$500 Computer for School/Gaming

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Q

quicksilver111

Distinguished
Feb 25, 2010
3
0
18,510
Approximate Purchase Date: This week
Budget Range: $500-550 after rebates
Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, graphics card (XFX 5670), OS
Parts Preferences: Intel, ATI
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg or amazon
Country of Origin: USA
Parts Preferences: None
Overclocking: Maybe
SLI or Crossfire: Maybe. Not now but maybe down the road.
Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080
Additional Comments:

I'm building a computer for my younger brother who will use it mainly for gaming such as Starcraft 2, Minecraft, Battlefield 3, Skyrim, etc. and schoolwork such as web browsing and Microsoft Office. He has an XFX Radeon 5670 graphics card that he will transfer to the new system for now but will upgrade to a high end card in a few months.

These are the components I have in my shopping carts with prices after rebates. Any advice on alternatives or problems with this configuration would be great. This is only my second computer build.
Processor
Intel i5-2500K $199.99 NCIX
Motherboard
Gigabyte GA-Z68A-D3H-B3 $113.99 Newegg
Case
LIAN LI Lancool PC-K58W $49.99 Newegg
Hard Drive
1TB Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS $49.99 Newegg
Power Supply
Corsair CX500V2 500W $26.74 Newegg
Memory
Patriot G 'Sector 5' 2x4GB 1600 $24.99 Newegg
Blu-ray Drive
LG UH12LS28 $59.99 Newegg
Graphics Card
XFX Radeon 5670 - -

Total: $525.68

I'm considering paying the extra $10 to get the 1TB Samsung Spinpoint hard drive for $60 and maybe the Cooler Master HAF 912 case on Amazon instead of Lian Li.
 
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the graphics card is too weak for gaming at 1080p

Spend way less on a processor and way more on the graphics card . A Radeon 6850 is about the minimum for 1080p IMO

Your RAM needs to be 1.5 volt for sandy bridge processors

and you definitely dont need 8 gig for those games.
 
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for the other games you've listed, such as bf3 and skyrim, you may want to change your card since it won't be able to keep up with the reguirements of those games. If you are able to, try making an amd build and compare the two. Usually when you go with amd, you are able to spend a bit more on other parts such as the gpu and cpu. My opinion about both intel and amd in that intel is only worth it if you go for the highest out there possible, and amd is for the budget minded builders.
 
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ide drop that i5 2500k and replace it with an AMD 965(overclock it to at least 3.8) grab a motherboard that will save you money but will give you some room to work with like an ASUS and i believe theres some good and cheap ASROCK mb's. Then with the saved up money buy at 6870. Destroys for its price! got mine for $160 after rebates! i got the gigabyte 3 fan model! so freaking amazing!
 
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This is true but you can save $10 and get the 955 and still have overclock to a 965 and further.
 
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Thank you for all the input. This is what we ended up going with. Overall the price wasn't too bad.

Intel i5-2500K Processor $199.99 NCIX
Sapphire Radeon 6870 $149.99 Amazon
Gigabyte GA-Z68A-D3H-B3 Motherboard $113.99 Newegg
Samsung Spinpoint 1TB Hard Drive $59.99 Newegg
LG UH12LS28 Blu-ray Drive $59.99 Newegg
Cooler Master HAF 912 Case $49.99 Amazon
Corsair CX500V2 500W Power Supply $26.74 Newegg
G. Skill 4GB 1600 1.5V Memory $23.99 Newegg

Total: $684.67
 
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that so funny my build is nearly the same haha.
i have the AMD 955(3.8ghz)
gigabyte 6870 windforce 3
g. skill 8GB ram
 
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i5 2400 - $185
ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 - $125
Gskill Sniper 2x4GB DDR3 1600 - $60
Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB - $60
Xigmatek ASGARD II - $30
Xigmatek 400W (2 +12V 20A Rails) - $35

Total : $495 before rebates

You can try to finda offer on i5 2500K, that thing is a beast.

Do get a nice graphic card later on, btw.
 
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