Building a 1500$ PC

[09ROPSI]

Hey all, looking to build a new desktop for around 1500$. I would like some opinions in general as this is my first build. I'm looking at any intell i7 quadcore, 2+ gigs of nvidea video ram, 1000w power supply, 12+ gigs 1600mhz ddr3, a 200+ gig intell ssd, and a 1 tb 7200 rpm drive. Kind of clueless in general especially when it comes to mother boards and whatever else I may need. If you were investing 1500$ into a desktop what would yours look like and where could I improve mine? Opinions greatly appreciated! Thanks!

[n0cturnal]

Why are you looking for a I7 and a 1000W PSU?

[noteworthynerd]

Want help with your build? Read me!

Quick answer: You can improve yours everywhere. An i7 is unnecessary in a gaming rig, 2GB of VRAM is lower than any card would have in that budget, 1000W PSU is way too much, 12gb of RAM is an odd amount, and Intel SSDs are overpriced.

Answer the questions from that thread I linked and we'll be more than happy to help.

[StayTuned]

http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/...-Sample-Builds

You can thank me later. Basically what you want is a hybrid between Gaming 1280 & Gaming 1700 with the Intel i7 3770k if you really want to have an i7 (I would still recommend the i5 3570k)

I'd suggest the following:

CPU: Intel i5 3570k – $214.99
GPU: Gigabyte GTX 670 – $399.99
MoBo: ASUS Sabertooth Z77 – $239.99
RAM: Corsair Vengeance LP 1600Mhz 4x4GB – $87.99
SSD: Samsung 830 256GB – $199.99
HDD: WD Caviar Black 1TB – $109.99
PSU: Corsair TX650M – $89.99
Heatsink: Noctua NH-U12P – $72.99
Case: Antec P280 – $99.99

----------

~$1500

[anyaka21]

Something like this, granted, slightly overbudget, but a good build overall, I have something similar. Case is full tower, so that could easily be changed to something else. And h100i could go so something not as expensive, and depends on if you want to overclock or just a little bit. The Caviar Black could go to Caviar blue for about $20 less too. So, definitely small corners could be cut.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i 77.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme6 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($151.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($86.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($89.99 @ Microcenter)
Storage: OCZ Vertex 4 256GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($212.95 @ Mac Connection)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($369.99 @ Microcenter)
Case: Silverstone RV03B-W ATX Full Tower Case ($144.00 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic M12II 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($95.17 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.98 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 Professional (OEM) (64-bit) ($135.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1597.02
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-06 18:17 EST-0500)

And in terms of an Intel SSD, I have one and have had zero issues, and with windows8pro, I boot up from cold to password screen in about 10secs. Granted, I got my 240gb for about $180 (520 cherryville version) which was an amazing deal at the time.

I'd check tigerdirect for an ssd right now, they have a pc parts blowout pricing going on atm, So you could get a vertex 3 for a great price to right now.

Just double checked the tigerdirect price, $139 for a vertex 3, so crazy good deal. Hell, they have some 500gb for crazy prices atm too. OCZ Solid 3 for $279. I'm thinking about picking up either one of these for some extra SSD storage so that I don't have to worry about any gaming install I do too.

[Deleted]

http://www.logicalincrements.com/

[09ROPSI]

I googled the difference between the intel i5-3570k and the i5-3570 and got "If you will be using a dedicated PCI Express video card, then you do not need the Intel Core i7-3570K. So the Intel Core i7-3570 should be OK." From intell. Do I need the 3570k or will the 3570 serve the same purpose? Thanks for all of the help guys. It's greatly appreciated!

[Lathais]

I googled the difference between the intel i5-3570k and the i5-3570 and got "If you will be using a dedicated PCI Express video card, then you do not need the Intel Core i7-3570K. So the Intel Core i7-3570 should be OK." From intell. Do I need the 3570k or will the 3570 serve the same purpose? Thanks for all of the help guys. It's greatly appreciated!

The difference between the 3570 and the 3570k is that the k version is unlocked and ready to be OCed if you choose to OC. If you do get the unlocked version and are planning to OC, which I and others here will recommend as it is easy with the k version, you will need an aftermarket cooler as well. If you do not want to overclock right away, I would still recommend the k version, even if you keep the stock cooler, then a year or so down the road when you want to get a little more out of your system, you can buy a cooler and OC it.

[09ROPSI]

Ordered! Cheaper than expected thanks to tiger direct! Thanks a lot!