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PC Build Help - $800

V

VtPC83

Senior member
I'm building a PC for my wife who is going back to school and likes to play some games with me such as Torchlight 2, etc. Budget is an important consideration.

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

This PC will need to be used for general day to day surfing, etc. It will also be used for college schoolwork. Finally it will be used for light gaming, Torchlight 2, Diablo 3, etc and movie watching. I would like Torchlight 2 and Diablo 3 to run fairly fluidly, maintaining at least 40-50 FPS at all times.

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

Excluding monitor and KB/Mouse I would like the system to hover roughly around $800. I would like a SSD included for at least OS and some other programs like Office.

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

Buying in USA - Newegg mostly or Amazon if there are better prices for a specific item (Prime so we can buy all items on Amazon if need be) There are no Microcenters near me. I would have to drive 3+ hours to get to one.

5. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc.

Prefer Intel and Nvidia

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

None

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

No overclocking unless it comes that way (Video)

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

1920 x 1080

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.

In the next month, no later than middle/end Feb.

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

Need OS, want to use Windows 8.1

Thanks for the help.

PS. We found some case fans she really likes, purple ones so we would like to have those included as well.
 
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Ok, how's this look? Little bit higher than $800 but not sure if I can squeeze anymore out of this:

Seagate Hybrid Drive ST1000DX001 1TB MLC/8GB 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s NCQ 3.5" Desktop SSHD
ASRock H81M LGA 1150 Intel H81 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
NZXT Tempest 210 CA-TP210-01 Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
EVGA 02G-P4-3063-KR GeForce GTX 660 2GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 SLI Support Video Card w/ ACX Cooler
Thermaltake TR2 TR-500 500W ATX12V v2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Power Supply
Intel Core i5-4570 Haswell 3.2GHz LGA 1150 84W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics BX80646I54570
Rosewill RCR-IC001 40-in-1 USB 2.0 3.5" Internal Card Reader w/ USB Port / Extra Silver Face Plate (another thing she wants)
G.SKILL Value 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-1600C11D-8GNT
LITE-ON DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA Model iHAS124-04 - OEM
Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit - OEM
Corsair Air Series CO-9050016-PLED 120mm Purple LED Case Fan

Any concerns from anyone? My only concern is the Hybrid drive for reliability/longevity but reviews show it being decent.

Total before shipping is $882
 
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Are there any 256 bit 660's out there? I keep seeing only 192 bit and since I am using Anand's benchmarking page to compare I want to make sure I'm looking at the right thing.

I agree that the 7870 you found is a good deal but I would prefer to stay nVidia at this point. I'm comfortable with their setup and how they function driver wise, build wise, etc.
 
I really wouldn't get that H61 board. Calling it trash is being polite. Even on a budget build don't gimp the mobo.
 
So far I'm going to stick to my build, I don't like that H61 MB either. Big reasons are no SATA 6 gb/s and it doesn't look like it has any chassis fan connections.

I like nVidia and the case I found has a top vent.

Any thoughts on the hybrid drive or if 500W should be enough?
 
500W will be plenty. Stay away from hybrid drives.

HDD + SSD cache drive or HDD + SSD boot drive are much better alternatives if you ask me.

Do not skimp on the motherboard, there is no reason to do so since you have a fairly decent budget.

GTX 660 is a good nvidia equivalent/alternative to the 7870.
 
GTX 660 is a good nvidia equivalent/alternative to the 7870.
Click to expand...
Actually, I believe the Sapphire 7870 is a tahiti, which means it punches a little above its weight class, esp if you're willing to OC it a little. It's probably a little above the 660 Ti and quite close to the GTX 760 and 670. I know you said you prefer Nvidia, but I would be remiss if I didn't emphasize how good of a deal that 7870 is.

If you don't like monkeydelmagico's CPU+MoBo combo, try this haswell i3 + H81 chipset. It's a solid CPU for Torchlight 2 and D3.

CPU: Intel Core i3-4330 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($42.99 @ Newegg)

I would stay away from the hybrid drives. As monkeydelmagico pointed out, you can get a decent 120 GB SSD for the OS and non-game applications on your budget.
 
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So what is your budget really? Is it $800 or $900? Makes a big difference and then the folks who are trying to do you a favor don't look like a cheapskate. :colbert:
 
Essence_of_War said:
Actually, I believe the Sapphire 7870 is a tahiti, which means it punches a little above its weight class, esp if you're willing to OC it a little. It's probably a little above the 660 Ti and quite close to the GTX 760 and 670. I know you said you prefer Nvidia, but I would be remiss if I didn't emphasize how good of a deal that 7870 is.

If you don't like monkeydelmagico's CPU+MoBo combo, try this haswell i3 + H81 chipset. It's a solid CPU for Torchlight 2 and D3.

CPU: Intel Core i3-4330 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($42.99 @ Newegg)

I would stay away from the hybrid drives. As monkeydelmagico pointed out, you can get a decent 120 GB SSD for the OS and non-game applications on your budget.
Click to expand...
It isn't a Tahiti. It would have to be named 7870 LE or better known as 7870 XT. I have a Sapphire 7870 Dual X which I bought for $120 after $15 MIR two months ago 😀 Still haven't received the rebate btw :\

Here is an example of a Tahiti 7870 and this is probably the one you were thinking of:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814202024

Haswell i3s have really good gaming performance (much better than previous generation i3s) but nothing is as good as the real thing. For a few bucks more, I'd recommend the i5 Ivy bridge "P" for $169 after promo code.
 
Ah, I double-checked, you're def right, that particular one is not the XT model!

Indeed, the one you linked to is the one that I have, and the one that I was thinking of 🙂
 
LI is a great resource, especially good for finding marginal improvements at a particular piece of componentry.

It does, however, ignore special deals/combos/etc, and because limited offerings, especially towards the mid-to-higher build range, they often end up overspending on PSUs, MoBos, and cases.

I wouldn't necessarily throw together a build by reading directly across a LI row and buying those parts, but I would use it as a reference point.
 
I used it and according to it I should have bought a aftermarket cooler, I should have listened. I had to RMA my stock cooler and I am still waiting for a new one from newegg, 2 weeks later...

Yeah it's always good to go to newegg and check to see if they have a rebate if it sends you to Amazon for a part because you can usually get it under how much they say it should cost you.

I went with the $1000 range but bought what I wanted not what the suggested and ended up spending about $1300 with OS.

It's a really good reference point if you don't know where to start like essence of war said.
 
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I used it and according to it I should have bought a aftermarket cooler, I should have listened! I had to RMA my stock cooler and I am still waiting for a new one from newegg, 2 weeks later...
Click to expand...

This doesn't make sense to me. Why would buying an aftermarket HSF have any effect on your stock HSF dying/living or needing to be RMA'd? Unless you're planning to OC or you're planning on building a VERY quiet build, you don't need an aftermarket HSF.
 
Essence_of_War said:
This doesn't make sense to me. Why would buying an aftermarket HSF have any effect on your stock HSF dying/living or needing to be RMA'd? Unless you're planning to OC or you're planning on building a VERY quiet build, you don't need an aftermarket HSF.
Click to expand...

My stock cooler came broke so my build has been at a stand still for 2 weeks, if I would have followed the board across on that site my build would be done by now because it said get a aftermarket cooler. All I was getting at. I didn't follow the board across because I really didn't see a point in a aftermarket cooler since I don't OC.

Wait those fans help make quiet builds? I am so getting one of those now.
 
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Essence_of_War said:
This doesn't make sense to me. Why would buying an aftermarket HSF have any effect on your stock HSF dying/living or needing to be RMA'd? Unless you're planning to OC or you're planning on building a VERY quiet build, you don't need an aftermarket HSF.
Click to expand...

Because most aftermarket HSF can be fixed without having to RMA them... If the fan dies, all you have to do is replace it. It may cost you a few $$ but at least you will be able to minimize the downtime.

I waited 3 weeks for newegg to replace my DOA 270 before I asked for a refund. It has been sitting for 2 full weeks in their warehouse and I still haven't been sent a replacement . Took them an entire month to replace my Logitech Wave set.

Turnaround time for any RMA is huge, but at least when dealing directly with the manufacturer, some of them might give you the advance RMA option.

circusslaughter said:
Wait those fans help make quiet builds? I am so getting one of those now.
Click to expand...

If you are not overclocking, odds are you will either never hear the fan if you manually set it to low RPMs or you can even go fanless if you get one of the high end HSF with vapor chambers.
 
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