Core i5 build $1k budget

[tvguide123]

Hey guys I'm building a PC for my friend with these parts. Was looking for some input. Thanks!


Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB 7200RPM 32MB Dual Proc 3.5IN Sata Hard Drive Oem 5YR Mfg Warranty
$69.75

Powercolor Radeon HD 5850 1GB GDDR5 2XDVI HDMI Display Port DIRECTX11 PCI-E Video Card W/ DIRT2
$275.60

Gigabyte P55-UD3R ATX LGA1156 P55 DDR3 2PCI-E 4PCI SATA2 RAID Sound GLAN Motherboard
$140.14

Intel Core i5 750 Quad Core Processor Lynnfield LGA1156 2.66GHZ 8MB Cache Retail Box
$237.05

OCZ StealthXStream 700W ATX12V 20/24PIN Active PFC ATX Power Supply 120MM Fan Black
$88.03

Samsung SH-S223B/BEBE 22X DVD+-RW SATA DVD Writer Black OEM
$31.90

Scythe Slip Stream Kaze Jyuni 120MM Fan 1200RPM 68.5CFM 24DBA
$6.24

Antec Three Hundred Mini Tower Gaming Case 300 Atx 3X5.25 6X3.5INT No Ps Front Usb & Audio
$64.13

OCZ OCZ3P1333LV4GK 4GB DDR3 2X2GB
DDR3-1333 PC3-10666 CL 7-7-7-20 Dual Channel Memory Kit
$93.87

Sub Total: $1,006.71

[Chun¢]

Do you live near a micro center? I just made my buddy a build much like this, and i got a core i7 860 for 230, and a 5850 for 280 ish

[tvguide123]

They don't have any locations in Canada

[Chun¢]

rats. well that hardware looks pretty good, but you might want to consider getting a 4890 or a gtx 260, because the 5800's series is still pretty rare...

[moriz]

pccyber and canada computers are good alternatives to microcenter. if he lives in ottawa or toronto areas, he can easily find them.

[BoBzeBuilder]

I would not suggest getting a previous generation GPU. If you're not in a hurry, wait until a 5850 becomes available. It won't take long if you look hard.

[Flying Fox]

pccyber and canada computers are good alternatives to microcenter. if he lives in ottawa or toronto areas, he can easily find them.

I will add Infonec, NCIX and Anitec to the mix. For NCIX and Anitec, if you live in Ontario, you can still take advantage to the PST loophole that is closing next year.

BTW OP, have you checked out the TR system guide before posting?

[MaxTheLimit]

I ordered my core i5 build from NCIX, which is rather similar to yours. I already had the WD caviar black, and I am sticking with my 4890 for a good while, but I grabbed the i5 750, the MSI P55 GD65, and the Gskill ripjaw kit over an OCZ kit. I really am a fan of the OC genie button too. with nothing more than a press of a button I am now at 3.36GHz. After 8 hours of P95 it seems stable. The auto tune Gigabyte utility is windows based is it not?
At any rate, by system is now rather similar to yours and I am very impressed so far. NCIX with the tax loophole is a godsend.

[TheEmrys]

What monitor does he have? If it isn't 1920x1080 or higher, its a waste of a video card. If the resolution is 1680x1050 or less, go with a 5770.

[tvguide123]

if you live in Ontario, you can still take advantage to the PST loophole that is closing next year.

BTW OP, have you checked out the TR system guide before posting?

The website I use had the PST loophole also. And yes, I looked at the TR guide it was very helpful
I think the onboard sound will be fine for him, so I decided to put the extra money towards getting the best video card possible.

What monitor does he have? If it isn't 1920x1080 or higher, its a waste of a video card. If the resolution is 1680x1050 or less, go with a 5770.

That is true but I talked to him and he said his budget is $1k wants me to build the best computer I can for that price.

Alright thanks for all the replies guys! I'll update everyone on how the build goes

[TheEmrys]

What monitor does he have? If it isn't 1920x1080 or higher, its a waste of a video card. If the resolution is 1680x1050 or less, go with a 5770.

That is true but I talked to him and he said his budget is $1k wants me to build the best computer I can for that price.

A 5770 would be the best computer for that price. You can take the ~$100 you save and move that to a better processor, another hard drive, more RAM, or Windows 7. Or look into investing into a better monitor.

[Flying Fox]

The website I use had the PST loophole also.

Care to share what site it is?

That is true but I talked to him and he said his budget is $1k wants me to build the best computer I can for that price.

If he's still running some 19" monitor with 1280x1024, then overkill does not necessarily mean "the best". So again, what resolution are we looking at here?

[MaxTheLimit]

Another thing I would think is important is what he is planning on using the machine for?
Gaming, folding, or specific desktop applications?
A big GPU with a small monitor wouldn't be a problem is he was going to use it to fold, or have some alternate GPU acceleration needs aside from gaming.

[tvguide123]

Yea sure. The website is http://www.directcanada.com. It is a little disorganized but prices are usually good and they also have free shipping if your order is over $300

Alright well here the selection process I went through:

He's mainly going to use it for gaming at 1680x1050 and might sometimes hook it up to his 1080p TV. He told me he doesn't need any more hdd space because he already has a 1TB external and I doubt there will be much of a performance gain by going with more ram.

For the processor, the next step up is the i7 860 which is almost $100 more than the i5 750 and results in about 5 extra fps in games. If I spend the $100 to go from a 5770 to 5850 I get an average of about 20 extra fps. However I do like the idea of putting the money towards a better monitor and I'll run that idea by him.

Plus, once he buys this computer, I doubt he will want to upgrade components for a very long time.

[MaxTheLimit]

Well you could always invest in a bit better cooling on there. There is some pretty cheap coolers out there that do a good job of cooling the i5. I'm happy with my Coolermaster 212 plus so far. Also, I'm sure it won't be an issue but I've heard some reviews speak of that PSU having noise and ripple problems. It's not likely to be any issue with a system of the specs you posted, but it might be something to consider.

[Flying Fox]

Yea sure. The website is http://www.directcanada.com.

No need to be that coy with Direct Canada. It was once featured in TR's ad rotation and rumour has it that they are actually owned by the guys (or spinoff?) from NCIX anyways.

[TheEmrys]

For the processor, the next step up is the i7 860 which is almost $100 more than the i5 750 and results in about 5 extra fps in games. If I spend the $100 to go from a 5770 to 5850 I get an average of about 20 extra fps.

If you go from a 5770 to a 5850 at 1680x1050, its hard to justify, even if it results in 20 fps. Those extra 20 fps are going to be the difference between 120 and 140 fps, which is a waste. There just isn't any discernable difference once you outpace the refresh rate.

Think of it this way: you have an 8 mile commute through downtown New York City. There are stop lights every 300 feet. Do you choose a Toyota Corrolla for $14,000 or a get the cool FT-86 for ~$25,000? You can really go either way, but the FT-86 is going to be for the "cool factor." It just isn't going to be used to the fullest. Same thing with the 5850. Except no one ever got chicks with a video card.

[Flying Fox]

For the processor, the next step up is the i7 860 which is almost $100 more than the i5 750 and results in about 5 extra fps in games. If I spend the $100 to go from a 5770 to 5850 I get an average of about 20 extra fps.

If you go from a 5770 to a 5850 at 1680x1050, its hard to justify, even if it results in 20 fps. Those extra 20 fps are going to be the difference between 120 and 140 fps, which is a waste. There just isn't any discernable difference once you outpace the refresh rate.

Think of it this way: you have an 8 mile commute through downtown New York City. There are stop lights every 300 feet. Do you choose a Toyota Corrolla for $14,000 or a get the cool FT-86 for ~$25,000? You can really go either way, but the FT-86 is going to be for the "cool factor." It just isn't going to be used to the fullest. Same thing with the 5850. Except no one ever got chicks with a video card.

If gaming is the priority and they want to spend the money rather than to save it, then upping the GPU is the better choice than upping the CPU. That's why it is so important to have a budget and purpose of the computer for us to make that call.

[tvguide123]

Except no one ever got chicks with a video card.

Haha one can try I definitely agree with the points you guys made and if it was my computer I would personally just get the 5770 and save $100. I told my friend earlier that he won't see a difference between the two video cards, at least not for a while, but I guess he has $1000 that he wants to spend on the best gaming tower.

I really appreciate all the different suggestions guys, this is why I always come to this forum before a build.

[imtheunknown176]

If you decide to go with a cheaper gpu you should look at the gtx 260. It's faster than the 5770 and cheaper (here in the US at least). I don't think the 5770 will be useful by the time dx11 is relevant. Power consumption is slightly higher when idle and about 60 W higher under load. I wouldn't worry about load consumption that much though.

If he goes that long between upgrades the 5850 might be forth it.