€800 budget- gaming/dev machine

Jehuty42

I know this thread has been done to death, but I am considering building a PC to last me for the next several years. In terms of requirements, I will be using it for gaming, but nothing particularly cutting-edge- PS1 emulators, Railworks, maybe Eve or SCII. Other than that, I have no specific needs other than web browsing and development(which doesn't really require any special hardware setup.)

Some fixed thing I have decided on already:

• CPU : Intel Core i5-2500k, since everyone else seems to be getting them(if anyone can explain the popularity, that'd be appreciated )
• 4GB DDR3 RAM minimum
• 1TB internal HDD + a small(<100GB) SSD for the OS
• Nvidia would be preffered
• Monitor- I don't have one at the moment, and ideally I'd like 24" or above that I can connect consoles(PS3, PS2, Gamecube) to as well and have them look good. No need for any 3D or speakers.

I have Windows 7, a keyboard and mouse and headphones already.

In terms of building the thing, it would be my first build, though I have a CS degree and am hardly a techophobe, so hopefully I should be alright.

Budget is around €800, but that is kind of the maximum I would be willing to part with at this stage of my life.

Anyone have any recommendations for me given this criteria? Thanks!

deconduo

Tall order to squeeze an SSD, i5-2500k and a 24'' monitor into an €800 budget but I'll give it a shot.

Jehuty42

deconduo wrote: »

Tall order to squeeze an SSD, i5-2500k and a 24'' monitor into an €800 budget but I'll give it a shot.

Yeah, it seems that way alright from my own research. I can drop the SSD and get it at a later date, it's really just a bonus because I have been seriously impressed with the SSD in my new machine at work.

Thanks very much deconduo, you're a great asset to this forum and I really appreciate your time.

deconduo

Jehuty42 wrote: »

Yeah, it seems that way alright from my own research. I can drop the SSD and get it at a later date, it's really just a bonus because I have been seriously impressed with the SSD in my new machine at work.

Thanks very much deconduo, you're a great asset to this forum and I really appreciate your time.

I managed it, but only just about.

Total build cost: €774.30 + €30 shipping
Intel Core i5-2500K Box, LGA1155 €173.55
Samsung SH-222AB bare schwarz SATA €17.71
Samsung SpinPoint F3 1000GB, SATA II (HD103SJ) €44.09
Xigmatek Asgard III Midi Tower - black, ohne Netzteil €32.63
ASRock P67 Pro3 (B3), Sockel 1155, ATX €101.99
BenQ G2420HD €141.78
4GB-Kit Kingston HyperX blu. PC3-10667U CL9 €32.63
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 450W €41.19
Crucial M4 64GB SSD 6,4cm (2,5") €96.59
ASUS EAH5770 CuCore/2DI/1GD5, Radeon HD 5770, 1GB, PCI-Express €92.14

The biggest problem here is the graphics card. You won't be able to game at max settings at 1080p, but it should run SCII on high (no AA/AF) at the very least. If you can afford to spend about €50 more I would get this:
http://www1.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=39467&agid=1004

Jehuty42

deconduo wrote: »

I managed it, but only just about.

Total build cost: €774.30 + €30 shipping
Intel Core i5-2500K Box, LGA1155 €173.55
Samsung SH-222AB bare schwarz SATA €17.71
Samsung SpinPoint F3 1000GB, SATA II (HD103SJ) €44.09
Xigmatek Asgard III Midi Tower - black, ohne Netzteil €32.63
ASRock P67 Pro3 (B3), Sockel 1155, ATX €101.99
BenQ G2420HD €141.78
4GB-Kit Kingston HyperX blu. PC3-10667U CL9 €32.63
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 450W €41.19
Crucial M4 64GB SSD 6,4cm (2,5") €96.59
ASUS EAH5770 CuCore/2DI/1GD5, Radeon HD 5770, 1GB, PCI-Express €92.14

The biggest problem here is the graphics card. You won't be able to game at max settings at 1080p, but it should run SCII on high (no AA/AF) at the very least. If you can afford to spend about €50 more I would get this:
http://www1.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=39467&agid=1004

That looks great. I can drop the optical drive because the only thing I would use it for is installing an OS, which can be done with USB nowadays, and with that saving I could probably stretch to afford the 6870. How much of a boost would that card offer?

deconduo

Jehuty42 wrote: »

That looks great. I can drop the optical drive because the only thing I would use it for is installing an OS, which can be done with USB nowadays, and with that saving I could probably stretch to afford the 6870. How much of a boost would that card offer?

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/296?vs=290

Jehuty42

deconduo wrote: »

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/296?vs=290

Definitely worth it so! If I can pick your brain one last time, would there be any cooling issues with a build like that or would the stock heatsinks and fans suffice? I don't intend to overclock from day 1, though with the 2500k the option is open I guess, if I want to invest in better cooling in the future.

Mister Man

deconduo wrote: »

I managed it, but only just about.

Total build cost: €774.30 + €30 shipping
Intel Core i5-2500K Box, LGA1155 €173.55
Samsung SH-222AB bare schwarz SATA €17.71
Samsung SpinPoint F3 1000GB, SATA II (HD103SJ) €44.09
Xigmatek Asgard III Midi Tower - black, ohne Netzteil €32.63
ASRock P67 Pro3 (B3), Sockel 1155, ATX €101.99
BenQ G2420HD €141.78
4GB-Kit Kingston HyperX blu. PC3-10667U CL9 €32.63
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 450W €41.19
Crucial M4 64GB SSD 6,4cm (2,5") €96.59
ASUS EAH5770 CuCore/2DI/1GD5, Radeon HD 5770, 1GB, PCI-Express €92.14

The biggest problem here is the graphics card. You won't be able to game at max settings at 1080p, but it should run SCII on high (no AA/AF) at the very least. If you can afford to spend about €50 more I would get this:
http://www1.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=39467&agid=1004

That was impressive deconduo! Good job!!!!

deconduo

Jehuty42 wrote: »

Definitely worth it so! If I can pick your brain one last time, would there be any cooling issues with a build like that or would the stock heatsinks and fans suffice? I don't intend to overclock from day 1, though with the 2500k the option is open I guess, if I want to invest in better cooling in the future.

The stock heatsink will work for some mild overclocking (most people can get to 4GHz before noise/temps get a bit much), but for anything more you should get a better one.

Jehuty42

Ok, I've come into employment, so I can now move ahead with this. I've made some changes to the build, so would appreciate a quick going over in terms of compatibility and such: link[google doc]. My main concerns are: the case has only one fan- is that enough? Is the PSU a good enough wattage? Is XFX a good quality manufacturer for that particular card?

All going well, I'll be ordering everything but the PSU from HWVS tomorrow. I'll be sure to post some pictures.

Moon54

Looks great, only one thing strikes me, it/you needs 8GB Ram, lol

I'd recommend you consider getting this 8GB GSkill RipJawX kit;
http://www4.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=44321&agid=1193
I've mentioned this in another thread tonight, :eek: , but it makes sense,
better RAM, and twice as much, for €26 extra.

If you feel you don't need the extra RAM, the 4GB GSkill RipJawX kit is only €37;
http://www4.hardwareversand.de/articledetail.jsp?aid=44322&agid=1193

srsly78

The only thing that really matters for dev machine (assuming decent chip+ram etc) is your vertical screen resolution. This lets you view more lines of code on screen. For a proper setup you will want to buy a 30" monitor in future but these cost over a grand. For now just make sure you get a 1920x1200 monitor. NOT a 1920x1080 monitor.

Unregistered.

srsly78 wrote: »

For now just make sure you get a 1920x1200 monitor. NOT a 1920x1080 monitor.

Everyone always says this, but it's really not THAT big of a deal.

indough

if you are really concerned about the number of lines of code per screen then imo you would be better off just getting one that allows portrait mode rather than worrying about vertical resolution ($$$). you can pick up a u2311h for about 200 notes now off komplett which has this feature. i believe that would be the cheaper option.