• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EDT 08:42
CEST 14:42
KST 21:42
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Calendar
  • Streams
  • Liquipedia
  • Features
  • Store
  • EPT
  • TL+
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Smash
  • Heroes
  • Counter-Strike
  • Overwatch
  • Liquibet
  • Fantasy StarCraft
  • TLPD
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Blogs
Forum Sidebar
Events/Features
News
Featured News
[ASL21] Ro4 Preview: On Course12Code S Season 1 - RO8 Preview7[ASL21] Ro8 Preview Pt2: Progenitors8Code S Season 1 - RO12 Group A: Rogue, Percival, Solar, Zoun13[ASL21] Ro8 Preview Pt1: Inheritors16
Community News
Weekly Cups (May 4-10): Clem, MaxPax, herO win1Maestros of The Game 2 announcement and schedule !10Weekly Cups (April 27-May 4): Clem takes triple0RSL Revival: Season 5 - Qualifiers and Main Event12Code S Season 1 (2026) - RO12 Results1
StarCraft 2
General
MaNa leaves Team Liquid Weekly Cups (May 4-10): Clem, MaxPax, herO win Code S Season 1 - RO8 Preview Behind the Blue - Team Liquid History Book Weekly Cups (April 27-May 4): Clem takes triple
Tourneys
2026 GSL Season 2 Qualifiers Maestros of The Game 2 announcement and schedule ! SC2 INu's Battles#16 <BO.9> Master Swan Open (Global Bronze-Master 2) GSL Code S Season 1 (2026)
Strategy
Custom Maps
[D]RTS in all its shapes and glory <3 [A] Nemrods 1/4 players
External Content
Mutation # 525 Wheel of Misfortune The PondCast: SC2 News & Results Mutation # 524 Death and Taxes Mutation # 523 Firewall
Brood War
General
(Spoiler) Interview ASL Ro4 Day 2 Winner Flashes ASL S21 Ro8 Review ASL Tickets to Live Event Finals? Pros React To: Leta vs Tulbo (ASL S21, Ro.8) BW General Discussion
Tourneys
[ASL21] Semifinals B [ASL21] Semifinals A [Megathread] Daily Proleagues [BSL22] RO16 Group Stage - 02 - 10 May
Strategy
[G] Hydra ZvZ: An Introduction Simple Questions, Simple Answers Fighting Spirit mining rates Muta micro map competition
Other Games
General Games
Starcraft Tabletop Miniature Game Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread PC Games Sales Thread Path of Exile
Dota 2
The Story of Wings Gaming
League of Legends
Heroes of the Storm
Simple Questions, Simple Answers Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Deck construction bug Heroes of StarCraft mini-set
TL Mafia
Vanilla Mini Mafia Mafia Game Mode Feedback/Ideas TL Mafia Community Thread Five o'clock TL Mafia
Community
General
US Politics Mega-thread Russo-Ukrainian War Thread UK Politics Mega-thread YouTube Thread European Politico-economics QA Mega-thread
Fan Clubs
The IdrA Fan Club
Media & Entertainment
Anime Discussion Thread [Manga] One Piece [Req][Books] Good Fantasy/SciFi books
Sports
2024 - 2026 Football Thread McBoner: A hockey love story Formula 1 Discussion
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
streaming software Strange computer issues (software) [G] How to Block Livestream Ads
TL Community
The Automated Ban List
Blogs
How EEG Data Can Predict Gam…
TrAiDoS
ramps on octagon
StaticNine
Funny Nicknames
LUCKY_NOOB
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 1334 users

Help first time builder flexible $500-$700 Budget!

Forum Index > Tech Support
Post a Reply
dyepaintball088
Profile Joined March 2011
United States44 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-11-12 06:53:14
November 10 2011 05:47 GMT
#1
Looking for help as I am a first time builder. Looking to spend about $500 - $700, not super firm on the budget though. I will put a basic build up but please be kind as I know it will not be compatible most likely, but it is somewhere to start with.

If you do post criticism, or better items please post why so I can understand better.

I am also reading from the...
+ Show Spoiler +
Computer Build Resource Thread:http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=137554
and the....
Optimized Gaming Computer Build Thread: http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=271861
...as guides.


I will be using the computer for day to day things, like school, work, internet, watching streams, VOD's, and playing games of course. SC2 1v1 and customs, I will most likely be getting BF3 and other FPS's after. So I need it to be able to keep up with all of that. I also would not like to need to fix/upgrade for a long while after It is completed. Having the computer last for the longest possible time would also be great, 3-5 years at top performance.

I do not know if I will be overclocking or not, as I do not fully understand what kind of actions would cause this to happen or if it is good, neutral or bad.

I also would like to keep it all on one site but if you know of another site it is cheaper on and/or upcoming deals on the item as I am looking to purchase most of it on or around black Friday/cyber Monday weekend.

I have a mouse, keyboard and I can handle the OS. I also will most likely be continuing to use my 32" LED TV as my monitor if that makes any difference. If that changed I would be going to some kind of smaller dual monitor setup. So probably full resolution, 1920x1080. Also I am not particular If I am running on ULTRA or not If I am above my current all low settings on SC2 and future BF3 I would be happy, Medium and High would be cool though . As long as I am not dropping frames and lagging.

On to the build:

I am pretty much going to copy the Special Mid $600 Build from the previously cited Optimized Gaming Computer Build Thread above. Just so I have some where to start from. Besides the case because I believe If I am going to put so much time, research and work into something It should get a better look than a cheap plain black case.

EDIT 11/12
Alright heres where im at now.

[image loading]

+

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Seagate - Barracuda 1TB Internal Serial ATA Hard Drive/8490625.p?id=1186003683968&skuId=8490625

If you have any sugg for changes please post direct links.
Thanks!
CharlieBrownsc
Profile Blog Joined December 2010
Canada598 Posts
November 10 2011 06:00 GMT
#2
That build from the optimized gaming thread is very solid, especially for your needs, although that hard drive is now 2.5 times the price (flooding in thailand). So it'll be more than $600

SC2 ID: CharlieBrown.318, #1 bitbybit.Prime fan
dyepaintball088
Profile Joined March 2011
United States44 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-11-10 06:06:54
November 10 2011 06:05 GMT
#3
Hmm Thanks, do you think that the deals on/around Black Friday will bring items affected by that lower than waiting for prices to come back down after that is over.

Edit: I like the #1 Bitbybit.prime fan sig haha.
dhe95
Profile Blog Joined December 2008
United States1213 Posts
November 10 2011 06:28 GMT
#4
It depends on when you need the computer. Black friday probably won't save you as much money as waiting for the usually $40 hard drive to drop from $100 back to its usual price, but it could take a while for hard drive prices to return to normal.
Shikyo
Profile Blog Joined June 2008
Finland33997 Posts
November 10 2011 11:42 GMT
#5
At this point in time it'd probably be beneficial for you to skip the HDD and instead buy a small capacity SSD(60-64gb) and try to get by with that and perhaps your old HDD. 64GB isn't terribly little and it might be enough if you don't download a ton of stuff and remember to uninstall programs you don't need. When the HDD prices drop back to ~60$ for 1TB you can go buy one of those and then you'll have a really nice SSD too.

What's wrong with a cheap, plain black case? =P Raidmaxes suck balls so they're definitely not recommended and the low-end NZXTs have some problems as well.

What's wrong with HAF 912 at 50$? It at least isn't plain...

With your budget and the current situation I still would probably go with a H61 board and a i5 2400, that way you can save about 75$ and use the extra to upgrade into something like GTX 560 Ti.
League of Legends EU West, Platinum III | Yousei Teikoku is the best thing that has ever happened to music.
skyR
Profile Joined July 2009
Canada13817 Posts
November 10 2011 12:45 GMT
#6
Why do you have the HAF 912 listed twice and two Radeon HD6870s listed in your third spoiler?

Purchasing a $210 6870, especially XFX is beyond stupid since it's not even pre-overclocked and the heatsink is no better than the less expensive Windforce, Twin Frozr II, and DirectCu.
Shikyo
Profile Blog Joined June 2008
Finland33997 Posts
November 10 2011 12:54 GMT
#7
Especially as XFX has the loudest 6870 cooler -.-
League of Legends EU West, Platinum III | Yousei Teikoku is the best thing that has ever happened to music.
dyepaintball088
Profile Joined March 2011
United States44 Posts
November 10 2011 21:24 GMT
#8
UPDATED, will do second update to MOBO, graphics card and HDD later.
dyepaintball088
Profile Joined March 2011
United States44 Posts
November 11 2011 00:43 GMT
#9
UPDATED Graphics card and HDD.
Wabbit
Profile Joined August 2010
United States1028 Posts
November 11 2011 15:56 GMT
#10
You said:
"I do not know if I will be overclocking or not, as I do not fully understand what kind of actions would cause this to happen or if it is good, neutral or bad."

But you have a more expensive motherboard than you probably need, has Z68 chipset which is for overclocking (and other things which you probably won't use).

Also you don't need a 600W PSU for that system. One of these lower-priced (but still high-quality) will do:
XFX Core 450: http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=63238&vpn=P1450SX2B9&manufacture=XFX
Corsair CX500v2: http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0361422
The answers to most of your Tech Support questions are in the OP. That's why you're not getting a reply. It's been answered before. Read the OP.
dyepaintball088
Profile Joined March 2011
United States44 Posts
November 11 2011 19:24 GMT
#11
So what should I get a H61 or H67?
RaKooNs
Profile Joined March 2011
United Kingdom397 Posts
November 11 2011 19:38 GMT
#12
If you are not overclocking or running any kind of extremely high end graphics card then a anything above ~500W is overkill.
If you don't drop sweat today, you will drop tears tomorrow - SlayerS_MMA
Wabbit
Profile Joined August 2010
United States1028 Posts
November 11 2011 19:54 GMT
#13
On November 12 2011 04:24 dyepaintball088 wrote:
So what should I get a H61 or H67?


That's up to you mate. If you have the budget and want the extra features (extra USB2, maybe USB3, Sata3, more PCI-e x1 slots, etc etc whatever the more expensive mobo's offer) go for H67 otherwise save $ and get H61. H61 vs H67 chipset won't affect CPU & GPU performance. Only P67 and Z68 allow for CPU overclocking.
The answers to most of your Tech Support questions are in the OP. That's why you're not getting a reply. It's been answered before. Read the OP.
Shikyo
Profile Blog Joined June 2008
Finland33997 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-11-11 20:46:40
November 11 2011 20:45 GMT
#14
change the mobo to h61 with the features you want. that one asrock mobo is good for usb3 and sata6 at like 70$

You can order BitFenix Merc from their homepage for like 40$, I'd bite.

The PSU is overkill, get a decent 350-400w model
League of Legends EU West, Platinum III | Yousei Teikoku is the best thing that has ever happened to music.
dyepaintball088
Profile Joined March 2011
United States44 Posts
November 12 2011 06:36 GMT
#15
Alright heres where im at now.

[image loading]

+

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Seagate - Barracuda 1TB Internal Serial ATA Hard Drive/8490625.p?id=1186003683968&skuId=8490625

If you have any sugg for changes please post direct links.
Coffeerage
Profile Joined December 2010
United States27 Posts
November 12 2011 23:54 GMT
#16
i would recommend 2 things.

first, get a 450-500 watt psu. Yes, your build can run on a 400-430 watt, however, the capacitors do age and wear out, losing some watt output; over 5 years, you might only loose 5-10% of your wattage capacity, but its better to have a buffer to prevent shortages.

also, the ripjaws are a great set of ram, however, i never liked ram that has such large heatsinks. sometimes the heatsinks on the ram can get in the way of the heatsink/fan on the cpu. Use a low profile heatsink ram, either one of these is fine:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145315
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231417
Womwomwom
Profile Blog Joined September 2009
5930 Posts
November 13 2011 02:39 GMT
#17
I'd get 500W just for the two PCIe plugs.
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
CranKy Ducklings
10:00
Master Swan Open #103
CranKy Ducklings100
LiquipediaDiscussion
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
Lowko358
ProTech136
StarCraft: Brood War
Britney 56007
Calm 6625
Sea 4141
Bisu 2417
BeSt 1559
Jaedong 1230
Horang2 956
EffOrt 549
Mini 341
Rush 226
[ Show more ]
Larva 205
Snow 148
ggaemo 123
Soulkey 96
Mind 93
hero 62
Hyun 59
HiyA 52
Aegong 45
[sc1f]eonzerg 39
Mong 36
Sharp 33
sorry 25
Sexy 25
soO 19
Movie 18
GoRush 17
Hm[arnc] 16
Bale 15
Shine 14
IntoTheRainbow 12
JulyZerg 10
Icarus 8
scan(afreeca) 8
SilentControl 8
Terrorterran 7
NotJumperer 5
Dota 2
XcaliburYe324
Counter-Strike
olofmeister3339
shoxiejesuss1388
markeloff144
Other Games
singsing2269
B2W.Neo796
Beastyqt593
hiko355
Happy289
Pyrionflax161
monkeys_forever155
ToD125
crisheroes124
DeMusliM117
QueenE68
fpsfer 1
Organizations
Counter-Strike
PGL23490
StarCraft 2
IntoTheiNu 893
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
[ Show 14 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• CranKy Ducklings SOOP15
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• intothetv
• Kozan
• IndyKCrew
• LaughNgamezSOOP
• Migwel
• sooper7s
StarCraft: Brood War
• BSLYoutube
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
League of Legends
• Nemesis4008
• Jankos1038
Other Games
• WagamamaTV363
Upcoming Events
PiGosaur Cup
11h 18m
Replay Cast
20h 18m
Replay Cast
1d 11h
The PondCast
1d 21h
OSC
1d 21h
Replay Cast
2 days
RSL Revival
2 days
OSC
3 days
Korean StarCraft League
3 days
RSL Revival
3 days
[ Show More ]
BSL
4 days
GSL
4 days
Cure vs herO
SHIN vs Maru
BSL
5 days
Replay Cast
5 days
Replay Cast
6 days
The PondCast
6 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

Proleague 2026-05-11
WardiTV TLMC #16
Nations Cup 2026

Ongoing

BSL Season 22
ASL Season 21
IPSL Spring 2026
KCM Race Survival 2026 Season 2
Acropolis #4
KK 2v2 League Season 1
BSL 22 Non-Korean Championship
SCTL 2026 Spring
RSL Revival: Season 5
2026 GSL S1
Asian Champions League 2026
IEM Atlanta 2026
PGL Astana 2026
BLAST Rivals Spring 2026
IEM Rio 2026
PGL Bucharest 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 1
BLAST Open Spring 2026
ESL Pro League S23 Finals
ESL Pro League S23 Stage 1&2

Upcoming

Escore Tournament S2: W7
YSL S3
Escore Tournament S2: W8
CSLAN 4
Kung Fu Cup 2026 Grand Finals
HSC XXIX
uThermal 2v2 2026 Main Event
Maestros of the Game 2
2026 GSL S2
BLAST Bounty Summer 2026: Closed Qualifier
Stake Ranked Episode 3
XSE Pro League 2026
IEM Cologne Major 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 2
CS Asia Championships 2026
TLPD

1. ByuN
2. TY
3. Dark
4. Solar
5. Stats
6. Nerchio
7. sOs
8. soO
9. INnoVation
10. Elazer
1. Rain
2. Flash
3. EffOrt
4. Last
5. Bisu
6. Soulkey
7. Mini
8. Sharp
Sidebar Settings...

Advertising | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use | Contact Us

Original banner artwork: Jim Warren
The contents of this webpage are copyright © 2026 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.