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Two builds compared - Budget vs Midrange

H

Healinsoul

n00b
Joined
Jan 16, 2012
Messages
20
Hello guys,

I have posted previously on here about my need for a new PC for D3, SC2 and WOW (and future games after that in that genre). Here is the thread.

Now,

I have come up with two different builds which vary in price and would like to know if the performance difference is worth the price.

Here's the optimal build:

$220 - Intel Core i5-2500k CPU
$138 - Gigabyte GA-Z68A-D3H-B3 Intel Z68 ATX Motherboard
$48 - 8GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600 1.5v
$199 - 128 GB Crucial M4 SSD
$90 - Corsair 650TX V2 650W PSU
$210 - GTX 560
$100 - Corsair Carbide series 400R ATX Case
$30 - COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1
$175 - Asus VH238H Black 23" LCD Monitor

Total: 1035$ (1210$ with monitor)


And the budget build:

$190 - Intel Core i5-2400 CPU
$138 - Gigabyte GA-Z68A-D3H-B3 Intel Z68 ATX Motherboard
$48 - 8GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600 1.5v
$76 – Hitachi i HDS721050CLA362 500GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$59 - Antec NEO ECO 620C 620W Continuous Power ATX12V v2.3
$189 - XFX Double D HD-687A-ZDFC Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI
$49 - NZXT Source 210 Elite White Steel with painted interior ATX Mid Tower
$175 - Asus VH238H Black 23" LCD Monitor

Total : 749$ (924$ with monitor)



As a second question, is there parts that are more reliable / better and/or cheaper that I could switch for the budget version? Maybe the Mobo / processor / video card / ram ?

Thanks again for suggestions.
 
Last edited:
Honestly, the budget build would be more than enough for your needs. As for changes:

With the i5-2400, overclocking is out of the question. Plus, with virtually all MMOs, you don't need a dual-GPU setup. You should be able to find a cheaper H67, P67, or Z68 board with one PCI-E x16 slot for less than the price of the GA-Z68A-D3H-B3. One such example is the Asus P8H67-V. (Which retailer were you using again? You didn't make that clear in your earlier thread.)

You can also save some money by going with a cheaper name-brand (like G.Skill or Patriot) DDR3 1333 dual-channel kit. Since you aren't overclocking, you really have no need for DDR3 1600 RAM.

This may be contradictory to your goal, but you should spend a bit more money on a 1TB hard drive. Some of today's drives are now using a single 1TB drive platter, which makes them faster than even the drives that we've recommended in the past. The Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000.D is the drive that we often recommend for those who need a new one.
 
Hello Tirades,

First, thanks for your replies. I have been looking at newegg.ca and amazon.ca for rough prices idea ( I am in Canada).

I have switched the RAM and MOBO on the budget build.

Regarding sdd/hdd, I was thinking going with a sole 128gb sdd for better speed (i usually don't keep much on my pc), but maybe i'd be better of with that HD. Or maybe even a 64 gb sdd as sole drive would be enough?

$190 - Intel Core i5-2400 CPU
$109 - ASUS P8H67-V (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel H67 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
$34 - G.SKILL Value Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM 1333 (PC3 10600)
$143 - HITACHI Deskstar 7K1000.D HDS721010DLE630 (0F13180) 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
$59 - Antec NEO ECO 620C 620W Continuous Power ATX12V v2.3
$189 - XFX Double D HD-687A-ZDFC Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI
$49 - NZXT Source 210 Elite White Steel with painted interior ATX Mid Tower
$175 - Asus VH238H Black 23" LCD Monitor

Total : 779$ (954$ with monitor)

This looks better? I have doubts regarding the HDD, since as of now my hdd has 250 gb and only 19 gb are used (been the same for 5 years). What do you guys think?
 
Last edited:
tiraides said:
With the i5-2400, overclocking is out of the question.
Click to expand...

Actually, as I mentioned in several other threads, the i5-2400 is limited-overclockable, not non-overclockable. Right now, I have an i5-2400 in my auxiliary editing/internet rig, and it's "overclocked" to 3.6GHz (in quad-threaded use) on a Z68 mobo. "Non-overclockable", in this case, would have meant that the Turbo Boost feature was permanently disabled, which would have permanently locked the multiplier setting to a fixed 31x. However, the i5-2400 is not strictly locked per se - only limited: The multiplier ratio can be set at up to 38x (and setting the multiplier to maximum would force the CPU to run at up to 3.6GHz in quad-core mode). With Turbo Boost enabled, the i5-2400 by default is "overclocked" slightly to 3.2GHz in quad-core mode by default. And in an editing rig, there is still a tangible performance improvement at 3.6GHz over that at 3.2GHz.
 
Thanks for the details about the i5-2400... I'll keep that noted.


Can anyone help me regarding with the following two questions:

1- Regarding sdd/hdd, I was thinking going with128gb sdd as sole drive for the optimal build (i usually don't keep much on my pc, the 250 hdd only has 20 gb used). Is this a good idea for faster load times? And 500 GB hdd for the budget build.

2- Is the 400$ difference between these two builds worth it?

$220 - Intel Core i5-2500k CPU
$138 - Gigabyte GA-Z68A-D3H-B3 Intel Z68 ATX Motherboard
$48 - 8GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600 1.5v
$199 – 128 GB Crucial M4 SSD
$115 - Corsair 750TX V2 750W PSU
$210 - GTX 560
$100 - Corsair Carbide series 400R ATX Case
$30 - COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1
$20- Lite-On Super AllWrite 24X SATA DVD+/-RW IHAS124-04
$175 - Asus VH238H Black 23" LCD Monitor

Total: 1075$ (1250$ with monitor)

$190 - Intel Core i5-2400 CPU
$109 - ASUS P8H67-V (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel H67 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
$37 - G.SKILL Value Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM 1333 (PC3 10600)
$76 - Hitachi HDS721050CLA362 500GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$90 - Corsair 650TX V2 650W PSU
$189 - XFX Double D HD-687A-ZDFC Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI
$49 - NZXT Source 210 Elite White Steel with painted interior ATX Mid Tower
$20- Lite-On Super AllWrite 24X SATA DVD+/-RW IHAS124-04
$175 - Asus VH238H Black 23" LCD Monitor

Total : 760$ (935$ with monitor)
 
Last edited:
1) Good idea if all you need is 128GB of space. Note that Windows 7 + updates + small software uses roughly 20GB of space

2) In general, if you're planning on overclocking higher than 3.6Ghz (4.2 to 4.4Ghz is rather common with the Core i5 2500K) and want faster gaming performance, then the first build is your best bet. The SSD, faster video card, higher overclocking capable CPU, HSF, and significantly better case all make that system worth the extra cash in a way.

However, there are some parts in the first build that you're needless wasting money on:
- You don't need DDR3 1600 RAM there. You could use the G.Skill DDR3 1333 RAM listed in the second build just fine in the first build. It'll provide virtually the same performance.
- PSU wise, you don't need a 750W PSU for the first build unless you're planning on SLI. If you're not planning on SLI, the 650TX V2 will work just fine in the first build.

With that said, the second build can meet your needs just fine.
 
E4g1e said:
Actually, as I mentioned in several other threads, the i5-2400 is limited-overclockable, not non-overclockable.
Click to expand...

And you know, I seem to forget that every time you've mentioned it. Sorry about that.

In my mind, though, it's easier for me to call the i5-2400 non-overclockable as the i5-2500K is oftentimes around $20-$30 more yet is infinitely easier to overclock than the former.
 
I'd go with a 128 M4 right now then pickup a 1tb drive mid-year when the prices start to settle(assuming they do).
 
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