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Quick build check

C

Chibo

Gawd
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
Messages
605
Building a system for a friend's brother. Price limit is a firm $750 shipped pre-MIR and this is what I have picked out. He won't be overclocking. Just want to make sure I haven't overlooked something below, it seems like a very solid build for the price, imo. I haven't built a system since the TBird 1.4Ghz days though.


edit: Scroll down for current list


Intel Core i5-2400 Sandy Bridge 3.1GHz (3.4GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52400
MSI P67A-G45 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
G.SKILL Value Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Desktop Memory Model F3-10600CL9D-8GBNT
EVGA 01G-P3-1371-TR GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
Antec EarthWatts EA-500D Green 500W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
Antec One Hundred Black ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
LG DVD Burner Black SATA Model GH24NS70 - OEM

Total Shipped: $730.85
Total MIR: $55.00
Total After MIR: $675.85


1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming only
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$750 shipped pre-MIR
3) Where do you live?
Arizona
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, Mobo, Ram, Case, HDD, etc.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Nothing
6) Will you be overclocking?
No
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
1920x1080
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Today
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.
Nothing special.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Win 7 x64
 
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It's a solid build, but why a P67 with an i5-2400? Also missing out on savings from combo deals. (The P67A-G45 is a very good motherboard though -- I've got one in my rig.)

Using combo deals, you can get a 2500k with a Z68 chipset motherboard for $320, a 2500 for $315, and a 2400 for around $250 instead of your $320 combination right now. You could then apply those savings to a better video card.

Also, are you by a Microcenter? If the drive isn't too far they have some deals on CPUs and motherboards as well.

I'm not a huge fan of that PSU. Consider the Antec High Current Gamer 520W for $50 instead (take note of the promo code on there for the 10% off that brings it to $50.)
 
Not by a Microcenter, just Frys. I went with the 2400 because he is never going to overclock and the H67 onboard video would also never be used... so for simplicity. Which combo are you looking at with the 2400?
 
Good call on the PSU, swapped to that one with the promo code bringing me to $720.35.
:)
 
Chibo said:
Not by a Microcenter, just Frys. I went with the 2400 because he is never going to overclock and the H67 onboard video would also never be used... so for simplicity. Which combo are you looking at with the 2400?
Click to expand...

The H67 and Z68 offer the integrated graphics as a backup in the event that his GPU were to die. The H67 motherboards are also generally cheaper than P67 ones.

Note: I have not listed MIRs for the combos below.

Core i5-2400

$251 - Core i5-2400 and BIOSTAR H67MU3
$265 - Core i5-2400 and BIOSTAR TH67+ (I like this motherboard a lot more than the above combo)

Core i5-2500 (there's a lot more than I've listed here. Scroll through this list if you want to see them all.)

$259 - Core i5-2500 and MSI H61M-P21
$292 - Core i5-2500 and MSI H67MS-E43
$315 - Core i5-2500 and GIGABYTE GA-Z68A-D3H-B3

Core i5-2500k (there's a lot more than I've listed here. Scroll through this list if you want to see them all.)

$315 - Core i5-2500k and BIOSTAR TP67B+
$315 - MSI P67A-C43
$320 - MSI P67A-G45
$320 - BIOSTAR TZ68A+RCH

I should note that pairing the Core i5-2400 and the P67A-G45 is perfectly fine. I'm just trying to point out some ways to slim the build down a bit more or get a more powerful GPU.
 
I like that i5-2500k - P67A-C43 combo for $315. Wonder if I can convince him to overclock.
 
Just because it's a 2500k doesn't mean you HAVE to overclock. But, since the price w/ the combo deal is right, the option would be there should you change your mind at some point.
 
 
$187 (before $30 MIR) (use the promo code XFX719) - XFX HD-687A-ZDFC Radeon HD 6870 1GB (comes with a free copy of Dirt3)
$225 (before $30 MIR) - PNY VCGGTX560TXPB GeForce GTX 560 Ti

Edit: The MSI Twin Frozr II card you have above is good too. I was already in post mode when you made your post.
 
Edit: ordered.
Thanks guys, I appreciate the help. :)
 
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