A Budget Build for Rift

[Lathais]

Budget
not entirely sure, he wants to spend $500-600 but I told him that may not really be possible and to plan on closer to $1000. His gf was not happy about that number, so the further I can stay from it the better.

Resolution
not super important to him, but I would like to see him in 1080p

Games / Settings Desired
Rift, really just wants it playable. I would like him to be able to play on High, but he'll be happy with low/medium

Any other intensive software or special things you do (Frequent video encoding, 3D modeling, etc)
no

Country
US

Parts that can be reused
mouse

Do you need an OS?
yes

Do you need peripherals (e.g. monitor, mouse, keyboard, speakers, etc)?
yes, though he may have some speakers, if not, he'll pick up some cheap ones at wal-mart or something.


Here is what I came up with:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3350P 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI H77MA-G43 Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($79.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.99 @ Microcenter)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 650 Ti 1GB Video Card ($149.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Rosewill CHALLENGER ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS224-06 DVD/CD Writer ($19.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Monitor: Acer G215HVAbd 21.5" Monitor ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) ($91.99 @ Amazon)
Keyboard: Logitech K120 Wired Standard Keyboard ($10.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $792.90
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

If anyone can tell me if that looks ok, or can suggest any changes I would appreciate it.

[Katchii]

The only two things I'd suggest is 1) looking to see if there are any deals on CPU-motherboard combos. and 2) looking at a better keyboard, the lower budget ones don't have anti-ghosting and depending on how he plays Rift (use keyboard for a lot of movement, keybind or clicker, etc...), may make the gaming experience troublesome without that. I know I'd have issues if i didn't have a gaming keyboard.

Pricewatch is a great site to use for this kind of thing because it looks at ALL sites that sell the thing you are looking for. So while this looks to be a decent enough build, you might be able to get better deals if you check it through pricewatch now that you know exactly what you're looking for.......although based on the number of merchants I see on the list that may be what you've already done?

Anyway, good luck.

[Lathais]

The only two things I'd suggest is 1) looking to see if there are any deals on CPU-motherboard combos. and 2) looking at a better keyboard, the lower budget ones don't have anti-ghosting and depending on how he plays Rift (use keyboard for a lot of movement, keybind or clicker, etc...), may make the gaming experience troublesome without that. I know I'd have issues if i didn't have a gaming keyboard.

Pricewatch is a great site to use for this kind of thing because it looks at ALL sites that sell the thing you are looking for. So while this looks to be a decent enough build, you might be able to get better deals if you check it through pricewatch now that you know exactly what you're looking for.......although based on the number of merchants I see on the list that may be what you've already done?

Anyway, good luck.

\

Thanks, hadn't thought about combo deals, I will take a look later and see what I find.

You convince my friend of that and I'll pay you. To him, a keyboard is a keyboard. I have tried explaining it isn't a lot, but he doesn't get it and wants a $10 keyboard cause that is all he thinks he needs. If you could give me a suggestion on a good, really really cheap, gaming keyboard, that won't break easily, I'll run it by him and see what he thinks though. He just does not understand that all keyboards/mice are not created equal. However, he is also not exactly a hardcore raider or a big PvPer. He plays to have fun, runs some dungeons, PuGs a few raids here and there. Mostly solos and runs dungeons. He doesn't play a lot of other games and mostly uses his computer to watch movies and browse the internet. Well, and to pay Rift of course.

pcpartspicker.com, yeah, it shops multiple sites. If you haven't used it before, check it out. I just started using it today and it's pretty damn cool.

[Faithh]

If I was you, I wouldn't buy Windows 7. Just download it lol.. Got it easily activated on the genuine validation on microsoft's website >.< Or even buy Windows 8 pro from Microsoft store for 30eur if he doesn't need a startmenu :P

But I have one real suggestion. I'll never buy a cpu new anymore. A cpu doesn't lose its performance, it's either they're dead or they're 100% fast as they always been. Cpu's cant lose their performance unless it died (herp de derp :P). I've seen people selling 2500k's for 100eur..

If you do it smart, you already saved 90+80eur = 170eur. If you plan to buy it occassion, ask which cooler he used.

[inux94]

You'll be encountered with "You may be victim of xxx" if you don't activate Windows, so yes. Buy it.

[Seiz]

I have a GTX 570 right now trying to debate what would be the best GPU to upgrade to to run supersampling and not loose 10-15 fps!

[Faithh]

You'll be encountered with "You may be victim of xxx" if you don't activate Windows, so yes. Buy it.

Funniest part about being encountered with it, I never been encountered with it. Legitime while doing the genuine activation on their website.

100 eur is too much for software which you can activate legit, I rather spend my time getting proper tools to activate it and getting a 100eur expensiver GPU.

[Milkshake86]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-4300 3.8GHz Quad-Core Processor ($129.00 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Corsair CAFA70 61.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($47.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock 970 Extreme3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston XMP Blu Red Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.99 @ Microcenter)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 1GB Video Card ($171.97 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.49 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling Silencer MK III 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($73.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-222BB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ CompUSA)
Total: $660.39
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)