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Haswell Build

circusslaughter

Senior member
1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.

light gaming, homework

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

$600

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

US

4. IF you're buying parts OUTSIDE the US, please post a link to the vendor you'll be buying from.
We can't be expected to scour the internet on your behalf, chasing down deals in your specific country... Again, help us, help YOU.

US, newegg.

5. IF YOU have a brand preference.

Intel and Corsair.

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

RAM and monitor

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.

No overclocking

8. What resolution, not monitor size, will you be using?

1080p

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?
Note that it is usually not cost or time effective to choose your build more than a month before you actually plan to be using it.

October

10. Do you need to purchase any software to go with the system, such as Windows or Blu Ray playback software?

Windows 7

I am wanting a Intel build with a i5 Haswell processor on a $500 budget. Not worried too much about a high end graphics card. I am getting a XFX 550w power supply but that is all I already have picked.
 
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If you need to buy win7, your effective budget is actually closer to $400.

If you want to be doing any gaming at 1080, for reference, a haswell i5 and MoBo bundle are in the neighborhood of $350. I just don't think this is a reasonable option for you, you can't also afford memory, psu, case, optical drive, win7 license, HDD AND get the i5.

I would try something like this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD Athlon II X4 750K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock FM2A75M-DGS R2.0 Micro ATX FM2 Motherboard ($61.97 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Toshiba 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7750 1GB Video Card ($82.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Raidmax ATX-818WB MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($90.88 @ Amazon)
Total: $500.77
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-06 09:15 EDT-0400)
 
Already have AMD build, doing a Intel build. Want a i5 haswell processor. This build is just a secondary gaming computer. Already have really high end ram and a monitor.
 
So you have RAM, and you have a monitor, and the new budget is $600? And the OS still needs to be included in that, right?

I still think you're budget is just a little too tight for a haswell i5.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($239.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87M-D3H 1.0 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($114.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 6670 1GB Video Card ($53.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill Galaxy-03 ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($88.88 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $607.80
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-06 13:15 EDT-0400)

That is the literal lowest tier dgpu I would consider. And you're still not under budget. Looks like you might be gaming on the igpu 😛

Couple nice combos there, the MoBo+CPU and the HDD+Case are solid.
 
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I put something together for $597.96

Case: Raidmax Tornado- $39.99

HDD: HGST 500gb- $44.99

Optical drive: Samsung CD/DVD writer- $14.99

PSU: Apevia ATX-CB700W- $39.99

MOBO: Asrock Z77 Pro3- $94.99

CPU: Intel i5-4430 Haswell- $189.99

OS- Win 7 Home 64 bit- $99.99

Graphics card- HIS Radeon HD 6570 2gb- $59.99
 
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I put something together for $597.96

Case: Raidmax Tornado- $39.99

HDD: HGST 500gb- $44.99

Optical drive: Samsung CD/DVD writer- $14.99

PSU: Apevia ATX-CB700W- $39.99

MOBO: Asrock Z77 Pro3- $94.99

CPU: Intel i5-4430 Haswell- $189.99

OS- Win 7 Home 64 bit- $99.99

Graphics card- HIS Radeon HD 6570 2gb- $59.99
You put a Ivy Bridge motherboard with a Haswell.
You put a worse GPU.

What RAM do you have?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4430 3.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($184.29 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI B85-G41 PC Mate ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($78.24 @ Amazon)
Storage: Hitachi 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition 1GB Video Card ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill FB-03 ATX Mid Tower Case ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($90.88 @ Amazon)
Total: $538.36
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-06 14:08 EDT-0400)

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1AEcM
 
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PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1AE3I
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1AE3I/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1AE3I/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4430 3.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($184.29 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock B85M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($86.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Toshiba 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition 1GB Video Card ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($90.88 @ Amazon)
Other: raidmax tornado ($39.99)
Total: $572.10
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-06 14:00 EDT-0400)

Graphics card has a $30 mail-in rebate to get the final price.

PSU has a $20 mail-in rebate and $10 promo code "COMPNTSEP12" to get the final price listed in this post.

The Asrock B85 Pro4, H87 Pro4, and Z87 Pro3 seen to have the same features except for those provided by the chipset(number of SATA 6.0 Gbps ports and USB 3.0 ports).

You can upgrade to the 4570 for only $5 more at SuperBiiz.
 
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PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1AE3I
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1AE3I/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1AE3I/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4430 3.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($184.29 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock B85M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($86.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Toshiba 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition 1GB Video Card ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($90.88 @ Amazon)
Other: raidmax tornado ($39.99)
Total: $572.10
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-06 14:00 EDT-0400)

Graphics card has a $30 mail-in rebate to get the final price.

PSU has a $20 mail-in rebate and $10 promo code "COMPNTSEP12" to get the final price.

The Asrock B85 Pro4, H87 Pro4, and Z87 Pro3 seen to have the same features except for those provided by the chipset(number of SATA 6.0 Gbps ports and USB 3.0 ports).

You can upgrade to the 4570 for only $5 more at SuperBiiz.
If we combine ours, we could get it down to 500 :awe:
 
The cheaper the better but I know I am not giving up getting a Haswell CPU, even if I have to go with i3.
 
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The RAM is 8gb Intel RAM from Patriot.

I have around $600 to $650 to build a computer with a i5 Haswell, I know the processor is $189.99.

It doesn't need to be over the top fancy because like I said I do have a AMD build.

Just looking for a mid grade Intel build.
 
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There's a lot of builds being thrown around in this thread, but the word "why" doesn't appear once before now. Why are you stuck on Haswell?

For your stated purpose, an an AMD would probably get you more gaming bang for your buck. There's nothing mystical about an AMD or Intel processor, they both just execute x86 code at a given rate.
 
Since you're building in October, I don't see the point of going to much detail. On this budget, bang for buck rests heavily on what combo deals, promos and even mail-in-rebates you can find during the week or so that you're ordering your stuff. So come back in about 1 week or less before you want to order.
 
Basically $300 is the minimum that you can pay for a Haswell CPU, mobo and RAM. Add $90 for a Windows license and you only have a couple hundred left. This means that with everything else you still have to buy, you can only afford a mediocre end GPU.

A light gaming build doesn't need a lot of graphics card, but the thing is that buying a cheap graphics card for an expensive Haswell quad core makes the build imbalanced. A lot of CPU power gets wasted; with your usage scenario, a fast graphics card is the only potential thing that could require a fast processor.

I would say about $600 without OS is the minimum for a balanced Haswell build, but even then you'd probably be better off with FX-6300 and either upgrading the GPU a bit or adding an SSD for the OS files. For a balanced Haswell build with an SSD, you'd need about $700; and for a balanced AMD build without an SSD, you'd need $500. Without OS.
 
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I found a i5 Haswell for $189.99 so $300 is no the least amount for a Haswell.

I really need the most badass Haswell processor as this is just a secondary gaming computer and it will be used mostly for surfing the internet and school work.

AGAIN I AM NOT DOING ANOTHER AMD COMPUTER. INTEL INTEL INTEL.
 
I found a i5 Haswell for $189.99 so $300 is no the least amount for a Haswell.

You didn't read lehtv's post completely. He said, "Basically $300 is the minimum that you can pay for a Haswell CPU, mobo and RAM. " That's pretty much correct.

AGAIN I AM NOT DOING ANOTHER AMD COMPUTER. INTEL INTEL INTEL.

All the screaming in the world won't change reality. The fact remains $600 buys you a pretty terrible gaming PC if you insist on a Haswell CPU.

$190 Haswell CPU
$65 motherboard
$55 RAM
$30 GPU
$50 HDD
$20 ODD
$50 PSU
$40 case
$100 OS
 
I really need the most badass Haswell processor as this is just a secondary gaming computer and it will be used mostly for surfing the internet and school work.

What? Why do you need a badass processor for the lightest imaginable tasks? Badass processors are for demanding tasks. That's like saying "I need a badass Audi R8 because this is just a secondary racing car and it will be used mostly for driving the highway and going to work."

What exactly do you have in that main AMD computer? Why not use that for your school work, and move the GPU over to your Haswell build to use it for gaming?
 
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Ok here is a question.

Can I take the XFX 7950 3gb put it in the Haswell build and put a 7770 1gb in my AMD build and still get a 1080p out of my AMD build and be able to do something for $650 or less with the Haswell build?
 
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$650 could maybe buy you a haswell build with a 7770... Swapping the GPUs would be great because Haswell is much more balanced with a 7950 than with a 7770.

The 7770 can play 1080p on medium settings in moderately demanding games. What is the exact AMD CPU you have?
 
What is the PSU you have in your AMD build?

The SG05 can't fit a 7950, and it's too expensive for a $600 build, especially a mini-iTX build. Mini-ITX motherboards are much more expensive than mATX. You could do mini-ITX with a bit over $700 or so (using a different case like CM Elite 120).

I think your best bet is building around a cheap mATX B85 board and a basic mATX case (whatever happens to be a good deal at the time).
 
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