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Under $1000 rig for light gaming

E

Elaineofshalott2

Member
1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.
General Web browsing, Watch Video, Light to Mid Level Gaming - Right now Sims is the toughest thing I run. I might get something like the latest Civilization but I have no qualms about turning games down to medium settings if they will run smoothly. I'd like to try running Ubuntu in virtualbox.

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread
$1000 is a firm budget right now. I may make some additional upgrades in approximately 6 months.
3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
US
4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc.
No Preference
5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
Hard Drive: WDC WD5000AADS-00S9B0 (500GB)
Antec Earthwats 380
Sapphire 5770 1GB
7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
Default speeds
8. What resolution will you be using?
1920 x 1080
9. WHEN do you plan to build it?
In the next few weeks

I prefer to count prices before rebate for purchases and after shipping and promo codes

This is what I am looking at getting

Case: Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 57

Power Supply: Antec 380W Already own

Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Pro3 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard 103

Processor: Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz 230

SSD : Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2BAA 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) 130

Hard Drive: 500GB Already own

Memory: Patriot Signature 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory with heatshield Model PSD38G1600KH 43

Video Card: Sapphire 5770 Already own

OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 180

Backup Software: Acronis True Image Home 2012 Plus 35 w/promo code

Monitor: ASUS VH232H Glossy Black 23" 5ms Widescreen Full HD 1080p LCD Monitor w/Speakers & HDMI 169

DVD Burner: ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM 17

Generic Keyboard & Mouse - 15
Total $979

I need a recommendation on a heatsink. I'd like to fit in a 1TB hard drive if I could keep it under $1K. Is there anything it would make sense to get a cheaper version of? Will my power supply still be sufficient for this rig? Is here anything that is complete overkill for my use and could be downscaled?

Edited to Add: It is important to me to get a full retail copy of the OS. Prices are all Newegg but I am willing to shop around online. The only physical store I have access to is Best Buy.
 
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Planning on default speeds -> B75 or H77 chipset with a non-K i5. Z77 and 3570K are for overclocking. And since you already own some parts, are only planning on light gaming and are fine with medium settings in more demanding games, you really don't need to spend $1K. What are the additional upgrades are you planning on later?

Case Three hundred lacks USB3.0 on the front panel, take a look at the newer and more feature rich Antec Three Hundred Two $70. Antec One $50 is a bit more basic and smaller but a fine case regardless, also has USB 3.0.

PSU Reuse $0

Mobo Asrock B75 Pro3 $80

CPU i5-3450 $200

SSD Good (m4) $130

HDD Reuse $0

RAM Good (Patriot) $43

GPU Reuse 5770 $0

OS Windows 7 OEM 64bit $100

Backup software Unneeded, I'd say. There are always free alternatives. Personally I like to backup manually with copypasta. $0

Monitor Good (VH232H) but it only costs $160 or $145 after rebate

DVD Good (Asus) $17

Mouse&KB Good (Generic) $15

= $824

I need a recommendation on a heatsink.
Click to expand...

Stock cooling is fine for stock speeds unless particularly sensitive to fan noise.
I'd like to fit in a 1TB hard drive if I could keep it under $1K
Click to expand...

Sure. Fast single platter Hitachi 7K1000.D 1TB $68. Can also get 2TB seagate for $108.

Will my power supply still be sufficient for this rig?
Click to expand...

Yes, it is quite sufficient.

Is here anything that is complete overkill for my use and could be downscaled?
Click to expand...

Overclockability. And the retail OS unless you have a good reason for it. On the other hand your budget, even with an additional 1TB drive, could take a better monitor like Dell U2312HM IPS $250.
 
Thanks for your help. I hadn't caught the bit with the USB ports on the case or that I was paying for overclocking ability that I didn't intend to use. You noted that some of my prices didn't match but I was including shipping. This is what I am looking at now

Case: Antec One - $50 - Amazon - The Three Hundred Two is the exact width as the opening in my desk. I don't trust that it will actually fit readily.

Processor: Intel Core i5-3570 Ivy Bridge -200 - Newegg - This one seems a little faster than the one you recommended but is the same price if I purchase from Newegg this week.

MOBO: ASRock B75 PRO3 -88 - Newegg

SSD : Crucial M4 128 GB - 117 - Amazon

RAM: Patriot 8 GB - 43 -Newegg

OS: Windows 7 HP Retail - 163 -Amazon - Last I knew Microsoft officially held that people building computers for personal use weren't eligible for OEM licenses. Has that changed?

Monitor: Asus VH232H - 159 - Amazon

DVD Burner: ASUS 24X DVD Burner - 17 -Newegg

Input Mouse & Keyboard: 15 - Amazon

Hard Drive 1: Hitachi 1TB - 68 - NCIX

Hard Drive 2: 500 GB WD - 0 - Owned

Video Card: Sapphire 5770 - 0 - Owned

Power Supply: Antec Earthwats 380 - 0 -Owned

Total $920 shipped
 
Nice find, didn't know they got a promo on the 3570.

Last I knew Microsoft officially held that people building computers for personal use weren't eligible for OEM licenses. Has that changed?
Click to expand...

According to Microsoft, that may be so, but they have no way of distinguishing between PC's built for personal use and PC's sold to a third party. Almost everyone who builds his own PC buys the OEM license because it's so much cheaper.

OEM works just the same as Retail, with the exception that the license is tied to the motherboard of the PC it's installed on and cannot be transferred to a different PC (though if you need to replace the motherboard in your current PC, activation by phone often works), and that the license cannot be upgraded.
 
I'll chime in too on the matter of the OS - the OEM copies are designed for exactly your kind of situation. The only difference is Microsoft does not provide support for these copies (over the phone - the OEM is supposed to provide the support instead). So as long as you don't expect to have to call Microsoft with questions you will be fine with the OEM version and save the $80.

As a side note, in about 3 months Windows 8 is launching. At that point you will be able to upgrade from ANY valid copy of Windows (XP/Vista/7) to Windows 8 Pro. For $40. Something to seriously consider, especially if there is any way to reuse the old copy of Windows you have on your previous system.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/6065/windows-8-upgrade-will-cost-just-3999
 
IMHO, if you want to get a full version of the OS, you might as well get a TechNet subscription for $200 instead. That'll give you multiple full retail licenses of most every MS product under the proviso that you don't use them in production (i.e. doing something that makes you money). Once the subscription expires, you lose access to the download center, but your keys are valid forever.
 
I was about to pull the trigger on the Hard Drive and the Antec One case at NCIX. The case is $10 cheaper than Amazon but at checkout I noticed the mention of the foreign transaction fee. How big is this? Will it wipe out my savings over Amazon for the case? Will using the paypal checkout option eliminate this fee?

Also with the SSD how much will I notice the speed of the hard drive? Newegg has this2TB Western Digital 5400RPM for $100 today.
Thank you also for all your patience with my questions. This is rather new to me.
 
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That's already sold out unfortunately. Seagate's faster dual 1TB platter 7200RPM drive has been available for <$110 at various shops, currently Amazon has it for $108. Better buy than the Green drive anyway, I'd say
 
I ended up calling my credit cards. For the record Chase says they will charge the foreign transaction fee but Capital One does not. So I purchased the case and the 1TB harddrive from NCIS. Still need to get the MOBO, RAM, OS and the new mouse and keyboard and decide if I'm going to go with my original choice in monitor or if I've saved enough to upgrade to the Dell you recommended. If I do upgrade to the Dell I'm going to want new speakers in short order as well.
 
I'd say your choices in post #3 are still pretty reasonable but I would definitely not spend $163 on a retail Windows license. I'd either spend $100 on the OEM license or $200 on TechNet, which gets you a bunch of retail licenses.
 
For backup software, I use Areca Backup at work. Its open source, and it works very well. Go for the OEM license. If you have any problems, I'm sure someone on these forums will help you.
 
Thanks for the suggestion for open source backup software. I'm going to wait and order the remaining items so they arrive about the same time as the items from NCIX which are shipping slower. As far as the OS is concerned I understand what your reasons but my determination to follow the letter of the rules in this case is connected to my religious convictions so I'm not going to change my mind unless
Microsoft changes its policy.


Posted from Anandtech.com App for Android
 
elaineofshalott said:
Thanks for the suggestion for open source backup software. I'm going to wait and order the remaining items so they arrive about the same time as the items from NCIX which are shipping slower. As far as the OS is concerned I understand what your reasons but my determination to follow the letter of the rules in this case is connected to my religious convictions so I'm not going to change my mind unless
Microsoft changes its policy.
Click to expand...

So get a Technet sub. Perfectly within MS's policy to use it at home as long as you don't have a home business or whatever.
 
Thank you for your help. This was a much better experience than my unsuccessful build attempt 10 years ago. Everything went quite smoothly once I got the front panel of the case, it was much harder to remove the first time than I expected. I last batch of questions, I have some parts I will list below that I have pulled from my system and stored in anti-static bags. Are any of them worth anything? What would be a fair asking price if I listed them on the for sale forum? Any other ideas on what to do with them.

CPU: 2.40 gigahertz Intel Core2 Quad Q6600
RAM: 2 X 1GB DDR2 PC 5300
RAM: 1 X 2GB DDR2 PC 6400 Corsair ValueSelect
Video Card: Radeon HD 2400 Pro 256MB
 
Glad the build went well!

The Q6600 and RAM is probably worth a little bit. No price checks are allowed on this board, but I would suggest looking on Ebay for recently completed auctions of similar items to get an idea of what they might sell for.
 
OK. Sorry about the price question. I will check out ebay. I do think I made one mistake on my build and I am unsure about my best solution. I was looking in disk management and realized that Disk 0 is my 1TB drive and my SSD is Disk 1 and Windows installed the 100MB System reserved partition to the 1TB drive. What should I do about this?
 
elaineofshalott said:
OK. Sorry about the price question. I will check out ebay. I do think I made one mistake on my build and I am unsure about my best solution. I was looking in disk management and realized that Disk 0 is my 1TB drive and my SSD is Disk 1 and Windows installed the 100MB System reserved partition to the 1TB drive. What should I do about this?
Click to expand...

Having the System Reserved partition be on the 1TB problem isn't an immediate issue, but it will cause you grief in the long term. Basically the situation that you have right now is that the very first part of the OS loader (in the System Reserved partition) is sitting on the 1TB drive whereas the rest of your OS is on the SSD. If you were to ever remove the 1TB drive from the system, your computer would no longer boot properly.

It is possible to manually go in and move partitions around, but it is a pretty involved process that is really error prone. Since you just build the machine, it's probably less overall work to just reinstall Windows from scratch. To keep the System Reserved partition from being put on the 1TB drive again, I recommend unplugging it during the install process.

After you've done the install, you can plug it back in and go to Computer Management -> Disk Management (same place you are seeing the current info). You should see two System Reserved partitions, one on the SSD and one on the HDD. You can delete the one on the HDD.
 
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