Anyone have some suggestions on the parts I should get to build a $700-$800 gaming computer. I really have no idea what I should get, in the past I just went to a store like Besybuy and got one already assembled. All I need is the tower and it's components, already have a good monitor, mouse, and keyboard. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
$700-$800 first time build need suggestions
- Thread starter Trotts
- Start date
What do you plan on doing most with it? Gaming, video encoding, photo editing, etc? Also, are there any must have qualities like Blu Ray capability, large storage capacities, USB3.0, etc? Another thing is whether or not you have space requirements. Could the build be full tower or a small form factor build if space is at a premium?
For storage, you might as well go with a 2TB as those can be had for as low as $80 sometimes, unless of course you know you'll never use more than 1TB. For mid-tower, most of them are good today, so any that fit your price-range could be considered. Thermaltake and NZXT both offer some great budget offerings (Thermaltake A60 seems quite nice).
For CPU and the like, you might want to consider an AMD quad-core given the price-range, as they pack quite a punch but don't cost an arm and a leg. It's hard to recommend Intel's Sandy Bridge at the moment as the company is in the process of revamping some broken chipsets.
For GPU, the Radeon HD 6850 or HD 6870 would be a great choice, or NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 560. What kind of resolutions or games will you be pushing with your rig?
Edit: Are you looking to include a monitor as well, or is that already covered?
For CPU and the like, you might want to consider an AMD quad-core given the price-range, as they pack quite a punch but don't cost an arm and a leg. It's hard to recommend Intel's Sandy Bridge at the moment as the company is in the process of revamping some broken chipsets.
For GPU, the Radeon HD 6850 or HD 6870 would be a great choice, or NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 560. What kind of resolutions or games will you be pushing with your rig?
Edit: Are you looking to include a monitor as well, or is that already covered?
TheCrimsonStar
Tech Monkey
Everything you see in my sig (minus the OS, already had that) cost me $832 after promos, tax and shipping. Tax was like $80 since I live in TN and newegg has a distribution center in Memphis 
also, other things I bought in my build that aren't in the sig are: Cooler Master Elite Black Mid-Tower Case, a DVD burner, 500GB WD HDD, and a Blu-Ray player.
Definitely go with an AMD quad-core if you're looking for budget but powerful. I can run anything in max res/detail with max AA/AF and get high fps.
also, other things I bought in my build that aren't in the sig are: Cooler Master Elite Black Mid-Tower Case, a DVD burner, 500GB WD HDD, and a Blu-Ray player.
Definitely go with an AMD quad-core if you're looking for budget but powerful. I can run anything in max res/detail with max AA/AF and get high fps.
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1TB HD should be enough, I can see myself needing more and the cheapest 2TB 7200rpm is around $120. And I have 23" Samsung lcd so the monitor is covered. The resolutions I will be using will be around 1920x1080.
So this is what I have put together so far. Dose it all look compatible and do you know of a cheaper, but just as good version of anything I have listed? Could I get away with a 650w PSU instead of the 750w?
AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor
ASRock 870 EXTREME3 AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
EVGA 01G-P3-1561-AR GeForce GTX 560 Ti FPB (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-WW Black/Silver Aluminum Bezel, SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM
So this is what I have put together so far. Dose it all look compatible and do you know of a cheaper, but just as good version of anything I have listed? Could I get away with a 650w PSU instead of the 750w?
AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor
ASRock 870 EXTREME3 AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
EVGA 01G-P3-1561-AR GeForce GTX 560 Ti FPB (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-WW Black/Silver Aluminum Bezel, SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM
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Looks like a solid system to me. Those Ripjaws are awesome! I had a chance to play around with them before I bought my ECOs and ended up very close to 2000mhz at 1.65v. The 560Ti is a screamer too with a ton of overclocking headroom provided the airflow is there.
I think you'll be mighty happy with that setup.
There's no aftermarket heatsink listed so am I safe to assume you won't be overclocking the processor?
I think you'll be mighty happy with that setup.
There's no aftermarket heatsink listed so am I safe to assume you won't be overclocking the processor?
I don't plan to do any overclocking but that doesn't mean that I wont. What would be a good and relatively cheep aftermarket heatsink?
And keeping in mind that I may, at some point, by a second GTX 560 to SLI, could I get away with a smaller PSU?
Also I have always be partial to nVidia cards buy if the 6850 is better than the GTX 560 I'll get it. What are your opinions.
And keeping in mind that I may, at some point, by a second GTX 560 to SLI, could I get away with a smaller PSU?
Also I have always be partial to nVidia cards buy if the 6850 is better than the GTX 560 I'll get it. What are your opinions.
TheCrimsonStar
Tech Monkey
Dude if you want a freaking beast cooler that's cheap, get this. The Hyper 212+ is only $30, but it cools like crazy. I have my 955 BE overclocked to 3.6Ghz and it idles around 24C-28C whereas with the stock cooler it would idle around 42C with that overclock. Only downside is it's HUGE. I mean really, check your dimensions before getting this. I have less than 1/8 inch of space left in my case with this beast in it. I've read reviews on NewEgg that says some have overclocked their 955 up to 4.1Ghz with no voltage increase and idling at 35C with this cooler.
Alright, just checked the dimensions on that case you're looking at. It's slightly bigger than the one I have, so that cooler will fit.
And I'm partial to AMD graphics cards...so I'm gonna always going to prefer them, but the benchmarks don't lie, the 560 performs better than the 6850, so go with that one if you want to.
Alright, just checked the dimensions on that case you're looking at. It's slightly bigger than the one I have, so that cooler will fit.
And I'm partial to AMD graphics cards...so I'm gonna always going to prefer them, but the benchmarks don't lie, the 560 performs better than the 6850, so go with that one if you want to.
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^^^Give that man a cookie!
I had one of those and they're great! Dirt cheap, excellent performance but my fan was VERY noisy when it spun up to full speed although that could just be a one off thing. I really think the bearing was bad on it from the factory.
You could also check out the Sunbeam Core Contact 29 cooler. Very similar to the 212+ but I tend to go with CM because of the name and warranty.
I had one of those and they're great! Dirt cheap, excellent performance but my fan was VERY noisy when it spun up to full speed although that could just be a one off thing. I really think the bearing was bad on it from the factory.
You could also check out the Sunbeam Core Contact 29 cooler. Very similar to the 212+ but I tend to go with CM because of the name and warranty.
DarkStarr
Tech Monkey
I love the CM V6GT but its a bit more, typically around $50 or so. Works great on my 955BE, personally if you could wait and get a good deal on a sandy CPU/board you will never need to upgrade your CPU, because by the time you want to you would be just buying a new system. I love my 2600k, not that I use it for gaming but its great if you do anything besides just gaming.
TheCrimsonStar
Tech Monkey
TheCrimsonStar
Tech Monkey
That's what she said.
Trotts, are those listings from Newegg? If they are you can use the code "Febsave10" without quotes to get 10% off that Corsair power supply. Yes, I think 650W is still more than plenty for your build.
I'm not too sure about the Centurion 5 case, but I don't have any quick suggestions there at that price range other then perhaps an Antec case.
For a cheap but effective cooler, I'd suggesting something like http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065
Edit: Guess that's what I get for not refreshing the page first.
I'm not too sure about the Centurion 5 case, but I don't have any quick suggestions there at that price range other then perhaps an Antec case.
For a cheap but effective cooler, I'd suggesting something like http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065
Edit: Guess that's what I get for not refreshing the page first.
Yes, all of those listings are from Newegg. And that cooler has been added to the cart.
Optix, there were three Antec Three Hundreds listed, so I'm not sure which one you are referring to.
Now, having done all of this, would it be better to go ahead and get this or wait a few weeks for the new Sandy Bridges. I read that they are suppose to be great to overclock, but if I don't plan on overclocking, would it still be better than the build I have already posted?
And thank you all, for all of the great suggestions so far.
Optix, there were three Antec Three Hundreds listed, so I'm not sure which one you are referring to.
Now, having done all of this, would it be better to go ahead and get this or wait a few weeks for the new Sandy Bridges. I read that they are suppose to be great to overclock, but if I don't plan on overclocking, would it still be better than the build I have already posted?
And thank you all, for all of the great suggestions so far.