[Computer Build] The Budget Future-Proof Tower of Endless Possibilities

Hello Sythe,

My name is Dedicarios, and below you will find two different PC Tower builds. I don't know much about building a Tower, because I have never done this!

So, this is where you guys come in, and help me make one of these builds my main build and make it future proof.

I will use the computer for the following:

• General Usage
• Java Programming
• RuneScape Botting
• Photoshop/Cinema 4D
• Home Entertainment (Movies/Music/Etc)

I plan on maxing this out, and eventually having the 32GB RAM that the Motherboard can hold as it's max.

I don't want any lag with anything I do, I want/need it to be flawless.

Well, lets continue with the conversation!

AMD BUILD Version 2.0​

INTEL BUILD Version 2.0

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($28.98 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($144.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($33.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Corsair Force Series 3 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($117.28 @ CompUSA)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card ($194.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Raidmax Super Hurricane (Black/Silver) ATX Mid Tower Case ($41.93 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 520W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus BC-12B1ST/BLK/B/AS Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer ($54.73 @ NCIX US)
Monitor: Asus VG23AH 23.0" Monitor ($219.99 @ Newegg)
Keyboard: Razer BlackWidow Ultimate Wired Gaming Keyboard ($107.28 @ CompUSA)
Mouse: Razer DeathAdder Wired Optical Mouse ($49.99 @ B&H)
Total: $1374.12
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-11-20 14:31 EST-0500)​

 

You have an extra $120 to spend, so I would look at upgrading the motherboard to an Intel Z77 chipset, and possibly look at a CPU upgrade. Also, I personally would prefer Corsair Vengeance memory, but that's just me. The video card doesn't really need any change, as the main thing that will tax your computer is the botting, and that is more focussed on CPU than GPU. So my advice - spend the extra on a memory/motherboard or CPU upgrade.

 

not much of a fan of amd. any price point..intel wins..not a fan boy, i just know the hard facts

 

I'll look into an Intel build - see where I can go with that.

 

I can't say I'm a fan of AMD, I personally hate AMD. Anyways, Core i5 with hyperthreading should do you a lot of good. So a quad core with 8 virtual cores(cause of hyperthreading). Anyways, quality over anything.

-LeetNeo.

 

I've updated the thread's layout with more information, and a build for both Intel and AMD.

 

What is your location by the way? I have a store near me and just got a i7 3770k for $240 dollars. It's called microcenter(website microcenter.com) and if you have one near you, I have recommend seeing what they have. From what I can tell they are good in sdds and cpus.
Also have you considered getting a less expensive mouse and keyboard because it's kind of silly for them both combined to be the same price of your gpu. You can upgrade the mouse and keyboard later but upgrading the gpu will be harder and more expensive.
You might want to get 16 gb of ram if you are botting.
Finally have you seen any of the sales newegg have going on at the moment? I got a $100 case for $60, $130 mobo for $100,$150 psu for $100, etc. at the sales

 

A good quality mouse and KB is actually a good thing. Why buy something cheap to upgrade it later for more money?
Get a filco/leopold/coolermaster/ducky mech KB tho imo, better quality then the black widow.

 

Intel for sure.

 

Well, if he wants something for gaming, he needs a good GPU, the GPU he picked is fine, but not something that's amazing.
For Photoshop, C4D etc, an i7 will become in handy.
How can he get an i7,a good GPU in this budget? Don't get unnecessary things, like a gaming KB, gaming mouse? I had a Microsoft standard mouse and now, I upgraded to the G400, it's perfect, I have to tell, but there's not much of a difference, what is new is that I can control DPI when playing (Helpful when aiming or doing Photoshop) and 2 new buttons, you can use to change weapons, or do something in MMO's.

What I recommend you to do:-
Get an i7 3770k.
Get an nVidia GPU, a 660/660 ti will do excellent.
Get a less valuable keyboard, mouse, something like this should work http://www.amazon.com/Goldensunsky-...&qid=1353783388&sr=1-57&keywords=gaming+mouse Any keyboard will do fine, don't really find a difference between non-gaming and gaming keyboards, unless MMO's.
http://www.amazon.com/OCZ-Technolog...1353783513&sr=1-1&keywords=ocz+vertex+4+128gb This SSD is better than yours, in a less price (With 8GB more storage).
Everything else is fine.

 

OCZ have the highest SSD failure rate AFAIK.

If you don't find a difference between KBs, you've never used a mech one then, it's worlds ahead rubberdome. OP just get a decent mouse(Deathadder/g400 both cheap and good) and either a cheap ass 10 KB, or a mech one.

 

Vertex 4, No.1 SSD, look at the scores, IOPS, Read, Write, please.
If you're looking at Newegg's reviews, all are spam, only read verified owners ones, only 4 out of 20 are real owners (can be more, but they didn't buy from newegg).

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/pm76
This is WAY BETTER than the thing in ur OP.
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/pm76
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/pm76/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/pm76/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($299.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Pro4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($96.00 @ B&H)
Storage: OCZ Vertex 4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($114.99 @ Microcenter)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($379.98 @ NCIX US)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 922 ATX Mid Tower Case ($98.25 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Cooler Master GX 650W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($66.49 @ SuperBiiz)
Monitor: Asus VH236H 23.0" Monitor ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Keyboard: Logitech G510 Wired Gaming Keyboard ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Mouse: Logitech G400 Wired Optical Mouse ($34.80 @ Amazon)
Total: $1505.45
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-11-25 01:42 EST-0500)

 

I like what I have received as far as feedback, and my comment to that is this... I'm just going to redo the Tower - and post just the Tower. I don't need a Monitor/KB/Mouse/OS.

I do not live anywhere near a Microcenter, just driving all the way there and back would cost more than just buying the part itself.

So - I'll again, post an AMD and Intel build and go from there.

The limit on these builds will both be $1000 for now!

 

Don't bother posting an AMD and an Intel build. Just mix and match your parts, you don't need to specifically pick a manufacturer for each of the parts. Just look for a Z77 chipset motherboard, at LEAST 8gb RAM, preferably 16, an intel i5 3570k CPU or better and a decent GPU, such as a high end Radeon or a good GeForce GPU. Then look for a good quality but cheap SSD around 64gb, or more if you can afford it and a good HDD.

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/pmZ7
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/pmZ7
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/pmZ7/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/pmZ7/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($299.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Pro4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($96.00 @ B&H)
Storage: OCZ Vertex 4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($114.99 @ Microcenter)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 670 2GB Video Card ($379.98 @ NCIX US)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 922 ATX Mid Tower Case ($98.25 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Cooler Master GX 650W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($66.49 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $1260.67
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-11-25 04:31 EST-0500)
If you really really don't want to spend that extra 250$, get this:-
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/pn0j
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/pn0j
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/pn0j/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/pn0j/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($299.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Pro4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair XMS 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($96.00 @ B&H)
Storage: OCZ Vertex 4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($114.99 @ Microcenter)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB Video Card ($249.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Cougar 560W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1005.92
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-11-25 04:29 EST-0500)

Still managed to keep it an i7, 660 ti, OCZ 128GB SSD WDCB 1TB with 1000$

 

From all my google searches just then, so much OCZ hate.


OP I'd recommend getting an Intel/Crucial/Samsung/Corsair SSD over OCZ.

 

I personally would use a Samsung SSD, they're reliable and reasonably priced. Also, he'll definitely need 16gb RAM, as the programs he is planning on using the PC for are CPU/memory demanding.

He didn't mention gaming in his post, so there is no need for him to shell out for such a good GPU. He would be better off spending the money on an additional HDD to run in a RAID setup. Also, he didn't mention Gaming Mouses/Keyboards at all, and I assume his money figure EXCLUDES such additional things.