Help me build a gaming computer for 800

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purple_haze

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Oct 14, 2004
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I have a friend who is interested in my help in building him a PC. He has a limit of 800 and doesn't need a monitor. I have been out of the PC loop since my i5 2500k so i don't really know what a relatively solid build is for the price range. He is planning on playing Bioshock 3, Battlefield 4, Diablo 3 and Starcraft. If it was a 1000 to 1200 i have an idea, but i think its too much for him. Help me guys from [H]
 
Cooler Master Elite 430 Red Edition - Mid Tower Computer Case $49.99
ASUS GTX650TI-O-1GD5 GeForce GTX 650 Ti 1GB PCI Express 3.0 x16 $139.99
CORSAIR CX series CX500 500W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Power Supply $59.99
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 $84.99
ASUS P8Z77-V LK LGA 1155 Intel Z77 ATX Intel Motherboard $119.99
Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz Quad-Core Desktop Processor $199.99
Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit - OEM $99.99
Corsair Force LS Series CSSD-F120GBLS 2.5" 120GB Solid State Drive $110.99
Subtotal: $905.91


There are $85 in reates if you buy those parts from newegg.com But if there is a MicroCenter near you the prices can be even better sometimes.
The system doesn't have an optical drive (I usualy connect one for the OS install then remove it. I download all my games now).
You might also have to add a secondary mechanical drive for things like movies or somesuch. My kids, all gamers, have that size SSD for World of Warcraft, Diablo 3 and Team Fortress 2 without any trouble with space.

I only picked parts I had personal experience with and that had a very good reputation. I also went with intel CPU and nVidia video for power and head concerns using stock cooling.

Hope my suggestion gives you a place to start at least.
 
Kusanhagi said:
Cooler Master Elite 430 Red Edition - Mid Tower Computer Case $49.99
ASUS GTX650TI-O-1GD5 GeForce GTX 650 Ti 1GB PCI Express 3.0 x16 $139.99
CORSAIR CX series CX500 500W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Power Supply $59.99
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 $84.99
ASUS P8Z77-V LK LGA 1155 Intel Z77 ATX Intel Motherboard $119.99
Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz Quad-Core Desktop Processor $199.99
Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit - OEM $99.99
Corsair Force LS Series CSSD-F120GBLS 2.5" 120GB Solid State Drive $110.99
Subtotal: $905.91


There are $85 in reates if you buy those parts from newegg.com But if there is a MicroCenter near you the prices can be even better sometimes.
The system doesn't have an optical drive (I usualy connect one for the OS install then remove it. I download all my games now).
You might also have to add a secondary mechanical drive for things like movies or somesuch. My kids, all gamers, have that size SSD for World of Warcraft, Diablo 3 and Team Fortress 2 without any trouble with space.

I only picked parts I had personal experience with and that had a very good reputation. I also went with intel CPU and nVidia video for power and head concerns using stock cooling.

Hope my suggestion gives you a place to start at least.
Click to expand...

thanks for some advice. I will look into it and see if he is willing to put more in.
 
purple_haze said:
thanks for some advice. I will look into it and see if he is willing to put more in.
Click to expand...


np. Like I said, that list is based off my personal experience with those brands and models. I build a lot of computers for people every year and stick with stuff that performs well, is made well, and has a company who will stand behind it if it dies.
 
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Browing and Video Gaming
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
His Budget is 800 Tax included
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
He Lives St Louis MO
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.
Processor, Ram, Case, Video Card He Has Dead Alienware Laptop and needs a complete rebuild
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
No Parts are going to be used
6) Will you be over clocking?
Nope
7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
1920x1080
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Within The Next 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 (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc.
Probably USB 3.0 and Sata 6GB and A graphics card to play current games above
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Will Probably have to get him a copy of windows
 
CPU: Intel 4570S (this is $200, he could get a 4670 for ~$20 more and get a 300mhz boost while consuming 19w more power)

MOBO: Cheap asus 1150 mobo

RAM: Cheapest 2x4gb or 1x8gb kit

Case: I like the antec p100 but really you can skimp here as much as you want

PSU: Seasonic/corsair/antec, I usually try to get at least 80+ bronze, could cheap out here a bit and get a rosewill psu

HDD/SSD: I'd get the 240GB intel 530 SSD, mostly because I have 2 of them and they rock, but honestly,m any MLC ssd around this size would be good, and for the record the samsung evo drives are TLC, not MLC. You could also re-use the laptop hard drive, assuming it isn't dead.

OS: get 7 or 8, whichever is cheaper, 8 comes with a downgrade license to 7 so even if you don't like it, you can downgrade. If you stay with 8, i'd recommend getting startisback to make it more like 7.

GPU: This is going to be the most expensive part of the build, I'd say go with a 760 or a used 670/680 if you can find a good price on one.

Pricing all this up on newegg it looks like its around $911 but there is plenty of room to trim the fat as I dumped 90 on the PSU and 100 on the case, you should be able to trim the fat in those two alone to get ~$800
 
Kusanhagi said:
Cooler Master Elite 430 Red Edition - Mid Tower Computer Case $49.99
ASUS GTX650TI-O-1GD5 GeForce GTX 650 Ti 1GB PCI Express 3.0 x16 $139.99
CORSAIR CX series CX500 500W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Power Supply $59.99
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 $84.99
ASUS P8Z77-V LK LGA 1155 Intel Z77 ATX Intel Motherboard $119.99
Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz Quad-Core Desktop Processor $199.99
Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit - OEM $99.99
Corsair Force LS Series CSSD-F120GBLS 2.5" 120GB Solid State Drive $110.99
Subtotal: $905.91
Click to expand...

I disagree with a couple of your suggestions.

There is not really enough money in the build pot for a Core i5, Z77 motherboard, 1080p-class GPU, OEM Windows AND an SSD. Not to mention, it will be painful managing a handful of installed games on just a 120GB SSD. You also wasted money on an overclocking motherboard.

My alternative recommendations:

B75-based motherboard = $70, which saves you $50. Still has one native SATA 6 port for a fast SSD (which is all you need for a basic gaming box):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130723

Drop the SSD for a 500GB 7200 RPM hard drive = $60. This will give you more capacity to start with for less, and you can always add the SSD later.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136769

You can save a few bucks here and there by slightly downgrading a few other parts, but nothing spectacular. These are the two easiest ways to massively cut cost without making major sacrifices. An SSD is dead-last in importance unless shaving a few seconds off game load times is incredibly important to you. Windows 8 will already optimize the boot-up sequence to be almost as fast as an SSD, and will preload your most-used applications for quick launch.

Your grand total now (not even counting rebates) is $805. But I would insist you spend a bit more for a $200-class GPU. The 650 Ti is BARELY qualified for 1080p gaming on modern games, and that 1GB ram is going to be a showstopper. The R9 270 2GB is an excellent bargain at $180, with twice the ram, and %60 more performance!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161449
 
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purple_haze said:
for the price is it better for amd or intel?
Click to expand...

Intel Core i5 is perfectly within your price range, and it will play any game you throw at it. I was just offering more cost-effective suggestions, as your budget is not unlimited (some people around here don't know how to say the word "no") :D

The GTX 650 Ti is not a BAD card; it will game fine TODAY at 1080p, it's just not going to last you as long. But the good thing about that is: if you ever find you need more GPU power you can buy any graphics card and just plug it in. You might not have such an easy time about it if you went with an AMD CPU and suddenly decided you needed a faster CPU speed (you can't get one). Given the small price premium of the Core i5, I would recommend it, as it will play all games well for the next 3-5 years regardless of the quality of the game's code optimization (many games still don't support more than 2-3 cores, and almost NONE support more than 4 cores!)

The Core i5 is inherently faster than AMD in games that can't use more than 4 cores, and is well worth the $50 premium (over the FX 6350). AMD can only hope to match the performance if a game is optimized for 6 cores, and that's not happening anytime soon. Given the cost of the CPU + motherboard + RAM (usually have to rep[lace all three when you upgrade), a $50 investment in the i5 is definitely worth it.
 
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I would also recommend dropping the SSD for now. Also an H77 instead of Z77 would be a solid choice too unless he plans on SSD caching down the road. Even going with M-ATX or Mini-ITX may be a bit cheaper. If he's not overclocking, you don't need a K series processor. I would look at a quadcore cpu for sure as more games are starting to utilize more than two cores. A 3350P or 3470 are slightly cheaper than a K series i5. The money saved here could be put towards a better GPU. Like mentioned above, the 650 Ti is ok for today's games, but unless he plans on changing out the card in a year or two, a better card today would be preferable.
 
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Looks like there is a ST. Louis/Brentwood MC. Can your friend go there?

I built the following at brentwood microcenter:

MSI Twin Frozer GTX 660 (SKU: 051185) - $199.99
Toshiba Q series Pro 128GB (SKU: 866954) - $84.99
Crucial Ballistix Sport XT DDR3-1866 2 x 4gb (SKU 66586) - $83.99
Intel i5-4570 (SKU: 583187) - $159.99
ASRock H87M Pro4 matx (SKU: 62225) - $84.99
Thermaltake TR2 430W ATX (SKU: 849919) - $37.99
Thermaltake V3 BLack Mid tower (SKU:497818) - $39.99
WD Black 1TB Disk (SKU: 927137) - $84.99

Total is $776.92
Tax - $74.74
Grand total: $851.66
Video card has a MIR of $20 so it's $831.66 after rebate.

Not sure you can get a better bang for the buck around $800'ish. If you want best game performance, get the cheapest I5 and get a gtx 660 over 650ti (IMHO)

If it MUST be under $800, then get an Fx-8320 & an M5A78L-M/USB3. THis comes out to $706.92 + $68.01 tax = $774.93 and has $10 MIR on motherboard + $20 MIR on video card = $744.93

Also: Windows OS is not included. Can game steam/linux with nvidia OK if you are OK with a limited set of games.
 
I think he should consider the used market, as you are going to be able to get much better value than buying all the parts new. I'll be parting out a $3100 build (in current dollars, $3700 at time of build)....I'd let the whole thing fly for $2200 and thats a soup to nuts build, watercooled, overclocked 7970 the whole bit. Go used and crush the $800 limit with great performance.
 
For that amount, my idea might be to have a good overall setup like 8GB of RAM and solid power supply and buy a CPU and video card you can replace later. Word is they're going to introduce video cards to replace the current Geforce GT 640 and even the GTX 650 Ti with 700-series cards. You can always sell the CPU and video card later to lower the cost of the replacements.
 
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