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

1 edit

Krisnatharok

Premium Member

[Parts Check] Proposed student/light gaming build

A relative wants a desktop for his 14yo son, capable of light gaming. He specified a desktop form factor so the kid could not pick it up and move it into his room where he's not supervised. I think the father is underestimating teenage deviousness, but whatever, that's not my arena.

I'm glad the Ivy Bridge i3 has dropped, as I am interested to see how it performs.

The only thing that stopped me from going for an SSD in this is the light gaming requirement--if the kid puts a couple games on it, I don't want a 120 GB SSD (equivalent in price to a 1TB MHDD) to fill up and slow to a crawl.

Anyways, have at it and recommend better components--I admittedly splurged a tad on the KB/mouse as I don't want to purchase $10 OEM components that break in a couple months.

I am probably the least happy with the cost of the HDD, and a little unsure of the video card considering its $100 price-tag. Please let me know if you have better alternatives.

OS: Owned (Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64Bit, English)
CPU: Intel Core i3-3220 3.3GHz LGA 1155 Dual-Core (3MB Cache, 3.3GHz) - $130
Mobo: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 - $115
Memory: GeIL EVO Veloce Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 - Free with mobo
GPU: PowerColor AX7750 1GBD5-DH Radeon HD 7750 1GB - $107
HDD: Western Digital WD Blue WD10EZEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB - $87
PSU: COOLER MASTER GX 450W RS450-ACAAD3-US 450W (Bronze/Active PFC) - $27 after MIR/rebates
ODD: ASUS 24X DVD Burner - $25
Case: COOLER MASTER Elite 431 Plus RC-431P-KWN2 - $30 (after MIR/discount)
Monitor: Acer S201HLbd Black 20" 5ms LED-Backlight LCD monitor 1600x900 - $109
Keyboard: Microsoft SIDEWINDER X4 Keyboard - $50
Mouse: Logitech G400 Black 8 Buttons 1 x Wheel USB Wired Optical - $35
Wifi/Networking: TP-LINK TL-WN722N Wireless Adapter High Gain IEEE 802.11b/g/n USB 2.0 - $25
Total shipped: $740

pnjunction
Teksavvy Extreme
Premium Member
join:2008-01-24
Toronto, ON

pnjunction

Premium Member

Given how much power the ivy bridge i3's are packing the GPU is the bottleneck in these systems. I think you could go up to a 7770 for only about $20 more.

Not sure if there is a better option than that for under $150. The vanilla geforce 650 seems to be weaker and the 650 ti while more powerful gets up to about $150, though it does look like the best buy at that price right now.

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

Krisnatharok

Premium Member

Looks like I might pick up the CPU at Microcenter for $30 off, and pick up the 7770 with the money saved.

Raible
join:2008-01-23
Plainfield, IN

Raible to Krisnatharok

Member

to Krisnatharok
Suggesting a cheaper mobo is my thing, but getting $45 or so worth of RAM with it makes that a nice choice. Everything else looks pretty solid.

Are you on budget?

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

1 edit

Krisnatharok

Premium Member

That deal expired, and the mobos being offered with RAM now are not Asrock but Gigabyte/MSI/Biostar.

Instead of switching mobos, I went with the Asrock Z75 Pro3 ($85) and G.Skill Ripjaws X 2x 4GB 1600 ($35), so I am still paying roughly the same amount.

»www.newegg.com/Product/P ··· 13157304

»www.newegg.com/Product/P ··· 20144614

And to answer your question, yes, this is a budget rig.

Edit: Some really good deals going on right now: »promotions.newegg.com/NE ··· -_-promo
Krisnatharok

Krisnatharok

Premium Member

Final build. He had asked me to go through Newegg for everything, then later changed and said he'd pick the CPU up from Microcenter as it is $30 cheaper.

OS: Owned (Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64Bit, English)
CPU: Intel Core i3-3220 3.3GHz LGA 1155 Dual-Core (3MB Cache, 3.3GHz) - $100
Mobo: ASRock Z75 Pro3 LGA 1155 Intel Z75 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard - $85
Memory: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 - $35
GPU: SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition OC 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 - $115
HDD: Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" - $70
PSU: COOLER MASTER GX 450W RS450-ACAAD3-US 450W (Bronze/Active PFC) - $27 after MIR/rebates
ODD: ASUS 24X DVD Burner - $25
Case: COOLER MASTER Elite 431 Plus RC-431P-KWN2 - $30 (after MIR/discount)
Wifi/Networking: TP-LINK TL-WN722N Wireless Adapter High Gain IEEE 802.11b/g/n USB 2.0 - $25
PC sub-total: $515

Monitor: Acer G215HVAbd Black 21.5" 5ms Full HD WideScreen LCD Monitor 1920x1080 - $109
Keyboard: Microsoft SIDEWINDER X4 Keyboard - $50
Mouse: Logitech G400 Black 8 Buttons 1 x Wheel USB Wired Optical - $35
Peripherals sub-total: $194

Total w/tax & shipping: $710

Not bad for Ivy bridge i3, 8GB ram, 1TB HDD, and Radeon 7770.