PC Build Guide – July 2012

Welcome to the July version of our PC build guides. As with before, we have implemented hard price limits ($800, $1300, $1800) on ourselves and have had to make tough decisions with each build. Your personal budget will likely be flexible, but we hope this article will give you a baseline. You can of course spend more or spend less, but you run into a case of diminishing returns at either end. Please keep in mind that pricing information is immediate and may not necessarily reflect real prices by the time you have read this article.

With little change to the hardware scene recently, this month sees little change from last month’s guide. The Starter sees just one minor change to the video card–we stick with the Radeon 7850, but shift to MSI’s Twin Frozr version, which is a killer deal at the time of publishing (nearing the $200 mark after the mail-in rebate is factored in!). Similarly, the Enthusiast sees the most minor of changes: a slightly lower wattage power supply (of the same model) to deal with fluctuating prices and stay under our self-imposed price limit. Lastly, the Professional sees no change this month, as SLI GTX 670s still represent an extraordinary amount of gaming performance at that price point.

The Starter ($800 maximum)

Part list permalink: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/bKPO

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K ($199.99 @ NCIX US)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus ($22.99 @ NCIX US)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z68A-D3H-B3 ATX LGA1155 ($107.55 @ Newegg)

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3-1600 ($46.99 @ Newegg)

Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5″ 7200RPM ($84.98 @ Amazon)

Video Card: MSI Twin Frozr Radeon HD 7850 2GB ($209.99 @ Newegg)

Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Power Supply: Cooler Master 500W ATX12V ($34.99 @ Newegg)

Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Total: $775.46

The Enthusiast ($1300 maximum)

Part list permalink: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/bKQ9

CPU: Intel Core i7-2600K ($283.99 @ SuperBiiz)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus ($22.99 @ NCIX US)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z68A-D3H-B3 ATX LGA1155 ($107.55 @ Newegg)

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3-1600 ($46.99 @ Newegg)

Hard Drive: Crucial M4 128GB 2.5″ SSD ($103.98 @ B&H)

Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5″ 7200RPM ($84.98 @ Amazon)

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 670 2GB ($407.55 @ Newegg)

Case: Cooler Master HAF 922 ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Power Supply: Corsair 650W ATX12V / EPS12V ($114.99 @ Newegg)

Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Total: $1281.00

The Professional ($1800 maximum)

Part list permalink: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/9yn2

CPU: Intel Core i7-2600K ($283.99 @ SuperBiiz)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus ($22.99 @ NCIX US)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z68A-D3H-B3 ATX LGA1155 ($107.55 @ Newegg)

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws 16GB (4x4GB) DDR3-1600 ($94.99 @ Newegg)

Hard Drive: Crucial M4 128GB 2.5″ SSD ($103.98 @ B&H)

Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5″ 7200RPM ($84.98 @ Amazon)

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 670 2GB – 2-Way SLI ($407.55 @ Newegg)

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 670 2GB – 2-Way SLI ($407.55 @ Newegg)

Case: Cooler Master HAF 932 ATX Full Tower Case ($129.99 @ NCIX US)

Power Supply: Corsair 750W ATX12V / EPS12V ($130.98 @ Newegg)

Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Total: $1792.54

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