$1400 max budget for gaming PC

[Idioteque]

Need everything but a mouse. keyboard, and speakers. I like the idea of having a solid state drive, but if it's not viable or worth it within my budget, then I can do without. I've been looking through the threads for some ideas and came up with the following so far:

Monitor - Samsung P2250 Rose Black 21.5" - $179.99
OS - Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit OEM - $99.99
CPU - Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz - $199.99
Motherboard - GIGABYTE GA-H55-USB3 LGA 1156 Intel H55 - $124.99
Power Supply - SeaSonic S12II 620 Bronze - $79.99
RAM - CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) CMV4GX3M2A1333C9 - $114.99
SSD - Intel X25-M Mainstream SSDSA2MH080G2R5 2.5" 80GB - $214.99
HDD - Western Digital Caviar Black WD5001AALS 500GB - $69.99
GPU - HIS H577FM1GD Radeon HD 5770 1GB - $159.99
Case - Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black - $59.99
DVD Drive - LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW - $24.99
Cooler - No idea yet.

Not entirely sure on the compatibility of these parts since I basically mixed and matched from various threads around the board, using different budgets that others have posted. I'm guessing I could/should probably nix the solid state and up my video card, but I've been out of the loop for a good bit and I'm not sure what would be more beneficial. So if anyone could lend a hand with a better or revised build for me, that would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Sean W.]

hmm, i personally would get either no SSD or a smaller one, and use that money towards a 58xx series graphics card.

the CPU cooler these are really good:

Corsairs water cooled system, i have it and love it, compared to the highend water cooled system (that cost $350+ ) its garbage, but it can out perform most of the air cooled CPU coolers.

water cooler: Newegg.com - CORSAIR Cooling Hydro Series CWCH50-1 120mm High Performance CPU Cooler

Really good AIr cooler: Newegg.com - Noctua NH-U12P SE2 120mm SSO CPU Cooler

another good air cooler: Newegg.com - ZALMAN CNPS9900ALED 120mm 2 Ball Low-noise Blue LED CPU Cooler

you picked an awesome case with awesome airflow!

i would personally pump up the power supply to atleast 700 watts...

 

[Slaymate]

The Corsair H50 and the Zalman coolers are a waste of money. The stock cooler will work fine if your not overclocking. The Noctua is a good heatsink but if your more budget-minded look at one of these.
Newegg.com - Sunbeam CR-CCTF 120 mm Core-Contact Freezer CPU Cooler W/TX-2
and it needs the LGA 1156 retention bracket
Newegg.com - Sunbeam CR-LGA1156 LGA 1156 Core i5 Socket Retention Bracket Set

I would go with this memory, it is faster than the Corsair and $5 cheaper.
Newegg.com - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBRM

I would go with this Corsair Power Supply. It's $10 more but it has Free Shipping.
Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply

This SSD is $5 cheaper
Newegg.com - Intel X25-M Mainstream SSDSA2M080G2XXX 2.5" 80GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) - SSD

 

[Idioteque]

Case - Newegg.com - Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - $59.99
OS - Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - Operating Systems - $99.99
Motherboard - Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-H55-USB3 LGA 1156 Intel H55 HDMI USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard - $124.99
CPU - Newegg.com - Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor - $194.99
GPU - Newegg.com - ASUS EAH5850 DIRECTCU/2DIS/1GD5 Radeon HD 5850 (Cypress Pro) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card w/ Eyefinity - $319.99
RAM - Newegg.com - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL - $109.99
PSU - Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - $89.99
Display - Newegg.com - SAMSUNG P2350-1 Rose Black 23" 2ms(GTG) Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 DC 50000:1(1000:1) $209.99
HDD - Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD5001AALS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive $69.99
Cooler - Newegg.com - Noctua NH-U12P SE2 120mm SSO CPU Cooler $79.99
Optical - Newegg.com - LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 24X DVD Writer LightScribe Support - $28.99


Took out the SSD, upgraded the GPU and monitor. Also took the RAM and PSU advice, and added the cooler. Anyone see any other options here? I'm going to order in a few days so please let me know if there's a better bang for my buck for this budget of a build.

$1384.89 before any shipping or MIR's.

 

[gurusan]

Get this kit that slaymate linked
Newegg.com - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBRM

It's a lot better than the red cl9 kit.

I have the 1600 CL7 kit and it does 2066 CL7

 

[Muffin Man]

i would get this board.
Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD3 LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

 

[Idioteque]

Hmm. I thought I did grab his link for the RAM. OK, so that set and the board Muffin suggested. Anything else? Will the 5850 fit in an Antec 300? Will the PSU be enough to power everything adequately and remain stable? I'm quite anxious to order.

 

[CalcProgrammer1]

For $1350 I just bought this setup (actually probably around $1310-20 for the listed parts, I bought some other extra stuff too):

Intel Core i7 930 2.88GHz LGA1366 CPU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115225

Gigabyte X58A-UD3R LGA1366 motherboard with USB3/SATA3.0
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128423

OCZ Gold 6GB Triple Channel Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227365

WD Caviar Black 640GB SATA3.0 (6gb/s) HDD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136544

Diamond Radeon HD 5870
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814103084

Antec Nine Hundred gaming case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021

LG DVD multi drive (SATA)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136168

For power supply I got a good deal ($45) on an Antec EarthWatts but I bought it elsewhere, so in total the build was around $1400. You could shave a lot off by getting a cheaper case, graphics (the Diamond was $30 more than the cheapest 5870 but had a nicer cooler), using the stock heatsink (if you don't plan on overclocking the i7 the stock cooler will work, and a stock i7 930 won't have any problems with games). If you can cut the SSD and expensive cooler you can get a better CPU and GPU. I've run Crysis (the SP Demo at least) on my build, 1680x1050 with everything at Very High, 2x AA and it is more than playable though I don't have exact FPS numbers.

 

[Idioteque]

I did cut the SSD and the build has changed quite a bit since the thread started. ^_^

I need a monitor and an OS, so your build isn't possible for me. :\

 

[CalcProgrammer1]

Ah, sorry, didn't see you needed a monitor/OS. Probably won't be able to go with an i7 unless you really cut the GPU, and the GPU is probably the most important thing. You should take into consideration your monitor when buying the GPU (or the other way around). A 5870 is capable of running almost all games at 1920x1200 (which is above 1080p). If you plan on getting a 1680x1050 or 1440x900 monitor you can probably get by with a lower model card and still be able to play all the same games at the same frame rates.