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xrobertcmx
Premium Member
join:2001-06-18
White Plains, MD

xrobertcmx to signmeuptoo94

Premium Member

to signmeuptoo94

Re: Need help building a desktop gaming computer

$700? I think it could be done and done well.
$189 for the FX-8350
$149 GTX 650 ti (EVGA) -$10 rebate
$89 GA-970A-D3 motherboard -$10 rebate
$48.99 Crucial Ballistix 8GB (2x4GB)
$69.99 CORSAIR Builder Series CX600 -$20 rebate ($57.99 at amazon, but no rebate.)
$56.99 SilverStone Precision case (Amazon is the same and ships free)
$39.99 LG Black 10X BD-ROM 16X
$49.25 Noctua Ultra Silent CPU Cooler at Amazon.
Total $692.21 and $40 in rebates that I hate so I don't include them in the the total.
This build would be somewhat akin to what I use, I have a higher end motherboard, an Antec P180 case, and a HD6870 graphics card, but the TI I played with at a friends house seemed smoother in Skyrim.
Would still need Windows, 7 is $89.99 at Amazon or $99.99 at NewEgg. Switch to a standard DVD-Rom (, lose the cooler to go stock, won't be as quiet but that would give us a bit. A Rosewill power supply will save $20 and be reliable...and thus Windows is paid for. Pick up the Noctua or similar CPU cooler next paycheck.

Krisnatharok
PC Builder, Gamer
Premium Member
join:2009-02-11
Earth Orbit

Krisnatharok

Premium Member

said by xrobertcmx:

$700? I think it could be done and done well.
$189 for the FX-8350
$149 GTX 650 ti (EVGA) -$10 rebate
$89 GA-970A-D3 motherboard -$10 rebate
$48.99 Crucial Ballistix 8GB (2x4GB)
$69.99 CORSAIR Builder Series CX600 -$20 rebate ($57.99 at amazon, but no rebate.)
$56.99 SilverStone Precision case (Amazon is the same and ships free)
$39.99 LG Black 10X BD-ROM 16X
$49.25 Noctua Ultra Silent CPU Cooler at Amazon.
Total $692.21 and $40 in rebates that I hate so I don't include them in the the total.
This build would be somewhat akin to what I use, I have a higher end motherboard, an Antec P180 case, and a HD6870 graphics card, but the TI I played with at a friends house seemed smoother in Skyrim.
Would still need Windows, 7 is $89.99 at Amazon or $99.99 at NewEgg. Switch to a standard DVD-Rom (, lose the cooler to go stock, won't be as quiet but that would give us a bit. A Rosewill power supply will save $20 and be reliable...and thus Windows is paid for. Pick up the Noctua or similar CPU cooler next paycheck.



That build is not realistic because
1) it's in USD, not CAD as the OP the requested
2) It's using an AMD chip that is as expensive as the i5-3570k but performs much, much more slowly--read up in the thread for the AMD vs. Intel discussion.
3) PSU is way oversized for this build (OP only needs a 400-500w)
4) The CPU cooler is overpriced and won't perform as well as the $20 CM Hyper 212+
5) No room for the BD drive considering the budget (which this drastically overshoots if you try to recreate it on a Canadian site with CAD prices), and you should always have a burner in your rig, so that would add another $20 to the cost

Just my thoughts.
xrobertcmx
Premium Member
join:2001-06-18
White Plains, MD

xrobertcmx

Premium Member

Well now, don't I feel foolish. I do tend to read before I post, but I missed the bus on this one. That LG doesn't burn. My old Samsung BD-Rom does, and Canadians are getting gouged. Looking at NewEgg.ca now.
For the rest I will grant you all but 2 points, and up it in that I forgot a hard drive. Blame it on a lack of coffee this morning.
The two points in question though are that cooler master has delivered a mixed level of quality. I've had good luck with their cases over the last 10 years, but their coolers have been a bit loud. With Noctua I've seen better results as far as noise levels go.
The other is CPU performance. I own the FX-8350, it looks to about $5 cheaper then the i5-3870k on newegg.ca so that is negligable and the i5 will be more power efficient. However as most folks put the machines to sleep I never worry about that except in something like my home server or htpc's. (Pentium w/Nvidea or A4)
Looking at benchmarks we have a mixed bag, it frequently meets or exceeds the i5, but it does so most often in multi-threaded applications. Going forward this will be important, more and more software is multi-threaded, and this is increasingly becoming the case with games. I upgrade the CPU about every 2 years, I know most people don't, so looking at the two options I couldn't see recommending an i3 or an i5 if down the road it might be the weaker of the two.
xrobertcmx

xrobertcmx to Krisnatharok

Premium Member

to Krisnatharok
Your right on the PSU, I would probably drop in a 430/500. That would lower the price a bit too.

Krisnatharok
PC Builder, Gamer
Premium Member
join:2009-02-11
Earth Orbit

Krisnatharok to xrobertcmx

Premium Member

to xrobertcmx
said by xrobertcmx:

The other is CPU performance. I own the FX-8350, it looks to about $5 cheaper then the i5-3870k on newegg.ca so that is negligable and the i5 will be more power efficient. However as most folks put the machines to sleep I never worry about that except in something like my home server or htpc's. (Pentium w/Nvidea or A4)
Looking at benchmarks we have a mixed bag, it frequently meets or exceeds the i5, but it does so most often in multi-threaded applications. Going forward this will be important, more and more software is multi-threaded, and this is increasingly becoming the case with games. I upgrade the CPU about every 2 years, I know most people don't, so looking at the two options I couldn't see recommending an i3 or an i5 if down the road it might be the weaker of the two.

I don't have time for a full response here, but this is just incorrect for gaming, on both the cooler and CPU front.

The CM Hyper 212+ is universally recognized as the most efficient aftermarket cooler, and takes the crown in terms of bang for buck. You can always replace the stock fan (I prefer Noctuas or Yate Loons), but the heatsink is top-notch.

Please read up on »Re: Need help building a desktop gaming computer

The i5-3570K is an insanely powerful CPU and can be overclocked easily. Even at stock speeds, it blows away everything AMD regardless of price point. But none of that matters because the OP is squarely in the "$120" price range for his CPU.

Check out the link in the Tom's comparative article for more information.

At the $120 pricepoint, I could see you going for an FX-4170, but that is the *only* pricepoint an AMD chip is viable.
xrobertcmx
Premium Member
join:2001-06-18
White Plains, MD

xrobertcmx

Premium Member

I did read what you linked to, and I did pay attention to that. I also noted that was Zambezi vs Ivy. Given the price point though, there is no real option, it had to be the i3. That said, the OP bought what he bought, and I wish him luck and hope it works out. Given the spec's it should do a good job.

The CM does look good, reminds me of an Antec I have sitting in the lab. Silent PC didn't like the stock fan but seems to give it a good review. I might have to look into that next time I need one.

I've read the articles, reviews, etc... Sandy, Ivy and I am sure Haswell too, have incredible single threaded performance at their given speeds and I love their power usage. I just can't get away from the simple fact that AMD gives you better multi-threaded performance over all 4 modules at the price point they live at. I've seen it, tested it, and used it. This is why I own one. I also own an i5 laptop instead of trinity, but I use an A10-5700 in my server, and a pentium dual core in one of my htpc's.