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Kimberly Gomez34 said:To get any real overclocking done, you’re going to need a pricey Z97 motherboard, plus a little extra effort and a decent aftermarket cooler. Otherwise, if you aren't planning on tinkering with it, just stick to a standard Pentium and call it a day...
Looking at the Intel LGA 1155 platform—I think this gives you the best bang for your buck initially (it's also overclocking-ready within this budget)—BUT you won't have much room to upgrade your CPU later on this specific socket compared to an AM3+ setup or a 1150 build (where you could jump to an FX 6300/83xx or even an i3, i5, or i7). If you don't care about future upgrades and just want to ride this setup for years, it's a solid choice.
1 x Spire Pascal Architecture cooler, 1156/775/FM1, 96.5×51×125 mm, 92mm
1 x DDR3 4GB (1x4GB) Crucial, 1600MHz CL11
1 x EVGA 300W PSU, HEXA 400, 12cm fan, Passive PFC
1 x MSI Gaming Series Case, no PSU
1 x Asrock Intel X99, DDR3
1 x Intel Core i3-3220 3.40GHz 4cores
1 x Seagate Barracuda 1TB, Caviar Blue 10EZEX, 1000 GB, SATA3, 64 MB, 3.5", 24mj
1 x Sapphire R7 260X 1GB GDDR5 OC, 1GB GDDR5 128bit, 28nm
$1028
Basically, the i3-3220 performs similarly to a high-end older quad-core in gaming, and it's unlocked if you feel like pushing it.
If you'd rather go with a 750Ti graphics card, you can make that work with some adjustments (using a cheaper motherboard, a 500GB drive, and the i3-3220).
1 x Spire Pascal Architecture cooler, 1156/775/FM1, 96.5×51×125 mm, 92mm
1 x DDR3 4GB (1x4GB) Crucial, 1600MHz CL11
1 x EVGA 300W PSU, HEXA 400, 12cm fan, Passive PFC
1 x MSI GeForce GTX 750 Ti Gaming 2GB GDDR5, N750Ti TF 2GD5/OC Gaming
1 x MSI Gaming Series Case, no PSU
1 x Intel Core i3-3220 3.40GHz 4cores
1 x Seagate Barracuda 500GB, 7200rpm, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB
1 x ASUS A78M-E, Intel LGA 1155 Socket A78 Chipset MB
$1043 — Or, if you're looking toward the future, you could swap in an Inno3D 750Ti, an ASUS A78M-E, a Corsair VS Series power supply, and an MSI Gaming Series case...
Wait, where did you even put this together? I'm asking because it's super important to me whether this is a pre-built option from a retail store or what.
Hey, thanks so much for such an incredibly thorough and deep dive into this. I have to admit, that third option jumped out at me as the most interesting right from the start, but you can never be too careful and it’s always better to double-check, right?
To be honest, though, that whole overclocking thing is really messing with my head because I've heard through the grapevine that this processor is an absolute beast when it comes to pushing those clock speeds, but I have never—and I mean never—actually done it in my life, and I am terrified I'll just end up bricking the whole thing. If I decide to play it safe, skip the overclocking entirely, and just leave everything exactly as it is out of the box, is it still going to be a solid performer or am I just wasting my time...?
Hey everyone! So, I was hanging out on this other tech forum recently and asked if anyone could help me put together a decent build for $1000. Well, I ended up getting three different suggestions from people there, and now I’m sitting here wondering what you guys think about them—like, looking at these from an outsider's perspective, which one of these paths actually makes sense? Which one would be the smartest move if you were in my shoes?
Option 1:
Intel Core i5-2500K, 2.6GHz, 65W, 8MB, Socket LGA 1156
MSI AM3+ Motherboard
6GB (2+4GB) Kingston DDR3 1600MHz
Seagate Barracuda HDD, 1TB, 7200rpm, SATA 6, 64M
R7 260X 2G GDDR5 PCI-E HDMI / DVI-I / DP OC VERSION, 1050MHz / 1500MHz, 128-bit, 2 slot active, MSI Gaming Series
LITE ON IHAS122 DVD-RW 22x Super Multi, SATA, Black, Bulk
MS GRIFFIN case + EVGA 300W PSU, bulk
Xilence case cooler 80×80×25mm, black (3-pin Molex + 4-pin)
Price: $1009
Option 2:
Intel Core i5-2500K, 3GHz, 125W, 8MB, Socket LGA 1156
Spire Pascal Architecture
Patriot Signature DDR3 1600Mhz, 4GB, CL11
Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3P, AM3
Desktop HDD Seagate Barracuda (3.5", 500GB, 32MB, SATA III-600)
R7 260X 2GB GDDR5 PCI-E HDMI / DVI-I / DP OC VERSION, 1050MHz / 1500MHz, 128-bit, 2 slot active, MSI Gaming Series
MS PHOENIX case without PSU
Corsair VS Series, 500W, 1x120, BlackRock
LITE ON IHAS122 DVD-RW 22x Super Multi, SATA, Black, Bulk
Price: $1067
Option 3
Intel Core i3-4130 (3.2GHz, 3MB, LGA1150) box
ASUS A78M-E Motherboard
MSI GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB GDDR5
Patriot Signature DDR3 1600Mhz, 4GB, CL11
Seagate Barracuda HDD, 1TB, 7200rpm, SATA 6, 64M
MS GRIFFIN case + EVGA 300W PSU, bulk
LITE ON IHAS122 DVD-RW 22x Super Multi, SATA, Black, Bulk
Price: $1005