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Help me build a 450$-700$ Gaming PC

xxdozer32

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mines on budget too, look at my specs. nvm havent put the specs in yet
 
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CPU: i5 2500k
Memory: G. SKill sniper 2133mhz 8GB DDR3
Motherboard: Asrock Extreme4 Z77
GPU: MSI HD6870
PSU: Corsair TX650 V2
HDD: Its hard to find a HDD right now because of the price hikes.

OK, just to make sure I'm on the right path here:

Memory: G. SKill sniper 2133mhz 8GB DDR3 ---> Can be switched for a 1600mhz kit right? To save some money... I hear that i5s and i7s generally work better with high freq. Ram (like 2000mhz) tho... but no big deal here for me...

Motherboard: Asrock Extreme4 Z77 ---> 1 of you said: "You don't really want to cut the motherboard if you are planning to overclock in say 2 years time to squeeze some more usage. Alternatively, if overclock is not really considered ( I would sacrifice this for a slightly better GPU), you can get a H61 board and i5 2400."

I'm not sure what you mean with Overclock...
Do you mean that I need a certain mobo to be able to OC the i5 2500k?
What about CPU temps? Do I need a special cooling solution for the i5 2500k OC? or will the stock cooler allow me to reach 4ghz and above?

PSU: Corsair TX650 V2 ---> Appearantly, for the said card (6870), I wouldn't need a 650w PSU, 550w would do... correct?


GPU: MSI HD6870 ---> This sounds like a decent card, but 1 of you said: "Forget the 6870, if it's gaming we're talking about then get the 7850" Is there a considerable Performance difference between the 2, and what's the price difference? I REALLY enjoyed ShiBDiB links. I need links to compare the stuff (if you have time to spare ;)

So pls, give me links to the best deals you can find for all the items. Keep in mind, the 1 item I will order for sure is the i5 2500k. So the stuff you link has to be compatible with that CPU (mobo, ram and so on...)

P.S. I live in CANADA, so if you find links from Canada, it's even better :)
 
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Would an i3 2120 be good enough to match with the 6870 and perform well with gaming situations, to allow for at least "high settings" ???

or must I really stick with the i5 2500k? Cause that CPU is 100$+ more expensive than i3 2120
 
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Last edited:
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What's the cheapest but best mobo I can find for the i5 2500k? (canada link pls)

Is micro ATX too small for this build? or I must find an ATX ???

(***URGENT***)
 

JrRacinFan

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Just dropping a line.....

If you go H61, don't bother with getting memory specc'd higher than 1333mhz, as that's the furthest the chipset allows. If you go that route, quad that makes most sense to go with is the i5 2400. Also 450W would be fine, for nearly any single card/single gpu configuration.
Cause that CPU is 100$ more expensive than i3 2120
Don't forget the added cost of the board if you wish to utilize the K overclocking features(Z68,Z77,P67).
 
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I purchased the i5 2500k already, I just need you guys to suggest to me a MOBO that has the lowest cost for the build...
 
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What I would recommend for your budget:
CPU: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819106009
GPU: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150599
or http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161396
Mobo: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157262
PSU: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207014
RAM: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220557
HDD: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822236227
or http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136769

An i5 wouldn't be much faster, and you'd skimp on the PSU/mobo/GPU with an i5 build, although you could do it in the price range. Here's my input using newegg pricing (if you have a mirocenter nearby you shouldn't have to skimp on the PSU, given microcenter's lower pricing);
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072
Given it's $90 more, we use this lower end motherboard; http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813121512
and we save $25. $65 left to save to break even, ~$30 to keep under the $700 limit.
So next we go to the PSU; http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207018
which is more than enough for this build, but doesn't leave a ton of overhead for upgrades or overclocking.


I purchased the i5 2500k already, I just need you guys to suggest to me a MOBO that has the lowest cost for the build...
This is pretty much what you're looking at; http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Produc...CodeValue=757:7619&PropertyCodeValue=757:7618
 

brandonwh64

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and agreed that i5 cant use more than 1600mHz... if you go FX build go with 1866 mHz RAM...

I would def like to know were you herd that? :rolleyes:

Any SB chip can handle over 1333mhz as long as the motherboard will OC the ram higher. Placing a I3/I5 in a P67/Z68/Z77 or whatever will allow the ram to run 1600Mhz or higher. An H61 motherboard however only does 1066/1333 (The main ones I have seen).

Jon

I would go for this board...

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138344
 
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My friend has an old version of XP. Is there a big difference between w7 and xp
 

JrRacinFan

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My friend has an old version of XP. Is there a big difference between w7 and xp

If you're a gamer, quite a big difference to go with Win 7 x64. It's super stable and you get DX11 features.
 

brandonwh64

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Windows 7 Home X64 is what you should get for 4GB+ ram
 
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What am I NOT getting with xp?
Dx11?
Ram limit?
 

JrRacinFan

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Is the 6870 goin to work w xp?
While he waits to get money for w7?
 

JrRacinFan

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Aquinus

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Don't get a 450-watt PSU. When I was rocking a Phenom II and installed a 6870 upgrading from a 4850 the computer would turn off and turn right back off. The system wouldn't boot with the video card. I replaced the power supply with an 800-watt one and it worked without a hitch. The old PSU is still being used in a C2D E6600 machine with that 4850 and is still running strong. I wouldn't risk it.

Only game I can think of that we WON'T be able to play is BF3

Anything that uses DX10 or DX11 and doesn't have a DX9 version.
 
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Win 7 brings DX11 (which is irrelevant until the current consoles die) and TRIM for SSDs.
 
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Thanks for the links guys, but I CAN'T order any of those items, because I AM FROM CANADA... (mentionned this before...)

Links have to be from canada... or the company must ship to canada... newegg.com items don't shipt to canada... they have to be from "newegg.ca"
 

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Thanks for the links guys, but I CAN'T order any of those items, because I AM FROM CANADA... (mentionned this before...)

Links have to be from canada... or the company must ship to canada... newegg.com items don't shipt to canada... they have to be from "newegg.ca"

Have regex handy?
Code:
s/.com/.ca/g
NewEgg should use the same product ID between their US and Canada sites. Just change them to .ca yourself.

Mushkin Enhanced Chronos MKNSSDCR120GB 2.5" 120GB ... == http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226236
 
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Thanks for the links guys, but I CAN'T order any of those items, because I AM FROM CANADA... (mentionned this before...)

Links have to be from canada... or the company must ship to canada... newegg.com items don't shipt to canada... they have to be from "newegg.ca"
just search on newegg.ca for the same item.
 
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I did search for the said items... but on Newegg.ca it says they're out of stock... except for the mushkin ssd...

The Mobo that the guy linked (open box) is out of stock
 
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