First build $1000 Gaming PC

jig220

Honorable
Apr 26, 2012
6
0
10,510
Alright so this is going to be my first build ever and ive been researching tons of info the past two weeks. I want to overclock my computer with the i5-2500k but im pretty much lost on the MOBO and Graphics card. One minute i see high reviews on Radeon cards and the next I see good reviews on GTX (AMD right?) cards. I am going to have to buy everything for this computer right down to the mouse and keyboard (Had a laptop for 5 years). Dont worry about adding in the Mouse and keyboard or Moniter (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236049) in the Price. Im going to run this computer off of Windows 7 64 bit. I wanted to at least have a 128gb SSD if not a 64/60 gb would work i guess. And most likely get a 1tb HDD. I will post a build im Somewhat leaning towards.




Approximate Purchase Date: Month of May

Budget Range: Around $1000

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, Uploading Vids, and surfing the web a ton.

Parts Not Required: keyboard and mouse, speakers.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg.com

Country: U.S.

Parts Preferences: Not Really picky just want a solid gaming computer with i5-2500k

Overclocking: Will OC once i figure it out.

SLI or Crossfire: Not really sure about what this is.

Monitor Resolution: 1920 x 1080 good enough for a good graphics card?

Additional Comments: Does have to be a quiet pc just not to noisy.




Build:

OS: Windows 7 Pro$120

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K $220

Motherboard:Have no idea.

PSU: Not sure but I hear good reviews on Corsairs.

System Drive: Some kind of SSD 64gb or 128gb.

Storage Drive: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

$110


Memory: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-16GBXL

$105

GPU: Not sure










 

Dhorkas

Honorable
Apr 26, 2012
12
0
10,520
Hello, One thing i want to reccomend you do is cut the ram. There is no reason for 16GB of ram on a gaming machine it WILL NOT improve your performance in games or even just using your OS all it is essentially doing for you is eating up your budget. Get 4 gb of ram to save on your computer(if you don't think this is enough you can always upgrade later). one of the above comments recommends a 7970 but you specify that you want a 64 gb or 128 gb ssd. I would recommend an intel 520 drive for your ssd. They come in 60 GB and 120GB so thats your choice. For the graphics card i would recommend getting a 7870. This card equivalent to the 6970(amd's former best card) and is perfect for 1920x1080. To put it simply unless you plan of having a 3d setup a 7970 is more geared towards either multiple monitor setups or 2560x1600 monitors etc. My current system uses a 6970 and i am able to run every game i can find max settings at around 60 fps. For a motherboard personally i would recomend an msi or asus. I have build 3 computers with asus boards and 2 with msi and they all have had no problems. i hope this helps feel free to ask anymore questions.
 

Dhorkas

Honorable
Apr 26, 2012
12
0
10,520

jig220

Honorable
Apr 26, 2012
6
0
10,510
Thanks azeem and Dhorkas.

Ok So with what both of you said this is what i came up with,


Build:

OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM

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

$99

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K

$220

Motherboard: ASUS P8P67 DELUXE (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131701

$210

PSU: Still need help with this.

Storage Drive: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822152185

$110


Memory: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231428

$47


GPU: ASUS HD7870-DC2-2GD5 Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121624

$350

Case: Still need help on this.


It comes to $1037 before rebates.




 

jig220

Honorable
Apr 26, 2012
6
0
10,510
Ok i do have a couple questions and they might sounds dumb. First, On the GPU like the 7870 there are different brands to choose from so im not really sure which one. The second question is actually a statement. When picking a motherboard i have no clue on what im doing so i guess i either want a Asus or a Asrock.
 

jig220

Honorable
Apr 26, 2012
6
0
10,510
I am going to go with the Sapphire Ghx Edition which brings the price up by $10 but thats fine. As for the Asrock MOBO will it work well with everything? I hope so because that brings my Final price down by $70.
 

g-unit1111

Titan
Moderator


That's an excellent card - I have the same one. I can definitely vouch for it.

If you want suggestions for a ~$1200 build here's what I typically recommend:

Try this setup:

Case: Fractal Design Arc MIDI - $109.99
PSU: Corsair Enthusiast Series TX750 - $104.99
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77-UD5H - $189.99
CPU: 3.30GHz Intel Core i5-2500K - $219.99
Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo - $34.99
RAM: Mushkin Enhanced Silverline 8GB 1333MHz - $42.99
HD: 1TB Seagate Barracuda ST - $99.99
Optical: Lite On Bulk DVD Burner - $17.99
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 - $399.99
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium - $99.99

Total: $1,277.91

A little bit more but if you don't get Windows it comes out to under $1200.
 
http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Carbide-Series-Gaming-Computer/dp/B0055Q7BR4/ref=sr_1_3?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1335487850&sr=1-3 $99.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Corsair Carbide Series 400R Mid Tower Gaming Computer Case - CC-9011011-WW

http://www.corsair.com/pc-cases/carbide-series-pc-case/carbide-series-400r-mid-tower-case.html <----- another look at that case

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341049 $89.99 - $64.99 after mail-in rebate card FREE SHIPPING
OCZ ZS Series 750W 80PLUS Bronze High Performance Power Supply compatible with Intel Sandy Bridge Core i3 i5 i7 and AMD Phenom

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157293 $134.99
ASRock Z77 Extreme4 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=Z77%20Extreme4 <----- A better look at that Asrock board

http://www.guru3d.com/news/intel-ivy-bridge-gets-prelaunch-price-cut/ $212
Intel Ivy Bridge i5 3570K 3.4Ghz

http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-Hyper-212-RR-212E-20PK-R2/dp/B005O65JXI/ref=pd_cp_e_1 $34.95 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO CPU Cooler (RR-212E-20PK-R2)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231546 $44.99 FREE SHIPPING
G.SKILL Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-1600C9D-8GAB

http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Barracuda-3-5-Inch-Internal-ST1000DM003/dp/B005T3GRNW/ref=sr_1_6?m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1335487412&sr=1-6 $99.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Seagate Barracuda 7200 1 TB 7200RPM SATA 6 Gb/s NCQ 64MB Cache 3.5-Inch Internal Bare Drive ST1000DM003

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-AD-7280S-0B-Internal-Drive-Black/dp/B0057FRTPW/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1335487622&sr=1-1 $17.99 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25
Sony AD-7280S-0B 24x SATA Internal DVD+/-RW Drive (Black)

http://www.amazon.com/HD7870-DC2-2GD5-DisplayPort-Utilities-PCI-Express-Graphics/dp/B007JLFVNO $349.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
ASUS HD7870-DC2-2GD5 Radeon 2GB DDR5 VGA/DVI/HDMI/DisplayPort GPU Tweak Utilities PCI-Express 3.0 Graphics Card HD7870-DC2-2GD5

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/HD_7870_Direct_Cu_II/ <----- Review w/benchmarks of that Asus card

http://www.amazon.com/Windows-Premium-64bit-System-Builder/dp/B004Q0PT3I/ref=pd_sim_pc_16 $99.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64bit (Full) System Builder DVD 1 Pack

Total: $1,184.87 *not including shipping and rebates


http://www.amazon.com/ML228H-22-Inch-Ultra-Slim-Widescreen-Monitor/dp/B00413PHEQ $159.00 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping
Asus ML228H 21.5" 1920X1080 2ms Full HD LED BackLight LED Monitor Slim Design 250 cd/m2 10,000,000 :1 (ASCR)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236099 <----- another look at that monitor on newegg


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226236 $119.99 FREE SHIPPING
Mushkin Enhanced Chronos MKNSSDCR120GB 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
 

Dhorkas

Honorable
Apr 26, 2012
12
0
10,520
For a case that is really personal opinion for the most part. you want one that looks cool(to you). Look at the different features that might interest you (like usb 3) and try to base you decision with how much it costs, how cool it looks, and its functionality.

for power supplies i always see people with huge wattage power supplies(like 1000w) i just want you to understand that most gaming computers only use about 400w at a time and you will be perfectly fine with a 500w psu. I recommend either a corsair or thermaltake one but its your choice. Also when choosing you can look at the efficiency %(example 80+% is great)
hope this helps
 

g-unit1111

Titan
Moderator


It's true that a lot of cases are personal preference but I really try not to get people to buy junk brands (Raidmax, Xion, Xclio, Apevia, etc). I've been reformatting a bunch of systems this week and one had a Raidmax case and I kept having to push the front cover in every time I moved it. Then one had an Apevia case and the light cover fell off it when I opened the door.

And yeah I know in some cases high-wattage PSUs are overkill but I always like to plan ahead on builds - if you're going to Crossfire / SLI your video card in the future, or add a bunch of drives and fans to your build then having a 750W - 950W can be necessary.
 

TRENDING THREADS