Helping a friend construct a computer. We would like some help

[XNRen]

Hello! A friend and I are building a gaming computer for him using ecollegepc.com.

Here is the link to the builder that we use:

http://www.ecollegepc.com/intel-core-i5-i7-lga.html

We havn't figured out everything yet, but this is what we have so far:

CPU: Intel Core i7-2600 3.4 Ghz 8MB Cache Quad Core: 276$

Heatsink/Fan: ARTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 92mm CPU Fan/Heatsink: 29$

Motherboard(Were debating on the choices): GIGABYTE GA-H77M-D3H: 44$

Memory(RAM): 8GB (4GBx2) PC3 10666 DDR3 1333Mhz Memory: 44$

Hard Drive: 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA3 6Gbps: 119

CD/DVD: 24X LG SATA Dual Layer DVD/-RW/CDRw w/Nero: 22$

No video card yet

OS: M Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit: 109$(No difference in price)

No new monitor yet, current is 1920x1080

Basic standard case included: Foxconn Black TLM436 (2 5.25 g 3.5)

No selected power supply yet

No selected sound yet

No mouse, keyboard, floppy, speakers

Case Fans: 120mm Case Fan: 8$

3 Year Warranty

The budget is 1000$, but he may be able to toss in an extra 100-250$

We are trying to get a good computer at this price. Do you have any suggestions for parts, or computer building websites?

Any help is welcome!

 

[Acer_Sheep]

You didn't tell us for what activities this PC will be used, that is very important in deciding what CPU, GPU, PSU and so on you should get.

 

[XNRen]

You didn't tell us for what activities this PC will be used, that is very important in deciding what CPU, GPU, PSU and so on you should get.

I derped, its a gaming computer

 

[FluidityT]

I would get a 2500k cpu to save 100$ they perform *basically* the same, if not 2500k better when you overclock (if you ever need to) Also you really have no need for a CPU cooler unless you plan to overclock, in which case you would need the 2500k anyways.

You selected no video card which is mandatory for a gaming computer. What they want on their website for a graphics card is insanity, look around the Hardforums or ebay for a much better deal. Get a HD6950 for around 200$ or a HD7950 for around 400$ both are good for gaming.

If you really want to build a great budget gaming pc you should head to newegg.com and with a few pieces off ebay can build a top of the line rig for under 1000$ if you put the pieces together your self.

 

[Deleted member 88227]

Hello! A friend and I are building a gaming computer for him using ecollegepc.com.

Here is the link to the builder that we use:

http://www.ecollegepc.com/intel-core-i5-i7-lga.html

Why wont you build it yourself? It's not that hard to do and we can help you every step of the way.

We havn't figured out everything yet, but this is what we have so far:

CPU: Intel Core i7-2600 3.4 Ghz 8MB Cache Quad Core: 276$

For a gaming computer, the i7 is overkill. The only major thing it has over the i5 is Hyper Threading enabled. This is something games do not make the best out of. With that being said the i5 2500 and i5 2500k both perform as good as, if not better than the 2600 and 2600k in games.

Heatsink/Fan: ARTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 92mm CPU Fan/Heatsink: 29$

Not that great of a buy considering the CM 212+ is that price and performs better.

Motherboard(Were debating on the choices): GIGABYTE GA-H77M-D3H: 44$

Its a cheap motherboard for sure. Without knowing what all you need in a motherboard, I can't recommend anything.

Memory(RAM): 8GB (4GBx2) PC3 10666 DDR3 1333Mhz Memory: 44$

It's really important that the RAM is rated at 1.5V or less and many DDR3 kits are rated at 1.5v - 1.65v, which could cause damage to a SB processor. So without knowing exactly what RAM they are using, I can't recommend any.

Hard Drive: 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA3 6Gbps: 119

Not all hard drives are created equal. With that being said, you can get one of the fastest 1TB hard drives on the market right now from newegg for $100 shipped and I have no way of telling if the HDD they are using is that HDD or not.

CD/DVD: 24X LG SATA Dual Layer DVD/-RW/CDRw w/Nero: 22$

For the most part, all DVD burners are about the same. You wont notice much of a difference between any of them these days.

No video card yet

I thought this was a gaming rig. You'll need a discrete graphics card if you intend to play any modern (and most older) games.

OS: M Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit: 109$(No difference in price)

IIRC, the reason why no difference in price is because it comes with both 32bit and 64bit installs on the DVD anyway. So it's basically just asking which version you want installed I would think.

No new monitor yet, current is 1920x1080

1920x1080 is a good resolution. If it's above 22" then I wouldn't bother upgrading/buying a new one honestly. With this out of the $1000 budget, you can build a very descent system.

Basic standard case included: Foxconn Black TLM436 (2 5.25 g 3.5)

This is a very cramped case with little to no cable management, not to mention if it comes with it's standard 90mm rear case fans, it's cooling probably isn't sufficient enough to cool a modern system.

No selected power supply yet

No selected sound yet

No mouse, keyboard, floppy, speakers

Case Fans: 120mm Case Fan: 8$

PSU aren't all that much money from Newegg, a descent non modular one can be had for around $80. Mouse and keyboard I recommend you going to a B&M store to see what feels comfortable to you. Not everyone's hands are the same. Once you find one in a store you like, I'd suggest pulling out your smart phone and seeing what kind of prices you can get it for online. Then determine if buying it NOW is worth it or waiting for it to get shipped to you.

3 Year Warranty

The budget is 1000$, but he may be able to toss in an extra 100-250$

We are trying to get a good computer at this price. Do you have any suggestions for parts, or computer building websites?

Any help is welcome!

All the parts you buy come with a warranty of some sort.

$1000 - $1250 is a nice budget for a good gaming rig.

www.newegg.com and www.amazon.com

 

[kitz789]

Put extra $200 for full tower case... Your good to go..

 

[Scooty Puff Sr.]

I stumbled on this tread at work and was bored so here is my suggestion on parts for a new gaming rig.


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

i5-2500k, like other people have said get the i5, it is just as good for gaming, is cheaper, and you can overclock it to 4.4/4.5 GHZ by just changing the multiplier which is super easy.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128502

Decent board for the money, Z68 chipset for easy overclock and you are able to use SSD caching in the future if you want.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065

Cooler Master Hyper 212+ cooler, some of the best aircooling you can get. Makes overclocking simple.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231461

8GB DDR3 1600 Ram, 1.25V which is nice for overclocking or just extending the life of the CPU.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130758

Geforce 560 ti 448, I am an Nvidia guy. You can go ATI here for a about the same price, maybe a little less. I have just had problems with ATI Drivers in the past which turned me off to them. This is a great card for the money and if you are only going to 1080P it should be more than enough.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341018

700W power supply, should be more than enough to power the rig, plus easy cable management.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147053

Rosewell full tower case. The case is huge but I like large cases, makes it easier to manage cables and helps airflow. Plus if you ever want to upgrade or add HDDs it is easier. This guy has 4 fans built in for great airflow.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533

1TB Sata 6 Gb/s, I like Western Digital, really you can get whatever here.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986

Windows 7

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

Standard DVD DL burner
________________________________________________________________

Total before tax/shipping 1167.90 (Newegg has no tax and free shipping and most of the items). A lot of the items you can find cheaper other places, just use this as a guide and search around for sales/deals. If you have a MicroCenter near you you can get the i5 for $50 or $60 off.

Only thing missing are monitor, speakers, mouse, and keyboard. Keyboard and mouse are really based on preferences. Some people are fine with cheap $20 stuff, other people absolutely need $100 mice. If you have a 1080p monitor as stated above then I would just stick with that and upgrade later.

EDIT: Also, there are $90 worth of mail in rebates to the items listed.

 

[computersmakemeQQ]

Agreed with the post above, however, I would pick up a 7850 instead and save 40 bucks. Maybe put it towards a nicer motherboard or a nice, juicy ssd.

I would also look for a 1tb blue or even just 500gb. I personally dont use that much space, and any money saved could be put towards the same stated above.

Edit: Try to check around with your friends and see if anyone has a Win 7 license. Where I live, I can almost always find one.

 

[Deleted member 88227]

Few things wrong with that build.

1. The RAM is a little pricey. When you overclock SB processors, the RAM isn't touched. Therefore you'll never need to add volts to the RAM since you wont be overclocking it. Just don't go over 1.5v with the RAM and you're good to go. However, the RAM is only a few bucks more than 1.5v RAM so not really a big issue.

2.That PSU is made by OCZ. Not a good company to do business with, since in the recent past their customer support has been sub par. Not to mention it also failed HardOCPs test hardocp.com which doesn't necessarily make it a "bad" unit, since it only failed the 45c test. However there are PSUs in that price range that do pass the test.

3.That HDD is slower than the cheaper HGST 7k1000.D 1TB hard drive. Therefore I wouldn't recommend the WD Black drives to anyone. Even the old Samsun F3 is faster than or as fast as the Black drive, yet costs less.

 

[Scooty Puff Sr.]

Few things wrong with that build.

1. The RAM is a little pricey. When you overclock SB processors, the RAM isn't touched. Therefore you'll never need to add volts to the RAM since you wont be overclocking it. Just don't go over 1.5v with the RAM and you're good to go. However, the RAM is only a few bucks more than 1.5v RAM so not really a big issue.

2.That PSU is made by OCZ. Not a good company to do business with, since in the recent past their customer support has been sub par. Not to mention it also failed HardOCPs test hardocp.com which doesn't necessarily make it a "bad" unit, since it only failed the 45c test. However there are PSUs in that price range that do pass the test.

3.That HDD is slower than the cheaper HGST 7k1000.D 1TB hard drive. Therefore I wouldn't recommend the WD Black drives to anyone. Even the old Samsun F3 is faster than or as fast as the Black drive, yet costs less.

1. With the RAM I figured by only using 1.25v it would run cooler, last longer, and put less strain on the system. That may not be correct but for at most $10 more then the cheap RAM I figured it wasn't worth going cheap.

2. I doubt the system will use more than 400W at any givin time so it's not like it will tax that Power Supply by any means. I mainly picked it because it was on sale, OCZ does a decent job at building things, and was at least 80+ cert.

3.I did say you could switch out for just about any HDD here. Honestly the difference in speed between those two would probably not be noticeable. Also, like I stated up in the MOBO section he can always grab a cheap SSD and enable SSD caching to speed up a little.