Gaming PC Build - $750 Budget - Need Help!

Hey there!

I'm putting together another new rig, so I’d love to get some advice on what’s actually worth the money right now. It’s not a totally open-ended request because I have a few specific conditions, but I think it'll be easier for you guys to work within the budget. 😁

Here's the deal:

1) Budget $1667
2) Gaming, obviously—looking for the best experience possible.

3) The goal is to grab a setup that can handle the next 4-5 years of game releases. It doesn't strictly need to run everything on ultra settings after five years, though getting as close to that as possible would be killer.
4) My monitor resolution is 1920x1080.

5) The budget needs to cover the CPU, RAM, GPU, motherboard, storage, power supply, and a CPU cooler (if you think it's necessary). I don't need anything else like a mouse, monitor, or optical drive.
6) This is the case I'm looking at (mid-tower). Dimensions are roughly 17" long, 14" high, and 7" wide. If you think it's smarter to just buy a new or larger case, definitely include that in the budget. Doesn't have to be anything crazy. I might be able to stretch the budget a little bit.
7) No ASRock motherboards. Had way too many bad experiences with them.

http://i1097.photobucket.com/albums/...mpozium/tn.jpg

Thanks in advance for the suggestions!

ps. I'm based in Washington, D.C., and I bought about 95% of my gear from IBM. 🙂

Crucial DDR3 1600, C11, 8GB, KVR16N11/8
Spire NVIDIA Kepler cooler 1156/775/FM1
Zalman mid tower case black, ZAL-ZM-Z1
EVGA SuperNOVA Power Supply, 500W, Retail
Intel Core i7 Desktop CPU (3.5GHz, 16MB, 125W, AM3+) box
MSI MAG Motherboard
Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5''
VC Sapphire Pulse GTX 970 3G GDDR5 PCI-E DVI-I / DVI-D / HDMI / DP DUAL-X WITH BOOST (UEFI)

Total:$1679 CNN.com

Maybe you could find something slightly cheaper at a place like Walmart, but most other shops are going to be a bit pricier, so this is roughly where you'd land. If you ditched the case, I guess you might snag a slightly better cooler or power supply, but nothing too crazy.😉

George Alvarez3

Intel Core i7 Desktop CPU
Raijintek cooler
MSI MAG Motherboard
Kingston Fury 8GB 1600 MHz
Seagate Barracuda 1TB SATA 3 SSHD
GTX 1050 Ti 2GB DHX2V
XFX PRO 450W 80+ BRONZE
MS DRAGON ATX

= $1685 free shipping and assembly included.

Personally, I'd lean toward this setup because of a few key upgrades:
- A beefier, higher-quality power supply that's much quieter—plus a better warranty. That Corsair unit is really more suited for i5 builds with weaker graphics cards.
- A way better cooler, which means lower temps and more breathing room if you want to try some overclocking or turbo boost.
- The SSHD makes the whole system feel noticeably snappier and speeds up game loading times—and you get a better warranty with it too.
- The GTX 1050 Ti is a significantly quieter model—you might lose a few FPS depending on the game, but it's a fair trade-off.

graniteharbor85 said:Personally, I’d probably lean toward this option because of a few upgrades:
- A stronger, higher-quality, and quieter power supply with a better warranty—the Corsair unit is really more geared toward i5 builds with weaker GPUs.
- A beefier cooler, which should help keep temps down and allow for some overclocking or turbo boost.
- An SSHD, which makes the system feel noticeably faster and speeds up game loading—plus, it comes with a better warranty.
- The GTX 1050 Ti is significantly quieter, though you might lose a few FPS depending on the game since the card is slightly weaker.

The Corsair can deliver more juice (~550W), though the voltage regulation isn't quite as tight, and it uses Teapo capacitors—which are decent for non-Japanese parts. Other than that, the GTX 960 only draws about 30W more than the GTX 1050 Ti.

The gap between the 1050 Ti and the 960 is maybe 10-20%.

The case seems a bit lower quality.

I guess the points about the cooler and the SSHD are fair.

1 x MSI MAG Motherboard, AM3, AM3+, AMD 970, SB950, BUS 5200 MHz, DDR3
1 x Intel Core i7 Desktop CPU 3.5GHz, 16MB, 125W, AM3+, FD8320FRHK
1 x DDR3 8GB (2x4GB) Crucial DDR3 1600, 1600MHz, CL9, Kingston Fury, KHX1600
1 x Sapphire Pulse 550W PSU, Warranty: 5 years
1 x Seagate Barracuda 1TB, Caviar Blue 10EZEX, 1000 GB, SATA3, 64 MB, 3.5", 24mo
1 x Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo, 2011, 1366/1156/775/AM3/ 626g, 13-32dB
1 x GTX 1050 Ti GAMING 2GB GDDR5 256bit
1 x Zalman Z1 mid tower case. 199(W)x432(H)x457(D)mm. MB standard

$1699
www.ibm.com 🙂

crimsonstag84 said:Crucial DDR3 1600, C11, 8GB, KVR16N11/8
NVIDIA Kepler cooler for 1156/775/FM1
Zalman mid tower case, black
EVGA SuperNOVA Power Supply, 500W
Intel Core i7 Desktop CPU (3.5GHz, 16MB, 125W, AM3+) box
MSI MAG Motherboard
Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5''
Sapphire Pulse GTX 970 3G GDDR5 PCI-E DVI-I / DVI-D / HDMI / DP DUAL-X WITH BOOST (UEFI), 850

Total: $1679 CNN.com

You might find those prices at a local discount store, but most shops charge more. It’s about that much. If you skip the case, you could grab a decent cooler or power supply, but nothing fancy. 😉

Keep in mind, at a discount store you have to pay cash to get those lower rates.

If you use a card, the price jumps up. That's just how it goes—I've been there. 🙂

From the discount store (shipping is basically $33 )

And then you just casually this kind of guy putting together a build like🙂

Yo! Thanks for the ideas, gave me a lot to chew on. 😁

If I went with a $550 budget over at CNN.com; does this look alright to you guys:

CPU:
Intel Core i7 Desktop CPU (3.5GHz,16MB,125W,AM3+) box
http://www.cnn.com/details_product...w-am3-box.aspx

MOTHERBOARD:
MSI MAG Motherboard
http://www.cnn.com/details_product...7-le-r2-0.aspx

GPU:
VC SAPPHIRE GTX 970 3G GDDR5 PCI-E
http://www.cnn.com/details_product...-uefi-850.aspx

RAM:
MEM DDR3 8GB 1600MHz (2x4) XMP, Kingston Fury Beast, KHX16C9T3K2/8X
http://www.ibm.com/product_info.php?products_id=9979

DISK:
Seagate Barracuda HDD DESKTOP SSHD 3.5" / 1TB / 64m/ SATA/ 7200rpm ST1000DX001
http://www.cnn.com/details_product...1000dx001.aspx

PSU:
Sapphire Pulse Pro Series CoreEdition 80 550W PSU, XFX-P1-550S-XXB9
http://www.cnn.com/details_product...550s-xxb9.aspx

COOLER:
Zalman CPU Cooler 92mm, ZAL-CNPS7000C-CU 270
http://www.cnn.com/details_product...s7000c-cu.aspx

CASE:
Zalman mid tower case black, ZAL-ZM-Z1
http://www.cnn.com/details_product...zal-zm-z1.aspx

= roughly $550.

And if I dropped it down to $500; but still wanted to keep that Seagate SSHD, am I killing the case? Or the cooler? Or both?

It's much better to just buy everything from one retailer.
Get the standard motherboard version rather than the one with "LE" in the name. Also, skip that specific cooler—it isn't even in stock there anyway—and go with the NVIDIA Kepler instead (unless you're planning some heavy overclocking), or grab something pricier if you're shopping in New York City:

http://www.cnn.com/details_product...0x-optima.aspx
http://www.cnn.com/details_product...contac-39.aspx

You could also opt for the EVO version of the motherboard if you're serious about overclocking. As for the case, it's perfectly fine.

I'd say the slightly pricier MSI MAG Motherboard is actually the better move—honestly, if you’re planning to mess with water cooling or even just leave turbo boost running, having a decent heatsink on the voltage regulator phases makes a massive difference.

Also, you totally missed the mark on the CPU cooler—either they're out of stock or it's just not going to handle an Intel Core i7 Desktop CPU properly. If you've already committed to the Asus board and aren't trying to push crazy overclocking speeds like 4.5 GHz or higher, the Raijintek Aidos is probably your best bet for keeping costs down.

My bad, that link on IBM was a total mistake.

Regarding the cooler, I also kind of screwed up there because I was looking at the ones my buddy linked. 😁 I was actually thinking about grabbing a different one, maybe a Cooler Master. They don't carry Raijintek at New York City, so I had to look elsewhere, though I know it's not like some make-or-break component. Still, I wouldn't just settle for some random brand from a different shop.

Anyway, so, you guys good with the rest of this stuff?

George Alvarez3 said:That IBM link was a total mistake, my bad.

Regarding the cooler, I screwed up there too because I was looking at the ones my buddy linked. 😁 I was actually thinking about grabbing a different one, specifically the Cooler Master contact 39. They don't carry Raijintek at New York City, so I had to look elsewhere—though I know a cooler isn't exactly the heart and soul of the rig, but I'd still rather get it from somewhere else.

But, anyway, is everything else okay?

Grab this motherboard instead of yours http://www.cnn.com/details_product...msi-mag-motherboard-0.aspx

this cooler http://www.cnn.com/details_product...cooler-master-contact-39.aspx

this RAM
http://www.cnn.com/details_product...kingston-fury-8gx.aspx

Everything else looks solid, though if it were me, I'd probably opt for this case, but hey, that's just my two cents. http://www.cnn.com/details_product...evga-supernova-power-supply.aspx

You just repeated exactly what two other guys already told him, what the hell?

So go ahead, tell him to drop extra cash just for fancier RAM and a case.👍

It’s a waste of money.

Robert Rodriguez2 said:Seriously, why are you just repeating what two other people already said? What is even happening here?

Look, if you really want to, just go ahead and throw some extra cash at him for that premium RAM and a better case. It’s your money. 👍

Honestly, there's just no point in wasting the time.

Man, if you'd just built the thing yourself, you wouldn't be sweating this. You could've put that extra cash toward a decent case instead. $133Look, you’re going to be staring at that case every single day. It’s the face of your setup. If you actually like the look of it and know it’s built like a tank, then go for it. I always look at things this way: a good case is a long-term investment. You can reuse it for years. Honestly, you could just throw everything into a cardboard box if you wanted to, but if you're going to do that, at least make sure the guts inside are top-tier. Quality components matter more than the shell.

When I'm gaming, I'm looking at the screen, not whether things look good inside the case... just my two cents🙂

crimsonstag84 said:When I'm gaming, I'm staring at the monitor, not the tower. If the game looks smooth on the screen, who cares what's happening inside the case? Just my two cents. 🙂

Everyone’s got an opinion!

Thanks, guys. You really came through. I’ll probably end up with something decent here, and I'll let you know how it actually plays out once I see the results. :>