Description: Powered by a Core i5-2500k, this mid-sized desktop has officially entered enthusiast territory. Go ahead and give yourself a pat on the back. Go ahead, no one will care if it looks weird... Of course, this powerhouse CPU means you get the best gaming performance avaiable out of a mid-priced CPU. Non-gaming performance is also excellent, thanks to the quad-core design of the chip. The K series CPUs from Intel are also overclockable, meaning that you get an automatic extension on the life of you machine. A year or two from now, if you decide you need more power, go in the BIOS, bump up the multiplier to 40 or so, and you get a nice 4.9 GHz quad core CPU in less than 30 seconds. RAM is 8GB, upgradable to more. A beefy 600W power supply provides plenty of clean efficient power for this machine. Since this PC is overclockable, a high-performance CPU cooler is included in the build. The 7950 is factory-overclocked a nice 100MHz to give an out-of-the-box boost to gaming performance.
Note: MicroCenter has these CPUs on sale at ridiculous prices. If you have a store nearby, I'd recommend you get your CPU and motherboard there for even more savings (easily $100 less than other retailers).
Expect excellent 2560x1600 performance out of most games at high settings and good performance with multiple HD monitors at medium settings.
| Cost Breakdown |
|---|
| Subtotal | MIRs | Total |
|---|
| $770 | $30 | $740 |
| Individual Parts |
|---|
| Type | Part | Price | MIR | Link |
|---|
| Motherboard |
BIOSTAR TZ77B |
$90 |
$20 |
Newegg |
| RAM |
G.Skill 8GB DDR3 1600MHz |
$25 |
--- |
Newegg |
| Power Supply |
OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W |
$75 |
$10 |
Newegg |
| Hard Drive |
WD Caviar Black 500GB |
$70 |
--- |
Newegg |
| Case |
NZXT GAMMA |
$35 |
--- |
Amazon |
| Graphics |
Gigabyte Radeon HD 7950 |
$265 |
--- |
Amazon Warehouse |
| Combos |
|---|
| Type |
Part |
Part |
Price |
MIR |
Link |
| CPU + Cooler |
Intel Core i5-2500k |
XIGMATEK Gaia SD1283 |
$210 |
--- |
Newegg |
Variations:
SSD: Budget-friendly SSD substitutions remain the same as from the $300 and $500 builds. 60GB should be able to hold your OS, basic applications, and 3 - 6 full games. If you're willing to go slightly over budget, $90-$100 will get you a 90GB or 120GB SSD.
| Substitutions |
|---|
| Part | Price | MIR | Link |
|---|
| Crucial M4 64GB |
$66 |
--- |
Amazon |
| Samsung 830 64GB |
$63 |
--- |
Amazon |
| Kingston HyperX 3K 90GB |
$88 |
--- |
Amazon |
| Kingston HyperX 3K 120GB |
$100 |
--- |
Amazon |
| Sandisk Extreme 120GB |
$100 |
--- |
Amazon |
| Intel 330 120GB |
$100 |
--- |
Amazon |
| Intel 330 180GB |
$100 |
--- |
Newegg |
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