Attention Mid-Range System Builders - Updated 08/01/2015

[mfenn]

Pretty nice build this week! There's a good CPU/mobo combo, the Sapphire Tri-X R9 290X, and the Corsair 300R to fit the long Tri-X cooler for $50. The R9 290 (non-X) is also priced very well at $180.

 

[Essence_of_War]

Additional note: if you've thought about crossfire, you can actually get the watercooled Sapphire's R9-295x2 for $556 after rebate card, shipping, and an 8% promo code. That's an excellent price for 2x R9-290x's, if a bit of a stretch for a mid-range build.

 

[lehtv]

Additional note: if you've thought about crossfire, you can actually get the watercooled Sapphire's R9-295x2 for $556 after rebate card, shipping, and an 8% promo code. That's an excellent price for 2x R9-290x's, if a bit of a stretch for a mid-range build.

Since that's a 500W card, the S12II 620W won't do. It needs an 850W unit, and even 1000W isn't a bad idea if you're going for a high CPU overclock and/or you want the unit to stay quiet. This means paying another $70+ - unless you can find a good 850w+ unit on a sale, which I couldn't:

EVGA 850W G2 $140 AR
Corsair AX860 Platinum $150 AR
EVGA 1000W P2 $210 AR

 

[lehtv]

Pretty nice build this week! There's a good CPU/mobo combo, the Sapphire Tri-X R9 290X, and the Corsair 300R to fit the long Tri-X cooler for $50.

First time ever under $900?

The R9 290 (non-X) is also priced very well at $180.

R9 290 4GB for $180 AR if you want to spend less but still get good gaming performance.

Too good to be true, unfortunately. That's a 270X 4GB.

Sapphire R9 280X 3GB Vapor-X is not bad for $210 AR. It's about 35% faster than 270X, while R9 290X is about 30-40% faster than it.

 

[Essence_of_War]

Since that's a 500W card, the S12II 620W won't do. It needs an 850W unit, and even 1000W isn't a bad idea if you're going for a high CPU overclock and/or you want the unit to stay quiet. This means paying another $70+ - unless you can find a good 850w+ unit on a sale, which I couldn't:

EVGA 850W G2 $140 AR
Corsair AX860 Platinum $150 AR
EVGA 1000W P2 $210 AR

Great point! I should have mentioned n upgraded power supply should be in order for a dual-290X solution.

 

[mfenn]

First time ever under $900?

I think so!

Too good to be true, unfortunately. That's a 270X 4GB.

Sapphire R9 280X 3GB Vapor-X is not bad for $210 AR. It's about 35% faster than 270X, while R9 290X is about 30-40% faster than it.

Arrggggg, I searched for R9 290 4GB. But I guess Newegg screwed me. Good catch.

 

[mfenn]

New build posted. The crazy good CPU+motherboard combo didn't last until this week, but we do have the Antec TP-750C on sale for a $64 AR. 750W is overkill for this machine, but there aren't any 620-650W units that can touch its bang for the buck right now.

 

[mfenn]

New build posted. There's a really good deal on an Antec HCG-620M power supply (basically a rebranded Seasonic M12II) this week. The CPU+mobo combo dropped in price since last week as well, so that's a nice bonus.

 

[tg2708]

XFX 290x is actually a link to the sapphire version for that price.

 

[doubledeluxe]

There seems to be a huge drop in SSD prices. Any idea on the difference between the OCZ arc and the Samsung 850 Evo? My cursory examination shows a rather large speed difference at only a $17 price difference.

There's also a bunch of combos where you get free memory with a motherboard but I'm not sure if they're better than the CPU combo.

 

[mfenn]

XFX 290x is actually a link to the sapphire version for that price.

Whoops! I changed the card to a different brand but forgot to update the text. Fixed.

 

[mfenn]

There seems to be a huge drop in SSD prices. Any idea on the difference between the OCZ arc and the Samsung 850 Evo? My cursory examination shows a rather large speed difference at only a $17 price difference.

There's also a bunch of combos where you get free memory with a motherboard but I'm not sure if they're better than the CPU combo.

The actual real-world difference between the two SSDs is very slim, especially when considering the 850 EVO costs 21% more.

I looked at the RAM combos, but the ones I saw were single 8GB DIMMs, and I decided that dual-channel was more important.

 

[MTDEW]

Just a heads up...OP Needs updated. :thumbsup:
CPU/mobo combo in the 05/31/2015 updated parts list hasn't been available since 6-2-2015.

 

[mfenn]

Just a heads up...OP Needs updated. :thumbsup:
CPU/mobo combo in the 05/31/2015 updated parts list hasn't been available since 6-2-2015.

Indeed. I update the list each Sunday (about to start now).

 

[mfenn]

New build posted. The CPU+mobo combo isn't as good as last week, but there's still good deals elsewhere which keeps the cost fairly steady.

I'm also trying an experiment by using PCPartPicker this week. Let me know if you like it, or would prefer the old style.

 

[lehtv]

Those CPU and mobo are available as a combo Nevermind. Looks like PCPartpicker doesnt say it's a combo, but still counts the combo discount in the final price

 

[doubledeluxe]

I like Pcpartpicker and think it's a great tool but haven't quite figured out how to find combos with it.

 

[crashtech]

See lehtv's post below!

 

[lehtv]

Plenty of good RAM at decent prices:

G.Skill Ripjaws Z 2x4GB DDR3-2400 CL10 1.65V $60
G.Skill Ares 2x4GB DDR3-2133 CL9 1.65V $53
G.Skill Sniper 2x4GB DDR3-2133 CL9 1.65V $54
G.Skill Sniper 2x4GB DDR3-1866 CL9 1.5V $52
G.Skill Ripjaws 2x4GB DDR3-1866 CL9 1.5V $53
Team Elite Plus 2x4GB DDR3-1600 CL11 1.5V $44
Mushkin Stealth 2x4GB DDR3-1600 CL9 1.35V $53

The Ripjaws 1600mhz kit for $50 is hardly special.

 

[mfenn]

Plenty of good RAM at decent prices:

G.Skill Ripjaws Z 2x4GB DDR4-2400 CL10 1.65V $60
G.Skill Ares 2x4GB 2133 CL9 1.65V $53
G.Skill Sniper 2x4GB 2133 CL9 1.65V $54
G.Skill Sniper 2x4GB DDR3-1866 CL9 1.5V $52
G.Skill Ripjaws 2x4GB DDR3-1866 CL9 1.5V $53
Team Elite Plus 2x4GB DDR3-1600 CL11 1.5V $44
Mushkin Stealth 2x4GB DDR3-1600 CL9 1.35V $53

The Ripjaws 1600mhz kit for $50 is hardly special.

I didn't intend to indicate that that RAM was special, sorry if I caused any confusion.

Nevermind, crashtech let me know that you were replying to a post of his.

 

[mfenn]

Those CPU and mobo are available as a combo Nevermind. Looks like PCPartpicker doesnt say it's a combo, but still counts the combo discount in the final price

Yeah, it doesn't show it in the export, but if you click through to the list on PCPartPicker and scroll down to the Combo Discounts Applied section, it then gives you a link to the combo itself if you click on the price.

Though actually it turns out that there is a Mobo + SSD combo which is a a slightly lesser discount ($2) that it has picked.

Hmm, OK that is two things that I don't care for (a) price list updating (b) non-optimal combo pick.

 

[mfenn]

New build posted. I'm sticking with PCPP for another week, but some individual Newegg links have popped back up because PCPP has poor coverage of lower-end GPUs. There's a nice motherboard deal and the CPU + SSD combo continues.

 

[mfenn]

New build posted, it's down below $900 again due to some nice pricing on the CPU, motherboard, and SSD. Radeon 300 series pricing isn't really impressing me right now, so even though the budget can technically afford an R9 390, I don't think it's a good value at $330.

 

[DreadBelch]

mfenn, I noticed you usually go with Radeons over nVidia cards. Are the 290x cards better performers than nVidia equivalents in the $270 price range or is it just preference? Thanks man.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Just a note, the OCZ ARC 100 240GB SSD in the 6/21/2015 update, was only $70 on 6/22/2015, with the 10% off $100 promo code (making it $90), and then a $20 off rebate good until 6/22/2015, making it $70.