$850 Gaming PC: Time for a Major CPU Upgrade!

The Antec Three Hundred Illusion, the case featured in this build.

Upcoming Updates

Last week, I updated the $400 Gaming PC, the $500 Gaming PC and the $600 Gaming Computer. Yesterday, I updated the $700 Gaming Computer. Today, I’m updating the $850 Build and I’ll be updating the $1000 and $1250 Gaming Builds later this week. Expect updates to the more expensive ($1500+) Gaming Builds starting in the second week of August, with updates to our Best Of type of articles in the first week of August.

Automatically receive our future articles for free via RSS or Email:

Did you know that you can get our future articles, such as the Gaming PC Guides, for free via RSS or Email? That way, you never have to check the site for updates again because you get the latest and greatest articles delivered automatically in your RSS reader or Email inbox around 7PM EST, every day that I publish an article.

If you’re not familiar with RSS technology, here an article that explains What is RSS?

If the fact that you’ll be receiving outstanding custom PC designs for free is not enough to convince you, here are 7 Reasons to get our posts via RSS or Email.

This version compared to the previous version of the $850 Gaming Build:

1. The CPU gets a major upgrade: From an AMD Athlon II X4 630 2.8GHz Quad-Core to the Intel Core i5 750 2.66GHz Quad-Core. Don’t let the lower frequency fool you, the Intel Core i5 750 2.66GHz has no problem beating AMD’s fastest CPU, the Phenom II X4 3.4GHz, despite the 733MHz disadvantage. More on that in the CPU section.
2. The Video card was slightly downgraded from a Radeon HD 5850 1GB to a Gigabyte Geforce GTX 460 OC edition. The GTX 460 trails the Radeon 5850 by only a few % on average, beating it on some occasions, but costs $60 less and has an incredible overclocking headroom.
3. The Motherboard was changed from an ASUS M4A785TD-V EVO AM3 785G to a GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD3 LGA1156 SATA6Gb/s USB3.0 Crossfire 8x/8x, due to the platform (AMD AM3 to Intel LGA 1156) change. Of course, the SATA 6.0Gb/s, USB 3.0 and Crossfire 8x/8x features, which the ASUS M4A785TD-V EVO AM3 785G doesn’t offer, don’t hurt at all.
4. The DVD Burner was changed from an ASUS 24X to a LITE-ON 24x model, which is $4 less expensive and is just as reliable.
5. The Hard Drive was upgraded, performance wise, from a Western Digital 640GB Black Caviar to a Samsung F3 500GB, simply because the Samsung model performs better.
6. The Power Supply was downgraded from an Antec 650W 80PLUS to a Silverstone 500W 80PLUS. Simply put, 650W is overkill for this build with the recommended parts, so no need to waste money. However, if you do decide to upgrade, you can simply upgrade the power supply.
7. Other than that, the build is unchanged and now costs $852 instead of $838, a $14 increase, that is easily justified by the appreciable gain in performance, especially CPU-wise and additional features compared to the previous version.

Is this the right type of PC for me?

If you’re looking for a PC to play video games, you’re at the right place. If this is not what you’re looking for, check out our other Computer Systems instead.

$850 Gaming computer hardware parts recommendations, short version:

Explanation:

• In the left column, you have the component type, such as the Processor, Video Card, etc.
• In the middle column, you have the specific brand, model and a quick look at specifications for that part, as well as a link to buy it.
• In Bold, you’ll find my recommendations for the parts that you should buy in order to have the best overall performance while fitting the overall budget.
• In Italic, you’ll find the best possible upgrades if you have money to spare. These are the parts that offer better features or more performance, while still being relatively affordable in regard to the overall budget. In simple terms, if you want a more powerful video card, pick it from the list of recommended upgrades that are in Italic.
• In the right column, you’ll find the best price that I found after double-checking at various trustworthy online sellers such as Amazon.com, NewEgg.com, Buy.com and others.
• If upgrades just don’t cut it, visit the Gaming PCs page, where you’ll find our other gaming computer custom build designs.
• Note that all upgrades are compatible with the rest of the system, as well as other upgrades, meaning that you can choose one or many upgrades without a problem. Of course, please carefully read any note(s) that I may leave to clarify and avoid some possible issues.

Required components:

Components	Make, Model and Specifications	Price
CPU/Processor	Intel Core i5-750 2.66GHz LGA1156 95W Quad-Core Intel Core i5-760 2.8GHz LGA1156 95W Quad-Core Intel Core i7-870 2.93GHz LGA1156 95W Quad-Core HT Intel Core i7-875K 2.93GHz LGA1156 Quad-Core HT Unlocked	$195 $210 $290 $330
Motherboard	GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD3 LGA1156 SATA6Gb/s USB3.0 ASUS Maximus III GENE LGA 1156 P55 Micro ATX ASUS P7P55D PRO LGA 1156 P55 GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD4P LGA1156 P55 SATA6Gb/s USB3.0 ATX ASUS Maximus III Formula LGA1156 P55 ATX w/ Sound Card	$140 $150 $170 $185 $230
RAM	G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1600 CAS 9 G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1600 CAS 7 1.35V CORSAIR XMS 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 2000MHz 1.65V G.SKILL 8GB (4 x 2GB) DDR3 1600MHz	$100 $105 $120 $200
Video Card	GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 460 1GB OC Edition Radeon HD 5850 1GB GeForce GTX 470 1280MB Two GIGABYTE Radeon HD 5770 1GB SOC Edition in Crossfire Two GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 460 1GB OC Edition in SLI	$230 $285 $300 $310 $460
Hard Drive	Samsung F3 500GB SATA II 3.0Gb/s Samsung F3 1TB SATA II 3.0Gb/s Two Samsung F3 500GB SATA II 3.0Gb/s in RAID 0 for 1TB Two Samsung F3 1TB SATA II 3.0Gb/s in RAID 0 for 2TB	$52 $70 $104 $140
Optical Drive	LITE-ON Black 24X SATA CD/DVD Burner LITE-ON 4X Blu-ray Reader SATA LG 10X Blu-ray Burner SATA	$20 $60 $110
Power Supply	SILVERSTONE ST50F-ES 500W 80 PLUS Certified SeaSonic S12II 520W 80PLUS BRONZE Certified SeaSonic M12II 620W 80PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular SeaSonic S12D 850W 80PLUS SILVER Certified	$60 $70 $90 $120
Case	Antec Three Hundred Illusion NZXT Apollo NP Orange Thermaltake Soprano RS LIAN LI Lancool PC-K58 RAIDMAX AZTEC ATX-619WO Orange COOLER MASTER Storm Scout SGC-2000-KKN1-GP LIAN LI Lancool PC-K56W COOLER MASTER HAF 922 LIAN LI Lancool PC-K62 LIAN LI PC-7BYCF Antec Nine Hundred Antec Nine Hundred Two	$55 $70 $70 $50 $70 $80 $90 $90 $100 $90 $100 $120
Cooling	Intel CPU Stock Cooler included with CPU COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus 120mm CPU Cooler ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 Thermal Compound CORSAIR All-in-One Water-Cooling CPU Cooler Rosewill RFX-120 Adjustable 120mm Case Fan	Free $25 $8 $75 $8
Sound	8 channels sound card: Integrated on the motherboard Creative Sound Blaster Audigy SE 7.1 24-bit PCI	Free $35
Network	Ethernet RJ-45 10/100/1000 Mbps: Integrated on the motherboard	Free
Total price	Not Including OS, Shipping nor handling. Within -/+ 5% of Budget	$852

Accessories:

Accessories	Make, Model and Specifications	Price
Headphone	Rosewill RH-40C 3.5mm Circumaural SONIC HP-259 3.5mm Circumaural PLANTRONICS .Audio 355 3.5mm Circumaural SENNHEISER PC31 Dual 3.5mm Supra-aural KOSS SB45 3.5mm Circumaural Logitech G330 3.5mm/ USB Circumaural ABS AZ1 Circumaural USB SENNHEISER PC151 3.5mm Binaural	$7 $8 $20 $28 $30 $43 $50 $50
Speakers	Logitech X-140 5 watts 2.0 Creative Inspire T3130 15 Watts 2.1 Logitech X-540 70 watts 5.1	$27 $50 $89
Monitor	ASUS VH226H 21.5″ 2ms Full HD 1080P 1920 x 1080 Two ASUS VH226H 21.5″ 2ms Full HD 1080P 1920 x 1080	$180 $360

Computer Builds FAQs:

I often get questions such as:

• Who are you to tell me which parts to choose?
• Can you suggest me a step by step guide to build a computer?
• Why should I build a PC instead of buying one in a store?
• And many more…

You will find the answers to all of these questions and more in this article: FAQ: How to Build Your Own Computer

Also, if this is your first build, here are 10 Quick Tips for 1st Time Builders to get you started.

About Gaming PCs:

Gaming Computers are all about playing video games. Every year, new video games that pushes the boundaries of visual effects are released and demand more and more power from your computer to run. Being so powerful to handle cutting-edge video games, they are also very good all-around computers, capable of handling photo/video edition, web development, High Definition content playback and much more.

This is why our Gaming Builds Designs focus both on current performance for today’s games, as well as being ready to upgrade, to be ready to handle future games. For Gaming Builds Designs, a big portion of the budget goes to the Video Card and the Processor to ensure high performance in video games, as well as a solid power supply with a case with good cooling abilities, to ensure reliability.

Upgrades will usually focus on the processor and video card for enhanced performance, as well as on the power supply and cooling, to enhance overclocking capabilities. You may choose to upgrade the hard drive for more capacity, or change the case to get one that matches your personal preferences, such as look, cooling, size, etc.

$850 Gaming Computer Hardware parts recommendations, detailed version:

Motherboard:

GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD3 LGA1156 P55 SATA6Gb/s USB3.0 ATX

This motherboard is filled with great features, such as SATA 6.0Gb/s and USB 3.0.

Of course, this motherboard supports/is compatible with everything in this system.

It come with ten USB ports, two, of them being USB 3.0 and eight of them being USB 2.0.

Other than that, on the back, it has a S/PDIF Out via Optical and Coaxial, one PS/2, Gigabit LAN and 8 Channels audio.

On the board itself, you have two PCI-Express 2.0 16X (Top one at 16x, second one at 4x, in Blue), two PCI-Express 1X and three PCI slots, along with two SATA 6.0Gb/s and six SATA 3.0Gb/s ports and the usual IDE port, etc.

Recommended upgrades:

1. If you’re looking for a smaller, Micro-ATX motherboard, but do not want to sacrifice performance, overclocking nor Crossfire and SLI support, the ASUS Maximus III GENE LGA 1156 P55 Micro ATX packs one heck of a punch! If you’re going for a Crossfire or SLI setup along with overclocking, make sure to at least take a look at this motherboard. Note that the onboard sound is a SupremeFX X-Fi, a big notch up from the usual onboard sound.
2. Reliable, great overclocking motherboard, Crossfire/SLI support are a few words that I can use to describe the ASUS P7P55D PRO LGA 1156 P55 It doesn’t have any particular outstanding feature, instead it’s a good all-around motherboard, capable of doing what you want, whether that’s overclocking, two video cards in SLI or Crossfire or just a normal stock reliable machine.
3. Similar to my recommendation, the GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD4P LGA1156 P55 SATA6Gb/s USB3.0 ATX throws in SLI support, even more ports in the back, such as FireWire, includes Dual-LAN and keeps the USB 3.0/SATA 6.0Gb/s support, as long as you don’t use Crossfire or SLI that is.
4. The ASUS Maximus III Formula LGA1156 P55 ATX w/ Sound Card is one mad motherboard. Optimized for overclocking, it includes a dedicated sound card and supports nothing short of ten SATA devices. Considered by many, including myself, as the best motherboard for overclocking on the LGA 1156 socket.

CPU:

Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz 8MB L3 LGA1156 95W Quad-Core

In the same price range, AMD offers the Phenom II X4 965BE. I went with the Core i5-750 for the following reasons:

1. The Core i5-750 outperforms the X4 965 in three out of four gaming benchmarks on Anandtech, with an average of 92.9 FPS for the Core i5 750 and an average of 87.1 FPS for the X4 965.
2. Unlike the AMD X4 965, you can upgrade the Core i5 750 to a faster CPU on the same socket without a problem.
3. The Core i5 750 (2.66GHz) has a lot more overclocking potential than the nearly maxed-out Phenom II X4 965 (3.4GHz).

Recommended upgrades (Compared to the Intel Core i5-750 main recommendation):

1. Intel Core i5-760 Lynnfield 2.8GHz 8MB L3 LGA1156 95W Quad-Core – For a mere $15 more, you can an additional 133MHz, along with an higher multiplier, if you want to overclock.
2. Intel Core i7-870 Lynnfield 2.93GHz 8MB L3 LGA1156 95W Quad-Core w/ HT – Here you get 266MHz more, along with Hyper-Threading, allowing this CPU to handle up to 8 threads. While HT brings no performance advantage to gaming, it’s a big bonus if you do any audio/photo/video editing or work with highly demanding programs.
3. Intel Core i7-875K 2.93GHz 8MB L3 LGA1156 95W Quad-Core w/ HT Unlocked – Same as the Core i7-860, except for one big advantage: The Core i7-875K comes with an unlocked multiplier, allowing you to easily overclock it without stressing your motherboard and RAM. Note that the i7-875K does not includes a CPU Cooler, you need to buy one.
4. For additional options, check out our guide to The Best CPUs For Your Money. Make sure to double-check compatibility with sockets, chipsets and memory if you pick another CPU. You can also leave a comment to ask me

Video Card:

GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 460 1GB OC Edition

Overtaking my previous recommendation for this build, the Radeon HD 5830, the Geforce GTX 460 is the new king at the ~$200 price point. Based on the GF104 die, its power consumption is much more reasonable than the GTX 470 or GTX 480, while its performance is unmatched at this price point, as I pointed out in our latest edition of The Best Video Cards For Your Money series of articles.

For its price, you’ll not find a card that offers as much performance as the Radeon HD 5770,

The Geforce GTX 460 is capable of handling pretty much any game at a resolution of 1920 x 1080 with high visual quality.

Finally, it is DirectX 11 compliant, HDCP Ready and will handle Blu-Ray and other 1080p content playback, with audio over HDMI as well.

Recommended upgrades:

1. Radeon HD 5850 1GB – If you want a card with even more power, to be more future-proof, in order to keep playing future games at 1080p for some time, the Radeon HD 5850 is an excellent choice.
2. GeForce GTX 470 1280MB – The Geforce GTX 470 is one step above the Radeon HD 5850 when it comes to performance, but that performance comes at the cost of much higher power consumption (An additionnal 80W compared to the same setup with the Radeon HD 5850) and somewhat higher noise.
3. At $300, the Geforce GTX 470 offers a bit more bang for the buck than the Radeon HD 5850 at $285. Ultimately, the choice is up to you, whether more performance is worth the tradeoffs (power consumption and more noise). Note that you’ll need to upgrade the power supply in order to upgrade to this card, with, for example, the Seasonic 620W unit that I recommend below.
4. Two GIGABYTE Radeon HD 5770 1GB SOC Edition in Crossfire – For about the same price as a Geforce GTX 470, two Radeon HD 5770 in Crossfire will offer superior performance, similar to a Radeon HD 5870, with still reasonable power consumption.
5. Two GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 460 1GB OC Edition in SLI – This makes for one heck of a powerful setup: Two GTX 460 in SLI will outperform a GTX 480, the fastest single-GPU video card on the market, without a problem, performing in the same class as the fastest video card on the planet, the dual-gpu Radeon HD 5970.
6. Other, more powerful options are available in our guide to The Best Video Cards For Your Money. Make sure to consider power requirements and the length of a video card if you decide to go with a different card. Also very important: A very powerful video card will be useless in a low-end Gaming PC, as you want to balance the components to avoid having your CPU bottleneck your video card for example.

RAM:

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1600 CAS 9

4GB of RAM is pretty much mandatory to handle the latest video games along with Windows and background background such as your anti-virus, web browser, music/video player, etc.

Considering the price of RAM these days and the ever-expending memory use of games and programs, 4GB of high-speed DDR3 memory is a no-brainer.

I went with G.Skill for their high reliability and compatibility with the majority of motherboards. I chose these particular sticks due to their low price and regular 1.5V requirement for DDR3 1600MHz frequency.

Recommended upgrades

1. If you want a kit that has lower latencies and needs only 1.35V to run at 1600MHz, take a look at the G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1600 CAS 7 1.35V memory kit.
2. CORSAIR XMS 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 2000MHz 9-9-9-24 1.65V – If you intend to overclock, this kit of RAM will give you more headroom to breath, preventing your RAM from being the limiting factor in your overclocking and resulting in more performance from the higher RAM frequency. Of course, if you get an unlocked CPU, with which the overclocking can easily by done by raising the CPU multiplier, which doesn’t affect the RAM at all, then you can stick with DDR3 1600MHz. Then again, for only $20 more, this kit gives you the flexibility of raising the bus speed to overclock.
3. G.SKILL 8GB (4 x 2GB) DDR3 1600MHz – Future-proof your system from ever increasing software and game memory usage by upgrading to 8GB. Note that if you intend to overclock, you’re better off sticking to two sticks of 2GB for the best overclocking results, as more sticks/GB puts additional stress on the CPU.

Hard Drive:

Samsung F3 500GB 3.5″ 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s

A standard SATA hard drive, that offers 500GB of storage, plenty enough to handle your video/music collection and all your games. In this Tom’s Hardware hard drive article, the SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ (The 1TB version) finishes on top of all transfer rates benchmarks, even ahead of what used to be my recommendation for high-end builds, the Western Digital Caviar Black.

Recommended upgrades:

1. Samsung F3 1TB SATA II 3.0Gb/s – This is the 1TB edition that I wrote about just above. For only $17 ($70) more, you get twice the capacity.
2. Two Samsung F3 500GB SATA II 3.0Gb/s in RAID 0, Total Capacity: 1TB – For $106, you get two of these Samsung drives, ready to be setup in RAID 0, for a capacity of 1TB and transfer rates of 300+MB/s!
3. Two Samsung F3 1TB SATA II 3.0Gb/s in RAID 0, Total Capacity: 2TB – Same as above, 300+MB/s transfer rates, except that you get a 2TB storage capacity this time.
4. Interested in SSDs (Solid State Drives), or want a different drive? I invite you to take a look to our guide to the Best Hard Drives & Best SSDs For Your Money.

Optical Drive:

LITE-ON Black 24X SATA CD/DVD Burner

This drive is able to read and burn CDs and DVDs. Silent, compatible with all major formats including DVD-RAM.

Also, seeing as DVD Burners are often go out of stock lately, here are a two alternatives that you can use to replace it. All are SATA based.

1. LITE-ON Black 24X SATA Black CD/DVD Writer
2. HP Black 24X SATA 24X CD/DVD Writer – Retail

Upgrades:

If you’d like to watch BluRay movies or TV shows, this LITE-ON 4X Blu-ray Reader SATA will do the job. However, note that it can only READ CDs, DVDs and Bluray disks, not burn any of them.

If you want the ability to burn disks as well, the LG 10X Blu-ray Burner SATA is what you want.

Regarding Blu-Ray playback:

As far as I know, you still require a specific software to playback Blu-Ray disks on a PC. Based on various reviews and feedback on various forums, PowerDVD 9 Ultra is the software that I recommend to you. It is fully compatible with Windows 7 and shouldn’t give you any problems.

Case:

Antec Three Hundred Illusion 3x 120mm + 1 x 140mm

For only $55, this is one great deal from Antec:

• Cooling wise, this case includes three 120mm and one 140mm case fans, insuring proper cooling for your Gaming PC. You can also add an additional 120mm case fan on the side, to improve cooling for your video card(s) if you wish to.

Features wise, you get:

1. A solid steel case. No flimsy panel here.
2. Support for up to six hard drives
3. Dust filters.
4. 2x USB, Audio out, MIC in at the top

Recommended upgrades:

• Here are more great alternatives that are worth taking a look at:
  • NZXT Apollo NP Orange
  • Thermaltake Soprano RS
  • LIAN LI Lancool PC-K58
  • RAIDMAX AZTEC ATX-619WO Orange
  • COOLER MASTER Storm Scout SGC-2000-KKN1-GP
  • LIAN LI Lancool PC-K56W
  • COOLER MASTER HAF 922
  • LIAN LI Lancool PC-K62
  • LIAN LI PC-7BYCF
  • Antec Nine Hundred
  • Antec Nine Hundred Two
• If you want a different case, take a look at the following article: Find Out the 88 Best Computer Cases For Your Money.

Power Supply:

SILVERSTONE ST50F-ES 500W

This power supply is capable of delivering up to 500W, not that should rely on this information only as I often point in posts such as Warning: 6 Surefire Ways of Blowing Up Your Computer Due to an Inadequate Power Supply, but more importantly 34A on the 12V line, the most important factor when it comes to choosing a power supply for a gaming computer.

Best of all, it is 80 PLUS certified, meaning that it’s always at least 80% efficient, resulting in less heat, more silence and a lower electricity bill for you, compared to a less efficient power supply.

Power Consumption:

According to the eXtreme Power Supply Calculator, it is estimated that this system will consume at load (peak usage):

• 349W with the recommended Intel Core i5 750 95W (Or any CPU Upgrade), the Geforce GTX 460 and this build without upgrades.
• 358W with an Intel Core i7 870 95W, a Radeon HD 5850 and two hard drives in RAID.
• 387W with an Intel Core i7 875K overclocked to 3600MHz 1.4V and a Geforce GTX 460.
• 406W with an Intel Core i7 875K overclocked to 3600MHz 1.4V and two Radeon HD 5770 in Crossfire.
• 475W with an Intel Core i7 875K overclocked to 3600MHz 1.4V, two hard drives in RAID and a Geforce GTX 470.
• 519W with an Intel Core i7 875K overclocked to 3600MHz 1.4V, four sticks of RAM, two hard drives in RAID and two Geforce GTX 460 in SLI. This is the worse case scenario.

The power supply will have no problem handling the base recommended setup or an upgrade to the Geforce GTX 460 or Radeon HD 5850. However, for the upgrade to the Geforce GTX 470 or for overclocking and/or upgrading to a SLI or Crossfire setup now or in the future , upgrading the power supply is a must to ensure a properly working PC that is stable and that will last.

Recommended upgrades:

1. SeaSonic S12II 520W 80PLUS BRONZE Certified – A must for overclocking the stock setup, with its stable power delivery and high-efficiency, at a reasonable price; Recommended By Jonnyguru, an authority when it comes to testing power supplies.
2. SeaSonic M12II 620W 80PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular – (Recommended for GTX 470 upgrade, Radeon 5770 Crossfire, or GTX 460 in SLI or overclocking) If you want to be future-proof, for example to be capable of upgrading to a dual Geforce GTX 460 setup in the future, a setup that will pull about 500W with a quad-core Phenom, you’ll want at least this power supply. This is also what you want if you have a single video card system, but that decide to overclock it.
3. SeaSonic S12D 850W 80PLUS SILVER Certified – Recommended to be future-proof, if you do consider upgrading to a Crossfire or SLI setup now or at one point, but also want to overclock to your heart’s desire, something that would bring power consumption to 600W, if not even 700W+, you’ll want to pick a solid power supply. On top of delivering up to 850W, this unit is certified 80PLUS Silver, resulting in less heat, more silence and a lower electricity bill for you, compared to a less efficient power supply.
4. If you’re not sure and need help to pick the right power supply, set some time aside and read Warning: 6 Surefire Ways of Blowing Up Your Computer Due to an Inadequate Power Supply.

Cooling: Stock cooling

To save on costs, I recommend using the cooler included with the CPU. While there are better coolers, the one that is included is good enough to handle the cpu under normal operation. The case includes cooling fans as well to help you keep your system cool.

However, there are two reasons why you may choose to upgrade your cooling system:

1. To keep your computer components cooler, which in return extend their lifespan and allows you to overclock to higher speed.
2. To keep your system silent, as the stock cooling can get noisy at times, especially during prolonged gaming sessions.

Alternatives:

1. CPU Cooler: If you decide to give overclocking and/or unlocking cores, I cannot stress enough the importance of a good cooler.The COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus 120mm CPU Cooler offers the best value regarding performance for the price.
2. Thermal Compound: Use the ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 Thermal Compound either with the stock cooler or better, with the upgraded CPU cooler to lower your CPU temperatures further more. For $8, this is a wise investment.
3. Case cooling:You can add an additional 120 mm fan in the case, on the side. Although the Antec case already comes with four case fans, feel free consider adding one Rosewill RFX-120 Adjustable 120mm Case Fan in order to improve airflow to your video card(s).

Sound Card: 8 channels sound card: Integrated on the motherboard

Integrated with the motherboard, this sound card will handle many different sound setups, including headphones, a microphone and more. While integrated audio on a PC used to be absolutely horrible, it has gotten much better in the last few years, thus why I have no trouble recommending it.

Note that the ASUS Maximus III GENE motherboard comes with onboard SupremeFX X-Fi sound, while the ASUS Maximus III Formula includes a dedicated sound card.

Recommended upgrade:

For $35, you can get the Creative Sound Blaster Audigy SE 7.1 24-bit PCI, which will definitely provide a nice boost in audio quality.

Network: Ethernet RJ-45 10/100/1000 Mbps LAN: Integrated on the motherboard

Integrated with the motherboard, this network adapter will allow you to access your local network and Internet.

Accessories:

Headphones – With a Microphone:

Headphones, with a microphones, are a must for many games, especially First Person Shooters (FPS), where a lack of team communication can break a team. However, I do realize that we all have different tastes when it comes to headphones, as in which size is comfortable, which brand sounds the best, etc. This is why I found eight great pair of headphones, with prices ranging from $7 to $50, for you to choose from:

1. Rosewill RH-40C 3.5mm Circumaural
2. SONIC HP-259 3.5mm Circumaural
3. PLANTRONICS .Audio 355 3.5mm Circumaural
4. SENNHEISER PC31 Dual 3.5mm Supra-aural
5. KOSS SB45 3.5mm Circumaural
6. Logitech G330 3.5mm/ USB Circumaural
7. ABS AZ1 Circumaural USB
8. SENNHEISER PC151 3.5mm Binaural

Speakers:

If all you want is a pair of decent, inexpensive speakers, the Logitech X-140 5 watts 2.0 at $27, or the Creative Inspire T3130 15 Watts 2.1 for $50 will do a great job.

Looking for higher quality speakers, without breaking the bank still? The Logitech X-540 70 watts 5.1 make for an excellent and affordable 5.1 setup.

Display:

For a long time, you’ve been asking for recommendations for a good monitor to play on. I’m listening to you and I’ve decided to include at the very least, one recommendation of a good monitor for every Gaming PC.

My recommendations are based on the following criteria:

• Price: I obviously won’t recommend a $1000 monitor if the budget for the PC is $800.
• Resolution: The resolution of the monitor directly impacts the performance within video games, as higher resolution are more demanding on the system, resulting in lower FPS. Picking the right resolution for a particular system is crucial to achieve good performance.
• Response time: The lower the better, very important with video games.
• Brightness and Contrast Ratio: The higher, the better.

1. With its resolution of 1920x 1080, the ASUS VH226H 21.5″ 2ms Full HD 1080P 1920 x 1080 gets my main recommendation for the $850 Gaming PC, as it is, without upgrades. This Build will have no problem offering excellent performance in all video games on this monitor. It is also the best option to be able to play future video games (Think DirectX 11 games) without upgrading, or at least, not as soon.
2. If you get yourself two cards in a Crossfire or SLI, you can consider two ASUS VH226H 21.5″ 2ms Full HD 1080P 1920 x 1080 side by side, for a resolution of 3840 x 1080.

Recommended operating systems:

The operating system cost, if there’s one, is not included in the total cost. The two reason for this are:

1. The budget only considers hardware.
2. You may be able re-use a previous license, go with an open-source OS such as Linux or , if you’re so inclined and are aware of what you’re doing, use torrents.

If you decide that you need a need OS, here are some recommendations:

Windows 7

Despite Linux gaining more and more support, Windows still is the platform of choice for compatibility at the moment. Considering that you’ll have 4GB of RAM or more, along with a dedicated video that also has memory (512MB or 1GB), you’ll need a 64-bit version, as 32-bit is limited to 4GB of memory for the entire system, which is not enough now, nor in the future if you decide to upgrade.

Windows 7 is by far better than Windows Vista, looks better, more functional, less annoying, consumes less resources and brings DirectX 11 to the table.

Three Available Versions:

1. Windows 7 Home Premium: The basic edition, with all the looks, most of the functionality and DirectX 11.
2. Windows 7 Professional: If you want the virtual XP mode, you’ll need at least the Professional edition. Also required if you want to backup to a network, using the built-in backup mode in Windows.
3. Windows 7 Ultimate: To help protect data on your PC and portable storage devices against loss or theft with BitLocker and to work and switch between 35 languages.

OEM vs Retail:

The OEM version allows you to only install it once on a computer. You cannot transfer the license to another computer in the future and you do not receive support from Microsoft. It’s the same type of license you get when you get Windows on a desktop or laptop that you buy from Dell, HP and such. It’s less expensive, but gives less flexibility. Ideal if you intend on keeping your computer for many years.

The Retail version is the full version, which allows you to transfer the license to another computer in the future and you can call Microsoft if you need any form of support. Ideal if you intend on upgrading/changing your computer down the road.

Other than that, you get the same features on both, only the license differs. The price between the two differs obviously.

OEM Versions:

1. Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit OEM – $100
2. Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit OEM – $140
3. Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit OEM – $175

Retail Versions:

1. Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Retail – $180
2. Microsoft Windows 7 Professional Retail – $258
3. Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate Retail – $276

Linux

A lot of people these days boots more than one OS. Linux is a wonderful choice: powerful, cool, and cheap. Take your pick of distributions and have fun! For Fedora, Ubuntu, Debian, Slackware, and Mandrake, try Distrowatch.com, Cheapbytes.com, LinuxQuestions.org or one of the many others.

While Linux does not offer the wide compatibility of Windows with video games, gaming on Linux is still possible, through projects such as Wine, Cedega and Crossover. For more on the topic of Linux Gaming, I invite you to read this excellent article from AnandTech: Linux Gaming: Are we there yet?

What about Word processing, Excel and other Windows-based programs that you need? Linux being an open platform, there are many free alternatives that will answer your needs. For Word/Excel and such, try OpenOffice.

Cost: Free

Conclusion

What do you think of this updated version of the $850 Gaming PC?

Let me know what you think by leaving a comment below.

Building this system?

Do you need a guide on how to build a computer or do you have some questions?

Consult our: FAQ: How to Build Your Own Computer

Also, if this is your first build, here are 10 Quick Tips for 1st Time Builders to get you started.

Finally, if your newly built computer won’t start, I invite you to read Help me: Why won’t my newly assembled PC start or boot?

Don’t miss out on the new models/updates to the Gaming PCs!

Make sure not to miss the next Gaming PC Builds that will be published in the next days/weeks by getting them for free via RSS or E-mail. If the fact that you’ll be receiving outstanding custom Gaming PC designs for free is not enough to convince you, here are 7 Reasons to Get Our Posts Via RSS or E-Mail For Free!

Category: Gaming PC