Gaming PC for under $700?

[vaxio]

This is my first build! I'm basically checking if my current build will last me 5-6 years. My biggest concern is not being able to run games properly over the next 5 years and on. Please do not hesitate to suggest parts that may be an upgrade but try to keep the total difference in price under $80. Please point out any shortcomings I may have too with the build im considering.

The build I'm considering: (I do not need a monitor or another copy of Windows)
APEVIA X-PLORER2 Series X-PLORER2-BK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811144264)

Western Digital Caviar Blue WD3200AAKX 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136770)

ASUS M5A97 AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131767)

EVGA 01G-P3-1460-KR GeForce GTX 560 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130660)

Antec BP550 Plus 550W Continuous Power ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371016)

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL -- I'm getting 4 total sticks!
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277)


AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ965FBGMBOX
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727)

So to recap, I'm getting 4 sticks of 2 GB DDR3 RAM because I have heard that it's better to "fill up" both channels instead of just using one channel of 2 sticks of 4 GB DDR3 RAM. Is this true?

Also, I'm assuming that 1600 RAM speed isn't that much of a difference between 1866, if so, is it significant enough to upgrade and spend the extra cash? Also, after doing some reading here, there's a way to OC that 1600 RAM speed?

Furthermore, I've decided on the Phenom II X4 965 BE because of it's price. I'm not sure if this is true, but my logic is that the bottle neck on the computer won't be the processor, but the graphics card. So I figure that the Phenom can handle games over the next 5 years or more, since games tend to be more graphics intensive. I am considering adding an additional 70-80$ to the build by switching out the Phenom for the i5-2130 instead and trying to find equivalent priced MOBO that supports the L1155.

Lastly, I believe the only thing this build is missing is a CD drive, I will be using an old one for this build. Also, I've seen some people getting power cords? Do I need one?

Thanks!

PS - I'm also considering using a SSD hard drive in addition to a regular 7200 RPM hard drive, but that would bump up the cost hugely. Any ideas on a good combo of a small SSD drive and a bigger but smaller than 300 GB hard drive? Maybe if we could keep the total cost of the two under $130 I might be able to make it work?

 

[vaxio]

I think the 7850 is the better choice personally, is the GTX 480 a good choice too? Yes it is. My advice is to flip a coin. I know, so wishywashy huh? As far as the GTX 480 running hot, I wouldnt worry too much, thats why we have warranties.

This one has a 3 year warranty:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130759

Honestly the 975 is not worth the extra price. I bought my 975 before I realized the little trick to that. They're the same exact CPU, they're just clocked different. Yes the 975 might be binned a little better and give you potentially a higher OC, however, if you get a 4.0 stable overclock (which you should with the 965) thats pretty decent, and I'd be happy with it. If you want a Phenom II 975, just set the multiplier to 18x. 200mhz ref clock x 18= 3.6GHZ, viola, Phenom II 975. You can take a sharpie pen and cross out the 6 printed on the CPU and put a 7 in there if you want (actually don't do that last part, I'm being a smartass lol)

I think the 7850 has a 2 year warranty as well. I may have to get an extra cooler? If that's the case, the price difference comes out to be the same. I really don't know though, the extra heat could really not be a big deal. I'll have to keep looking into it!

 

[nekulturny]

Well, the case you're looking at looks to me like it has pretty good airflow, I wouldn't be too concerned. That big side panel fan it has should take care of it. Although, I'm not sure what to make of the hot pink front bezel and the red LED fan. :lol:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811144258

 

[vaxio]

Well, the case you're looking at looks to me like it has pretty good airflow, I wouldn't be too concerned. That big side panel fan it has should take care of it. Although, I'm not sure what to make of the hot pink front bezel and the red LED fan. :lol:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811144258

:lol: that case is so ridiculous

 

[vaxio]

if i run with the 7850 and Phenom II how many watts do I need on my PSU?

 

[loops]

Just know that Bf3 benchmarks are single player...in multi player it may be different.

As much as I like the 7850, I would not go out of my way to downgrade to a slower CPU when a 480 is an option. My build gets you there with a latest CPU and an ok mobo. The b75 is fine, I'd just like to get a z77 mobo.

imo, ib i5 + 480 is a better pick than an amd cpu and 7850. That is just my own call.

 

[nekulturny]

Just know that Bf3 benchmarks are single player...in multi player it may be different.

Yea. I thought that for a long time too, and believe me, I've spent quite a bit of time looking for evidence. The only thing that is conclusive, is BF3 multiplayer will use as many cores as the CPU has to give. (It will even use all 8 cores of a Bulldozer FX-8120/8150.

I did find evidence that it will even treat HyperThreads as if they were cores (something no other game is coded to do), although thats not conclusive. Of course we do know, HyperThreads do not have the same power that a physical core does.

As far as i5 w/ 480 or Phenom II w/7850. Don't forget Phenom II w/480 is an option as well, or vice versa.

 

[loops]

Just know that Bf3 benchmarks are single player...in multi player it may be different.

Yea. I thought that for a long time too, and believe me, I've spent quite a bit of time looking for evidence. The only thing that is conclusive, is BF3 multiplayer will use as many cores as the CPU has to give. (It will even use all 8 cores of a Bulldozer FX-8120/8150.

I did find evidence that it will even treat HyperThreads as if they were cores (something no other game is coded to do), although thats not conclusive. Of course we do know, HyperThreads do not have the same power that a physical core does.

As far as i5 w/ 480 or Phenom II w/7850. Don't forget Phenom II w/480 is an option as well, or vice versa.

I dont think there is a "wrong" pick here, amd/7850 = cooler, less heat. i5/480 more raw power but heat and power.

Upgrades for the cpu and gup are also something to think about...in time the i5 can go i7. The adm? not much more to go up if that was ever needed.

Just know that BF3 will not be alone when it comes to demanding games...MoH I hear is using the same game engn:

http://www.medalofhonor.com/video/medal-honor-warfighter-fire-team-multiplayer-gameplay-trailer

 

[nekulturny]

Upgrades for the cpu and gup are also something to think about...in time the i5 can go i7. The adm? not much more to go up if that was ever needed.

Meh, that wouldn't worry me too much, its folly to really expect a build to stay on top of things beyond 4 years no matter which one you go with. Intel's changing sockets next year, AMD so far PileDriver is confirmed to be on AM3+ but beyond that, nothing is concrete. I wouldn't expect it to be too commonplace for games to be CPU intensive in that time period, they're still using the same coding language they were using 15 years ago.

I'll send you here, my buddy Raiddinn explanation it all pretty well, I asked him about it myself, he gets into it about halfway thru the thread:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/350091-31-switching-intel

As far as Medal of Honor, I dunno about the actual programming behind it yet, but I'd say after playing the MoH 2010 reboot of the series, they better make their game more interesting, I found the campaign quite unremarkable. Good graphics yes, but like Battlefield 3 campaign, pure garbage and a blatant COD ripoff. I quite frankly suck at gaming, and cheaters aggrivate me to no end. People using aimbots and stuff, so I generally just avoid it altogether, so if I'm going to buy a game, the single player game better be worth my time.

Wikipedia says that Medal of Honor 2012 you linked is going to be on the Frostbite 2 engine (which is what BF3 runs on as you said), which means if the Phenom II is up to that (and it is), then MoH will be fine. It also means, that if one wanted to upgrade to a PileDriver 8 core, it would use all 8 cores.

Multiplayer benches are notoriously inconsistent due to factors like server connection, but even so, I have seen benches that show even Bulldozer 8 cores doing a little better in BF3 than even i7-2700Ks. But again, because of the inconsistency with Multiplayer, that has to be taken with a grain of salt. PileDriver is looking like it will be on par with Sandy Bridge/Ivy Bridge i5s based on the Quad Trinity Benches against the i3-2100 that Tom's did.

Beta BF3 MP bench with the FX-8150
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2011/10/11/amd_bulldozer_fx8150_gameplay_performance_review/2

 

[vaxio]

Thanks for the great info guys! If I went with the i5, the one that would fit my budget is probably the i5-2400, which I would get the gigabyte z68 mob. To stay within my budget, the graphics card I would get would be the 6870 or the original one I picked out, GTX 560.

However, I'm more inclined to go with a less powerful CPU for a more powerful GPU. I'm basically stuck between the 7850 and the 480 right now. How many watts does my PSU need for either of those builds? Will 600W be enough?

I also plan on waiting until next week to make the purchase because supposedly Radeon is releasing a new graphics card and it may affect the pricing of everything else.

 

[nekulturny]

You're welcome. 600 watts will be sufficient for any of the builds as configured.

 

[vaxio]

Best answer selected by vaxio.