Budget Gaming Rig

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Gawd
Joined
Jun 11, 2003
Messages
991
Hey, I have been out of the hardware scene for quite some time. The last system I build had a 2.13ghz E6xxx something cpu that I overclocked to 3.2ghz. Anyways, I'm looking for a budget setup that will play current games. I'm currently playing on my XPS15 laptop that has an i5 cpu and a gt525m gpu, 8bg ram. I don't think the cpu is really the problem, but the graphics card is holding me back. I like the looks the the COOLER MASTER Elite 120 case. All I plan on putting in the system is an SSD hard drive and gpu, going with air cooling, nothing fancy. I would like some overclocking capabilities.

ITX vs ATX? I need to investigate.

For CPU: 3570k? http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0388577

For GPU: http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0402813

For motherboard: I don't need more than two sata ports. I've never used Asrock, how is this: http://microcenter.com/product/392374/H77M-ITX_LGA1155_H77_mini_ITX_Intel_Motherboard

Ram: http://microcenter.com/product/3851...el_Desktop_Memory_Kit_(Two_8GB_Memory_Modules)

Case: http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0399001

PSU: http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0361181

What's a decent SSD in the 60-120gb range? http://www.microcenter.com/product/399499/Vertex_3_SSD_Series_90GB_25_Solid_State_Drive

Grand Total $708.15

Any help would be appreciated.
 
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I'm using the Elite 120 (ITX) for my upcoming build. I have a Core i3 on the way.
I'd suggest that if you're going to go with a K-series CPU that you get a Z77 board. H77 won't allow overclocking, so it defeats the purpose of the unlocked multiplier. ASRock has a Z77 ITX board for ~$150 I believe. If you're going to run stock, you might as well go for the IVB 3570k. But if you're going to OC, as there is less room for cooling, I suggest that you get the i5-2500k. It still OCs very well, and runs cooler (due to a soldered-on heat spreader).
How much are you looking to spend on a GPU? My impression is that the GTX650 is a bit weak (what resolution are you using?) May I suggest a GTX650 Ti or HD7850 1GB?
 
[F8];1039368407 said:
I'm using a 32" LED TV with 1080p HDMI as my monitor.
Click to expand...

I think you'd definitely want something a bit more potent than the GTX650 then. The GTX650 isn't really much better than a GTX460 (or at all--I'm not too sure). If you can spring for a HD7850 it would serve you well.

Also--that 750w PSU is way overkill. A 450w one would be totally fine. I have two GTX470s and an overclocked i7 running on a 650w Antec PSU. And another system with three HD7770s and an OCed i7 on an Antec 650w.
 
The PSU was only $69.99 after rebate I figured too much is better than too little.
 
[F8];1039368452 said:
The PSU was only $69.99 after rebate I figured too much is better than too little.
Click to expand...
Your choice. But IMO it's overkill and there are a lot of cables....
[F8];1039368470 said:
650ti? http://www.microcenter.com/search/s...+4294924793&NTX=&NTT=&NTK=all&sortby=pricelow
Click to expand...
Certainly that would be better.
[F8];1039368528 said:
Would I be better off with the cheaper ASrock board and spending $60 more and getting the I7 http://www.microcenter.com/product/388575/Core_i7_3770K_35GHz_LGA_1155_Processor and just leaving it at stock, instead of spending another $90 on the motherboard to overlock the 3570k??
Click to expand...

I'd say you'd probably be better off putting the extra $60 towards the GPU instead. A stock-clocked i5 is no slouch, and the Hyperthreading on an i7 is basically no use for games. I like my i7s, but for purely gaming it doesn't make much sense.
 
Having just sold my i7 2600K and now using an i5 2500K (stock clocks for now because I'm using an H61 board)....I don't really notice much difference. I lose 4 threads in dBpowerAMP but that's about it and it's really nothing more than a minute more spent encoding. I would definitely recommend i5 for gaming; no reason to get an i7.

I would recommend spending as much as you can on the gpu since that's the meat and potatoes of your build. Any i5 even a stock clocked one is probably not going to bottleneck any card let alone a low or mid-range one. I would also suggest you look through the current THG's best graphics cards for the $$$ article and buy what you can for as much as you can spend.

I'm going to also say - don't particularly go over on the psu. Don't think you have to have a 650+W anything to run a single gpu system.
I'm currently using an Antec VP450 with my 2500K, a 6950 2GB, 2 platter drives, 1 SSD, 1 burner, and 2 fans. According to the psu calculator I always use, after capacitor aging at a modest level (25%), the minimum wattage recommended is 396W at load with my setup. Meanwhile the consensus of others is "550W or higher" (even though my particular psu pulled over 550W when tested by Hardware Secrets). Even Corsair's calculator said I could get away with a CX430 with this setup.

One more note ~ any particular reason you're only buying stuff from Microcenter? :confused:
They have great deals on cpu/board combos but otherwise they're equal or higher on most other parts to NewEgg or Amazon, and when you buy stuff online you don't pay taxes and typically get free shipping...so you end up paying less online.
 
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First of all, unless doing a full loop water cooling or multiple video cards are in your future ITX can do everything you need and save you space and power.

If this is a gaming build you want a GTX660 2GB as a minimum. GTX660 Ti if you can find any good deals on it. RAM needs for games are continuing to rise and video card is far more important than CPU for gaming performance. The GPU is the heart and soul of a gaming PC. For most games the CPU is secondary. EDIT: important to get a video card with an exhausting cooling fan for an ITX case.

i5-3570K is the best bang for the $$ performance CPU in Intel's lineup for gaming. The ability to overclock is a nice bonus.

For motherboard, if you are planning on a light overclock with no voltage tweaking the Gigabyte Z77 mini-ITX board packs in a lot of features for a low cost. You get an actual Intel wireless adapter and some very nice durability features.
http://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-1155-Intel-Motherboard-GA-Z77N-WIFI/dp/B009JDTWH6/

If you are planning more aggressive overclocking you can get a combo on a very nice asus ITX board and that cooler master 120:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1097039

That power supply is simply the wrong choice for an ITX system. It's too long size and my not even fit in the Elite 120 case if you have an optical drive installed. Too Much is NOT better than too little in an ITX case. Too Much could mean too many cables and cables too long to fit. You can still get a nice 450W SFX sized powersupply (with ATX adapter plate) and cables just the right size for an ITX or microATX system. Save some money and have much more room to work with in the Elite 120 case you are looking at. http://www.amazon.com/Silverstone-ST45SF-watts-factor-supply/dp/B003H4QPDC

If you need to cut any corners to get the GTX660 or GTX660 Ti in the budget, first thing to do is to drop the RAM to 8GB. 16GB is NOT needed right now for gaming. Sure it's a nice future proofing... but it's easy and inexpensive to pop in 16GB at a later date. Upgrading from a GTX650 to a GTX660 later is going to put a much larger dent in the walet. Better GPU will have an immediate impact NOW. 16GB RAM might help in 1-2 years.

As to the SSDs... there's alot of choices out there. But unless you are looking to break speed benchmarks they are all going to be soo much better than a traditional hard drive you can just get whatever is on sale. The only key is to get a drive with SATA III (6Gbps). 128 would be nice if you can swing it. Enough room for Windows, Office and an MMO or two. Then the rest of your game collection can go on a larger disk.

Here's a suggested amazon cart... (image) http://i.imgur.com/ZbQKF.png
 
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Thanks for all the info. I was looking at micro center because of the ad I was looking at. I usually go with the egg or amazon. Sometimes micro center has open box deals to. I figured 16gb was not needed but would last longer.
 
That vid card will fit the Cooler Master Elite 120 mini-ITX case with no issue. It could take up to an AMD 7990 or NVIDIA GTX690. It also looks to be a nice exhausting cooling unit. Making sure to get the hot air out of your case instead of simply recirculating it. You are going to really enjoy the performance of that GTX 660 Ti over your laptop's functional, but anemic GT525M.

Never had the pleasure of trying a PC Power and Cooling unit... the price always kept me away. The power supply should fit fine as long as the optical drive isn't extra long (if you even bother to put one in there at all). Just know you will be dealing with some rather long cables in a small case. So you'll want to stuff the excess cable length in the 5.25 bay if unused to avoid it hampering your airflow. If you use the 5.25 bay you'll need to get creative with your cable routing. Not trying to scare you off it. People make long cable power supplies work in the Elite 120 case. I just want to give you fair warning on the extra time it will take manage the cables.

Looks like you've got a great little build coming together. I only see one problem... You aren't going to want to game ever again on your laptop. So you'll need a nice bag to transport the case for LAN parties/co-op gaming nights at a friend's place. http://www.amazon.com/Silverstone-Carrying-Series-Other-SUGO-PACK/dp/B001NPEBLA/
 
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I plan on selling my laptop as my smartphone does the job for mobility
 
400watts would be enough, however you may want to think about upgrades in the future, I always try to aim for 500-550 - for added peace of mind :D

You definitely don't need some 1300watt monster though :D
 
[F8];1039368310 said:
Hey, I have been out of the hardware scene for quite some time. The last system I build had a 2.13ghz E6xxx something cpu that I overclocked to 3.2ghz. Anyways, I'm looking for a budget setup that will play current games. I'm currently playing on my XPS15 laptop that has an i5 cpu and a gt525m gpu, 8bg ram. I don't think the cpu is really the problem, but the graphics card is holding me back. I like the looks the the COOLER MASTER Elite 120 case. All I plan on putting in the system is an SSD hard drive and gpu, going with air cooling, nothing fancy. I would like some overclocking capabilities.

ITX vs ATX? I need to investigate.

For CPU: 3570k? http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0388577

For GPU: http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0402813

For motherboard: I don't need more than two sata ports. I've never used Asrock, how is this: http://microcenter.com/product/392374/H77M-ITX_LGA1155_H77_mini_ITX_Intel_Motherboard

Ram: http://microcenter.com/product/3851...el_Desktop_Memory_Kit_(Two_8GB_Memory_Modules)

Case: http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0399001

PSU: http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0361181

What's a decent SSD in the 60-120gb range? http://www.microcenter.com/product/399499/Vertex_3_SSD_Series_90GB_25_Solid_State_Drive

Grand Total $708.15

Any help would be appreciated.
Click to expand...

ssd
go with m4 or 830
good price too...
 
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