Help me build a 450$-700$ Gaming PC

[xxdozer32]

mines on budget too, look at my specs. nvm havent put the specs in yet

[jonathan1107]

Originally Posted by nvidiaintelftw

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

[jonathan1107]

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

[Rowsol]

Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2CCA 2.5" 128GB SATA III MLC ... best money you can spend
Intel Celeron G530 Sandy Bridge 2.4GHz LGA 1155 65... in gaming is about 75% of an i3 2100
GIGABYTE GA-B75M-D3V LGA 1155 Intel B75 SATA 6Gb/s... cheapest sata 3 board I could find
Antec EarthWatts Green EA-430D Green 430W Continuo... cheapest quality psu
PowerColor AX6850 1GBD5-DH Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-... best single 6 pin card and insane price/performance
get any 4gb ram kit.

About $450

[jonathan1107]

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]

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.

Originally Posted by jonathan1107

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).

[jonathan1107]

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...

[Vulpesveritas]

What I would recommend for your budget:
CPU: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16819106009
GPU: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16814150599
or http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16814161396
Mobo: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16813157262
PSU: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16817207014
RAM: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16820220557
HDD: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16822236227
or http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16822136769

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...82E16819115072
Given it's $90 more, we use this lower end motherboard; http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16813121512
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...82E16817207018
which is more than enough for this build, but doesn't leave a ton of overhead for upgrades or overclocking.

Originally Posted by jonathan1107

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/Product...lue=757%3A7618

[brandonwh64]

Originally Posted by baggpipes

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?

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...82E16813138344

[jonathan1107]

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

[JrRacinFan]

Originally Posted by jonathan1107

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]

Windows 7 Home X64 is what you should get for 4GB+ ram

[jonathan1107]

What am I NOT getting with xp?
Dx11?
Ram limit?

[brandonwh64]

Originally Posted by jonathan1107

What am I NOT getting with xp?
Dx11?
Ram limit?

I can give you a good price on a Windows 7 pro COA if your interested as well.

[JrRacinFan]

Originally Posted by jonathan1107

What am I NOT getting with xp?

Odds are, 64 bit.

[jonathan1107]

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

[JrRacinFan]

Check this out.
http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/sh...ad.php?t=91260

[brandonwh64]

Originally Posted by jonathan1107

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

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

[Aquinus]

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.

Originally Posted by brandonwh64

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.

[Rowsol]

Win 7 brings DX11 (which is irrelevant until the current consoles die) and TRIM for SSDs.

[TSX420J]

Originally Posted by jonathan1107

Can someone link me the cheapest 64 and 120 gb SSDs ?

Mushkin Enhanced Chronos MKNSSDCR120GB 2.5" 120GB ...

Great R/W speeds, SATA III, reliable and dirt cheap.

[jonathan1107]

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"

[Aquinus]

Originally Posted by jonathan1107

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?

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...82E16820226236

[TSX420J]

Originally Posted by jonathan1107

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.

[jonathan1107]

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