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Gaming build for bud

J

Jaheed

n00b
Joined
May 31, 2010
Messages
47
My bud wanted a build for general gaming, was targeting the sub 1500 price range. This build is my initial thought, minus the case and power supply. Was also thinking about doing the same thing in a sff case. Probably use some prefab water cooler. Any advice is appreciated.

SAPPHIRE 100351SR Radeon HD 7970 3GB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card OC with Boost
$399.99

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL8D-8GBXM
$49.99

GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-D3H LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
$149.99

Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I53570K
$229.99

Mushkin Enhanced Chronos Deluxe MKNSSDCR240GB-DX 2.5" 240GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
$169.99

Total $999.95
 
If you're gonna ask us to build/list a PC for you or seek advice about a build, please answer all of the following questions:

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
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.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
6) Will you be overclocking?
7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
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.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?

By answering these questions you help us help you build a PC that's of better quality, better performing, cheaper or all of the above.

If you have any questions and/or comments about this or any of the other Gen[H]ard-related sticky threads, please post them in the GenHard Sticky Discussion thread.
 
Kinda answered most of the big questions on the list. Doubt he will be doing much more than a basic CPU OC. In the US, in California. Probably buy everything on newegg/amazon/tiger, but happy to use any net retailer. My guess is that he will be doing 1080p gaming. I have been deployed of about the last year and haven't been paying that much attention to hardware news, so I was just hoping to get another set of eyes on the basic build, and any advice on the hardware therein.

The build I have listed is a full build minus the case/cooler/ps. The dude who wants the thing is on his own for software/peripherals etc; I am just helping him with the build.

The only thing I might add is that he has a big nas, so the ssd is the only drive I was recommending to him.
 
Unfortunately not all of the questions were covered with both of your posts:
What case and PSU will he be using?
What games will he be playing?
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
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.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?

Though off the bat, avoid that SSD as there are larger, better quality and faster SSDs for not that much more like the Samsung 830 256GB or the Crucial M4 256GB SSDs:
$200 - Crucial M4 CT256M4SSD2 2.5" 256GB SSD
$200 - Samsung 830 Series 256GB SSD

That RAM is a bit pricey for what it offers. I recommend this RAM instead:
$40 - Corsair Vengeance CML8GX3M2A1600C9 2 x 4GB DDR3 1600 RAM

Also note that Amazon.com now charges sales tax to California residents so your friend should be aware of that. Tigerdirect doesn't charge sales tax AFAIK but they tend to have slightly higher prices on their hardware or lack free shipping for many of the good hardware.
 
The case and pus have yet to be selected, but it will be a case that fits the motherboard and components, and has room for adequate cooling. The PS will be appropriately sized for what ends up in the system, it shouldn't really affect the build. But if you want a price, call it 200 for both.

He wants it for general gaming; so I am assuming that it should be capable of playing all the AAA titles that are coming out at 1080p, with some growing room as well.

I think he would like to build it soon, can't imagine much more than a month at the latest, more likely over the next couple of weeks.

Don't have any motherboard requirements, so basically I am gonna assume that he needs USB 3, 2 16x pice card slots in case he wants to drop another card in, and 4 dram slots.

No idea what he has with regards to operating systems, but if he doesn't have an extra copy of win7 64b, he can buy it or I will toss him one of my copies or whatever. Not really a concern in the price point area I think.

That being said, I don't think he wants to kinda hit the price for performance sweet area, and not travel too far into diminishing returns territory.
 
Jaheed said:
The case and pus have yet to be selected, but it will be a case that fits the motherboard and components, and has room for adequate cooling. The PS will be appropriately sized for what ends up in the system, it shouldn't really affect the build.
Click to expand...
It does affect the build in the sense that if you select a crappy PSU and/or case, that could end up damaging the hardware.

Anyway, I recommend checking out the following cases:
$75 - Corsair Carbide Series 300R ATX Case
$80 - Corsair Carbide Series 400R ATX Case
$100 - Antec 1100 ATX Case

As for the PSU, I recommend these:
$90 - SeaSonic M12II 620 Bronze 620W Modular PSU
$90 - Corsair 650TX V2 650W PSU

Jaheed said:
T
That being said, I don't think he wants to kinda hit the price for performance sweet area, and not travel too far into diminishing returns territory.
Click to expand...
Well besides the SSD and RAM issues I mentioned earlier, your planned setup seems OK to me. Though I'd spend the extra $8 for a more reputable manufacturer:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125413
 
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