$900 Gaming Build Help

[kyim74]

Hi, so I'm going to be building a gaming PC for a friend with a budget of around $900 (he also needs a monitor). From what he told me, he will be playing Call of Duty, and BF3 and BF4 (he doesn't care about max settings, as long as its playable on at least high if possible).

I checked the Stickied Mid Range System thread, and tried to pick parts from there and I checked this thread [thread=2326744]here[/thread]. I can't decide whether to get a Haswell or IB cpu.


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

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20%
Around $900 (keyboard, mouse, speakers and monitor not included in budget)

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

5. IF YOU have a brand preference.
Intel CPU, no preference on GPU, whichever is better for the price.

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

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
Nope, no OC

8. What resolution, not monitor size, will you be using?
1920x1080, no SLI or Xfire.

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?
I want to order within the next few days.

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


CPU - Need help with this though I was looking at this i5-4430
Motherboard - No clue.
RAM - Silicon Power DDR3 1600 8GB $57
GPU - 660, 7950, or 7970? 7970 would be great if I can fit in my budget
Sapphire 7970 3GB $330 after $20 MIR
SSD - Samsung 840 120GB $100
Storage - WD Blue 1TB $70
Optical Drive - Liteon DVD $18
PSU - Rosewill Capstone 650W $80
Case - NZXT Source $40 + $19 Shipping or Carbide 300R $70 after $20 MIR


Thanks again for the help!

 

[Termie]

That's a very good start on the system. Truth is, though, that you're not going to fit a 7970 in that budget, even if you buy a discounted one (the one you linked to is out of stock and the price is on the rise since yesterday). The most you could possibly have left over after buying a motherboard is $250, and honestly, I don't think you have the balance quite right.

First, I'd bump that CPU up to a 4570. The 4430 is slow enough that you could limit performance in some games with a powerful GPU, and the difference is $10. It's the Turbo mode that matters here - it's a 400Mhz spread.

Second, you need an H87 or B85 motherboard. A good place to start would be the $80 ASRock B85 Pro4: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157387

Third, you're paying too much for the NZXT case, due to shipping. Amazon has the NZXT case for $40 shipped, but at the current discount, I'd grab that 300R.

Finally, you definitely don't need a 650W power supply, but if you get one, you might as well not spend ~10% of your budget on it. I'd go for something in the <$60 range, like this Corsair TX650 for $57AR: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139020

As an aside, I don't care how cheap that "Silicon Power" off-brand memory is - dump it. It's re-labeled DDR3-1333, based on the terrible timings. Go for some quality stuff like this Crucial Ballistix for 2x$29: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820148496

 

[DSF]

On a slightly different note, prematurely dividing your budget into different pots can lose you value (and therefore performance) in the end.

Unless the money he's spending on the monitor, mouse and keyboard is literally separate, like they're going to be bought as gifts by someone else, he'll get more bang for his buck by considering the entire budget together.

For example, if he knows he can spend $1200 altogether then he might be able to make savvy purchases on the peripherals to squeeze out enough dough for the 7970. (That said, a 7970 isn't necessary, I've got a 7950 and I've got no complaints, and I haven't even tried to overclock it yet. Haven't felt it was necessary, and I play BF3 regularly.)

 

[lehtv]

Purely for a gaming system, a 7970 is actually quite doable. He doesn't need an SSD. It's a compromise between better framerates and better loading times, and to be honest, a single platter 1TB 7200RPM drive has decent enough loading times, framerates are in my opinion more important for pure gaming. What's more, a 120GB SSD is not going to fit more than a few games at once. I suggest upgrading to a 250GB SSD in about a year, it will fit more games and you get better gaming performance in the meantime.

i5-4570 $200
Asrock Z87 Pro3 $105 AP
Silicon Power 8GB DDR3 $48 AP
Sapphire 7970 GHz Edition Vapor-X $350 AR (incl 4 free games)
WD Blue 1TB $70
Asus DVD-RW $17 AP
Rosewill Capstone 650W $68 AP
NZXT Tempest 210 $47 (incl 120mm rear + 140mm top)

= $905

 

[kyim74]

Thanks for the suggestions! In regards to the budget, he just told me he wants to spend around $900 for the tower alone. Guess hes still figuring out how much he wants to spend on the monitor + peripherals.

Taking what you guys recommended, this is what I have so far:

i5-4570 $200
Asrock Z87 Pro3 $105 with Promo
WD Blue 1TB $70
Crucial Ballistix 4GB 2 sticks $58
Corsair Enthusiast 650W $75 after promo with a $20 MIR
Asus DVD-RW $17 AP (It's $20 when I click, but no big deal)
Sapphire 7970 $340 with $20 MIR (TD since its OoS at Newegg)
NZXT Tempest 210 $47 (only downside it doesn't include a front fan but not huge problem)

I will double check with him to see if he would rather get an SSD than the storage for an extra $20.

Total is around $870. Free shipping on newegg, and I have Prime but I have to pay tax.

 

[Termie]

That looks good. lehtv suggested a Z87 motherboard, but I don't think there's any advantage to using a Z87 board instead of a 4570, which cannot be overclocked anyway. If you want a full-featured board, just go for an H87. It should save you about $15, and you won't lose any functionality.

 

[lehtv]

The reason I picked the Z87 board was that H87 boards weren't that much less expensive. There just weren't any good deals on them, while this Z87 board was $10 off.

The cheapest H87 that isn't an ECS is an Asrock H87M $88 shipped, but it's not only a different chipset, it also has only two DIMM slots, Qualcomm LAN instead of Intel (FWIW) and ofc it's microATX.

A H87 board with four DIMM slots will cost $96 shipped, so it's just $9 more for the Z87 chipset. I'd personally pick the Z87 just for the resale value and the option to swap to an unlocked CPU later on, but really any of these will work fine

 

[DominionSeraph]

$898 with 120GB Samsung 840. $858 after rebates.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...=Combo.1351469
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...=Combo.1347591
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...=Combo.1326446
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817703035
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157370
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827136259

EMCXPWM23 Discount From Promo Code -$3.00
PSJUNE13 Discount From Promo Code -$12.00
Z87MB617 Discount From Promo Code -$10.00

 

[mfenn]

As an aside, I don't care how cheap that "Silicon Power" off-brand memory is - dump it. It's re-labeled DDR3-1333, based on the terrible timings. Go for some quality stuff like this Crucial Ballistix for 2x$29: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820148496

Dude, don't make stuff up. The DRAM on those modules is clearly Micron D9QBJ which are 4Gb DDR3 1600 CAS 11. The DRAM is actually rated for 1.35V, so CAS 11 at 1.5V is quite conservative.

 

[mfenn]

$898 with 120GB Samsung 840. $858 after rebates.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...=Combo.1351469
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...=Combo.1347591
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...=Combo.1326446
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817703035
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157370
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827136259

EMCXPWM23 Discount From Promo Code -$3.00
PSJUNE13 Discount From Promo Code -$12.00
Z87MB617 Discount From Promo Code -$10.00

Nice combo hunting!

 

[Termie]

Dude, don't make stuff up. The DRAM on those modules is clearly Micron D9QBJ which are 4Gb DDR3 1600 CAS 11. The DRAM is actually rated for 1.35V, so CAS 11 at 1.5V is quite conservative.

Dude, sorry, but you're wrong this time. There's no way that RAM sold as DDR3-1600 11-11-11 was designed as DDR3-1600. The only reason it's marketed today at DDR3-1600 is because the market for DDR3-1333 has dried up. Those weak timings are a sure sign that the RAM wouldn't run at 9-9-9-24, which is what any reasonable set of DDR3-1600 should be able to run at. I'm not talking about what the label says - yeah, it obviously says DDR3-1600. That's not my point.

 

[kyim74]

EDIT: Just found out there's a Microcenter an hour away. Going to recompile the list.

 

[lehtv]

Awesome.

I would take the PSU, HDD+case, DVD-RW and GPU+RAM from DS's build ($472 AR)
Samsung 840 120GB $94 from Adorama
and grab i5-4670K+MSI Z77A-G41 from MC for $260

Only $826 after rebates. The next step up would be a 7970 Vapor-x GHz with Crucial Ballistix 8GB but in total it'd end up costing almost $100 more

 

[DominionSeraph]

Awesome.

I would take the PSU, HDD+case, DVD-RW and GPU+RAM from DS's build ($472 AR)
Samsung 840 120GB $94 from Adorama
and grab i5-4670K+MSI Z77A-G41 from MC for $260

:thumbsup:

 

[kyim74]

Quick question, is there a huge difference between the 7970 and 7950?? I was thinking of getting that 7950 + Team Vulcan Ram $325 or should I opt for this Sapphire 7970 for $330.

As I mentioned, he doesn't need to play everything at ultra settings, high would be fine.

Thanks

 

[lehtv]

If you're going to get a 7970, the Sapphire 7970 GHz Vapor-X is the one to get right now. Just $20 more after rebate for a GHz edition card with possibly the best cooler on the market.

There is a noticeable difference at stock clocks, but most 7950's overclock quite well, you literally just have to move two sliders (power limit to +20, clock speed to 1000-1100mhz, whatever is stable). That makes the 7950 as fast as the 7970 Ghz, but the 7970 Ghz typically overclocks beyond 1100, perhaps 1200 stable

 

[DominionSeraph]

If you're going to get a 7970, the Sapphire 7970 GHz Vapor-X is the one to get right now. Just $20 more after rebate for a GHz edition card with possibly the best cooler on the market.

$40 more. The 7970 linked is $309 AR.

Quick question, is there a huge difference between the 7970 and 7950??

Not worth the price difference, IMO. The 7970 doesn't have a comparable combo, so you're looking at a $76 increase in build cost for a performance gain that can be largely overcome just by overclocking the 7950 to 7970 speeds.
If you're just burning to spend that $76, I'd go for the 250GB Samsung 840 over the 120GB one. More than doubling the space is probably going to be more useful than a ~10% increase in GPU performance.

 

[kyim74]

Thanks for the clarification.

To sum up:

i5-4670K+MSI Z77A-G41 from MC for $260
I assume you suggested this due to the bundle deal even though I don't need the unlocked version right?
7950 + Team Vulcan bundle $314 with $20 MIR
PC Power and Cooling 500W $68 with $20 MIR
LG DVD-RW $18
Samsung 840 120gb $100
I'm from NY so theres tax from Adorama, which brings it to $104.
WD Blue 1TB $70

Total is around $830.
Going to check out the computer cases at MC so I didn't add that.

 

[DominionSeraph]

Thanks for the clarification.

To sum up:

i5-4670K+MSI Z77A-G41 from MC for $260
I assume you suggested this due to the bundle deal even though I don't need the unlocked version right?

Yes, I'm sure he did. I checked and the locked one doesn't have the deal, so it's no cheaper.

7950 + Team Vulcan bundle $314 with $20 MIR
PC Power and Cooling 500W $68 with $20 MIR
LG DVD-RW $18
Samsung 840 120gb $100
I'm from NY so theres tax from Adorama, which brings it to $104.
WD Blue 1TB $70

Total is around $830.
Going to check out the computer cases at MC so I didn't add that.

That DVD-R just lost its $3 promo. This one still has it.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827151266

Carbide 300R looks good at MC at $70 AR with $15 coupon when paired with 4th generation processor. (I don't know if you can bundle the processor twice, though, or use the coupon on the purchase of the motherboard even though it's already discounted.)

But Newegg's Rosewill Challenger at $40 after rebate with another $15 off comboed with the hard drive looks to be a fantastic deal. I'm not personally familiar with either case, but from the reviews the Challenger looks excellent. Unless someone has something to say about the Challenger being noisy (which is not a theme you see by its comments) or you for some reason need front port USB 3.0, I'd get the Challenger to save as much possible for peripherals.

SSD is $99 at Newegg.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...D=3938566&amp;SID=
Or you can pick it up at MC for the same. Says there's a $20 coupon with the purchase of a 4th generation processor with that one. Still have no idea if they can be combined.

 

[mfenn]

Dude, sorry, but you're wrong this time. There's no way that RAM sold as DDR3-1600 11-11-11 was designed as DDR3-1600. The only reason it's marketed today at DDR3-1600 is because the market for DDR3-1333 has dried up. Those weak timings are a sure sign that the RAM wouldn't run at 9-9-9-24, which is what any reasonable set of DDR3-1600 should be able to run at. I'm not talking about what the label says - yeah, it obviously says DDR3-1600. That's not my point.

You are in the wrong here, I even gave you enough information to confirm that. But if you really insist on making me link you the datasheet on the DRAM, here you go:

http://www.micron.com/parts/dram/ddr3-sdram/mt41k512m8rh-125

It's 1.35V DDR3 1600 CAS 11 which they are running at 1.5V to be conservative.

 

[Termie]

You are in the wrong here, I even gave you enough information to confirm that. But if you really insist on making me link you the datasheet on the DRAM, here you go:

http://www.micron.com/parts/dram/ddr3-sdram/mt41k512m8rh-125

It's 1.35V DDR3 1600 CAS 11 which they are running at 1.5V to be conservative.

You can continue to recommend no-name memory that has to be de-tuned to be stable - I'll continue recommending name-brand memory for the same price that has been reviewed by multiple professional sites as being able to significantly perform above spec, e.g., Crucial Ballistix.

I have a slightly different philosophy of system building - I don't think it's worth saving a few pennies to buy the cut-rate model when there are fully-vetted alternatives.

 

[mfenn]

You can continue to recommend no-name memory that has to be de-tuned to be stable - I'll continue recommending name-brand memory for the same price that has been reviewed by multiple professional sites as being able to significantly perform above spec, e.g., Crucial Ballistix.

I have a slightly different philosophy of system building - I don't think it's worth saving a few pennies to buy the cut-rate model when there are fully-vetted alternatives.

Oh ho! I see the argument has changed now! Why didn't you just say that you prefer modules that have been reviewed in the first place, rather than making arguments based on false assumptions?

By the way, Crucial is Micron's house brand, same DRAM supplier.

 

[Torn Mind]

Unless the company Silicon Power doesn't use anti-static protection or for some reason, is somehow responsible for the solder job or circuit board production, there is nothing to worry about the Silicon Power RAM the OP selected.

 

[Major Orange]

That DVD-R just lost its $3 promo. This one still has it.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827151266

Don't mind me here, just popping in to say thank you DominionSeraph for finding this. I was a bit peeved to find the LG drive back up and possibly having to wait for a different drive and boom here it is!