$1K gaming computer for random person

[EliteRetard]

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2192841

Is this really the best way to go, or should I be looking at a few different components leaning towards reliability? Im not really interested in trying to figure out why his SSD doesnt work or why the MOBO crapped itself after 6 months ect. I figure a 2500K and 8GB reliable brand RAM for sure, and I think I could use a less powerful but better brand PSU (I don't recall enermax), I think the main question is the MOBO and SSD.

Actually Ive seen new GTX480s going for $200-250, worth considering at all?

What about an i5-2400, they can OC mildly right? Perhaps thatd be fine, I don't want to deal with heavy OC and stabilty testing/issues. Would the stock cooler be OK then or still worth getting a 212+?

Is it easy enough to OC a GPU to be worth considering? Or does it require glitchy hard to use software and get stuck running full speed all the time?

I do need to fit Win7 64bit in the budget ($100?)

Ill probably find a cheaper case as well, Ive seen the regular 300 for $30-40.

 

[Fire&Blood]

It's a matter of personal taste. For me OC only makes sense when the gain is significant and that opens up another can of worms because it involves pricier aftermarket parts and you need to pick up a better PSU as well.

My suggestion: Start off with Antec HCG-520 PS, i5 2400 and 8GB RAM. That leaves enough room for budget maneuvering with HDD or SSD and a high end GPU like 6970 or Nvidia's high end. A decent case and a ultimate 64 bit Win7 should fit easily within the budget. All fancy Mobo options would be open, even the pricier ones. If you don't put much emphasis on the case, you could go all out on the mobo, GPU and HDD/SSD and still fit well within the budget.

 

[LagunaX]

2500k with Hyper 212 Evo - this combo will let you overclock in the future if you so desire.
8gb ddr3 1600 or 1866
Asus z68 mobo
GPU according to what your resolution and gaming needs are, probably 6950 or 6970, or 7950 if you can afford it.
750w decent psu.
SSD if you can afford it.

 

[EliteRetard]

Actually is it worth trying to mess with that SSD caching thing? Im thinking maybe an 80GB Intel SSD as a buffer for a larger HDD. That way I dont have to hear all the complaints about space or whatever. I don't know squat on how it works or sets up or whatever. I gotta have a Z68 yes?

 

[LagunaX]

Cart Item List:
Qty.Product DescriptionSavingsTotal Price1

EVGA GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 448 Cores FTW 012-P3-2066-KR Video Card
Item #:N82E16814130738
Return Policy: VGA Standard Return Policy

[COLOR=666]$289.99[/COLOR]
$274.99

1

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16800999283

Rosewill CAPSTONE Series CAPSTONE-750 750W ATX12V/EPS12V 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Active-PFC Power Supply
Item #:N82E16817182073
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

[COLOR=666]$139.99[/COLOR]
$119.99

1

ASUS P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
Item #:N82E16813131790
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

[COLOR=666]$219.99[/COLOR]
$199.99

1

COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 EVO RR-212E-20PK-R2 Continuous Direct Contact 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler Compatible with latest Intel 2011/1366/1155 and AMD FM1/AM3+
Item #:N82E16835103099
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

$34.99

1

CASE ROSEWILL | BLACKHAWK Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Item #:N82E16811147107
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

[COLOR=666]$99.99[/COLOR]
$89.99

1

Mushkin Enhanced Chronos MKNSSDCR90GB 2.5" MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
Item #:N82E16820226290
Return Policy: Limited Replacement Only Return Policy

[COLOR=666]$159.99[/COLOR]
$114.99

1

LITE-ON Black 12X Blu-ray Burner with Blu Ray 3D Feature SATA IHBS112-04
Item #:N82E16827106369
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

$79.99

1

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory
Item #:N82E16820231311
Return Policy: Memory Standard Return Policy

$41.99

1

Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor
Item #:N82E16819115072
Return Policy: Iron Egg Replacement-Only Return Policy

$229.99

Grand Total:$1,186.91


I tried to put together the minimum I'd be happy with but came short.
But adding another $100 for Win 7 x64 you'd be at the $1300 mark minus keyboard/gaming mouse/speakers/monitor.

 

[Fire&Blood]

Actually is it worth trying to mess with that SSD caching thing? Im thinking maybe an 80GB Intel SSD as a buffer for a larger HDD. That way I dont have to hear all the complaints about space or whatever. I don't know squat on how it works or sets up or whatever. I gotta have a Z68 yes?

If you are overclocking, you want the pricier Z68 mobo, pricier chip with a K suffix and a pricier PS. If not, H61 will suffice, or a H67. H67 if you want SATAIII. I would seek out larger SSD, 90GB or preferably 120. Since this is a gaming rig, 60 GB will be too small, advertised drive size is false advertising, after the OS footprint, very little space will be left for games. In general, you don't want to fill up the drive, especially a SSD one.

Faster drives apparently are bottlenecked by SATAII, I would opt for H67.
Samsung and Intel seem to be safe choices, user reviews for pretty much all other ones contain terms BSOD and freezing.

 

[GoStumpy]

I wanted to say no to Rosewill PSU's, but then I had to punch up a review, and it actually came out pretty good!

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=266


Still waaay too much money for a Rosewill PSU... As well as being about 250w overkill...

For that money you could get something like this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151088

Which is just... the best...

 

[mfenn]

Cart Item List:
Qty.Product DescriptionSavingsTotal Price

I tried to put together the minimum I'd be happy with but came short.
But adding another $100 for Win 7 x64 you'd be at the $1300 mark minus keyboard/gaming mouse/speakers/monitor.

Blows the budget and is worse than my build. No thanks.

 

[mfenn]

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2192841

Is this really the best way to go, or should I be looking at a few different components leaning towards reliability? Im not really interested in trying to figure out why his SSD doesnt work or why the MOBO crapped itself after 6 months ect. I figure a 2500K and 8GB reliable brand RAM for sure, and I think I could use a less powerful but better brand PSU (I don't recall enermax), I think the main question is the MOBO and SSD.

Enermax has been making PSUs long before Corsair, XFX, and co were even founded. It's a good unit.

Actually Ive seen new GTX480s going for $200-250, worth considering at all?

Hot, loud, and not much (if at all) faster than a 6950 2GB.

What about an i5-2400, they can OC mildly right? Perhaps thatd be fine, I don't want to deal with heavy OC and stabilty testing/issues. Would the stock cooler be OK then or still worth getting a 212+?

Yes, the i5 2400 can go up +400Mhz IIRC. The stock cooler will do that fine, but would be loud. The hassle and uncertainty that always goes with an OC is not worth such a small performance gain IHMO. Especially not on a machine you're giving to somebody else.

Is it easy enough to OC a GPU to be worth considering? Or does it require glitchy hard to use software and get stuck running full speed all the time?

You can do an easy overclock with CCC.

I do need to fit Win7 64bit in the budget ($100?)

Basically you need to shave off $153 once you factor in Windows. The best way to do that while maintaining the machine's gaming prowess would be to:
- Swap the mobo to the ASrock H61M/U3S3 -$45
- Swap the CPU to the i5 2400 -$40
- Swap the case to the NZXT Source 210 -$30
- Take advantage of the price drop on the SSD -$15

 

[LagunaX]

Blows the budget and is worse than my build. No thanks.

Actually it's about the same or better as your build if you swap out the motherboard, knock off the blu-ray, and forget the MIR's that you'll never get back. Asus is just easier and more reliable to overclock than Asrock for sure. The PSU is johnny guru rated highly and necessary if you want to add another high power gpu in the future as it's 750w vs. 650w. Plus it's gold vs. bronze rating not that it matters that much. Also you did not account for an aftermarket heatsink - what's the point of a 2500K if you aren't going to overclock it? The 560 ti 448 is the cheapest best new card sans rebate that is on par with the 6950 2gb with the option of nvidia 3d or physx. The case is the best budget airflow case by MaximumPC. I did put in the wrong ram though I picked the the wrong one by mistake they looked the same, the 1333 vs. 1600.

So all in all yeah it blows the budget but is no worse but actually better when adjusted for the above and about the same price. SSD you could go either way depending on the price they are both great.

But nowadays budget is king so whatever works and whatever the OP feels like is more important.

 

[mfenn]

Actually it's about the same or better as your build if you swap out the motherboard, knock off the blu-ray, and forget the MIR's that you'll never get back. Asus is just easier and more reliable to overclock than Asrock for sure. The PSU is johnny guru rated highly and necessary if you want to add another high power gpu in the future as it's 750w vs. 650w. Plus it's gold vs. bronze rating not that it matters that much. Also you did not account for an aftermarket heatsink - what's the point of a 2500K if you aren't going to overclock it? The 560 ti 448 is the cheapest best new card sans rebate that is on par with the 6950 2gb with the option of nvidia 3d or physx. The case is the best budget airflow case by MaximumPC. I did put in the wrong ram though I picked the the wrong one by mistake they looked the same, the 1333 vs. 1600.

So all in all yeah it blows the budget but is no worse but actually better when adjusted for the above and about the same price. SSD you could go either way depending on the price they are both great.

But nowadays budget is king so whatever works and whatever the OP feels like is more important.

Your build has no HDD and only a 90GB SSD, and is still more expensive than mine for the same overall performance. That's pretty much useless for a gaming rig that's usable day-to-day. Hence, my comment that it is worse than my build.

 

[LagunaX]

Actually not to argue but I don't really use convention HDD's in my rigs anymore other than in a secondary rig that I need to update.
I just end up using a 90-120gb SSD and an external 2TB storage drive or a bare 2TB drive thru a case (such as the Rosewill Blackhawk or CM 690 II) that has a HDD dock.
That just seems to work out better if you have multiple computers or laptops.

Pricewise adjusted as above, it's about the same, really.

 

[MrTeal]

I have to agree with mfenn there. If this is a build for a random person and there's limited interest in OCing, just a 90GB SSD is not an acceptable solution. It's doable, but requires diligence.
Also a $200MB and $120 PSU is overkill for someone not really interested in pushing an overclock. I could see pushing the budget if the upgrade would make a big difference, but chances are the extra power of those items would sit on the table. Better off to buy a $100 or lower MB and something like the S12SII based 650W supplies that go on sale for $50 all the time.

 

[SZLiao214]

Have you considered using the FS/FT for some of the parts? I bought 2 560ti twi frozers for 350. Those are the best 2 slot coolers.

 

[Fire&Blood]

You can get Windows 7 for $65 if you are a student. Maybe even cheaper depending on school. You can also shave off few bucks by getting a 6950 and flashing a 6970 bios, ~90% success rate reported. But if you insist on staying within the budget, (like I did) your best bet is to forget overclocking.

 

[LagunaX]

I can see what u guys are saying about the rig going out to some neophyte gaming owner that probably won't utilize the majority of the potential but there is really no point pairing a 2500k with a $100 mobo and $50 psu and stock cooler. Better off then leaving a stock CPU and putting the money towards the gpu, ssd, and storage drive to give the daily boot/app loading speed while having the gaming fps and storage. As long as it's a Sandy quad above 3ghz the perception to most especially with the ssd will not be noticeable.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

I have to agree with mfenn there. If this is a build for a random person and there's limited interest in OCing, just a 90GB SSD is not an acceptable solution. It's doable, but requires diligence.
Also a $200MB and $120 PSU is overkill for someone not really interested in pushing an overclock. I could see pushing the budget if the upgrade would make a big difference, but chances are the extra power of those items would sit on the table. Better off to buy a $100 or lower MB and something like the S12SII based 650W supplies that go on sale for $50 all the time.

Yes exactly.

 

[mfenn]

I can see what u guys are saying about the rig going out to some neophyte gaming owner that probably won't utilize the majority of the potential but there is really no point pairing a 2500k with a $100 mobo and $50 psu and stock cooler. Better off then leaving a stock CPU and putting the money towards the gpu, ssd, and storage drive to give the daily boot/app loading speed while having the gaming fps and storage. As long as it's a Sandy quad above 3ghz the perception to most especially with the ssd will not be noticeable.

Um what? You can get an i5 2500K to 4.5GHz with a $100 mobo and $50 power supply easily. Sure, you can't get to 5GHz with them, but is that extra 500MHz really worth $170?

 

[mfenn]

Actually not to argue but I don't really use convention HDD's in my rigs anymore other than in a secondary rig that I need to update.
I just end up using a 90-120gb SSD and an external 2TB storage drive or a bare 2TB drive thru a case (such as the Rosewill Blackhawk or CM 690 II) that has a HDD dock.
That just seems to work out better if you have multiple computers or laptops.

Pricewise adjusted as above, it's about the same, really.

You're not making any sense. Your rig already costs MORE than mine. How does adding additional parts like an HDD somehow make it cost less?

 

[LagunaX]

C'mon guys if you are going to discuss or critique then read post #10.
"Actually it's about the same or better as your build if you swap out the motherboard, knock off the blu-ray, and forget the MIR's that you'll never get back."
Refer to post #10.
Refer to post #16 too.
Your point is made - BUDGET.
Post #5 too: "I tried to put together the minimum I'd be happy with but came short."
My original post was just to give a perspective of what I would be happy with - just a perspective to consider, not LAW.
At no point was I intending at bashing or trashing anyone else's opinion - just discussing.
Enuf of the bashing already - make the budget rig that is not meant for upgrade.

 

[EliteRetard]

Interesting info...

Looks like the build is going to end closer to mfenns build in the other thread, just a lower quality MOBO no HDD no CD/DVD or HS/F for the 2500K and throwing in Win7 64bit. And the cost is about 1200$. Man Canada sucks for PCs. Possibly going with a lower end GPU...and maybe a cardboard box instead of a case. Still planning on OCin the CPU even if its on the stock cooler...should do 4GHz right?

This is supposed to be a fairly heavy duty gaming rig that will be running the highest possible settings it can while also recording all the gameplay. Thinking maybe HDD prices will drop soon and we can get one for the recording/storage drive. Or are 1TB drives not going to drop below $140 anymore?

 

[mfenn]

Interesting info...

Looks like the build is going to end closer to mfenns build in the other thread, just a lower quality MOBO no HDD no CD/DVD or HS/F for the 2500K and throwing in Win7 64bit. And the cost is about 1200$. Man Canada sucks for PCs. Possibly going with a lower end GPU...and maybe a cardboard box instead of a case. Still planning on OCin the CPU even if its on the stock cooler...should do 4GHz right?

The stock cooler will do 4Ghz, albeit loudly.

This is supposed to be a fairly heavy duty gaming rig that will be running the highest possible settings it can while also recording all the gameplay. Thinking maybe HDD prices will drop soon and we can get one for the recording/storage drive. Or are 1TB drives not going to drop below $140 anymore?

I'm sure that HDD prices will drop again, just don't hold your breath for them to drop before then end of the year.

 

[EliteRetard]

So if Im trying to explain a quick easy 4GHz overclock to somebody in another country what should I say?

Find the multiplier setting and set all cores to 40x (is it done per core)?
Leave everything else on auto? Maybe find the CPU voltage and set it to 1.25-1.3v?

Ive never actually used one of these newer systems with the UEFI BIOs...don't know what they look like or what to mess with. I'm sure I could figure it out if I was doing it myself, but I gotta tell somebody else how to do it.

 

[mfenn]

UEFI BIOS is basically the same as the traditional one except with fancy graphics. You should be able to walk somebody through it no problem if you download the manual.

Yes, 4Ghz will be matter of setting the multi to 40X and calling it a day. You might have to add some vCore if you have a really bad CPU, but I doubt it.

 

[EliteRetard]

Thanks for all the assistance.