Game build, medium budget

[rapmaster]

If you plan to crossfire later on, here a good board Newegg.ca - GIGABYTE GA-890GPA-UD3H AM3 AMD 890GX HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard, if not you can get a lower end board like this one. Newegg.ca - GIGABYTE GA-770TA-UD3 AM3 AMD 770 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard

I'm less familiar with LGA1156, so any Asus or Gigabyte P55 should be fine.

[ElectricDrop]

Wow that second board is really cheap (like 85 euro's). Seems nice for a budget machine.
I'm still in doubt whether to choose AM3 or 1156 but the i5 seems really the sweet spot price/performance.
But the limitations of the 1156 platform, I don't know. Would like to see some input on this matter.

[rjbarker]

Ok.......I'm actually planning a build for my Daughter and her boyfriend....P55...this is the Board I'm getting them:

NCIX.com - Buy EVGA P55 ATX LGA1156 DDR3 SLI CrossFire 3PCI-E16 1PCI-E1 2PCI Sound GBLAN Motherboard - 132-LF-E655-KR In Canada.

with this CPU
NCIX.com - Buy Intel Core i5 750 Quad Core Processor Lynnfield LGA1156 2.66GHZ 8MB Cache Retail Box - BX80605I5750 In Canada.

with this Aftermarket CPU HS

NCIX.com - Buy Coolermaster Hyper 212 Plus Direct Touch 4 Heatpipe Heatsink AM2 AM3 LGA1366 LGA775 LGA1156 120MM - RR-B10-212P-GP In Canada.

with this RAM

NCIX.com - Buy G.SKILL F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL Ripjaws PC3-12800 4GB 2X2GB DDR3-1600 CL9-9-9-24 Core i5 1.5V Memory Kit - F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL In Canada.

PSU (not going cheap here as I may be "giving" them 2 x Evga GTX 280's)
NCIX.com - Buy Corsair Professional HX850W 850W ATX 12V 70A 24PIN ATX Modular Power Supply Active PFC 140MM Fan - CMPSU-850HX In Canada.

Case
NCIX.com - Buy Coolermaster CM 690 II Advanced ATX Mid Tower Case Black 4X5.25 1X3.5EXT 6X3.5INT *No PSU* - RC-692-KKN2 In Canada.

HD
NCIX.com - Buy Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB SATA3 6GB/S 7200RPM 64MB Cache 3.5IN Dual Proc Hard Drive OEM - WD6402AAEX In Canada.

Anyhow,,,this Build for them comes in at around 1K CDN......fairly close to your Budget, althoguh you still need a GPU...5850's are quite reasonable and you could go with a much cheaper PSU......

[ElectricDrop]

Thanks alot for sharing your build. Would you please explain what you say in your previous post. Which i7 do you mean? I suppose the i7 860 right?
About your build, I have some questions. The choice CM 690/HAF seems like the choice apples/pears, both very sweet. You choose to get SLI so the choice of MOBO is a bit too exessive for my preferences. Is that HD much different from the Samsung F3?

[rjbarker]

^^^ The Build I'm planning for them is what it is ;) and imo is a great Rig for Gaming at a great price....
1. Yes...I like the option for either Xfire or SLi left as an "option" - not into closing this door, especially for a "Budget" 100% Gaming build. That is also a great Board for OC'ing and its very reasonably priced....no USB 3.0, but that doesn't concern either me nor them...superficial really. Evga support is 2nd to none ..btw Evga in Europe is Germany I believe.
2. WD Blacks are amazing fast / quiet HD's
3. The 1156 CPU is I5 Quad Core

Also, I have a personal "distaste" for HAF Towers....please no offense to those who own them, they cool well, just find them plain ugly and imo the 690 is nicer looking with great Air Cooling.

I prefer Evga Boards as I'm completely familiar with the BIOS and I know they want to OC.....with that said Gigabyte Boards seem to be solid as well.....its a preference / support / price thing

Also..I know I can shave likey $150 CDN off the above by Price Matching ;)

[_dangtx_]

gigabyte for amd cpus,still. single or dual pci-e. dont need to get a 250 dollar board, 100 dollar one will do plenty.
ud4p from giga is what id recommend.
maybe the hexa core? same price as the 750, 2 more cores. mobos are cheaper than intel ones, usually more bang per buck if you go amd.

[rjbarker]

^^^ I'm pretty sure all PC stuff in Europe is marked up in price considerably...that Evga P55 Board is attractive as its $140 after MIR.....very good price and I don't mind MIR's at all...

I do like the look of some of the Gig Boards......

Here's some pics (from this Site) of a CM 690....nice looking Case..(wouldn't go with all that red though, but nice)

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum...tml#post385601

[ElectricDrop]

Ofcourse It's YOUR build for THEM. I'm trying to see what I can do with that knowledge. It seems pretty solid.
I'm still in doubt about my mobo choice. Nice case though, looks quite full but I'll get that decision later as it seems a less important decision.
The ud4p isn't available that well here in my country. But it seems the i5 has more performance in alot of games than any AMD alternative (also the new 6 cores which are equally priced or more expensive).
That EVGA MOBO is priced BAD here, and there's bad supply. So I stick with either MSI, Asus or Gigabyte.

[_dangtx_]

cool. good luck with the build, sir.

[ElectricDrop]

I've established another build, somewhat cheaper.
It's not the dual core you recommend dan but it can be made cheaper by choosing that one.

Phenom II x4 955
Gigabyte GA-870A-UD3
4 GB G.Skill F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ
500 GB Samsung F3
HD5850 ASUS DIRECTCU
Corsair TX650
HAF 922

Around 850 euro's.