PC Build Guide – June 2012
Hey guys, welcome to the June version of our PC build guides. As with before, we have implemented hard price limits ($800, $1300, $1800) on ourselves and have had to make tough decisions with each build. Your personal budget will likely be flexible, but we hope this article will give you a baseline. You can of course spend more or spend less, but you run into a case of diminishing returns at either end. Please keep in mind that pricing information is immediate and may not necessarily reflect real prices by the time you have read this article.
The Starter sees virtually no change compared to last month’s guide, as the combination of a 2500K and Radeon 7850 still provides an amazing value and bumps right up against our $800 price ceiling. Our only change this month is a move to a Sapphire video card, as we’re a fan of this brand for AMD cards when we can afford it.
While we had a 2500K and GTX 680 in last month’s Enthusiast build, we decided to take a slight hit in graphics by moving to a superclocked version of the recently released GTX 670, which is less expensive than the GTX 680, but offers better performance per dollar spent. By making that sacrifice, we’re able to upgrade our CPU to the hyper-threaded 2600K (up from last month’s 2500K), which provides more processing power for live streaming, rendering videos, and other tasks many gamers are likely to partake in nowadays.
We go a little radical with the Professional this month by essentially supercharging the Enthusiast build with double the RAM and another superclocked GTX 670. For gaming, we felt that the combination of a 2600K and SLI GTX 670s simply outdoes a 3770K and single GTX 680. Let me reiterate–for gaming (which is our primary focus when coming up with these builds). If you use your PC for many tasks you know to be highly CPU-intensive, last month’s Professional may be more suited to your tastes. However, the prospect of running a pair of GTX 670s and conquering any game on highest settings at pretty much any resolution has our collective mouths watering.
The Starter ($800 maximum)
Part list permalink: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/9BxG
- CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K ($199.99 @ NCIX US)
- CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus ($22.99 @ NCIX US)
- Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z68A-D3H-B3 ATX LGA1155 ($79.99 @ NCIX US)
- Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3-1600 ($46.99 @ Newegg)
- Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5″ 7200RPM ($89.98 @ Amazon)
- Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 2GB ($249.99 @ Amazon)
- Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($52.99 @ SuperBiiz)
- Power Supply: Cooler Master 500W ATX12V ($37.99 @ Newegg)
- Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $798.90
The Enthusiast ($1300 maximum)
Part list permalink: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/9yqs
- CPU: Intel Core i7-2600K ($279.99 @ Newegg)
- CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus ($22.99 @ NCIX US)
- Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z68A-D3H-B3 ATX LGA1155 ($79.99 @ NCIX US)
- Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3-1600 ($46.99 @ Newegg)
- Hard Drive: Crucial M4 128GB 2.5″ SSD ($119.00 @ B&H)
- Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5″ 7200RPM ($89.24 @ B&H)
- Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 670 2GB ($419.99 @ Newegg)
- Case: Cooler Master HAF 922 ATX Mid Tower Case ($92.99 @ Best Buy)
- Power Supply: Corsair 750W ATX12V / EPS12V ($124.99 @ Newegg)
- Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1294.16
The Professional ($1800 maximum)
Part list permalink: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/9yn2
- CPU: Intel Core i7-2600K ($279.99 @ Newegg)
- CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus ($22.99 @ NCIX US)
- Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z68A-D3H-B3 ATX LGA1155 ($79.99 @ NCIX US)
- Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws 16GB (4x4GB) DDR3-1600 ($94.99 @ Newegg)
- Hard Drive: Crucial M4 128GB 2.5″ SSD ($119.00 @ B&H)
- Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5″ 7200RPM ($87.99 @ NCIX US)
- Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 670 2GB – 2-Way SLI ($419.99 @ Newegg)
- Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 670 2GB – 2-Way SLI ($419.99 @ Newegg)
- Case: Cooler Master HAF 932 ATX Full Tower Case ($129.99 @ NCIX US)
- Power Supply: Corsair 750W ATX12V / EPS12V ($124.99 @ Newegg)
- Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1797.90
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vol1tion
BrandonBrandon started his PC gaming days playing Doom II (IDDQD/IDKFA for life) and has been hooked on online gaming since the original Starsiege: Tribes. The way to his heart is through proper grammar, corn dogs, and cookie cake.
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