[New Build] Gaming PC ~$1500-1800

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M

MSam

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May 18, 2012
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10,510
Hey everyone,

Finally getting around to a new build for myself - wanted to see what the communities thoughts were on something along these lines. I am trying to keep everything somewhere near $1500, but I have some wiggle room. My current build is putting me up around $1800, which I would be okay with considering I need all of the additional components for this one. I will mostly be using this to play games (Diablo 3, Steam games) and to do some work on (excel, some database work - but would be remote connecting to a more powerful machine for that). Additionally, I don't plan to overclock at the moment.

What would you change? Why?

Based on the current setup in my home, I'm kind of stuck going with a wireless setup. I generally have a pretty solid connection on my laptop (in the same location the desktop would be). I could probably go through a considerable amount of effort to get a wired connection in this location, but ultimately I don't think I'm too worried about it (unless there's a reason I am unaware of to be).

Anyways, looking forward to the discussion/commentary. Thanks for your help everyone!

-Mark

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($214.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($142.86 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial M4 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($199.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB Video Card ($294.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 650W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus BW-12B1ST/BLK/G/AS Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus VH236H 23.0" Monitor ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus VH236H 23.0" Monitor ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Keyboard: Microsoft SIDEWINDER X4 Wired Gaming Keyboard ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Mouse: Logitech G500 Wired Laser Mouse ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Other: ASUS PCE-N15 Wireless Adapter IEEE 802.11b/g/n PCI Express 300/300Mbps Transfer/Receive Rate 64-bit WEP, 128-bit WEP, WPA2-PSK, WPA-PSK, WPS support ($26.99)
Total: $1784.70
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-12-18 20:50 EST-0500)
 
Solution
TheBigTroll
-there is cheaper ram. find the patriot intel extreme masters for 31.99
-just stick with a 670. if you are thinking 660ti, which isnt too far off of a 670, you are then better off with a 7950
-id still get the AOC monitor
-your keyboard is completely inferior to the quickfire rapid. other than noise, it just loses. build quality is pretty much top notch, will last 10x as long, and from my experience, made me type 10wpm faster
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PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/t9Hg
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/t9Hg/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/t9Hg/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($129.98 @ Outlet PC)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial M4 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($184.95 @ B&H)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($67.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB Video Card ($424.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.49 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: XFX 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($65.48 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus BW-12B1ST/BLK/G/AS Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($55.73 @ NCIX US)
Monitor: Asus VH236H 23.0" Monitor ($139.99 @ NCIX US)
Monitor: Asus VH236H 23.0" Monitor ($139.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Keyboard: Microsoft SIDEWINDER X4 Wired Gaming Keyboard ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Mouse: Logitech G500 Wired Laser Mouse ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Other: ASUS PCE-N15 Wireless Adapter IEEE 802.11b/g/n PCI Express 300/300Mbps Transfer/Receive Rate 64-bit WEP, 128-bit WEP, WPA2-PSK, WPA-PSK, WPS support ($26.99)
Total: $1710.51
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-12-18 21:04 EST-0500)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I put a overclockable processor with aftermarket cooler, Low profile RAM memory to avoid bother to the CPU cooler, This HDD is 30$ less, Video Card is way much better, you can change to a 7950 if you want. Also I changed the PSU to 80 Plus Bronze, instead of Gold.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($80.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI Z77 MPOWER ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($189.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Crucial M4 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($184.95 @ B&H)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($359.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus BW-12B1ST/BLK/G/AS Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($55.73 @ NCIX US)
Monitor: Asus VE278Q 27.0" Monitor ($284.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Keyboard: Microsoft SIDEWINDER X4 Wired Gaming Keyboard ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Mouse: Logitech G500 Wired Laser Mouse ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Other: ASUS PCE-N15 Wireless Adapter IEEE 802.11b/g/n PCI Express 300/300Mbps Transfer/Receive Rate 64-bit WEP, 128-bit WEP, WPA2-PSK, WPA-PSK, WPS support ($26.99)
Total: $1818.54
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-12-20 14:04 EST-0500)

So, above includes tweaks based on your recommendations. Is there anywhere else I can slash costs without compromising performance? It does seem like quite a nice rig here, but I'd really like to try to push towards $1500 in total cost if possible - it does seem difficult seeing as I need peripherals - so an improvement in cost may not be possible. I'd likely wait until the day after Christmas to try to catch some deals to order as well.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
-reduce back to 8gb of ram. more ram is useless in a gaming build
-samsung 830 is faster and cheaper
-do you actually watch blu-rays? they are dying like dvds
-get a smaller monitor like the AOC i2367fh at amazon. both ips and has a higher pixel density
-get a quickfire rapid keyboard. mechanical beats any membrane keyboard. look for the cheapest one within pcpartpicker
-the motherboard has wifi
 
Upvote 0 Downvote


Alright - so my final question (I hope) - is there a $70 difference between the 660ti and the 670? Is it worth the money sticking with the 670 in the below build, or would you save $70 and opt for the 660ti?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($79.98 @ Outlet PC)
Motherboard: MSI Z77 MPOWER ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($189.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($38.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Samsung 830 Series 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($169.95 @ B&H)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($359.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($39.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-222BB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Monitor: Asus VS239H-P 23.0" Monitor ($172.60 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Keyboard: Microsoft SIDEWINDER X4 Wired Gaming Keyboard ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Mouse: Logitech Performance Wireless Laser Mouse ($59.88 @ Amazon)
Total: $1608.30
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-12-21 19:32 EST-0500)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
-there is cheaper ram. find the patriot intel extreme masters for 31.99
-just stick with a 670. if you are thinking 660ti, which isnt too far off of a 670, you are then better off with a 7950
-id still get the AOC monitor
-your keyboard is completely inferior to the quickfire rapid. other than noise, it just loses. build quality is pretty much top notch, will last 10x as long, and from my experience, made me type 10wpm faster
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Solution



Ok that is useful. Honestly - I'd be willing to go top of the line on the GPU, but I know that there will always be a newer and better card. I'd prefer staying a little behind the curve and save some cash to upgrade again down the road. Does the 670 handle multiple monitor setups well? I may go that route in the near future - I'm so used to it at work - it's weird not having it at home!

I'll take a look at the AOC Monitor.

I did do some digging around on keyboards, the one thing I am having a hard time finding online is what kind of noise do these mechanical keyboards give off? Can you offer any kind of comparison? I was taking a hard look at the Razer Black Widow Ultimate Elite for ~$75.
 
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