looking for input on my ~$1200 rig

[Jimmi323]

Hi all,

When I say ~$1200 I'm talking everything: Windows 7, monitor, kb/m, shipping, taxes, etc. Here is what I have so far. I would love to hear your thoughts on the parts I've picked.

Also, two main questions: would it be better in terms of shipping and stuff to buy everything in one go or should I get it piecemeal over a few weeks as different deals pop up? Also, how would this rig handle Crossfire if I were to upgrade to it in the future? and what kind of performance boost would I see? 10%? 20%?

Silverstone PS07B Precision Black M-ATX Tower
Powercolor Radeon HD 6870 900MHZ 1GB
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB
OCZ ModXStream Pro 700w PSU
LG IPS231P 23IN Widescreen LED Backlit LCD Monitor
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Edition 64BIT
MSI H67A-G43 (B3) H67 ATX LGA1155 (not so sure about this one... not planning on doing significant OCing so I probably don't need a Z68 right?)
Intel Core i3 2120 Dual Core Hyperthreading Processor

I figured I would save a few dollars and get the i3 instead of the i5; this will be primarily a gaming rig, but do you think the performance boost in non gaming tasks would be worth the extra $$?

Thanks!

[CMvan46]

I5 for sure. If your looking to save a few dollars and don't plan on overclocking take a look at the i5-2400. I'd think for $1200 you could probably do better than a 6870 but I'm on my phone right now so I'd have to look later in more detail. The i5 will make a significant difference over the I3 dual core vs quad core and the dual core will become a bottleneck should you ever decide to upgrade the GPU later.

Oh and with power supplies it is generally always good to go with Corsair. Good warranty and lower failure rate than the OCZ.

[Jimmi323]

I5 for sure. If your looking to save a few dollars and don't plan on overclocking take a look at the i5-2400. I'd think for $1200 you could probably do better than a 6870 but I'm on my phone right now so I'd have to look later in more detail. The i5 will make a significant difference over the I3 dual core vs quad core and the dual core will become a bottleneck should you ever decide to upgrade the GPU later.

Oh and with power supplies it is generally always good to go with Corsair. Good warranty and lower failure rate than the OCZ.

Thanks for the reply. The problem with my budget is that although it is large, I am starting from scratch and must consider things like a keyboard, a mouse, an optical drive, a monitor, and whatever other stuff I'll need. That limits my options somewhat.

I think you're right about the i5 though; it will probably help the longevity of the machine in non-gaming tasks too.

Oh, and I bumped the PSU down to 500W, I think 700 might be overkill.

[Coz4k]

Where to begin.

Get a i5 2500K, Z77 board etc etc.

This build is far from being optimal for the budget.

Read other hardware/gaming forums and check builds suggestions you'll learn what is good and what is not for you.

[JAC]

1. That case is rubbish for the price.
2. Get an i5.
3. Get a 6950.
4. OCZ power supplies suck.
5. I don't like MSI myself. Asus all the way.

[Jimmi323]

Where to begin.

Get a i5 2500K, Z77 board etc etc.

This build is far from being optimal for the budget.

Read other hardware/gaming forums and check builds suggestions you'll learn what is good and what is not for you.

Do you have any reasoning at all for this? What I'm thinking of right now is the i5 2400; why would I get the 2500k if I don't want to do any OCing? What are the advantages of the Z77 board over, say, the H61 I'm looking at right now? The only downside I see to the H61 is that there are only two RAM slots, but that's all I need.

Like I said in the OP, my budget doesn't necessarily correlate to $1200 spent only on mobo, gpu, cpu, ram and psu. I need EVERYTHING, like an OS and a monitor, which lowers my budget for the rest to 800-900 already. Plus S/H and mouse and keyboard and stuff. Anyway, I would appreciate hearing your thoughts on the above.

2. Get an i5.
3. Get a 6950.
\

Point taken on the i5. Worth the money.

The 6950, though, I don't think is worth the extra cash ($75). The 6870 is pretty much equal with it in a lot of benchmarks: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/331?vs=290

[bb19270]

i3 2120 is enough for even gtx680, no point getting i5 if this is a gaming rig. Definitely do not get 2500k/z77 if you aren't overclocking. H61 is more stable (ie. less failures) compared to more featured boards as well.

I would suggest getting a ssd for os drive since you have a nice budget, and possibly step up to a 1TB drive since the price premium over 500gb is minimal.

For GPU, 6850 gives better value compared to 6870 as the performance delta is minimal.

[cloakster]

Any idea what keyboard/mouse you are looking for? Just regular cheap ones or a good gaming set? Helps to know how much of the budget to put towards everything else.