Need advice on a cheap yet powerful gaming pc build

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Phraa

New Member
im looking to build my first desktop and was wondering if anyone had a good yet cheap build that would run most computer games at high to max without much lag. i define cheap as under 1,200 dollars if its not possible then post specs of something close to that. include OS, monitor and case. ty in advance
 
friend's build idea

my friend gave me this build it works in my parameters but was wondering if anyone had any improvement to make it cheaper or just plain better. its a little jumbled but its all there the links are to the parts. he also said that going down to a 5770 on the GPU still runs great so that would be one decrease in price just list any you guys can see

CPU - AMD x6 1090T Black Edition http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103849&cm_re=1090t-_-19-103-849-_-Product

Motherboard - ASUS M4A79XTD EVO AM3 AMD 790X ATX http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131402

Case - NZXT Phantom (White) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...067&cm_re=nzxt_phantom-_-11-146-067-_-Product

Monitor - ASUS VH197D Black 18.5" 1366 x 768 5ms LED Backlight http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236105

RAM - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 1600 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...m_re=g_skill_4_gb_1600-_-20-231-277-_-Product

PSU - XFX 750w black edition 80 plus siler certified http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...7207003&cm_re=xfx_750w-_-17-207-003-_-Product

GPU - HIS H687F1G2M Radeon HD 6870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161349&cm_re=6870-_-14-161-349-_-Product

HDD - Samsung spinpoint f3 1 tb 7200rpm 32mb cache http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...2185&cm_re=samsung_1tb-_-22-152-185-_-Product

Optical Drive - ASUS OEM dvd burner http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...7135204&cm_re=asus_oem-_-27-135-204-_-Product

OS - Windows 7 OEM System Builder home premium 64bit http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...54&cm_re=windows_7_oem-_-32-116-754-_-Product
 
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i think im going with a different case as well so a little more price in the parts will not directly impact my budget so ill look into those suggestions
 
Both cases look like a good buy. Unless you need a lot of HDD space fir extra drives I would go with the Guardian.
 
Hi,

I saw your posting requesting recommendations for components for your gaming computer. HP has a line of reasonably priced monitors that should meet or exceed your requirement. Please let me know if I can assist.

Regards,

Priscilla

HP Social Media Ambassador
The views expressed in my contributions are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views and strategy of HP.
 
if i can fit it in my budget im going for the 6870 but if not definitely going for the 5770 and getting a second one later
 
 
You should be able to fit a 6870 into your budget.

- I agree that the Phenom 2 955 would be an excellent choice.

- Here's another monitor to throw out there: Asus VE228H 21.5" Full HD HDMI LED BackLight http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...6100&cm_re=Asus_VE228H-_-24-236-100-_-Product

- If you can fit it into your budget, I would consider going with 8GB of memory. Not a big deal as of now between 4GB and 8GB, but memory is cheap and you'll be set, especially down the road. If you can't fit it into your budget, I wouldn't worry about it.

- Whichever monitor you get, just make sure you get one with 1920x1080 resolution. With your budget and probable system components, IMO it would be foolish to go with one lower than that. Your system will be able to handle it.

- Since this is a gaming rig, you may not need a 1tb drive. Only you know how much you'll need, but you can save a few bucks getting something smaller. I recommend staying with Samsung, and they have a nice 500GB drive, as well as a 320GB if this system is solely for gaming and that would be plenty of space. I am no expert, and just basing this off of comments people have made, but Samsung's 320GB drive people have said is a cheap alternative to an SSD drive, due to its speed. Something to consider, but only if that smaller size would be fine for your needs and you are looking to pinch pennies (compared to the 1TB one).

- I highly recommend the 6870 over say, the 5770. Basing your budget off of $1200 and the components already listed in this thread, you should be right there concerning the 6870. It would be worth it to juggle a few components around to make budget room for it if you need to, since you won't have to shave off much.

- While that XFX PSU would be an excellent choice, you could shave off probably a good $20, if not more, and still get a great quality unit, even if you plan to crossfire later. Skimping on a PSU, especially for your specific build, would be a very bad idea. But there are plenty of high-quality units for cheaper than $130 as well. Just something to keep in mind in case you are looking to shave money off somewhere.

- I can't stress enough, that with your budget and the fact that this system will be primarily for gaming, that you should not skimp on the video card, such as "settling" for the 5770 and planning to get another one later on. As long as your cpu and mobo aren't going to neuter your system, your psu is a strong and quality unit, and your case is big enough and cool enough - the video card should be your top priority. Get the most powerful beast you can. The whole reason to go with AMD over Intel for a gaming system at this price point, in addition to say the Phenom 2 955 BE being "good enough," is that you can allocate as much money as possible to the video card category.
 
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my case has great dimensions its fairly large for a mid tower>>http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...69&cm_re=nzxt_guardian-_-11-146-069-_-Product

as of right now i think i have my mind set on my build. i went with the 6850 GPU it was close to the price of the 5770 but closer in performance to the 6870. Unless I find anything that will greatly reduce the price without skimping on the performance im set. mind you i won't have the money to build this for a few months so the prices might go down for some of my parts
 
listen maybe i'm just being naive but i don't see the power supply listed on the specs my friend gave me if someone could look at the specs i posted and indicate if it's there or not. but like i said i might just be too new to this to know
 
wow going for the triple post forget that last post about the power supply i just realized it is the PSU lol like i said im new to this DIY computer stuff
 
Those HP posts are annoying...lol...and i have the 6850 and LOVE it!!! I can MAX Crysis 2 and Blops in 1080p.... so good choice, and(providing your mobo supports Xfire)you can always add a 6850 to beat the new beast cards.. :D
 
nice if it can max crysis 2 then it should definitely be able to handle wow and SC2 at close to maxed or even maxed
 
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