[NEW] PC Buying Guides

[Rishwin]

Finally got around to re-creating the PC Buying guides, and decided to only go with 2 builds this time.

The first is a Budget Gamer build. It is the most cost-effective build which is still able to play even the most demanding games out there at high settings.

The second is the Enthusiast Build, which is basically an extreme gaming PC with the best "bang-for-buck" components. I could not in good conscience recommend anything higher than this, because there honestly is no point. I will however be providing alternatives to further increase performance.

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Budget Gamer Build

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition 3.2GHz

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- $120

ASRock M3A770DE

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- $60

Crucial Ballistix sport 4GB DDR3 1333

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- $30

XFX HD 6870 1GB

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- $170

CORSAIR Builder Series CX500 500W

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- $60

SAMSUNG CD/DVD Burner Black SATA

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- $17

Seagate Barracuda 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s

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- $45

NZXT GAMMA Classic Series

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- $36

Total Cost = $538 with $30 worth of mail-in rebates.

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Enthusiast Build

Coolermaster HAF

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- $60

Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB

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- $60

XFX 2GB 6950

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- $280

Corsair 750W modulated

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- $130

Mushkin Blackline 8GB 1600MHz

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- $55

EVGA P67 SLI Micro

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- $150

Intel i5 2500K

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- $220

OCZ Agility 3

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- $110

Corsair H60

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- $75

Total cost = $1,140 with $110 worth of mail-in rebates.

 

[Rishwin]

*reserved for future updates/notices*

 

[Rishwin]

Finally re-made the guides since they were deleted a while ago. Only went with 2 builds, post any questions here any either myself or Yjlasher will help you out.

 

[jMerliN]

Finally re-made the guides since they were deleted a while ago. Only went with 2 builds, post any questions here any either myself or Yjlasher will help you out.

I'd only suggest adding another HDD to both builds. One for OS, PF, indexes, applications, log files, and other active files. The other for games.

 

[Rishwin]

Budget build is for lowest price and most cost-effective components. Without getting an inferior brand / slower drive, the 160GB Seagate Barracuda was the best choice.

As for the 2nd build, an extra HDD is completely up to the user, depending on how much they need. HDD space is as much a user choice as peripherals are, not something you include in an extremely general PC build.

I altered the 2nd build slightly too, put the 2nd RAM kit as an option alteration instead. Your average gamer has no need for 8GB of RAM. It is however very handy when coupled with an SSD and lowered/disabled pagefile.

 

[Rishwin]

Added a Best 'Bang-for-Buck' Build, will update the other 2 to $500 and $1000 budgets respectively.

 

[Warmonger]

The Budget+ Gamer build is targeted to those that can spare a few extra dollars then the budget build in the original post.

This rig should be capable of running these games close, or completely maxed out.

• Crysis
• Crysis 2
• GTA IV
• DiRT 3
• Battlefield Bad Company 2
• Call Of Duty Black Ops

Budget+ Gamer Build

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- $26

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- $61

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- $90

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- $145

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- $70

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- $55

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- $120

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- $175

Total - $742 w/ Shipping

PSU Rebate - $20 (Expires 9/7/11)
GPU Rebate - $20 (Expires 9/15/11)
Case Rebate - $15 (Expires 9/21/11)

Grand Total - $687 w/ Shipping

Optional (Complete Case):

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- $14

Optional (Overclocking):

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- $70

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- $13

 

[cycoextreme]

AMD 6-Core Budget / Performance System:

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$149.99

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$189.99

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$87.99

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$134.99

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$174.99

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$49.99

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$79.99

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$39.99

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$69.99

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$84.99

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$59.99

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$19.99

Budget Options
TOTAL W/O SHIPPING $652.92

Different Performance Options
TOTAL W/O SHIPPING $784.92

OPTIONAL
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$21.99

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$99.99

TOTAL W/OPTIONAL W/O SHIPPING $774.90
TOTAL PERFORMANCE W/OPTIONAL W/O SHIPPING $894.90
*ALL BUDGET & PERFORMANCE OPTIONS ARE CROSS COMPATABLE WITH EACH OTHER IN THIS BUILD*

 

[Rishwin]

Updated the Bang-for-Buck build, will do the others in the next few days when i have time.

 

[Rishwin]

Updated the 'Budget Build', and removed the other build which was now pretty much obsolete.

If i get around to it i may make a huge PC build using the best and greatest parts purely for bragging rights, but i really wouldn't recommend it for anyone.

 

[cycoextreme]

on the enthusiast build you should really give people a choice between Intel and AMD since even an AMD X6 1100T is only $189.99 w/free shipping so its about $30 cheaper than the Intel, and some people only like Intel or AMD, so give people a choice would be nice

 

[Rishwin]

on the enthusiast build you should really give people a choice between Intel and AMD since even an AMD X6 1100T is only $189.99 w/free shipping so its about $30 cheaper than the Intel, and some people only like Intel or AMD, so give people a choice would be nice

The 2500K is leaps and bounds ahead of the 1100T, they aren't even in the same class. I'll add the AMD counterpart when there is one.

 

[cycoextreme]

even so, just make an AMD build b/c i know its a little better price for performance,

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even the 1090T is on top for CPU Mark/Price not much ahead than the i5 2500k but still $50 cheaper than the i5

 

[Rishwin]

even so, just make an AMD build b/c i know its a little better price for performance,

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even the 1090T is on top for CPU Mark/Price not much ahead than the i5 2500k but still $50 cheaper than the i5

That's why the AMD is in the budget build, it is the best bang for buck.

But for an enthusiast who wants the best performance, there is no question that they will chose the i5 2500K over anything AMD currently has to offer. If they choose AMD then it's because they are on a budget, not because it performs better.

Hence the budget build.

When the Bulldozer range is out then we'll see. But until then, AMD is for people building PC's on the cheap. There simply is no place for fanboys in today's CPU market, you either want performance (Intel) or good value on a budget (AMD).

 

[Heights]

will be waiting for the bulldozer build suggestion.

 

[cycoextreme]

he does have one, just use his Budget+ Gamer Build and just replace the X4 with the X6 and there you have it, that mobo will support the new bulldozer core

 

[Heights]

that's if the mobo manufacturer provides bios update for bulldozer?

 

[cycoextreme]

time to update Rish,

its $87 for the OCZ SSD in your enthusiast build and you can also get

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$75.00 w/ MIR

Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB

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- $60 SOLD OUT

Seagate Barracuda 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s

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- $45 ($110.00)
(might be a typo, but i dont think so)

also alot of the other prices went down, but its just time for a price update as i know alot of people use your thread

 

[Savage]

Anyone got a all-in-one? I don't wanna build.

 

[Rajito]

do they ship it to the netherlands aswell?