Build Recommendations @ $1500 price point

[Bulldog13]

I need to building a new gaming rig for my brother. He is looking to spend $1500 MAX.

1.) What YOUR PC will be used for: GAMING, specifically strategy and RPG
2.) What YOUR budget is: $1,500 US
3.) What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from: USA
4.) Brand preference: None, whatever the maximum bang for the buck is. I believe a tie should go to the underdog (AMD/ATI).
5.) Current parts being used: Windows x64
6.) Overclocking: NO OVERCLOCKING, RUNNING SYSTEM AT DEFAULT
7.) Resolution: Whatever the monitor you recommend runs natively.
8.) When build: I will probably order up the parts tonight, if this thread gets enough of a response.

FINAL COMMENTS: I was thinking 24" for the monitor because it seems like prices shoot up pretty steeply after that. I used the COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP for my previous build and LOVED it. I would prefer to use it again, unless someone can present a compelling reason not to. $1500 budget includes the purchase of a monitor.

 

[darkewaffle]

So is this budget including a monitor as well then?

 

[mfenn]

OK, so let's see what we can do for $1500 including monitor and OS.

Core i5 760 + Windows 7 combo $300
Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD3 + GTX 470 combo $380 AR
G.Skill DDR3 1333 4GB $83
Samsung F3 1TB + Corsair 650TX combo $125 AR
Cooler Master case + Samsung DVD burner combo $73
Total w/o monitor $961 AR

There's enough budget left for an SSD and a nice monitor.
Corsair Force 60GB $165

ASUS VW266H $260 AR - A little more expensive than the 1080P ones, but I think the extra vertical pixels are worth it.
OR
HP LP2465 refurb $210 - If you're willing to go with a refurb, this is a ridiculous deal. A 24" S-PVA panel for $210? Sign me up!

That leaves about $100 for mouse and keyboard, so have your brother pick out some that he likes.

 

[Bulldog13]

@darkwaffle - Yes, $1500 including the purchase of a new monitor.

@mfenn - Should have mentioned, no need for an OS, he already bought one through school for cheap.

 

[mfenn]

@darkwaffle - Yes, $1500 including the purchase of a new monitor.

@mfenn - Should have mentioned, no need for an OS, he already bought one through school for cheap.

OK, do the same thing but don't worry about the combo on the CPU.

 

[MisterDonut]

@mfenn, is that Corsair SSD using the same SF controller as the OCZ 2's?

@OP, mfenn's listed build is probably what most people are going to recommend (except maybe a GTX460 instead of the 470). If you're looking to go a cheaper route, you'd only save about $40 by going AMD (955BE). Of course, you also lose out on the option of a Thuban upgrade, but that seems irrelevant in this case. If you really want to do some budget building, you can find some Thuban/Deneb deals at Fry's that come with a "free" motherboard. Also, if there is some extra $$$ in the build, your brother can go with a different case. Antec 300 for value, CM 690 II for ease of use, and a HAF922/modded Antec 900 for cooling, and Antec P18x series for silence. But without the need for strong airflow, you can just pick whatever looks best.

Another note on the GPU: since you've listed that this machine is for strategy and RPG, I'd go with a GTX460. AFAIK, most of the more graphically intense games come in the form of FPS. I assume strategy and RPG means SC2 and WoW...so a 460 should take 'em head-on. As for anything else, it might struggle @ 1920x1200 sometimes, but anything 1080 or under it should tear apart....check AT's GPU Bench for more details. I haven't yet.

 

[mfenn]

Yes the Force, the Agility 2, and the Vertex 2 all use the same controller. The Vertex 2 has "special" firmware that allows it to perform better in some cases, but it's not worth the premium IMHO.

 

[MisterDonut]

Yeah, I've been looking around for something similar to the really pricey 2's from OCZ, but I have no idea on how Corsair SSDs are because this is probably the first recommendation I've read with it . Guess I've been overlooking Corsair...obviously, the Force is not with me . Those SF-1200 controllers really kick ass...

 

[anishannayya]

This is a bit messy because it is copied from an Excel sheet, but I recently built a similar build (actually ordered the parts a couple days ago, not all of them have come in yet). If you don't live in CA, you can save a couple $$$.

Midrange Performance Build (Best Bang for Buck)

Vendor: MicroCenter Price Shipping Tax Rebate
Processor Intel i5-760 179.99 16.65
Keyboard Microsoft Windows Media Pro 6.99 0.65

Vendor: Amazon
Motherboard MSI P55A-G55 124.99 -20
Card Reader Connectland 3.5" Card Reader 7.8
OS Widnows 7 64-bit OEM 99.99

Vendor: Newegg
RAM Partiot G Series 'Sector 5' 84.99 0.99 7.01 -20
HDD Samsung 1 TB Spinpoint F3 59.99 4.95
Combo Deal: GPU+ PSU Gigabyte GTX 460 1 GB + OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W 269.98 22.27 -20
DVD Burner Lite-On iHAS124-04 PROMO CODE: EMCYWZY88 17.99 1.48
Mouse Logitech G500 58.99 4.87 -20
Mouse Pad OCZ Behemoth 5.99 5.99 0.49
Case Cooler Master RC-690 PROMO CODE: EMCYWZY52 59.99 4.95 -10

Vendor: Nextwarehouse
SSD Crucial C300 128 GB 269.85 22.26
Speakers Logitech Z-5500 77.84 6.42

Vendor: Ebay
CPU Heatsink/Fan Cooler Master Hyper 212 28.49 5.5
Monitor Dell UltraSharp U2311H 23" 279

Total 1632.86 12.48 92 -90
BOTTOM LINE 1647.34

To this I will add another 128 GB C300 from a computer I had but sold.