~$800 Gaming Tower

Been a few years since I've visited these forums, but when I discovered I needed to build a new system this is the first place I came to start getting up to date. I'll definitely be doing some research on my own, but I'm looking to get some guidance to get me started.

My budget is flexible, which I think is important because if it's set in stone I could end up making bad decisions for the long-term viability of my new rig. Since it's still helpful to have a starting point, I'm hoping to stay around $800 for the tower. As far as what the system will be used for, gaming. That's it. I play old games like WoW and TF2, new games like Deus Ex: Human Revolution, and hope to play games that are coming out in the future including but not limited to ES:Skyrim.

Intel vs. AMD - If the performance is fairly comparable, I'll probably be leaning towards AMD for cost reasons.

Motherboard - Obviously, the recommendation will depend on the CPU chosen. I tend to opt for the cheapest motherboard from a decent manufacturer for my chipset.

ATi vs. nVidia - Seems like nVidia is pulling ahead, but I have no allegiances. For GPU I'm looking to find the price performance sweet spot. This is the most important component of my system by far considering what I do.

RAM - This is generally an area I'm willing to compromise a bit on, the important decision will be amount. I'm thinking 4-8GB, looking for input.

HDD - Definitely an area I'll be saving money on, not doing the SSD thing, will just pick up a decent 7200 for a good price.

Case - Recommendations based on personal experience are welcome. I built my last system in an Antec 300 which still seems to be one of the cheapest options on NewEgg, so I might get another one.

Heatsink - I have a huge cooler on my current CPU, and frankly I think I'd like something a little more modest since the weight of it has always bothered me.

Peripherals - I will be needing a Monitor and Keyboard/Mouse as well, but I didn't want to include them in the budget since they are such a personal preference decision. Of course, personal experience with anything in particular is more than welcome and will be read!

Well, I think that's everything. I look forward to seeing some input, good to be back in the hardware game!

Here ya go.
Simply put, Intel is so much higher performing then AMD right now that it's better price/performance.

Case - Got it covered, just need to decide how much I can bring myself to spend on it.

CPU - Narrowed down to 2500K vs. 2600K - Input on this is welcome.

Motherboard - This is the area I need the most guidance. P67 vs. Z68. Is one of these ahead of the other in general, or does it vary board to board? I'm shooting for the best air clocks possible. First priority is chipset recommendation, then brand, then specific board.

RAM - Only thing I really need to know is speed. Don't know how the FSB/RAM relationship works with the current gen.

Video card - This is the last decision I'm really lost on. I'm thinking somewhere between 560 to 580. I'll probably just make all the other choices and then see what the best card I can afford would be.

HDD - I see the SpinPoint was recommended. Is this the best 7200 on the market? I thought the 7200.10 from Seagate was my preference, but I'd rather get the current top dog.

What Knufire posted above is good stuff. Go with it. Only difference is he's a big Corsair PSU fan and I'm not. I'm an Antec and XFX guy. But that's neither here nor there.

As for the 2500K vs 2600K, the difference is the 2600K is very marginally faster, has hyperthreading, and is about $100 more. For my money this is not worth it. The 2500K, especially with that CPU cooler, will OC very well. Get the 2500K and spend the cost saving elsewhere.

MB - There's only two choice with regards to chipset. H67 - will NOT allow any OCing but will allow you to use the integrated graphics in the SB processors. P67 - will NOT allow you to use the integrated SB graphics but will allow you to OC. Z68 - will allow both use of integrated SB graphics and OC (combine H67+H67). Z68 also have SSD caching which is just a marketing gimmick IMO. Why did Knufire recommend a P67 MB? Because you are getting an external GPU and therefore don't need to use the integrated SB graphics. A good P67 board is also cheaper than the equivalent Z68 board. If you want to go with Z68 I recommend Asus, Gigabyte or MSI.

Memory - Again what Knufire suggested is good and cheap.

Video card - The 560 Ti is a good and capable card. Personally I'm an ATI/AMD guy so if this was my build I'd go with a HD 6970.

HDD - Most people prefer Samsung HDD over Seagate for good reason. I'm one of those people who believe that Samsung is more reliable than Seagate.

So my recommendation is to stick with 2500K take any money left in the budget and spend on a SSD or better video card. I'm a total convert to SSD. To me it's reminiscent of switching from a floppy drive to HDD.

Cigarsmoker said:

What Knufire posted above is good stuff. Go with it. Only difference is he's a big Corsair PSU fan and I'm not. I'm an Antec and XFX guy. But that's neither here nor there.

Click to expand...

I'd take an XFX Core over a Corsair TX anyday, actually. It's just that the TX's are usually cheaper. Also, for quality on cheap, it's really between Antec Earthwatts and Corsair CX, but the CX's are the ones usually in a combo deal.

I really went with the P67 just to keep the combo deal going, saves you a bit of money, and it's not a dealbreaker not having Z68.