$950 Gaming Build - Need advice/opinions

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Ashbacher7

Ashbacher7

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Aug 4, 2011
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Here's my AMD Build (in cart on newegg.com)

Case: COOLER MASTER HAF 932 Advanced RC-932-KKN5-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Compucase Case with USB 3.0 and Black Interior
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160

Motherboard: ASUS M4A88T-V EVO/USB3 AM3 AMD 880G USB 3.0 HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131668

CPU: AMD Athlon II X4 640 Propus 3.0GHz Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor ADX640WFGMBOX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103871

GFX: XFX HD-685X-ZNFC Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150505

Memory: Mushkin Enhanced Silverline 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model 996770
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226095

Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black WD5002AALX 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136795

Power Supply: CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005

Optical Drive: Sony Optiarc CD/DVD Burner Black SATA Model AD-7260S-0B - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118039

OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (Comes with Trend Micro Titanium Internet Security)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116716


Please give your honest advice and opinions! Thanks!
 
Solution
wintermint
Please don't get a Raidmax power supply as the first post suggest. That's just crazy trusting your near $1000 rig with a crappy power supply. If youre planning a true budget build like $500 or so, AMD is usually the way to go if you want quad cores and decent performance. Anything over $700 is really Intel's territory, you get better performance for your money.

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500k $220
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

CPU Cooler: Stock [Hyper 212+ for $30 or Mugen II for $40 OC if 4+Ghz OC]

MOBO: MSI P67A-G43 (B3) $130 before $20 MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130583

RAM: Kingston HyperX KHX1600C9D3K2/8GX $55 before $15 MIR...
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hdd: samsung spinpoint f3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185&Tpk=f3%20spinpoint

GPU: ZOTAC AMP! ZT-50302-10M GeForce GTX 560 Ti
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500196

MOBO: ASRock P67 PRO3 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157230

CPU: i5-2500k
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727

Case: NZXT GAMMA classic series
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146061&Tpk=nzxt%20gamma

PSU: RAIDMAX Blackstone series RX-700AC 700W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817152042

CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233185

Win7
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986


Total- $939
 
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Please don't get a Raidmax power supply as the first post suggest. That's just crazy trusting your near $1000 rig with a crappy power supply. If youre planning a true budget build like $500 or so, AMD is usually the way to go if you want quad cores and decent performance. Anything over $700 is really Intel's territory, you get better performance for your money.

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500k $220
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072

CPU Cooler: Stock [Hyper 212+ for $30 or Mugen II for $40 OC if 4+Ghz OC]

MOBO: MSI P67A-G43 (B3) $130 before $20 MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130583

RAM: Kingston HyperX KHX1600C9D3K2/8GX $55 before $15 MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104173

GPU: EVGA 01G-P3-1561-AR GeForce GTX 560 Ti $240 before $25 MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150506
-Alternative: XFX HD-687A-ZNFC Radeon HD 6870 $180 before $30 MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150506

HDD: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB $60
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

CASE: Rosewill Challenger $50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147153&Tpk=Rosewill%20Challenger

PSU: Antec High Current Gamer Series HCG-750 750W $90 before $25 MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371049

Optical: Sony Optiarc $20
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118040

OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit $100
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986

With 560 ti: $965 before MIR and $880 after MIR [free shipping]
with 6870: $905 before MIR and $825 after MIR [free shipping]

If you don't already have a decent 1920x1080 monitor. My build will give you enough money left over to purchase a 19-20" one after MIR of course. The i5-2500k is the best performance you can get right now for gaming. The MSI motherboard supports sli/crossfire and I already set up a quality 700W PSU for it. You are free to add on another graphic card [560 ti or 6870] when you upgrade. Kingstons actually make decent ram like G.Skill. I wouldn't waste extra money on Corsair. Everything else is pretty self explanatory. Samsung Spinpoint F3 best hard drive for its price. Antec has reliable quality I believe this uses Seasonic part too [someone correct if I'm wrong]. $20 optical drive is fair enough. The case is mainly up to you but the Rosewill Challenger has lots of case fans preinstalled for you.
 
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Solution
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119240 $89.99 - $79.99 after mail-in rebate FREE SHIPPING
COOLER MASTER Storm Enforcer SGC-1000-KWN1 Black SECC / ABS Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case ATX PS2 / EPS 12V (optional ) Power Supply

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371049 $89.99 - $64.99 after mail-in rebate FREE SHIPPING
Antec High Current Gamer Series HCG-750 750W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V v2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Certified 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128502 $122.99 FREE SHIPPING
GIGABYTE GA-Z68A-D3H-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard - Virtu, Touch BIOS, Smart Response SSD, 2-Way SLI, HDMI

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.694804 $269.98 save: $13.00 - $20.00 Mail In Rebates FREE SHIPPING
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K
Patriot Signature 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory with heatshield Model PSD38G1600KH

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Spinpoint-3-5-Inch-Internal-HD103SJ/dp/B002MQC0P8/ref=sr_1_1?m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1312081809&sr=1-1 $59.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Samsung Desktop Class Spinpoint F3 1 TB SATA 3.0 Gb-s 32 MB Cache 3.5-Inch Internal Bare-OEM Drives, HD103SJ

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-SATA-Internal-Drive-AD-7260S-0B/dp/B003MRHOQG/ref=dp_cp_ob_pc_title_2 $19.99 Free Standard Shipping (3-5 days)
Sony 24X SATA Internal DVD+/-RW Drive AD-7260S-0B - Bulk (Black)

http://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-DL-DVI-I-SL-DVI-D-PCI-Express-100314-2SR/dp/B004E0KV3I $179.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Sapphire Radeon HD 6870 1 GB DDR5 DL-DVI-I/SL-DVI-D/HDMI/Dual Mini DP PCI-Express Graphics Card 100314-2SR

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986 $99.99 FREE SHIPPING
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM

Total: $932.91 *not including mail in rebates

Here's a fan that fits on the top of that case

http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Computer-Cooling-R4-LUS-07AR-GP/dp/B002LE8BJA/ref=pd_bxgy_e_img_b $14.30 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25
Cooler Master Computer Case Cooling R4-LUS-07AR-GP Red LED Case Fan
 
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The second build isn't bad other than the psu which is a paperweight, and it's set up to run a single vid card...but that's not bad if you don't want to SLI later on.

But without knowing what you plan on doing it's shooting into the dark so to say.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261222-31-build-advice <---- would you please copy and paste this on here and fill it out so we know what you plan on doing. :)
 
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http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119240 $89.99 - $79.99 after mail-in rebate FREE SHIPPING
COOLER MASTER Storm Enforcer SGC-1000-KWN1 Black SECC / ABS Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case ATX PS2 / EPS 12V (optional ) Power Supply

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371048 $69.99 - $49.99 after mail-in rebate FREE SHIPPING
Antec High Current Gamer Series HCG-620 620W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V v2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

http://www.amazon.com/ASRock-H67M-GE-B3-Intel-Motherboard/dp/B004S9ROCQ/ref=sr_1_6?m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1312519871&sr=1-6 $79.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
ASRock H67M-GE B3 Intel H67 Micro ATX DDR3 1333 Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115074 $189.99 FREE SHIPPING
Intel Core i5-2400 Sandy Bridge 3.1GHz (3.4GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52400

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226095 $49.99 FREE SHIPPING
Mushkin Enhanced Silverline 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model 996770

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Spinpoint-3-5-Inch-Internal-HD103SJ/dp/B002MQC0P8/ref=sr_1_1?m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1312081809&sr=1-1 $59.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Samsung Desktop Class Spinpoint F3 1 TB SATA 3.0 Gb-s 32 MB Cache 3.5-Inch Internal Bare-OEM Drives, HD103SJ

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-SATA-Internal-Drive-AD-7260S-0B/dp/B003MRHOQG/ref=dp_cp_ob_pc_title_2 $19.99 Free Standard Shipping (3-5 days)
Sony 24X SATA Internal DVD+/-RW Drive AD-7260S-0B - Bulk (Black)

http://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-DL-DVI-I-SL-DVI-D-PCI-Express-100312-3SR/dp/B0055Y66A4 $264.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Sapphire DIRT 3 EDITION Radeon HD 6950 2 GB DDR5 DL-DVI-I/SL-DVI-D/HDMI/DP PCI-Express Graphics Card 100312-3SR

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986 $99.99 FREE SHIPPING
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM

Total: $924.91 *not including mail in rebates

Here's a fan that fits on the top of that case

http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Computer-Cooling-R4-LUS-07AR-GP/dp/B002LE8BJA/ref=pd_bxgy_e_img_b $14.30 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25
Cooler Master Computer Case Cooling R4-LUS-07AR-GP Red LED Case Fan

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236099 $169.99 - $154.99 after mail-in rebate card FREE SHIPPING
Asus ML228H 21.5" 1920X1080 2ms Full HD LED BackLight LED Monitor Slim Design 250 cd/m2 10,000,000 :1 (ASCR)
 
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Ok thanks. I'll check into this.
 
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There's nothing wrong with that psu. It's got 5 eggs on Newegg, and 66 reviews. But, if you do want one that will be able to crossfire/sli easily, then I suggest a Kingwin Lazer, as it is fully modular. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817121077&Tpk=kingwin%20lazer

Its pricey but worth it.
 
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Your judging that psu by newegg reviews ...and then you just recommended a Kingwin psu ? :heink:

First off I doubt anyone with any kind of tech knowledge is going to be buying a Rosewill and/or Kingwin psu to begin with...so that right there negates any newegg reviews, not to mention I would guess that half the reviews on newegg are bs to begin with.
 
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You have three psu manufactures that stand out above the best, meaning three that you can count on not to fry your mobo and thus taking everything with it.

Seasonic , Enermax and Silverstone.

Seasonic manufactures the upper tier psu's for Corsair and Antec, and manufactures all the psu's for themselves, XFX and PC Power & Cooling. Enermax manufactures the middle and upper tier psu's for themselves, and the upper tier psu's for LEPA. Silverstone manufactures all their own psu's for themselves.
 
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Please shed some light on where you found this information....
 
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Johnny Guru, HardOCP, Hardware Canucks, etc... any reputable site that does psu reviews. It's common knowledge for most of us on here, especially the ones who choose to give advice to peeps on how to spend their money in regards to a pc build.

 
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Well the people that do the reviews are just people like everyone else that writes reviews such as on newegg, amazon, etc. so... yeah. It's like saying because a car wasn't on the speed channel, it's a piece of crap...
 
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I'm not going to get into a p*ssing match but If you actually think that some newegg reviews done by customers who usually don't have a clue themselves are comparable to professional reviews done by sites like this one, Johnny Guru, Hardware Cancuks, etc... then give it up now.
 
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All I'm saying is that customers can be just as knowledgeable as this "JohnnyGuru" guy, or any of those others. Anyways, we'll leave it up the op to decide. 😉 Sorry about getting so uptight about this. No disrespect intended. 😀
 
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I have to agree on the customer reviews. And good choice on the build.
 
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Unless the customers are testing their psu's with $1,500 voltage regulators I doubt it.
 
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