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Building a computer for under 700$


Grake

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I just took the prices before rebate (it's a rip-off any way) ;).

By the way, I presented those mobos as they have SATA gen. 3 and USB 3.0, so no new add-on card is needed in the future :).

... otherwise you can get a 4850 with 512MB for $99 (if you don't really need DirectX 11 yet)
Yup, that one, if you use the search option it doesn't show up so you have to check the main list indeed. I just wanted the OP to look over those cards ;).

The setup is nice indeed CoffeeFiend, it's sure something to look into. The case is a bit personal but... The coolermaster 690 is better build than the Antec 300, it does have 1 HDD space less and it is more expensive indeed, but the value of the coolermaster is better. What I missed most with the Antec is the 5.25" to 3.5" bracket (used for a 3.5" card reader or so), not so easy to take out HDDs, and does need more work when routing cables inside for a clean look. Note that I like (and have) both, the coolermaster has a more value...

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I just took the prices before rebate (it's a rip-off any way) ;).

I know. I'm still under $700 without them :)

By the way, I presented those mobos as they have SATA gen. 3 and USB 3.0, so no new add-on card is needed in the future :).

Good call. And here is my updated list, for a i5 750, including a board that also has that:

One more option, v2, copy-and-paste edition:

Intel Core i5 750 Quad Core Processor Lynnfield LGA1156 2.66GHZ 8MB Cache Retail Box

$219.99

Gigabyte P55A-UD3 ATX LGA1156 P55 DDR3 2PCI-E 2PCI RAID GBLAN CrossFireX USB3.0 SATA3 Motherboard

$150.99 still 4 DIMM sockets, two x16 slots, etc. Also has USB 3 and SATA 6 Gbps in case he has a need for those.

Corsair XMS3 CMX4GX3M2A1600C9 4GB DDR3 2X2GB DDR3-1600 CL 9-9-9-24 Core I5 Dual Channel Memory Kit

$99.99

OCZ Z-SERIES 550W 80+ Silver Certified 24PIN ATX 12V Afc Power Supply W/ 120MM Fan

$74.99 (there's a $25 mail in rebate, NOT included in that price)

Powercolor Radeon HD 5750 700MHZ 1GB 4.6GHZ GDDR5 2XDVI HDMI Display Port DIRECTX11

$139.99 (there's a $10 mail in rebate, NOT included in that price) otherwise you can get a 4850 with 512MB for $99 (if you don't really need DirectX 11 yet)

Antec Three Hundred Mini Tower Gaming Case 300 ATX 3X5.25 6X3.5INT No PS Front USB & Audio

$53.99

Hard drive -- you already have. I'm assuming you also have the DVD-RW, otherwise a 24x Samsung SATA DVD-RW will run you $28 extra.

Then I'd make it price match themselves (directcanada and ncix are really the same company) -- in your cart, select "start price match" and fill the prices and URLs (so far, they've never turned any of mine down):

The exact same RAM @ $96.47 there: http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=...facture=CORSAIR

The exact same CPU @ 218.88 there: http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=...nufacture=INTEL

The exact same video card @ $138.01 there: http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=...ture=POWERCOLOR

The exact same motherboard @ $147.68 there: http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=...acture=GIGABYTE

That would pretty much be it.

Before price matching or mail in rebates, the price is $739.94 (w/o the DVD-RW). After price matching with themselves (I still love this game), it's $730.02 so still $30 over budget (unless you go with the 4850 in which case you're down to about $692). Then if you do get the $35 back from the mail in rebates, you're down to $695 :) Or $657 if you go with the 4850... Mind you, I'd still look at a Athlon II X4 620 build like puntoMX said (more $ left for a better vid card like a 4890 or other things)

The coolermaster 690 is better build than the Antec 300, it does have 1 HDD space less and it is more expensive indeed, but the value of the coolermaster is better

It's nice for sure (I just built a box for a friend last week with a nice coolermaster case too). However:

I'd like to stick to my two picks regarding the case

So I went with that, just like he said...

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Why 550W?

overkill...400W is plenty for this.

The CPU has a TDP of 95W by itself and a Radeon 4850 will use another 100W or so (IIRC) on its own. Then you have to add everything else... And leave some expansion room for future upgrades, and you don't want the thing running at 100% either. I mean, I have good quality Seanonic 350W PSUs in the kids boxes, but they're low power Athlon X2's (45W TDP) with onboard video, NOT a Core i5 gaming machine with fancy video card.

Either ways, there's only $10 difference between the two. And for that $10, you get lots more power available to you (534 vs 360W on the 12v rails -- nearly 50% more), a higher efficiency (it's 80+ silver i.e. over 88%) which will easily pay for the difference and more, 5 years warranty, it's ready for a 2nd video card (and his board has two x16 slots as well), etc. So why not?

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Thank you, but I'm still sticking with the intel choice for the cpu. You can say I'm a fan of it, but until I learn a bit more about AMD I'll be sticking with intel for now. So I'll be looking at what Coffee suggested, and thanks Punto for the reply. I am liking the case you pointed out, might go into a store to look at that. Option v2 looks nice, and yes, I do already have a dvd drive around. ~50$ over or under is fine really, 700$ wasn't set in stone, but I definitely didn't want to go into the 900's or 1k. The video card you suggested is way more than what he needs really, I myself have a a very old 7600GT and we've pretty much played the same games together sometimes and had no trouble, so I don't think I need to go to an AMD build to save money for the video card.

Anywho thanks, I'll look into it and reply back tomorrow.

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We are here to help you out. That video card isn't really over kill but the CPU is/was; Plain and simple, that video card we pointed to is a midrange card (5750) and back in the days that the 4xxx series were the latest and greatest it was the 4850 that belonged in the list of high-end cards (4870 was better but way over priced compared with the 4850 and a lot later came the 4890 that is still high priced). New games will use all the prower those two cards offer at 1920*1080, but won't use the CPU with 4 cores about some, maybe 60%.

Any way, the i5 is a very nice CPU, leaving the socket 775 CPU in the past (I don't know what to think about the i3 really), except the E3x00 Celeron witch is great on a G41 mobo and DDR3 (I saw that Gigabyte released a 775 mobo for DDR3) for no gaming setups (can even run CAD apps. nicely but s`cks in renders for example).

We are always interested in what people pick these days and why ;).

Why 550W?
For me it was the 80+ cert. plus it's build out of more expensive components resulting in longer life when used 24/7 for example.

EDIT: Grake, I hope that hard disk has a capacity above 160GB (eg. not older than 3-4 years), that would slow the whole system down for sure, plus a bigger risk of loosing data...

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Case: Coolermaster cm 690 Mid Tower Black ATX Case 5X5.25 5X3.5INT No PS Front USB Sound Firewire & eSATA

http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=260...re=COOLERMASTER

CPU: Intel Core i5 750 Quad Core Processor Lynnfield LGA1156 2.66GHZ 8MB Cache Retail Box

http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=424...nufacture=Intel

Motherboard: Gigabyte P55A-UD3 ATX LGA1156 P55 DDR3 2PCI-E 2PCI RAID GBLAN CrossFireX USB3.0 SATA3

http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=462...acture=Gigabyte

Memory: Corsair XMS3 CMX4GX3M2A1600C9 4GB DDR3 2X2GB DDR3-1600 CL 9-9-9-24 Core I5 Dual Channel Memory Kit

http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=425...mp;promoid=1061

Power supply: OCZ Z-SERIES 550W 80+ Silver Certified 24PIN ATX 12V Afc Power Supply W/ 120MM Fan

http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=452...mp;promoid=1061

Video Card: Powercolor Radeon HD 5750 700MHZ 1GB 4.6GHZ GDDR5 2XDVI HDMI Display Port DIRECTX11 PCI-E

http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=48965

Okay, that's what I'm going with. Any objections/suggestions?

The hard drive I have is :

http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=360...mp;promoid=1061

So I don't think I have a problem with that. Also forgot to mention, will I have any problem installing an x64 version of windows?

Edited by Grake
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Okay, that's what I'm going with. Any objections/suggestions?

Nice rig overall. Not a killer gamer's rig (due to the video card) but no complaints :)

So I don't think I have a problem with that. Also forgot to mention, will I have any problem installing an x64 version of windows?

Win7 x64 would work just fine on it.

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Case: Coolermaster cm 690 Mid Tower Black ATX Case 5X5.25 5X3.5INT No PS Front USB Sound Firewire & eSATA
When you put in the optical drive (and card reader or so), look good how to remove the front cover; it's sometimes a bit touch to pull it off (I'm using an external drive so I haven't popped mine of but some people do have problems with it).
Why 550W?
For me it was the 80+ cert. plus it's build out of more expensive components resulting in longer life when used 24/7 for example.

Corsair 400CW is 80+

I know, but it's not sold at NCIX (Canada), I just made the list on that page ;).
So I don't think I have a problem with that. Also forgot to mention, will I have any problem installing an x64 version of windows?

Win7 x64 would work just fine on it.

Indeed, but please don't use XP 64bit. Linux will do fine also :yes:
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Okay, thanks, i'll watch out for the cover. I didn't order that case online and got it at a store instead, and ordered an HTPC case for myself from there since they had it and the store didn't. It was actually cheaper there too, so it was good.

Why not XP 64? I was going to install Vista 64. He's not willing to invest in Win 7 atm, so eh.

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So he'd be willing to buy Vista, but not Win7? I'd call that crazy talk ;). Unless there's some specific reason you need XP x64 (or if you've already got a legal retail install disc and key and aren't buying a new OS), going with it over Win7 x64 seems a little odd.

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Given it's 4GB of RAM, unless he needs x64 (or plans on upgrading this to Win8 in the future), he doesn't need x64. I would always recommend it over 32bit in a situation like this, but if you've already got a retail copy of another version of Windows and that Windows is not XP, it should be just fine.

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  • 2 weeks later...

-Bump-

So I got this all built up and installed, and have a couple of questions.

There's an IEEE 1394 on the case, and I can't find any connection on the motherboard. Not that it has any use for him, but I would just like to know how or if I can connect it to that mobo.

Can you point me to a good cooler?

I'm looking at this one.

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=41337

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