Need help cutting cost on gaming build

[S00N3R FR3AK]

So after going back and forth over the asus barebones kit I decided I rather build one. So right now here is what I have.

Core i5-3570k $229.99

MSI Z77A-G45 LGA Intell Z77 $134.99

EVGA GTX 670 2GB $419.99

G.Skill Ripjaws 16Gb 4x4GB $94.99

Seagate 1TB 7200 RPM $106.99

Corsair 650W $89.99

Asus DVD drive $16.99

NZXT Apollo Black case $59.99

Windows 7 Pro $139.99

Total cost $1,293.91

Now I am ok with spending this much but I wouldn't mind cutting cost some. My goal is to be able to play my games at max settings and have next years games at really high settings. Is this a build I am going to have to go with or could I cut cost with something like a 560 or 7870 instead and grabbing a second one of those cards later in the year? As well as maybe going AMD as my CPU instead of a i5? Games I would want to look good so you have an idea of what I would need. Crysis 2, Metro 2033, Diablo 3 and for the future both Crysis 3 and Metro Last Light. Think I'm going 360 on BF3 so I wouldn't need what it would take to run that at max settings in MP but I imagine that Crysis 2 isn't to far off. And barring an amazing piece of tech I should wait for coming out in a month or so I am buying this stuff next weekend.

[NextGen_Gamer]

I thought it might be possible to make a $1000 PC that equals (or beats) your specs. It wasn't, but I came close:

$200 - Intel Core i5 3450 Processor

$100 - MSI Z77A-G43 Motherboard (Intel Z77 Chipset)

$55 - 8GB (4GB x 2) Crucial Ballistix DDR3-1600 Memory

$360 - PowerColor Radeon HD 7950 GPU (Also Has $20 Mail-In-Rebate)

$17 (+$5 S&H) - Lite-On SATA Optical Drive (iHAS124-04)

$100 - 1TB Seagate Barracuda HDD (ST1000DM003)

$60 (+$10 S&H) - SeaSonic M12II 520-Watt PSU

$50 - Antec Gaming Series One Illusion Steel Case

$140 - Microsoft Windows 7 Professional (64-bit)

Total - $1100 (all prices from Newegg)

Notes:

1) The only difference between the Core i5 3450 and i5 3570K is clockspeed and the unlocked multiplier on the K model. The clockspeed difference is 400MHz, so unless you plan on overclocking I don't see the need to buy the 3570K model. The next upgrade that would be worth it from my perspective is the i7 models; those bring both Hyper-Threading and 2MB more L3 cache into the mix. For an extra $100 you could get a Core i7 3770.

2) I see no reason whatsoever to get 16GB of RAM. I am not aware of any game that even uses 4GB, let alone 8GB. Unless you have other uses for the PC, like major Photoshop editing, I would stick with 8GB. Keep in mind that you would only be using 2 out of the 4 DIMM slots on the motherboard, so you can always buy another 8GB kit at any point down the road and stick it in. With memory prices in a perpetual free fall, Newegg will probably be giving away 8GB kits by the end of the year ;)

3) The Radeon HD 7950 performs closely to the GeForce GTX 670 but costs less. A lot of people just outright declare NVIDIA the "winner" this year, but that is not true. Between the Radeon HD 7950 and GeForce GTX 670, about 50% of the time in games NVIDIA wins, 25% of the time AMD wins, and 25% of the time is a tie between the two. When prices were the same between the two, it was easy to recommend NVIDIA. But since then AMD has dropped prices across the board, so now the decision is more difficult. For you, I would say AMD is an easy choice due to their better performance in both Crysis and Metro when compared to NVIDIA.

4) The case is mostly a personal preference, so I won't talk about that. For PSUs though I always go SeaSonic.

5) Finally, do you really need Win7 Pro? If you are never going to use the Pro features, you should just go with Win7 Home Premium. Newegg has Home Premium 64-bit on sale for $80 almost every week. Going with that plus factoring in the video card mail-in-rebate would bring the overall price down to $1000.

[neo1911]

To cut down costs, I recommend i5 3550 (any non K version) if you are not those e-penis brag boy types. There are reports that Sandy Bridge CPUs don't over clock better unless you use a custom cooling of high standards.

I myself got 3550 and couldn't be more happier :)

[S00N3R FR3AK]

I just saw win pro first and didn't even bother to check the prices of home. Thanks for the input, I was having trouble finding up to date info on the video card debates and needed some input. I'll go with that card for. And down the road should I choose to cross fire them is that psu good enough?

[+vlsi0n Subscriber¹]

I recently purchased this SeaSonic psu... this one is more than the one you had listed, but they offer cheaper versions... the point is that I was very impressed by their quality and I recommend the brand to anyone. Like NextGen said, I went with 8Gbs of ram instead of 16, as it just really is not important at this time... upgrade later when it might be more useful to your build.

Also, MicroCenter offers some great deals on computer parts/combos... if you live anywhere near one you should do a price comparison.

[mattmatik]

I have the i5-3450 and, if you aren't worried about having o/c ability, I highly recommend it. Can't believe you can't get to $1000 though! My build was $890 and my PSU was $130, went with i5-3450 for $200. And my board was $190. So, if I would have gone with the PSU you listed and lowered my board price, should have been able to get 7950 for ~$1000. I didn't need to buy Win 7 though, and I went without optical drive.

[mr.r9]

Unless you are planning to edit HD videos, there is no need for 16 gigs of ram! 8 is enough.

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820147096 Buy this RAM kit, considered by many the best ram available. Now you saved 44$.

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814130782 Same GPU, but it comes with factory clocks, you can easily overclock it using MSI afterburner. Here's another 20$ saved.

Other than that,I highly recommend buying an SSD. But if you are tight on the budget, it can be postponed.

[S00N3R FR3AK]

I recently purchased this SeaSonic psu... this one is more than the one you had listed, but they offer cheaper versions... the point is that I was very impressed by their quality and I recommend the brand to anyone. Like NextGen said, I went with 8Gbs of ram instead of 16, as it just really is not important at this time... upgrade later when it might be more useful to your build.

Also, MicroCenter offers some great deals on computer parts/combos... if you live anywhere near one you should do a price comparison.

Well there is a microcenter in Dallas not to far from me so I will have to check that out after my paycheck goes through Saturday. Would like not having to wait on shipping lol but I do also get to avoid taxes on newegg so we will have to see.

Ok have a new price of 1,070 with these changes.

XFX Double D Black Edition 7950 $379.99 with $20 mail in rebate, as well as 3 free games right now. So I may just go ahead and order it.

G,Skill Ripjaw 8Gb (2x4GB) $46.99

core i5-3450 (what is the difference with the S version?) $199.99

MSI Z77A-G43 $99.99

Seasonic 520W $59.99

Win Home 64 bit $99.99

Will this 7950 be good enough for at least two years without me having to Crossfire the card?

Unless you are planning to edit HD videos, there is no need for 16 gigs of ram! 8 is enough.

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820147096 Buy this RAM kit, considered by many the best ram available. Now you saved 44$.

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814130782 Same GPU, but it comes with factory clocks, you can easily overclock it using MSI afterburner. Here's another 20$ saved.

Other than that,I highly recommend buying an SSD. But if you are tight on the budget, it can be postponed.

Yeah i have thought about an SSD for Windows and whatever game I am playing most right then but it costs just a bit much and I might just grab that for my birthday at the end of August.

[mr.r9]

Well there is a microcenter in Dallas not to far from me so I will have to check that out after my paycheck goes through Saturday. Would like not having to wait on shipping lol but I do also get to avoid taxes on newegg so we will have to see.

Ok have a new price of 1,070 with these changes.

XFX Double D Black Edition 7950 $379.99 with $20 mail in rebate, as well as 3 free games right now. So I may just go ahead and order it.

G,Skill Ripjaw 8Gb (2x4GB) $46.99

core i5-3450 (what is the difference with the S version?) $199.99 [ The S is low volt / TDP ]

MSI Z77A-G43 $99.99

Seasonic 520W $59.99

Win Home 64 bit $99.99

Will this 7950 be good enough for at least two years without me having to Crossfire the card?

Yeah i have thought about an SSD for Windows and whatever game I am playing most right then but it costs just a bit much and I might just grab that for my birthday at the end of August.

That PSU looks like a steal, veeeery good find. Regarding the GPU, I'd go with the 670 based on this: http://www.anandtech...duct/550?vs=598

Have you considered the i5-2500k? It'll give you the opportunity to OC in the future when you feel the need to.

Imagine 6 months from now, you'll have a bit of cash to buy an SSD and a cpu cooler, like the CM 212+ , then you'll be able to OC the cpu with no problems up to 4.5GHz :) rather than being stuck with 3.1 or 3.3...

[psionicinversion]

to mr.r9 your going with benchmarks based on that, but its a load of crap didnt you even bother looking at the FPS???

In some things it does beat it by alot but i doubt hell be playing games over 2 monitors at 5760x1200.

On nearly all benchmarks the fps that matters which is around 30-40 fps they are both very very close to each other, and where nvidia really pulls ahead of the pack is when the radeon is running at 160 fps and the nvidia is going at 200 fps wich makes no difference at all

Its alot faster on BF3 but he said hes having that on xbox so that benchmark doesnt matter, and with the benchmarks (like unigine heaven) it could be more optimised for nvidia giving them a lead same if it was more optimized for ati.

Just get the cheaper one cus there pretty much the same

[mr.r9]

to mr.r9 your going with benchmarks based on that, but its a load of crap didnt you even bother looking at the FPS???

In some things it does beat it by alot but i doubt hell be playing games over 2 monitors at 5760x1200.

On nearly all benchmarks the fps that matters which is around 30-40 fps they are both very very close to each other, and where nvidia really pulls ahead of the pack is when the radeon is running at 160 fps and the nvidia is going at 200 fps wich makes no difference at all

Its alot faster on BF3 but he said hes having that on xbox so that benchmark doesnt matter, and with the benchmarks (like unigine heaven) it could be more optimised for nvidia giving them a lead same if it was more optimized for ati.

Just get the cheaper one cus there pretty much the same

Well Sir, he wants to be as future proof as possible. Hence, based on the benchmarks the 670 is more powerful (relatively).

Also, the 670 was barely released, meaning the drivers will mature nicely, whereas the 7950 has been released for 6 months now?

Now, if you argued that there's a 40$ difference between the cards, then I'll say the 670 isn't a very smart choice considering the price/performance. In the end, we are giving advice to the OP and it's up to him to decide.

And btw, I am a happy 6950 owner. I don't care if it's Ati or Nvidia, so why don't you try to argue based on facts or anything constructive?

[threetonesun]

Microcenter sells the i5s for less than that. You can also get $50 off certain motherboards if you buy the 2500k or 3570k. If you really want to cut costs there, just get one of the i3s for $99.

[psionicinversion]

The 670 is $420 , 7950 is $380 with additional $20 rebate meaning theres a $60 price difference.

ive got a 6870 1GB and i can play BF3 at maximum settings only get some slow down during really high particle density but generally its ok had for 18 months now and can still through whatever i want at it so a 7950 will be fine for a while to come

[S00N3R FR3AK]

How fast are these companies with their rebates? Also what is the real difference between the sandy bridge i5-2500k and the ivy bridge i5-3450?

[Kondrath]

Didn't even chek to see if this is still active, but the 7950 was $339 a few days ago - http://slickdeals.net/f/4742590-XFX-Double-D-Radeon-HD-7950-3GB-GDDR5-PCI-Express-3-0-Video-Card-339-99-AC-AR-3-Free-Games

[S00N3R FR3AK]

Ok so thanks a lot for that Microcenter idea.Picked up a GTX 670 today as they only had two in stock and I didn't want to risk them not having it when I went in to buy everything else Friday. Payed same price online but I will be saving some money on the other parts.

i5-3570k $189.99 - I can get a 2500k for $169.99 if I wanted to. The motherboard is a GA-Z77-D3SH and since I'm buying it with either one of those CPUs it will only cost me $59.99. Found a nice cheap case there for like $30. Even with taxes once I get the rebates back it will be just a tad bit cheaper.

[NextGen_Gamer]

Well there is a microcenter in Dallas not to far from me so I will have to check that out after my paycheck goes through Saturday. Would like not having to wait on shipping lol but I do also get to avoid taxes on newegg so we will have to see.

Ok have a new price of 1,070 with these changes.

XFX Double D Black Edition 7950 $379.99 with $20 mail in rebate, as well as 3 free games right now. So I may just go ahead and order it.

G,Skill Ripjaw 8Gb (2x4GB) $46.99

core i5-3450 (what is the difference with the S version?) $199.99

MSI Z77A-G43 $99.99

Seasonic 520W $59.99

Win Home 64 bit $99.99

Will this 7950 be good enough for at least two years without me having to Crossfire the card?

Yeah i have thought about an SSD for Windows and whatever game I am playing most right then but it costs just a bit much and I might just grab that for my birthday at the end of August.

Every Radeon 7900 series card comes with the 3 free games - that's an AMD promotion, not something XFX-exclusive. So don't let that be a factor in your decision. Personally I would just buy whatever Radeon HD 7950 is the cheapest between the following brands I trust most: XFX, ASUS, PowerColor and Sapphire. As for the SSD, you can always buy that later. Prices have dropped through the floor recently. Even the 128GB OCZ Vertex 4, arguably the fastest 128GB SSD you can buy, is only $130 right now. A month ago it was $180 lol

That PSU looks like a steal, veeeery good find. Regarding the GPU, I'd go with the 670 based on this: http://www.anandtech...duct/550?vs=598

Have you considered the i5-2500k? It'll give you the opportunity to OC in the future when you feel the need to.

Imagine 6 months from now, you'll have a bit of cash to buy an SSD and a cpu cooler, like the CM 212+ , then you'll be able to OC the cpu with no problems up to 4.5GHz :) rather than being stuck with 3.1 or 3.3...

Those benchmarks are outdated. Recent driver improvements have pushed AMD ahead in Crysis, Metro, DiRT, Skyrim, and made a tie in Shogun Total War. NVIDIA is still ahead in Portal 2 (but that seriously doesn't even matter when talking about 100+ fps) and Battlefield 3, but the person who this whole thread is about already said he bought Battlefield 3 on Xbox 360 instead of PC. That's why for him I think the Radeon HD 7950 is the better card.

Prices have also made the GeForce GTX 670 look worse now. At $420, it is makes more sense to buy the Radeon HD 7970 (which is faster overall) for only $10-$20 more. Once you get up to $500 it is a tougher decision, as the performance between the GeForce GTX 680 and AMD's new Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition (stupid name, but whatever) is a complete wash.

@ S00N3R FR3AK: The 520-Watt SeaSonic PSU is totally fine for one Radeon HD 7950, but two might be pushing it. The Radeon HD 7950 is rated for 200-Watts; the Core i5 3450 is 77-Watts; then factor in another 30-Watts total for motherboard components, HDD, memory and optical disk drive. That brings you up to 310-Watts total. Adding another 200-Watts into the equation brings you too close to the limit of the SeasSonic PSU I picked out. If you do think there is a good chance you'll pick up another video card in the next year or so, then go with a 600-Watt+ SeaSonic model instead. Should increase the price by roughly $30-$40.

[S00N3R FR3AK]

Every Radeon 7900 series card comes with the 3 free games - that's an AMD promotion, not something XFX-exclusive. So don't let that be a factor in your decision. Personally I would just buy whatever Radeon HD 7950 is the cheapest between the following brands I trust most: XFX, ASUS, PowerColor and Sapphire. As for the SSD, you can always buy that later. Prices have dropped through the floor recently. Even the 128GB OCZ Vertex 4, arguably the fastest 128GB SSD you can buy, is only $130 right now. A month ago it was $180 lol

Those benchmarks are outdated. Recent driver improvements have pushed AMD ahead in Crysis, Metro, DiRT, Skyrim, and made a tie in Shogun Total War. NVIDIA is still ahead in Portal 2 (but that seriously doesn't even matter when talking about 100+ fps) and Battlefield 3, but the person who this whole thread is about already said he bought Battlefield 3 on Xbox 360 instead of PC. That's why for him I think the Radeon HD 7950 is the better card.

Prices have also made the GeForce GTX 670 look worse now. At $420, it is makes more sense to buy the Radeon HD 7970 (which is faster overall) for only $10-$20 more. Once you get up to $500 it is a tougher decision, as the performance between the GeForce GTX 680 and AMD's new Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition (stupid name, but whatever) is a complete wash.

@ S00N3R FR3AK: The 520-Watt SeaSonic PSU is totally fine for one Radeon HD 7950, but two might be pushing it. The Radeon HD 7950 is rated for 200-Watts; the Core i5 3450 is 77-Watts; then factor in another 30-Watts total for motherboard components, HDD, memory and optical disk drive. That brings you up to 310-Watts total. Adding another 200-Watts into the equation brings you too close to the limit of the SeasSonic PSU I picked out. If you do think there is a good chance you'll pick up another video card in the next year or so, then go with a 600-Watt+ SeaSonic model instead. Should increase the price by roughly $30-$40.

Yeah I'm going go with 650w instead. Now on the card I bought the 670 as they are hard to find and if I want to I can return it. My mom has a friend who works for nvidia so I'm going to contact her to see if I can get any help that way towards a card. I'm almost leaning towards the nvidia as the two cards I have had (9500 GT current 4650M) I felt like drivers were always better dealt with on the nivida card

[Slammers]

I have to ask, why are you going to play BF3 on 360?! Is it because your friends play it on console?

Because your setup will smash it on ultra easily, and you want be limited to tiny amoutns of players per map etc.

[S00N3R FR3AK]

I have to ask, why are you going to play BF3 on 360?! Is it because your friends play it on console?

Because your setup will smash it on ultra easily, and you want be limited to tiny amoutns of players per map etc.

Yeah my friends play it on the 360. Also 24player isn't to bad. I like how Rush just makes it to where each part of the map gets played on the bigger ones. I was adverse to it at first but enjoy it now.

[mattmatik]

Wow, S00N3R, you found a 3570k for $190? Damn, I feel like I raped myself :laugh:

The difference between the 3450/3450S is the S is clocked about 300mhz slower but power consumption is 12w less (65w v 77w). The bus/core ratio is also less (28 v 31) so your max turbo clock is a little less. Probably more ideal to use a S processor in a HTPC or something similar.

[S00N3R FR3AK]

Wow, S00N3R, you found a 3570k for $190? Damn, I feel like I raped myself :laugh:

The difference between the 3450/3450S is the S is clocked about 300mhz slower but power consumption is 12w less (65w v 77w). The bus/core ratio is also less (28 v 31) so your max turbo clock is a little less. Probably more ideal to use a S processor in a HTPC or something similar.

[S00N3R FR3AK]

Stupid phone, I hit reply by accident and when I went to edit that post lost internet. Anyways yeah when I saw that deal I was like holy ****.

So anyways new things to talk about. Some people are pressing hard for me to do AMD(he admitted to be a fan boy and wanting everyone to use them). What am I losing in that $70-$80 price drop besides PCI 3.0? Compare it to the i5-3570k which I plan to get right now and that I am paying $190 for it and getting $50 off a motherboard.

[LaP]

XFX Double D Black Edition 7950 $379.99 with $20 mail in rebate, as well as 3 free games right now. So I may just go ahead and order it.

From what i can recall the Double D cooler was not very well rated in review. Here in canada the Ggigabyte windforce card is less expensive and the cooler is better. You should look if it is the case in USA too. The Windforce 7950 is 370 CAD so should be less in USA probably around 350.

[LaP]

The 670 is $420 , 7950 is $380 with additional $20 rebate meaning theres a $60 price difference.

You find better deal for a 7950 in USA i'm sure of that.

I have right here one for 370$ CAD with a very good custom cooler and not stupid MIR.

http://ncix.com/products/?sku=67546&vpn=GV%2DR795WF3%2D3GD&manufacture=Gigabyte&promoid=1048