~ $700 gaming build

[shimsham]

its been a loong time since i built a gaming pc. 2010? and even then i went with a cheap minimum build. the children want to play some tr, bioshock, bf 3/4 and far cry/crysis. dont need ultra with the fancy AA but want it to look nice and play smooth (no drops to 15 fps for example. high with fxaa maybe?).

a decent vid card to cf/sli on down the line is fine. obviously no i7s here. can deal with loading times with the hdd for now and will upgrade to ssd later. would like a somewhat quiet case that will blend in with the family room ( no flashy fans/colors. avg 76deg f in the space). will recycle the monitor, kb, mouse, and hdd.

no rebates, and no microcenters close enough to offset the fuel costs.

im thinking:

8350
mid range mobo
8 gigs pc1600
cheap case
7950/760
mid range power supply
win 7
cheap opt drive

thanks for your suggestions. heres my faq answers.


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

-gaming and browsing.

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

-700 to 750 max.

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

-us.

4. IF you're buying parts OUTSIDE the US, please post a link to the vendor you'll be buying from.
We can't be expected to scour the internet on your behalf, chasing down deals in your specific country... Again, help us, help YOU.

-n/a

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.

-dont care. need price/perf value.

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

-current 22" 1080p monitor, mouse, keyboard, and 500gb hd.

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

-will oc proc and vid card. or rather, want to.

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

-1080p.

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.

-within the next 2 wks.

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

-yes. running xp pro now, thinking win7.


not along the lines of the budget builds from the sticky, but i think something can be frankensteined within my budget. i appreciate all replies and opinions and i look forward to hearing the boards suggestions.

 

[Essence_of_War]

Yikes, so you want a Win7 license included in that budget?

Let's see what we can do.

CPU+MoBo: i5-3570 + Asus mAtx MoBo @ $277
RAM: 2x4GB @ $52
SSD : None for you!
HDD : Re-using that 500 GB.
Optical: Lite-On for $15 if you order today!
GPU: Sapphire 7950 @ $250
OS: Win 7 Home 64-bit @ $91
PSU: Corsair CX-600 @$40 after rebate
CASE: Antec mAtx @ $20

= $745

You could probably do a FX-6350 + MoBo combo and either upgrade to a 7970 or get an aftermarket cooler for OC.
Fx + Mobo @ 270
Fx + Mobo @ 210

 

[Torn Mind]

You will have to scale down your CPU if you want $700-750 before rebates.

This one has an FX-6350
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1aPbm


This one has an FX-6300 and is cheaper:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1aPcZ

Feel free to make adjustments. No build is set in stone until you buy the parts.

 

[mfenn]

OP, AMD is not the way to go if you want low idle power consumption.

Yikes, so you want a Win7 license included in that budget?

Let's see what we can do.

CPU+MoBo: i5-3570 + Asus mAtx MoBo @ $277
RAM: 2x4GB @ $52
SSD : None for you!
HDD : Re-using that 500 GB.
Optical: Lite-On for $15 if you order today!
GPU: Sapphire 7950 @ $250
OS: Win 7 Home 64-bit @ $91
PSU: Corsair CX-600 @$40 after rebate
CASE: Antec mAtx @ $20

= $745

Looks good for the most part, but I don't think that case will be very quiet. I'd make the following changes:

Team DDR3 1600 8GB $45 AP
Fractal Design Core 1000 $40

EDIT: Not that the Core 1000 is super silent in the grand scheme of things, but it supports 120mm fans versus the 92mm in the NSK.

That does add $13 total to the bill. You can get back under budget if you step the GPU down to the 7870 GHz edition and go with this combo:

Sapphure 7870 Ghz + Team DDR3 1600 8GB $245 AR

 

[Essence_of_War]

That's a good call for the gpu! Especially since I think the 7950 I posted is expired now

 

[Essence_of_War]

OP,

Get the $80 OEM Windows 8 instead.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832416550
Use code: EMCXPVM235

Only $80. I think you get a free upgrade to 8.1 later, too.

 

[shimsham]

huh. came to post a thread now that its time to buy and forgot i had already posted this one.

the builds posted are basically the same that my son had researched; give or take. there are a few changes:

-picked up a new optical drive when mine died.
-got 40 bucks to add to the budget.

so, a net gain of ~60$?

im thinking an 8 core amd since my children have been console gamers and the new xbox/ps4 is built around that. the ports should be flowing and i would still have enough oomph to play some pc centric games on medium/high. am i wrong?

 

[Cerb]

so, a net gain of ~60$?

I'd put it towards the case. If you don't constantly use the ODD,the Fractal Design R4 is a solid all-around case.

im thinking an 8 core amd since my children have been console gamers and the new xbox/ps4 is built around that. the ports should be flowing and i would still have enough oomph to play some pc centric games on medium/high. am i wrong?

Yes. You will not be able to purchase anything quite like what the consoles are made of. Games are going to be using more cores more commonly, but AMD botched BD, and each core's performance is not up to Intel's. Even the few games already that run faster on AMD's BD do not run all that much faster. Even with Crysis 3, that's been a bragging point for AMD, quite a few websites have older i5 CPUs getting higher minimum FPS. If AMD's near-future CPUs perform well enough to have "fixed" things, they won't be what you can buy now.

 

[mfenn]

Yes. You will not be able to purchase anything quite like what the consoles are made of. Games are going to be using more cores more commonly, but AMD botched BD, and each core's performance is not up to Intel's. Even the few games already that run faster on AMD's BD do not run all that much faster. Even with Crysis 3, that's been a bragging point for AMD, quite a few websites have older i5 CPUs getting higher minimum FPS. If AMD's near-future CPUs perform well enough to have "fixed" things, they won't be what you can buy now.

Agree. Also, the CPUs in the consoles are Jaguar cores, which are AMD's Atom competitor. They are nowhere near as fast as a full-on Intel (or even AMD BD) core.