I think you can cut a few more corners in the builds being put forth. Here's one that looks to multiple sources to reduce costs.
i5-3450 ($150)
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0388579
Asrock H77 ($70)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157303
Samsung 2x4gb RAM ($47)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147096&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=
Carbide 300R ($74)
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0379532
Antec Neo Eco 450C ($35)
http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=60491&vpn=NEO%2DECO450C&manufacture=Antec&promoid=1145
Seagate Barracuda 1TB ($78)
http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=65701&vpn=ST1000DM003&manufacture=Seagate&promoid=1145
DVD-burner ($16)
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0382892
Microcenter also has some refurbished options if you want to save a $5-spot.
Subtotal (including shipping, not including tax): $470
Then depending on how much you want to spend/how much more performance you want to squeeze out of GPU, you can have a lower total or go for a higher-end card than the above builds:
HIS 7870 ($290)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161404
Sapphire 7950 ($358)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102991
EVGA 670 + $30 gift card ($400)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130782Totals (include shipping but not tax, as I don't know your location and thus tax rates @microcenter/whether or not you are effectively required to pay online sales tax):
w/7870: $760 (if he doesn't mind going to $860, could also add an 128gb Crucial m4 from newegg here).
w/7950: $828
w/670: $870
Compared to Deviin's build, you get a 7870 instead of a 7850 for the same price, and your preferred case. TDI's build is superior to the 7870 version of my build because it can be overclocked, but it is $75 more expensive (case), and some of the deals he relied on have expired (so really it's at least $100 more).
P.S. The video card selections all assume 1920x1080 resolution or higher. Otherwise they're all ridiculous overkill and a cheaper one should be purchased in favor of a)a new monitor or b)an SSD.
Quote:
I live near a microcenter. So I kind of made a variant of VW_TDI_02's list with mostly parts from microcenter, tell me how it is: Carbide 300R, MSI AMD radeon HD 7870, KIngston HyperX blu 1333, seagate barracuda 1tb, OCZ Modxstream 600w, ASRock pro3 1155 ATX mobo, LG dvd drive. Any thoughts?
Not knowing the pricing, looks fine, but you don't want Kingston HyperX because that RAM runs at 1.65v, where Intel systems prefer 1.5v RAM. Obviously missing case.
Edited by MisterFred - 8/7/12 at 11:10am
Why don't you go join, Stockclock.org or something
But some people just don't need that performance extra performance. Example being HTPC.
