For a friend

[Bags]

1. What is your budget and does that include shipping/taxes?
$850, no just for the actual parts (try to keep shipping down tho)

2. Where do you live (Please list if possible town, state, and country)?
He lives in Texas

3. What do you need this computer to do (like gaming, Photoshop, and so on)?
All he does is game

4. What parts will you need for the computer? Please list what parts specifically.
He needs everything but the CD key for windows 7 64 bit and a monitor

5. Are you reusing any parts for this computer? If so please say what parts.
No

6. What kind of monitor/resolution do you have or want to get to use for the computer?
Hmm, I'll have to clarify if this actually makes a difference. I think it's widescreen, but most likely not 1080p.


7. Do you have a legit OS? If so what OS and is it 32-bit or 64-bit?
above

8. What are you looking for the motherboard to have feature wise? Like SLI, Crossfire, Firewire, USB 3.0, Sata 6.0 Gb/s, and so on.
I don't think he plans on crossfiring/sling, but I guess USB 3.0 /sata 6.0gbs are kinda standard tho

9. Any plans to overclock the CPU or GPU?
No to CPU and GPU

10. What time kind of time frame are you planning on ordering these parts?
A few weeks


He plays League of legends, TF2, L4D2, LOTR online, and plans to play PS2.

[Goku]

Does he live near one of the MC in Texas?

[Ailos]

Originally Posted by Goku

Does he live near one of the MC in Texas?

I live in Texas, but I'm not sure what you're referring to there.

Here's my build:

CPU - Core i3-2100 Sandy Bridge - $119.99

Mobo - Biostar TZ77B - $99.99

RAM - GSkill DDR3 1600 8 GB - $46.99

GPU - EVGA GTX 560 - $189.99

Storage - HDD+SSD - $173.98

PSU - NZXT 750 W 80 PLUS Bronze - $119.99

Case - NZXT Source 210 - $49.99

Total: $810.92 before a $30 mail-in rebate.

Obviously the weakest thing here is the CPU. It may be a better option to forego the SSD in favor of putting the money into an i5 3750k (which adds $10 to the total). Personally, getting the SSD was a moment very similar to when you first get your smartphone - a "how the hell did I live without this?" kind of thing, so that's why I put the SSD in there. But then, when he eventually buys a GPU that actually works at PCIe 3.0 x16 speeds, he should probably get an SSD to complement it. Similarly, if he keeps the SSD in there now, he'll need to buy an Ivy Bridge with the new GPU.

But either way, I don't think he'll feel like he'd have to upgrade anything for 18 months, and when he does, it'll be just 2 components, so he could go all-out on those, and this mobo will still support that.

[Bags]

Hmm, I'll check with him when he gets back from something tomorrow.

[Goku]

Referring to Micro Center. They the 3570K for $190 and $50 off Z77 boards for a combo.

Ailos that build is full of issues as well. No reason to use a expensive Z77 motherboard with a Core i3 2100. Due to the budget a SSD likely isn't the best route for this build. The PSU is totaly over kill for the needs of this build. If he isn't overclocking at all he can easily get a 500W or 600W if there is room.

Here is a quick build:

Corsair Carbide Series 300R - $79.99
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB HDD - $109.99
GIGABYTE GV-R785OC-2GD Radeon HD 7850 2GB - $259.99
SONY Black SATA DVD-ROM Drive - $17.00
Antec NEO ECO 520C 520W PSU - $59.99
G.SKILL Value Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 - $39.99
BIOSTAR H77MU3 LGA 1155 Intel H77 - $80
Intel Core i5-3450 - $199.99

Total = $846.93

[Bags]

Still haven't seen him to ask him about MC, but that card kind of has shitty reviews doesn't it?

[Goku]

can you point me to the shitty reviews?

EDIT: Are you talking about the fan noise? I didn't know that was a issue with that. The reason I liked it at first was due to how it was already overclocked for the same price. This ASUS one doesn't seem to have any fan issues.

[Vancha]

Most of the complaints seem to be AMD's driver issues. AMD are known to have "worse" drivers than Nvidia, but AMD's cards are probably the best deal below a 670, aside from perhaps some sort of 560ti.

[Goku]

I still think AMD is perfectly fine for single cards. A lot of the complaining about the drivers seem to be about the time the 7800s were released. Majority of those issues were probably resolved by now.

[Ailos]

To me, a big part of building your own PC is having the ability to easily add (rather than replace) stuff later on. Perhaps the i3 IS a bit low for the Z77, but then, just take out the SSD and problem solved. Can't find anything wrong with your build either though, besides the noisiness of the card and the fact that the PSU has a lower 80PLUS certification.

EDIT: I've found ATI cards to be louder than they need to be sometimes, and that has caused me to become a stickler for quietness now. That 7850 is no exception. And if we are looking at cards in that caliber, might want to stretch the budget and get this 560 Ti Cores 448.

[Rbstr]

Well it'd be pretty silly to go out and buy a new CPU within a year or so.
Then the next set of Intel chips are probably going to a new socket. There's little point moving up inside the SB/IB constraints once that happens.

[Goku]

PSU is perfectly fine. Certifications are not everything.

All the AIBs have different cooling designs for their 7850s. The ASUS line of Directu II cooling is known to be very good cooling plus, while not being noisy. I would take the 7850 over the 560 Ti 448 due to the lower power consumption and 2GB vram. The 7850s can overclock to 1200MHz with ease and will leave the 560 Ti 448 in the dust.

[Bags]

Okay, he's ~60 mins from the nearest microcenter, and his monitor is actually tiny...

1366x768

[Goku]

2 hours? Thats quite the drive. I don't know if he would be saving much doing that.

Any chance he plans on upgrading his monitor in the coming year? Otherwise to save some money he can step down to a GTX 560 Ti.

[Bags]

I'll ask, when I see him, but I doubt it.