$650 Budget Gaming Rig

[Guest]

Hi everyone,

I have been aiming to build a new PC since high school, since I was under the impression that laptops would suit me for college. Big mistake. It never left my dorm room and it had integrated GFX (I'm a poor student and cannot afford more than a 700 dollar system every 4 years). I'm now going on to grad school and know for a fact that I can build a decent PC that can both work and game under $700.

Here's what I came up with with the current deals on NewEgg:


Combo: $494.50
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor

MSI P67A-C43 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

Antec EarthWatts EA-650 GREEN 650W ATX12V v2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Certified 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case, comes with Three Fans-1x Front Blue LED 120mm Fan, 1x Top 140mm Fan, 1x Rear 120mm Fan, option Fans-2x Side 120mm Fan

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL8D-4GBXM

Optical:$20.99
ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM


GPU: $119.99
SAPPHIRE 100328L Radeon HD 6770 1GB GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card


CPU Cooler: $25.99
Tuniq Tower 120 Universal CPU Cooler 120mm Cooling Fan and Fan Controller/Heatsink

TOTAL: $661.47 ($654.71 After Shipping + Rebates)

I've noticed that most budget gaming rigs skimp on the CPU (i3-2100 for example) and go for a better GPU, but I am also using it for work. I plan to overclock to at least 4.2 Ghz, so it may speed things up. I also have the option of upgrading now that I will have a desktop.

Any thoughts on this build?

 

[Soma42]

Well, you're not lacking on CPU power, but the graphics card is a bit on the weak side. What resolution are you gaming at?

If it's 1680x1050 or above I would get something with more power. Like this:

XFX HD-687A-ZDFC Radeon HD 6870 - $160 after MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150521

 

[Guest]

By weak I'm assuming you mean running GPU-intensive apps/games like 3DMark 11/Vantage, Crysis, or Metro 2033 at max settings with 30+FPS?

I'm more than OK with high settings at 1920x1080 for all of the current games out, but if you guys think the 6770 is too weak for even that, I will consider bumping up to 6800 series.

Thanks for the response btw.

 

[dvuevo]

I second the 6870.

Also, it seems like there's a $7 shipping charge for the after market cooler you've chosen. Get this one instead:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065