BestConfigs - Budget Intel-Based Gaming PC

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springhalo

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I'm confused as to why you actually classify $1000 as a budget build. Real budget builds are $500-$700, where you would use an i3 for gaming, which for the average gamer, still kills EVERYTHING ELSE AMD HAS TO OFFER, it is an amazing chip, and perfect for true budget gaming. Not everyone going into the PC gaming scene has $1000 to shell out.
 

mgf derp

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Check my new edit :)
 

striker410

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Not sure if 2 builds are allowed to be submitted, but here goes nothing.

Striker's "1337 l0ad0ut" rig

Processor: Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor $305

Motherboard: MSI P67A-G43 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard $0 (bundle)

RAM: CORSAIR XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory $60

Graphics Card: EVGA SuperClocked 01G-P3-1567-KR GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card $220

Second Graphics Card: EVGA SuperClocked 01G-P3-1567-KR GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card $220

Hard Drive: Samsung Desktop Class Spinpoint F3 1 TB SATA 3.0 Gb-s 32 MB Cache 3.5-Inch Internal Bare-OEM Drives, HD103SJ $60

Case: COOLER MASTER HAF 912 RC-912-KKN1 Black SECC/ ABS Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $60

Power Supply: 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 $70

Cooling: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler $30

DVD Burner: Sony Optiarc CD/DVD Burner $18
My total cost comes to $983 with rebates.
Lets talk about some of the features.

-Very powerful 2500k processor.

-SLI 560 Ti's. The 560 Ti's provide unprecedented power, rivaled only by the 6950's.

-the 560 Ti's overclock much better than the 6950's, satisfying those with a taste for power.

-Awesome CL7 ram, fast and furious.

-8x 8x SLI. No bottlenecks!

And that's all. It's as 1337 as it gets :D
 

striker410

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What you are doing is copying from another post I assume. What you need to do is click the BBcode button on top of the post and copy from there.
 

genghiskron

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anyone wanna link me some overclocked gtx 560 ti SLI benchmarks? can only seem to find stock SLI and single card OC. i like the build striker. i was contemplating that one over the one i chose, but i just couldnt justify the extra cost. I was looking at the guru3d stock SLI benches
http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce-gtx-560-ti-sli-review/9
and it seemed to me id rather have the scythe mugen and the K. I am actually quite curious as to how an OC'd 2500k with 6870s would match up to gtx 560ti SLI with an i5-2400. I would imagine the 560's would come out ahead by a small margin in current games (except blizzard games).
 

striker410

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Yeah I agree. I was gonna go K and 6870's, then I saw your build :p
However, I think the 2400 and 560 Ti's is still a very strong combo as it's more important to have GPU power than CPU power.

Edit: Yeah Genhiskron, pretty hard to justify 2 560 Ti's. After reviewing benchmarks, it's a small performance gain. however the 560's I listed have $30 rebates each, so it's really depending on whether you send in rebates or not. However the 6870's have $20 rebates..... I guess it comes down to overclocking. The 560 Ti's overclocked I think would prove their worth. Stock? No way.
 

grody

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From what I've read it shouldn't, but I've updated the build to squeeze in a mobo capable of 8x/8x, just in case.
 

ltrazaklt

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LT's "Jack of All Trades" Build

CPU= 2500k : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072
$225

MB = ASRock Z68 xtreme4 : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157250
$190

RAM = 4GB(2x2GB) GSkill ripjaws 8-8-8-24 @1333 : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231275
$45

GRAPHICS CARD = MSI 6950 TwinFrozr 2GB : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127555
$280 MIR $25

HD = 500GB WD CavBlack SATA 6Gb/s 7200rpm 32MB cache : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136795
$60

CASE = Logisys MidTower ATX : http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=CS51WBK&cat=CAS
$35

POWER SUPPLY = CoolerMaster 650W : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171052
$80 MIR $15

COOLING = Stock; The ASrock MB is designed w/ extra holes so you can use 775 HSF
$0

DVD Burner = Pioneer Black 12x BLU-RAY BURNER : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827129066
$110

SubTotal = $1025 - $40 MIR = grand total $985 plus S+H
also the case comes with an 'unkown' PSU (I prolly wouldnt trust it, thus adding the CoolerMaster) ..BUT IF (and that's a mighty big IF) the PSU turns out to be decent (in case you didnt see Tom's FANTASTIC Article on PSU OEM's, Designers, Manufacturers etc , I highly reccomend reading it) ..I didnt have time to FULLY research the who is who in PSU, but I chose CoolerMaster cuz I know my 750W has been rock solid for 3.5 years now..soo IF the case psu is ok, that'll save ya another $65-$80 ..

ok..heres the idea ...it does everything, can play a decent game, be a solid HTPC, but also can BURN BLU-RAYs ..did I mention can BURN Blu-Rays? lol for under a grand.
here the 'How?'s and Why?'s short story
CPU= 2500k enough said
MB = ASRock , Toms approved, plus can use 775 HSF, plus THX sound stuff
RAM = GSkill ..8-8-8-24 ..enough said (had to skimp here to squeeze in Blu Ray BURNER)
GRAPHICS = MSI 6950 TwinFroz 2GB ..enough said
HD = WD CavBlack ..would have like to had 64MB cache and TB, but its SATA 6, and big enough ..again had to skimp somewhere for BluRay Burner
CASE = Logisys ..went with this cause its 8" Wide, my LianLi is 8" and I like the lil bit of extra width for cable management and 'fingerability' ..plus it kind of looks cool, though I would get rid of the opening panel thingy, will prolly break off anyway..but price was right ..again I had to skimp somewhere to squeeze in the Blu-Ray
PSU = CoolerMaster ..enough power to Xfire later if ya want to, and solid proven brand
COOLING = Stock (plenty OC on stock for 2500k, OR use ur old 775)
DVD/Blu-Ray Burner = Pioneer Black , great reviews, solid brand name, back in the Day, Pioneer made some great CD/DVD Product that I personally owned anyone remember the old 6 CD changers? or the DVD x16 ? ..both I had personally used daily , and they great ..oh did I mention it BURNS Blu-Rays, lol ..
I skimped on the RAM and went single GPU cause those are the easiest parts to upgrade later on.
ok, so it prolly wont BEST at anything, but will be able to do Everything..hence the build name ..thanks for looking ..lemme know what yall think ..critics welcome as well :)
 

ChiefTexas_82

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Hmmm... Blue-ray burning and movies. I wonder, when will games start to ship out in blue-ray format (for PC)? They waited until practically everyone had DVD drives to release games on DVD. Blue-ray today is probably too expensive for this move, which makes your machine a gamble on the "Budget Gaming Build" topic, LT. At least for the time being.
 

grody

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Considering that rebates aren't even cash or check most of the time (prepaid cards, often only usable on products issued by that manufacturer), they really shouldn't be considered.

Also, people keep including shipping when they shouldn't.
 
Wolfram's "Who Needs DVD??" Rig

CPU: i5 2500k $209.99
Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-Z68MA-D2H-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard $124.99
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) $41.99
Case: APEX Vortex 3620 SGCC / ABS ATX Mid Tower Gaming Computer Case $34.99
HDD: Seagate Barracuda ST3500413AS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive $39.99
PSU: Antec EarthWatts EA750 750W Continuous Power ATX12V version 2.3 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC $89.99
GPU 1: XFX HD-695X-ZNFC Radeon HD 6950 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 $229.99
GPU 2: XFX HD-695X-ZNFC Radeon HD 6950 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 $229.99

Total: $1001.92
After MIR: $921.92
(Then if you need to, add the LG DVD±RW SuperMulti Drive 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM $18.99

Decided to take $2 over the limit for the 2500k. Also has CF 6950 1gb which will be amazing performance. The case has good airflow (front intake, rear exhaust). All in all this build would kick butt. Obviously no DVD drive but considering the MIRs it would easily fit in the budget after that, or you could use an old/used one, or just install the OS from USB.

EDIT: Swapped the case due to concerns over quality. The Raidmax probably had better cooling in the end, but the new one should be adequate. Both GPUs exhaust externally so that helps.
 

grody

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Then you'll need to include that in your build.
 

genghiskron

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what about your mobo drivers? yes, you could rip the files on a separate computer (with a dvd drive) and copy those to a usb, install the ethernet driver, then download everything else online. but you still have stock cooling, the worst reviewed part i have ever seen on newegg (the case has been discontinued by raidmax), and an hd6950 where more than a third of reviewers are claiming crashes and white screens.
 


How do you figure? The instructions don't include any peripherals or OS. Plus, it's not like they have to pick mine if they think it needs DVD. Then again, after MIR there's plenty of money left over for a DVD drive.
 


Mobo drivers? Once the OS is installed it has all the drivers... and all the updates are only going to be had online anyway.

As for cooling, so what. Stock i5 2500k is already more than fast enough. And even then it OCes on stock cooling a surprising amount.

I don't know about the case being discontinued since it's still available on Newegg, and all the reviews are against it because it showed up broken which could easily be mishandling by the shippers. But thanks for the heads up, I'll see if I can find a replacement...

As for the 6950... I doubt that.