Absolute best bang for your buck gaming PC around $900?

I'm helping a friend of mine build a pc and I came up with this rough build. What do you guys think about it? Anything I should change?

Intel Core i5 3570K - 229

http://ncix.com/products/?sku=70541&vpn=BX80637I53570K&manufacture=Intel&promoid=1027

G.SKILL Ripjaws X F3 - 49

http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=57953&vpn=F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL&manufacture=G%2ESkill&promoid=1027

ASUS P8H61 - 79

http://ncix.com/products/?sku=62523&vpn=P8H61-I%20REV%203%2E0&manufacture=ASUS&promoid=1205

Gigabyte GeForce GTX 560 - 220

http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=58366&vpn=GV-N560OC-1GI&manufacture=Gigabyte&promoid=1027

Coolermaster Haf 912 - 55

http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=55583&vpn=RC-912-KKN1&manufacture=COOLERMASTER&promoid=1027

Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB - 69

http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=58402&vpn=WD5000AAKX&manufacture=Western%20Digital%20WD&promoid=1027

Optical drive - 20

http://ncix.com/products/?sku=49597&vpn=DRW-24B1ST%20Bulk&manufacture=ASUS&promoid=1027

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium - 98

http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=45271&vpn=GFC-02050&manufacture=Microsoft&promoid=1027

OCZ ModXStream Pro 700w - 75

http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=35456&vpn=OCZ700MXSP&manufacture=OCZ%20Technology&promoid=1027

OCZ Agility 3 60gb SSD - 60

http://ncix.com/products/?sku=61050&promoid=1027

Total: 954

Also would it be cheaoer to build or just get a prebuilt?

Try trimming the fat off some of the components to squeeze a 60gb SSD into the budget, take a look at the OCZ agility 3, its cheap and if you install windows on it you will notice a nig differencde, you could also fit one or two of his favourite gasmes on there.

Try trimming the fat off some of the components to squeeze a 60gb SSD into the budget, take a look at the OCZ agility 3, its cheap and if you install windows on it you will notice a nig differencde, you could also fit one or two of his favourite gasmes on there.

Richard_The_Gr8

What is the resolution of your friends monitor? I assume the primary use for the compter will be gaming, correct? You may want to consider dropping down to an i3 processor, or and AMD build to stay under $900 budget. That GTX560 is no slouch, but it's not a top end card either. I can give you better advice when I know what the monitor resolution is.

~mm

You can save money on everything, just drop the processor down or just drop a little on the PSU, RAM, and HDD....

What is the resolution of your friends monitor? I assume the primary use for the compter will be gaming, correct? You may want to consider dropping down to an i3 processor, or and AMD build to stay under $900 budget. That GTX560 is no slouch, but it's not a top end card either. I can give you better advice when I know what the monitor resolution is.

~mm

mrmarrero

At 1080p it will be difficult to max games, but I agree with the earlier poster, consider dropping your CPU down to an less expensive i3 or AMD build and spend the savings on a better GPU.

Say, drop down to a i3 2120 ($130), then spend the savings on a 560ti or HD7850.

~mm

At 1080p it will be difficult to max games, but I agree with the earlier poster, consider dropping your CPU down to an less expensive i3 or AMD build and spend the savings on a better GPU.

Say, drop down to a i3 2120 ($130), then spend the savings on a 560ti or HD7850.

~mm

mrmarrero

At 1080p it will be difficult to max games, but I agree with the earlier poster, consider dropping your CPU down to an less expensive i3 or AMD build and spend the savings on a better GPU.

Say, drop down to a i3 2120 ($130), then spend the savings on a 560ti or HD7850.

~mm

mrmarrero

[QUOTE="mrmarrero"]

At 1080p it will be difficult to max games, but I agree with the earlier poster, consider dropping your CPU down to an less expensive i3 or AMD build and spend the savings on a better GPU.

Say, drop down to a i3 2120 ($130), then spend the savings on a 560ti or HD7850.

~mm

Lox_Cropek

[QUOTE="Lox_Cropek"]

[QUOTE="mrmarrero"]

At 1080p it will be difficult to max games, but I agree with the earlier poster, consider dropping your CPU down to an less expensive i3 or AMD build and spend the savings on a better GPU.

Say, drop down to a i3 2120 ($130), then spend the savings on a 560ti or HD7850.

~mm

04dcarraher

[QUOTE="04dcarraher"][QUOTE="Lox_Cropek"]The 560 Ti is barely faster than the 560 (less than 15%).

Lox_Cropek

[QUOTE="Lox_Cropek"]

[QUOTE="04dcarraher"] A decently overclocked GTX 560 is faster then stock GTX 560ti, and GTX 560's overclock like champs anyways.04dcarraher

LOL wow you dont need an SSD for a budget build and getting one just to have "more speed" when you are trying to save money is not a very good idea.

Get RID of the SSD and get a bigger regular HDD.

EDIT: and you wont even use a 700W PSU with this kind of build drop it down to 650W and save some cash there to.

So with probbly 70 dollars (your currency AUD?) saved you can invest in a better GPU and a 650W Psu will handle a high end video card just fine if you get a decent one. you would still be saving some money.

EDIT Again. HERE get this. you will be VERY happy with it http://ncix.com/products/?sku=67646&vpn=57NKH3DH5PXK&manufacture=Galaxy%20Technology&promoid=1027

Even 600W is fine for one card

if you currently have 12 gigs of ddr3 why the hell are you buying ram?

if you currently have 12 gigs of ddr3 why the hell are you buying ram?

Obiwan_1O

You might want to drop the CPU down to an AMD 8-core, because they are 40 dollars cheaper than the 3570K, with similar performance.

if you want best bang for buck GAMING pc then go for a sandy bridge celeron g620, it costs $60 and performs like a champ. Mobo buy a z77 for a future quad core ivy bridge update, and graphics card go for that 570 geforce its a decent deal. Forget a 750 watt psu and get a 600 watt psu and save some $$

if you want best bang for buck GAMING pc then go for a sandy bridge celeron g620, it costs $60 and performs like a champ. Mobo buy a z77 for a future quad core ivy bridge update, and graphics card go for that 570 geforce its a decent deal. Forget a 750 watt psu and get a 600 watt psu and save some $$

blaznwiipspman1

Drop the SSD and get Windows elsewhere then use the savings towards a 670.Jack-o-Thompson

[QUOTE="Jack-o-Thompson"]Drop the SSD and get Windows elsewhere then use the savings towards a 670.KABCOOL

I got myself a similar build but I went for the GTx570 instead of the 560ti, 2TB of space, and some nice quality ram from NewEgg Daily Deals. Everything else pretty much compares, but my build came to about $1060.