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$1200 Build

P

Phewl

Weaksauce
Joined
Jul 14, 2005
Messages
83
Hello [H],

My brother wants a gaming PC for $1,200.Answer these questions first.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Entirely gaming
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included? $1,200 CAD including shipping
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible. Canada
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, RAM, Mobo, HD, PSU, Case, OS - monitor would be nice but doesn't have to be included in $1,200 budget
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model. Keyboard and Mouse =)
6) Will you be overclocking?Not at all, not ever.
7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it? Getting a new one eventually
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? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc.My brother's use is very casual, he wouldn't need any advanced features at all
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit? Need a new OS

My brother has autism and plays very specific games, namely SimCity. But he'd like a new machine that can play the latest SimCity, but as he may develop interest in other games it's prudent to have some decent hardware.

Here's what I've found so far - still need PSU, Video Card and Case.

Intel Core i5 4670 Quad Core 3.4GHZ Processor LGA1150 Haswell 6MB Cache Retail $235
ASUS Z87-A ATX LGA1150 Z87 DDR3 3PCI-E16 2PCI-E1 2PCI CrossFireX/SLI SATA3 USB3.0 HDMI Motherboard $138
G.SKILL Ripjaws X F3-14900CL9D-8GBXL 8GB 2X4GB DDR3-1866 CL9-10-9-28 Memory $89
Western Digital WD1003FZEX Black 1TB SATA3 6GB/S 7200RPM 64MB Cache 3.5in Hard Drive OEM $79
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Edition 64Bit SP1 DVD OEM $108

For a total of $649. I went with the Intel CPU based on reviews I've seen online compared to similar model AMD CPUs, and the mobo because of my personal opinion of Asus quality.

Please critique what I've got so far, constructive criticism is appreciated. =) Also, the next big question is video card and PSU. I think I could handle case myself, unless [H] has any solid recommendations.

thanks!
 
SSD...............you've got to have a ssd samsung 840 evo or something this is the most important. and maybe spring for an i7 but for sim city im sure the 4670 will suffice.

for the psu get a seasonic built 650 or more watt to power supply to power something like a radeon r9 280 or nvidia gtx 760
 
techtechie said:
SSD...............you've got to have a ssd samsung 840 evo or something this is the most important. and maybe spring for an i7 but for sim city im sure the 4670 will suffice.

for the psu get a seasonic built 650 or more watt to power supply to power something like a radeon r9 280 or nvidia gtx 760
Click to expand...

Thanks for your response. Are you suggesting the SSD with or instead of the WD Black? For someone who keeps a very tidy computer, with no movies or large file sized content, would 256 GB suffice?

Also - what are your thoughts on the 4670 for games other than SimCity? Say he found a recent FPS he liked - would he be able to play it with a decent GPU?
 
keep the WD black as storage and run your system and the games you play on the ssd. yes i think the 256gb will be enough just keep movies and such things on the hdd and other things you dont want to risk loosing on the ssd since its more reliable in the long run.

FPS as in first person shooter? i must say a 4670 is pretty old i think about 4 generations cards since and playing a recent fps i doubt you'd get very far and considering a new monitor probably will at least be a 1080p i assume for recent fps games id recommend a minimum of the radeon 5870 and it'll probably display poor graphics on newer games.........those cards i recommended will most definately play a recent fps with stellar graphics but if you want to go lower then those cards i'd get a radeon 7870/r9 270 or gtx 660

glad to help ;)
 
Which Canadian retailer are you buying parts from?

Which first-person shooter is your brother considering?

What are you currently using as a monitor? When are you planning to purchase the new one?
 
tiraides said:
Which Canadian retailer are you buying parts from?

Which first-person shooter is your brother considering?

What are you currently using as a monitor? When are you planning to purchase the new one?
Click to expand...

Currently looking at NCIX but I'll also check Memory Express and probably Tiger Direct and Canada Computers.

No FPS in particular - I'd just like it as an option for him. 90% of use will be SimCity.

Current monitor will be replaced with machine - I would buy the new monitor along with the computer.
 
techtechie said:
keep the WD black as storage and run your system and the games you play on the ssd. yes i think the 256gb will be enough just keep movies and such things on the hdd and other things you dont want to risk loosing on the ssd since its more reliable in the long run.

FPS as in first person shooter? i must say a 4670 is pretty old i think about 4 generations cards since and playing a recent fps i doubt you'd get very far and considering a new monitor probably will at least be a 1080p i assume for recent fps games id recommend a minimum of the radeon 5870 and it'll probably display poor graphics on newer games.........those cards i recommended will most definately play a recent fps with stellar graphics but if you want to go lower then those cards i'd get a radeon 7870/r9 270 or gtx 660

glad to help ;)
Click to expand...

Which i7 CPU would you suggest, that may be able to stay within the budget? And would the motherboard I've chosen work with the i7 you'd have in mind?
 
Phewl said:
Which i7 CPU would you suggest, that may be able to stay within the budget? And would the motherboard I've chosen work with the i7 you'd have in mind?
Click to expand...

You don't need a Core i7 processor for gaming, much less for SimCity. And the i5-4670 is not an outdated processor; it may even be overkill, depending on the games being played.

Please confirm your total budget, including the costs of shipping, the OS, and the monitor.
 
If you don't have Movies and only a few games, I would probably drop the hdd all together.
How much space is used on the current computer?

A modern i5 will be plenty.
 
the use of this pc to buget ratio is way off 1200 is too much. also see if you can find a cheaper asus motherboard. your not overclocking so theirs really no need for a $100+ mobo i was wrong the i7 would be totally unnecessary. if you do decide to drop the hdd get a bit bigger ssd because a person can always use space you dont want to take away too much of it :)
 
tiraides said:
You don't need a Core i7 processor for gaming, much less for SimCity. And the i5-4670 is not an outdated processor; it may even be overkill, depending on the games being played.

Please confirm your total budget, including the costs of shipping, the OS, and the monitor.
Click to expand...

For the sake of this discussion, let's say I'd like this to include the computer, Windows 7, and a monitor for $1200 - shipping extra.
 
justinjja said:
If you don't have Movies and only a few games, I would probably drop the hdd all together.
How much space is used on the current computer?

A modern i5 will be plenty.
Click to expand...

My brother uses his computer for nothing but basic gaming - not even multiplayer games. His uses will likely not expand into movies or anything that takes up gobs of space - I'm thinking a 250GB SSD would be more than enough for him
 
techtechie said:
sorry about that i just assumed gpu because games generally are require a better tier of gpu than cpu and if that were a radeon gpu it could handle sim city so sorry.......... ;)
Click to expand...

Don't apologize, you are offering free advice and I appreciate it :)
 
So I've come up with a bit of a revised list. If there's anything in here you guys may think is unneeded, please let me know. I realize that i'm at $1200 before monitor, but I think that may be ok.

Intel Core i5 4670 Quad Core 3.4GHZ Processor LGA1150 Haswell 6MB Cache Retail $235.99
ASUS Z87-A ATX LGA1150 Z87 DDR3 3PCI-E16 2PCI-E1 2PCI CrossFireX/SLI SATA3 USB3.0 HDMI Motherboard $137.99
G.SKILL Ripjaws X F3-14900CL9D-8GBXL 8GB 2X4GB DDR3-1866 CL9-10-9-28 Memory $88.99
Kingston HyperX 3K 240GB 2.5in SATA3 SandForce SF-2281 SSD Drive READ:555MB/S WRITE:510MB/S $154.99
ASUS DRW-24F1ST 24X SATA DVD Writer Black $17.99
ASUS GeForce GTX 660 OC DirectCU 1020MHZ 2GB 6.0GHZ GDDR5 2xDVI HDMI DisplayPort PCI-E Video Card $209.99
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Edition 64Bit SP1 DVD OEM $107.99
Antec One Mid-Tower Gaming ATX Case Black 3X5.25 5X3.5 2X2.5 Front USB3.0 Top Rear 120mm Fans No PSU $52.99
EVGA 500 Bronze 500W 80PLUS Bronze Power Supply 3 Years Warranty $39.99

For a total of $1,046.91. This is pre-tax, pre-shipping, pre-monitor and after mail in rebates.

If there is anything excessive in here please comment. A few admissions:

1. The RAM and PSU were kinda shots in the dark. They seemed to be well review on NCIX.
2. I had trouble settling on cheaper motherboards. Some cheaper ASUS had negative feedback, and this one seems to have good publicity. As much as it may have overclocking features I don't need, I don't want my brother to have issues he isn't able to fix.
 
I recommend the following instead:

$200 - Intel Core i5-4440 quad-core processor
$100 - Asus H97M-E/CSM micro ATX motherboard
$85 - ADATA XPG V1.0 2x4GB DDR3 1600 RAM
$260 - Club 3D Radeon R9 280 video card
$130 - Crucial M500 240GB SSD
$58 - Seagate Barracuda 1TB HDD
$18 - Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD burner
$55 - EVGA 500 Bronze 500 watt power supply
$40 - Bitfenix Merc Alpha ATX mid-tower case
$108 - Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-bit OEM DVD
$140 - Acer V246HL BD 24 inch 1920x1080 LED monitor
=====
$1194 - Total in CAD (before VAT, shipping, or rebates)

I found a better video card in the R9 280, threw in a 24-inch 1080p monitor, added a 1TB hard drive, and built the rig around those parts. Given your brother's meager needs outside of gaming I focused on the better GPU as the way to go.

Windows 8.1 has some under-the-hood improvements over Windows 7, and it's now mature enough to cause you little trouble. If you want the Start Menu back, download and utilize Classic Shell or Start8.
 
Phewl said:
So I've come up with a bit of a revised list. If there's anything in here you guys may think is unneeded, please let me know. I realize that i'm at $1200 before monitor, but I think that may be ok.

Intel Core i5 4670 Quad Core 3.4GHZ Processor LGA1150 Haswell 6MB Cache Retail $235.99
ASUS Z87-A ATX LGA1150 Z87 DDR3 3PCI-E16 2PCI-E1 2PCI CrossFireX/SLI SATA3 USB3.0 HDMI Motherboard $137.99
G.SKILL Ripjaws X F3-14900CL9D-8GBXL 8GB 2X4GB DDR3-1866 CL9-10-9-28 Memory $88.99
Kingston HyperX 3K 240GB 2.5in SATA3 SandForce SF-2281 SSD Drive READ:555MB/S WRITE:510MB/S $154.99
ASUS DRW-24F1ST 24X SATA DVD Writer Black $17.99
ASUS GeForce GTX 660 OC DirectCU 1020MHZ 2GB 6.0GHZ GDDR5 2xDVI HDMI DisplayPort PCI-E Video Card $209.99
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Edition 64Bit SP1 DVD OEM $107.99
Antec One Mid-Tower Gaming ATX Case Black 3X5.25 5X3.5 2X2.5 Front USB3.0 Top Rear 120mm Fans No PSU $52.99
EVGA 500 Bronze 500W 80PLUS Bronze Power Supply 3 Years Warranty $39.99

For a total of $1,046.91. This is pre-tax, pre-shipping, pre-monitor and after mail in rebates.

If there is anything excessive in here please comment. A few admissions:

1. The RAM and PSU were kinda shots in the dark. They seemed to be well review on NCIX.
2. I had trouble settling on cheaper motherboards. Some cheaper ASUS had negative feedback, and this one seems to have good publicity. As much as it may have overclocking features I don't need, I don't want my brother to have issues he isn't able to fix.
Click to expand...

a thought just occured to me a few years ago i was into those games like sim city and sims age of empires and stuff now i wish i had a kick-ass monitor for those. so get him a 24" or bigger screen. i played on a 4:3 17inch and i was plagued. your over paying for the gtx 660 i recommend amd since they are known for best bang for buck for less than that price you could get a r9 270x that is better. get a cheaper mobo i recommend this its newegg but i beleive they have a canadian retailer :)
 
tiraides said:
I recommend the following instead:

$200 - Intel Core i5-4440 quad-core processor
$100 - Asus H97M-E/CSM micro ATX motherboard
$85 - ADATA XPG V1.0 2x4GB DDR3 1600 RAM
$260 - Club 3D Radeon R9 280 video card
$130 - Crucial M500 240GB SSD
$58 - Seagate Barracuda 1TB HDD
$18 - Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD burner
$55 - EVGA 500 Bronze 500 watt power supply
$40 - Bitfenix Merc Alpha ATX mid-tower case
$108 - Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-bit OEM DVD
$140 - Acer V246HL BD 24 inch 1920x1080 LED monitor
=====
$1194 - Total in CAD (before VAT, shipping, or rebates)

I found a better video card in the R9 280, threw in a 24-inch 1080p monitor, added a 1TB hard drive, and built the rig around those parts. Given your brother's meager needs outside of gaming I focused on the better GPU as the way to go.

Windows 8.1 has some under-the-hood improvements over Windows 7, and it's now mature enough to cause you little trouble. If you want the Start Menu back, download and utilize Classic Shell or Start8.
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot for this awesome answer. I want to stick with Windows 7 because it most resembles Windows XP, which my brother has become accustomed to. I mentioned at the start that he has autism and learning new things can be challenging for him, I think the different appearance of Windows 8 may throw him off. I would also only go with 1 storage device because he doesn't watch movies at all, only plays a couple of games and occasionally browses Google earth. Would a 240GB SSD be adequate for Windows and a few games?

What would your thought be to stick with the i5-4670, but change out the mobo and video card as you suggested?

Thank you so much for taking your time to help me with this.
 
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