[korbaton]

So, I checked my finances, and I received the UCF Scholars Award this semester. This frees up a month of rent to put toward a new computer. My father has said he's not going to be part of buying a gaming computer, but I figure if I buy some combination of the chipset, graphics card and CPU, he'll pitch in for the rest.

That said, I've been out of the computer-building loop for six solid years. What makes a good $800-1000-1200+ gaming desktop nowadays, ladies and gentlemen? My only caveat is that I'm not buying any nVidia hardware, after getting fucked over on the last one.

Edit: All right, if you can persuade me, I'll get nVidia.

This post has been edited by korbaton: 06 February 2012 - 12:31 PM

[ibfreeekout]

korbaton, on 06 February 2012 - 11:23 AM, said:

So, I checked my finances, and I received the UCF Scholars Award this semester. This frees up a month of rent to put toward a new computer. My father has said he's not going to be part of buying a gaming computer, but I figure if I buy some combination of the chipset, graphics card and CPU, he'll pitch in for the rest.

That said, I've been out of the computer-building loop for six solid years. What makes a good $800-1000-1200+ gaming desktop nowadays, ladies and gentlemen? My only caveat is that I'm not buying any nVidia hardware, after getting fucked over on the last one.

Ok, here is a rough list that I put together now. Not using nVidia products kinda hurts it a bit seeing as AMD's 6xxx series is being pushed aside for the 7xxx series like... now. http://secure.newegg...Number=23229667

So basically, you have an Intel 2500K with an Asus P8Z68 motherboard. It has the ability to do onboard video if needed as well, but the 6870 covers that nicely (that GPU can be upgraded if you need something better than that). The memory is really just your basic DDR3 memory, you can swap that out for more expensive modules with better timings, but they suffice for me. GPU is a 6870; nice mid- to high- range card but as I said earlier, is being replaced with the 7xxx series from AMD really quickly. The power supply is a 650 watt Corsair unit, should be good for many years (to put things in perspective, I'm running a 2500K OC'd to 4.4 GHz with a 580 on one right now). I threw an SSD in there as a boot drive. Many other members here can back me up in saying that it is probably one of the greatest investments that they have made in having a quicker machine. You will need to have another drive, which is why I also put the 1 TB HDD on there (prices suck on HDD's at the moment, blame the tsunami) for games and other applications. I didn't put a case, sound card, or CPU cooler (CPU comes with one stock and Sandy Bridge doesn't run too hot when you don't OC it; if you plan on it, grab a good cooler first). You can find whatever case you need to fit what you want, just make sure it can support a full-ATX motherboard as well as has room for any upgrades you may see in the near future.

Sorry for the wall, but that's very similar to what I am running and it certainly suits my needs just fine.

[MajorLag]

ibfreeekout, on 06 February 2012 - 12:27 PM, said:

Ok, here is a rough list that I put together now. Not using nVidia products kinda hurts it a bit seeing as AMD's 6xxx series is being pushed aside for the 7xxx series like... now. http://secure.newegg...Number=23229667

What freeek posted looks good. Personally though, I prefer to go AMD just because its a lot less expensive and still performs well enough to do everything I need it to. Don't get me wrong, going Intel will probably get you a faster computer, I'm just cheap. I'll post an AMD list later today if nobody else does it.

[cyb.tachyon]

MajorLag, on 06 February 2012 - 12:56 PM, said:

What freeek posted looks good. Personally though, I prefer to go AMD just because its a lot less expensive and still performs well enough to do everything I need it to. Don't get me wrong, going Intel will probably get you a faster computer, I'm just cheap. I'll post an AMD list later today if nobody else does it.

Exactly. I got myself the core-i5 2500k because I could, (traditionally AMD here since after Pentium 4 times).

If you got the money, do the i5. If not, AMD's good 'nuff. Nice build, ib.

[tacomaster]

Well even the Core i3-2100 is faster than most AMD's and $100 cheaper than the 2500k
http://www.tomshardw...rk,3120-10.html


Also I don't see any point in getting a aftermarket sound card as most boards come with the Realtek ALC887 which is actually pretty good for integrated.

[TheLaughingMan^^`]

I think you should go with a more powerful graphics card, this is a gaming machine after all!!!

Most 6950 cards offer the ability to flash with a 6970 BIOS to get unlocked performance from the card. So this can be a really good investment on your money per performance. But for the cards that do support it, you will need to make sure they have dual BIOS.
Or you could go with the badass 6970, the most powerful 6000 series single GPU card. I have the Sapphire 6970 dual fan edition card, and there is so much overclocking potential on it. At max temps are at 55C. But it is a bit pricey at around $350.

[AZNguyen]

Well video card would depend on what resolution you play at and whether or not you must have everything maxed out or not.

[ibfreeekout]

krazyxazn, on 06 February 2012 - 06:01 PM, said:

Well video card would depend on what resolution you play at and whether or not you must have everything maxed out or not.

Yeah, that is exactly what I was thinking about as well. I chose the 6870 seeing as he said he doesn't really want to use nVidia and I have personal experience with a 6870 running nearly everything I've got in my Steam library at high settings at 1080p.

[Brain?!]

As others have stated, there's no reason to go with nVidia. AMD GPU's are much more cost-efficient.

Freeek's build looks very good. While I agree that having an SSD is a great way to improve your machine's performance, I would say that it's an optional component. If you're looking to knock off another $100 or so from that build I think the SSD should be the first thing to go.

[Gorillajay]

Here is a pretty solid build for your price range IMO. The i5 2500k is a great CPU and overclocks really well if your into that. If you overclock the CPU you do need an aftermarket heatsink fan so i included that in the build or you can just use the stock heatsink fan and not overclock it.


Part list permalink / Part price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($23.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($129.86 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($46.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($118.99 @ Mac Mall)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 6950 2GB Video Card ($267.86 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($44.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: Corsair 650W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($31.97 @ Newegg)
Total: $924.63
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated 2012-02-07 14:44 EST-0500)




If you want to cut down on the price some more you can replace the i5 CPU and get an AMD like in the builld below. AMD are pretty close to Intel performance wise just a bit cheaper. Also if you get the AMD processor you don't have to buy the aftermarket cooler because the stock one will be just fine. I'm not to familiar with AMD CPU/MOBOS so i can't speak from experience but these have decent reviews.


Part list permalink / Part price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 975 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor ($144.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($23.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock 890FX DELUXE4 ATX AM3 Motherboard ($124.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($46.99 @ Newegg)
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($118.99 @ Mac Mall)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 6950 2GB Video Card ($267.86 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($44.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: Corsair 650W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($31.97 @ Newegg)
Total: $884.76
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated 2012-02-07 15:06 EST-0500)


BTW all of these parts are available on Newegg the prices listed are just the cheapest possible place to get them. Hope this helps!

[Gorillajay]

ibfreeekout, on 06 February 2012 - 12:27 PM, said:

Ok, here is a rough list that I put together now. Not using nVidia products kinda hurts it a bit seeing as AMD's 6xxx series is being pushed aside for the 7xxx series like... now. http://secure.newegg...Number=23229667

So basically, you have an Intel 2500K with an Asus P8Z68 motherboard. It has the ability to do onboard video if needed as well, but the 6870 covers that nicely (that GPU can be upgraded if you need something better than that). The memory is really just your basic DDR3 memory, you can swap that out for more expensive modules with better timings, but they suffice for me. GPU is a 6870; nice mid- to high- range card but as I said earlier, is being replaced with the 7xxx series from AMD really quickly. The power supply is a 650 watt Corsair unit, should be good for many years (to put things in perspective, I'm running a 2500K OC'd to 4.4 GHz with a 580 on one right now). I threw an SSD in there as a boot drive. Many other members here can back me up in saying that it is probably one of the greatest investments that they have made in having a quicker machine. You will need to have another drive, which is why I also put the 1 TB HDD on there (prices suck on HDD's at the moment, blame the tsunami) for games and other applications. I didn't put a case, sound card, or CPU cooler (CPU comes with one stock and Sandy Bridge doesn't run too hot when you don't OC it; if you plan on it, grab a good cooler first). You can find whatever case you need to fit what you want, just make sure it can support a full-ATX motherboard as well as has room for any upgrades you may see in the near future.

Sorry for the wall, but that's very similar to what I am running and it certainly suits my needs just fine.

This is a decent build but personally i would save money by cutting out the SSD (its fast but not a necessity) and getting a cheaper PSU the one in my post was same wattage/brand just a bit cheaper. You can then use the extra money towards the Radeon 6950 To get a more bang for your buck performance.

[Rickenwing]

I build computers as a job. In the past month I've built a 3200$ computer and a 400$ computer. So far most of the information here is fine. Though to make a couple points.

1) If you are not overclocking, no point in spending an extra 20$ to get an intel processor that can, ie 2500 vs 2500K
2) Microcenter has great prices, unfortunately most of them are in store prices only and there is not a MicroCenter in Florida, hence the build above would be more expensive.
3) In the realm of price vs. performance. The general rule of thumb here is ~$200-800 is usually AMD's realm, and 800+ is Intel's realm. Although this is not always true.
4) Make sure the video card you get can fit in the case you purchase, some cards are overly long.
5) In my experience, Amazon has the best customer service HANDS DOWN. Newegg comes in a close second, but sometimes they dick you over with RMA shipping.
6) Are you going to be moving the computer a lot? If so, look into getting a MicroATX build as opposed to the ATX builds posted here. It's a smaller motherboard but usually comes with all the features though it has less expansion slots. On the plus side, the cases are smaller and easier to carry.
7) Modular power supplies are worth the extra money. Get one. Easier cable management and better airflow. Some of the cable management stuff I've seen in many build is downright atrocious.
8) Hard drives are expensive now due to the floods in Thailand. I recommend getting an SSD as your boot drive and using a second drive for data. If you can't afford one, make sure the main drive you get is 7200rpm and not a "green drive."
9) Keep all boxes and receipts, shit comes in handy down the road for RMAs

You can build a capable gaming machine for 500$ Everything after that is just additional money for flashier/better stuff.

Since people posted possible build, I'll post a jew cheap build $550 that I am doing for a friend who is in the exact same position as you. This build is an example build of a cheap PC that can run most games today at a good framerate. Obviously, if you have the money, and are willing to spend it for a better pc, go with a more expensive build.
http://dl.dropbox.co...6797/%24550.pdf
This is a sandy bridge dual core @ 2.8ghz
4 gigs of ram
6850 1gig
500 gig hard drive

This post has been edited by Rickenwing: 08 February 2012 - 11:28 AM

[korbaton]

http://www.tigerdire...c=New%20Desktop

Someone tell me if you can see this. Not included in the plan is the $120 2TB Seagate Barracuda Drive from Best Buy.

[ibfreeekout]

korbaton, on 13 February 2012 - 08:31 PM, said:

http://www.tigerdire...c=New%20Desktop

Someone tell me if you can see this. Not included in the plan is the $120 2TB Seagate Barracuda Drive from Best Buy.

Looks good. If you plan on overclocking in the future, just know you will need to get an aftermarket heatsink (the stock one can take quite a beating, but it's not that great). Should be a very nice build for nearly any game out right now.

[cyb.tachyon]

korbaton, on 13 February 2012 - 08:31 PM, said:

http://www.tigerdire...c=New%20Desktop

Someone tell me if you can see this. Not included in the plan is the $120 2TB Seagate Barracuda Drive from Best Buy.

Yes.

I'm not a fan of the gladiator case, and I usually lean towards NZXT for cheap builds, Antec for medium, and Lian-Li for luxury, but that is very much a personal opinion (panels and bracings are light-ish, which I don't like, and the interior is plain painted metal, which always cuts my very clumsy hands and looks meh)