Thread: Building a (relatively) cheap gaming rig

Here are the three components I've confirmed I'll use:

http://www.microcenter.com/single_pr...uct_id=0353925
Thermaltake Armor A30 Gaming Cube mATX Computer Case

Usually cases are among the last parts one chooses, but this goes first since it's a unique small form factor case that will determine to some extent the other components. Though it'll restrict me to mATX motherboards (well any mini tower would anyway), it can accommodate full-sized graphics cards. As all gaming rigs should, it has a series of fans in the case to help keep it cool.

It's damned expensive, but I really prefer this over a more typically sized mini tower.


http://www.microcenter.com/single_pr...uct_id=0354589
Intel Core i5 2500K LGA 1155 Boxed Processor (3.3 GHz)

It seems that the i5 2500K CPU is the best of the series in terms of performance vs. price, as it performs about as well as the cheapest i7. And I can get it for $179.99 from Micro Center.


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813130569
MSI H67MA-E35 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel H67 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

A pretty inexpensive, simple, but seemingly well-performing motherboard. I'm getting it for $69.99.


Of the main components, that leaves: the harddrive, the graphics card, the power supply, and the optical drive. Obviously I'm stuck with Windows 7, which I can get OEM for $100.


Any suggestions? My goal is to keep price balanced with performance. Ideally, I'd like to keep it around $750 or less (OS aside), but I guess if I had to, I could go up to $900.

I should add that I want this PC to last me for a few years. So even though I am trying to not be too extravagant, I would prefer technology that's at least high end mid-range, if not high-range.


EDIT: Here's a more specific question: is it worth saving $30 to down grade from i5 2500k (3.3 GHz, 6MB L3 cache) to i5 2400 (3.1 GHz, no L3 cache)? Yes, the 2400 doesn't have an unlocked multiplier. Though I could possibly see myself overclocking at some point, I'm not completely sure I would even bother.