Sub $800 Build - Suggestions?

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NixJedi

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What should/could I change for the better (I already have the Windows OS in hand)?

I'm spending more time at work (Like 80+ hours a week 'more'), so I've managed to fall behind on recent hardware releases. :thumbdown:


This build currently comes out to $795.94 including shipping costs.

$760.94 after Mail-In-Rebates (which is a plus in my case. Getting some money back!).


I'm keeping the cost SUB $800, before any Mail-In-Rebates (those are good too though :thumbup1:) while including the cost of shipping to 04105 in my limit.


I'd prefer:

• To keep the Antec 300 case

• Keep the 3 blue LED lit fans. (Cheaper fans would do, but they need to be blue LED lit.)

• Keep the ASUS DVD Burner (Cheaper unit that does the same function could work out I suppose, trying to avoid sketchy Chinese manufacturers though)

• Have at least a 500GB SATA 6.0 hard drive

• Be able to run Skyrim, MW3, etc at as highest settings as allowed by this build (preferably decent in the eyes of a gamer on an 24" HD LCD).


Thanks for your suggestions and help! :blush:


*Psssssssst!, Ph?bus, I know you want to make a suggestion here!* ;)
 
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Ide Say get rid of two of your fans. And remove one RAM Stick because you really only need 4 gigs. And ide spend the extra cash on getting a 1TB hard drive. And you can get one for aroun 70-80$. And spend the rest on a better GPU. :) thats what i would do. Just personall opinion
 
A couple things:
1. I don't recommend dumbing it down to 4GB if you're able to stay underbudget -- RAM is at the cheapest I've ever seen it, so you may as well keep it at eight gigs. It may not directly boost gaming performance, but it'll help smooth out other programs/applications.
2. Why DDR3 1066? Is there a specific reason you want 1066? You could be underbudget and pick up an eight gig DDR3 1600 kit instead. The the difference is pretty noticeable.
3. May I ask why you got two separate sticks of 4GB instead of buying a 2x4GB kit (which would probably save you a couple dollars)?
4. If you're hurting for cash, dropping those LED case fans should save you a good $25. If you don't intend to overclock right out the box, that case has fairly good stock cooling that should serve you well.
EDIT: 5. Dropping those fans might save you enough cash to pick up a pretty darn good AM3+ board to help with future upgrades and still be underbudget.

Other than that, that's a pretty sweet setup for under $800!
 
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1. buying a AM3 board right now is dumb. AM3+ is already released
2. buying a 1100T is also pretty poor choice since it is unlikely that you will see any performance increase over an X4 or i5
3. that ram is pretty expensive
4. I would recommend an aftermarket CPU cooler so that you can get a decent overclock.
 
I should have dropped my attempt it seems and rather gone with

"In your case, if you had to build a complete tower for under $800, what would you buy?"

:lol:

Seriously though, I'm open to suggestions. Hack away and like I said, I'm not as up to speed with hardware as I'd like to be... :thumbdown:
 
Drop the AM3 board, and drop to a Phenom X6 1090t, it's a lot cheaper and .1 ghz difference for basically the same chip. Don't skimp on the memory as cheap as it is, 8gb should be a go but more importantly, up the speed to at least 1333 mhz or 1600.

Try this for the mobo, AM3+, USB 3, will fit that case, great bios.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131767

And this for the memory, same brand, 8gb on two sticks, better speeds, $2 more.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314

The 6870 graphics card is alright, but if you take a step back in the CPU, and use the above products you'll have some spare change to work with, you could go GTX 560 or maybe even a 2gb 6950. IMO they are better cards.

FYI the stock cooler on the Phenom blows chunks. Upgrade it
 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231428

Ooh. 8gb 1600 for $30! Yeah, there are deals like this always going on newegg.

The gtx 560 is an overclocked gtx 460 that is probably about the same performance as the 6870. However, the 560s being newer are more expensive, thus I would stick the 6870 over it. The gtx 560 Ti is a step above the 6870 with the 6950 a step above that.

Also, sata 6.0 is meaningless marketing for a mechanical drive. And if you have an old one you can use, do that instead with prices being what they are. That or wait for a decent deal to pop up.

And when you actually make the purchase, see if you can find any combo deals through newegg.
 
1. I would wait till march when HDD prices go down, HDD used to be 50$ for a 500GB drive, now its $100+.
2.Do you really need a 6 core? For gaming no, if you do renderings and stuff then go ahead.
3. The only reason i'd go for that motherboard is the VRMs but since your not getting a cooler I'm assuming there will be no overclocking, so i would just the the m5a97 which is 99$ and is capabale of overclocking if you wish to do so later on.
4. I would rather get the Haf912 for that price since you get cable management,PLENTY of airflow and Video card head room. There's also the Lian li k57 which has plenty of room and cable management. There is also Bit fenix cases which are QUALITY built(if you have every seen one in person or touched it you would know) If i was building a rig right now i'd go bit fenix, cheap and quality builds with all the space and cable management you need.

http://www.xoxide.com/bitfenix-cases.html


This would be the setup I would go for If i was building one

http://www.edge-gamers.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1978858&postcount=5

The case was picked by my mate since the configuration was for him. He could easily go for a cheaper case and a cheaper psu but he has future plans i guess. There's enough room in that config for a 570 though which will blow the 6870 out of the water :)
 
Okay, here's an update on my build.

Now comes out to $803.32 Shipped. I'm stealing money from my Toll coin jar to make up the difference. ;)

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Again, suggestions and harassment openly accepted and promoted. :)
 
frankth3frizz said:
looks great! That drive is EXPENSIVE for a 500GB but whatya gonna do when its flooded where its made xD

http://www.firstpost.com/tech/hard-...s-manufacturers-retailers-and-you-140412.html
Click to expand...

Yeah and it SUCKS because I had four 2TB drives on hand but just put them into my NAS and filled them pretty good... A 500GB drive will be good enough for what this unit will be doing. Most anything else it will need can be accessed over the network and thus, hard drive space isn't an issue any more.
 
I don't know what you plan to buy with that gift card, but if you want to save some money you could knock off the $20 dvd drive and wait 4 more days to order it and save $15. Hopefully you can live without a dvd drive for 4 days.
 
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