New Member, first post, new PC build - Looking for feedback

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
Z

Zameus

Junior Member
Apr 2, 2012
22
0
0
I'm the FNG! :)

My 17yr old son and I will be building a new mid-range gaming system as his birthday present. He'll be using it for gaming, school, music, movies. We're looking at spending between $500-$550 more or less give a take a few bucks. We're from the bay area so we'll be buying our parts from the US. We prefer Intel chipset and NVidia GPUs. We don't need keyboard, mouse, speakers or monitor. No overclocking, just running in default speeds. We plan to build it within the next month. No software is needed. This is what we have come up with thus far:


Processor: http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0354590
MOBO: http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0358081
RAM: http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0345246
Hard drive: http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Barrac...3399240&sr=8-4
Case/PS Combo: http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0334041
Optical Drive: http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0382273
Video Card: http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0381815

Please let us know if we are getting a decent system for the price we are paying and if ther'es anything else we forgot to include. Your feedback is appreciated and taken constructively :biggrin:
 
Last edited:
lehtv

lehtv

Elite Member
Dec 8, 2010
11,897
74
91
Welcome to AT.

Just one thing you forgot to mention: monitor resolution :)
 
M

mfenn

Elite Member
Jan 17, 2010
22,400
5
71
www.mfenn.com
$550 isn't mid-range, that's decidedly budget. Overall, I see two problems:

- The PSU bundled with that case is crap. The case itself is "meh". Try the Neo ECO 400C for $28 AR AP and the NZXT Source 210 for $40.
- The GPU is pretty weak all things considered. You're very close to 6850 territory, but a 6770 will be faster and cost less. Personally, I would drop the quad core to a dual-core in order to fit in the better GPU if need be.
- More minor issue, but that DVD-RW is too expensive. Here's one for $18.
 
Last edited:
Z

Zameus

Junior Member
Apr 2, 2012
22
0
0
mfenn said:
$550 isn't mid-range, that's decidedly budget. Overall, I see two problems:

- The PSU bundled with that case it crap. The case itself is "meh". Try the Neo ECO 400C for $28 AR AP and the NZXT Source 210 for $40.
- The GPU is pretty weak all things considered. You're very close to 6850 territory, but a 6770 will be faster and cost less. Personally, I would drop the quad core to a dual-core in order to fit in the better GPU if need be.
- More minor issue, but that DVD-RW is too expensive. Here's one for $18.
Click to expand...

mfenn, thank you very much for your valuable insight. We'll definitely consider your recommendations! I hope to hear from others as well.
 
lehtv

lehtv

Elite Member
Dec 8, 2010
11,897
74
91
Well, 1680x1050 and 1920x1200 are two different builds. At least that's how I see it... 1920x1200 has 30% more pixels and thus is significantly more GPU limited and VRAM hungry than 1680x1050. For 1680 I'd recommend i5-2400 and HD6850, but for 1920x1200 you'd be better off with an i3 and a faster graphics card.

Here's for 1680x1050:

CPU i5-2400 $150
Mobo Would recommend Asrock H61M/U3S3 $70 shipped. Same set of features but without the rebate hassle.
RAM 4GB G.Skill value $20. Cheaper, and again no rebate hassle.
HDD Newer Seagate 500GB drive for $75 shipped
Case/psu Agree with mfenn on this. Cooler Master Elite 430 probably has better build quality than NZXT Source 210 though
Optical Agree with mfenn
GPU XFX 6850 dual fan $145 AR

Total roughly $546 AR AP.

And for 1920x1200, I'd make these changes:

CPU i3-2100 $100 (microcenter)
Mobo ECS H61H2-M2 $30 AR
GPU Sapphire 7850 2GB $250 (compare to 6850)

The Asrock motherboard is decidedly better but IMO worth sacrificing to get the 7850. This will go slightly over budget but it's worth it as it saves you a graphics card upgrade later on. Having a 7850 in a $550 budget is a tough call, but I think I did pretty well :p
 
Last edited:
Z

Zameus

Junior Member
Apr 2, 2012
22
0
0
Outstanding! Thank you both mfenn and tehtv for your feedback! Going with your guy's recommendations, would I run into space issues if I wanted to purchase high end video card later down the line? I'm not looking to SLI, but may one day bite the bullet later on a high end GPU.
 
lehtv

lehtv

Elite Member
Dec 8, 2010
11,897
74
91
Coolermaster says the 430 supports long graphics cards such as 5970 which a quick google search reveals to be 12.2 inch long. Pretty much any graphics card will fit.

Source 210 likewise supports long graphics cards provided you don't install a hard drive right next to the graphics card.

For anything more power hungry than a 6850/7850, you'd need a new power supply though. 400C only has 1x 6pin connectors.
 
Z

Zameus

Junior Member
Apr 2, 2012
22
0
0
Awesome! Ok, looks like we're going with the following as per both of your recomendations:

CPU - i5-2400 - $150
Mobo - Asrock H61M/U3S3 - $70
RAM - 4GB G.Skill value - $20
HHD - Seagate 500GB - $75
Case - Cooler Master Elite 430 - $39
PSU - Neo ECO 400C - $28
Optical - LITE-ON DVD Burner - $18
GPU - Radeon HD 6850 - $139

Total: $539 + taxes

If I can get the AnandTech stamp of approval, I'll start ordering the parts! :D Thanks again, we really appreciate your input on this. My son is excited to build his first PC ;)
 
Z

Zameus

Junior Member
Apr 2, 2012
22
0
0
mfenn said:
Looks good to me, much better than what you came in with. (That's the idea! :awe:)
Click to expand...


...and here's the finished product! Thanks again guys! PC is running smooth!! We had this baby built in 2hrs. :p


1gjlv.jpg
 
T

Topweasel

Diamond Member
Oct 19, 2000
5,437
1,659
136
Did you go to J. J. Abrams school of photography by chance?

Anyways. Show us the goods, we want to see what its packing under the hood.
 
GoStumpy

GoStumpy

Golden Member
Sep 14, 2011
1,211
11
81
Zameus said:
if I wanted to purchase high end video card later down the line? I'm not looking to SLI, but may one day bite the bullet later on a high end GPU.
Click to expand...

Had to comment on this....


Don't worry, the 7850 IS a high end GPU :) :biggrin:
 
GoStumpy

GoStumpy

Golden Member
Sep 14, 2011
1,211
11
81
mfenn said:
I dunno if I'd say that. It's more upper-midrange IMHO.
Click to expand...

Splittin hairs? ;)

6670, 6770, 7750, 7770, those are midrange...

6850, 6870, 7850,7870, those are high end

6950, 6970, 7950, 7970, those are top of the line

IMHO of course!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom