700-800 Dollar Gaming Build

[CosmoPennyPacker]

Hey guys,

I miss having a desktop and want advice on the best bang for your buck on a new build with a budget of 700-800 (the lower the better.) I need something to last me at least 4 years and in those 4 years be well suited for future gaming. I don't need to play games at high performance settings, medium would be fine with me as I don't have time to game as much anymore (unfortunately). I want something that will be built for gaming and entertainment mainly. I was thinking Z68 so I have the option of upgrading CPU in the next 2 years if i need to.

Approximate Purchase Date: by next week

Budget Range: (700-800) Before / After Rebates

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming/Entertainment,

Country: USA
Parts Preferences: Asus Mobo since it is highly regarded and Intel CPU. Everything else I want something that is trusted and will not fail

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe, i want a GPU that will last me at least 2 years

Monitor Resolution: for now enough for 1920x1200

Additional Comments: Windows 7, I would like room to upgrade to ivy bridge, Please make case/fan/PSU recommendations as I don't have much experience in that.

I know my budget might be low but it is limited due to me being a student. However, I do care about quality and would like get tested, high quality hardware that fits my budget.

I want something that is somewhat future proof.
Thanks again

 

[CosmoPennyPacker]

Here is the build I came up with so far.

Motherboard: P8Z68 DELUXE/GEN3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131792

CPU i5 2500
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115073

GPU: 560i

RAM: 8GB Vengenance

HD: 64GB SSD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148441

HD 250GB 7200 rpm
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136279

Optical Drive: Asus Blu-ray DVDRW

PSU: ???
Fan: ???
Case: ???

 

[drunkducki]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131793 - $69.99
ASUS P8H61-M LX PLUS (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel H61 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115074 - $189.99
Intel Core i5-2400 Sandy Bridge 3.1GHz (3.4GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 2000 BX80623I52400

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231426 - $39.99
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-8GBXL

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148767 - $84.99
Seagate Barracuda ST500DM002 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139027 - $59.99 - $20MIR
CORSAIR Builder Series CX500 V2 500W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135247 - $57.99
ASUS Black 12X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA Internal Blu-ray Drive Model BC-12B1ST/BLK/B/AS - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146061 - $39.99
NZXT GAMMA Classic Series GAMA-001BK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150523 - $239.99 - $15MIR + Dirt3 coupon
XFX HD-695X-ZNFC Radeon HD 6950 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity

Total: $782.92 - $35MIR + Dirt3 coupon

 

[CosmoPennyPacker]

THank you. I have a question tho. I would rather have the Z68 mobo because of future upgrades and spend a little less on the video card. Is the 560i I have listed good enough for at least the next 2 years.

 

[drunkducki]

560ti should be good for the next 2 years for medium-high settings depending on games

 

[Pezcore27]

Intel Core i5-2400 - 189.99

ASUS p8z68-v LX - 124.99 (10.00 MIR)

GSkill Ripjaws X Series 8gb - 39.99

Corsair Builders Series 600w (same 49.99 after MIR and offers more power if needed in the future)

ROSEWILL Challenger - 54.99

SAPPHIRE Radeon 6850 - 134.99 (15.00 MIR, since you arent concerned about ultra settings this will more than suffice)

Seagate Barracuda 500gb HD - 84.99

ASUS Blue-Ray Drive - 57.99

TOTAL = 757.92 + 7.33 Shipping - 45 MIR = 725.25

If wanting to do the 560ti than using this:
GIGABYTE GV-N560OC-1GI GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) - 224.99 (20.00 MIR)

TOTAL = 847.92 + 10.10 Shipping - 50.00 MIR = 808.02

 

[CosmoPennyPacker]

Would it be better for future upgrades to get a GEN 3 Z68 board? for ivy bridge and PCI 3.0. Other than that, I am happy with the build.

 

[aznshinobi]

Check out my $900 build here:
http://www.squidoo.com/electronicandmore
Just drop the SSD and you'll be at $800.

I suggest the 2500K just so you can overclock in the future, and a 750w so you can SLI in the future as well. The board I suggest is an Asrock but for good reason. It's a cheap board, but has the features of more expensive boards. It runs Tri-SLI/CF (Capable) at 8x/8x/4x which is better than most boards specially some high priced Asus's. It's a Gen3 board so it supports Ivy Bridge and PCI 3.0 if you have an Ivy Bridge chip installed. Plus it's got SATA 3 and USB 3 (Not a huge feat).

 

[CosmoPennyPacker]

great! How about a fan? How many fans would I need so performance doesn't suffer. Thanks

 

[aznshinobi]

No need, the fans that come with the HAF 912 are sufficient.

 

[CosmoPennyPacker]

Here is the final build I have decided on based on suggestions

Asrock Z68 Extreme 3 Gen 3 MOBO
Intel i5 2400 CPU
G-skill Rip Jaw Series 8GB Ram
Seagate Barracuda 500GB 7200 RPM HD
Corsair Gaming Series GS600 600W PSU
Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid-tower CASE
Asus Bluray DVD/RW

Last thing I need is GPU around 150-200 dollars that will last me at least 2 years. Other than that, how does the build look

w/GPU, TOtal cost: 700.00 (after rebates)

 

[azeem40]

Well, if you MIGHT Overclock in the future, I would get the i5-2500k.

 

[aznshinobi]

^+1

Wouldn't suggest the PSU at all. It's not a bad PSU but at $90 it's hard to justify. Better off going for this OCZ 750w @ $100. This way you could SLI/CF in the future if you got the 560 Ti which costs $210.
http://www.amazon.com/OCZ-80PLUS-Bronze-Performance-compatible/dp/B005A2RJOI%3FSubscriptionId%3D19BAZMZQFZJ6G2QYGCG2%26tag%3Dsquid1240995-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB005A2RJOI
(There's a $25 rebate on the PSU so that helps too).