Personal computing discussed

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Nightleaf
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New PC from scratch $500 to blow Help

Wed Aug 07, 2013 7:40 pm

I have $500 to blow on a new PC and I like to game quite a bit, but nothing extreme.

I am looking for something that is capable of 30-40 FPS (stable) on games like starcraft 2, or diablo 3 around medium-high settings, it would be an added bonus to be able to play game(s) such as planetside 2.

I already have a monitor (with speakers), keyboard, mouse.

Purchased:
CASE: Rosewill REDBONE Black SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Waiting for feedback/more part suggestions:
CD/DVD: LITE-ON DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA Model iHAS124-04 - OEM
HD: Western Digital WD Blue WD10EZEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM
PSU: CORSAIR Builder Series CX430 430W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
RAM: (G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9S-4GBRL) x 1 - will buy another stick
GFX: ASUS HD7750-1GD5-V2 Radeon HD 7750 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card
CPU: Intel Core i3-3240 Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz LGA 1155 55W Dual-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 2500 BX80637i33240
MOBO: GIGABYTE GA-H61M-HD2 LGA 1155 Intel H61 HDMI Micro ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit

Current price (newegg) w/shipping + tax: $537.73

I will not be carrying anything over from my current system, so it will be a fresh build.

What can I do to stay under budget?

Thanks in advance! :D
Last edited by Nightleaf on Sat Aug 10, 2013 2:43 pm, edited 9 times in total.
 
MadManOriginal
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Re: New PC from scratch $500 to blow

Wed Aug 07, 2013 7:49 pm

To give good advice, we would need to know what you already have.

Peripherals? Monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers/headphones.
Storage? Any hard drives to carry over, or optical drives.
Case? If you have a case that will work, even if it's not ideal, that could open up budget room as well.
 
anotherengineer
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Re: New PC from scratch $500 to blow

Wed Aug 07, 2013 7:53 pm

Good luck.
General rough numbers
OS - 90
mobo - 80
cpu - 100
gpu - 150
ram -70
hdd - 100
case - 30
psu - 70
odd - 15
ends up at 705 w/o tax or shipping.

Now having said that, if you have an OS and Case, that could save some cash, also a good 2nd hand cpu/mobo combo with some faster ddr3 and updated GPU could bring you under the 500 mark while having something that can push some game.

Will you need a mouse, keyboard and monitor also?
Life doesn't change after marriage, it changes after children!
 
Nightleaf
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Re: New PC from scratch $500 to blow

Wed Aug 07, 2013 7:58 pm

I already have a monitor (with speakers), keyboard, mouse, and an os.

I will not be carrying anything over from my current system, so it will be a fresh build.
 
JustAnEngineer
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Re: New PC from scratch $500 to blow Help

Thu Aug 08, 2013 12:14 am

Option 1 would be to pick up a refurbished or scratched and dented Inspiron 660 from the Dell Outlet store or a similar used Core i5 based PC coming off a business lease somewhere, then add your own graphics card (e.g.: Radeon HD7790) purchased from Newegg or Amazon.
· R7-5800X, Liquid Freezer II 280, RoG Strix X570-E, 64GiB PC4-28800, Suprim Liquid RTX4090, 2TB SX8200Pro +4TB S860 +NAS, Define 7 Compact, Super Flower SF-1000F14TP, S3220DGF +32UD99, FC900R OE, DeathAdder2
 
Yan
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Re: New PC from scratch $500 to blow Help

Thu Aug 08, 2013 7:14 pm

Perhaps start with Ars Technica's Bargain Box, then add a better processor and a graphics card from Tech Report's Econobox.

Using the prices in both guides, if you remove the monitor, mouse, keyboard and speakers (which you already have) and the CPU and motherboard from the Bargain Box, and add the CPU, motherboard and graphics card from the Econobox, the total would be $ 535.
 
ronch
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Re: New PC from scratch $500 to blow Help

Thu Aug 08, 2013 9:43 pm

Hi. Let's see what we can come up with for $500 (or less!). Given your budget I have to kindly/gently point out that you obviously can't expect killer performance from it. It's like saying you have a $15,000 budget for a new car and expect tons of luxury features and sub-5.0 second 0-60 run times. That's unrealistic unless you're ok with 'Pre-Owned'. :) Anyway, I've gathered up some prices from TigerDirect. They're just for reference, of course. You're free to get them from any store of your choosing.

CPU : AMD A8-5600K ($95) ---or--- Intel Pentium G2130 ($92)

Mobo : MSI FM2-A75MA-E35 ($65) ---or--- MSI B75MA-P45 ($65)

RAM - Adata 2 x 2GB DDR3-1600 ($35)

Graphics (in case you go with the Intel option or are not content with the A8's iGPU) - MSI AMD Radeon HD7750 ($95)

HDD - WD Blue 1TB ($70)

DVD Drive - LG 24x ($18)

PSU - Corsair CX Series 500w ($70)

Case - Ultra Gladiator Mid-tower chassis ($50)

Now I know you're looking for a PC that can play your games at max settings but please do understand that you're going to need a strong CPU and perhaps an even stronger GPU to back it up. And even a midrange GPU can easily go beyond $200, which will obviously blow your budget. For $500 I think we'd need to tone down our expectations and demands just a little bit. :) Anyway, the A8-5600K is not your top-model APU but for gaming but it may give you some respectable frame rates. If you go with the A8 setup without the HD7750 discrete graphics it'll only cost you $400. Throw in the HD7750 and it goes up to $495. Note, however, that putting in an HD7750 renders the A8's GPU useless because you can't Crossfire the two so you might wanna look at some of AMD's comparable FX chips and the associated AM3+ mobos out there. Going with the Intel option you obviously don't want to play games on the Pentium's IGP, so you will need the HD7750. Total for the Intel setup would be... let me se... $495 as well. Is this a price war or what!

Personally, I like AMD, and the A8 option obviously trims your costs down to an even lower $400. I personally might go with it because I'm not the gamer that I used to be but given your goals with this build perhaps you have no choice but to get a discrete graphics card such as the HD7750, or maybe something better.
NEC V20 > AMD Am386DX-40 > AMD Am486DX2-66 > Intel Pentium-200 > Cyrix 6x86MX-PR233 > AMD K6-2/450 > AMD Athlon 800 > Intel Pentium 4 2.8C > AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800 > AMD Phenom II X3 720 > AMD FX-8350 > RYZEN?
 
Airmantharp
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Re: New PC from scratch $500 to blow Help

Thu Aug 08, 2013 10:49 pm

JustAnEngineer wrote:
Option 1 would be to pick up a refurbished or scratched and dented Inspiron 660 from the Dell Outlet store or a similar used Core i5 based PC coming off a business lease somewhere, then add your own graphics card (e.g.: Radeon HD7790) purchased from Newegg or Amazon.


If you want to play BF3 at 40FPS, this is about the only way to go. You need an i5 (real quad core) or better, and 3.0GHz or faster; an AMD 'budget' option isn't an option.
 
DPete27
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Re: New PC from scratch $500 to blow Help

Thu Aug 08, 2013 11:25 pm

1) Do you live near a Microcenter? If you do, you can get an Asus P8Z77M and i3-3245 for $210 + tax, but you'll probably have to drop down to the AsRock H77M-mATX to meet budget for a total of $170 for the cpu + mobo.

2) TR Econobox is a good starting point (substitute the Microcenter CPU and mobo listed above). You can knock off $20 by dropping the optical drive, another $20 for one of these cases, and another $20 by getting the Corsair CX430 (non-modular) for $20 on newegg.com regularly.

That all drops you to right around the $500 total mark.

3) Here are a few graphics cards for $120 after MIR.

....I guess the only thing I didn't change from the Econobox was the RAM and hdd.....oh well.
Main: i5-3570K, ASRock Z77 Pro4-M, MSI RX480 8G, 500GB Crucial BX100, 2 TB Samsung EcoGreen F4, 16GB 1600MHz G.Skill @1.25V, EVGA 550-G2, Silverstone PS07B
HTPC: A8-5600K, MSI FM2-A75IA-E53, 4TB Seagate SSHD, 8GB 1866MHz G.Skill, Crosley D-25 Case Mod
 
Nightleaf
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Re: New PC from scratch $500 to blow Help

Fri Aug 09, 2013 2:44 am

thank you for all the advice, it has been quite helpful, I have done quite a bit of research on what would be good or not, and I believe I will just build something slightly better than my current machine, and upgrade as I go.

GFX: EVGA GeForce GTX 650 01G-P4-2650-KR Video Card
CD/DVD: SAMSUNG Black SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model SH-118BB
RAM: Kingston 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory
MOBO: GIGABYTE GA-78LMT-S2 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
CPU: AMD FX-4130 3.8GHz Socket AM3+ Quad-Core Desktop Processor
HDD: Western Digital WD Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
PSU: Rosewill Stallion Series RD500-2DB 500W Power Supply
CASE: Rosewill REDBONE Black SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Total: $450 (estimated, from memory posting from laptop)

The above is the result of speaking with a few friends, and family, I am open to feedback and suggestions!
 
Coran Fixx
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Re: New PC from scratch $500 to blow Help

Fri Aug 09, 2013 6:23 am

Corsair 500w $30 AR or modular for $10 more (newegg)
1TB Blue Drive for $63 ($3 more than 500gb)
650ti boost 2gb video card for $150 is worth the reach, or go Intel cpu/mb and save up for the video.
 
awakeningcry
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Re: New PC from scratch $500 to blow Help

Fri Aug 09, 2013 7:21 am

If you've only got $500 you'll struggle to play the latest games.

Try:
HDD - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822136769
Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813128579
CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819116886
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820139075

I'm a bit stuck for a case and a PSU, but you won't need anything too beefy. But DON'T scrimp on quality, pick a good brand! perhaps http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817371045
And you MAY just about be able to squeeze in a GTX 650ti...
 
awakeningcry
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Re: New PC from scratch $500 to blow Help

Fri Aug 09, 2013 7:27 am

actually, get the Corsair 430M. Modular, and $40 after rebate!
 
DPete27
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Re: New PC from scratch $500 to blow Help

Fri Aug 09, 2013 8:47 am

Nightleaf wrote:
GFX: EVGA GeForce GTX 650 01G-P4-2650-KR Video Card
CD/DVD: SAMSUNG Black SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model SH-118BB
RAM: Kingston 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory
MOBO: GIGABYTE GA-78LMT-S2 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
CPU: AMD FX-4130 3.8GHz Socket AM3+ Quad-Core Desktop Processor
HDD: Western Digital WD Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
PSU: Rosewill Stallion Series RD500-2DB 500W Power Supply
CASE: Rosewill REDBONE Black SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Total: $450 (estimated, from memory posting from laptop)

The above is the result of speaking with a few friends, and family, I am open to feedback and suggestions!

1) You'll want something better than a GTX 650. Heck, you can get a 7790 for the same price ($110 right now). Not sure why you'd even consider the GTX 650. This is the only GTX 650 benchmark I can find. It's basically the same as an AMD 7750. Have a look at this TR benchmark a price/performance graph of GPUs in your price range.
2) If you want to go AMD-FX...fine. Just be aware, that for roughly the same price, an Intel i3 will perform better. Not to mention you can scale up to an i5 later that will kick the pants of an FX-8350 in gaming while consuming much less power.
3) That PSU is absolute junk. Get the Corsair CX-430. It's better, cheaper, and has PLENTY of wattage for this system. Use a PSU calculator
4) Where do you live? Near a microcenter?
5) What are your current system specs? Just tell us.
Last edited by DPete27 on Fri Aug 09, 2013 4:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Main: i5-3570K, ASRock Z77 Pro4-M, MSI RX480 8G, 500GB Crucial BX100, 2 TB Samsung EcoGreen F4, 16GB 1600MHz G.Skill @1.25V, EVGA 550-G2, Silverstone PS07B
HTPC: A8-5600K, MSI FM2-A75IA-E53, 4TB Seagate SSHD, 8GB 1866MHz G.Skill, Crosley D-25 Case Mod
 
ronch
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Re: New PC from scratch $500 to blow Help

Fri Aug 09, 2013 9:59 am

DPete27 is right. I am running an FX-8350 right now and, although I find the performance adequate, I have to be honest here and echo what everyone knows: The i3 can probably offer better gaming performance in less threaded games plus offer an upgrade path to an i5 or i7.

Here's a video that goes against common belief though. Not sure it's legit but it sure goes against the tide. It obviously talks about higher end CPUs but it contests the belief that Intel chips are better for gaming. I have to assume the games he tests are highly threaded.
NEC V20 > AMD Am386DX-40 > AMD Am486DX2-66 > Intel Pentium-200 > Cyrix 6x86MX-PR233 > AMD K6-2/450 > AMD Athlon 800 > Intel Pentium 4 2.8C > AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800 > AMD Phenom II X3 720 > AMD FX-8350 > RYZEN?
 
Airmantharp
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Re: New PC from scratch $500 to blow Help

Fri Aug 09, 2013 10:30 am

Something no one has pointed out, that's very important- current AMD CPU's only have 'half' cores! That 'Quad-core' FX-4000-series CPU actually only has two modules, each of which is significantly slower than a 'core' in an Intel CPU. AMD's 'modules' are approximately equivalent to a single Intel core with hyper-threading enabled; so that CPU is very much like an Intel i3 with two cores and four threads, except it's slower.

Here's my suggestion to rethink your priorities:
1. Get a quad-core Intel CPU, however you can; Microcenter/Fry's sales, Dell outlet, whatever
2. Get a decent GPU, but this is irrelevant without the CPU; make sure it has 2GB of RAM if you can
3. Get 8GB of RAM, 4GB has become a limiting factor for current games
4. If you're building, don't skimp on the quality of the CPU- You won't even get close to 400W, 250W is more like it
5. Storage doesn't matter much- just don't get a 'Green' drive
 
DPete27
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Re: New PC from scratch $500 to blow Help

Fri Aug 09, 2013 4:06 pm

Hot off the presses. Grab this 7850 for $100 and don't look back.
Main: i5-3570K, ASRock Z77 Pro4-M, MSI RX480 8G, 500GB Crucial BX100, 2 TB Samsung EcoGreen F4, 16GB 1600MHz G.Skill @1.25V, EVGA 550-G2, Silverstone PS07B
HTPC: A8-5600K, MSI FM2-A75IA-E53, 4TB Seagate SSHD, 8GB 1866MHz G.Skill, Crosley D-25 Case Mod
 
ronch
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Re: New PC from scratch $500 to blow Help

Fri Aug 09, 2013 11:17 pm

I'm thinking, if you're really shooting for great gaming performance but are only willing to spend $500 (today), why not just buy 'partial' for now? You know, you could grab a Core i5 for $185, a good LGA1150 board such as this one for $80, 4GB of DDR3-1600, and the rest, except the video card. Will probably cost you just a little over $500. Then you can just add a proper video card and more RAM later when finances permit. This is what one of my friends did. He was also budget-constrained.
NEC V20 > AMD Am386DX-40 > AMD Am486DX2-66 > Intel Pentium-200 > Cyrix 6x86MX-PR233 > AMD K6-2/450 > AMD Athlon 800 > Intel Pentium 4 2.8C > AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800 > AMD Phenom II X3 720 > AMD FX-8350 > RYZEN?
 
Nightleaf
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Re: New PC from scratch $500 to blow Help

Sat Aug 10, 2013 3:49 am

Okay so I read over the thread (thanks for the feedback), I have removed my list entirely and started over again:

Purchased:
CASE: Rosewill REDBONE Black SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Waiting for feedback/more part suggestions:
PSU: CORSAIR Builder Series CX430 430W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
GFX: MSI R7790-1GD5/OC Radeon HD 7790 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

Now the question is what else should I get to go with this?

My current system that I am using now:
Image

Thanks again for all the feedback!
 
MadManOriginal
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Re: New PC from scratch $500 to blow Help

Sat Aug 10, 2013 11:23 am

I take it you mean this case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811147159 for $25 (after MIR) it's hard to go wrong. USB 3.0 would be nice but to save some bucks it's ok without - it's just a convenience. If you got the USB 3.0 version for $50, well, ok.

Given your resolution you'll be fine with an upper mid-range graphics card. I would normally push for a 2GB card these days just for some longevity but your monitor resolution isn't high. But unless someone can say 100% for sure that 2GB of memory would be beneficial for textures or something which isn't going to be affected by resolution, this deal is unbeatable for the price:

PowerColor 7850 1GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814131482
$149.99
-$19.50 Promo Code: AFFW85VGA
-$30.00 rebate
$100.49 + Free Shipping

I recommend you ORDER THIS NOW - the MIR expires tomorrow - and before it sells out, the promo code expires, or whatever. This card is competitive with the $150+ GTX 650 Ti Boost as long as the 1GB vs 2GB memory doesn't come into play.

You can carry over your OS, so that puts us at $125 or $150 so far depending on which case you got (net price - assuming you can float the cash for the MIRs)
Last edited by MadManOriginal on Sat Aug 10, 2013 12:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.
 
JustAnEngineer
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Re: New PC from scratch $500 to blow Help

Sat Aug 10, 2013 11:51 am

Nightleaf wrote:
I have $500 to blow on a new PC.
I already have a monitor, speakers, keyboard, mouse and an OS.

MadManOriginal wrote:
$45 -10 code "EMCXMXP233" -10MIR Rosewill REDBONE ATX Case

$150 -19½ code "AFFW85VGA" -30MIR PowerColor Radeon HD7850 1GB
That's a good deal on the Radeon HD7850 1GB.

Here's a low-end LGA1155 motherboard for $25 when you buy a Core i3 processor.
$130 Intel Core i3-3240 Ivy Bridge 3.4 GHz dual-core LGA1155 processor with HSF
$50 -25 combo Gigabyte GA-H61M-HD2 micro-ATX LGA1155 motherboard with very few features

Your budget is about $20 short (after rebates) of getting a previous-generation quad-core processor with a better motherboard.
$180 Intel Core i5-3350P Ivy Bridge 3.1 GHz quad-core no-video LGA1155 processor with HSF
$70 -18 combo Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 hard-drive
$73 Gigabyte GA-B75M-D3H micro-ATX LGA1155 motherboard with USB 3.0

A current-generation Haswell processor with a good motherboard exceeds your budget by about $75 (after rebates).
$200 Intel Core i5-4570 Haswell 3.2 GHz quad-core LGA1150 processor with HSF
The 3.0 GHz Core i5-4430 would be $7 less.
$110 -23 combo +8 shipping MSI Z87M-G43 micro-ATX LGA1150 motherboard

Here's some decent memory for a reasonable price.
$54 2x4 GiB PC3-12800 GeIL GEV38GB1600C9DC (DDR3-1600, CAS 9, 1.5 V) memory

Can you re-use an existing hard-drive or do you need a new one? These are 7200 rpm models.
$100 -15 code "EMCXMXP26" 2.0 TB Seagate Barracuda ST2000DM001
$70 1.0 TB Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003
$65 1.0 TB Western Digital Blue WD10EZEX
$60 -10 code "EMCYTZT3984" 0.5 TB Seagate Barracuda ST500DM002

Can you re-use an existing optical drive or do you need a new one?
$15 or $18 DVD-RW
$40 BD-ROM/DVD-RW
$60 Blu-ray burner

You may be able to catch one of these power supplies with a bigger rebate if you can wait a week or two. Otherwise, the CX500 is a good value today.
$40 -20MIR Corsair CX430 from TigerDirect
$46 Corsair CX430 from Newegg
$60 -10 code "EMCXMXL66" -20MIR Corsair CX500
$52 -10MIR Corsair CX430M
$60 -20MIR Corsair CX500M

You can come in $20½ under your budget (before $60 worth of mail-in rebates) with the Core i3 option.
· R7-5800X, Liquid Freezer II 280, RoG Strix X570-E, 64GiB PC4-28800, Suprim Liquid RTX4090, 2TB SX8200Pro +4TB S860 +NAS, Define 7 Compact, Super Flower SF-1000F14TP, S3220DGF +32UD99, FC900R OE, DeathAdder2
 
Nightleaf
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Re: New PC from scratch $500 to blow Help

Sat Aug 10, 2013 1:44 pm

Current list updated:

CD/DVD: LITE-ON DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA Model iHAS124-04 - OEM
HD: Western Digital WD Blue WD10EZEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM
PSU: CORSAIR Builder Series CX430 430W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
RAM: (G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9S-4GBRL) x 1 - will buy another stick
GFX: ASUS HD7750-1GD5-V2 Radeon HD 7750 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card
CPU: Intel Core i3-3240 Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz LGA 1155 55W Dual-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 2500 BX80637i33240
MOBO: GIGABYTE GA-H61M-HD2 LGA 1155 Intel H61 HDMI Micro ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit

Current price (newegg) w/shipping + tax: $537.73
 
JustAnEngineer
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Re: New PC from scratch $500 to blow Help

Sat Aug 10, 2013 2:57 pm

Note that you need to add the combinations to your shopping cart. You won't get the combination discount if you add the items separately. The promotional codes must be entered at the bottom of the shopping cart form to get those discounts.
· R7-5800X, Liquid Freezer II 280, RoG Strix X570-E, 64GiB PC4-28800, Suprim Liquid RTX4090, 2TB SX8200Pro +4TB S860 +NAS, Define 7 Compact, Super Flower SF-1000F14TP, S3220DGF +32UD99, FC900R OE, DeathAdder2
 
MadManOriginal
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Re: New PC from scratch $500 to blow Help

Sat Aug 10, 2013 5:52 pm

Note to self: next time building a system, just put up some requirements and wait for JAE_shopping_bot to find the best prices and options.
 
Nightleaf
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Re: New PC from scratch $500 to blow Help

Sat Aug 10, 2013 6:57 pm

JustAnEngineer wrote:
Note that you need to add the combinations to your shopping cart. You won't get the combination discount if you add the items separately. The promotional codes must be entered at the bottom of the shopping cart form to get those discounts.


Thats what I have done, I just c & p'd them one at a time here from the shopping cart, all the promo codes are applied.
 
Airmantharp
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Re: New PC from scratch $500 to blow Help

Sat Aug 10, 2013 7:51 pm

MadManOriginal wrote:
Note to self: next time building a system, just put up some requirements and wait for JAE_shopping_bot to find the best prices and options.


Steps for shopping:
Step 1: Calm down.
Step 2: Remove head from ***.
Step 3: Put everything in the cart.
Step 4: Wait a day, and check prices everywhere.
Step 5: Put your best up on the forum.
Step 6: Be humiliated by JAE.
Step 7: Get over it and thank him for saving you money.
Step 8: Get it done.
Step 9: Post pictures!
 
DPete27
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Re: New PC from scratch $500 to blow Help

Sun Aug 11, 2013 12:39 pm

Nightleaf wrote:
Current list updated:
CD/DVD: LITE-ON DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA Model iHAS124-04 - OEM
RAM: (G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9S-4GBRL) x 1 - will buy another stick
GFX: ASUS HD7750-1GD5-V2 Radeon HD 7750 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card
Current price (newegg) w/shipping + tax: $537.73

Still haven't said if you live near a Microcenter
You don't have an optical drive in your existing rig? If so, reuse it (unless you need a DVD burner) Optical media is dead.
RAM - get DDR3 1600 CAS 9 @ 1.5V. Its cheaper and faster.
GPU - Back to the 7750? GET THE 7850 THAT MYSELF AND OTHERS HAVE SUGGESTED. It costs the same as the 7750 you listed, but offers twice the performance. (link re-posted here)

You realize that words/phrases that are blue and underlined in these posts are hyperlinks that we are giving you to products? They're not bogus pop-up links.
Main: i5-3570K, ASRock Z77 Pro4-M, MSI RX480 8G, 500GB Crucial BX100, 2 TB Samsung EcoGreen F4, 16GB 1600MHz G.Skill @1.25V, EVGA 550-G2, Silverstone PS07B
HTPC: A8-5600K, MSI FM2-A75IA-E53, 4TB Seagate SSHD, 8GB 1866MHz G.Skill, Crosley D-25 Case Mod
 
NovusBogus
Graphmaster Gerbil
Posts: 1408
Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2013 12:37 am

Re: New PC from scratch $500 to blow Help

Sun Aug 11, 2013 12:59 pm

Ronch may be onto something, gaming hardware doesn't age like it used to so it may make more sense to buy certain good components now (CPU/board/RAM/) and then get other good components later (GPU/PSU/case) as finance allows. Or save up a little bit more and get better specs all in one go. The reason I say that is due to the great specs slowdown whatever you get is likely to last a very long time provided it's decent.

If I was in your shoes I'd shoot for an i5 quad, basic mATX board, 8GB RAM, Radeon 7850 or Geforce 650ti, 1TB 7200rpm mechanical drive, and reuse your case/PSU/DVD/peripherals unless you plan to do something else with them.

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