$850 Gaming Machine

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
D

darcmasta

Honorable
May 28, 2012
26
0
10,530
Greetings all! Long time lurker, finally a member because I am ready to build my own PC!

Below you will find the standard "Ask for Advice", but I have already purchased the parts below. I was wondering if you guys and gals can review the parts and see if there are somethings you may know about em(good/bad/decent). If you have any ways of making it cheaper as well, I am all ears! I am trying to build a system that is in the 600-850 dollar price range.

Approximate Purchase Date: June 2nd 2012

Budget Range: >$800 after Mail In-Rebates

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

Parts Not Required:
Keyboard - Logitech
Mouse - Logitech M705
Speakers - Logitech G930 Wireless 7.1 Surround Sound Headset
OS - Windows 7 Professional Edition
Monitor - No monitor at the moment, planning on hooking up to 46 inch Sony Bravia KDL-46VL150
DVD Drive - Debating on where to use an old DVD burner from an old PC or an external dvd drive I have.
External - Pioneer DVR-XD09
Internal - Lite-On SHW-160P6S

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Microcenter, Newegg, Amazon, Tigerdirect

Country: Chicago, Illinois, United States

Parts Preferences:
Processor - Must be Intel i5 or i7 unlocked
Video Card - Must be NVIDIA GeForce

Overclocking: Maybe in the next year or so.

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe, Could someone explain this a bit further? Thanks in advance!

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080 (maybe less until I get a reasonable monitor)

Additional Comments: Prefer it to be quiet, yet powerful machine (best of both worlds, never will happen :??: )


CURRENT PART LIST:
Case:ZALMAN Z11 Plus Black Steel - Price: $44.99 after rebate

Processor: Intel Ivy Bridge i5-3570K - Price: $189.99

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UD3H - Price: $109.99

Power Supply:OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W Modular - Price: $49.99 after rebate

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 550 Ti 2GB GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 - Price: $144.99 after rebate

RAM:Kingston HyperX Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 - Price: $39.99

HDD:OCZ Agility 3 60GB SSD - Price: $49.99 after rebate

HDD2: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200RPM HDD - Price: $94.99

PRICE TOTAL:
$44.99
$189.99
$109.99
$49.99
$144.99
$39.99
$49.99
$94.99
--------------
$724.92 prior Taxes
$797.41 after 10% tax

WITHOUT REBATES:
$808.91 prior Taxes
$885.76 after 10% tax

What do you all think about my choices, the price, and anything else? Anything I can do to make this system cheaper? Thanks everyone and Martin at Microcenter for helping piece this together!

Look forward to hearing your replies!

DarcMasta
 
Solution
PCgamer81
He states at top that his goal is 1080p gaming.

Even for 1080p, the 1GB framebuffer is beginning to show it's age. And the 6850 is only as fast as the 560 (non-ti). That is pretty humdrum for PC gaming. And crossfiring a second would increase the VRAM bottleneck. It would also most likely result in some terrible microstuttering (as low end cards often do in dual-card configurations), especially in this day and age. I find the latter point to be particularly pertinent considering he wrote "Maybe" next to SLi/Crossfire in the above list.

Sometimes I wonder if people even read the lists people provide, no offense.

OP: I would strongly recommend passing on the 6850, 550Ti, 560, or an equivalent of that. The 560Ti wouldn't be too bad, but...
Sort by date Sort by votes
SLI/xFire is when you install 2 GPU's in your PC. You have more graphic muscle but also has several issues to deal with. I'm not too familiar with said issues so maybe someone else can comment on that. One of them is that performance is not 1+1=2. Its more like 1+1=1.8 or 1.9.

If you don't plan on SLI'ing, you can get the Gigabyte z77x-D3H. It's designed for single card systems.

I would suggest you get a 1600 Mhz RAM. Though it will slightly be more expensive, the performance is worth it. Just make sure you get 1.5V and CL9.

Mushkin Chronos is a more reliable SSD. If you value performance though then just get the one you chose.

If you don't plan to SLI/xFire, you would be fine with a 400 - 500W PSU.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Good points azeem40! Thanks for the quick reply!

Since this is my first solo build, I do have some questions about the PSU.

-Is there anything you have against the OCZ in particular? Went bad after xx months, etc?

-My video card requires a 400w PSU, will that have any impact if I were to downgrade to a 500 or 550w PSU? In other words, what are the pros/cons of running at a 500w power supply?
EDIT: Was answered by l0v3rboi "If you don't plan to SLI/xFire, you would be fine with a 400 - 500W PSU."

For the video card I am in a bit of tight budget, as much as I would love the GTX560 unfortunately I am cash strapped. Would you still recommend a GTX560 1GB over a GTX 550 2GB?

EDIT:
Thanks for the reply l0v3rboi! I would have bought that motherboard, but look at the price difference. It was a deal when buying the processor to get the Gigabyte motherboard that I have for only 109.99.

The RAM is a good point, I am actually planning on returning that now that you mention it. I could have sworn it was 1666! Good catch!

Thanks for the quick rundown of SLi and helping with the PSU issue!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote


Except with my 6970 reference cards. It is more like 1+1=2.2

AMD scaling FTW
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Apologies in advance everyone! I seem to have created this thread as a Question, I believe I have edited this thread to a discussion. Thanks so much for everyone's input, I am actually doing price checks across the web right now and taking some of your tips into consideration!

EDIT: Anyone have any comments on my Optical Drive issue? I have an external I can just plug in, but I also have a internal one from 2006 I believe? I wonder if the drivers are still out there somewhere :??:
 
Upvote 0 Downvote


A 6850 is a decent mid range (not high end by an means) 1GB card that performs quite well in most games as long as you don't intend to go over 1080P. I own a 6850 and have it OCed (without voltage adjustments btw) to 925mhz Core, and 1150mhz Memory. With overclock the 6850 makes for a hell of a card when you can usually pick one up for $120 after rebates.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Yeah I want to get a Nvidia GTX560TI but its out of my range.

I am debating between a Nvidia GTX460 or GTX560 or (now) Radeon HD 6850. Which one is the better bang for your buck?

I only got a 60GB SSD because I am only installing the OS on the SSD.

I will eventually buy a CPU cooler, but for now I am going to run stock.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Price/Performance comparison
http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/high_end_gpus.html#value

Look and decide. Best bang for the buck: DEFINITELY Radeon HD 6850

You can have OS + 1-2 games. You got to be careful about what you install on your SSD and use ccleaner alot to keep it clean (uninstall unneeded stuff and format once every 6-12 months).

Besides, you could save some money by buying a H61 mobo and a non-oc cpu. It's not like your graphics card is gonna get bottlenecked by the CPU anyways.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
All valid points, but after reading over 5 reviews on the web from sources such as Anandtech and even some on Tom's, they all say the GTX560 edges out the Radeon 6850. That being said, they also say the GTX460 is comparable to the GTX560.

So the way I am seeing this is

Radeon 6850 < GTX560
GTX460 ~ or < GTX560

A common theme I have seen around is that if you can't afford the GTX560 TI, then save the money and buy a GTX460 Super Clocked for similar performance and cheaper than the GTX560.

I guess my last problem is the video card, I have around $200 dollars to spend up front but I want to end up paying less than or equal to $160 after rebates.

EDIT:

I have seen the Radeon 6870 being tossed around quite a bit, and for the price I see its better than a GTX560 (non ti).

So its something like
GTX560 < Radeon 6870 < GTX560TI

Correct me if I am wrong. Also if you know of any deals going on let me know =D
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Update on changes to my build, Thanks everyone for the tips! :bounce:

Case:ZALMAN Z11 Plus Black Steel - Price: $44.99 after rebate SAME

Processor: Intel Ivy Bridge i5-3570K - Price: $189.99 SAME

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UD3H - Price: $109.99 SAME

Power Supply: OCZ ModXStream Pro 700W Modular - Price: $49.99 after rebate NEW, on sale at:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341018&Tpk=ocz%20700w

Video Card:

RAM: Corsair Vengeance 8 GB ( 2 x 4 GB ) DDR3 1600 MHz - Price: $47.99 NEW:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004CRSM4I/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00

HDD: OCZ Agility 3 60GB SSD - Price: $49.99 after rebate SAME

HDD2: Seagate Barracuda 1.5TB 5900RPM HDD - Price: $84.99 NEW:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148725&nm_mc=TEMC-RMA-Approvel&cm_mmc=TEMC-RMA-Approvel-_-Content-_-text-_-

I figured since I am using a SSD to boot up, I can cut a bit on the hard drive. Technically speaking, this one should actually be faster seeing as it can utilize 6GBPS instead of the old HDD 3GBPS.

Can you guys and gals help me out with the video card situation? I am stuck between:
____ GTX460
EVGA GTX460 Super Clocked
____ GTX560
EVGA GTX560 Super Clocked
GTX560 TI

Does 1GB vs 2GB make a huge difference in terms of FPS? From what I heard, 2GB is not as useful as making sure the GPU itself is good.

Any recommendations and deals? Thanks in advance!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
The 560ti is a great card, although if you are looking to save money I still recommend the 6850 OCed.

2GB comes in handy when playing at higher resolutions (above 1080P) and when using High Resolution Textures.
I have heard that 2GB makes things like the Skyrim Textures (the High Res mod ones) run much better.

On cards like these though, and below 1080P I don't see the payoff being very noticeable in a 2GB card over a 1GB.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
If you want to play modern games at high visual quality and use mods and experience everything PC gaming has to offer at 1080p, I would definitely recommend passing on the 6850.

I would recommend a 7850. They are low on power requirements, about as powerful as a 6970/570, and provide a 2GB framebuffer which is really needed for high-res gaming, and would give you just about the best 1080p gaming experience at it's price range.

If you can't afford at least that (for this day and time), you really can't afford to be a PC gamer. It should be within your price range if you play your cards right.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
He states at top that his goal is 1080p gaming.

Even for 1080p, the 1GB framebuffer is beginning to show it's age. And the 6850 is only as fast as the 560 (non-ti). That is pretty humdrum for PC gaming. And crossfiring a second would increase the VRAM bottleneck. It would also most likely result in some terrible microstuttering (as low end cards often do in dual-card configurations), especially in this day and age. I find the latter point to be particularly pertinent considering he wrote "Maybe" next to SLi/Crossfire in the above list.

Sometimes I wonder if people even read the lists people provide, no offense.

OP: I would strongly recommend passing on the 6850, 550Ti, 560, or an equivalent of that. The 560Ti wouldn't be too bad, but even then, I would recommend something with a tad more VRAM seeing as you wish to play modern games at 1080p well into the future. You should be able to swing getting a 7850 with an $850 budget, especially considering what you already have. And if worst comes to worst, you'd be better off waiting another couple of months and ending up with a good machine, then rushing into this and eventually ending up with an $800 web browser.

Good luck.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Solution


🙁 So I haven't been experiencing what PC gaming has to offer this whole time?


Here is the thing, a 6850 OCed can play most modern games on highest detail settings, 1080P, 16x AF, and around 4X+ AA.
Here are the games I have tried (some with visual mods):

Portal
Portal 2
Mirrors Edge (8XQ AA)
Fallout 3 (Mods like NMC run fine)
Sonic Ether Minecraft with High Resolution Textures
Dolphin emulating Wii and running SMG2 at 3X Internal Res and plenty of AA
Deus Ex: HR

To say, "You can't afford to be a PC Gamer" is really a dick comment. Plenty of good PC games can run at 1080P and Max detail on a 6850 on the right system. But I am not sure when graphic quality automatically meant how good a game is.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote


That isn't really cheap. A 6850 after rebate is $125, that is quite a price difference.
A 7850 is good, but by no means necessary. He said he might be running the games at less than 1080P even.

Hell he could buy a 6850 now, and in one year sell it and get a 7850 once the price has dropped massively.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom