$700 Build for a friend

metalfox7 · Apr 7, 2011

Hey guys, like the title reads I'm doing a build for a friend and his budget is $700. He would like to do intel and invidia hardware. He does not need an i7 but an i5 is desirable. He will never overclock or use SLI. He would only need 500GB or less of HDD space. He already has the monitor, mouse, keyboard and speakers. So we just need the tower.

I was looking at micro ITX builds but I'm not sure what motherboards/cases are good in those areas. I was also looking at a GTX 460/550 ti. Advice?

Edit:

CPU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115220

Motherboard:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128457

GPU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-625-_-Product

Now looking at PSUs and RAM.

davista111 · Apr 7, 2011

Does he want a small, M ATX pc or a full blown tower? Also will he want to play a couple games?

metalfox7 · Apr 7, 2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by davista111

Does he want a small, M ATX pc or a full blown tower? Also will he want to play a couple games?

He doesn't need a full tower because he will have only one graphics card and one hard drive. He plays Starcraft 2 and Left for Dead 2, so that's why I'm recommending the GTX 460 or 550 ti.

davista111 · Apr 7, 2011

Gtx 560 wil be a better bet, future proofing

most gigabyte M ATX boards are rather good. Would love to help more, but I am using a useless iPad!

zorg1983 · Apr 7, 2011

I5 2500k
MOB- P867 Pro
GTX 560
PSU -550 W
HDD- WD 500 GB Black
Memory - 4 GB 1600 Mhz.

Seems like a good rig , no?

Desert Rat · Apr 7, 2011

I would do this build. Its nicer and under budget. The one above is nice too.

cavallino · Apr 7, 2011

I did a build like this. I used an i3 but you could probably use an i5 my budget was lower the rest. But I used an Asus p7p55 lx mobo, 4 gb of corsair vengeance ram, evga gtx 460, samsung f3 500gb, thermaltake 450w psu, hyper 212+ cooler all in a haf 912.

Of course that was an atx build but you can easily find a smaller case and a comparably matx board.

slickwilly · Apr 7, 2011

I just did a build for a friend for this price
I picked up everything but the case from the OCN market place
I went with an AMD build 940 black quad core and a GTX 465

StarCraft 2 can get pretty CPU intensive during a large battle

TheSchlaf · Apr 7, 2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by metalfox7

Hey guys, like the title reads I'm doing a build for a friend and his budget is $700. He would like to do intel and invidia hardware. He does not need an i7 but an i5 is desirable. He will never overclock or use SLI. He would only need 500GB or less of HDD space. He already has the monitor, mouse, keyboard and speakers. So we just need the tower.

I was looking at micro ITX builds but I'm not sure what motherboards/cases are good in those areas. I was also looking at a GTX 460/550 ti. Advice?

Edit:

CPU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115220

Motherboard:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128457

GPU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-625-_-Product

Now looking at PSUs and RAM.

I hate to bring it up, but you could go AMD. Get a AMD x4 or x6 and get a better GPU (a 580 or 6970). Just my two cents.

Invisible · Apr 7, 2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheSchlaf;13036005
I hate to bring it up, but you could go AMD. Get a AMD x4 or x6 and get a better GPU (a 580 or 6970). Just my two cents.

Going AMD is definitely an option here, since your budget is only $700. You might want to make a thread in the AMD section though, I'm not sure how many of us in the Intel section actually know sufficient info for AMD (I do not, which is why I point this out).

metalfox7 · Apr 7, 2011

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371016

Opinions on this PSU? I know Antec is a respected brand.

Invisible · Apr 7, 2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by metalfox7;13036508
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371016

Opinions on this PSU? I know Antec is a respected brand.

That is a good PSU. Antec also have a 5 year warranty, so that's a huge plus.

metalfox7 · Apr 7, 2011

About to pull the trigger on this:

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115220
Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128457
GPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130625
PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371016
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231180
Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119227
HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136320

Invisible · Apr 7, 2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by metalfox7;13037042
About to pull the trigger on this:

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115220
Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128457
GPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130625
PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371016
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231180
Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119227
HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136320

You could pay like $5 more and get a GTX460. Just overall better than a 550.

You could also spend $3 more and a get 1TB Spinpoint F3.

Desert Rat · Apr 7, 2011

Im not really sure why you want to spend $200 on a dual core processor instead of buying your friend the nicest 4 core gaming cpu for the same amount of money. Just pay a bit more for a motherboard. I would really reconsider on getting a psu with just enough power for 1 gpu. He could change his mind latter on about getting a second card. Its always nice to have a little room for upgrades.

Dopamin3 · Apr 7, 2011

Eh, if you can get a 2500k build why not go with it? And definitely get this memory as it's faster and a good price with the promo code.

Also that hard drive is kind of a ripoff, you could get the Samsung HD103SJ for $59.99 shipped.

metalfox7 · Apr 7, 2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by Invisible;13037193
You could pay like $5 more and get a GTX460. Just overall better than a 550.

You could also spend $3 more and a get 1TB Spinpoint F3.

Why would you prefer the GTX 460?
Quote:

Originally Posted by Desert Rat;13037231
Im not really sure why you want to spend $200 on a dual core processor instead of buying your friend the nicest 4 core gaming cpu for the same amount of money. Just pay a bit more for a motherboard. I would really reconsider on getting a psu with just enough power for 1 gpu. He could change his mind latter on about getting a second card. Its always nice to have a little room for upgrades.

Good catch! I didn't know i5's came in the dual core variety. How about this one? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115067

Juicifer · Apr 7, 2011

700$ budget should be good for a 2500k build, and the 550 TI isn't really worth the money. 460 definitely much better.

Invisible · Apr 7, 2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by Desert Rat;13037231
Im not really sure why you want to spend $200 on a dual core processor instead of buying your friend the nicest 4 core gaming cpu for the same amount of money. Just pay a bit more for a motherboard. I would really reconsider on getting a psu with just enough power for 1 gpu. He could change his mind latter on about getting a second card. Its always nice to have a little room for upgrades.

Haha, I didn't even notice that was a dual core.

On-topic, let me build you two builds. One AMD, one Intel, and see if you like this. Will either edit post or make another post with these.

Invisible · Apr 7, 2011

I would highly recommend to tell your friend to save up about $100 and have a $800 budget, and use one of the below builds.

Intel Build:

CPU/Mobo
Case
HDD
RAM
GPU
PSU

AMD Build:

CPU/Mobo
Everything else the same as the Intel build

$700 Build for a friend

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