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On January 15 2013 08:02 Belial88 wrote:Show nested quote +On January 15 2013 07:27 baoluvboa wrote:
Where do you guys go to find good deals on sale? Do you just regularly check sites like neweggs/tigerdirect on a daily basis? Best Buy sometimes has some great prices. Most of the time they are a huge rip-off but when they sell shit cheap, they do it right. Price matching, insane discounts, rebates. They also price match Microcenter and Newegg, which is unheard of for a big box store. So you can get a 3570k for $169 from them even if you dont live by Microcenter. They won't match bundle discounts though.
You, my friend, are going to save me a ton of gas money. Nearest MC is ~100 mi. away but I figured it was worth driving there since I would save enough money to make the trip worthwhile. I just hope my local Best Buy will be willing to price match. If it works, thank you so much, if it doesn't, thank you anyways.
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Well Best Buy doesnt do bundle savings, so I still had to drive 100 miles, and they also dont carry a lot of stuff.
The manager might be resistant too, so call ahead (they wont price match because MC isn't anywhere near by, they want to see a print out, who's microscenter?, but they are supposed to match it and people have had mixed results with best buys in places far away from MC).
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Sure, but if you're going to microcenter (you have to, to get that price on the CPU), usually you can snag a motherboard with that for cheaper.
Also, the point of i5-3570k / Z77 is to be able to overclock the CPU, which for day-to-day usage and moderate overclocks, is so simple and straightforward that plenty of people these days complain that it's too easy. And for non-trivial overclocks, you're gong to want an aftermarket CPU cooler. There are decent options all around. For $21 on newegg you can get Xigmatek Gaia, so whatever you do, don't end up with something worse than that or for more than $21:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233082
I'd really consider 8GB of RAM unless you're sure 4GB is enough, and I'd easily take Corsair 200R for $10 more. Some people may disagree. If for whatever reason you're waffling or not ordering today, at least get the hard drive tonight. Spinpoint F3 1TB is $65 with free shipping, with a promo code that expires today, so go ahead with that now:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185
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The NZXT Source 210 is something like $10 from Microcenter and the ASUS P8Z77-V LK is something like $70.
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Microcenter has the ASUS P8Z77-V LK listed at $120 after rebate, is that just because it's the online listed price? or has there been an increase in price?
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Also does anyone have any ideas on where to find Windows for discounted prices? I would prefer Windows 7 but will go Windows 8 if pricing is much better. I am a student so that may help? Also, I realize that other things may be necessary, such as more cables and stuff. Is there anyway of knowing what all I will need? or am I just going to have to wait and see?
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If I wanted to focus on SC2 most of the time, how much emphasis should I place on the processor I'm buying? I figured I'd go for $180-ish HD7850, overclock that, and then get a $130 FX-6300 and overclock that. But, if I can get an i3 with little or no OC (I already have CPU cooler factored into build, so it's only a matter of CPU and MOBO) and then get a pre-OC'd 7850 or even a 7870, then I will go for the better GPU. However, I've heard SCII emphasizes CPU A LOT, and I play SCII most of the time.
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On January 15 2013 12:42 RiceAgainst wrote:
If I wanted to focus on SC2 most of the time, how much emphasis should I place on the processor I'm buying? I figured I'd go for $180-ish HD7850, overclock that, and then get a $130 FX-6300 and overclock that. But, if I can get an i3 with little or no OC (I already have CPU cooler factored into build, so it's only a matter of CPU and MOBO) and then get a pre-OC'd 7850 or even a 7870, then I will go for the better GPU. However, I've heard SCII emphasizes CPU A LOT, and I play SCII most of the time.
Pretty easy, Intel is the emphasis you should place. A Pentium plays games better than a 8150.
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On January 15 2013 12:16 grockey wrote:
Also does anyone have any ideas on where to find Windows for discounted prices? I would prefer Windows 7 but will go Windows 8 if pricing is much better. I am a student so that may help? Also, I realize that other things may be necessary, such as more cables and stuff. Is there anyway of knowing what all I will need? or am I just going to have to wait and see?
Look into your university then. Mine (A&M) offers windows 8 for 15$. (And MS office, and other stuff like that).
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On January 15 2013 12:42 RiceAgainst wrote:
If I wanted to focus on SC2 most of the time, how much emphasis should I place on the processor I'm buying? I figured I'd go for $180-ish HD7850, overclock that, and then get a $130 FX-6300 and overclock that. But, if I can get an i3 with little or no OC (I already have CPU cooler factored into build, so it's only a matter of CPU and MOBO) and then get a pre-OC'd 7850 or even a 7870, then I will go for the better GPU. However, I've heard SCII emphasizes CPU A LOT, and I play SCII most of the time.
SC2 is among a small number of games where CPU is far more important than GPU. Specifically, SC2 requires very good per-core performance on two cores - more cores not really helping. On the other hand, graphics-wise you can basically run SC2 on a GPU drawn on a paper napkin.
So the big questions are: is SC2 truly your sole focus, or are other games (at good quality settings) also sometimes important to you? If SC2 is your sole focus, you can cut way back on GPU, to a 7770 or even 7750. On the other hand, you should avoid AMD processors like the plague (lower per-core performance than Intel). But if other games are also important, than GPU quality is an issue.
So basically your options are:
Buy an i3-3220 & a cheap H77 or B75 motherboard (mobo should cost $70 or less). Do NOT buy the CPU cooler you're currently considering (stock fan is fine because the i3-3220 cannot be overclocked). <----- use this CPU/Mobo combo to run SC2 smoothly & use the savings from the cpu cooler/cheaper processor for a better video card for non-SC2, non-Blizzard games or just to stick in your pocket & not spend.
Buy an fx-6300 & overclock it. <----This option actually won't be bad for SC2, but it is not cost effective, because it's as expensive (or more) as the next option and not as good.
Buy a locked i5 (i5-3470, for example) and a cheap H77 or B75 mobo. Do NOT buy the CPU cooler you're currently considering (same reason as option 1) <----- About $60 bucks more than the i3 option. This is the minimum CPU you should go for if you also wanted to produce an SC2 stream. There's also the rare couple of games out there that can genuinely benefit from the two extra cores. SC2, like most games, will not benefit from the four full cores. Use the remainder of the budget for whatever graphics card you can afford/choose to save money with.
Buy an unlocked i5-3570k and a z77 motherboard for overclocking. DO get the CPU cooler you were considering. <---- best option if your rich uncle died and you decided to break your budget.
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On January 15 2013 12:02 grockey wrote:
Microcenter has the ASUS P8Z77-V LK listed at $120 after rebate, is that just because it's the online listed price? or has there been an increase in price?
Microcenter has in-store bundle deals, where if you buy an i5-3570k you also get $50 off a Z77 motherboard. Dunno if the special is still running, but it probably is. Call ahead to make sure that's an option (& to pin them down so you don't get some ignorant sales guy playing dumb).
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For the full versions the only thing that my school offers is Windows 7 for $199... So not that good
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On January 15 2013 13:27 MisterFred wrote:SC2 is among a small number of games where CPU is far more important than GPU. Specifically, SC2 requires very good per-core performance on two cores - more cores not really helping. On the other hand, graphics-wise you can basically run SC2 on a GPU drawn on a paper napkin. So the big questions are: is SC2 truly your sole focus, or are other games (at good quality settings) also sometimes important to you? If SC2 is your sole focus, you can cut way back on GPU, to a 7770 or even 7750. On the other hand, you should avoid AMD processors like the plague (lower per-core performance than Intel). But if other games are also important, than GPU quality is an issue. + Show Spoiler +So basically your options are:
Buy an i3-3220 & a cheap H77 or B75 motherboard (mobo should cost $70 or less). Do NOT buy the CPU cooler you're currently considering (stock fan is fine because the i3-3220 cannot be overclocked). <----- use this CPU/Mobo combo to run SC2 smoothly & use the savings from the cpu cooler/cheaper processor for a better video card for non-SC2, non-Blizzard games or just to stick in your pocket & not spend.
Buy an fx-6300 & overclock it. <----This option actually won't be bad for SC2, but it is not cost effective, because it's as expensive (or more) as the next option and not as good.
Buy a locked i5 (i5-3470, for example) and a cheap H77 or B75 mobo. Do NOT buy the CPU cooler you're currently considering (same reason as option 1) <----- About $60 bucks more than the i3 option. This is the minimum CPU you should go for if you also wanted to produce an SC2 stream. There's also the rare couple of games out there that can genuinely benefit from the two extra cores. SC2, like most games, will not benefit from the four full cores. Use the remainder of the budget for whatever graphics card you can afford/choose to save money with.
Buy an unlocked i5-3570k and a z77 motherboard for overclocking. DO get the CPU cooler you were considering. <---- best option if your rich uncle died and you decided to break your budget .
Well, my brother is helping me with this rig. He wants, at the very least, play Witcher 2 on med/high, and I have Metro 2033 (med/high is okay for this game too). Other than these two games, SC2 is really the only game left (SWTOR and LoL/DotA2 don't seem too demanding and look playable on low-ish settings, and we don't know much about Elder Scrolls: Online yet).
I think I like the i3 option the best; if I do get other games in the future, what type of games would be harder on the i3?
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How does this look? Buying in a couple days and have a $550 budget.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/xGiz
I should be able to max some games like LoL and run med-high settings on D3 right?
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United Kingdom20275 Posts
The v4 is an awful SSD (one of the worst by far, an outlier) and you would probably want to look into a sandy/ivy bridge pentium or i3 build if you can
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On January 15 2013 14:27 Cyro wrote:
The v4 is an awful SSD (one of the worst by far, an outlier) and you would probably want to look into a sandy/ivy bridge pentium or i3 build if you can
Actually I've decided to not get an SSD as of now and go with this build.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/xGAd
I'll use the onboard graphics for a while then get a new card and crossfire.
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On January 15 2013 14:32 Soupconner wrote:+ Show Spoiler +On January 15 2013 14:27 Cyro wrote:
The v4 is an awful SSD (one of the worst by far, an outlier) and you would probably want to look into a sandy/ivy bridge pentium or i3 build if you can Actually I've decided to not get an SSD as of now and go with this build. http://pcpartpicker.com/p/xGAdI'll use the onboard graphics for a while then get a new card and crossfire.
Logisys power supplies are downright shit. The power supply is the heart of a computer, are you really going to entrust it to something that's potentially going to blow up and take part of your investment with it? And that unit definitely will not support a decent graphics card.
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On January 15 2013 14:37 skyR wrote:Show nested quote +On January 15 2013 14:32 Soupconner wrote:+ Show Spoiler +On January 15 2013 14:27 Cyro wrote:
The v4 is an awful SSD (one of the worst by far, an outlier) and you would probably want to look into a sandy/ivy bridge pentium or i3 build if you can Actually I've decided to not get an SSD as of now and go with this build. http://pcpartpicker.com/p/xGAdI'll use the onboard graphics for a while then get a new card and crossfire. Logisys power supplies are downright shit. The power supply is the heart of a computer, are you really going to entrust it to something that's potentially going to blow up and take part of your investment with it? And that unit definitely will not support a decent graphics card.
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-power-supply-cmpsu430cxv2
430w enough?
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On January 15 2013 13:41 grockey wrote:
For the full versions the only thing that my school offers is Windows 7 for $199... So not that good
Nothing through Dreamspark available either then, I suppose (check to make sure).
Worst-case scenario, just get OEM (system builder) Windows, typically around $90:
http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=45271&promoid=1201
http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=77180&promoid=1368
On January 15 2013 13:52 RiceAgainst wrote:
I think I like the i3 option the best; if I do get other games in the future, what type of games would be harder on the i3?
Anything that would use a lot of threads heavily, which is... not sure, as I don't really keep up with game CPU benchmarks. Most games won't even stress the CPU that much anyway. It would be anything that needs to track a lot of things, but depends how it's written I guess. Flight simulators, some RTS, anything doing a lot of physics calculations in CPU. i3 should be fine for a while. Even if something runs better with more cores, it won't run anything like 50% better, at least for the near future.
On January 15 2013 14:32 Soupconner wrote:Show nested quote +On January 15 2013 14:27 Cyro wrote:
The v4 is an awful SSD (one of the worst by far, an outlier) and you would probably want to look into a sandy/ivy bridge pentium or i3 build if you can Actually I've decided to not get an SSD as of now and go with this build. http://pcpartpicker.com/p/xGAdI'll use the onboard graphics for a while then get a new card and crossfire.
PSU is explode-in-your face tier. I wouldn't really suggest the case or monitor either. Because you need a monitor, the budget is so low I'd suggest cutting elsewhere like 4GB of RAM unless you know you need more.
If you're thinking about hybrid gimped Crossfire with the integrated graphics, I suggest you avoid that and not consider the integrated graphics usable whenever you get discrete graphics.
A10-5800K is okay for most games including the ones you listed. But especially if you can spend up to $550 including monitor and without the SSD, you may want to just go for low-end discrete graphics with an Intel dual core. I mean, the integrated graphics is about the same as a ~$55 graphics card like a HD 6570 (DDR3 version), and the CPU is not that amazing despite having 4 (integer) cores and being clocked at 3.8 GHz, because of the low instructions-per-clock architecture and relatively low amount of cache.
CX430 is okay, particularly compared to some of the other low-end picks there. If you like rebates, CX500 is $5 less after rebate but $5 more prior to rebate.
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EPT
