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$850 Build

M

m_cochran

Limp Gawd
Joined
May 11, 2007
Messages
167
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
modded skyrim, elderscrolls online, and virtualbox running Backbox, Win XP, and another Linux

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$850.00 all in.

3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
Lake Dallas, TX - work 5 minutes from a Fry's
Microcenter about 45 minutes away. I also have a Prime membership with Amazon if it matters.

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/Motherboard
RAM
Dual Monitors 23-24"
GPU
SSD (if possible)
Power Supply


5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.

Case: Cooler Master Elite 430 (3 Fans, Front, Back, Bottom)
HD: Samsung 500GB F3
OS: Windows 7 HP 64-Bit

6) Will you be overclocking?
If need be

7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
Need new dual 23-24"

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
2-3 weeks at most

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.
Nothing comes to mind

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 HP 64-bit


This is my current system I am upgrading from... I am having a trouble running Skyrim modded smoothly. Everything else it does perfectly.

Case: Cooler Master Elite 430 - Motherboard: BioStar A880G+ - CPU: Phenom II X4 B50, OC'ed to 3.56GHz - RAM: 8GB DDR3 1333 - HD: Samsung 500GB F3 - Video: XFX Radeon HD 6850 - OS: Windows 7 HP 64-Bit
 
I think you're going to have up your budget a little:
$186 - Intel Core i5-4430 CPU
$83 - AsRock H87M Pro4 Intel H87 mATX Motherboard
$70 - Kingston HyperX Blu KHX1600C10D3B1/8G 8GB DDR3 1600 RAM
$240 - MSI N760-2GD5/OC GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card
$70 - Antec NEO ECO 620C 620W PSU
$260 - 2 x HP Smartbuy LV2311 Black 23" LCD Monitor
-----
Total: $909 shipped.
 
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+1 on the ssd
I'd also invest in more ram, personally I'm outgrowing 32gb running VMware workstation with 3 guests on their own ssd.
 
m_cochran said:
I can up to $950 maybe $1000 if it is really worth it.
Click to expand...
Yes totally worth going to $1000 since that means you can get a SSD:
$89 - Samsung 840 Evo 120GB SSD
 
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m_cochran said:
What do you think about this card?
Sapphire Radeon R9 270X 4GB
Click to expand...
If it was by Asus, MSI, or GIgabyte, it would not be a bad card since the R9 270X isn't all that much slower than the GTX 760. But since it's from Sapphire, I can't recommend it unless you are absolutely planning on getting a monitor with at least a 2560x1440 resolution right now. Not to mention that it's not that much cheaper than the GTX 760 I posted. So not a good buy at all.
m_cochran said:
Also, looking at this case as I am giving mine to my son.
Corsair Obsidian Series 350D
Click to expand...
Not a fan of the price but the case is good.
 
Dangman said:
If it was by Asus, MSI, or GIgabyte, it would not be a bad card since the R9 270X isn't all that much slower than the GTX 760. But since it's from Sapphire, I can't recommend it unless you are absolutely planning on getting a monitor with at least a 2560x1440 resolution right now. Not to mention that it's not that much cheaper than the GTX 760 I posted. So not a good buy at all.

Not a fan of the price but the case is good.
Click to expand...


Don't plan on that, I can't bring myself to spend 300 - 400 per monitor for that resolution. If they ever came down to the sub 300 range maybe.
 
Ordering Monday...


Open to any suggestions. $950 is the max I can squeeze my budget to, so no SSD at this time. Most likely will pick up an SSD and another 8GB of RAM in a month or so.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Amazon)

Motherboard: ASRock B75M R2.0 Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($64.49 @ Amazon)

Memory: Kingston 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($63.99 @ Amazon)

Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($239.99 @ Amazon)

Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Amazon)

Power Supply: Corsair Gaming 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ Amazon)

Monitor: Acer G236HLBbd 60Hz 23.0" Monitor ($128.57 @ Amazon)

Monitor: Acer G236HLBbd 60Hz 23.0" Monitor ($128.57 @ Amazon)

Total: $935.58
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-06 21:53 EST-0500)
 
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Go with the Corsair 230T since it has better cooling than the Corsair 200R:
$60 - Corsair Graphite Series 230T Greyw/ Window ATX Case

I'd go with this more reputable Biostar B75 mobo for $3 more (and has two more RAM slots):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138357

As for the PSU, I still recommend the Antec I recommended earlier since it's of higher quality than the Corsair.
 
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What makes the 230T better at cooling? The 200R has more fan mounts than the 230T. I can pick up a couple of extra fans if that is all it is. I like the way it looks a lot more than the 230T.
 
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It's an ok motherboard. But if you're going to spend that much, you might as well go for the Haswell setup I recommended earlier. The IB setup only makes sense if it's significantly cheaper than Haswell.
 
A couple of things about that Fractal Case. The motherboard tray cut out is to high on some motherboards which can be a problem when installing a cooler similar to a CM Hyper 212+, MB tray actually pushes on the cooler backing plate and two of the nuts are difficult to tighten if the MB is already installed. If you want to put a bottom intake fan in the floor of case you need to install the PSU first. Otherwise it's not a bad case, plenty of room behind the MB tray for cable management, removable center drive cage, adequate airflow.
 
m_cochran said:
What makes the 230T better at cooling? The 200R has more fan mounts than the 230T. I can pick up a couple of extra fans if that is all it is. I like the way it looks a lot more than the 230T.

Also, what do you think of this case... I found one for sale on Craigslist for $40
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352008
Click to expand...
The 230t has a more open mesh front which allows for more air to come through. In addition, there is actually room for a fan in front of the HDD bay (already included) which allows for better cooling of the drives. The 200r doesnt Have any cooling possibility for the hard drives. Finally there's a tad more space in the back for easier/more cable management.

Not a fan of that Fractal case due to the HSF issue Tom_s brought up. Also hate how cramped it is.
 
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m_cochran said:
What about the 300R it has a 140mm intake fan in front of the hard drives, a rear fan, and mounts for top and side fans as well.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139011
Click to expand...
Not at the $80 price point when the overall better featured COrsair 230T costs $70 or less. Also, having a large number of fan mounts doesn't actually mean that the cooling will be superior in some way. Bit-Tech.net found that getting more than 4 fans has some serious diminishing returns:
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2012/02/10/the-big-cooling-investigation/1
m_cochran said:
And this motherboard:
MSI H87-G43 $99.00

Because I can get this:
Intel Core i5-4430 3.0GHz $149.00.
Click to expand...
Solid choices.
 
Well they didn't have the 230T in stock when I went, or the Haswell processor I wanted. I did end up with a Haswell and the 300R case. Will post pictures after build.
 
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