$600 gaming build

S

syn3rgyz

Gawd
Joined
Jun 14, 2005
Messages
763
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming on mid-max settings, sc2, d3, LoL, WoW Cataclysm, ff14

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included? 600 including shipping+tax I dont mind shelling out 20 bucks or so for significant increase in performance

3) Where do you live? NY

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, Case, Ram, PSU, Mobo, Vid Card

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Reusing my IDE DVD-RW drive and a 74gb raptor drive

6) Will you be overclocking? not sure yet, wouldnt mind unlocking or ocing on stock cooling if its ok

the total adds up to around 620 including shipping/tax

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have? 32 inch TV with 1360x768 resolution

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC? in two to three weeks

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB3.0, crossfire or SLI option would be nice for future upgrade

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? 64 bit windows 7 Professional

This is what I came up with so far but its already over my budget without a case, need some suggestions.

CPU - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...71&cm_re=athlon_x4_640-_-19-103-871-_-Product

Mobo - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...cm_re=asus_m4a87td_evo-_-13-131-647-_-Product

RAM - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...re=G.skill_ripjaws_4gb-_-20-231-303-_-Product

PSU - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ..._re=OCZ_modxstream_pro-_-17-341-017-_-Product

GPU - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...it_geforce_gtx_460_1gb-_-14-261-076-_-Product
 
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For 1360x768, you don't need a GTX 460 1GB. You're not gonna notice a large enough difference between that GTX 460 1GB and the HD 5770 1GB at your small resolution of 1360x768. So you'll be just fine with a HD 5770 1GB card + Phenom 955 combo like this:
$270 - AMD Phenom II X4 955 CPU + XFX HD-577A-ZNFC Radeon HD 5770 1GB PCI-E Video Card Combo

Don't worry, we can free up cash for that Pheom II 955 CPU. The games you mentioned just happen to be very CPU hungry hence the Phenom II 955 recommendation.

Case wise, I recommend this case:
$70 - Cooler Master CM690 II Basic ATX Case

PSU wise, I recommend getting this significantly higher quality PSU for the same price as that OCZ:
$70 - Antec NEO ECO 620C 620W PSU

Same price but a huge difference in quality and actual power output capability.

RAM wise, you don't need such RAM for limited overclocking on the stock HSF. You can save $20 by going with this set instead:
$75 - G.Skill F3-10600CL9D-4GBNT 2 x 2GB DDR3 1333 RAM

According to my math, you should be around $590 shipped with the above changes but now with a more suitable GPU, a good case, significantly better PSU, and significantly faster CPU.
 
I meant which parts do you think is safe for me to OC with stock cooling CPU and GPU?
 
just read something on the video card forums about the 6xxx series coming out in a month or so that might drive down the prices of the 5xxx series, im thinking whether i should wait now
 
syn3rgyz said:
just read something on the video card forums about the 6xxx series coming out in a month or so that might drive down the prices of the 5xxx series, im thinking whether i should wait now
Click to expand...

I would most definitely wait until the 6xxx series comes out. Its rumored that the 6770 will be out middle october and its suppose to be a beast.

I would wait for that and see for sure.
 
i've decided I will wait for the video card and order all the other parts, and for now I'll be using my old 6600GT or my friend will lend me his extra 8800GT. I've decided to try and look for other combos with the processor that danny linked instead of the CPU+GPU combo.


Also I plan to get Crossfire in the future, my roomates been telling me that the PCI-E slots have to run in 8x and 8x for ideal performance, but the PCI-E slots on one of the mobos are running 16x and 4x. Is this true?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.509804
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.500638
theres a 25 dollar diff between the two mobos where one of them has dual 8x
 
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syn3rgyz said:
Also I plan to get Crossfire in the future, my roomates been telling me that the PCI-E slots have to run in 8x and 8x for ideal performance, but the PCI-E slots on one of the mobos are running 16x and 4x. Is this true?
Click to expand...
Not true at all. You won't notice an iota of difference between PCI-E x8/x8 and PCI-E x4/x4:
http://hardocp.com/article/2010/08/25/gtx_480_sli_pcie_bandwidth_perf_x16x16_vs_x4x4/

Considering that there is very little difference between x16/x16 and x4/x4, the difference between x8/x8 and x4/x4 is non-existant.
syn3rgyz said:
so now that the new mid tier cards are out, which vcard should i get?
Click to expand...
In a few more days the prices for the GTX 460 768MB should drop a bit. So that's the card you should get. Though even at the current price of $160, the GTX 460 768MB is a good buy.

Oh and you're gonna have to redo your entire list now that October is around and there are newer combo deals.
 
syn3rgyz said:
so now that the new mid tier cards are out, which vcard should i get?
Click to expand...

6850 if you plan to get a higher resolution (1080p) tv/monitor soon. if you are sticking with your current resolution for a while, save $40 or $50 and get a gtx 460 768mb. both cards are way more than enough for 1360x768, go with the cheaper option instead of wasting money. gtx 460 768mb prices may drop a few bucks, however it will not be much since the cards still fill a gap around their current price. $130 or $140 after rebate is a good price for the cards.
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If you can spluge a little over your cap, get the 6870. Looks like an AWESOME deal @ 240$
 
USMC2Hard4U said:
If you can spluge a little over your cap, get the 6870. Looks like an AWESOME deal @ 240$
Click to expand...

bro he is running with a 1360x768 monitor and building a value system. it would be $100 wasted for that resolution.
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Danny Bui said:
Not true at all. You won't notice an iota of difference between PCI-E x8/x8 and PCI-E x4/x4:
http://hardocp.com/article/2010/08/25/gtx_480_sli_pcie_bandwidth_perf_x16x16_vs_x4x4/

Considering that there is very little difference between x16/x16 and x4/x4, the difference between x8/x8 and x4/x4 is non-existant.

In a few more days the prices for the GTX 460 768MB should drop a bit. So that's the card you should get. Though even at the current price of $160, the GTX 460 768MB is a good buy.

Oh and you're gonna have to redo your entire list now that October is around and there are newer combo deals.
Click to expand...
i already built everything else im just in need of a video card, im using my roomates 8800GT right now. I might need a new harddrive as i posted in the other thread that i think my harddrives failing.

do i need a 1GB vid card or is the 756 suffice?
 
syn3rgyz said:
i already built everything else im just in need of a video card, im using my roomates 8800GT right now. I might need a new harddrive as i posted in the other thread that i think my harddrives failing.

do i need a 1GB vid card or is the 756 suffice?
Click to expand...

768MB is plenty for your resolution. You will be able to crank up details without a problem.
 
Specs look good. DONT get an Antec PSU.

Corsair, PCP&C, OCZ, etc. are fine.

It also doesnt hurt to overkill it a little in the GPU department. It's always better to be safe with a little headroom then to be sorry with a GPU that doesn't cut the job for some killer game right around the corner.

If there is one thing to dump a few extra bucks into, it's the GPU.
 
BurntToast said:
Specs look good. DONT get an Antec PSU.

Corsair, PCP&C, OCZ, etc. are fine.

It also doesnt hurt to overkill it a little in the GPU department. It's always better to be safe with a little headroom then to be sorry with a GPU that doesn't cut the job for some killer game right around the corner.

If there is one thing to dump a few extra bucks into, it's the GPU.
Click to expand...

antec sells power supplies made by the same companies that make the other power supplies on your list. for example seasonic makes the eco 520.

if you want him to go overkill, just tell him to save up another $300 for a 5970. that card will also have the same performance at the resolution he is gaming at. but a killer game might come out at any time, right?!? a gtx 460 768 is already overkill for the selected cpu and disply.

people need to learn some basic maths to see how many pixels are being reneder at different resolutions...
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syn3rgyz said:
do i need a 1GB vid card or is the 756 suffice?
Click to expand...
As ocellaris pointed out, the 768MB version will suffice.
BurntToast said:
Specs look good. DONT get an Antec PSU.

Corsair, PCP&C, OCZ, etc. are fine.
Click to expand...

And why not Antec? You do know that PC P&C's current PSU lineup is nowhere near as good as their past lineup? And that a majority of OCZ PSUs are of lower quality than many of Antec's PSUs?
 
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