$500 Budget Build - Goal: 4.5GHz

[NickS]

Hey guys, I haven't been here in a loooong time, nor have I built a computer in a loooong time (like, when E6600's and 8800GTS' were awesome). Been really into cars lately, working a lot, etc. Decided I needed a winter project while the GTi is away in a garage, so I decided to see what I could build on half a G.

In this thread will be what I bought, pictures of the build, results of overclocking, benchmarking (possibly) and what you can do for little money to greatly improve the performance of it.

CPU: Intel Core i3-550 Clarkdale
I picked this over AMD because the last rig I had which was a storebought Gateway with a Giga-Byte board I dropped into it was rather slow. It was a Phenom II 810 (Deneb) and I had it running smoothly at 3.2GHz but it just felt sooo slow compared to my C2D's of days past. The CPU was also cheap, and has some interesting features like the integrated GPU and the return of HyperThreading.

---$115 after a $15 promo code on Newegg

Mobo: MSI H55-GD65
I chose this over anything else because I've used mainly MSI boards in all of my builds, both in the K8 days and in the C2D days and I've had excellent results with them. Their service is also top notch. That combined with the effort they seem to be putting in to their new high end lineup, made me choose this over any other board.

---$109.99 on Newegg

RAM: G.Skill RipJaws 4GBRL 1600MHz CAS9
Self explanatory! G.Skill is the bomb, and it looks sweet.

---$69.99 on Newegg

PSU: - Corsair 550VX 550w
Again, self explanatory. Corsair has taken the PSU market by storm lately and you can't go wrong. Fully sleeved, great reviews and a nice looking appearance.

---$79.99 before 10% off Promo Code & $20 MIR on Newegg

HDD: Samsung SpinPoint F4 320GB
No, it's not a SSD but it's one of the fastest regular desktop drives out, and cheap.

---$42.99 on Egg

HS/F: Corsair A50
Great performing heatsink for a great price, comes with a fan, has a BOLT DOWN mount for Intel. Definitely did not want a push-pin design.

---$24.99 after $15 MIR on Egg

Case: Xigmatek Utgard Window Case
Almost looks like a copy of the CM Sniper Storm or whatever it's called. 2x 120MM LED fans and a 170MM top fan with support for 2x120 or 2x140 with perfect hole spacing for rads up top. Black inside and out with lots of ventilation and holes.

---$59.99 on Egg

Grand total after shipping before MIR's was just over $530. After MIR's I'll be at right around $500 shipped. I did not opt for a video card because I plan to add one later in the year when prices fall a bit on the new 6xxx cards from ATi, and truthfully, I do not game much any more.

My goal is 4.5GHz on air, 24/7 stable, which should give me an extremely fast rig for whatever I throw at it aside from gaming. Drop a video card in and you'll fly! IMO the I3 is a much better value than anything AMD offers aside from their six-core CPU's. I'm an AMD junkie and have long preferred them but the Phenom II X4's get steamrolled by I3's in everything except encoding tasks and what not. Given the lower power consumption and better overclockability of the i3 and you have a clearly defined winner.

So, what could you do for say $150 more? Add a GTX460 for just over $150 and make it one helluva gaming rig for any game at anything but extreme resolutions or AA/AF settings.

Or for $100 more? Drop in a 40GB SSD for the OS and make it sing.

Or even $50 more, upgrade the HS/F to something from Thermalright and potentially clock even higher, get a larger HDD, or find a used 8800GT on a forum and still be able to game well. For all around max of $750 you could have an extremely fast computer.

The parts should be here Friday or Monday, and the build will continue on from then! What are my plans with it?

Either add a video card and potentially water cooling later on in winter after the holiday season, or keep it as is.. OR sell it in spring for money towards my project GTi. Who knows, time will tell, but I figured I'd post this build as a little guide to anyone on a tight budget looking to build a fast, stable computer. I haven't done water in a long long time but I miss it, especially my dual loop setup on my Xeon 3060 & 8800GTS 640 back in the day all in a CM690.

[tet5uo]

Now show this to all the kids who think they need to use Xbox for gaming because a good PC costs 2000$

[NickS]

Haha definitely. 8800s are cheap as dirt and they will still play anything out there with ease.

[[XC] Synthetickiller]

What about a mini-itx set up? The gigabyte 1156 board is about $109. An SG05 w/ 450w is about $120.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811163171

You don't need much of a heatsink to cool something like that honestly. Stock can get you to 4.5ghz. A50 in an SG05 is sweet!

[NickS]

Wow not a bad idea at all! I wanted something full size though, I've done MicroATX cubes before and even MicroATX towers and it just turns me off, but that is an excellent alternative to someone who wants something small.

[NickS]

Got the case today. The quality seems great, definitely above what you would expect from a $60 case. Paint job is okay, it's laid evenly but you can tell its cheap. The sheen it gives off is a little odd, not quite flat but not quite gloss. It does show fingerprints, even though I thoroughly washed my hands before touching it. Here are some pictures.



The box is neat, and shows the features of the case obviously lol.









The case definitely has a lot of ventilation. I do like the clean look of it, and the back is nice (especially four holes for water cooling. Rubber grommets are included).



The orange/black theme inside is also really nice.



The top is meant for a 120x2 or 140x2 radiator up to 46mm thickness, and the grille just slides off for access. A 170MM LED fan is installed there by default. Also included are matching LED fans for the rear and front, 120MM in size.



The fans are white-LED with transparent orange blades, and I think they'll look awesome lit up.



The front panel is feature ridden and do not worry, it's not scratched up theres just a protective plastic overlay over it. The absence of a reset button irritates me though. The built-in fan controllers are nice, and each one controls up to 3 fans for a total of 6 between the two.

Overall for $60 I think its great! The rest of the parts (the goodies!) come Monday, unfortunately, but stay tuned.

[ExodusC]

Hmm, that case actually looks pretty cool.

I'm probably going to start setting aside some cash to save for a new desktop. I built my last one in 2005, but I pretty much replaced every part in by 2009.

Currently using my Envy 14, and it's awesome and can handle light gaming... While university keeps me constantly busy with something or another, sometimes I do have a day or two when I want to sit down and do some serious gaming.

So yeah, your build looks pretty awesome. Makes me want to do the same thing and throw in my old HD 4870.

[NickS]

I love the case, it has tons of expandability - I can't wait to build in it later this afternoon! Just waiting on UPS

[Source]

That indeed looks like a very nice case!
Only thing I would like to see is the big 'attention-seeking' front panel hidden or so.
But hey, for 60$, it's a very nice case with a lot of mod possibilities!

[Source]

That indeed looks like a very nice case!
Only thing I would like to see is the big 'attention-seeking' front panel hidden or so.
But hey, for 60$, it's a very nice case with a lot of mod possibilities!

[NickS]

Got it built, up and running. Pictures tomorrow. Overclocking Core i3/i5/i7 is a whooole new game, this is crazy haha. Posting 180BCLK @ 4320MHz so far, 1.2v VTT 1.3v CPU.

[NickS]

4800MHz 1.35v no go, 1.23v QPI voltage.. I have a lot more headroom as far as voltages go. Will play more tomorrow, right now -- must sleeeepp. This board is nice though, recovers from bad OC's real easily.

[NickS]

Couple of updates. Got windows installed and running LinX, 5 passes have ran so far at 4213MHz (175MHz FSB, with a 5620mhz QPI speed), 1.36v BIOS with 1.25v QPI and 1.8V (stock) VTT.

[NickS]

Here are some pictures. I love this rig, i3 is by far the fastest I've ever had. The integrated graphics even runs CS:S @ 1600x900, WELL. Does <10s 1M too haha.