Sub-$1000 Build (Or close to it)

Status
Not open for further replies.
S

Snipeye

EGO Is My Life!
=(e)=
Joined
May 6, 2009
Messages
4,867
Would like some opinions on this proposed build.

AZZA Solano 1000 Full Tower Case $115 ($20 MIR)
EVGA SuperClocked 01G-P3-1563-AR GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB $240 ($20 MIR)
CORSAIR HX750 750W PSU $150 ($10 MIR)
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 $25
GIGABYTE GA-Z68XP-UD4 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 $170 ($20 MIR)
Intel Core i5-2500K $225
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus $26 ($10 MIR)

Total Cost per Newegg: $950.93 ($80 MIR) = $870.93 + $26 S&H fees

Obviously, there a few things missing. I'll add a DVD-RW drive for about $25, more or less. The one thing I'm debating hard is to add a SSD SATA II drive for between $110-$200, depending on the deals and MIRs available (Intel has a $70 MIR for their 120GB model at $190) Assuming that I get those two, the total price is bumped up to $1165.91, with $150 in MIR, totaling $1015.91. I do have a spare hard drive lying around, still in its shrink wrap, when I bought it like a year or two ago (I think it's a 1TB drive, if not a 750GB one when prices were dirt cheap back then). So storage isn't a problem. I was planning on using the SSD for the OS, and games alone, with music and movies on the larger drive. I'll use my current speakers, mouse, keyboard, and monitors as well.

What this will be replacing/upgrading from is my older system with an Intel Core2Duo E6750, 2x2GB DDR2 800MHz RAM, EVGA Geforce GTX 285, somewhere between 2-2.5 TB of storage (both internal and external drives), a Gigabyte LGA 775 board, and a Cooler Master HAF 932 Full tower case with DVD-RW drive. I'm using a Razer Lycosa (?) mouse and Logitech keyboard with a Dell LCD 19" Std Monitor + HannsG 21" LCD Widescreen Monitor. Opinions on the build and upgrade?
 
Im not sure how good the case is but. I think you should get a HAF. Ive never heard of AZZA But thats just my opinion lol. Ummmm. Ide say with an extra i say you should just get the i7 2500k
 
That boosts the entire cost up another $100, and you mean tthe i7 2600K, Cloaked. That's not an option. I'm trying to keep the cost down to or below $1000. Pretty much I'm squeezing as much Performance for the price as I can. Actually thinking of maybe going with a 2500 to save $30 on the difference (but again, it's just $30 for the K, which isn't bad either...)

I'm having a problem with newegg as the $70 rebate for the SSD may NOT be applicable anymore, even though it's advertised on the search page (but not product page). Thinking it over, the 80GB SSD would be more ideal, reducing the cost to $158.99, and saving me about $32. Like I said, I'm only putting the OS and games on it, and the games would be CoD4, CoD MW3, Skyrim, Minecraft, Terraria, SWTOR, maybe even WOW (but that would definitely push the size of the SSD)
 
Last edited:
I like it. Bump up the ram to 8gb 1600. There are continually deals atm for $30 or so on that. SSD wise, wait for a deal as well. The crucial m4 are great drives and have had some good deals in the past.

Case wise, consider side mounted hard drive bays. Check out the Lancool line and the Cooler Master cases. The new corsair carbide looks like a good option as well:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139008

Great expandability for cooling if you need it, side mounted hard drives, usb 3.0, cable management.
 
I like the DDR3 to 1600. However, Newegg is playing mind games with me. They're advertising a G.Skill 2x4GB set for $30, but when I add them to my cart, it's $45. My guess, Cyber Monday deals expiring and the website is catching up to adjusting the prices.

I like the Crucial M4 drives, but the only one that fits my budget is the 64GB, which would be too small for the amount of stuff I'll be installing/saving onto the drive.

I like the case. But I always lean towards a full tower case because I like having all the room, and the extra expansion slots available. I.E. 3 Internal hard drives on current PC, with a possibility for a 4th and maybe a 5th...
 
At $100 I think a Lancool would be a better buy. Fractal design also makes some very spiffy cases in that price range.

Also, 750W is a little overkill for even 560Ti SLI. Keep in mind that Corsair just released the TX V2 line a couple months ago that is vastly superior to the guts of the currently not-updated HX line. I get you want modular, but it's something to consider.

EDIT: Ninja'd.
 
Well I know for a fact you can get a 912 HAF case for half the price of that one you picked. 80gb SSd is overkill. You really only need the SSD for your OS. And that should be fine on a 40 gig SSD. I also think you can find a better power supply thats around 700 watts for MUCH cheaper. Im purchasing an Antec Earthwatts 650 watt for 60 bucks. Keep the ram at where its at. For 1600 you wont tell much of a differnce since you are getting 8 gigs of it. I myself am getting a 560Ti also and i have to say keep it. :) But other then that. It should drop your entire build down about 100-200$. ( didnt calculate derp.) But i would reccomend the I7 2600k since the new SANDY E BRIDGE chip series has already came out. So if you want great performance for your rig go with that :D
 
I built a computer a bit like that. The 2500k is still overkill for gaming purposes. Even if it slows down in a couple of years, the hyper 212 will allow you to easily overclock it. I OCed mine to 4.5 ghz easily, but I leave it at 3.3 and it'll spool itself up to 3.7 when it needs to--still, overkill. (That being said, the 2600k just isnt necessary for gaming)

One thing though, look at getting the Hyper 212 EVO instead of the 212+ if you can. The heat pipes are better designed so its a bit better and easier to install (considering thermal paste is a bit tricky on the 212+)
 
Flush said:
I built a computer a bit like that. The 2500k is still overkill for gaming purposes. Even if it slows down in a couple of years, the hyper 212 will allow you to easily overclock it. I OCed mine to 4.5 ghz easily, but I leave it at 3.3 and it'll spool itself up to 3.7 when it needs to--still, overkill. (That being said, the 2600k just isnt necessary for gaming)

One thing though, look at getting the Hyper 212 EVO instead of the 212+ if you can. The heat pipes are better designed so its a bit better and easier to install (considering thermal paste is a bit tricky on the 212+)
Click to expand...

Well what im saying is sooner or later his CPU will be opsolete. The New Sandy bridge E series is out and personall it will help re sale value if he wants to sell and build a completely new one in the up coming year or so.
 
Cloaked. Like I said, I lean towards Full Towers. My last 3 cases was an Antec P180, Apevia MX-Pleasure, and the HAF 932. All full towers. I do NOT like mid-towers as they get too cramped for everything I eventually install into them, and a full tower becomes a must in that case.

And again, I said I plan to use the SSD for both my OS and games. OS alone, I would of gone with a 30GB SSD because that's all that would be needed. But because of all the games that I listed, 80GB SSD is the preferred size. And the Sandy E Bridge chip has no bearing because I'm not getting a i7-3960X chip, which btw, requires a complete different sock (LGA 2011), not LGA 1155 as the mobo I'm getting, and costs over $1000 to even BUY. I'm starting to think you're throwing around numbers and parts, and not fully grasping the importance of Performance-to-Price that I'm sticking with.

Let me put it simply between why I'm getting the i5-2500K and not the i7-2600K.
i5-2500K $225
i7-2600K $320
Difference in price: $95. Current build price, with the hypothetical SSD and DVD-RW, $1165.91; already over proposed $1000 price LIMIT. Including all possible MIRs, price goes down to just over $1015.91, not including S&H fees (another $30 or so).

Antec PSUs are not an option with me. Last time I used them, it fried half my system. I've used Apevia, Xigmatek, and Corsair to name a few. Not a single fried PSU for all of them in over 5 years. Antec, two in 5 months.

APR, I'll look at the TX V2. Thanks for noticing my preference for modular.

Huckleberry, I'll take a look at the LanCool, and some other cases. I was originally going to get another HAF 932, but I like a refresh once in a while. I'm definitely willing to look at good full towers, just no mid-towers.

Flush, I'll definitely take a look at the EVO. It's been years since I had to apply thermal paste, so anything to make it easier I'm up for.

Edit: Just saw Cloak's follow up post before me; the CPU is already obsolete. Doesn't mean it won't run well, or isn't the best bang for the buck part. This will easily last me for the next 3-5 years, which by then, I'll look into possibly building a new system. But with the i5-2500K, the only thing I'd really have to update over the years would be the GPU and storage (okay, RAM if I want to go up to 16GB for the hell of it)
 
Last edited:
Two things from my point of view.

Do you really need a full tower case? Some mids are huge with 4-8 hard drive enclosures and it might save you some dough. You could look into a better cooling case for less money.

And to be honest, you already have a case . . . why reinvent the wheel? With the money you'd save from not buying a case you have more play room on other components (memory, power supply?, etc.)

The motherboard is nice, but some other well done mobo from MSI, etc offer the same specs, better warranties and might be cheaper.

Otherwise, looks good.
 
I'm going to keep using the other PC for movies and such, and setting it up as a general use PC (Internet, movies, gaming, homework, etc). This one that I want to build will be used mostly for gaming. And you brought up a good point about some mid-towers being huge. However, I can never find one that looks good to me (price too high, inadequate space, cooling, etc.) If you got a suggestion for a large mid-tower, I'll be willing to look at it.

I had another thread asking about mobos, and this one is what I really liked over all the others, especially considering I prefer Gigabyte boards. Asus and MSI were a close 2nd and 3rd.
 
That case is so expensive for what you get, i'd look into bitfenix or corsair, really good build qualities on those.
 
Made a few adjustments:

Removed the case out of the equation completely. I'll move my current setup into my old Apevia MX-Pleasure case that I still got lying around, and move the new system into my HAF 932 case.

Replaced the Corsair PSU with an OCZXModstream 700watt that costs about $90 w/ an additional $30 MIR for $60 total.

Added an LG Blu-Ray Drive since I got both DVDs and BluRays.

Decided to stick with the 212 Plus.

New Total: $1015 with either $80 or up to $150 in MIR, with no S&H fees. Now if only Newegg will let me use the Preferred Account option, I'm set to go.

P.S. I looked at BitFenix, they're $150! I can just rebuy the HAF 932 case for $10 cheaper (with a $30 MIR)
 
Snipeye said:
Made a few adjustments:

Removed the case out of the equation completely. I'll move my current setup into my old Apevia MX-Pleasure case that I still got lying around, and move the new system into my HAF 932 case.

Replaced the Corsair PSU with an OCZXModstream 700watt that costs about $90 w/ an additional $30 MIR for $60 total.

Added an LG Blu-Ray Drive since I got both DVDs and BluRays.

Decided to stick with the 212 Plus.

New Total: $1015 with either $80 or up to $150 in MIR, with no S&H fees. Now if only Newegg will let me use the Preferred Account option, I'm set to go.

P.S. I looked at BitFenix, they're $150! I can just rebuy the HAF 932 case for $10 cheaper (with a $30 MIR)
Click to expand...

The collosus is a bit pricey but I don't know if you have ever come across them personally but they feel like they're cheaper than how they are built. Quality is there. I would look into the Shinobi :)

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95VgFL9WuqE&feature=relmfu[/ame]
 
Shinobi's a midtower, so it's pretty obvious it's out of the question. Nothing against Bitfenix.

Reusing cases is a great way to save cash. Personally, I can't stand the HAF line, but it is what it is. The NZXT phantom is about $120 on newegg right now, and I'd much rather take that over the HAF. I've also heard great things about the Inwin Dragon Rider, though I don't know much about it.

Like reflex said, 700W is overkill though perfectly acceptable for SLI if you have interests in that. For a single 560Ti, look at about 500W. Even that might have too much headroom, reflex might give you a more accurate number. The problem is that good modular PSUs are very rare in low wattages and even rarer to be cheap. Seasonic had a great line but they decided to make them silent so they could charge twice as much. I would look for lower watt PSUs and see if I can actually get better quality for less money, but throwing in that modular I just don't know how successful it'll be.

Honestly, I don't see any difference between the EVO and regular 212+. I've also seen reviews and they perform identically. What it looks like to me is that Cooler Master is using a new manufacturing process either for cost-saving or so that all the coolers they make use the same tools. Changing the name insures that if there are warranty issues, they know immediately if the product was before or after the change. Although that's a stab in the dark, I really don't know. I personally would get the 212+ and save myself the $10.
 
eh, if it was up to me, he would be running a 400-450w unit, but people don't seem to like to accept the fact that it doesn't take 600w to drive a 560ti

the fan on the Evo is apparently quieter.
 
I don't want to get caught needing more power in the future when I upgrade/add-on parts. A 400-450 watt unit is running pretty lean for me, especially when I want to keep the door open for SLI 560ti, or a more beefy GPU. Plus, it's a huge pain in the rear to uninstall a PSU and install a new one if I did need a higher watt PSU, when I could of just bought that in the first place....
 
I agree snipeye. Stick with a little more for upgrades is my philosophy. Would rather not have to upgrade the psu later if I do not have to.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Latest posts

Back
Top