• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

$650 Cyber Monday Build

Z

zanemoseley

Senior member
So I've been tossing around the idea of either building a new PC or buying a refurb Dell XPS 8300 and slapping in a new video card. I was going to keep my old PC intact to use as a music PC for my basement but I'm considering the idea of using parts out of it.


So here goes...

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing. Light Gaming, Internet and General Tasks

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread.. Shooting for $650.

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from. USA

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc. Would like to do Intel i5 and whichever video card makes sense.

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.

Antec Earthwatts 500w PSU (not extremely high power but only like 6 months old so would like to use) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...rthwatts%20500

Antec Sonata Case

DVD/RW Drive ATA

Geforce 6800GT PCI-E to use if needed if it makes sense to wait for new cards or a price break.

Hyundai L90+ 19" LCD until I upgrade to a 24" 1080P.

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads. A few.

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds. Don't plan on OC'ing.

8. What resolution YOU plan on gaming with. Would like to eventually get a 24" 1080P monitor. Until then I'll be using my Hyundai L90+ 19" LCD monitor at 1280 x 1068 or whatever it is.

9. WHEN do you plan to build it? Buy now, build within the next month.

10. Don't ask for a build configuration critique or rating if you are thin skinned. Bring it.



Here's what I'm thinking so far. I've been out of the loop for many years so some of what I've picked may not be compatible, please help me not screw myself by picking incompatible stuff or just plain stupid picks.

OS: Windows 7 64bit - $80 Newegg http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116986

CPU: i5 2500 (non K version, don't plan to OC and will save $50 for the CPU price difference and not buying a HSF) $195 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115073

Motherboard: I really need help here. I would like to keep my options open for upgrading at some point to a IvyBridge CPU. Again I don't plan to OC so those options won't do much for me. Don't really plan to SLI at any point. I'd like to keep away from bargain boards as I've been frustrated by them in the past, my current ASUS has been nice. $120 - $140 if possible but I am flexible if a few more dollars will reduce frustration when building.

Ram: G-Skill Ripjaws 2x4gb $30 Just need to make sure they're compatible with the M/B & CPU.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231428

HDD Samsung 1tb Spinpoint $80 (surprisingly good deal given the current HDD market unless this is outdated technology)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822152185

Video Card: Was thinking of a 6850 or 6870 please suggest one. Under $150 please. I do have the 6800GT that is PCIE if it would make sense to wait a bit (like until Diablo 3 came out if it matters).


So there it is. Basically light gaming (looking forward to Diablo 3) and general tasks, nothing too crazy.

I know the PSU I have isn't super powerful but it should get the job done.

I would really like to keep my options open for an upgrade in 2 years or so to the Ivybridge CPU's without replacing M/B & RAM. Would probably do a video card upgrade too at this point.

I don't plan on using an SSD now but would like to keep that open if I choose to add one.
 
So looking at some posts. For my uses would any of these M/B's be ideal??

ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 $115 AR Free Shipping

ASRock Z68 PRO3 LGA 1155 $107 Shipped

ASUS P8Z68-V LE LGA $140 Shipped
 
Just ordered Windows 7 from Amazon for $80 so there's no going back now. I wish I could get the processor from NCIX but they are OOS and not accepting orders, I could have gotten a 2500k for the same price as the 2500 from Newegg since I pay tax @ NE.

Also the cheap ram and HDD from NE are OOS. I may just shop around a bit. Once I've bought the non-returnable stuff like CPU/MB/RAM then the clock sorta starts for me to build it. Plus I'm not in a huge hurry and HDD prices will hopefully start dropping soon.
 
By "DVD/RW Drive ATA", do you mean Parallel ATA (i.e. IDE)? If so, the drive is not worth keeping. After $80 on Windows, you have $570 left to spend. It should be easy to fit the parts you need into that:

i5 2400 $190 - you will never notice the 200MHz difference
ASRock Z68 Pro3 $100 - though it will most likely not make any sense to upgrade from SB to IB
PNY DDR3 1333 8GB $32
Hitachi 7K1000.D $70
6850 $130 AR AP
Total: $522
 
Yeah its an older IDE drive, guess I'm getting a new one of those for $20.

So is Ivy Bridge basically going to be the 3rd generation of "i" core CPU's (with SB being the 2nd gen?) and not a new "family" of processors? Do you expect the performance gains will be minimal over a SB.

So the next logical step up from a 2400 would be to get a 2500k and OC to around 4.0 GHZ?? Then I would be jumping 900 mhz not just 200. I've heard that OC'ing with the 2500k's is very easy. I never used to to it back in the day over fears of burning up chips. Is it "set and forget" easy? Would 500w of power still be enough if running a 6870 card with the OD'ed 2500k.

Thanks for all the help.
 
Ok just got a 2500k from Superbiiz for $202 shipped hell ya. I guess OC'ing is in my future. I may start out with the stock cooler just to get things up and running then throw a hyper 212 cooler on it and OC later. Just need to keep my power usage to a manageable level for the 500w PSU, not really how sure how many extra watts OC'ing draws really.

Mfenn, give that I need to keep considerations for OC'ing would you still recommend the ASRock X68 Pro3 or would going with an upgraded version like the ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 do anything for me?
 
zanemoseley said:
Ok just got a 2500k from Superbiiz for $202 shipped hell ya. I guess OC'ing is in my future. I may start out with the stock cooler just to get things up and running then throw a hyper 212 cooler on it and OC later. Just need to keep my power usage to a manageable level for the 500w PSU, not really how sure how many extra watts OC'ing draws really.

Mfenn, give that I need to keep considerations for OC'ing would you still recommend the ASRock X68 Pro3 or would going with an upgraded version like the ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 do anything for me?
Click to expand...

The regular ASRock Z68 Pro3 will be fine, no need for the Gen3.
 
Ok I bought the RAM before it had any chance to OOS on me. As far as I can tell it matches the specs mfenn recommended.

Seems some people don't like the taller heatsinks on the RAM because they can interfere with aftermarket HSF units. Looking at the pictures of the ASRock boards though it seem to be quite a ways away. Worst case is I just use the two slots furthest away from the CPU. Not likely I'll ever need over 8gb anyway.
 
mfenn said:
By "DVD/RW Drive ATA", do you mean Parallel ATA (i.e. IDE)? If so, the drive is not worth keeping. After $80 on Windows, you have $570 left to spend. It should be easy to fit the parts you need into that:

i5 2400 $190 - you will never notice the 200MHz difference
ASRock Z68 Pro3 $100 - though it will most likely not make any sense to upgrade from SB to IB
PNY DDR3 1333 8GB $32
Hitachi 7K1000.D $70
6850 $130 AR AP
Total: $522
Click to expand...

It is just sick how awesome a gaming pc you can build for the money today.
 
zanemoseley said:
Ok just got a 2500k from Superbiiz for $202 shipped hell ya. I guess OC'ing is in my future. I may start out with the stock cooler just to get things up and running then throw a hyper 212 cooler on it and OC later. Just need to keep my power usage to a manageable level for the 500w PSU, not really how sure how many extra watts OC'ing draws really.

Mfenn, give that I need to keep considerations for OC'ing would you still recommend the ASRock X68 Pro3 or would going with an upgraded version like the ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 do anything for me?
Click to expand...

If you don't go crazy with the OC, you won't have your chip drawing beyond an extra 30W or so. The Pro3 is fine for overclocking, but the Extreme3 is a little better. That plus a 212+ and DVD burner would probably put you slightly over your budget though.

zanemoseley said:
Ok I bought the RAM before it had any chance to OOS on me. As far as I can tell it matches the specs mfenn recommended.

Seems some people don't like the taller heatsinks on the RAM because they can interfere with aftermarket HSF units. Looking at the pictures of the ASRock boards though it seem to be quite a ways away. Worst case is I just use the two slots furthest away from the CPU. Not likely I'll ever need over 8gb anyway.
Click to expand...

Good deal on the RAM. It is basically the same thing as the PNY except with taller heatspreaders. Ripjaws will just barely fit under a Hyper 212+ if you tweak the fan up by about a centimeter, so you should be fine.
 
zanemoseley said:
So is Ivy Bridge basically going to be the 3rd generation of "i" core CPU's (with SB being the 2nd gen?) and not a new "family" of processors? Do you expect the performance gains will be minimal over a SB.
Click to expand...

Yes, Intel will market IB as the 3rd gen of Core i CPUs. It is basically the same architecture as SB though. You should see about a 20% increase at the same price point, so definitely not worth the upgrade.
 
Ok all the stuff is ordered, now some waiting till they come in. I appreciate all the help, especially mfenn who I bugged over PM multiple times.

OS: Windows 64bit Home Premium $79.99 (Amazon)
M/B: ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 $111.99 (Superbiiz)
CPU: i2500k $202.49 (Superbiiz)
HSF: Hyper 212+ w/Artic Silver AA Compound $24.11AR w/Tax (Newegg)
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws 8gb 1333 $27.30 w/tax (Newegg)
GPU: Sapphire Radeon HD6870 1GB $138.99 AR (Superbiiz)
SSD Samsung 830 128gb $209.95 (B&H Photo)
ODD LiteOn DVD Burner $18.65 w/tax (Newegg)

Existing Components:
PSU: Antec EarthWatts 500W
Case: Antec Sonata Quiet Mid Tower
HDD Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 160gb

Total System Cost: $813.47 AR w/tax

I had the ASRock Z68 Pro3 on order but Amazon was backordered so I upgraded for a few bucks to the Gen3.

Over budget a bit but I added the SSD which I hadn't originally intended to do.
 
Looks good to me! Be sure to update this thread with the results of your build or if you need any help. 🙂
 
LOL I got busted trying to use the superbiiz coupon twice so now I either gotta pay $15 more for the M/B or see if they have a new coupon code tomorrow. Hopefully the build goes better than my M/B purchase.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top