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Gaming build > $500

F

fiCti0naL

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jul 30, 2002
Messages
187
Looking to find the best bang for buck/fairly future proof mobo/CPU/RAM combo out there for gaming performance to go with a newly purchased PowerColor 7870. $500 is the budget, but I can be slightly flexible give or take $50-100.

  1. What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
    Gaming/web/graphic design
  2. What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
    $500, No
  3. Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
    Charlotte, NC
  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.
    Basically I'm looking for the best bang for buck motherboard/CPU/RAM combo out there. Perhaps a possible black friday barebone kit deal? I'll also need a SSD but this can be purchased later if there's no room in the budget and I'll use my 1TB Western Digital HDD until I can get a SSD.
  5. If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
    I just purchased a Powercolor HD 7870
    Antec Earthwatts 500 PSU
    Antec 300 Case
  6. Will you be overclocking?
    Minimal, but yes as long as the motherboard makes it easy and doesn't involve a ton of extra $ for cooling
  7. What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
    I use a Dell 2405FPW (1920x1280)
  8. When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
    Within the next 2 weeks (Hopefully find a black friday deal)
  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.
    Not picky here. Just want something that's stable and runs the fastest CPU $500 can buy with mobo/RAM included.
  10. Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
    Yes. I'll be installing a legit copy of win7 x64 and purchasing an upgrade to win8.


Danny BUI, big shoutout to you for building my last system (see sig) it's been GREAT other than the HD4850 being a loud, obnoxious, overheating bastard (hence the already purchased 7870 I recieved yesterday). Look forward to the recommendations!
 
How old is that psu? have you been using it for 4+ years?

If so, I think it'd be wise to buy a new one for the new system.
 
If he has the original Seasonic built Earthwatts EA500, I don't think he'll be facing that much of an issue in terms of PSU quality.

Assuming that you don't need a new PSU:
$336 - Intel Core i5 3570K + MSI Z77A-GD55 + G.Skill Ripjaws Series F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL 2 x 4GB DDR3 1600 RAM + $20 Newegg Promotional Gift Card Combo
$110 - Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2 2.5" 128GB SSD
---
Total: $446 shipped

That's an excellent deal for the CPU, mobo, and RAM since you're basically saving $50 to $73 right there off the costs of parts. So I highly recommend buying that combo link ASAP!.

Hell as a result of that combo deal, you have more than enough leftover cash for a new PSU:
$57 - Antec NEO ECO 520C 520W PSU
 
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