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Mid Grade Gaming PC

R

Robogamer

n00b
Joined
May 9, 2010
Messages
62
I currently own a Dell Studio XPS 16 laptop with a T9800 @2.93, an ATI Mobility 3670 512mb, and 4 gb of ddr3 RAM. I need more gaming power and a system that won't overheat so quickly so i am building a desktop. This is my third custom build with the other two being a gaming pc i built a few years ago that was sold when i got my laptop and a video editing pc for a friend 4 months ago.
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing?etc
Video Gaming. Valve Games on High, Crisis. Future games for the next year or so with no upgrades.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$800 max i prefer closer to $700. This includes tax and shipping.
3) Where do you live?
Colorado.
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
I want either an i5 750 or 760 it will come down to price, an ATI 5770 (preferably a higher end one) I live near a microcenter so I was planning on getting some parts there to save money. I prefer Newegg to Tiger Direct but if the the price is right i will swap. I was planning on a 1 TB WD Caviar Blue but i will buy a Black/Spinpoint F3 if there is enough performance gain. In 6 months or so i will buy a solid state for windows. I had an Antec 900 case in the past and I loved it so i would like to get another. I hate the sound of little fans spinning at high speeds. As far as PSU goes I need to know which ones are good and i want a modular one to cut down on cables. I need advice on which motherboard to get as well as RAM (4Gb). Do I need an aftermarket CPU cooler? Finally i need a DVD drive.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Only the monitor.
6) Will you be overclocking?
I want to go to 3.6ghz at some point but probably not for 6 months or so. I will buy a water cooler then.
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
I have a 22 inch Acer. 1680x1050.
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
I need all the parts by October 1st. LANFEST 2010 is on the 9th.
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
USB 3.0, I only want one video card at a time. I need fiber optic out to go to my receiver. i prefer ATX over micro ATX but price comes first. I have heard good things about Asus, Gigabyte and EVGA and i liked my MSI board as well. One that was better for OCing would be good as well.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? 32bit or 64bit?
Win7 64 bit. already have a legal copy.
 
$150 - Core i5 750 from Microcenter
$125 - Asus P7P55D-E LX Intel P55 ATX Motherboard
$230 - Gigabyte GV-N460OC-1GI GeForce GTX 460 1GB PCI-E Video Card
$75 - Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$160 - XFX P1-650X-CAG9 650W PSU + G.SKILL F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL Ripjaws Series 2 x 2GB DDR3 1600 RAM
$70 - Cooler Master CM690 II ATX Case
----
Total: $810 shipped.

The Coolermaster RC-690 II case is a far far better case than the Antec 900 yet is cheaper too boot. The XFX 650W PSU is a great quality PSU.
 
That coolermaster case is pretty sweet. I may have found my next case :)
 
That coolermaster case is pretty sweet. I may have found my next case
Click to expand...
I like more aggressively styled cases so i probably won't go with this one but it had some sweet features
 
Robogamer said:
I like more aggressively styled cases so i probably won't go with this one but it had some sweet features
Click to expand...

Consider that company's HAF series cases, then. The Antecs are just plain cramped on the inside, especially in depth. And if the motherboard that you choose has front-edge-mounted internal SATA ports, there is very, very little clearance between those ports and the permanently-welded bracket that holds the drive cages in place in the Antec cases. That necessitates a complete disassembly of the entire system just to simply add an additional hard drive or optical drive if you choose the Antec case. And that's not to mention that many mid-to-high-end graphics cards are either a very tight squeeze into the Antec case or would not fit at all.
 
Robogamer= my roommate :D

Thanks for the build advice Danny Bui, appreciate it. Hope to see enginurd posting in here as well :D
 
Though that is a good price for the 465, the 460 consumes less power and offers near-identical performance.
 
I ordered the parts. Here is the final build:
$170 - Core i5 760 (Microcenter)
$125 - Asus P7P55D-E LX Intel P55 ATX Motherboard (Newegg)
$220 - EVGA GeForce GTX 460 1GB PCI-E Video Card from (Microcenter)
$65 - Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive (Microcenter)
$160 - XFX P1-650X-CAG9 650W PSU + G.SKILL F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL Ripjaws Series 2 x 2GB DDR3 1600 RAM (Newegg)
$80 - Cooler Master Storm Scout SGC-2000-KKN1-GP (Newegg)
$25 - Sony Optiarc Black DVD burner (Newegg)
total with tax comes to just under $850
thanks for all the help, especially dannyboi.
Unfortunately Microcenter doesn't sell the i5 750 anymore or i would have bought one.
 
All the parts are here i have assembled the pc and I have encountered an issue with the computer. when it is turned on it does not display to the monitor or provide power to the usb ports. i have triple checked the wiring and had friends check it as well. the fans all spin and the case lights turn on. cpu and gpu fans all work too. the hard drive is spinning and the optical drive opens and closes. I am going to try to boot with my friends 275 as the graphics card but i would greatly appreciate any suggestions.:confused:
 
Check the stickied "Basic Troubleshooting Guide" and follow the steps on what to do when the PC does not POST. Follows those steps and report back
 
Thanks for the help danny. I actually just had to press the "memok" button on the mobo.
i feel stupid for overlooking such an obvious thing.:rolleyes:
windows is installed now. i will try to get a pic up soon.
 
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