500$ Gaming rig from a total noob.

[saintpanache]

Hi guys, I'm looking for a gaming build for around 500$ to 550$CAD (before shipping). This is my first build in a LONG time. Last PC I built was a pentium 3........I'm a noob basically.

So, being a noob, I took the featured SBM build from august and basically only changed the case because the Rosewill case doesn't seem to be available anywhere right now. Also switched up the GTX 560 for the GTX 560ti.

I'll be playing WoW, Skyrim, Diablo III and maybe try out stuff like BF3 eventually. My main target is a good WoW performance (which shouldn't be a problem with this build) with some headroom to play more recent games if the need arise.

I'm not a fanboy of Intel or NVIDIA or whatever so please feel free to make any suggestions.



CPU Intel Pentium G860 3.0GHz Dual-Core $73.92

Motherboard Gigabyte GA-B75M-D3V Micro ATX LGA1155 $72.49

Memory G.Skill NS 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1333 $19.99

Storage Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM $55.99

Video Card MSI GeForce GTX 560 Ti 1GB $195.99

Case Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower $49.49

Power Supply Antec 450W ATX12V $31.64

Optical Drive Samsung SH-222BB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer $17.99


TOTAL (incl. shipping) $517.50

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/nkw8

I was thinking of ditching the optical drive and get another case to maybe get a better CPU and/or GPU.

 

[sonicers]

Those are US prices, you'll find different prices in Canada.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-2100 3.1GHz Dual-Core Processor ($109.99 @ Memory Express)
Motherboard: MSI H61M-P31/W8 Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($49.99 @ Canada Computers)
Memory: Crucial 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($18.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 750GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($50.62 @ Amazon Canada)
Video Card: Asus Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB Video Card ($209.99 @ NCIX)
Case: Antec Three Hundred ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: Antec 450W ATX12V Power Supply ($36.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Total: $523.55
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-11-11 16:23 EST-0500)

The GTX 560ti slightly underperforms the 7850, and at your price point, you could snag a 7870 GHz edition, which performs like a GTX 670.

You might want a better CPU to balance it out, as well.

The Antec 300 is one of the best cases out there, and has been for the past few years. It's a solid choice in any build.

You could get more GBs and spend less money on a Seagate drive.

You won't need a B75 motherboard for your CPU, especially since
1) You're using a Sandy Bridge processor,
2) You won't need USB 3.0 unless you use external hard drives that support it, and
3) Hard drives today can't reach the SATA II 3.0 GB/s limit, so you won't need SATA III unless you're getting a SSD, which I highly doubt for your price range.

 

[Deemo13]

The 560Ti is not the card I would. I would go for the faster and cheaper HD7850 Radeon.

 

[saintpanache]

Wouldn't the B75 chipset be a good choice for "future proofing" this build?

I don't have an SSD or any USB3.0 devices right now, but having the opportunity to add those eventually is quite appealing, even if it means increasing the build price slightly.

 

[Deemo13]

By the time you need to upgrade to future-proof, your build would be pretty old already.

 

[oxford373]

this is what i would pick http://pcpartpicker.com/p/nmeA
this msi 970 motherboard support USB3,sata3, come with ALC 892 on board audio, support crossfire, and you can upgrade CPU to steamroller FX next year.
phenom II 955 or 965 tie core i3 in most games,both of them can be overclocked to 3.6ghz using stock fan.
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/289?vs=102
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/core-i7-3930k-3820-test-benchmark,3090-10.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-fx-pentium-apu-benchmark,3120-4.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-fx-pentium-apu-benchmark,3120-5.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-fx-pentium-apu-benchmark,3120-7.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-fx-pentium-apu-benchmark,3120-8.html

 

[saintpanache]

Here is another version if I stretch my budget to 600$CAD. Basically just swapped the CPU and mobo. Would it be worth it to get this Ivy bridge cpu over the sandy bridge? Going from sandy to ivy represents a cost of 50$CAD which doesn't sound too bad.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-3225 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor ($129.99 @ NCIX)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B75M-D3V Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($77.17 @ TigerDirect Canada)
Memory: Crucial 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($18.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 750GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.24 @ Amazon Canada)
Video Card: Asus Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB Video Card ($209.99 @ NCIX)
Case: Antec Three Hundred ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: Antec 450W ATX12V Power Supply ($36.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Total: $603.35
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-11-12 19:38 EST-0500)

 

[sonicers]

It's not really worth it... the power supply I picked out will be fine with Sandy Bridge's higher power usage, and there is a very small performance increase between Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge. Save some money and stick with Sandy Bridge. It'll keep you closer to your budget.

 

[Augray37]

i like this motherboard...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157304

 

[sonicers]

i like this motherboard...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157304

For an Sandy Bridge i3? HAH, good one. He's better off putting his money into a better graphics card, if he were to go that far over budget.

 

[saintpanache]

600$ Sandy build with the 7950 instead of the 7870. Just not sure which brand of 7950 to choose from though....

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-2100 3.1GHz Dual-Core Processor ($109.99 @ Memory Express)
Motherboard: MSI H61M-P31/W8 Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($49.99 @ Canada Computers)
Memory: Crucial 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($18.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 750GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.24 @ Amazon Canada)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($289.99 @ NCIX)
Case: Antec Three Hundred ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: Antec 450W ATX12V Power Supply ($36.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Total: $616.17
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-11-12 20:15 EST-0500)

 

[Augray37]

For an Sandy Bridge i3? HAH, good one. He's better off putting his money into a better graphics card, if he were to go that far over budget.

why not? it's reliable, which is a very valuable attribute. it also gives the option to put an ivy bridge in there later. and it's the same price as the ones being suggested.

 

[sonicers]

600$ Sandy build with the 7950 instead of the 7870. Just not sure which brand of 7950 to choose from though....

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-2100 3.1GHz Dual-Core Processor ($109.99 @ Memory Express)
Motherboard: MSI H61M-P31/W8 Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($49.99 @ Canada Computers)
Memory: Crucial 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($18.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 750GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.24 @ Amazon Canada)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($289.99 @ NCIX)
Case: Antec Three Hundred ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: Antec 450W ATX12V Power Supply ($36.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Total: $616.17
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-11-12 20:15 EST-0500)

Stick with the 7870. If you want to up your budget to 600, I'd spend it on 8GB of RAM, and pocket the change. If you want, you could go for the 7950, but at that point, your graphics card is just really, really, disproportional to your CPU, but if you're only priority is gaming, I'd say go for it.

The cheapest 7950 you find will be okay, I doubt you'll be overclocking your GPU, so you won't need to worry as much about cooling.

 

[sonicers]

why not? it's reliable, which is a very valuable attribute. it also gives the option to put an ivy bridge in there later. and it's the same price as the ones being suggested.

It's 40 dollars more, and isn't worth it for his priorities.

 

[Augray37]

It's 40 dollars more, and isn't worth it for his priorities.

it's 30 dollars more, and that's without the 10% off coupon.

 

[sonicers]

it's 30 dollars more, and that's without the 10% off coupon.

That 30 dollars would be better spent on 4GB more of memory, and a better case, like the Antec One.

 

[Augray37]

That 30 dollars would be better spent on 4GB more of memory, and a better case, like the Antec One.

yes sir.

 

[saintpanache]

I've been told by some friends that a 450w power supply wouldn't be enough for this build. Should I go to 500w or higher? Also, managed to pick up an Antec One for the same price of the Three Hundred, it's not listed below though.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-2100 3.1GHz Dual-Core Processor ($119.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Motherboard: MSI H61M-P31/W8 Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($59.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Memory: Crucial 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($18.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 750GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Video Card: Asus Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB Video Card ($209.99 @ NCIX)
Case: Antec Three Hundred ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: Antec 450W ATX12V Power Supply ($36.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Total: $479.93
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-11-14 12:07 EST-0500)

 

[Augray37]

a 450W power supply is more than enough for your build, don't worry about that.