First low budget game rig

[darkt3co]

Hi people! I must begin this post begging your patience and comprehension because English is not my birth-language so I'll try to do my best.

First thing to say is that I made this config from benchmarks all over internet and this is actually my first attempt in putting together a config for gaming so this is not final. Also I'm not aiming for Crossfiring or Overclocking this machine since I'm not that kind of gaming enthusiast yet.

I'm looking for a Med-High Quality gaming for a 1920 x 1080 LED TV that will be able to play smoothly for at least 3 years. Not looking for a High-End machine though.

I'm still deciding between Intel and AMD configurations so I will post both here for you to evaluate my choices. The case, PSU and RAM are the best-budget parts I can get around here, so I ask you te pay more attention to the mobo, GPU and CPU.

Intel
Intel Core i5 3470K (if the "K" version is available, need to go checking the stores)
Z77 Sabertooth
GTX 660 Ti 2gb

AMD
FX 8350
990FX Sabertooth
Radeon 7850
-
Cooler Master HAF 912 (need some experienced advice on the cooling matter)
2x4gb Corsair 1600
Enthusiast Series TX650 V2 Corsair PSU

Have enough storage and the disk drives are the least of my problems. I'm worrying more about the inefficiency of the GPU-MOBO-CPU trio due to incompatibilities. The guys from the stores have no deeply idea of how these parts work (or not work) together since I'm buying in the grey market. People here usually go "Buy the ones with the higher number in the box. AMD is for gamming and Intel is for the rest"

After a few searches and benchmark studies I THINK these configurations are equivalent and confirming them here is my final step before going after prices.

Whining note: These rigs will cost something around $2000 (R$4000). God damn taxes!

 

[chugot9218]

The sabertooth is way overkill, I usually recommend the P8z77-V Pro, has lots of good features including a wireless module, but you can go for slightly lower models if you do not need a whole ton of additional features. The i5-3570k is a great CPU, if your not going to OC then you can forget the K version although it will probably only save you like 10 bucks. Your case, PSU, and RAM look good. The GPU is probably fine for your purposes but you could always go with a higher model obviously, just depends on your budget. The savings from switching your MOBO could go to that. Personally I would go with a lower model MOBO and put that money into a GTX 670.

 

[Onus]

$2000 is not a low budget, by any stretch. See this month's $500 SBM article for an EXCELLENT low budget build.
There is no "K" version of the i5-3470.
Your PSU is an excellent choice, for either build.
The Intel build will outperform the AMD build for games, in some cases considerably.
If you don't get an unlocked "K" CPU, you may not need all the features of the Z77 chipset, especially an overclocker's board like the Sabertooth. You may find a H77 or B75 board perfectly acceptable. Just make sure it has as many SATA 6Gb/s connectors as you'd like on it. OTOH, if you want to overclock, you'll need an i5-3570K, stick to a Z77 mobo, and you'll want a decent 120mm aftermarket cooler, such as the Xigmatek Gaia.
For either build, I might choose a HD7870. Actually, if I were building a $2000 PC, I'd probably put a HD7970 in it, and also add a 256GB non-Sandforce SSD like the Samsung 830 or Crucial M4.

 

[darkt3co]

The sabertooth is way overkill, I usually recommend the P8z77-V Pro, has lots of good features including a wireless module, but you can go for slightly lower models if you do not need a whole ton of additional features. The i5-3570k is a great CPU, if your not going to OC then you can forget the K version although it will probably only save you like 10 bucks. Your case, PSU, and RAM look good. The GPU is probably fine for your purposes but you could always go with a higher model obviously, just depends on your budget. The savings from switching your MOBO could go to that. Personally I would go with a lower model MOBO and put that money into a GTX 670.

Wow, thanks. The wireless module allows me to connect to the internet (This machine will be far from the internet modem so It would be great) or just for home theater/cell phone connection? I still need a wireless adapter?

 

[chugot9218]

On the P8Z88-V Pro it has a separate module that you attach before installing your MOBO, and it also comes with an antennae that you will attach to the back of your case, you won't need anything else for wireless internet.

 

[darkt3co]

$2000 is not a low budget, by any stretch. See this month's $500 SBM article for an EXCELLENT low budget build.
There is no "K" version of the i5-3470.
Your PSU is an excellent choice, for either build.
The Intel build will outperform the AMD build for games, in some cases considerably.
If you don't get an unlocked "K" CPU, you may not need all the features of the Z77 chipset, especially an overclocker's board like the Sabertooth. You may find a H77 or B75 board perfectly acceptable. Just make sure it has as many SATA 6Gb/s connectors as you'd like on it. OTOH, if you want to overclock, you'll need an i5-3570K, stick to a Z77 mobo, and you'll want a decent 120mm aftermarket cooler, such as the Xigmatek Gaia.
For either build, I might choose a HD7870. Actually, if I were building a $2000 PC, I'd probably put a HD7970 in it, and also add a 256GB non-Sandforce SSD like the Samsung 830 or Crucial M4.

Thanks again. I made myself confusing. The price I will pay here in my country is equivalent to a high-end config, but I will achieve a med-high end machine with this budget. Just making this taxation clear 😀 And yeah it sucks.

Once I heard that using a AMD GPU in a Intel Chipset mobo could cause undesirable (but maybe insignificant) loss of performance or something like that. It's been a while so I don't really know if such problem got solved by the latest architectures. Is that true?

 

[chugot9218]

No it should not be an issue, tons of people use Intel CPU/MOBO's with AMD GPU's and vice-versa.

 

[bliq]

the savings against K vs non-K is more like $30 and that may be amplified by the fact that OP may not be in the US. $2000 also may be a medium level budget outside the US.

I'd actually just aim for an even more basic H77 board to lower cost and add in a card for wireless- if it breaks or if standards change, you can swap it out. i5-3470 is a fine CPU choice.

Even stock cooling will be fine as you aren't overclocking. Just mount at least 1 120mm or so fan in front and one in back. The HAF912 may already have them. I think it has a 200mm fan up top also. You might want to go with somehting like the Hyper 212 Evo for CPU cooling, not for performance (though it performs very well) but for noise reduction- up to you, and it's not very expensive.

without a doubt, spring for an SSD. You will absolutely love what it does for performance and responsiveness.

For 3 years of high quality gaming, I might even suggest going up a rung to GTX670 if price allows. 3 years is a long time in gaming machine terms, although we may be getting close to a point where GPUs are getting faster than most games can play and the eyes can perceive so that's a good sign for longevity.

 

[darkt3co]

Best answer selected by darkt3co.