Advice on budget gaming rig

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lukepb

Limp Gawd
Joined
Feb 17, 2004
Messages
263
Hey all,

I am in the market for a new gaming PC. As the story goes, it's been some rough times the past couple years and I was forced to put my annual upgrades on hold :eek: Anyway, I am trying to find the best bang for the buck so your advice would be appreciated!

BTW, my last gaming rig was a C2D oc'd allendale and right now I'm downgraded to an Athlon 64. So needless to say I am looking forward to this upgrade :D


1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Primarily gaming and a fair amount of photoshop/web dev. Games would be FPS and a few RTS. MOH, ArmA2, CoD Black Ops, etc...

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
At least $1,000, possibly more. I know I can't expect a lot with this small budget, but whatever platform I could get the most performance out of around that price range.

3) Where do you live?
US of A

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, HDD, MOBO, PSU, VIDEO CARD, CPU AFTERMARKET HSF IF NEEDED

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

6) Will you be overclocking?
Absolutely ! :D

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
32" 1080p HDTV

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

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? etc.
USB 3.0, SATA 6gb, eSATA if possible, unsure about SLi due to my budget. Looking for a video card in the Nvidia family. Was leaning toward an AMD platform due to cost, but I am open to Intel as well.

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

 
Before I get started with a detailed build, where do you live in the US? By a Microcenter or Fry's? Do you have to pay taxes on transactions from Newegg?

What case do you have?

By they way, for a $1000 budget, you'll be getting a Core i5-2500k with a motherboard that meets all your requirements (probably SLI but no promises. It'll do Crossfire no problem.) I'd also consider going with an AMD graphics card rather than nVidia as it provides better performance for your dollar. Consider this review and look at the current prices for the listed cards. A 2GB Radeon 6950 will probably be your best bet in this budget.

Oh, and you can get a lot for about $1000, especially on a 1080p monitor. And count on getting a ~$40 aftermarket HSF. The stock Intel one is very good (you can get up to about 4.4GHz on it) but spending a little on a nicer one will help you get even higher. A small number (maybe 10%) of people are getting 5.0GHz on air.
 
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I will check out the link you've provided, I unfortunately have not had the greatest experience with ATi (yes, that dates me, but lol) so I tend to go nvidia when possible. As for my location it is in KY, so no MC and Fry's as for as I know. No taxes with newegg though! :)

Edit: Didn't notice that at first about the case. Right now I have an mid tower Xion case which is fairly room, purchased about four years ago. I thought about the CM mid tower Haf that was on sale at newegg, but I'm not including the cost of a case in the budget.

As for the AMD graphics, I won't rule them out :) Checking the link out now.
 
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Good read on the link provided, looks like I may be testing the water again with AMD. Thanks for the link :D As for as the motherboard features, I would like to see USB 3.0 and eSATA, but SATA 6G/bs isn't a deal breaker.
 
I'm not at a full computer at the moment so these prices won't be full on accurate and no links. Check Newegg.

$220 - Core i5 2500k
$170 - MSI P67A-GD65 (for eSATA)
$60 - Samsung F3 1TB
$90 - good 650 to 750 watt PSU
$40 - 4GB G.Skill DDR3 1333MHz CL9 ($80 for 8GB)
$35 - Cooler Master Hyper 212+ Cooler
up to $350ish for a graphics card
I would get a $280ish XFX Radeon 6950 2GB personally, but I think GTX 570s are in this range too. You could probably even get a Radeon 6970. I'll try and clean this post up later.
 
Is it for brick and mortar only or will they honor it online as well?
 
Gahhh been a busy weekend. Still haven't had a chance to get to a real PC to get you a decent build with links. I haven't forgotten!
 
They will brick and mortar price match for sure, i dont know about online. But i called them its true
 
I will check to see if they do, unfortunately for me, I am at least 450+ miles from the nearest B&M of either store. lol :eek: And np tony. :)
 
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I'd planned on using an Xion mid-tower atx. It's been so long I can't even remember the exact name, but it was their "gaming" case. I actually have decided to go with the Cooler Master Storm Scout rather then reuse it (since it's $69 after rebate on the egg). Provided of course, it would work for these components. :)
 
lukepb said:
I'd planned on using an Xion mid-tower atx. It's been so long I can't even remember the exact name, but it was their "gaming" case. I actually have decided to go with the Cooler Master Storm Scout rather then reuse it (since it's $69 after rebate on the egg). Provided of course, it would work for these components. :)
Click to expand...

Even after rebate it's not that good of a choice considering how relatively cramped it is and its little to no cable management features.
 
$225 - Intel Core i5-2500K CPU
$250 - MSI P67A-GD65 Intel P67 ATX Motherboard + G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 2 x 4GB DDR3 1600 RAM
$310 - MSI N570GTX-M2D12D5/OC GeForce GTX 570 1280MB PCI-E Video Card
$60 - Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$27 - Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus HSF for LGA 1366 and LGA 1156
$82 - Antec Truepower New TP-650 650W PSU
$60 - Cooler Master HAF 912 RC-912-KKN1 ATX Case
---
Total: $1014 shipped
 
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Danny Bui said:
$225 - Intel Core i5-2500K CPU
$250 - MSI P67A-GD65 Intel P67 ATX Motherboard + G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 2 x 4GB DDR3 1600 RAM
$310 - MSI N570GTX-M2D12D5/OC GeForce GTX 570 1280MB PCI-E Video Card
$60 - Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$27 - Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus HSF for LGA 1366 and LGA 1156
$82 - Antec Truepower New TP-650 650W PSU
$60 - Cooler Master HAF 912 RC-912-KKN1 ATX Case
---
Total: $1014 shipped
Click to expand...

+1 to this
 
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Looking at it again, I really do like Danny's build, but if you absolutely can't go over $1000 though, consider this graphics card instead.

$275 (before $30 MIR) - XFX HD-695X-CNFC Radeon HD 6950 2GB

You'll save $50 before mail in rebates ($65 after mail in rebates) for a card with similar performance to the GTX 570 (though the GTX 570 is a hair faster.) If you're really into tweaking, modding, and overclocking, it is possible to unlock additional shaders on most (not all) 6950s by flashing the BIOS. This will give you performance that's faster than a GTX 570 but slower than a 6970. However there are no guarantees that it'll work.
 
Thanks to all for the replies and advice. Tony - sorry for the delay in updating this thread (still trying to decide on the video although I'm leaning 6950). :)

As for the rest on the list, here's how it shook out...


  • Intel Core i5 2500 K CPU
  • MSI P67A-GD65 Intel p67 motherboard + G.Skill Ripjaws 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600
  • Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD 1TB 7200RPM (lucked in finding it @ $54 shipped)
  • CM Hyper 212 Plus HSF
  • Antec Truepower 650W PSU (TP-650)
  • CM HAF 912 RC ATX mid-tower - Will have to add some "custom" carry handles :D

Also, just received my new LG 32LD450 and now just waiting for the parts to start the build. Thanks again!
 
They're both good cards. It's just whether the GTX 570's price premium brings additional benefits to you. If you would feel more comfortable with the 570 there's no harm in doing so (besides spending a bit more for it.)
 
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