$1300 gaming build

edward415

Honorable
Dec 21, 2012
53
0
10,630
Approximate Purchase Date: e.g.: this week

Budget Range: $1300 (not including mouse). Give or take $50.

System Usage from Most to Least Important:gaming, word processing, bitcoin mining, web browsing.

Are you buying a monitor: Yes



Parts to Upgrade: Upgrading everything except I have 8 gigs of G.Skill DDR3 ram, a Western Digital Blue 500gb HDD, and a dvd drive.

Do you need to buy OS: Yes


Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg.com and amazon.com.

Location: Bay Area, California.

Parts Preferences: Intel CPU, probably AMD GPU for mining.

Overclocking: Maybe in the future.

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe in the future.
Your Monitor Resolution: hopefully 1920x1080 monitor.

Additional Comments: I would like a smaller computer that is on the quiet side which is why I picked this case.

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading:I want to play PC games on ultra and want to bitcoin mine.

This is what I am thinking of buying right now:

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/TKIq
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/TKIq/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/TKIq/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: Asus Maximus V Gene Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($189.98 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($139.67 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($309.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Fractal Design Arc Mini MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($100.89 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: SeaSonic G 550W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Acer H236HLbid 60Hz 23.0" Monitor ($177.58 @ Newegg)
Other: Razer DeathAdder 2013 ($70.00)
Total: $1348.08
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-30 21:49 EDT-0400)
 

edward415

Honorable
Dec 21, 2012
53
0
10,630


That build looks good but I'm concerned about the mobo. It doesn't seem to be able to overclock well. Also is that monitor IPS because that is important to me. Also the difference between the 7950 and the 7970 seems to be able to be negated by overclocking the GPU.
 
Oops, sorry. Been a long day.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77M-D3H-MVP Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($104.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 840 Pro Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($139.67 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card ($399.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Define Mini MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($93.69 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($91.00 @ Amazon)
Monitor: Asus VS238H-P 23.0" Monitor ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1289.30
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

1. For gaming, TN is better because it has faster response times.
2. It's pointless to compare an OC GPU to a stock GPU. Compare stock to stock and OC to OC. By your logic, OC the 7970 to beat the 7950.
 

edward415

Honorable
Dec 21, 2012
53
0
10,630



That motherboard looks good. Thanks! I was wondering, which do you think is better, the Gigabyte 7970 or the MSI 7970 because I am willing to pay the extra $20 if the MSI is a lot better. Also I think I am going to go with the monitor I selected because I am going to be doing a lot more than just gaming on this build (forgot to mention in the post). Also I think I'm going to stick with the PSU I selected because it is modular.