Gaming computer build - would like some input

[Iowabucks]

Hey everyone, i'm thinking about building another gaming computer and wanted to finish up at around the $1500 mark. I like to game a little so i thought about a larger SSD for the OS and one game in particular.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming, surfing the web, email, and editing HD video
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
About $1500, but thats subject to change.
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
Muscatine, Iowa. USA
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.
case, mobo, CPU & fan, RAM, videocard, PSU,SSD and a HHD, card reader, and CD/DVD (maybe Blueray) disk drive
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Sound card. Sound Blaster X-FI Elite Pro
6) Will you be overclocking?
mild OC
7) 7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
1920X1080 24" LCD
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Just going to buy the parts as money becomes available. Hopefully have it all in the next 5 months.
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.
Firewire, USB 3.0, SATA 6Gb/s, HDMI
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Yes, i have Windows Vista Ultimate 64 bit. But want to purchase Win7.


I know this may sound contradictory, but i was hoping not to spend more than $350 for a videocard. I don't need the latest and greatest, just a good solid card.


Would this be a good combo for what i want?
ASUS LGA 1155 - Z68 - PCIe 3.0 and UEFI BIOS Intel Z68 ATX DDR3 2200 LGA 1155 Motherboards P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3

Corsair Vengeance Blue 16 GB DDR3 SDRAM Dual Channel Memory Kit CMZ16GX3M4A1600C9B

Intel Core i5-2500K Processor

 

[Sn0_Man]

Alright.

I won't provide you with a complete parts list but I'll give you a few recommendations. First though, do you have a Microcenter or similar nearby? or were you looking to purchase from Newegg/amazon/etc?

Graphics card advice: Currently there are 2 cards that I recommend a lot: The GTX670 at $400 (if you buy non-reference ones its often more), and the HD7850 at $200-230 (MRSP is 250 but you shouldn't pay that). There are certainly plenty of cards that exist in between there, but I usually find it hard to recommend them due to, well, them being seriously overpriced.

With respect to processors and Motherboards: You have plenty of space in your budget for an Ivy Bridge processor, so there is no reason not to get one. i5-3570K or i5-3550 are what is widely recommended, depending on your interest in overclocking. The 3570K lets you overclock, the 3550 is locked. I would then recommend a compatible motherboard (preferably with a Z77 chipset for easy installing).

The thing with CPU/MoBos are you can usually get a good deal in a combo, especially at brick and mortar stores. There is no reason to get the i5-2500K processor UNLESS there is a nice sale on it, and not on a comparable Ivy Bridge part.

I don't know what you were looking at paying for the ram, but you shouldn't be paying more than $90 for 16GB 4x4GB or $100 for 16GB 2x8GB. Also note that 1600Mhz ram is no better than 1333Mhz ram with current intel processors, and not much uses more than 8GB RAM at the moment (but if you do enough video editing I can see 16GB being reasonable. Its not exactly expensive).

Hopefully some other good Samaritan (Cough Danny_Bui Cough) will be nice enough to post a complete parts list (he usually does )

EDIT: I should probably mention, at your resolution you should be able to max out all but the most graphically demanding games (BF3 etc) with a 7850, and even run the toughest games at very close to maxed settings.

 

[psy81]

you could always get a GTX 580 for cheap (new or used). Classified ads may help you save money but there is an inherent risk...

 

[Iowabucks]

do you have a Microcenter or similar nearby? or were you looking to purchase from Newegg/amazon/etc?
.

No microcenters around here. I will probably go with NewEgg for most everything.

Thanks for the recommendations. I'll check out some of those components.

Whats so special about the Ivy Bridge CPU's? And how much do they run? I've heard about them, but haven't read anything on them yet. Looks like i got more reading to do.

 

[Sn0_Man]

There Isn't much special about ivy bridge, its pretty much the same as sandy bridge (like 3-7% faster at the same clocks) and it is priced similarly as well, but it has a few small advantages like power use. It isn't groundbreaking, but there really isn't a reason to get sandy bridge over ivy bridge unless its a big price difference for a similar speed processor.

 

[Dangman]

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Just going to buy the parts as money becomes available. Hopefully have it all in the next 5 months.

Your best bet would be to just ask for advice when you can afford to get the PC all in one go. Our parts recommendations change monthly and sometimes even weekly. So if you want an up-to-date build list, just come back when you actually have $1200 to $1500 for the gaming PC. Unless you can constantly keep up-to-date for the next five months, more than likely you might not get a solid build by buying the parts over time.

To answer your question though: Thats not a good combo these days considering that good Z77 mobos costs the same as a Z68 mobo and that the RAM's tall heatsinks interfere with many 3rd party HSF.

 

[Iowabucks]

Your best bet would be to just ask for advice when you can afford to get the PC all in one go. Our parts recommendations change monthly and sometimes even weekly. So if you want an up-to-date build list, just come back when you actually have $1200 to $1500 for the gaming PC. Unless you can constantly keep up-to-date for the next five months, more than likely you might not get a solid build by buying the parts over time. .

I totally and completely understand what your saying there. But it would be so much easier for me to just buy the parts when i have the money. It is really hard for me to put away money to save the total amount up. The wife and i have alot of money going out for bills right now, but i am expecting to get alot of overtime in the next few months also. But if the extra income doesn't happen as fast as i thought, at least buying some parts might help motivate me to save all i can.

Besides, even if the CPU or mobo is just a little out of date by the time i build it, it doesn't really matter to me. At least it would give me time to research the parts recommended too.

 

[Dangman]

I totally and completely understand what your saying there. But it would be so much easier for me to just buy the parts when i have the money. It is really hard for me to put away money to save the total amount up. The wife and i have alot of money going out for bills right now, but i am expecting to get alot of overtime in the next few months also. But if the extra income doesn't happen as fast as i thought, at least buying some parts might help motivate me to save all i can.

Unfortunately, there are way too many factors involved when it comes to building a PC over time. Many of which I've already covered in other threads. As such, I'm not willing to help you make, what I know, is a huge mistake. Maybe someone else can help you with a build list.

With that said, If you're gonna slowly upgrade your current PC to the point where it becomes the new PC, get a new PSU ASAP. As I mentioned in your other thread, that Enermax wasn't a good PSU several years ago let alone these days. So no matter what, a new PSU is needed. So that's where you should start. For the PSU, only look and trust PSU reviews from jonnyGURU.com, hardOCP.com, HardwareSecrets.com, Overclock3D.net, and PCper.com as those sites actually do proper PSU reviews completely.

Also, buy the new CPU, mobo, and RAM together as you need all three parts in order to actually test if the CPU, mobo, or RAM are DOA or defective. So no point in buying any of those three parts well ahead of the other two especially since new CPUs, mobos, and RAM are completely incompatible with your current setup.

 

[Iowabucks]

Whatever you would recommend to me now would be good enough for me 6 months down the road. Like i said, i don't need the latest and greatest.

How's this for a mobo? Asus intel 1150 P8Z77 together with an ivy bridge CPU?

 

[E4g1e]

Whatever you would recommend to me now would be good enough for me 6 months down the road. Like i said, i don't need the latest and greatest.

How's this for a mobo? Asus intel 1150 P8Z77 together with an ivy bridge CPU?

Actually, I agree with Danny: Prices and availability may change extremely drastically in six months - to the point where a part we recommend now may be an extremely poor bang for the buck (in particular, being way overpriced and underperforming compared to the newer products that are widely available at that time) six months from now.

 

[psy81]

...The wife and i have alot of money going out for bills right now, but i am expecting to get alot of overtime in the next few months also. But if the extra income doesn't happen as fast as i thought, at least buying some parts might help motivate me to save all i can...

Buy the case first, that will motivate you to save. Get a case that you love and see yourself using for many years to come. You will see that empty case just sitting there and waiting for parts and that will motivate you to save.

 

[DirtyB]

Honestly it's called budgeting and it's something you have to do as an adult. Put $100-150 away in a drawer each month until you have enough money.

The other issue with buying over time is you may have DOA parts but not know it, or be wasting away 6 months of your 12 month warranty while not using the part.

As others have said if you want to buy now case/PSU are good places to start, optical drive/HSF aren't very volatile either, generally.

Right now HDD and SSD prices are still falling for various reasons, so buying now could cost you significantly more than just 3-6months from now.

 

[Deleted member 88227]

The other issue with buying over time is you may have DOA parts but not know it, or be wasting away 6 months of your 12 month warranty while not using the part.

As others have said if you want to buy now case/PSU are good places to start, optical drive/HSF aren't very volatile either, generally.

This is why it's not a good idea to buy over a period of months plus what Danny said. Unless you are on top of hardware, it's really hard to manage a budget spent throughout a period of months or weeks.

Best thing to do is, when you get the money to buy a part, hide it. When you've "bought" everything you need, take the money you've saved and buy it then. You'll get more computer for your buck.

I know this isn't what you want to hear, but trust us. It's almost never a good idea to buy computer parts over a long period.

 

[Iowabucks]

Maybe i'll just try and get my case, PSU, SSD, and smaller items together. Then when i'm ready for the mobo, CPU, memory, and videocard, I will come back and try and at least purchase those together.

Thanks guys!

 

[Iowabucks]

Hey everyone, i should have all the cash for this build within 4 weeks and would like some input on my choice of components.

This will will be a gaming build that also needs to be good at HD video editing, media, and all around web surfing ease. I don't need the latest and greatest, just parts that work well together. May try a mild overclock too. Don't want any bottlenecks. If you can think of any improvements on to my component list, let me know.

Antec Lanboy Air (blue)
Corsair HX-750 PSU
Asus P8Z77-V Pro
Intel I5 Core 2500k
Corsair Vengeance 16 GB (4X4GB) 240 Pin DDR3 SDRAM 2133
240 GB SSD (haven't figured that one out yet)
Win7
Still undecided on the videocard yet. Suggestions?

This should put me in the $1000 to $1500 range. All opinions are appreciated.

Thaks. Jerry.

 

[Dangman]

What's the likelihood of you having to buy the parts in August? 4 weeks includes part of August.

Also, you won't notice an iota of performance difference between DDR3 2133 and DDR3 1333 RAM. So not worth getting.

SSD wise, stick with the Crucial M4,

I own the Lanboy Air: It's not worth getting at its current price. Maybe if it was $100 to $120 but at its current $180 to $200 price point, there are a ton of better case out there:
$100 - Corsair Carbide Series 400R ATX Case
$100 - Antec 1100 ATX Case
$115 - Corsair Carbide Series 500R ATX Case
$120 - Lian Li PC-9F ATX Case
$120 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001WT White Full Tower ATX Case
$130 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001BK Black Full Tower ATX Case
$130 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-002OR Black Finish w/Orange Trim Full Tower ATX Case
$140 - Corsair Obsidian Series 550D ATX Case
$144 - Silverstone RV03B-WA ATX case
$150 - Silverstone TJ04B-EW ATX Case
$155 - Thermaltake VN300M1W2N Chase MK-1 ATX Case
$160 - Corsair Graphite Series 600TM ATX Case
$160 - Silverstone RV02B-W ATX case
$162 - Corsair Obsidian Series 650D ATX Case
$164 - Corsair Special Edition White Graphite Series 600T ATX Case
$178 - Silverstone RV02B-EW ATX case
$220 - Silverstone FT02S-W ATX Case
$230 - Silverstone FT02B ATX Case
$270 - Corsair Obsidian Series 800D CC800DW Full Tower ATX Case

 

[Iowabucks]

Thanks for the tips Danny.

What components will be going down in price in August?

 

[Dangman]

What components will be going down in price in August?

Just different Newegg combo deals. We tend to use Newegg combo deals to save people money but those expire at the end of the month they're introduced in. Those combo deals sometimes don't show up in the next month and we end up recommending different parts altogether.

 

[AP514]

as far as buying over time..like im doing (1 month which is a long time to be buy'n parts)..I bought my Mobo,Cpu, Cpu cooler, case. (the day after I Bought the dam Case went on sale for 20% off ) I bought the CPU/Mobo combo because I did not want to loose out on that Combo deal from MC. I already missed the 256 M4 SSD card for $189 now it is back up to $299

Don't make the mistake im making.......take the Great advice here

The point im makeing is get things(money) together and buy..Build ,enjoy..don't look back