Can we make this i3 rig a bit cheaper?

[David Robinette]

Hey guys, as the title says, I want to see if we can make this i3 rig a bit cheaper. Many of the promos expired, and some of the items were out of stock (RAM, case, and power supply).
Currently, if I were to order everything except the RAM,case, and OS from newegg and superbizz, I would be looking at ~$500 before mail-in rebates. If I were to order the RAM, case, and OS, I would be looking at a total of ~$720-730, which is over my budget .

Here's the rig (courtesy of MasterDell): http://pcpartpicker.com/p/ZP9nK8

Some additonal info: my final (after tax/shipping) price budget tops out at about $700, but the closer to the 600/650 line we are, the happier I am. I'm fairly set on the i3-4150 as my CPU. I think the r9 270x will be a fine GPU for my needs, but I could be convinced to get another with similar performance if it's cheaper. I think the RAM may be able to be replaced with something a little cheaper (and in stock!), but I'm no expert, which is why I am here, asking you, the experts!

 

[Wolf-Needs]

Are you open to buy from other places?

If so Crucial Ballistix Sport ram for a single stick of 8GB is only about $60 on Amazon http://goo.gl/mqwwJJ

Update:
Found MSI H81M-P33 for about $40 from SuperBiiz http://goo.gl/1kxRxc
Found PowerColor R9 270x 2GB for about $150 with rebate from Newegg http://goo.gl/RLVFVn

 

[David Robinette]

Are you open to buy from other places?

If so Crucial Ballistix Sport ram for a single stick of 8GB is only about $60 on Amazon http://goo.gl/mqwwJJ

Update:
Found MSI H81M-P33 for about $40 from SuperBiiz http://goo.gl/1kxRxc
Found PowerColor R9 270x 2GB for about $150 with rebate from Newegg http://goo.gl/RLVFVn

Yes, I am open to buy from other places, so long as they are reliable. That motherboard and GPU looks pretty good. Looks like it doesn't come with any PCIex1 slots, but I don't plan on putting in a sound card or network card, so that shouldn't be a big deal, right?

Update: The total is down to $475 (from $500) after shipping for the mobo, gpu, power supply, cpu, optic drive, and hard drive. If there is a significant price difference, I can go down to a smaller hard drive - my current disk holds ~750 and I've never been over 2/3 of that (though 500mb would probably make me uncomfortable).

As of right now, with the current parts, I would be looking at $~690-700 after shipping (and hopefully after tax, too).

 

[giantbucket]

you could knock the processor back to the G3258 and (if the mobo is able to) overclock the mofo. maybe also knock the ram down to 4G but that's not ideal. also, you NEED a dvd drive? don't have an old one to use just for the OS install? or a flash drive? use the activation key from the OS you buy but install using a USB if you have one kicking around.

EDIT - also, for the time being, REMOVE the graphics card altogether. you can always add one in 4-6 months when you have more cash to play with, and at that point you can get something better. surely you can work & play with the onboard graphics in the meantime.

 

[Bossyfins]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($99.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H81M-DS2V Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($54.48 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill NS Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($61.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 270X 2GB Dual-X Video Card ($155.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($28.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($43.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSC0B DVD/CD Writer ($12.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $598.34
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-10 15:19 EST-05001``

 

[David Robinette]

you could knock the processor back to the G3258 and (if the mobo is able to) overclock the mofo. maybe also knock the ram down to 4G but that's not ideal. also, you NEED a dvd drive? don't have an old one to use just for the OS install? or a flash drive? use the activation key from the OS you buy but install using a USB if you have one kicking around.

EDIT - also, for the time being, REMOVE the graphics card altogether. you can always add one in 4-6 months when you have more cash to play with, and at that point you can get something better. surely you can work & play with the onboard graphics in the meantime.

As far as removing the graphics card, that would defeat the purpose of upgrading my pc. To clarify, I'm upgrading so that I can play the newer games that have come out in the last year or so (Dark Souls II, etc). I've had my current set up for 6 years, and I feel that it is time for an upgrade. I definitely want to keep the 8gb of ram, and the i3-4150 processor. I'll take your advice on the optics drive, though.


Bossy, I think I'll probably go with the RAM you listed there. I'm already ordering some parts from newegg, and that'll save me a bit if I can bundle it with those for shipping. If only all those promos didn't expire yesterday