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$1200 dollar gaming computer.

C

Cookieeater

n00b
Joined
Aug 26, 2010
Messages
14
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming Top Priority.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
My budget is about 1200 before tax/shipping.
3) Where do you live?
San Diego, California.
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
Case/CPU/RAM/GPU/Hard Drive/ Mobo/ PSU/ Basically the entire desktop.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
I'm not reusing anything.
6) Will you be overclocking?
Yes, I plan to.
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
I don't know about this one. 1680x1050 or 1920x1200 or 1920x1080? I'm thinking 1680x1050 or 1920x1080 or 1920x1200. I was thinking of going 1680x1050 due to the performance increase. Which would you say would give me the most enjoyable gaming/desktop experience? Keep in mind that I want this computer to last about 4 years, and I'd rather not be playing 1920x1200 with very low framerates.
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Within a week.
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
SLI.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? 32bit or 64bit? Windows 7 64.

I'm driving home from college this sunday and it is possible for me to make a stop at microcenter. I've heard they have excellent deals on processors and I was thinking of getting the i5 750 for 150 there or the i7 930 for 200 there. The i5 750 there is currently out of stock though so I hope it goes back into stock soon. I'm also open to getting an AMD processor and AMD motherboard. For this build, I'm thinking that I want to get SLI GTX 460 1gb because I've seen that they currently are the best bang for your buck. I've heard there's a SLI hack for some AMD motherboards, so if going AMD will allow me to save some money, that is perfectly fine. I'm not too concerned with upgradability because I generally just get a new computer every 4 years.
 
Is the monitor part of the $1200 budget? If not, which monitor are you considering?
 
I don't have a monitor yet. I'm undecided on the resolution. 1680x1050 would allow me to max games for longer but 1920x1200 would allow me a better gaming experience. the monitor is not part of the budget.
 
Cookieeater said:
I don't have a monitor yet. I'm undecided on the resolution. 1680x1050 would allow me to max games for longer but 1920x1200 would allow me a better gaming experience. the monitor is not part of the budget.
Click to expand...

1080p+ or bust. I thought I could hold out with a 1600x900 monitor. It's too limited, even for simple office use (gmail/outlook one half, IE/Excel on other half).

Too limited.

A HD5870 alone can handle 1080p maxed with relative ease, until Crysis/Metro 2033. Either way, go 1080p. IMO (and experience) :p
 
Alright, I'll go either 1920x1200 or 1920x1080. Can anyone give me any suggestions on what to get for CPU and Mobo? I'm thinking the i5 750 at microcenter for $150 if its on stock on my drive back from college. If its not a stock, should I get the i5 760 for $170 or the i7 930 for $200? I'm also open to getting an AMD processor if the price is excellent. Does anyone know if there is anything good I should pick up at microcenter on the drive back? Thanks.
 
Cookieeater said:
Alright, I'll go either 1920x1200 or 1920x1080. Can anyone give me any suggestions on what to get for CPU and Mobo? I'm thinking the i5 750 at microcenter for $150 if its on stock on my drive back from college. If its not a stock, should I get the i5 760 for $170 or the i7 930 for $200? I'm also open to getting an AMD processor if the price is excellent. Does anyone know if there is anything good I should pick up at microcenter on the drive back? Thanks.
Click to expand...

Go with the i5 750 if available. The i5 760 is still a good choice at $170 though. NO, don't get the $200 Core i7 either.

Motherboard wise, I recommend this mobo:
$125 - ASRock P55 Extreme Intel P55 ATX Motherboard

PSU and RAM wise, I recommend this combo:
$160 - XFX P1-650X-CAG9 650W PSU + G.SKILL F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL Ripjaws Series 2 x 2GB DDR3 1600 RAM

HDD wise, this drive is supposedly cheaper at MC:
$55 - Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

Case wise, that's totally up to you. Here are some case recommendations:
$50 - NZXT M59 ATX Case
$70 - Lian Li Lancool PC-K56 ATX Case
$70 - Cooler Master RC-590-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$80 - Cooler Master RC-690-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$70 - Cooler Master CM690 II ATX Case
$90 - Cooler Master HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$100 - Lian Li PC-7B Plus II ATX Case
$100 - Lian Li Lancool PC-K7B ATX Case
$110 - Lian Li PC-7FN ATX Case
$120 - Velocity Micro GX2-W Silver Classic Aluminum Case with Side Window
$130 - Cooler Master Storm Sniper ATX Case
$130 - Cooler Master HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$150 - Antec P183 ATX Case
$170 - Cooler Master ATCS 840 RC-840-KKN1-GP Full Tower ATX Case
$170 - Lian Li PC-B25F ATX Case
$180 - Cooler Master Cosmos S 1000 RC-1100-KSN1-GP Full Tower ATX Case
$210 - Silverstone FT01-B ATX Case
$220 - Lian Li PC-A71F Black ATX Case
$270 - Corsair Obsidian Series 800D CC800DW Full Tower ATX Case
$330 - Silverstone Temjin SST-TJ07B Full Tower ATX Case
 
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Curious as to why you would want to take the i5 750 over the i7 930? Just to save some money?
 
Yeah, it's actually quite a lot of money saved. Cheaper motherboard/cheaper ram. I'm going to pick up my i5 760 soon. The i5 750s were out of stock at microcenter but i placed a reservation for the i5 760 and they had one so I'll go pick it up soon. Are there any other nice deals at microcenter which I can look into?
 
You'll have to take a look at your local MC sales ad, as some deals vary from store to store. Fortunately, you should also be able to look at the sales ad through MC's website.
 
wubism said:
Curious as to why you would want to take the i5 750 over the i7 930? Just to save some money?
Click to expand...

Yeah as Cookieeater said, it's mainly due to saving money. Even with the Core i7 at $200, the overall platform cost (CPU + Mobo + RAM) is still gonna be about $550 to $600 give or take. Compare that to the platform cost of the Core i5 route which is roughly $375 to $400 give or take. IMO, the COre i7 route would not be worth the extra $150 to $200.
 
if you can get by with buying a prebuilt system. i got my gateway fx for $500 as a refurb 8 months ago and it came with i7 920 3gb ram, 1gb ati 4850, 500w psu, 750gb HD, Dual Layer. The ram, chip and card was a majority of the system and then you just build from there. Look my deals at dell outlet for studio series people were getting nice nice systems for $550
 
Hey Danny, thanks for the recommendations. Can I get some more clarity on why you chose that specific motherboard? It appears that on newegg there are other motherboards with the 1136 chipset but with a cheaper price. Also, for the RAM/PSU combo, will a 650Watt PSU be able to power the i5 760/sli gtx 460s? I am also planning on overclocking both the cpu and the graphics card. Also, I'm wondering whether or not the stock cooler for the i5 760 would be fine for my build? Lastly, do you know if any HUGE price drops or any significant price drops will be happening on any of the components within the next 3 weeks because I'm willing to wait a bit if it means I'll get a much better deal. Thanks.
 
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I can't speak for Danny, but I've seen few boards with those available features for around that price or lower. If you don't like that board, ensure that the board you choose has dual x8 slots and SLI support. USB 3.0 and SATA III support is nice, but it may not be available on all 1156 boards under $120.

Go with a power supply with at least 700 watts and 60A combined on its 12V rails. 80 Plus certification helps, but buying it from a reliable brand (like Antec, Corsair, Enermax, Seasonic, and Silverstone, to name a few) is more important. To ensure that you're getting a good PSU, follow the reviews from here at the [H] and JonnyGURU, which test PSUs thoroughly to weed out any potential flaws.

The stock cooler is never enough for overclocking any processor nowadays. The Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus is a good aftermarket CPU cooler and it's available at several places for around $30. I've recently confirmed that Micro Center has it available for $30; NewEgg, unfortunately, still has it for around $50 plus shipping.

Again, I can't speak for Danny, but I haven't heard of any significant price drops on any major item. Plus, it's the end of August, so most of the combo deals available now will expire within the next couple of days. If you know what you want, create an updated build list so we can review it quickly and you can buy everything now.
 
Main reason why I recommended that mobo was because it was the cheapest mobo with x8/x8 Crossfire and SLI setup with USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s that I could find.

Yes the XFX 650W will be more than enough for a i5 760 and GTX 460 SLI:
277W - Intle Core i7 860 OC'd @ 4Ghz (close enough to the Core i7 760) + mobo + HDD at full CPU load
270W - GTX 460 SLI at full GPU load
---
Total: 547 at full CPU and GPU load.

So yeah, more than enough. But Tiraides' PSU recommendation is still spot on.

Everything else, tiraides nailed it.
 
I've decided to look at a bunch of reviews and that motherboard was highly praised for its bang for buck factor so I think I will get the motherboard that you suggested. The mail in rebate which will knock down the price to 100 will only sweeten the deal. I'll also get the XFX 650W + the Ram suggested because the combo deal makes that a very good price. Thank you guys. I'll post again if I have any extra questions.
 
Cookieeater said:
I've decided to look at a bunch of reviews and that motherboard was highly praised for its bang for buck factor so I think I will get the motherboard that you suggested. The mail in rebate which will knock down the price to 100 will only sweeten the deal. I'll also get the XFX 650W + the Ram suggested because the combo deal makes that a very good price. Thank you guys. I'll post again if I have any extra questions.
Click to expand...

Yeah get in on those combo deals before 8/31. They disappear after that.
 
Just finished up my build.
Here it is

Intel i5 760. 170+tax= 184.88

ASrock Extreme P55 + G.Skill Ram 2x2gb + XFX 650W Power Supply= 294.97+tax= 321.24. The G. Skill and XFX power supply had a combo together so that was 25 dollars off and XFX had a 15 percent off coupon on their power supply so that was 18 dollars off. The Motherboard also has a 25 dollar rebate but I didn't include that yet.

Samsung Spinpoint F3 1Tb= 63.61

HAF 932=130 from Tigerdirect. This is where I sort of splurged on my build. I went to Fry's and I saw how nice the HAF 932 looked and decided that I would get it because I enjoy having so much room to work with. I also like how well it cools the system which will help me when I overclock. If I do a future build, I can also reuse the case.

Asus Dvd Burner + 2 Copies of SC2 + 2 Gigabyte 460s 1GB = 562.95+Tax= 609.39. I liked the two gigabyte 460s because they are a reputable brand and they were also giving a twenty dollar discount with each copy of starcraft 2 which I was going to buy anyways which made this a good deal for me. I'm selling one of the copies of starcraft 2 to a friend for 45 though so 609.39- 45= 564.39.

Coolermaster 212 Hyper Plus+ Artic Silver Paste= 37.

All in all, my entire build+one copy of starcraft 2= 1301.12 which includes tax and shipping/handling. It should also be 25 dollars lower if I get the rebate from the motherboard. I don't think I did too bad with this build. Thank you everyone that helped me. I'll post again once everything arrives and I put the computer together.
 
Thanks for the reply. I decided to search up some of the reviews on the Shin-Etsu X23 and I decided that I'll just go to Frys and buy some of that.
 
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