In need of help for new gaming rig

[ilya]

Originally Posted by Profion

hey guys, i can't seem to find anything under 1500$ before taxed on any gamin rig because i need to add the OS, monitor & kb/mouse(left handed).

am i being unreasonable with my price point and find a way to upgrade my budget or am i being to ambitious on what i want vs need?

it is nearly discouraging.

i would really appreciate you guys help here.

thanks!

Don't fret - you're definitely not in over your head, just remember to breathe.

NCIX's regular list pricing is always higher than MSRP, you should be pricematching like I said before.

Use shopping search engines like shopbot/pricebat/pricecanada and copy/paste the model numbers to find the lowest pricing.

A quick glance and I can easily tell you that your build can easily be had for $200-$300 less with pricematching and swapping out components for other parts of equal calibre. I'm not going to tell you what to buy though, that's something you need to figure out for yourself.

BTW, your last build is missing RAM.

EDIT:

Been listening to "Bad" by U2 and Bono is telling me not to sleep. So I figured I'd work up a build proposal for you.

CPU
NCIX just had a special on the 2500k for $199, but I can't find the promo id, although $208 isn't bad either.

CPU Cooler
This thing has gone just below the $20 mark quite often, but I don't see one atm and $2 isn't a huge difference.

MB
This is a matx board, you give up 3 expansion slots for all the high end gaming features you could want at a price point lower than your original motherboard choice. It's a new board, but it's seen the $160-$170 price range quite frequently.

As for the RAM, any set will do, price is the main factor. Get 2x2GB if you need more budget space, you can easily find a set with decent speeds as low as $20-$30. For gaming, 2x4GB is not necessary. But if you have budget leftover, I'd get it since it's so cheap.

HDD
If you're willing to wait and hunt, you can get this drive or similar for even less. I would leave the SSD out of the build for now, it's not necessary for a gaming build, just nice to have.

PSU
Seasonic makes the Corsair PSU you originally picked, the 750W and the 850W models are very similar internally, the 100W difference is a moot point in your case. (you don't even need a 750W PSU) The only real difference is a 5 year warranty vs a 7 year one. You could also get another PSU if you need more budget space.

Case
I assume you picked the Storm Enforcer for cooling, features, and the look. I'm not going to recommend another since I don't know your preferences in terms of aesthetics. But if you want to go cheaper and maintain similar cooling/features/quality, it's possible.

OS
Sometimes you can get it a little cheaper, but this seems to be the best ATM.

So far it comes to $763.56 before taxes with $15 and $8 USD MIR's. You're still missing a GPU/monitor/keyboard/mouse and you need to decide on RAM. I would suggest hunting for a sale on the GPU or buying used, which GPU would depend on what monitor you decide on. How much you spend on your mouse/keyboard would also depend on what monitor you want. The mouse probably wouldn't be expensive though, since you're a lefty.

So pick out your monitor before confirming on the rest of your parts. I doubt you'll have budget for something like a high end IPS panel and I'm not too familiar with current monitor offerings below $200 so I can't help you there.

[Profion]

thanks ilya and sugar for replying...
the SSD will be dropped and will be added at a later date.
and psu i will go with the 750W
i do plan on doing an SLI in the future, obviously not yet. will the psu be powerful enough?
i will be getting the EVGA 560 GTX TI....

now as for the monitors, this is where i want to shoot myself (figuratively speaking) because i would like a 20"+ with 1920x1280, i know a monitor is a good investment since it should last a good 4-5 years. so i am willing to plunge in this but, any suggestions if i should go samsung, sony, viewsonic? any one who is farmiliar with this?

the case, yes i chose it for the look as much as for the airflow and price... i was noticing the cheaper cases either had low airflow or limited space.. i was also interested in the Azza Hurricane 2000 which has 8 fans but is 150$. i know my eyes are bigger than my wallet.

thank you for your suggestions again, it is very very much appreciated.