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700$ Gaming Build

O

Offbeat

Weaksauce
Joined
Nov 15, 2007
Messages
117
Posting this for my friend

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? Gaming

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included? $700 including tax/shipping

3) Where do you live? West Virginia, United States

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. RAM, GPU, CPU, Mother Board, Case, PSU, Hard Drive, 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. Won't be reusing

6) Will you be overclocking? lightly if at all

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have? 22 inch

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC? Within the next 2 weeks

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video? sata 6Gb/s

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit? yes, windows 7, 64 bit

I would prefer this to be an i5-2500k build :)
 
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I am assuming you are using the HD 3000 on the 2500K then? Says no GPU :p.

If you are not going to be overclocking most likely just get a 2400 and call it a day.

What is the res on that 22 1920x1080 or 1680x1050?

EDIT:

I came up with a build. I went with a 2400 and a GPU as I am assuming you forgot to put GPU in the parts needed list. You will have spend more to get a 2500K as well as I couldn't even fit this into $700. You can get a cheaper case which will be far lower quality of a less expensive PSU, but the higher wattage will allow for more usage down the road.

SAMSUNG CD/DVD Burner - $22.99
LIAN LI Lancool PC-K58W - $64.99
G.SKILL Value Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 - $49.99
MSI PH61A-P35 - $79.99
Intel Core i5-2400 - $189.99
XFX HD-687A-ZNFC Radeon HD 6870 - $179.99

Total = $717.92 + $7.33 Shipping = $725.25 - $55 MIRs = $670.25
 
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Is there a microcenter nearby you? Amazing Intel combo deals there at the moment.

How about a 2500k for $175? OEM but you should look at an aftermarket cooler. Easy overclocking, as you generally need to just bump the multiplier. 2400? For $190? Ugh
I overclock for value. Stock setting are for the datacenter and $300 Dell computers at slickdeals.

Ram is cheap. New deal everyday. This is the one today. $49.99- $15 w/ code EMCKBJH66 = ~$35


Get the cheapest DVD drive you can find or find a $40 BR drive.
The case is a personal aesthetic choice. I'd check out the typical Antec variety, especially since you need a PSU. ~$50 to ~150

Since this is a "Gaming" build find a 2GB 6950 that can be unlocked to a 6970. Best value at the moment. ~$250 This is overkill @1680x1050 but you'll probably get another monitor sooner or later.

I'm don't have the experience with current z68 motherboards but I would start at the cheapest one you can find and work your way up. You should be able to find one for ~$100. Combo deal

For a hard drive I would look at a good value SSD with another TB monster for media files. Do you have any specifics in what you need from storage? Speed vs Size? <--- leaving on a dick joke
 
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The i5 2500k and Gigabyte z68xp-ud3 combo at microcenter is a good deal.
($179 for CPU and $115/$100AR for the motherboard).
I've really had a great time with this board so far. Tom's rated it the highest in mid-range boards they tested.
 
I don't know why he didn't put GPU on there, but he needs one.

he said he wanted to spend 700-750$ and could even push that if there was a good enough deal
 
If he is not overclocking and is at 1680x1050 that build I listed should be plenty for his needs with in that budget.
 
the build you listed doesn't look complete to me. also, the possibility of overclocking and the upgrade seems to outweigh the 5$ difference
 
$163.99 XFX HD 6850 GPU

$309.98 i5-2500k + MSI P67A-C43 combo (+$20 rebate)

34.99$ G.SKILL Value Series 8GB RAM (promo code)

$99.99 CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX650 V2 650W (+15$ rebate)

$18.99 LITE-ON DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA Model iHAS124-04 - OEM

$54.99 Seagate Barracuda Green 1TB HDD

$59.99 Cooler Master HAF 912 Mid Tower ATX Case

$759.37 + $4.84 shipping = $764 ($729 after rebates)

Hows this?
 
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Hmm. Somehow I missed putting in the HDD and PSU oops. Comes out to the same price, so I know I had it in my cart.

Antec High Current Gamer Series HCG-620 620W - $69.99
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB - $59.99
SAMSUNG CD/DVD Burner - $22.99
LIAN LI Lancool PC-K58W - $64.99
G.SKILL Value Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 - $34.99 w/ promo code
MSI PH61A-P35 - $79.99
Intel Core i5-2400 - $189.99
XFX HD-687A-ZNFC Radeon HD 6870 - $179.99

Total = $697.92 + $7.33 Shipping= $705.25 - $55 MIRs = $650.25

Not really a $5 difference. About $60 off the bat your build is more expensive and has a weaker GPU, and mine has $20 more in MIR. The reason I did the 2400 is due to the "6) Will you be overclocking? lightly if at all". By all means if he will be overclocking go for the 2500K as it is a hard deal to beat, but if you do not do it you are only wasting your friend's money. If you wish to go the 2500K I recommend spending the extra $20 for the 6870 as well as that is the difference after MIR. Worth it IMO and you get Shogun 2/Dirt 3 for free to top it off. Go for that Antec High Current 620W PSU as well. That will save you more to bring the price down and will be just as good as the Corsair for your build.
 
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xBanzai89 said:
MSI PH61A-P35 - $79.99
Intel Core i5-2400 - $189.99
The reason I did the 2400 is due to the "6) Will you be overclocking? lightly if at all". By all means if he will be overclocking go for the 2500K as it is a hard deal to beat, but if you do not do it you are only wasting your friend's money.
Click to expand...

I strongly disagree with any locked sandybridge chip. And $190 is ridiculously expensive. I know we're completely overlooking AMD but even those chips have more value than the 2400@ $190. One can "lightly" overclock to 4 ghz from multiplier on a 2500k. The MSI motherboard gives you very little upgrade options.

$163.99 XFX HD 6850 GPU actually $138.99AR
Top of the line video card that you can unlock to a 6970. $245. $100 more well spent on a video card but definitely a budget consideration. I got mine for $220AR so this is NOT really a deal.
********<strike>$309.98 i5-2500k + MSI P67A-C43 combo (+$20 rebate)</strike>**************************
$260 Combo I linked above has a z68motherboard.
34.99$ G.SKILL Value Series 8GB RAM (promo code)

$99.99 CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX650 V2 650W (+15$ rebate)

$18.99 LITE-ON DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA Model iHAS124-04 - OEM

**************<strike>$54.99 Seagate Barracuda Green 1TB HDD</strike>**************************
2.5TB faster drive. $88 but you get an external enclosure you can use for something else

$59.99 Cooler Master HAF 912 Mid Tower ATX Case

$35 more HDD -$40motherboard combo. Is about the same pricing. The video card is the real performance jump.
 
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Math for above suggestion
$139AR XFX HD 6850 GPU

$260 Motherboard/CPU

34.99$ G.SKILL Value Series 8GB RAM (promo code)

$99.99 CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX650 V2 650W (+15$ rebate)

$18.99 LITE-ON DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA Model iHAS124-04 - OEM

$88 HDD

$59.99 Cooler Master HAF 912 Mid Tower ATX Case
$702 + Shipping + Rebates.

OS? Have Windows7 already? Student?
 
undercoverDrunk said:
$163.99 XFX HD 6850 GPU actually $138.99AR
Click to expand...
Generally we don't facotr in the MIR until it actually reaches the OP's hands. Yes you may have 100% success with rebates but that doesn't mean that the OP will. At least xBanzai89's build was fairly close to the OP's budget.

With that said, if the OP can spend the extra cash, then yes he should be getting that 2500K + MSI mobo combo that you mentioned earlier. But if that $700 is about the max he can spend, then it looks like the Core i5 2400 is it for the OP.

undercoverDrunk said:
Top of the line video card that you can unlock to a 6970. $245. $100 more well spent on a video card but definitely a budget consideration. I got mine for $220AR so this is NOT really a deal.
Click to expand...
Did you actually unlock yours though?
undercoverDrunk said:
2.5TB faster drive. $88 but you get an external enclosure you can use for something else
Click to expand...
But you also void the warranty on the hard drive. I do not recommend this option at all unless you really need an external hard drive, not an internal hard drive.
 
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undercoverDrunk said:
I strongly disagree with any locked sandybridge chip. And $190 is ridiculously expensive. I know we're completely overlooking AMD but even those chips have more value than the 2400@ $190. One can "lightly" overclock to 4 ghz from multiplier on a 2500k. The MSI motherboard gives you very little upgrade options.

$163.99 XFX HD 6850 GPU actually $138.99AR
Top of the line video card that you can unlock to a 6970. $245. $100 more well spent on a video card but definitely a budget consideration. I got mine for $220AR so this is NOT really a deal.
********<strike>$309.98 i5-2500k + MSI P67A-C43 combo (+$20 rebate)</strike>**************************
$260 Combo I linked above has a z68motherboard.
34.99$ G.SKILL Value Series 8GB RAM (promo code)



$99.99 CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX650 V2 650W (+15$ rebate)

$18.99 LITE-ON DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA Model iHAS124-04 - OEM

**************<strike>$54.99 Seagate Barracuda Green 1TB HDD</strike>**************************
2.5TB faster drive. $88 but you get an external enclosure you can use for something else

$59.99 Cooler Master HAF 912 Mid Tower ATX Case

$35 more HDD -$40motherboard combo. Is about the same pricing. The video card is the real performance jump.
Click to expand...

Are you talking about the micro center combo? OP never said anything about being near one. Not everyone has access and may have a limited budget and make due with those parts. A 2400 out does any AMD CPU anyway.
 
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xBanzai89 said:
Are you talking about the micro center combo? OP never said anything about being near one. Not everyone has access and may have a limited budget and make due with those parts. A 2400 out does any AMD CPU anyway.
Click to expand...

It was actually for a newegg"business" combo deal that has expired. :(

I agree that a 2400 would beat out any AMD combo, that is why I didn't recommend any. But limited budget and AMD can get you a good to great combo at $200 or less. I just hate the "value" in a 2400 as the 2500k is only ~$20 more.
 
Danny Bui said:
Generally we don't facotr in the MIR until it actually reaches the OP's hands. Yes you may have 100% success with rebates but that doesn't mean that the OP will. At least xBanzai89's build was fairly close to the OP's budget.

With that said, if the OP can spend the extra cash, then yes he should be getting that 2500K + MSI mobo combo that you mentioned earlier. But if that $700 is about the max he can spend, then it looks like the Core i5 2400 is it for the OP.


Did you actually unlock yours though?

But you also void the warranty on the hard drive. I do not recommend this option at all unless you really need an external hard drive, not an internal hard drive.
Click to expand...

I did not know about MIR in the forum. Thank you.

Again, a 2400 seems crippled in comparison to a 2500k if you are budget locked for $20 more then I would just wait until there is a deal.

I have indeed unlocked mine. It is argumentative that unlocking the shaders actually does much though. If you're not into it you can just overclock.
The hard drive the warranty is indeed an issue. I was not thinking of that.
 
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