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Updated Gaming Rig

T

TimG

Gawd
Joined
Jan 30, 2006
Messages
919
Looking to upgrade my 939 X2 and build a better machine for some upcoming games including Battlefield 3, Diablo 3 and Skyrim.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
80% Gaming, 15% Web, 5% Photoshop/Web Design
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$400 - Including Tax and Shipping
3) Where do you live?
Michigan
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget?
CPU, Motherboard, Memory, and PSU
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Thinking about reusing my eVGA GTX 260
6) Will you be overclocking?
Yes
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
2007WFP 20" 1680 x 1050
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Before September 2011
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.
Not planning on running multiple video cards. USB 3.0 is not necessary
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Yes, 64-bit Windows 7
 
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Are you ready to build right now? If not, please revisit this thread two or three weeks before you're ready.
 
TimG said:
Uh, no. I'm looking to build it at the end of summer.
Click to expand...

Then revisit this thread and ask us again within two weeks of purchasing the parts. That's because prices and availability can (and do) change substantially in those two to three months before the build. In other words, what we recommend now may very well become relatively overpriced and/or obsolete and/or discontinued (out of production) by the time you actually order the parts for the build.
 
Gotcha. I don't plan on buying it all at once. I figure ill buy components as they go on sale between now and then.
 
TimG said:
Gotcha. I don't plan on buying it all at once. I figure ill buy components as they go on sale between now and then.
Click to expand...

Yeah unfortunately we don't have a crystal ball telling us what parts are gonna go on sale so you're kinda on your own there. At the very least, hold off on the CPU and mobo purchase till the last second. The RAM and PSU you can get at any time and should work for whatever platform you go with.
 
Well, I'm ready to start buying stuff. Decided I wanted to build sooner than later.
 
$320 - Intel Core i5 2500K CPU + MSI P67A-G45 Intel P67 ATX Motherboard Combo
$29 - G.Skill F3-10666CL9S-2GBNY 4GB DDR3 1333 RAM
$59 - Antec High Current Gamer Series HCG-520 520W PSU
---
Total: $408 shipped
 
Well then?

Was thinking about going this route. Ideally I want to play BF3, BC2, and Skyrim maxed. Roughly $364 without the PSU.

MSI 880GM-E43 AM3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130293

AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727

PowerColor HD 6850 1GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131374

I'm goinig to try to reuse my PSU but if I can't then:

CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005

And I already have 4GB of this:

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231190
 
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TimG said:
Well then?

Was thinking about going this route. Ideally I want to play BF3, BC2, and Skyrim maxed. Roughly $364 without the PSU.

MSI 880GM-E43 AM3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130293

AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727

PowerColor HD 6850 1GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131374
Click to expand...
Not a good route as the HD 6850 1GB doesn't provide enough of a performance increase over the GTX 260 to justify the costs IMO. In addtion, the Phentom II X4 route may not be the best of choices considering that the $120 Core i3 2100 beats most Phenom II X4 CPUs in games, even in games that scales well with multiple cores.

However, since going with the Core i3 2100 won't save you enough money to afford a worthwhile GPU, I still recommend my earlier CPU + mobo recommendation. Since you have a little extra cash, do get a larger PSU like the one I'm about to recommend.
TimG said:
I'm goinig to try to reuse my PSU but if I can't then:

CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005
Click to expand...
Are you trying to reuse the OCZ PSU in your sig? If so, get a new PSU as that OCZ PSU lineup wasn't that good. However, that 650TX is no longer a good buy since an updated and higher-quality version costs $5 less:
$90 - Corsair 650TX V2 650W PSU
 
^ I wanted to try and see if I could reuse the PSU in my sig, but if not I'm open to upgrading that.

What are your video card recommendations then?

I'm at $429 before the savings if I bought the combo package. I just added the individual parts to my wishlist to see it all listed out.
 
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Do you live by the Microcenter in Detroit? CPUs are cheaper there than online. And what case do you have?
 
Well, I'm about two hours from Detroit. Probably not worth the savings.

I have an old silver Antec P180.
 
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