BestConfigs - MicroATX Gaming Build

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jpishgar

jpishgar

Splendid
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Jan 5, 2010
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We're updating the Tom's Hardware BestConfigs and are opening the field to user recommendations! Post the best configuration you can put together for the following build category and our editorial team will pick 5 recommendations in each category to put to a public vote. The top-ranking build will go on to become one of Tom's Hardware's BestConfigs, and you'll get the credit for having put together a brilliant build with special notice in the feature article.

Post your entries to this thread for the category of MicroATX Gaming Build, stay within $1200 and be sure to list the following components-

Processor:
Motherboard:
RAM:
Graphics Card:
Hard Drive:
Case:
Power Supply:
DVD Burner:

Good luck, and may the best builds win!
 
Using the Egg for all parts and prices Grand total $1,199.91

Processor: I5-655K 3.2ghz unlocked lga 1156 209.99
Motherboard: EVGA P55V micro ATX LGA 1156 74.99
RAM: Kingston HyperX 2x2gb ddr3-1600 cas 8 106.99
Graphics Card: EVGA GTX 470 319.99
Hard Drive: Hitachi 7k1000.c 1tb hdd 69.99
Hard Drive: OCZ Agility 2 60gb SATA2 SSD 158.00
Case: Lian Li PC-V351b microATX 89.99
Power Supply: Corsair CMPSU-750TX power supply 109.99
DVD Burner: LG 22x DVD Burner 17.99
Extras: Zalman CNPS8000a cpu cooler 41.99



Highlights - A small fast SSD for booting and a choice game or two, 1tb additional storage, an Unlocked I5 CPU in an SLI capable machine. I decided the best bang for the buck would be the EVGA GTX470 card, but to have this much GFX power and still leave room for an additional card I had to increase the power supply and make a sacrifice in the memory department and only use 4GB. This machine will offer stunning performance at the $1200 price point and allow future upgradeability.


 
I'll go ahead and use the build I made with the budget intel build, but expand on it a tad bit:


Processor (with aftermarket cooler) - $229.98:

i5-750 w/GELID Solutions Tranquillo


Motherboard - $74.99:

EVGA P55V Micro ATX Intel Motherboard


RAM - $93.99:

G.SKILL ECO Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)


Graphics cards - $179.99 each:

Two Galaxy GeForce GTX 460's GC 768MB w/a free copy of Just Cause 2 (I think it's one free copy per card :) )


HDD - $54.99 ($15 off with promo code; code used in calculations):

Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB Internal Hard Drive


Case - $69.99:

NZXT Crafted Series Vulcan Black Steel / Plastic Gaming mATX Computer Case


Power Supply - $89.99:

Thermaltake TR2 BRONZE 700W Power Supply


DVD Burner - $18.99:

Sony Optiarc Black CD/DVD Burner


SSD - $226.00:

Kingston SSDNow V Series 2.5" 128GB SATA II Internal Solid State Drive




Price excluding shipping & handling, excluding rebates:

$1203.90


Price including shipping & handling, excluding rebates:

$1237.09


Price including shipping & handling, including rebates:

$1177.09



So, it just ended up being my luck that the original power supply I had up went out of stock overnight because of how good a deal it was. I got another good one up there, $10 more but with a $20 rebate. Hopefully this will stay a little longer lol.
 
CPU - i5 760

Mobo - EVGA 121-LF-E652-KR LGA 1156 Intel P55 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

RAM - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBRM

CASE - Thermaltake Black SECC Japanese steel LANBOX Lite

PSU - XFX 650W - Modular

Graphic card - 2x GTX 460 in SLI - Just have to make sure that the cooler is a blower type and not the type that blows the hot air back inside...Something like this -
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500169

SSD for boot - OCZ Agility 2 60GB

DATA Drive - Samsung F3 1TB/ Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000.C

DVD - Lite-ON DVD
 
CPU & MOTHERBOARD combo - core i5-760 and asus maximus III gene = $339.99 -$20 MIR = $319.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.466030

RAM - OCZ Platinum 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2000 = $97.99 -$20 MIR = $77.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227569

CASE - IN WIN Dragon Slayer = $79.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811108236&Tpk=in%20win%20dragon%20slayer

PSU - XFX Black Edition 750W 80 PLUS SILVER CERTIFIED MODULAR = $129.99 - $20 MIR = $109.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207003

GRAPHIC CARD - Palit NE5X460HF1102 GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) Sonic Platinum = $239.99 - $30 MIR = $209.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814261076

BOOT DRIVE - OCZ Agility 2 OCZSSD2-2AGTE60G 2.5" 60GB =$158.00 - $20 MIR = $138.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227542

HDD - SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM = $74.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

ODD - SAMSUNG Black 8X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA Internal Blu-ray Combo Drive = $69.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151199

CPU COOLER - CORSAIR Cooling Hydro Series CWCH50-1 120mm High Performance CPU Cooler = $79.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835181010&cm_re=h50-_-35-181-010-_-Product


SUBTOTAL w/ MIR = $1,160.92


HIGHLIGHTS
* Fast SSD boot drive + 1tb data drive
* Blu-ray combo drive
* DDR3 2000
* GPU comes with just cause 2 coupon and starcraft 2 free trial
* MB has SupremeFX X-Fi built-in
* MB has another slot for a second GPU later on when needed. :)
 
Reasonable price / TOTAL: $534.92 exc. shipping
(you can spend spare money for windows 7 licence and/or new display)

I think this build is fast enough and should last at least 4 years.

Best components are CPU and GPU- its a best buy i think

2x hard drives (this is I think choke point of every modern pc so I went for 2 in raid)

Motherboard is quite basic, could be $20 cheaper but this one should use good quality components

Case and power supply is just a neccesarily evil, neutral black color and 350W PS is good enough

CPU: Athlon II 4x 2.8 GHz (good power/price ratio/ quite low power consumption)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103704

Motherboard: MSI / AMD 760G / mATX (cheap and support HYBRID-XFire=onboard integrate graphics boost our 5750 radeon )
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130254

RAM: 4GB DDR3 1066 low latency 7-7-7-20
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820144262

GPU: RADEON HD 5770/ 1GB / 128-bit
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161338

Hard drive: 2x Samsung SATA II 320 GB(640 total) 7200 RPM 16MBcache(32 total), average latency 4.17ms (in raid 1)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152244

Case (power supply included): mATX Mid Tower / Black / with 350W power supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811124130

DVD burner: LG 22x black Sata, LightScribe support
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136168

TOTAL: $534.92 exc. shipping




with os, display, mouse and keyboard

keyboard: keytronic, very good quality I have one for almost 7 years now

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823131060

Mouse: basic logitech, black 1000dpi

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826104365

Display: Samsung 21.5'' 1920*1080 LED backlight

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001417

OS: windows 7 home

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116754

TOTAL: $862.88

 
Processor: Intel i7 980X @ 4.5 GHz+
Motherboard: Asus Rampage III Gene
RAM: 3 x Corsair CMGTX4 - Dominator GTX, 2GB (1x2GB), 2533MHz, 9-11-10-30
Graphics Card: 1 Asus 5970 Ares with 1 Asus Matrix 5870 Tri-CrossFireX with a GTX 480 for dedicated PhysX on the x4 slot using a 12" PCI-E extender ribbon cable
SSD: 2 x Crucial C300 256 GB SSDs on the 2 sata 6 Gb/s ports in RAID0
Hard Drive: 6 x Western Digital RE4 WD2003FYYS 2TB drives on the 6 sata 3 Gb/s ports in RAID 10
Case: Corsair 700D
Power Supply: Corsair Professional Series AX1200 1200W
DVD Burner: Sony Optiarc Black DVD-RW connected to a usb port on the back using a SATA to USB adapter because all the hard drive ports will be filled. :-D
Water Cool: Koolance CPU-360 for overclocking the CPU

Why did I get 4 thumbs down? I just simply made a system config like they asked and people don't like it so I get the thumbs down? This is why I never post in Tom's Hardware forums because people are never helpful and always "think" they know it all and have bad attitudes. Very sad. I'll never post in Tom's Hardware forums again now because the users are so rude.
 
CPU: Core i7 870 @ 2.93GHz
M/B: Asus Maximus III Gene
2x PCIe x16, adding another graphic card or use that extra slot for something else, but if you do, the GPU will be running at x8.

RAM: G.Skill RipJaw 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1600
GPU: Zotac GTX460 1GB
One of the GTX460 that does not uses a mini-HDMI as mini-HDMI is gay. Has 2x DVI, full size HDMI and a display port.
Sadly you cannot hook up 3 monitors at once.

HDD: WD Black 640GB (SATA)
No SSD here as it's not categorized as "high-end".

CASE: SilverStone TJ08-B
PSU: Corsair 650w
ODD: LG writer (SATA)

$1,055.47 including other charges
 
The problem with all of these is a lack of information.

For what resolution monitor?

For what purpose? Is this meant to be a LAN party system or a dorm system?

All I can do here is try to hit the highest frame rates possible and ignore other considerations, as that is most likely to garner the largest votes.

EVGA P55V 120-LF-E651-TR LGA 1156 Intel P55 Micro ATX $75
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188064
According to EVGA, this is a true x8/x8 SLI board

i5-655K $200
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116369
Easy to OC. Most games still benefit little from more than two cores, and these two cores can be pumped up pretty high. In the tradition of these builds, I'm not building for tomorrow, but getting the best performance for the buck today.

ZALMAN CNPS10X Performa $50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118059
Top performance. 6 inches high. Obviously won't fit in many mATX cases.

TX-2 $5
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835154003&cm_re=TX-2-_-35-154-003-_-Product

Mushkin Blackline DDR3 1600 CL7 $95
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226103&cm_re=DDR3_1600_4GB-_-20-226-103-_-Product
I could have saved some here, we all know by now that RAM is not a big factor. However, I thought this a safe buy because it will end up overclocked if the CPU is pushed like it should be.
-------------------

Silverstone TJ08-B $100
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163058
This case will take larger CPU coolers and longer cards. Not many mATX cases will do this. It looks nice too.

Antec TP-650 $100
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371021
All needed connections, modular, 80plus bronze, well reviewed.

----

2 x ASUS ENGTX460 DirectCU/2DI/1GD5 GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) 1GB $460
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121391&cm_re=gtx_460_1gb-_-14-121-391-_-Product
Good cooling. Good voltage regulation. Probable overclock.

WD Caviar Black 750GB $60
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136283&cm_re=Caviar_Black-_-22-136-283-_-Product
Warranty, reliability, price per GB.


Sony DVD drive $18
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118039


$1163 before rebates and shipping.
 


You definatly kept it under $1200, but why would you spend $534,92 if you had a $1200 budget? Also 2x 320gb HDD's will give less performance in raid1 than a single 1tb+ drive due to platter density.

The problem with all of these is a lack of information.
Click to expand...

The only information is $1200 and micro ATX, I assumed a gaming build as well
 
Newegg Combo:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.467864

CPU: Intel Core i7-870 2.93 GHz LGA 1156
GPU: MSI N250GTS TwinFrozr 1G OC GeForce GTS 250 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
Mobo: MSI P55M-GD45 LGA 1156 Intel P55 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBRM
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31500341AS 1.5TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Combo price : $680.00

To finish the build grab a nice LAN case:

LIAN LI PC-V351B Black Aluminum MicroATX Desktop Computer Case - $89.99

Extra Video card for SLI performance:

MSI N250GTS TwinFrozr 1G OC GeForce GTS 250 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card - $144.99

Total w/ shipping: $927.87

With $270 to spare, you should be able to pick up a nice SSD or whatever accessory you need to complete your MicroATX build.


Comes with two StarCraft II trials.
 


well, because you can save the money on something else?(food, games, second pc for younger brother, future upgrades...)
i mean, you can get 100% system power for 550 dollars, and 135% system power for 1000 dollars... what would be smart..that is up to jpishgar when he picks 5 top builds :]

and with the HD's speed, it is a nonsence
 
No combos here, pretty unrealistic as they do expire.

CPU: i5-750 $195
Mobo: EVGA P55V $75 + $8 shipping (pre $20MIR)
Case: Nzxt Vulcan $70 + $3 shipping
GPU: 2x Gigabyte GTX460 768MB 2x$190=$380 (pre $20MIR)
Memory: 2x2GB Corsair XM3 DDR3-1600 $94 (pre $15 MIR)
HDD:Samsung F3 500GB $55
PSU: XFX 650W Modular 80PLUS Bronze $85 (pre $20MIR)
SSD: OCZ Agility 2 40GB $135 (pre $15 MIR)
Cooler(optional): Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus $30
Disk Drive: Sony Optiarc DVD-RW w/Lightscribe $20

Total: $1150 Shipped; $1060 after $90 MIR
 
Total $1158.91 + $12.95 s&h = $1171.46

Processor: $194
Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor BX80605I5750

Motherboard: $149
ASUS Maximus III GENE LGA 1156 Intel P55 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

RAM: $98.99
G.SKILL ECO Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBECO

Graphics Card: $459.98 ($229.99 each)
GIGABYTE GV-N460OC-1GI GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16

Hard Drive: $54.99
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Case: $69.99
NZXT Crafted Series Vulcan Black Steel / Plastic Gaming mATX Computer Case

Power Supply: $109.99
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified

DVD Burner: $19.99
ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM
 
I'm in the UK, as of now the exchange rate put 1200USD to 780GBP so i'll go off that using www.scan.co.uk.

Processor: Intel Core I5 760 2.8GHz - 152.93

Motherboard: Asus P7P55-M - 88.77

Memory: 4GB Corsair XMS3 Classic 1333MHz 9-9-9-24 - 72.97

HDD: 1TB Samsung Spinpoint F3 - 43.93

Graphics: 1GB EVGA GTX 460 SC - 180.32

PSU: Corsair 650 HX - 97.11

Case: Silverstone Sugo SG04 Black w/ Handle - 103.36

Optical: Samsung SH-S223C - 12.90

Additional Fan: 120mm Silverstone FN121 1200RPM - 6.20

773.14 GBP including delivery.
 
and with the HD's speed, it is a nonsence
Click to expand...

See the below review for the difference HDD platter density makes in a drive's performance if you think It's nonsense.

The 500gb / platter vs the 200gb / platter drives show a fairly linear increase in performance. The drive you chose is a single plater 320gb 4th generation samsung so it is a good drive, but in general larger size = higher transfer speed.


http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/1tb-hdd-storage,2563-7.html
 
My 2 cents,

Case
LIAN LI PC-V351B Black Aluminum MicroATX $89.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112222

Mainboard
ASUS Maximus III GENE LGA 1156 $139.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131599

CPU
Intel Core i5-760 $208.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115067

GPU
EVGA 01G-P3-1377-TR GeForce GTX 460 FTW (nice overclock / exaust out of case) $259.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130575

Memory
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1333 $159.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231311

Hard Drive
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB $74.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

SSD
SAMSUNG 470 Series 64GB $159.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147062

PSU
COOLER MASTER Silent Pro M700 $79.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171037

Optical
ASUS DVD Burner $18.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

Subtotal: $1,192.91
 
This is my first post so i know it may have some problems, but I would still like to participate

Here Is My Build

CPU: Intel i7 950 3.03 GHZ Price: 299.99$
MoB: Asus Rampage III GENE Price: 229.99$
RAM: Cosair XMS3 2x2GB (1600) Price: 93.99$
VGA: ASUS GTX 465 1GB 256bit Price: 214.99$
HDD: Western Digital Cavair Blue 1TB 7200 RPM Price: 74.99$
SSD: OCZ Agility 60GB Price: 109.99$
DVD: LG 22X With Light Scribe Price: 17.99$
PSU: Antec 650W SLI CrossFire ready Price: 79.99$

Case: Antec Sonata Elite Price: 79.99$
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL 1201.91$

I am 1.91 bucks over budget hope that doesn't disqualifies me. Also I took all prices
from newegg.com. I leave this green dude here i think he's saying pick me :bounce:

Thanx
 
I went with the video heavy build. I calculated in manufacturer rebates, and avoided combos. :hello:

CPU: Intel Core i5-760 Lynnfield 2.8GHz $199.99
HSF: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus $29.99
MOBO: ASUS Maximus III GENE $119.99
RAM: G.SKILL ECO Series 4GB DDR3 1600 $95.99
GPU1: Palit GeForce GTX 470 (Fermi) 1280MB $269.99
GPU2: Palit GeForce GTX 470 (Fermi) 1280MB $269.99
HDD: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F4 320GB 7200 RPM $42.99
DVD: LG 22X DVD Burner SATA Model $16.99
PSU: Seasonic 850W ATX12V 80Plus Silver Certified $119.99
CASE: RAIDMAX Hurricane Black ATX Mid Tower $19.99

Total: $1185.90

Should rebates expire or were are not allowed to begin with, I would downgrade both GPUs to GTX460s and throw in a SSD and upgrade the HDD to a higher capacity one, but then agian there are already a few builds like that here so I went a different route so as to not make a bunch of similar builds.

Personally I don't use built in DVD drives anymore and only plug in an external one when the need arises. I have a lower power draw this way by only powering it when I need it. Could have saved a few bucks by dropping it but I included it since the majority feels it's necessary to have one.
 
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