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Building a gaming PC for 1k - first build in years

DT4K

DT4K

Diamond Member
I'm way out of the loop.
My current PC was built about 4 years ago and since then, I've paid virtually no attention to hardware technology. I haven't done much gaming, so haven't had much need to upgrade anything.

I'm looking to build a new box and want to spend less than $1000.

Machine will be multi-purpose. Being able to play current games is a priority. I'll also be using it for photo and video editing (home videos, nothing serious), web surfing, and basic office tasks.

Budget is $1000

Buying in the USA.

No brand preference. I try to go with best bang for the buck and I've found that Intel, AMD, ATI, and nVidia have all held that title at different times.

Monitor, mouse, and keyboard do not need to be part of the budget.

I searched and read some threads. The last one I found with a $1000 budget was from a few months ago and I know how fast things can change. I am including a list of components I saw in that thread as a reference point.

No plans to overclock.

I'm not positive, but I think the 22" LCD I'll be using is 1680x1050 and last I heard, it was ideal to run at native resolution.

Just got my bonus at work and plan to order the parts this weekend.


I don't know anything about these parts, but below is the list that seemed to get good approval in the 1k thread I read from a couple months ago. I have no idea if there are better options now or if the prices have changed. So please let me know if this one looks like a good build or if there are things you would change now. One thing I noticed is that there is only the SSD on that list and it doesn't have enough capacity for my needs (tons of photos and video). So I think I should either try to fit in an SSD and a mechanical drive (probably 1TB to be safe) or just go with a mechanical drive.

$224.99 Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K

$13.99 COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler Compatible Intel

$9.99 Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM

$274.99 SAPPHIRE 100312SR Radeon HD 6950 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity

$49.99 G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL

$134.99 Crucial RealSSD C300 CTFDDAC064MAG-1G1 2.5" 64GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

$123.99 ASRock P67 PRO3 LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

$59.99 COOLER MASTER HAF 912 RC-912-KKN1 Black SECC/ ABS Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

$59.99 XFX P1-650X-CAG9 650W ATX12V 2.2 / ESP12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power ...

$99.99 Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM
 
No reason to get the 2500K if you don't plan to overclock or at least use the integrated graphics, 2500 would be fine too.

Your graphic card seems a bit overkill for the resolution you'll be gaming at, you would probably be fine with a 6870 or less. At least you could get the 1GB version of the 6950. The nvidia gtx 560 Ti seems also like a very good choice to me.

Crucial Real SSD is quite good, but with Sandforce 2200 and new SSDs round the corner you might want to get the mechanical drive first and wait before adding an SSD.

I'm not sure, but I think photo/video editing could benefit from more RAM, especially when multitasking so maybe a 8GB DDR3-1333MHz kit, could be better.

If you want a quick overview in the hardware space right now, I'd suggest checking the recommended buys for graphic cards and CPUs at tomshardware.com.

Also make sure you can get the B3 revision of the motherboard (no idea if this particular one is available yet), to avoid any issues with the Intel Cougar point bug
 
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honj90 said:
No reason to get the 2500K if you don't plan to overclock or at least use the integrated graphics, 2500 would be fine too.

Your graphic card seems a bit overkill for the resolution you'll be gaming at, you would probably be fine with a 6870 or less. At least you could get the 1GB version of the 6950. The nvidia gtx 560 Ti seems also like a very good choice to me.

Crucial Real SSD is quite good, but with Sandforce 2200 and new SSDs round the corner you might want to get the mechanical drive first and wait before adding an SSD.

I'm not sure, but I think photo/video editing could benefit from more RAM, especially when multitasking so maybe a 8GB DDR3-1333MHz kit, could be better.

If you want a quick overview in the hardware space right now, I'd suggest checking the recommended buys for graphic cards and CPUs at tomshardware.com.

Also make sure you can get the B3 revision of the motherboard (no idea if this particular one is available yet), to avoid any issues with the Intel Cougar point bug
Click to expand...

:thumbsup: Great post, though I think that 4GB is fine for normal usage.

OP, you'll probably find that the pricing on those particular parts has shifted a bit, but I think that you'll come out at about the same overall total.
 
Just to be clear, that list wasn't what I had picked. It was from another thread from a couple months ago where the poster had a similar budget.

From the additional reading I've done, it sounds like the 2500k is the best bang for the buck now. I don't have definite plans to OC, but the 2500k is only about $20 more than the 2500, so I think it's worth it to have the option to OC.

I looked at the recommendations on Tom's and they are:
At the $180 range - 6850 or GTX 460
At $250 range - 6950 1GB

How much difference in performance is there between the 6850 and 6950?
Where does the 6870 fit in?

I can't seem to find that ASRock motherboard anywhere, so I'm thinking about the Asus P8P67, but I'm still trying to figure out the difference between the P8P67, P8P67 Pro, and P8P67 Deluxe.

My photo and video editing is pretty basic and isn't something I will be doing a lot of, so it sounds like 4GB will be ok.
 
My bad I didn't made it to clear in my first post, just don't think you need DDR3 1600 RAM, so basicaly I meant you could pay a little premium and get a DDR3 1333 8GB Kit. Of course, 4GB is fine for most tasks, you wouldn't have any problem with them.

As for the graphics card, my (just personal suggestion) is get the 6850 and put some of the money you saved in a crossfire-ready motherboard. It will probably run everything just fine at the resolution you're gaming at and if down the road you want to buy a new monitor or more demanding games are released, you can still pick a second (by then hopefully cheaper) card.

If you're thinking about ASUS, the P8P67 Pro seems like a good solution for that.
Here is a pretty good review that outlines the differences between the ASUS mobos
http://www.pureoverclock.com/review.php?id=1179&page=1
 
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DT4K said:
I can't seem to find that ASRock motherboard anywhere, so I'm thinking about the Asus P8P67, but I'm still trying to figure out the difference between the P8P67, P8P67 Pro, and P8P67 Deluxe.
Click to expand...

P8P67 to P8P67 Pro adds x8/x8 Crossfire and an SLI license. P8P67 Pro -> P8P67 Deluxe adds a bunch of expensive stuff that I can't recall right now.

My recommendation would be to look in the ~$130 range, and at the GA-P67A-UD3 in particular.
 
mfenn said:
P8P67 to P8P67 Pro adds x8/x8 Crossfire and an SLI license. P8P67 Pro -> P8P67 Deluxe adds a bunch of expensive stuff that I can't recall right now.

My recommendation would be to look in the ~$130 range, and at the GA-P67A-UD3 in particular.
Click to expand...

Just what I remember from the deluxe is a CMOS reset button (instead of jumper) and a front panel USB 3.0 bay.
 
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