Building a Budget Rig

[Brian is Huh?!{CLR}]

I am on their email alerts every morning I take a look.

[{CLR} Cobalt]

How do you get on the email alerts. Is it just for specific products or can you do a general sale alert.

[Brian is Huh?!{CLR}]

How do you get on the email alerts. Is it just for specific products or can you do a general sale alert.

sign up for newletter?

[juneau]

[QUOTE=Brian is Huh?!{CLR};212555]Okay so heres an revised(i also edited Build 1)

Build 1:
GPU: HIS H679F1GD Radeon HD 6790 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 ($140)
Newegg.com - HIS H679F1GD Radeon HD 6790 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 BE
Newegg.com - AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ955FBGMBOX ($120)

Mobo: ASRock 870 EXTREME3 AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard ($90)
Newegg.com - ASRock 870 EXTREME3 AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gbs USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard

Ram: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL8D-4GBXM ($40)
Newegg.com - G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 4GB Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL8D-4GBXM

PSU: CORSAIR Builder Series CX500 V2 500W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply ($60)
Newegg.com - CORSAIR Builder Series CX500 V2 500W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply

HDD: Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB 7200 RPM
Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive ($40)

DDrive: LITE-ON DVD Burner - Bulk 24X
Newegg.com - LITE-ON DVD Burner - Bulk 24X DVDR DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model iHAS124-04 - CD / DVD Burners ($20)

Case:Rosewill Smart One ATX Mid Tower Computer Case, Black interior
Newegg.com - Rosewill Smart One ATX Mid Tower Computer Case, Black interior, comes with three Fans-1x Front Blue LED 120mm Fan, 1x Rear 120mm Fan, 1x Top 120mm Fan, Option Fans-2x Side 120mm Fan ($45)

Total: $545

I'd go with this build. Still not a fan of that case though, or any of the others you linked to tbh lol.

I'm a fan of cases like Antec, Silverstone, Lian Li etc. However if the budget doesn't allow it i guess any of the ones you've linked to will do the job nicely.

Cooler wise, check out the arctic freezer 7 pro rev2. The price has gone up a little on these coolers of the past couple of cpu generations but they're still one of the best price/performance coolers out there.

Newegg.com - ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 92mm Fluid Dynamic CPU Cooler

edit:

Not sure about the US market, but coolermaster do some nice but very cheap cases.

Like this

Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Elite 370 Black Steel Plastic Computer Case

[Dead...Again]

How do you get on the email alerts. Is it just for specific products or can you do a general sale alert.

Sign up for the newsletters but specifically for the Shellshocker deals. Those are sometimes awesome, but only last a few hours.

[Donziboy2]

Im using a Gemini 2 from CM atm for my 2500k.

Ive always prefured HSF that blow down on the board as opposed to blowing out the back or up.

And Juneau there is about a 5-10% difference in some games based on the CAS. You can do better with tighter timings then you can with higher clocks nowadays.

I spent March, April, and May discussing CPU's, GPU's, MOBO's, Ram, HSF, Monitors, and a dozen other things on another gaming forum I hang. Spent alot of time reading reviews. Kinda helped since I knew exactly what I wanted when I was ready to build my own system.

Newegg sales alerts rock btw.
Also have to be alert for sales. Sometimes things go on sale for one or two days. If you catch them you can save a few dollars.

[Brian is Huh?!{CLR}]

[QUOTE=juneau;212623]

Okay so heres an revised(i also edited Build 1)

Build 1:
GPU: HIS H679F1GD Radeon HD 6790 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 ($140)
Newegg.com - HIS H679F1GD Radeon HD 6790 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 BE
Newegg.com - AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ955FBGMBOX ($120)

Mobo: ASRock 870 EXTREME3 AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard ($90)
Newegg.com - ASRock 870 EXTREME3 AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gbs USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard

Ram: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL8D-4GBXM ($40)
Newegg.com - G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 4GB Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL8D-4GBXM

PSU: CORSAIR Builder Series CX500 V2 500W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply ($60)
Newegg.com - CORSAIR Builder Series CX500 V2 500W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply

HDD: Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB 7200 RPM
Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive ($40)

DDrive: LITE-ON DVD Burner - Bulk 24X
Newegg.com - LITE-ON DVD Burner - Bulk 24X DVDR DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model iHAS124-04 - CD / DVD Burners ($20)

Case:Rosewill Smart One ATX Mid Tower Computer Case, Black interior
Newegg.com - Rosewill Smart One ATX Mid Tower Computer Case, Black interior, comes with three Fans-1x Front Blue LED 120mm Fan, 1x Rear 120mm Fan, 1x Top 120mm Fan, Option Fans-2x Side 120mm Fan ($45)

Total: $545

I'd go with this build. Still not a fan of that case though, or any of the others you linked to tbh lol.

I'm a fan of cases like Antec, Silverstone, Lian Li etc. However if the budget doesn't allow it i guess any of the ones you've linked to will do the job nicely.

Cooler wise, check out the arctic freezer 7 pro rev2. The price has gone up a little on these coolers of the past couple of cpu generations but they're still one of the best price/performance coolers out there.

Newegg.com - ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 92mm Fluid Dynamic CPU Cooler

edit:

Not sure about the US market, but coolermaster do some nice but very cheap cases.

Like this

Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Elite 370 Black Steel Plastic Computer Case

yea i know, im not a quite fan of the case either.. but he chose it..
guess he likes alot of fans -__-..
but its his budget and im getting nothing out of it..probably just a free lunch.

[Donziboy2]

Thermaltake V3 Black Edition VL80001W2Z Black SECC / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case This isnt bad for $40, even I have one lol.

[juneau]

And Juneau there is about a 5-10% difference in some games based on the CAS. You can do better with tighter timings then you can with higher clocks nowadays.

5-10% gain from say CAS 9 to CAS 8? I need links! That's more gain than what a heavy gfx overclock will give you in some games.

[Donziboy2]

If I can find the article I will post it.

[Brian is Huh?!{CLR}]

Thermaltake V3 Black Edition VL80001W2Z Black SECC / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case This isnt bad for $40, even I have one lol.

the case.. does it cool well and is it spacious for future cards? alot of cards nowdays are getting longer and longer -___-

[Brian is Huh?!{CLR}]

GPU: HIS H679F1GD Radeon HD 6790 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 ($140)
Newegg.com - HIS H679F1GD Radeon HD 6790 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 BE
Newegg.com - AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ955FBGMBOX ($120)

Mobo: ASRock 870 EXTREME3 AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard ($90)
Newegg.com - ASRock 870 EXTREME3 AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gbs USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard

Ram: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL8D-4GBXM ($40)
Newegg.com - G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 4GB Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL8D-4GBXM

PSU: CORSAIR Builder Series CX500 V2 500W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply ($60)
Newegg.com - CORSAIR Builder Series CX500 V2 500W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply

HDD: Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB 7200 RPM
Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive ($40)

DDrive: LITE-ON DVD Burner - Bulk 24X
Newegg.com - LITE-ON DVD Burner - Bulk 24X DVDR DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model iHAS124-04 - CD / DVD Burners ($20)

Case: Thermaltake V3 Black Edition VL80001W2Z Black SECC / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case ($40)
Newegg.com - Thermaltake V3 Black Edition VL80001W2Z Black SECC Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Total: $550 (Savings $540)

Final Build.

edit: Can this setup be possible for future upgrades? CPU/GPU?
also since the mobo has an unlocker.. would the Deneb be able to unlocked? (I doubt but just asking)
Gonna order the First Priority parts first before theyre promotions are gone... RAM is probably the last thing to order..due to alot of sales going on.

[Donziboy2]

I have an 8800 GTS G92 in my V3 case.

The case is also heavily vented, which can be a little noisy if you have loud fans. The bottom and top is vented.

I have 3 120mm blue led fans in my v3 all from TT and I have 1 unplugged until I can get a speed control, or i get the energy to soldier a resistor to a spare cable.

[juneau]

The final build looks good Brian.

Now, upgrades.

GPU definitely.

However CPU is a touchy subject. Socket changes seem to be happening more and more frequently these days so by the time your CPU starts to feel a little 'slow' a new generation of hardware is out which will mean you need to buy at least a new CPU and mobo. Moving from one CPU to another in the same socket usually only gives very minimal increases. Unless of course you're adding cores and not Mhz. But even then, buying old architechture is usually not advised.

[Brian is Huh?!{CLR}]

newegg special:

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-8GBRL
Newegg.com - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-8GBRL

($55 regular) use promo code EMCKCHB22
$45 discount!
im gonna use these

Since the above one is designed for an Intel Mobo.