Gaming PC build.

[Superfly3176]

Posted this in the Gen May forum but it was recommended that I also post it here:

Haven't kept up much with the times on hardware since I built my Q6600 pc like 3 or so years ago. But my cousin asked me today if I could build him one in the near future. So I'm just curious what you guys would build. He wants a gaming machine, I'd say anywhere from 800-1600. Does not need a monitor. His only requests were an nvidia video card(s) and windows 7.

 

[Dangman]

Please answer the stickied "ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS FIRST!" so that we can help you better. Also you want me to answer you here in Gen hard or Gen may? I'll lock this thread if Gen May

 

[Superfly3176]

Okay answering here's fine

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing?
Gaming

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
Let's say $1000 Tax and shipping included

3) Where do you live?
Sunbury, PA 17801
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, CPU, ram, HDD, Video card, PSU, Optical Drive, windows 7 (home is fine). Pretty much everything except Monitor, keyboard, mouse. He says he has a 700 watt PSU, but I don't know if 700 watts is enough for this day and age. If it is than don't need a psu.

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
KINGWIN Mach 1 ABT-700MA1S 700W ATX / BTX SLI Certified CrossFire Ready Modular Power Supply. Is the current power supply.

6) Will you be overclocking? No

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
It's a 21 or 22" does 1680x1050

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

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video? etc.
SLI support.

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
No need windows 7 64bit.

 

[Dangman]

He says he has a 700 watt PSU, but I don't know if 700 watts is enough for this day and age. If it is than don't need a psu.
.....
KINGWIN Mach 1 ABT-700MA1S 700W ATX / BTX SLI Certified CrossFire Ready Modular Power Supply. Is the current power supply.

That PSU will be enough for most setups these days. Although it's of ok quality and its efficiency is relatively terrible compared to other PSUs these days. If he doesn't mind the low efficiency, then yeah go ahead and reuse the PSU.

Prelim build:
$368 - Intel Core i5 2500K CPU + MSI P67A-GD65 Intel P67 ATX Motherboard Combo
$65 - G.Skill Ripjaws F3-10666CL9D-8GBRL 2 x 4GB DDR3 1333 RAM
$180 - EVGA 01G-P3-1460-KR GeForce GTX 560 1GB PCI-E Video Card
$65 - Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$19 - Sony AD-7260S-0B SATA DVD Burner
$95 - Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64bit OEM ($15 off w/ promo code EMCKCJE83, ends 7/17)
---
Total: $789 plus tax and shipping

Choose your own case. I recommend the following:
$70 - Lian Li Lancool PC-K58W ATX Case
$90 - Lian Li Lancool PC-K56 ATX Case
$90 - Cooler Master CM690 II Advance ATX Case
$90 - Lian Li Lancool PC-K7B ATX Case
$100 - Lian Li PC-7B Plus II ATX Case
$100 - Cooler Master HAF 922 RC-922M-KKN1-GP ATX Case
$110 - NZXT Whisper WHI - 001BK ATX Full Tower Case
$110 - Lian Li PC-60FN ATX Case
$110 - Lian Li PC-7FN ATX Case
$120 - Velocity Micro GX2-W Silver Classic Aluminum Case with Side Window
$127 - Fractal Design Define R3 Black ATX Case
$140 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001WT White Full Tower ATX Case
$140 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-001BK Black Full Tower ATX Case
$140 - Lian Li PC-9F ATX Case
$143 - NZXT Phantom PHAN-002OR Black Finish w/Orange Trim Full Tower ATX Case
$150 - Corsair Graphite Series 600T ATX Case

 

[Superfly3176]

Whats your recommendation AMD card wise? Do you think they have better offerings for this budget right now?

Thanks for the help btw.

 

[Dangman]

Whats your recommendation AMD card wise? Do you think they have better offerings for this budget right now?

Right now, from a price to performance perspective, Nvidia is about the same as AMD if we count the GTX 560 deal above. However I don't know if that'll be the case when you buy later on as the price of that GTX 560 card may exceed $180.

 

[Superfly3176]

Okay well, I talked to my cousin today and he said we'll do it in a few weeks so maybe I'll check in with you than and see what my best options are if you don't mind thanks.

 

[Dangman]

Yeah ask then.