Gaming Build

[snagglepuss]

im helping a friend build a new computer and i want a second opinion on the parts that i have picked out for him.

1. Computer will be for gaming, streaming videos, some video editing

2. his budget is 800$ max but would like to keep it around 700$

3. Canada so newegg.ca tigerdirect.ca canada computer NCIX

4. he has no preference on parts

5. parts that he already has consist of keyboard, mouse, monitor

7. he has no plans to overclock right now so no unlocked processors needed. and if he does overclock it wont be much

8. plan to build by the end of December/Boxing day

9. he would like to play games maxed out but on his budget its highly unlikely so as high as possible at a resolution of 1080p

10. would like to have the option to sli/cross fire in the future.

here is what i have picked out for him. let me know what you think and what could be improved.
all prices are newegg.ca so with some digging around i might be able to get it down lower

CPU: i5 3450 3.1GHz $194.99
Case: Thermaltake V3 Black $49.99
HDD: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 7200RPM $79.99
GPU: EVGA GTX 660 2GB Superclocked $224.99
PSU: OCZ ZT 650W $99.99
RAM CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB 1600MHz $33.99
Motherboard: MSI Z77MA-G45 $109.99
Total $793.93

was also thinking about suggesting a AMD build to him but im out of the loop of AMD cpus.
here is my best shot at a AMD build.

CPU: AMD FX-4170 4.2GHz $129.99
Case: Thermaltake V3 Black $49.99
HDD: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 7200RPM $79.99
GPU: ASUS GTX660 TI-DC2 $224.99
PSU: OCZ ZT 750W $109.99
RAM CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB 1600MHz $33.99
Motherboard: MSI 970A-G46 AM3+ $109.99
Total $793.93


any advice or better builds would be much appreciated

[dandelioneater]

Since both builds are roughly the same price, the intel one is better by far. The i5 will leave the amd cpu in the dust and is a much better bang for the buck.

[great_big_abyss]

Where did you find an ASUS GTX660 Ti-DC2 for $224.90 (2nd build)? That is one hell of a deal. And why wouldn't you spec that card on the Intel build instead of the rather Ho-Hum EVGA GTX660?

[snagglepuss]

My bad that's just the the price for 660 not the ti... The 660ti DC2 is 289.99.

[Bond007]

Go for the intel build.nothing wrong with choices. Depending on sales could go for a different hard drive/case/motherboard as required. The only thing I would change is the psu. I would go for a 500-620 watt antec, corsair, xfx, or seasonic.

[nasrott]

if he is serious about gaming the ti should be a serious budget adjuster for $40 bucks idea.

[hossdaddy]

give this a boo,

AMD X4 FX-4300 (95W) Quad-Core Socket AM3+, 3.8GHz CPU, 4Mb $129.99
Asus M5A97 R2.0 Socket AM3+ AMD 970/SB950 $84.99
Gigabyte (GV-N660OC-2GD) NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 2GB $209.99 after $20 mir
Seasonic SS-600ET 600W 80 PLUS BRONZE Power Supply $69.99
Seagate Barracuda (ST31000524AS) SATA3 6.0Gb/s 1TB 32MB Cache $59.99
Corsair XMS3 Classic 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1600MHz CL9 $39.99
ASUS (DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B) Internal 24x DVD Writer, $19.99
Thermaltake V3 Black Edition Mid Tower Case $29.99 after $10 mir
Total: $674.92

[Dzzope]

Bump the above to a 660ti or a 7870/7950 and you'll be able to pretty much max nearly every game at 1080. (or pretty close to max)

Much more bang for buck on the AMD cards at the mo.

[snagglepuss]

thanks for all the help. i will pass this information on to my friend.

with boxing day sales you never know what kind of deals you will find.

[magiwizard]

consider telling your friend as well that the 660ti gas a smaller memory bandwidth compared to 670 / 680 and is much less "futureproof" a 7870 or 7950 will be much better in that department for aprox. the same price