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$800 Gaming Build

L

LiveWire

Weaksauce
Joined
Aug 3, 2004
Messages
99
I've just finished my Bachelors degree and I'm looking for a new Desktop to replace my Dell laptop for gaming and 1080p video playing. It's been 8 years since I built a computer and I'm out of date on most everything.

I primarily play World of Warcraft and I'd like to get much better graphics and framerates. I usually have everything on fair or lower at 1440x900 on the laptop right now. I'd like to go to 1920x1080 with everything on good or higher settings at 45-60 fps.

I plan on upgrading to an SSD in the future as well so that's important feature that I don't know much about other than it's freakin fantastic from what people have told me.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming (Primarily WoW) and 1080p Video, possibly some light CAD work as well.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$800

3) Where do you live?
SE Michigan

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
CPU, MOBO, GPU, RAM, PSU, DVD drive, Monitor

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Lian-Li PC-65, 320gb Seagate SATA HDD, 500gb Seagate external USB 2.0, USB Mouse/Keyboard

6) Will you be overclocking?
Just a bit. Nothing major though.

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
21-23"

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
July 2011

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support?
USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video? etc.
Would like eSATA, HDMI

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
No, want Windows 7 64-bit
 
Realizing that $800 may be too low. I'd be willing to shell out another $200 for the monitor. AMD or Intel is fine, no preference.
 
Corsair 600w
$60 AR-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139019

Phenom 955+880G board
$213 AR-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.681756

8GB Ram (shell shocker today $57)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...47&cm_sp=Cat_Memory-_-Daily_Deal-_-20-148-347

HD6950 $215 AR-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150523

Puts you slightly over budget ($5 if my head math is right)


Honestly, I would spend some money on a case though. Even $50-60 will get you a much better case than yours, and air flow is important. That said, nothing says boss like a Lian Li ;-)
 
WoW loves IPC performance so I'd lean towards Sandy Bridge here.
 
Livewire, is the cost of the OS part of that now $800 budget? I'm treating that $200 as a seperate budget just for the monitor itself.

If the cost of OS is indeed part of that $800 budget, do you care about losing overclocking capability?
 
Here's what I've put together today. Total is $909.63 with the monitor. $709.63 without monitor and $674.63 after mail-in rebates. I think my Windows 7 Key from my University will transfer over so that's my free Windows 7. Any suggestions are very much appreciated.

HP 2310m - 23" Widescreen Flat-Panel TFT-LCD Monitor - Black
$149.99

CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified
$94.99

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL
$74.99

XIGMATEK Gaia SD1283 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler bracket included I7 i5 775 1155 AMD and dual fan push pull compatible
$29.99

Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K
+
GIGABYTE GA-Z68X-UD3-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
$334.98

XFX HD-685X-ZDFC Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity

AMD Gift - SHOGUN game coupon Free with purchase!

$174.99

With Monitor: $874.93
Without Monitor: $674.63
 
Last edited:
Yeah, that's not good of a setup for the money. The RAM, mobo (even as part of the combo), PSU, and GPU are all overpriced.

I recommend this setup instead:
$325 - Intel Core i5 2500K CPU + MSI P67A-G45 Intel P67 ATX Motherboard Combo
$60 - G.Skill Value Series F3-10600CL9D-8GBNT 2 x 4GB DDR3 1333 RAM
$180 - Asus EAH6870/2DI2S/1GD5 Radeon HD 6870 1GB PCI-E Video Card + Shogun Game combo
$19 - LG iHAS124-04 DVD Burner
$90 - Corsair 650TX V2 650W PSU
$70 - Lian Li Lancool PC-K58W ATX Case
$30 - Xigmatek Gaia SD1283 120mm HSF
---
Total: $774 plus tax and shipping

As Mr34727 pointed out, you really do need a new case since your current case's 80mm fans are not sufficient to cool a modern system that well.
 
I ended up going with:

$325 - Intel Core i5 2500K CPU + MSI P67A-G45 Intel P67 ATX Motherboard Combo
$70- G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900)Model F3-14900CL9D-8GBXL (Was on sale for $10 more than the value series today)
$180 - Asus EAH6870/2DI2S/1GD5 Radeon HD 6870 1GB PCI-E Video Card + Shogun Game combo
$19 - Sony Optiarc CD/DVD Burner
$140 - Corsair HX750 750W Modular PSU (Wanted modular and more power for future expansions)
$30 - Xigmatek Gaia SD1283 120mm HSF
$150 - Acer S231HLbid Black 23" 5ms HDMI LED-Backlight LCD monitor
---
Total: $940 w/shipping and $60 in mail-in rebates = $880-$150(monitor)= $730 for the system

Decided not to buy a new case at this time. My Lian-Li PC65 will suffice for now.

Thanks for the help everyone.
 
Also browse slickdeals.net to find good deals when it's available. I.e. 6850 for $138, 8gb gskill for 60, etc etc. It'll take some time, not best option if you're in a hurry. Also newegg have discounts when you purchase certain combo.
 
They have good cases for under $100 that I'd highly recommend getting. Airflow is very important in modern computers.
 
Mr34727 said:
Yeah I learned the value of proper cases not too long ago...something I'll never cheap out on again.
Click to expand...

Same. Here. I cheaped out on my case (Antec 300) and it's driven my core temps higher than they should be. I freak out everytime I see 70 degrees C on my GPU.
 
Lycidas said:
Same. Here. I cheaped out on my case (Antec 300) and it's driven my core temps higher than they should be. I freak out everytime I see 70 degrees C on my GPU.
Click to expand...

I see 80C on mine regularly(HD 4870) and my PC has the main components(except GPU of course) watercooled and a lot of airflow, you are fine :)
 
Man, a guy chooses a case and he gets slammed. I think its a good looking case that with some minor mods would cool just fine. Besides, the components are not super hot items.
 
I don't plan on overlocking this much if at all so I feel like 4-80mm fans plus the 120mm in the PSU will be fine. I don't see how switching to a case with 2-120mm is going to make a significant difference.

If it ends up running high temps I'll consider plopping down some moola.
 
LiveWire said:
I don't plan on overlocking this much if at all so I feel like 4-80mm fans plus the 120mm in the PSU will be fine. I don't see how switching to a case with 2-120mm is going to make a significant difference.

If it ends up running high temps I'll consider plopping down some moola.
Click to expand...

Actually, your case's four 80mm fans are at best the equivalent of two 113mm fans. Two 80's do not make one 160 at all. And because of the fans' characteristics, for any given level of cooling ability the noise level from a case with four 80mm fans will be fairly high (loud) compared to that from cases with two 120mm fans.
 
E4g1e said:
Actually, your case's four 80mm fans are at best the equivalent of two 113mm fans. Two 80's do not make one 160 at all. And because of the fans' characteristics, for any given level of cooling ability the noise level from a case with four 80mm fans will be fairly high (loud) compared to that from cases with two 120mm fans.
Click to expand...

I can't hear my fans running unless I squat down under my desk. Noise isn't an issue. Don't try to out-mathimatize me on this one. I know the 80s aren't equivalent in CFM, but I don't need more.
 
Mr34727 said:
Corsair 600w
$60 AR-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139019

Phenom 955+880G board
$213 AR-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.681756

8GB Ram (shell shocker today $57)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...47&cm_sp=Cat_Memory-_-Daily_Deal-_-20-148-347

HD6950 $215 AR-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150523

Puts you slightly over budget ($5 if my head math is right)


Honestly, I would spend some money on a case though. Even $50-60 will get you a much better case than yours, and air flow is important. That said, nothing says boss like a Lian Li ;-)
Click to expand...

Yup Lian Li Lan cool series is amazing and cheap. I got one ;)
 
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