regular gaming computer

[YoungMan]

Too bad you couldn't jump on the Crucial M4 ssd for $90. Between those 2, I would take the Sandisk. Though I much prefer Intel myself.

[CTA]

hmm lets me re-check... i dont recall to see m4 for 90 but its sold out...


i think of sandisk too

[bliz]

for the computer i just made, i used a corsair force GT 120gb, it's really cheap for a SSD, about 1 $ per Gb and it's fast: about 450mbps read speed and 180mbps write speed! so cool!windows shuts down in 4 secons and boots in 12 seconds,from power button to desktop :)

[le2key]

I'm always both excited and weary of these kinds of threads. There's always great ideas to stumble upon, but they're always all over place.

CPU:
- Intel Core I5 3570K on sale now for $219.99 at NCIX
or
- AMD FX-8350 on sale now for $189.99

Fanboyism aside, “better” is a pretty subjective term. At this point, AMD is never going to be better than Intel in raw performance, but the value is out of this world.

Motherboard:
- MSI Z77A-G45 LGA 1155 on sale now till November 28 for $114.99 - $10 rebate = $99.99 at NCIX (original price = $159.99)
or
- MSI 970A-G46 AM3+ on sale now till November 28 for $89.99 - $10 rebate = $79.99 at NCIX

I usually stick to Linus' tip and go with the big three: Gigabyte, MSI, or ASUS.

RAM:
- Corsair Vengeance CMZ8GX3M2A1866C9 8GB on sale now for $52.85 at NCIX
or
- G.SKILL F3-149000CL9D-8GBSR Sniper SE 8GB on sale now for $51.06 at NCIX

Nothing fancy, just two personally trusted brands that have worked for me everytime.

Video card:
- MSI GeForce GTX 660Ti Power Edition on sale now till November 28 for $289.99 - $20 rebate = $269.99 at NCIX (original price = $314.99)
or
- XFX Radeon HD 7870 Core ED on sale now till November 28 for $209.99 - $20 rebate = $189.99 at NCIX (original price = $239.99)

Two top of the hill bang-for-buck cards as of this moment.

SSD:
- Corsair Neutron Series GTX 120gb SSD on sale now till November 28 for $124.99 (original price $157.98)
or
- Samsung 840 (non pro) 120gb SSD on sale now till November 28 for $104.99 (original price $114.98)

Grab whichever while you can, great prices. However, the Neutron GTX is Corsair's new flagship SSD, and for that price it's a steal. HardwareCanucks did a review and gave them 2 awards. Nothing against Sandisk but they just don't push enough high profile SSDs for me to be interested in.

PSU:
- Corsair Professional Series HX750 ATX Fully Modular 80PLUS Gold on sale now till November 28 for $124.99 - $25 rebate = $99.99 at NCIX (original price = $169.99)
or
- XFX 750W PRO750W XXX Edition Single Rail ATX 80PLUS Silver on sale now till November 28 for $84.99 - $10 rebate = $74.99 at NCIX (original price = $124.99)

Case:
- CM 690II

Total + Tax (if you went with choice #1 in all categories) = $955.15
Total + Tax (if you went with choice #2 in all categories) = $829.95

[bliz]

Totally agree with that kind of configuration, it's quite what i said, it's a good gaming PC that will run any game without problem, exept metro 2033^^

[CTA]

awesome... thank you for feedback...

but about msi mobo... i never own one.. is it really good reliable as gigabyte?

[bliz]

Honestly, i don't know. All i know is that you won't have problems with Gigabyte mobos, i saw their manufacturing and stress testing, it's really well done.

[le2key]

Originally Posted by CTA

awesome... thank you for feedback...

but about msi mobo... i never own one.. is it really good reliable as gigabyte?

Someone please correct me if all this just sounds like conjecture, but I think most people can agree that there's not a lot of difference between Asus, MSI, or Gigabyte. Similarly priced mainstream boards between the three companies don't do a lot to distinguish themselves.

Even their gaming boards are separated only by features, colours, and preference - not quality. They really do work hard to make sure their flagship boards are stable; If there's a particular board that's crappy, you'll know about it.

As for the quality of MSI, there are people that swear by them, and others that will tell you horror stories. I think it was around 2010 when MSI really stepped up their game. Since then, I've owned two of their cyclone cooled video cards, and the stability & cooling was just insane; their twin frozr and triple voltage editions were particularly popular as well.

[YoungMan]

Well phrased. Honestly, you'll hear horror stories about every company and vice versa. I have very limited experience with MSI, but knowing they have a local RMA depot is a huge plus for me. It really does seem like they are stepping up their game nowadays.

That said, I prefer Asus to Gigabyte, mainly for the small things. Such as the USB ports staying powered when your computer is off. I was able to enable/disable that feature on the Asus board. Could not do so on the Gigabyte one, even with the latest BIOS (it's always on). This doesn't appear to be a feature related to the chipset either. It's always the little things...

[CTA]

hmm i will give a try to use MSI... hopefully it will be reliable and stay longer as gigabyte or asus...

and i wonder where can i find legal window cd... for cheap... win7 is better but if win8 is more cheaper i will get one...

thanks agian