Where can I cut costs? (Mid Range)

[Bogarty]

ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM
$16.99

Samsung by Seagate Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ/ST500DM005 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
$59.99

ASUS VH236H Black 23" Full HD Widescreen LCD Monitor w/ Speakers
$149.99

HIS H785F2G2M Radeon HD 7850 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
$249.99

Rosewill HIVE Series HIVE-750 750W Continuous @40°C, 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified, Modular Design, Single +12V Rail, ATX12V v2.31/EPS12V ...
$89.99

COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler Compatible Intel ...
$29.99

Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
$124.99

Logitech B530 USB Connector Supra-aural Headset
$37.99

Corsair Carbide Series 300R Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9
$116.98

Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 77W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 4000 BX80637I53570K
GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UD3H LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
$359.98


TOTAL: $1236.88

Where can I cut losses? Meant for gaming and overclocking. Need complete setup except keyboard, mouse pad, and speakers. Will buy mouse in-store but feel free to recommend one! Budget is about 1200 but the lower the better!

 

[Ken g6]

Answering the rest of [thread=80121]the questions[/thread] would help.

You can get a better PSU for this build for less. As low-power as a Seasonic M12II 520W should work.

 

[Hellhammer]

Hard drive $60: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822152181

Monitor $150: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824236059

And drop the CPU cooler - the stock cooler is more than enough unless you are planning on heavy OC.

 

[Rvenger]

Hard drive $60: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822152181

Monitor $150: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824236059

And drop the CPU cooler - the stock cooler is more than enough unless you are planning on heavy OC.

Stock cooler isn't good for any overclocking. Stick with the 212+ or Evo. That is a good choice.


Go with the Biostar TZ77XE3 motherboard, and I know this is a Sata 2 SSD but the price is incredible w/o rebate. $80 no rebate and no OCZ. Just make sure you update the firmware after purchase. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820171545

 

[Hellhammer]

Stock cooler isn't good for any overclocking. Stick with the 212+ or Evo. That is a good choice.

The OP has not even said that he'll be overclocking. If money is tight, skipping the CPU cooler for now isn't a bad idea. After all, it's a part you don't need since the CPU comes with one. One can always upgrade the cooler later on.

 

[Bogarty]

I plan on overclocking to keep up with the times. I like the HD and monitor posted earlier, thanks!

I picked that motherboard because it's combo'ing with the 3570, for $30 less by getting them together.

With the new HD and monitor I got it down to 1235$!

My budget is about $1200, and the lower I can get it the better. I need a full system including externals. The only thing I'm carrying over is a keyboard, speakers, and mouse pad. For the mouse, I was planning on buying in-store so I can feel which one I want (my MX518 finally died ).

 

[krnmastersgt]

Go with the Biostar TZ77XE3 motherboard, and I know this is a Sata 2 SSD but the price is incredible w/o rebate. $80 no rebate and no OCZ. Just make sure you update the firmware after purchase. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820171545

I know Newegg reviews aren't exactly written by the most intelligent of consumers (aka some of them are plain stupid) but that is a worryingly large number of reviews talking about how that SSD dies/fails to be recognized by the BIOS within a few months. That's the reason OCZ SSDs gained a bad rep.

Also as Ken said, you could get a lower wattage PSU that is of overall higher quality and be fine, 500W would be ample for the system you have here, no reason to go so overboard since you should be able to save a decent chunk here (that and I've never liked Rosewill for PSUs or cases).

Also this should save you ~$55:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.977219 Biostar TZ77B + Crucial M4 128 GB $200
And just grab the 3570K by itself.

The PSU Ken was talking about earlier: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151094 $70
Honestly can't find much better for the price, ignoring the off-name brands. Though if you're feeling adventurous you could grab a Corsair Builder's line PSU or something from Cooler Master. They aren't the best quality PSU's but they're pretty cheap, and I've had a CM PSU in one of the other systems in my house for over 4 years without issues.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171031 $38 AR but since you have the budget for it I'd say go for the Seasonic.

 

[Bogarty]

Stock cooler isn't good for any overclocking. Stick with the 212+ or Evo. That is a good choice.


Go with the Biostar TZ77XE3 motherboard, and I know this is a Sata 2 SSD but the price is incredible w/o rebate. $80 no rebate and no OCZ. Just make sure you update the firmware after purchase. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820171545

Can you offer any more reason why I should get the Biostar over the Gigabyte? It actually came out to be exact same price for either.

 

[Hellhammer]

I plan on overclocking to keep up with the times. I like the HD and monitor posted earlier, thanks!

But do you plan on overclocking as soon as you get the system or is it something you're saving for later? If you OC ASAP, then yeah, get the cooler now, but otherwise you could save $30 now and buy the cooler when you think you are in a need of more CPU performance.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

You.could go with a cheaper PSU and a cheaper case, like the NXZT Source.

 

[lehtv]

asus drw-24b1st/blk/b/as black sata 24x dvd burner - bulk - oem
$16.99 -- good

samsung by seagate spinpoint f3 hd502hj/st500dm005 500gb 7200 rpm sata 3.0gb/s 3.5" internal hard drive -bare drive
$59.99 -- good but $20 more gets you 500gb more @ newegg

asus vh236h black 23" full hd widescreen lcd monitor w/ speakers
$149.99 -- good

his h785f2g2m radeon hd 7850 2gb 256-bit gddr5 pci express 3.0 x16 hdcp ready crossfirex support video card
$249.99 -- sapphire 7850 2gb $240 @ newegg - better card for less

rosewill hive series hive-750 750w continuous @40°c, 80 plus bronze certified, modular design, single +12v rail, atx12v v2.31/eps12v ...
$89.99 -- overkill. This will handle any oc'ing you might want, with crossfire: Xfx 650w $75 ($65 ar) @ ncix and it's better quality

cooler master hyper 212 plus rr-b10-212p-g1 "heatpipe direct contact" long life sleeve 120mm cpu cooler compatible intel ...
$29.99 -- $23 @ ncix

crucial m4 ct128m4ssd2 2.5" 128gb sata iii mlc internal solid state drive (ssd)
$124.99 -- $120 @ ncix

logitech b530 usb connector supra-aural headset
$37.99 -- dunno... I don't do usb headsets

corsair carbide series 300r black steel / plastic atx mid tower computer case
corsair vengeance 8gb (2 x 4gb) 240-pin ddr3 sdram ddr3 1600 (pc3 12800) desktop memory model cmz8gx3m2a1600c9
$116.98 -- antec 302 $60 @ ncix + crucial ballistix 2x4gb 1600 $43 @ newegg = $103

intel core i5-3570k ivy bridge 3.4ghz (3.8ghz turbo) lga 1155 77w quad-core desktop processor intel hd graphics 4000 bx80637i53570k
gigabyte ga-z77x-ud3h lga 1155 intel z77 hdmi sata 6gb/s usb 3.0 atx intel motherboard
$359.98 -- good

= $1206 with the 1TB HDD

Now... you could cut another $50 if you forgot about crossfire. 3570K $220 + Z77 Pro3 $100 + Seasonic M12ii 520W $60 --> $1151 with the 1TB HDD
http://redirect.anandtech.com/r?url...duct.aspx?Item=N82E16817151093&user=u00000687

 

[Bogarty]

Okay, so I've looked at everything everyone's posted (thanks!!) and here's where I'm at so far.

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

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($139.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($46.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda ES 750GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($62.05 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Crucial M4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($119.00 @ B&H)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card ($239.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Cooler Master 600W ATX12V Power Supply ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus VH236H 23.0" Monitor ($144.49 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) ($98.99 @ B&H)
Total: $1226.46
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)

 

[lehtv]

Z77 Extreme4 $135 on newegg with an extra year of warranty.
Crucial M4 is $120 on NCIX.
Sapphire 7850 is $240 on newegg.
Asus VH236H is $150 after rebate on NCIX, not $145. It's $130 after rebate on newegg with an extra year of warranty.
Win7 is $100 on newegg.
Crucial Ballistix is cheaper than G.Skill, it's the same specs and just as reliable.

You really don't need to order from so many different places. Better to narrow it down to two to save in shipping costs and make everything simpler.

The cooler master PSU is crappy, don't buy it. Buy the XFX unit, it's manufactured by Seasonic. Here's a review by jonnyguru.

Seagate Barracuda ES is an old design, I think it dates back to 2007 at least. Modern hard drives will perform much better. The drive I linked is last generation but great $/GB and performs well (dual 500GB platters).

Other than that I think you're set! Personlly I'd buy the Antec 302 case for $60.

 

[Bogarty]

Yeah I wasn't planning on purchasing from that many outlets... it's just what PC part picker chose.

The only reason I initially turned down the XFX was a lack of modular cables. The last time I built a PC was nearly 10 years ago, and wasn't sure about this as it seems newer.

 

[lehtv]

Modularity is a nice feature but you did ask where you can cut costs... you don't need modularity. It just helps a bit with cable management but it won't do anything to improve performance, reliability, cooling - it's just makes it easier to make the internals look neat.

 

[Bogarty]

OKAY! Hopefully this is my final build, but check it out! I know the monitor still says NCIX.

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($142.86 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($42.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Crucial M4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($119.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card ($239.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Antec Three Hundred Two ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus VH236H 23.0" Monitor ($144.49 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1277.25

More like 1260 including the rebate for the monitor.

So how's it look? I want a pc that runs all games within the next 2 years accordingly, as well as OC options for the CPU and GPU.

It should actually be cheaper than that (this is an edit). Seems PCpartpicker isn't picking up on the HDD being about $30 less than what it says. I'm going to guess once it's actually purchased, it should come out to $1200~ within $50 of that.

Right now it looks pretty solid to me!

 

[lehtv]

Agree, looks great now . Make sure you get the monitor from newegg ($130 ar)

 

[mfenn]

OKAY! Hopefully this is my final build, but check it out! I know the monitor still says NCIX.

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($142.86 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($42.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Crucial M4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($119.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card ($239.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Antec Three Hundred Two ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus VH236H 23.0" Monitor ($144.49 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1277.25

More like 1260 including the rebate for the monitor.

So how's it look? I want a pc that runs all games within the next 2 years accordingly, as well as OC options for the CPU and GPU.

It should actually be cheaper than that (this is an edit). Seems PCpartpicker isn't picking up on the HDD being about $30 less than what it says. I'm going to guess once it's actually purchased, it should come out to $1200~ within $50 of that.

Right now it looks pretty solid to me!

Looks very nice to me!

 

[krnmastersgt]

Was there a particular reason you wanted the Extreme4? I still see a ~$60 savings from the combo I linked earlier, unless you wanted to avoid Biostar (used to have quite a bad name).

 

[lehtv]

^ Probably the ability to Crossfire.

 

[krnmastersgt]

^ Probably the ability to Crossfire.

That's a good reason for it, was just confused since the OP never stated anything about wanting to/planning on CFing. From what I've seen though most people that plan on CFing end up not doing it as they find the single card performance adequate, and if not well you've probably seen at least 1 newer generation of better cards come and go.

 

[Kaldorine]

Great List!

 

[Bogarty]

I wasn't planning on CFing anytime soon... but it's nice to leave it open as an option. And yeah, I was factoring the poor reviews of biostar products in general. Plus, it seems like the ASrock is the preferred mobo from just about everyone on this site!

So for anyone whose interested, I'm placing the orders for these parts tonight (half at Newegg half at NCIX).

Thanks for everyone's help!

 

[krnmastersgt]

I wasn't planning on CFing anytime soon... but it's nice to leave it open as an option. And yeah, I was factoring the poor reviews of biostar products in general. Plus, it seems like the ASrock is the preferred mobo from just about everyone on this site!

So for anyone whose interested, I'm placing the orders for these parts tonight (half at Newegg half at NCIX).

Thanks for everyone's help!

Their old offerings were pretty substandard but a modern Biostar board isn't bad at all, not top of the line but pretty good for when you want to save a bit on the budget. That aside I understand a lot of people are hesitant to buy their products still due to their past performance.

Grats on the finished build!

 

[gus6464]

You can save another 10 bucks if you go with an Antec One at amazon. And who really needs a dvd drive anymore?