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New Comp Build 700-800$

T

TheeOmega

n00b
Joined
Mar 23, 2012
Messages
12
If you're gonna ask us to build/list a PC for you or seek advice about a build, please answer all of the following questions:

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
-Internet, Movies, Games (D3, Crysis, BF3 on ultra settings if possible.)
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
-700-800$ shipping included
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
-Oregon, Portland
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.
-CPU
-GPU
-RAM
-PSU
-Mobo
-HDD-SSD (120SSD-500GB HDD if possible)
-Case, Fans
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
-Nothing is going to be reused.
6) Will you be overclocking?
Maybe if it can help me get the results I am looking for out of a game.
7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
-21 inch 1080p
8)When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
-First week in April.
9What 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, Crossfire/SLI support,
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
-New Windows 7 64bit.

I would like to use the Intel i3-2100 processor and the Radeon 6850-1GB together if possible otherwise better combos are welcome if it fits in the budget.

Thanks! -Daniel
 
Don't normally do this but I'm gonna ignore your Crossfire/SLi requirement:
$221 - Core i5-2400 CPU + G.Skill Ripjaws Series F3-10666CL9D-8GBRL 2 x 4GB DDR3 1333 RAM Combo
$100 - Intel BOXDP67DEB3 Intel P67 mATX Motherboard
$260 - eVGA 012-P3-2066-KR GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448 Cores FTW 1280MB PCI-E Video Card
$85 - Hitachi 7K1000.D HDS721050DLE630 500GB 7200RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$85 - Seasonic S121II 620 620W PSU
$50 - NZXT Source 210 Elite White with Black Front Trim ATX Case
----
Total: $801 shipped.

Notes:
- I ignored your Crossfire/SLI requirement because in order to meet such requirements, I would have had to sacrifice quality and performance in a lot of places just to fit the budget and that requirement. From experience, most people don't end up using Crossfire or SLI so with your limited budget, I thought that was a fair omission.

- BF3 is a notoriously CPU and GPU heavy game. Considering that you're planning on playing at 1920x1080, the Core i3 2100/2120 and HD 6850 will not cut it. So I upped the CPU to a quad-core Core i5 2400 and the GPU to the GTX 560 Ti 448 Cores 1280MB video card. The extra cores helps out immensely in that game and the extra GPU and VRAM will be a major benefit as well.
 
Hey thank you for all the information and I put all the items in a my shopping cart but before I got anything I was looking at some SSD's with 120GB capacity and I was not sure which one would be recommended if I wanted to stay in the 120$ range.
 
Unfortunately, a lot of the $120 range SSDs aren't that great. If you want a reliable SSD, you're gonna have to spend more money:
$165 - Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2 2.5" 128GB SSD
 
Alright. Thanks for the info once again. I went ahead and picked up the Crucial M4 like you said but i'm glad I didn't get it last night since I got it for 130$ shipped from buy.com today :)
 
I was wondering since I have had 2 friends buy the i5 2500K recently if it is worth it to go from the i5 2400 to the 2500K if I can add in the extra cash. I have heard people talk about how the i5-2400 is a "Beast" with a lot of video cards and they happen to work really well together. Im not sure how much truth there is to it and if I should just say screw it and get the 2500K. Any information is appreciated. Thanks.
 
The performance between the two is pretty much the same in games. If you plan on overclocking get the 2500k as it has an unlocked multiplier. If not get the 2400.
 
TheeOmega said:
I was wondering since I have had 2 friends buy the i5 2500K recently if it is worth it to go from the i5 2400 to the 2500K if I can add in the extra cash. I have heard people talk about how the i5-2400 is a "Beast" with a lot of video cards and they happen to work really well together. Im not sure how much truth there is to it and if I should just say screw it and get the 2500K. Any information is appreciated. Thanks.
Click to expand...

If you're gonna be doing heavy overclocking (i.e 4GHz or more), then get the 2500K. If you're not going to overclock past 3.6Ghz or so, stick with the Core i5 2400. At stock speeds, both CPUs perform about the same. Do note that you'll need a 3rd party HSF to OC the 2500K. So basically there's about a ~$70 difference between the Core i5 2400 and Core i5 2500K if you plan on overclocking.
 
Alright great to know I was not sure if there was anything super special about the 2400 or the 2500K that would make me want to pick one over the other but since I most likely wont be clocking it past 3.6Ghz i'll just save my money. Great info and advice as always, i'm just sad I wasn't a part of this form years ago..lol.
 
TheeOmega said:
Alright great to know I was not sure if there was anything super special about the 2400 or the 2500K that would make me want to pick one over the other but since I most likely wont be clocking it past 3.6Ghz i'll just save my money. Great info and advice as always, i'm just sad I wasn't a part of this form years ago..lol.
Click to expand...

And yes, I agree about saving money, in this case: The i5-2500K would have been worth it if you're going to overclock to 4.5-ish GHZ, and then if you also plan to spend an extra $30-ish on an aftermarket air cooler. Otherwise, even a modest 400MHz "overclock" over the default Turbo clock still delivers a nice performance boost with the limited-unlocked i5-2400.
 
I have been picking up all the part recommended by everyone and my last hold up is the video card. The GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448 Core looks like a great card but it is also 260$ by itself and I was wondering if there was any alternative to that card that might be a close second if overclocked for around 200$. Thanks for any information everyone.
 
Oh and I have looked into the GTX 560 TI 448 Core A LOT! (and its cousins) and know it is a very good card just not 100% sold that there is not a card out their that can compete with it if overclocked for around 200$.
 
TheeOmega said:
I have been picking up all the part recommended by everyone and my last hold up is the video card. The GeForce GTX 560 Ti 448 Core looks like a great card but it is also 260$ by itself and I was wondering if there was any alternative to that card that might be a close second if overclocked for around 200$. Thanks for any information everyone.
Click to expand...

Not really. The next step down is the GTX 560 TI as Prav noted but it won't come close to the GTX 560 Ti 448 Core even when the TI is heavily OC'd. At $260, the GTX 560 Ti 448 Core is an astonishing value. Especially considering that it was launched at the $300 price point. And that Right now the next step above the GTX 560 Ti 448 Core is the $290 GTX 570 which only provides a 3% performance increase over the TI 448 Core.

Short of going used for the video card, the GTX 560 Ti 448 Core is one of the better bang for the buck values.
 
Ok thanks great to know its just so confusing when I look at the specs of each card and some are obviously better than others but I read all the reviews like on the EVGA GeForce GTX 550 Ti which won the customer choice award on newegg and all I see are great reviews and everyone says that it can handle BF3 and Skyrim on Ultra which to me sounds off for a card thats 130$ but everyone seems to be saying the same thing so idk what to think.
 
Quick question for ya Danny. If overclocking is something I want to do now what Mobo would I want over the Intel BOXDP67DEB3 LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard. It has had bad reviews on its overclocking potential. Not what I want now.
 
How badly do you want to overclock?

The OC-friendly boards that we generally recommend, like the Asus P8Z68 series, usually cost over $150. That's not to say that you couldn't find a $120-$130 board that can overclock well, but the rest of the available features aren't as robust as the more expensive models.
 
 
The max I am looking to overclock the i5 2500k at the moment is probably pretty close to 3.8-4.0Ghz and then I would overclock my Video card a little to, but later down the road I can revisit more expensive boards for when I really want to get the power out of the system.
 
TheeOmega said:
The max I am looking to overclock the i5 2500k at the moment is probably pretty close to 3.8-4.0Ghz and then I would overclock my Video card a little to, but later down the road I can revisit more expensive boards for when I really want to get the power out of the system.
Click to expand...

Too low of a OC to justify the costs IMO: The 2500K can hit 4.2Ghz to 4.5Ghz on average and sometimes higher. Note that the Core i5 2400 I listed in the build list is capable of a limited OC of 3.6Ghz as E4g1e mentioned. So to really make the 2500K worth it, you're gonna have to want to OC to 4.2Ghz at least IMO. 4.5GHz would be better as E4g1e noted.

Then there's the issue of additional costs: The 2500K costs $30 more than the 2400 I listed earlier. The cheapest heatsink we recommend for overclocking is the Coolermaster Hyper 212+ which costs $30. Finally the next cheapest mobo with firewire that I can recommend for overclocking would be this Asus P8P67-M PRO for $30 more than the Intel P67 mobo I listed earlier. So you're looking at roughly $90 alone just to hit 4.5Ghz OC. Up to you if thats worth it. Also if you want a ATX mobo with cooling space for SLI/Crossfire, that's another $15 over the Asus for this Gigabyte mobo.

As for your plan to revist more expensive mobos down the road, the problem with that is that you kind of have a limited time frame on that. Intel's socket LGA1155 is due to be replaced in 2013. So when the new socket hits, supply of LGA 1155 mobos will dry up and prices will go up. In addition, it's not entirely that cost-effective as you would have to spend roughly $130 to $145 for a good overclocking mobo. Plus the cost of a 3rd party HSF (again around $30). So you might end up spending $160 to $195 just to OC the 2500K later on if you're buying new.

So it might be cost effective for you to spend the $90 to $105 up front now rather than spend the $160 to $175 later on.

As for AMD, I wouldn't bother unless you really love AMD and can ignore all the faults.
 
What faults are you reffering to Danny? 4.5 gig quad cores for $109? good mobos for well under $100?
 
hossdaddy said:
What faults are you reffering to Danny? 4.5 gig quad cores for $109? good mobos for well under $100?
Click to expand...
Well main faults of the current Bulldozer platform:
- Relatively high power usage
- Relatively high temperatures
- Not so good single threaded performance
- In games, similarly priced dual-core Intel CPUs have been shown to outperform Bulldozer CPUs

I will give you the mobo aspect: AMD mobos are generally lower priced than their Intel counterparts. But with all those in other faults in mind, I cannot recommend the AMD Bulldozer platform at this time unless the user is doing an extensive amount of video editing/rendering. For gaming however, I'm generally going to recommend Intel.

And then's the AMD GPUs: Right now they're a bit overpriced now that Nvidia has finally dropped the prices on their GTX 560 TI, GTX 560 Ti 448 Cores, and GTX 570 cards. Not to mention that IMO, AMD dropped the ball with the pricing of their new HD 7xxx cards as well. The ~$257 to ~$268 HD 7850 is a good card but not a good card for the money considering that it's barely faster than the $220 to $230 GTX 560 TI. Not to mention that the faster GTX 560 TI 448 Cores costs $260. Finally, before the price hikes and the stock dry up of the HD 6950 2GB cards, those were generally around the $260 to $280 price range and offers, IIRC, better performance than the HD 7850.
 
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OK I am not trying thread jack here seeing as the op has pretty much decided to go Inetl. But, my fx-4100 which is oc'd @4.515 idles @ 25c and tops out @ 40-45c under load.
 
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