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Critque my gaming build

Scouzer

Scouzer

Lifer
I haven't built a desktop in years. Unfortunately the new gaming laptop every year policy I've been going with is just too bloody expensive for too crappy performance. Not to mention no matter how much money I spend, something just sucks about each one.

So I think I might just build a desktop. It's going to be a nuisance to keep my files synchronized, but it's a lot easier these days now that I can just keep my crap in the cloud.

I need help picking a cheap motherboard. I want the cheapest one that can OC decently. I don't give a hoot about a fancy board.

Intel Core i5 2500K Quad Core Unlocked Processor LGA1155 3.3GHZ Sandy Bridge 6MB
OCZ FATAL1TY 550W ATX12V 20/24PIN Active PFC ATX Modular Power Supply 120MM Fan 80PLUS Black
Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB SATA2 7200RPM 16MB 8.9MS 3.5IN NCQ Hard Drive OEM 3YR MFR Warranty
G.SKILL F3-10666CL9T-6GBNQ 6GB DDR3 3X2GB DDR3-1333 CL 9-9-9-24 Triple Channel Memory Kit
MSI GeForce GTX 460 Fermi Cyclone OC 725MHZ 768MB GDDR5 Dual DVI Mini-HDMI DX11 PCI-E Video Card
Apex TX-381 Mini Tower mATX Case Black 2X5.25 2X3.5 4X3.5INT 400W W/ Carrying Handle

Total cost (including assembly, shipping) $561 CAD + Motherboard.

I know the 1GB GTX 460 is quite a bit faster, but it's also 50% more expensive. It doesn't seem worth it.
 
Scouzer said:
I haven't built a desktop in years. Unfortunately the new gaming laptop every year policy I've been going with is just too bloody expensive for too crappy performance. Not to mention no matter how much money I spend, something just sucks about each one.

So I think I might just build a desktop. It's going to be a nuisance to keep my files synchronized, but it's a lot easier these days now that I can just keep my crap in the cloud.

I need help picking a cheap motherboard. I want the cheapest one that can OC decently. I don't give a hoot about a fancy board.

Intel Core i5 2500K Quad Core Unlocked Processor LGA1155 3.3GHZ Sandy Bridge 6MB
OCZ FATAL1TY 550W ATX12V 20/24PIN Active PFC ATX Modular Power Supply 120MM Fan 80PLUS Black
Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB SATA2 7200RPM 16MB 8.9MS 3.5IN NCQ Hard Drive OEM 3YR MFR Warranty
G.SKILL F3-10666CL9T-6GBNQ 6GB DDR3 3X2GB DDR3-1333 CL 9-9-9-24 Triple Channel Memory Kit
MSI GeForce GTX 460 Fermi Cyclone OC 725MHZ 768MB GDDR5 Dual DVI Mini-HDMI DX11 PCI-E Video Card
Apex TX-381 Mini Tower mATX Case Black 2X5.25 2X3.5 4X3.5INT 400W W/ Carrying Handle

Total cost (including assembly, shipping) $561 CAD + Motherboard.

I know the 1GB GTX 460 is quite a bit faster, but it's also 50% more expensive. It doesn't seem worth it.
Click to expand...

OCZ PSU's suck, here is a better one. Now you might be thinking I am crazy for suggesting a 430 Watt PSU, however you are getting a fairly low powered setup, your GPU shouldnt be pulling too much, and you should be fine with a mild oc of 4.4Ghz

Sandy Bridge uses 1.5v Dual channel RAM, i would recommend these.

And your hdd isnt a particularly good one, i prefer this.

And finally for a motherboard, the ASUS P8P67-M for ~$130 where ever you can find it.

Hope this helps.
 
^ What he said, though I don't think OCZ PSUs are that bad. However, they're usually not worth getting unless you find them for really cheap.
 
Well, the 460 768MB is a moderate card, but it depends on what level of performance you need. What games do you intend to play? What resolution do you intend to use?

The fact that the 768MB version is cheaper is moot if it doesn't give you the performance you're looking for. Most of your gaming performance revolves around the GPU, so it's the last place you'd want to skimp.

Oh, and ditto on changing that HDD. 7200rpm 32MB cache hard drives are plentiful and cheap, and would be better suited as your primary all-purpose system HDD.
 
The OCZ PSU is $30. The Antec is $45. Is the OCZ really that bad?

As suggested, I switched out the RAM to 1.5v stuff:

Corsair XMS3 TR3X6G1333C9 6GB DDR3 3X2GB DDR3-1333 CL 9-9-9-24 Core i7 Memory Kit (cheaper than the kit suggested)

And got a faster HDD

Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB 7200RPM 32MB Dual Proc 3.5IN SATA Hard Drive OEM 5YR Mfg Warranty

The 1GB GTX is $175 and the 768mb is $120 for a 10% difference roughly in performance... I think I'll just go with the lesser card for now and upgrade later.
 
Last edited:
Scouzer said:
The OCZ PSU is $30. The Antec is $45. Is the OCZ really that bad?

As suggested, I switched out the RAM to 1.5v stuff:

Corsair XMS3 TR3X6G1333C9 6GB DDR3 3X2GB DDR3-1333 CL 9-9-9-24 Core i7 Memory Kit (cheaper than the kit suggested)

And got a faster HDD

Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB 7200RPM 32MB Dual Proc 3.5IN SATA Hard Drive OEM 5YR Mfg Warranty

The 1GB GTX is $175 and the 768mb is $120 for a 10% difference roughly in performance... I think I'll just go with the lesser card for now and upgrade later.
Click to expand...

Okay, well you didnt quite get it, for that price (or around it) you can get a 1tb samsung F3 (just as good in benchmarks as the 640gb)

The RAM is still wrong, 1.5v is good however you got triple channel RAM, your motherboard supports dual channel (2x2gb, 4x2gb, 2x4gb, 4x4gb, etc)

GPU is up to you the 460 768mb will run most games at playable settings in 1080p, so whatever floats your boat.
 
The Samsung F3 is tough to get in Canada, that's why I skipped your suggestion. There's only a couple stores that sell it that I don't really like. Sorry, I should have clarified.

Understood now on the RAM... I didn't realize that. My bad.
 
Scouzer said:
The Samsung F3 is tough to get in Canada, that's why I skipped your suggestion. There's only a couple stores that sell it that I don't really like. Sorry, I should have clarified.

Understood now on the RAM... I didn't realize that. My bad.
Click to expand...

I understand about the Canadian availability problem, (i go to Regina and Saskatoon often) I just use newegg.ca they seem to have the samsung F3 1tb for $5 more then the Caviar black (74.99 vs. 69.99) For an extra 360 Gb i would think the $5 would be worth it, however if you can find the caviar black for cheaper ($15 cheaper) then i would get that instead.

And the RAM is a problem as many companies said there ram was for "core i7 cpu's" BUT intel switched back to dual channel for socket 1155 and so triple channel wont work, glad we got that worked out. 😉
 
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