New PC Build Project

[sergechronos]

So I got the lady friend to sell her soul and start playing some PC games..Now she loves it but has an underpowered desktop and laptop, so looking at upgrading that..
Current Plan: i5-3570k, Asrock Z77Extreme4 mobo, HD7950 graphics card, 1TB HDD, 8gb of RAM, 23" 1080p monitor all crammed into a $40 NZXT case.

Contemplated going weaker on the processor, or going AMD, but the price v performance really favors the 3570k (especially since it can be overclocked down the road for more power if necessary) and the AMD FX line is very power hungry. Still on the fence though.

Graphics card I'm not budging, you can get an HD7950 for about 200-220 these days new, and they are monster cards and easily overclocked. They're faster than the AMD R9 280X, or a GTX760, and once overclocked they'll come pretty close to a 290x or 770.

Debated about going bigger with the hard drive, or going SSD, but those are easy to add in later.

I'll nail this list down in the next few weeks, and scour eBay for good deals on used CPU and mobos, and post updates as it gets built.

[IPD]

Why both desktop and laptop? I have a gaming laptop I use for everything. Sure, not bleeding-edge, be-all-end-all performance, but shit hot for what it is, and more than capable of playing most games at the new "watered-down-standard" of 1080p.

MSI GT60-2od-261US. Might not be for everyone, but hard to beat for the price, features, specs.

MSI Notebook Official Website | G Series - GT60 2OD-261US Gaming Notebook / Laptop

[sergechronos]

Well her desktop is old, so a couple years ago she replaced it with a laptop for school (but was not a gaming or high end laptop.) Last year she got a tablet to use instead of the laptop since the tablet would do most anything that she would need for actual school work. While the MSI laptop is nice, at 2k I could build a monster desktop for her and she could still use her tablet for school stuff. Goal is to try to keep price pretty low since she's a college student.