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I want to build a computer and any help/advice would be greatly appreciated. Not very experienced but did some research and came up with a list.
What is your budget?
No set budget, but I would like to keep it under $1000, but willing to go over if it is worth it. It is more about getting value for money
What is your resolution?
I would like to play on relatively good resolution, looking at 1920x1200 (but that can change). I also want to make sure this PC lasts a while so the GPU will be good for new games that come out.
What are you using it for?
Mainly gaming.
What is your upgrade cycle?
Likely relatively long, usually 2+ years (even 3-4)
When do you plan on building it?
ASAP
Do you plan on overclocking?
No (unless I should – please let me know)
Do you need an Operating System?
I do – where should I get one, just local store?
Do you plan to add a second GPU for SLI or Crossfire?
No (unless I should – please let me know)
Where are you buying your parts from?
I live in downtown Manhattan and should be buying mainly from http://newegg.com.
I did some research and asked friends who had some experience and came up with this list. Please make any modifications/suggestions.
CPU –Intel Core i5-2400 Sandy Bridge 3.1GHz (3.4GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52400
(I heard it’s a decent CPU for its price and works fine)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115074
Motherboard –MSI P67A-G43 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard (x 16)
(Just the motherboard that goes with the CPU)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130583
Ram –Kingston HyperX Blu 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model KHX1600C9AD3B1K2/4G
(Just a cheap 4GB of ram)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104221
GPU –SAPPHIRE 100315L Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity
(Friend told me this is a good GPU for its price and performance)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102908
PSU - Antec EarthWatts EA-500D Green 500W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
(Just chose a 500W power supply)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371035
Case –Antec One Hundred Black ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
(Don’t care about looks, just chose one with 2 fans for better heat sink)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129098
SSD - OCZ Vertex 2 OCZSSD2-2VTX40G 2.5" 40GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
(A SSD for the OS)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227610
HDD - SAMSUNG Spinpoint F4EG HD155UI 1.5TB 5400 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
(Normal hard-drive)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152287
Monitor - Acer V243HAJbd Black 24" 2ms(GTG) Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 ACM 80000:1(1000:1)
(Wanted a relatively large one and just chose 24” and a well recommended one)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009245
CD - SONY Black 18X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model DDU1681S-0B – OEM
(Chose any cheap cd/dvd rom)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118031
Speakers - SpecResearch YT-630 2.0 Speakers
(Chose any cheap speakers)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16836170003
OS – TBD
(Plan to get one from any store/online with the best price)
Mouse – TBD
(Thinking of getting a razor one, friend said I should go to store to test it myself as it is about comfort/performance)
Keyboard – TBD
(Thinking of getting a razor one, friend said I should go to store to test it myself as it is about comfort/performance)
Thanks in advance for the help! Please let me know what changes/addtions/subtractions etc to make!
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Combo the i5-2400 with an optical drive to save a little money:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.679474
You can get the Samsung 470 with free Norton Ghost for the same price. I likewise recommend going up to 64GB. The Samsung 470 has better performance and probably better reliability too:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147124
Cheaper motherboards only come with 2 free SATA cables. You need a SATA cable for each the SSD, HDD, and optical drive, so if you need another, here's one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812123169
Apparently the Antec Neo Eco 400C is going on Shell Shocker later today, down to $30, so that'd be a good option too. (check the front page)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371029
For gaming, on a longer upgrade cycle, I think upgrading to a HD 6870 makes sense, at $175, $155 AMIR.:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102948
The HD 6850 is okay though. It's not a huge difference, but I think it's worth $15 extra:
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/290?vs=291
Note that the idle/noise levels above are referring to the reference design card. Both Sapphire models are not reference and are quieter than the reference HD 6870.
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Thanks a lot guys, I will make the changes! Really appreciate your help.
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You're better building yourself. The core i5 2500k is not within your budget, especially not if you need an operating system.
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It has no dedicated graphics card (using integrated HD Graphics 2000--good luck playing modern games smoothly, even on low settings) and uses a slow hard drive. The i5-2300 is pretty fast and that's about it.
What's the computer going to be used for? Can you get Windows elsewhere, or are you going to have to pay ~$100 for that?
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Sandy bridge build in a176 thread is 500$ for i3. I will have to add a gpu as you guys know, but it seems pretty monstrous otherwise. besides relatively slow hdd what other flaws does this have? What gpu can u recommend max for this PSU? and win 7 is no problem, i have one.
wait it does come with win7 -_-
How slow is variable rpm anyways and can i build something similar for 550$?
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So everything youve listed is roughly around 520. thats great! Is 2500k build approx. 50$ more expensive with p67? Another question if i add that fermi to the pc i posted above will the psu handle it?
Budget is around 550 but i can obviously skip on a few beers if it gets me something i can be proud of 
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i5-2500k build is more like $90 more including a P67/Z68 motherboard and better CPU cooler if you want to overclock significantly.
The Gateway's power supply probably will not be able to handle the GTS 450. Or at least, you wouldn't want to try.
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Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't a radeon 6750 be a better GPU for the same price?
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On August 01 2011 06:35 gdot5 wrote:Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't a radeon 6750 be a better GPU for the same price?
Radeon HD 6750 is same as a HD 5750, which is slightly worse than a GTS 450 (all at stock speeds). However, the HD 5750 power consumption is definitely lower, like 35% lower on load. They're about the same while idling.
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Sir Myrmidon. I hate to bother you as a new user but can you or someone just as knowledgeable provide me with that 2500k build? I have no idea how to pick a proper cooler/gpu thats best bang for a buck etc. I will probably just order today.
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On August 01 2011 06:35 gdot5 wrote:Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't a radeon 6750 be a better GPU for the same price?
The 6750 is just a rebranded 5750 which is worse than a 5770. The latter of which is on par with the GTS 450.
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On August 01 2011 06:48 supaplex wrote:
Sir Myrmidon. I hate to bother you as a new user but can you or someone just as knowledgeable provide me with that 2500k build? I have no idea how to pick a proper cooler/gpu thats best bang for a buck etc. I will probably just order today.
$550 is not enough for a 2500k configuration. A core i5 2500k, P67, and heatsink already adds up to $360.
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thanks good point. So if I like myrmidons build for 2400 does it make sense to get p67 or even h67 instead of h61?
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EPT
