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Budget gaming rig. I feel like I'll be paying too much.

S

Shiboopi

Junior Member
Hi there, I'm a first time builder, but would like to get a gaming setup that of course is upgradeable, compatible, and not overdoing it.

Here's what I've come up with, but I feel as though I may be overdoing it for what I'm looking for, and most is from Tiger Direct:

Cooler Master HAF 922M Mid-Tower Case - $89.99
Corsair TX750W 750-Watt PSU - $109.99 AR
Gigabyte GA-X58-UD3R Motherboard - $209.99
Intel Core i7 950 Bloomfield Processor - $299.99
EVGA GeForce GTX 740 1.2GB GDDR5 - $269.99
Corsair XMS3 Tri Channel 6GB 1600mHz RAM - $119.99
Ci73 Wired Keyboard - $29.99 (I like the laptop keyboard feel)
SAMSUNG Spinpoint f3 1TB 7200RPM 32MB Cache HDD - $54.99
Windows 7 64 bit for System Builders OEM - $99.99
Viewsonic VX2439wm 24" Widescreen LCD Monitor - 1080p, 1920x1080, 100000:1 Dynamic, 2ms, VGA, DVI, HDMI - $199.99

I'm stuck on an optical drive to get. I just want one that will read DVD/CDs and isn't blue ray.
Anyway this setup comes out to over 1500 dollars after tax and shipping. I would like it to be more toward 1,200, but not sure on what I can sacrifice, or downgrade (if I'm overdoing it).

I do, however, like the graphics card, mobo and ram, lol.

Oh, and I'll be getting Arctic Silver 5, for the CPU heatsink.

Thanks!
 
biostud said:
go for a p55 + i5-760 setup instead of the x58 setup
Click to expand...

sandorski said:
You can knock $100 off by changing vidcard to a 460. Another $200+ can be knocked off by going AMD

Phenom 2 x4 970 $189.99
$100-$150 for a good Mobo
Click to expand...

I would still like to be able to play (WoW, Diablo 3, Starcraft 2, and the like...) on highest settings with high fps.

Would the quoted suggestions still be able to perform at that level? I know Diablo 3 isn't out, but just curious as to the other testable options.

I appreciate your suggestions so far! I read on here that the i5-760 is actually a better choice for gaming instead of the i7, since the i7 is usually for workstations?
 
You'll want to go i5-760 over the Phenom 2 X4 970 for gaming, WoW and Starcraft 2 included.

Check out the comparison between the two from Anand Bench. The i5-760 is the better performer across the board, and gets much higher fps on gaming. It also uses much less power under full load.

It's really a no-brainer as far as CPU goes.
 
RaistlinZ said:
You'll want to go i5-760 over the Phenom 2 X4 970 for gaming, WoW and Starcraft 2 included.

Check out the comparison between the two from Anand Bench. The i5-760 is the better performer across the board, and gets much higher fps on gaming. It also uses much less power under full load.

It's really a no-brainer as far as CPU goes.
Click to expand...

How's this:

i5-760
P55 LE Motherboard
Corsair 4GB - PC12800 RAM, DDR3, 1600mHz, Core i5, Dual Channel, Class 9 RAM - Figured the triple channel would be a waste, so dual channel.

I read that the CPU fan on the i5 isn't very good, so should I get a better CPU fan?
 
Let's separate fact from fiction.

i5 750 (1156 socket) v. i7 950 (1366 socket): The i5 750 is the best single GPU option out there at the $200 price point. The i7 950 chip is as good for gaming, it just costs more. A pretty decent amount more. It does other things, such as encoding, better, and it is a better platform if you're going to run two graphics cards. Otherwise, the i5 is the better choice. Microcenter prices the i5 750 at $169.99, as opposed to $200 at newegg.

AMD v. Intel: While there is no doubt the i5 750 is a superior CPU, understand that its stock benchmarks include a powerful "turbo mode" - e.g., the processor overclocks itself. The Phenom II X4 chips don't have this feature, so when overclocked, they perform comparably. It's also a significantly less expensive platform. If you have a microcenter near your home, you can get an X4 CPU and a free motherboard.

However, since your budget is pretty large, I'm assuming you have no issue paying a little more for Intel. My suggestions:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.557974 (CPU + solid motherboard)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231277 ($50 for DDR3 1600 gskill RAM - buy immediately imo)

Your PSU is overkill but I can't price a good one right now...but you don't need more than 550w for a single GPU.

GPU: If you are confident in overclocking (which literally requires that you open a program and move a little drag bar) get the gtx 460 1GB or the AMD 6850. If you don't want to overclock, GTX 470 or 6870.

Be advised that Intel is launching its sandy bridge processor in early january 2011, and AMD is launching its 69xx series in mid december. It might be worth waiting for these products...unless you want to play cataclysm at launch. 😛
 
Buy from microcenter it's cheaper, go i5 not i7, get a mid tower antec 300 case, bam that's like $300 right there
 
Axon said:
Let's separate fact from fiction.

i5 750 (1156 socket) v. i7 950 (1366 socket): The i5 750 is the best single GPU option out there at the $200 price point. The i7 950 chip is as good for gaming, it just costs more. A pretty decent amount more. It does other things, such as encoding, better, and it is a better platform if you're going to run two graphics cards. Otherwise, the i5 is the better choice. Microcenter prices the i5 750 at $169.99, as opposed to $200 at newegg.

AMD v. Intel: While there is no doubt the i5 750 is a superior CPU, understand that its stock benchmarks include a powerful "turbo mode" - e.g., the processor overclocks itself. The Phenom II X4 chips don't have this feature, so when overclocked, they perform comparably. It's also a significantly less expensive platform. If you have a microcenter near your home, you can get an X4 CPU and a free motherboard.

However, since your budget is pretty large, I'm assuming you have no issue paying a little more for Intel. My suggestions:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.557974 (CPU + solid motherboard)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231277 ($50 for DDR3 1600 gskill RAM - buy immediately imo)

Your PSU is overkill but I can't price a good one right now...but you don't need more than 550w for a single GPU.

GPU: If you are confident in overclocking (which literally requires that you open a program and move a little drag bar) get the gtx 460 1GB or the AMD 6850. If you don't want to overclock, GTX 470 or 6870.

Be advised that Intel is launching its sandy bridge processor in early january 2011, and AMD is launching its 69xx series in mid december. It might be worth waiting for these products...unless you want to play cataclysm at launch. 😛
Click to expand...

Wow, thanks for all the info! Definitely helped me decide!

Bman123 said:
Buy from microcenter it's cheaper, go i5 not i7, get a mid tower antec 300 case, bam that's like $300 right there
Click to expand...

Funny thing is, I've never even heard of microcenter, glad you guys told me about it, lol. I read a review on the best 15 Cases (I think from TomsHardware) and the Antec 300 was the first in terms of keeping cool and stuff, so I actually will probably switch to that.

Thanks a LOT for the help guys, I think I'm done with questions 🙂
 
Basically everything that Axon including droppong down on the power supply (if you don't plan on a dual GPU system at some point). Here is my suggestion:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817151094

Good quality supply and absolutely plenty for for system your considering. At work we have built (non overclocked) systems with Core i7-870's and GTX 480 GPU on this supply and there is still plenty of headroom power wise.
 
Thanks a lot for all of your help guys.

What I've decided:
Swap the HAF 922 case for the Antec 300
Grabbed the combo deal from Axon's post.
4GB dual channel ram (from the link you posted Axon) - The ram is compatible right? I know it says 1333Mhz supported on the mobo, the ram says it's only speed is 1600mHz, so I'm just checking.
dropped to a 650W PSU
I'm buying a ZALMAN CNPS 10X CPU cooler (it should fit in the Antec 300 case)

Now the total is ~$1300, so a couple hundred bucks even after getting the CPU cooler!

Oh yeah, I can't decide on a reliable optical cd/dvd drive, any suggestions?
 
Last edited:
Shiboopi said:
Thanks a lot for all of your help guys.

What I've decided:
Swap the HAF 922 case for the Antec 300
Grabbed the combo deal from Axon's post.
4GB dual channel ram (from the link you posted Axon) - The ram is compatible right? I know it says 1333Mhz supported on the mobo, the ram says it's only speed is 1600mHz, so I'm just checking.
dropped to a 650W PSU
I'm buying a ZALMAN CNPS 10X CPU cooler (it should fit in the Antec 300 case)

Now the total is ~$1300, so a couple hundred bucks even after getting the CPU cooler!

Oh yeah, I can't decide on a reliable optical cd/dvd drive, any suggestions?
Click to expand...

Oh yeah, the RAM is compatible. 1333 MHZ is just the highest rating GB can assign to their board...anything more is considered "overclocking." You can always downclock the RAM anyway if, for some reason, you needed to.
 
Agreed 100%. Newegg just dropped the price of the i5 760 to $175 (it was $209 this morning), so that's a smoking hot deal.
 
If you work retail (or know someone that does) you can buy a i7-970 (Gulftown) hex core system for under $700. I'm finally upgrading to an i7 on the cheap, so this is what I'm doing.

Calculations:

Intel® Core™ i7 970 Processor - 6 cores – 12 threads, 12MB Cache, .32nm process technology + Intel® Desktop Board DX58SO: $395 + shipping. (Intel retail edge).

Windows 7: $100.

Ram: $8gb DDR 3: $100

Plus I'm using a bunch of left over peripherals, (Old antec case,DVD drive, HD4850, got a Seasonic PS for $30 bucks lying around, etc.).

I was going to ebay the i7-970 for profit, but decided I'm going to keep it, transfer my quad core for CCTV duty, replacing a p4 system, then using the i7 as my main comp.
The i7-970 is a lot faster than the i5-760 everyone is posting.
 
caspur said:
If you work retail (or know someone that does) you can buy a i7-970 (Gulftown) hex core system for under $700. I'm finally upgrading to an i7 on the cheap, so this is what I'm doing.

Calculations:

Intel® Core™ i7 970 Processor - 6 cores – 12 threads, 12MB Cache, .32nm process technology + Intel® Desktop Board DX58SO: $395 + shipping. (Intel retail edge).

Windows 7: $100.

Ram: $8gb DDR 3: $100

Plus I'm using a bunch of left over peripherals, (Old antec case,DVD drive, HD4850, got a Seasonic PS for $30 bucks lying around, etc.).

I was going to ebay the i7-970 for profit, but decided I'm going to keep it, transfer my quad core for CCTV duty, replacing a p4 system, then using the i7 as my main comp.
The i7-970 is a lot faster than the i5-760 everyone is posting.
Click to expand...

Nice irrelevant brag.
 
mfenn said:
Nice irrelevant brag.
Click to expand...

Not really, you can pick up a generic case and power supply for under $50 bucks. DVD drive as posted $20. HD4850 (or whatever is equivalent) is $80. Total still stands.

Warning the following is unethical and is only for example purposes. Do not attempt to use: Foxit PDF editor + download PDF of sample Bestbuy paystub. Fax to Intel.
 
I ended up just going with the following:

i5 750 CPU
gtx 470 1.2gb GPU
GA-P55A-UD3 Mobo
4GB G Skill RAM
24" Viewsonic 1080p HDMI etc...
Corsair 650TX PSU
Antec 300 Casehttp://detonator.dynamitedata.com/c...118052&cm_re=quiet_cpu-_-35-118-052-_-Product
Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit
ZALMAN CNPS10X Quiet CPU cooler
Spinpoint f3 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache HDD
Kensington ci73 keyboard
[FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica][SIZE=-1]Lite-On LightScribe 24X SATA DVD+/-RW Dual Layer Drive[/SIZE][/FONT] (Retail)
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound

I was reading some good reviews on the i5 750 and having a good CPU cooler can overclock it pretty high with low voltage/heat.

I appreciate all of your guys help very much. More informative than pretty much any forum I've asked for help on!
http://detonator.dynamitedata.com/c...118052&cm_re=quiet_cpu-_-35-118-052-_-Product
 
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