$400, CPU, MOBO, RAM

[ivangela]

Hi all, I've got a $400 budget and need suggestions for a build. All I need is the CPU, motherboard and RAM, at least 8GB.

 

Any suggestions are appreciated.

 

[Waco]

For what?

[ivangela]

Well, I like to think I'll do some gaming, although I rarely find time. Mostly, folding, light video editing, and some minor productivity stuff, (excel, word) and of course, surfing.

I would like to have the option to overclock as I did a light overclock on this system ie change multipliers but want to get more into it.

 

 

EDIT: I forgot I'll use this build as a media server for the fam and to stream video, play blurays, etc.

Edited March 9, 2013 by ivangela

[Drdeath]

If you live near Philly, Microcenter has core i7 3770K for $229 and an Asrock Z77 Extreme 4 for $135 total $265. You can get Crucial Ballistix Sport series 8G 1600MHz memory for $40 on New Egg(You could prpbably have Microcenter price match it too). Forget what your using it for. It has no bearing on anything........ You have $400, maximize you system.

Edited March 9, 2013 by Drdeath

[ivangela]

If you live near Philly, Microcenter has core i7 3770K for $229 and an Asrock Z77 Extreme 4 for $135 total $265. You can get Crucial Ballistix Sport series 8G 1600MHz memory for $40 on New Egg(You could prpbably have Microcenter price match it too). Forget what your using it for. It has no bearing on anything........ You have $400, maximize you system.

I like the way you think young man!

 

 

Edit: That Asrock seems to get praised then bashed on OCC. Personally I've never owned a product made by them. Obviously you think they're fine.

Anyone else care to weigh in??

Edited March 9, 2013 by ivangela

[El_Capitan]

ASRock boards are good when they work, but a hassle to get RMA'd (you need proof of purchase). When they do work, they work just as good as a Gigabyte or ASUS board. Pretty much all there is to know. Overclocking ability is based on the true phase counts, PWM's, etc.

[Drdeath]

 

If you live near Philly, Microcenter has core i7 3770K for $229 and an Asrock Z77 Extreme 4 for $135 total $265. You can get Crucial Ballistix Sport series 8G 1600MHz memory for $40 on New Egg(You could prpbably have Microcenter price match it too). Forget what your using it for. It has no bearing on anything........ You have $400, maximize you system.

I like the way you think young man!

 

 

Edit: That Asrock seems to get praised then bashed on OCC. Personally I've never owned a product made by them. Obviously you think they're fine.

Anyone else care to weigh in??

I just retired as a motherboard reviewer and every ASRock board I tested was good. Nothing bad to say about them. I have had bad Gigabyte and Asus boards but never an ASRock unless you count the one I beat up on Dry Ice! LOL. I did not let the socket dry from condensation years ago and fired it back up...... Resulting in buh bye! LOL

 

The included extras ASRock gives is terrific and the UEFI bios is pretty good. I am sure you will like it. Just like any other manufacturers, sometimes boards go bad so I don't hold it against them unless you see a slew of em bad, your good to go on basically any Z77 board Fom Asus, Gigabyte, ASRock, MSI and Biostar.

 

Edited March 9, 2013 by Drdeath

[IVIYTH0S]

I echo what others have said but am a big fan of AsRock products, only having experience with one I was hooked (they are just a far better deal than most of the other brands without using cheap parts)

 

Definitely that pairing would be a hardhitting trio for your money

[RedFury77]

I just picked up an i5-3570k, asus P8Z77-V LK, and 8GB of Corsair Vengance DDR3-1600 at microcenter for $317.

 

189+79+49, plus tax but there was an additional $15 MIR for the asus mobo too.  They give $50 off the mobo when you buy with a cpu.  And the ram was $49 online where it was labeled at $67 in the store.

 

Leaves room to pick up a Hyper 212 Evo instore for $29 while you're at it.

[aaron6581230]

I've seen a lot of mixed feelings about ASRock boards in general.

 

I owned an Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 for a bit and while it did overclock very well, something I noticed was how noticeably thin it was. I guess I'm too used to thicker Gigabyte boards but it kinda bugged me. Due to this, my H100 didn't actually make very good contact with the CPU (the actual mounting system was very loose even when I tightened it all the way). From what I've read, it's the same case with the Z68 Extreme4 (not sure about the Z77 boards though). 

 

Surprisingly, I was still getting great temperatures (thank goodness for thermal paste)

[EuroFight]

If you live near Philly, Microcenter has core i7 3770K for $229 and an Asrock Z77 Extreme 4 for $135 total $265. You can get Crucial Ballistix Sport series 8G 1600MHz memory for $40 on New Egg(You could prpbably have Microcenter price match it too). Forget what your using it for. It has no bearing on anything........ You have $400, maximize you system.

 

Sorry to mention it bro, but $229 + $135 makes $365 not $265 :tongue:

 

Nonetheless with $40 for some memory, and an i7 3770K, it would be a pretty sweet build for just $5 overbudget...

[Tjj226_Angel]

First I want to start by saying that asrock is an OK mobo company. Personally I prefer gigabyte and asus, but recently asus's customer service has gone to hell, and I have had memory overclocking issues with gigabyte. 

 

I have built other people desktops using the extreme 3 z68 and the extreme 4 Z77 motherboards and they all seem to work fine. I myself have an asrock extreme 7 mobo that I picked up for 50 bucks at microcenter through one of their crazy fire sale 1 day sales and it works just fine. 

 

However, I do have another thought for the mobo. It probably won't work for you, but the gigabyte Z77N wifi board m-ITX board might be another way to go. 

 

I do not know how you will be setting up this home server of yours, but considering the board has on board wifi, and dual gigabit ethernet, it might be worth a look. It is also a bit cheaper than the asrock board as well. 

 

If that will not work, then I echo the asrock extreme 4 idea.