Hello everyone,
My laptop recently died on me, and with Diablo 3 release coming up, I've decided to build (under $600 after taxes and rebates) a budget gaming PC by taking advantage of as many rebates/coupons as possible, and use a Kindle Fire for my mobile computing needs (with Splashtop). All the components except the dvd burners have been purchased when they were on sale this past week. There are no shipping costs for any of the components because I use will-call pick up for Newegg orders, buy from Microcenter in-store, and have Amazon Prime shipping.
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Approximate Purchase Date: Last week/this week
Budget Range: $600 After Rebates and Taxes
System Usage from Most to Least Important: gaming, surfing the web
Parts Not Required: Keyboard (Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000), Mouse (Logitech MX518), Monitor (Dell 24" S2408w 1080P), Headset (Plantronic)
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg, Amazon, Microcenter
Country: USA
Parts Preferences: none
Overclocking: Maybe
SLI or Crossfire: Not right now, maybe in the future
Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080
Additional Comments: the last time I built a PC was 6 years ago to play Battlefield 2 =).
CPU/Mobo: Intel i5-2500K/ASRock Z68 Extreme3 GEN3 (Microcenter, $180 + $125 - $50 combo discount -$15 coupon + $18.60 tax = $258.60)
Intel i5-2500K
ASRock Z68 Extreme3 GEN3
GPU: Sapphire AMD Radeon 6850 (Amazon, $140 - $15 rebate = $125)
Case: Antec Three Hundred Illusion (Newegg, $55 + $4.81 tax - $10 rebate = $49.81)
Ram: Corsair XMS 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3-1333 (PC3-10666) CL9 (Microcenter, $45 - $15 coupon + $2.33 tax - $20 rebate = $12.33)
SSD: OCZ Vertex 3 90GB (Amazon, $102 - $30 rebate = $72)
PSU: OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W Modular High Performance Power Supply ($70 - $25 rebate = $45)
Optical Drive: Lite-ON DVD Burner ($18 + $1.58 tax = $19.58)
Total cost: $655 + $27.32 tax - $100 rebate = $582.31
I'm still thinking about the Antec case because I'm tempted to get the Antec Three Hundred Two, due to better cable management and tool-less drive bays, but I'm not sure if the premium (about $30 difference) is worth it. Also I cannot take advantage of the USB 3.0 on the front panel because my mobo doesn't have USB 3.0 header. I'm also seriously considering the Rosewill Challenger and the Zalman Z9 Plus cases. They're both less than $50, and a little less flashy than the Antec Three Hundred Illusion.
Also right now Newegg has the XFX HD 6870 for $140 after rebate, with tax that's a $27 premium over the HD 6850. Is it worth the upgrade?
Also, anyone uses the Microsoft Ergo 4000 keyboard for gaming?
Any feedback is welcomed! Thank you for your time.
My laptop recently died on me, and with Diablo 3 release coming up, I've decided to build (under $600 after taxes and rebates) a budget gaming PC by taking advantage of as many rebates/coupons as possible, and use a Kindle Fire for my mobile computing needs (with Splashtop). All the components except the dvd burners have been purchased when they were on sale this past week. There are no shipping costs for any of the components because I use will-call pick up for Newegg orders, buy from Microcenter in-store, and have Amazon Prime shipping.
_________________________________________
Approximate Purchase Date: Last week/this week
Budget Range: $600 After Rebates and Taxes
System Usage from Most to Least Important: gaming, surfing the web
Parts Not Required: Keyboard (Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000), Mouse (Logitech MX518), Monitor (Dell 24" S2408w 1080P), Headset (Plantronic)
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg, Amazon, Microcenter
Country: USA
Parts Preferences: none
Overclocking: Maybe
SLI or Crossfire: Not right now, maybe in the future
Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080
Additional Comments: the last time I built a PC was 6 years ago to play Battlefield 2 =).
CPU/Mobo: Intel i5-2500K/ASRock Z68 Extreme3 GEN3 (Microcenter, $180 + $125 - $50 combo discount -$15 coupon + $18.60 tax = $258.60)
Intel i5-2500K
ASRock Z68 Extreme3 GEN3
GPU: Sapphire AMD Radeon 6850 (Amazon, $140 - $15 rebate = $125)
Case: Antec Three Hundred Illusion (Newegg, $55 + $4.81 tax - $10 rebate = $49.81)
Ram: Corsair XMS 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3-1333 (PC3-10666) CL9 (Microcenter, $45 - $15 coupon + $2.33 tax - $20 rebate = $12.33)
SSD: OCZ Vertex 3 90GB (Amazon, $102 - $30 rebate = $72)
PSU: OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W Modular High Performance Power Supply ($70 - $25 rebate = $45)
Optical Drive: Lite-ON DVD Burner ($18 + $1.58 tax = $19.58)
Total cost: $655 + $27.32 tax - $100 rebate = $582.31
I'm still thinking about the Antec case because I'm tempted to get the Antec Three Hundred Two, due to better cable management and tool-less drive bays, but I'm not sure if the premium (about $30 difference) is worth it. Also I cannot take advantage of the USB 3.0 on the front panel because my mobo doesn't have USB 3.0 header. I'm also seriously considering the Rosewill Challenger and the Zalman Z9 Plus cases. They're both less than $50, and a little less flashy than the Antec Three Hundred Illusion.
Also right now Newegg has the XFX HD 6870 for $140 after rebate, with tax that's a $27 premium over the HD 6850. Is it worth the upgrade?
Also, anyone uses the Microsoft Ergo 4000 keyboard for gaming?
Any feedback is welcomed! Thank you for your time.