some might have you believe. Just my $.02.
 
Duly noted, TheQuestian.

All that I'm saying is that the OP will have no say in choosing the stepping/revision that he prefers, assuming that he buys his processor from NewEgg.
 
tiraides said:
Duly noted, TheQuestian.

All that I'm saying is that the OP will have no say in choosing the stepping/revision that he prefers, assuming that he buys his processor from NewEgg.
Click to expand...
Oh, absolutely. Wasn't meaning to challenge anything you posted. Only quoted you as a frame of reference for later readers. Probably should have quoted an earlier post, TBH. :)
 
tiraides said:
Duly noted, TheQuestian.

All that I'm saying is that the OP will have no say in choosing the stepping/revision that he prefers, assuming that he buys his processor from NewEgg.
Click to expand...

The OP won't be overclocking either, so the stepping is irrelevant.
 
TheQuestian said:
Another vote for the AMD build. Unless you have access to a $150 i5-750, this bundle is really unbeatable for gaming.

165.00 Phenom II X4 955
119.99 Asus 790X EVO AM3 Motherboard
93.99 4GB G.SKILL Ripjaws DDR3-1600

TOTAL 343.98
Click to expand...

If you live near a Fry's, TODAY ONLY, they have the X4 965BE + GA-790XTA-UD4 combo for $220 - $20MIR.

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1480761
http://newspaperads.mercurynews.com/ROP/ads.aspx?advid=32664&adid=8748998&subid=27856952&type=
 
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