$1000 on gaming machine... need help building.

I am going to have $1000 to spend on a gaming machine and I'm looking to buy parts and have a friend help me build it. But anyways, I want a really powerful machine that will be able to play games like BF3 and on for a few years. I got some help from someone on another forum and what they told me will be below this paragraph. Don't be afraid to post a full set up but I don't need some of the extra unnecessary things. I already have a CD/DVD drive, and I have a 250GB Western Digital HDD. I'm not sure if that HDD works but I can try.

For right around $1000 is this the best setup?

Samsung 2x4GB DDR3-1600 (does 2250 stable supposedly) - $42.28 shipped
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1153188&sku=S204-1020
Asus P8P67 Pro - $88 shipped
http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=P8P67-PRO-BO-R&cat=MBB
i5 2500k - $229 shipped
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072
Lite On DVDRW - $17.99 Shipped
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106289
NZXT Source 210 - $39.99+7.99 Shipped
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146075
Hitachi Deskstar 500GB HDD - $79.99+6.29 Shipped (WD Green 1TB is $109.99 Shipped if you can afford it)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145531
Add a Crucial M4 64GB SSD later for $100 (this can be added later on)
Sapphire HD7950 - $449.99 Shipped
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102962
Rosewill Green 530w PSU - $54.99 Shipped
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182199

Grand Total Shipped - $1017.31

I'd go for a better PSU if I were you, something like this one here http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139020

That will make a very nice gaming rig but I'll agree with smokeu and say get a better power supply. The power supply is possibly the most important thing in your case. A bad one or underpowered one can cause all kinds of hard to troubleshoot problems. Rosewills are not known for quality.

If you're spending a grand on a pc, I don't think you should skimp so much on the mobo. I'd suggest a z68 board.

You will be able to play games like BF3 with less powerful graphics cards fine. Plus, you can always SLI/Crossfire X in the future. In other words, I think you should get a better psu (at least 750w it you want to SLI/CFX) and mobo, and get a cheaper graphics card.


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139021 / http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207011

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131790 / http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131773

yah i definately wouldnt trust a rosewill psu with all those nice components.. cause when it goes it could take something with it.. just sayn

corsair for sure , and 650w-750w in my opinion cause im sure you will get some more stuff to hook up.
when i do gameing rig i usually go single rail and at least 60amps for 1 card and 70 amp for 2 cards

When we hear the Rosewill name in PSU's most shudder, and rightfully so. However, a couple of their newer PSU's including this one, are actually decent for the price.

Read: http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/881

noname2020x said:

If you're spending a grand on a pc, I don't think you should skimp so much on the mobo. I'd suggest a z68 board.

Click to expand...

It's still a pretty good board, and that price is ridiculously cheap for one.

SMOKEU said:

It's still a pretty good board, and that price is ridiculously cheap for one.

Click to expand...

I read it wrong ... I thought it said H67. Either way though, I'd still get a diff. mobo, but perhaps that's just me. (onboard graphics never hurts)

Only thing you might consider is that with a Z68 board, if your video card dies you can still plug into the mobo video out and have a working machine. You won't be gaming on it, but on the other hand if your video card dies on a P67 board you will own an inert metal box until you replace the video card.

Great price on that mobo, but keep in mind it says "motherboard only" which probably means its open box and has none of the other parts. The main problem with that is not having an I/O shield. Motherboards are one of the few things I will never buy open box.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130596 great deal on a Z68 board right now. $95 after MIR. I've had good luck on MIRs and don't mind them, but YMMV. You really don't need an expensive motherboard

I don't know about the Hitachi, but I've had a WD Green and it was exceptionally slow to the point I ended up giving it away.

If you shop around and wait for a sale you should be able to get a 2500k for under $200. Watch microcenter, then ask NCIX to pricematch the microcenter price. Once again YMMV

I'd agree with others on the PSU. If you're trying to stay in the $50 price range for one I'd go with a Corsair CX600 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139028). I've seen them as low as $48 on sale at the Egg.

*Edit: Wanted to note that that MSI motherboard only supports Crossfire, so if you changed your mind to an Nvidia card you'd want an SLI capable board*