Gaming build for $1100ish

D

djfsolo

Limp Gawd
Joined
Nov 17, 2008
Messages
136
1) What will you be doing with this PC?

General computing and GAMING

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?

Just about $1100 tax and shipping included

3) Where do you live?

Salisbury, Md

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc.

CPU, case, harddrive, motherboard, graphics card, ram, monitor, keyboard/mouse, cd/dvd drive, power supply (everything for a functioning, ballin'-ass computer)

5) No parts are being reused

6) Will you be overclocking?

Potentially but not a primary concern

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

Planning on 23-24" range

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?

As soon as possible

9) What features do you need in a motherboard?

SLI/crossfire preferred for future upgrading options. USB3.0, dddr3 memory standard, at least 4 sata ports, open to either AMD or Intel chipsets (best performance-per-dollar solution while maintaining RELIABILITY)

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

Yes, Windows 7 64 bit.




Hello everybody. This is my first build, and am hoping to construct a machine capable of graphically-massacring the majority of the game titles out there, hopefully to stand its ground performance-wise for at least two years (most likely up to four). I have come up with a few lists of potential parts that come close to my budget. Please comment on my selections and feel free to make your own recommendations, I am open to changing just about any of these parts, given that you have a good reason to do so.


BUILD ONE

Screen:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16824236059
($179.99 -20.00 mail in rebate) ~ $159.99

Harddrive:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16822136534
$79.99

Power supply: Corsair 650W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16817139005
$89.99 - $20.00 mail in rebate ~ $69.99

Case: Antec 902
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16811129058
$109.99 - $20.00 mail in rebate ~ $89.99

Drive:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16827135204
$22.99

Keyboard:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16823201028
$9.99

Videocard: Saphire 5770
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16814102858
$169.99 - mail in rebate $10.00 ~ $159.99

Motherboard- Asus p7p55d
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16813131621
$159.99

Ram: Corsair dominator 4gb
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16820145290
$144.99

Processor: AMD phenom II X4 3.0ghz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16819103809
$139.99

Also looking at Ram: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16820227496

Total: Around $1177 (two of these came in a package deal that actually makes it a little cheaper)

BUILD TWO



XCLIO A380BK Fully Black SECC 1.0mm thickness ATX Full Tower Computer Case
Item #: N82E16811103010
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
-$50.00 Instant
$129.99
$79.99


Western Digital Caviar Blue WD10EALS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Item #: N82E16822136534
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
Protect Your Investment (expand for options)
$79.99


ASUS VH236H Black 23" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen Full HD 1080P LCD Monitor
Item #: N82E16824236059
Return Policy: Monitor Standard Return Policy
Protect Your Investment (expand for options)
-$30.00 Instant
$20.00 Mail-in Rebate Card
$219.99
$189.99


GIGABYTE GA-870A-UD3 AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
Item #: N82E16813128443
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
Protect Your Investment (expand for options)
$104.99


EVGA 01G-P3-1465-AR GeForce GTX 465 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
Item #: N82E16814130555
Return Policy: VGA Replacement Only Return Policy
Protect Your Investment (expand for options)
$279.99


Antec TruePower New TP-750 750W Continuous Power ATX12V V2.3 / EPS12V V2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE ...
Item #: N82E16817371025
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
-$60.00 Instant
$159.99
$99.99


G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL
Item #: N82E16820231277
Return Policy: Memory Standard Return Policy
-$10.00 Instant
$109.99
$99.99


AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ955FBGMBOX
Item #: N82E16819103808
Return Policy: CPU Replacement Only Return Policy
Protect Your Investment (expand for options)

Total: $1104.92

Also found this on craigslist? Is this a good deal? (Or could I get better if I custom build it myself? )

http://easternshore.craigslist.org/sys/1825964974.html

GIVE ME YOUR SUGGESTIONS!

thank you
 
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That Craigslist ad is a ripoff. 4GB of RAM for $175? Two 500GB hard drives for $200? And it's all used?!?

I have a few issues with both of your builds. First off, if you plan on gaming at a 1920x1080 resolution, I recommend a Radeon HD 5850 as the bare minimum. Fortunately, any good 600 to 750 watt power supply with at least 40A of combined power on its 12V rail(s) is more than enough.

Additionally, Corsair Dominator RAM is overpriced for nearly 99% of the people interested in buying it. Go with a cheaper DDR3 1600 kit from Corsair, G.Skill, or Mushkin; it's also better to buy RAM that runs at a lower voltage level than it is to pick up RAM with tighter timings, especially if you're considering overclocking.

Get the Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB hard drive instead of the Western Digital Caviar Blue. The Spinpoint F3 drive is known to be one of the best bang-per-buck performance HDDs available.

While we're at it, ignore the MIR amounts for now. You'll still have to pay the full price per each item at checkout. Since you're considering NewEgg (for now), you should also take a look at some of its combo deals, like:

$180 - G.Skill Ripjaws 2x2GB DDR3 1600 & XFX P1-650X-CAG9 650W PSU combo
$380 - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit OEM DVD & XFX HD-585X-ZNFC Radeon HD 5850 combo
$225 - AMD Phenom II X4 945 & Gigabyte GA-870A-UD3 combo

With some of the "savings," maybe you should also look for a decent CPU cooler....
 
As for the savings, I think my priorities are the video card and processor. If any gains can be pulled in that department, shoot it that way. CPU cooler to me is not a necessity, and something I can easily add on in the future.

Thanks for the advice, please keep it coming. In the second build I have selected G.skill ram, I think I will be going with this over the corsair.

GTX465 isn't good enough for 1920x1200 gaming? I have an older system with a GTX260 that is able to hit everything at 60fps+ at 1920x1200 with an older Q6600 processor.

Main things I need help with:

Processor selection (is what I picked a good deal? Better out there?)

GTX465 vs 5770/5850 (keeping in mind their respective performance/cost ratios)

Thanks for the harddrive tip, will be looking into the spinpoint.

Power supplies I picked out good? Better deals?

Thanks again.
 
Whether or not the GTX 465 is good enough for 1080p gaming depends on which games that you prefer playing. For RTS and older (DX10 or earlier) games, it will be fine, but for first-person shooters and/or DX11 games, you'll want something with a bit more power. If you can, try to squeeze in a little bit extra for the HD 5850.

One of the best deals for power supplies (that NewEgg has) is for the XFX power supply that I linked to earlier. Speaking of which, there are plenty of combo deals for the processor (which is fine for your needs) and the video card (either the GTX 465 or the HD 5850).
 
looking to play MW2, L4D2, Nfs Shift, Dirt2, Blur etc on full graphics at 1920x1200
 
Awww. yes I'm going to unleash a Quad Killer Combo build for you. Guaranteed ballin-ass computer build. Under $1100 with shipping

XFX Radeon HD 5850 1GB + AMD Phenom II X4 955 both for $424.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.432367

GIGABYTE GA-870A-UD3 AM3 + A-DATA 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1333 both for $188.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.437441

SAMSUNG Spinpint F3 1TB + Corsair 650TX 650W both for $144.98 ($20 MIR on PSU)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.431396

SAMSUNG SATA DVD Burner + Antec Three Hundred Case both for $62.94
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.435629

Logitech MX 518 8 button USB Wired mouse for $42.99 <----------------------------------------------- Mouse came cheaper in price. $35.99 w/free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826104178

Logitech Internet 350 Black USB Wired Keyboard for $19.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823126012

ASUS VH236H 23" LCD Monitor for $189.99 ($20 MIR)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236059

Total: $1,074.85
Shipping: $23.20
Grand Total: $1,098.05
 
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tiraides said:
Get the Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB hard drive instead of the Western Digital Caviar Blue. The Spinpoint F3 drive is known to be one of the best bang-per-buck performance HDDs available.
Click to expand...

I also agree with this. The WD10EALS is not a true WD Caviar Blue drive at all - but is rather a 1TB WD Black WD1001FALS drive that has had its acoustic seek management feature permanently enabled at the factory during manufacture. As such, expect a three-platter design (which has been shown to barely exceed 100 MB/s on the outer tracks sequentially) and noisier-than-average operation (especially during seeks).
 
Last edited:
Thanks for all your ideas

So I placed my order a few days ago and there were some issues with my payment methods so it is still being "processed." This may be an advantage, however, as I have been looking over compatibility issues between the motherboard I ordered, GA-870A-UD3 and the RAM I ordered, Gskill 2x2gb F3-12800CL9S-4GBRL. The problem is that the motherboard does not explicitly state that it supports DDR3 1600 memory. I have also looked at several posts on different forums saying people cannot get their computers to run properly or get Prime95 and memtest86 to run without errors in this exact same mobo+RAM combo.

They say that you would usually have to set the settings manually in the BIOS, something which I have little faith in myself doing...

So my question for you all is do you think I should cancel the order now and re-order RAM that is explicitly stated as being supported by the mobo (slightly reluctant to do because I got some killer combos) or do you think I should just wait and try out the RAM. I am not in a desperate rush to get this computer together, so I have some time.

Any thoughts would be much appreciated!!! :)

---> this was the forum I mentioned earlier http://gskill.us/forum/showthread.php?t=5258
 
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If anything it will just download the ram to ddr3-1333 which is not a problem. The 1600 just gives you a nice headroom for overclocking if you plan to do that.
 
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