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  1. #1
    If I'm not back in 5....wait longer! xXxDEATHxXx's Avatar
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    Default $1200 custom built pc challange

    Build the best PC possible for $1200 or less in materials.


    Yes this PC is for me and not being to tech savvy myself I figured I would see what you all can come up with. Thanks in advance

  2. #2
    Very funny Scotty, now beam down my clothes AOD Member AOD_BritishBob's Avatar
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    http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboB...=Combo.2349540


    Good place to start. Newegg seems to have some decent and not totally stupid bundles.
    (as in they're put together by someone who knows what they're doing.)


  3. #3
    Why, you stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking nerf herder! MatchMaker's Avatar
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    It all depends on what you want to spend the money on. Many people have different preferences on brand and the specs of the different components. You would also want different components if you wanted to overclock as overclocking uses more power, therefore more heat, so you would need liquid cooling, a good motherboard, and a case with good ventilation. Search on forums and even here to see what other people have used and try to come up with something you would like. Doing the research is most of the work and will educate you on what hardware is good and how to put everything together. I build my desktop about a year and a half ago and it was a lot of fun and I did months of research trying to find the best parts for me as well as trying to get the best deals.

    Also, DO NOT skimp on the power supply! Get a good brand with a good warranty as that is one of the highest failures in a computer.

  4. #4
    If I'm not back in 5....wait longer! Sargent Horse's Avatar
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    Got it, I will put together a build when I get home man. Do you have any color, size, performance preferences?

  5. #5
    I get enough exercise just pushing my luck Marrv's Avatar
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    Usd?
    Also lots of extras you can choose like ssd, optical/s, raid.
    Use? Gaming mostly? What types of games?
    Monitor as well? Any other peripherals?

  6. #6
    If I'm not back in 5....wait longer! xXxDEATHxXx's Avatar
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    Pretty much purely gaming. 1 monitor is fine but I do enjoy dual boxing so 2 would be ideal. Mainly FPS games and Ark I'm tired of running everything on low I'd love to be able to enjoy the graphics that devs and designers worked so hard on. Other then that like I said I'm not all that tech savvy so honestly I have no clue what those anagrams mean. I'm used to running Intel and windows 8 so an i7 processor would be nice but I'm not sure if there are better ones out there for the money. I really don't have a preference on brands color or any of that Black on black on black with some blue or green lighting would be cool looking but I'd rather have more performance than looks. This is a ground up build so ill need everything execpt the mouse and headset

    Edit: yes USD

  7. #7
    If I'm not back in 5....wait longer! TheFinx's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by aod_thematchmaker View Post
    also, do not skimp on the power supply! Get a good brand with a good warranty as that is one of the highest failures in a computer.
    this

  8. #8
    I get enough exercise just pushing my luck Marrv's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by AOD_xXxDEATHxXx View Post
    Pretty much purely gaming. 1 monitor is fine but I do enjoy dual boxing so 2 would be ideal. Mainly FPS games and Ark I'm tired of running everything on low I'd love to be able to enjoy the graphics that devs and designers worked so hard on. Other then that like I said I'm not all that tech savvy so honestly I have no clue what those anagrams mean. I'm used to running Intel and windows 8 so an i7 processor would be nice but I'm not sure if there are better ones out there for the money. I really don't have a preference on brands color or any of that Black on black on black with some blue or green lighting would be cool looking but I'd rather have more performance than looks. This is a ground up build so ill need everything execpt the mouse and headset

    Edit: yes USD
    Its ok about not knowing the anagrams, will see what i can do.

    Do you have windows already or does that need to be factored in to the price?

    Wanting monitors as well brings your "build" budget down by between 120 (1 monitor) to 480 (2 good monitors) depending on what your wanting.

    Do you have a case already or are wanting a new one as well?

    Optical means blue-ray/dvd reader/writer - as in do you want one?

    WITHOUT monitors you would be looking at something LIKE this; http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Hn8RmG

    Using the tried & tested i5 chip, for a similar i7 your looking at $100 more

    Mobo ( motherboard) has a lot of variances in choices, depending on what your looking for, the one selected is a good board, but not with snazzy fancy extras (which I have always found I normally dont use)
    The aftermarket cooler is primarily due to it not being expensive yet allows you to push the chip a little more, you could not use it & use a non-unlocked chip (so you cannot overclock) but as it is so easy today & the K series of chips are designed to be overclocked it is better to have a better cooler than you need.

    Memory is again a lot of variance, Corsair have a tried & tested name, they are good. So are a lot of other brands, I chose 16gb to give "future proof", you can drop this down to 8gb & still be absolutely fine for gaming (especially when you remember that gaming ALSO uses the 4gb on the gpu)

    Storage - SSD - (solid state hard drive, works FAR faster than HDD's) the 850 pro is one of the two best type of SSD's on the market & has a 10 year warrenty to show this, technically you do not NEED an SSD but most gaming pc's have them these days. Increasing the size of the SSD can allow you to put more stuff on it, but price will go up

    HDD (normal HarD Drive) I have used seagate for years and only ever had one drive fail (used 20+) good price per Gb and at 3TB it should keep you going a while

    Video Card - Gamers tend to not skimp here, I always choose MSI for the 970 as it always beats out its competitors when tested against the other 970 variants. As a gamer I am happy to pay $10 more to have the slightly better one. A 980 will be an extra $120-150 at least for not a huge upgrade in performance. If you have the dosh you can spend it

    Case - it is ENTIRELY personal preference, this case was popular in ratings & not hugely expensive while still being ATX form factor (motherboard type), have a look around to find one you like, make sure it doesnt have loads of bad reviews

    PSU (power supply unit) - Corsair (known good brand) Gold (stable voltages) 750w (enough power for your system). Other people use different brands, just do research before (look at reviews/ratings) jumping with different brands. Modular means you dont have "spare" wires bunging up the airflow in your pc

    Optical - put one in as ppl still use dvd's & blu-ray

    You can change it around and see if you can get better deals, I suspect if your wanting monitors, case, etc a Bundle package somewhere will be a better choice for your money.

  9. #9
    If I'm not back in 5....wait longer! xXxDEATHxXx's Avatar
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    Good looks Marrv

  10. #10
    I get enough exercise just pushing my luck Marrv's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by AOD_xXxDEATHxXx View Post
    Good looks Marrv
    Just remember when getting whole pc's BUNDLES are usually better. Especially if your not looking to OC or are not "tech savy"

    Also i have not idea what mail in rebates are

  11. #11
    Knee High to a Worms Ass pjpeej13's Avatar
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    If you're really looking for a pc build list/guide, go here:

    http://logicalincrements.com/

    I used this as a basis for case, power supply, and cpu. Then I kinda chose my own graphics card by comparing specs online.

    It's also good to figure out how much space you want for a computer. Got space? Go full-tower. Wanna move it around? Go small form factor.

  12. #12
    Can I have your Tots xXCHERUBIMXx's Avatar
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    My computer recently lit on fire.

    When considering a replacement I used logicalincrements.com - as I am not tech savvy either.

    its basically a pc buying guide. all of the components in a given row are compatible with each other. Doing a little shopping around on the web can help you out tremendously with the pricing.

    That seems like a good place to start.

  13. #13
    Boycott shampoo! Demand the REAL poo! Boba's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by AOD_pjpeej13 View Post
    If you're really looking for a pc build list/guide, go here:

    http://logicalincrements.com/
    That is an awesome tool. Never seen it before

  14. #14
    I have come to terms with the fact that I am cannon fodder. Cyrihs's Avatar
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    I use pcpartpicker.com for all my builds. It detects compatibility automatically, and "shops around" for you by listing all the current prices from the biggest sites. It's a great resource.

  15. #15
    I have come to terms with the fact that I am cannon fodder. Cyrihs's Avatar
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    This is what I came up with in a couple hours: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/kDtX6h

  16. #16

  17. #17
    I have come to terms with the fact that I am cannon fodder. Cyrihs's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by AOD_Wolvenhaven View Post
    My build is hands down the cheapest.
    LOL! And potentially the most costly.

  18. #18
    Can I have your Tots GetShrektMrKrabs's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by AOD_Marrv View Post
    HDD (normal HarD Drive) I have used seagate for years and only ever had one drive fail (used 20+) good price per Gb and at 3TB it should keep you going a while
    I have the same HDD and it has a horrible fail rate at around 2 years and 2 months. Pretty infamous around the HDD market.

  19. #19
    I've updated my privacy policy AOD Member AOD_Nozama's Avatar
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    Yeah, WD blacks for general mechanical drives red for storage and Samsung EVOs for ssd's. You'll pay more initially but be money ahead on your replacement schedule.


    Sent from my implant via the obelisk.
    "You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation."
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  20. #20
    Ditch the shampoo, demand the real poo! Neogreenyew's Avatar
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    Here was my build. ~$1,300 but you can get it down to 1,200 if you spend some time planning and finding sales. I'd also change the case to something like a Corsair Obsidian or something.
    By the way, that Corsair RM series PSU had weird prices recently where the 650W, 750W, and 850W models were all the exact same price so be on the lookout for stuff like that.
    If you want to be able to play a game like pCARS in triple monitor on max graphics then you'll want to get a GtX980TI instead


 

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