Yesterday Toms Hardware announced your chance to win …”Tom’s Enthusiast PC with Vipre Antivirus”. With the Antivirus being the primary sponsor for this PC, their name has been tagged to this contest build, and the Vipre Antivirus Home software has been included.. hooray…*sarcasm. Anyways, this build is based on last months Tom’s Hardware System Builder Marathon Enthusiast PC for $1000.
Perhaps you will be so lucky to win, and if you were wondering the Enthusiast PC is said to have a retail value of approx. $1250 with everything included here:
- Antivirus Software: Vipre Antivirus Home(Lifetime License, provided by GFI Software)
- Case: RAIDMAX SEIRAN (provided by RAIDMAX)
- Power: RAIDMAX RX-850 W ATX12V, EPS12V, 80 PLUS-Certified (provided by RAIDMAX)
- Motherboard: EVGA P67 Micro SLI LGA 1155, Intel P67 chipset
- Processor: Intel Core i5-2500K, 3.3 GHz (3.7 GHz Turbo), Quad-Core, 6 MB L3 Cache
- CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper TX3
- Memory: Mushkin Enhanced Redline 4 GB (2 x 2 GB) 240-Pin DDR3-1600 KitDual-Channel Desktop Memory Kit
- Graphics: 2 x EVGA GeForce GTX 460 1 GB 1 GB GDDR5
- Hard Drive: OCZ Vertex Series 30 GB SATA II SSD 30 GB, SATA 3Gb/s
- Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black 750 GB 750 GB, 7200 RPM, 32 MB Cache SATA 3Gb/s
- Optical Drive: Sony Optiarc DVD Burner 24x DVD Burner
- Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium
This does look like a pretty sweet build, and if you are wanting to input your name into the contest to win it please do so here (*note: you must be a US resident). However, if you are wanting a build similar to this, and end up either not winning this enthusiast pc, or have no hopes at all in winning, then let’s take a look at how we can part this build together and for how much (minus the antivirus…because honestly who cares):
The Enthusiast Build in the Contest: (Linked items are changed slightly)
Case: | Raidmax AEOLUS ATX Mid Tower Case ATX-818WB = $69.99 |
PSU: | RAIDMAX RX-850 W = $121.44 |
Motherboard: | EVGA P67 Micro SLI = $149.99 |
Processor: | Intel Core i5-2500K = $216.95 |
CPU Cooler: | Cooler Master Hyper TX3 = $25.33 |
Memory: | Corsair Vengeance 8 GB ( 2 x 4 GB ) DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3 12800) 240-Pin DDR3 Memory Kit = $58.99 |
Graphics: | 2 x EVGA GeForce GTX 460 1 GB = $159 x 2 = $318 |
Hard Drive #1 | Western Digital Caviar Black 750 GB = $64.99 |
Hard Drive #2 | OCZ Vertex Series 30 GB SATA II SSD = $64.99 |
Optical Drive: | Sony Optiarc DVD Burner = $25.49 |
Operating System: | Windows 7 Home Premium = $99 |
TOTAL COST: | $1218.13 |
With keeping that total cost in mind, Tom’s Hardware has hit the estimated total retail cost of this build of $1250 pretty closely (taking tax etc. into consideration). The difference between the actual Tom’s Enthusiast build and the one I have posted above is the Corsair Vengeance 8 GB ( 2 x 4 GB ) DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3 12800) 240-Pin DDR3 Memory Kit and the Raidmax AEOLUS ATX Mid Tower Case ATX-818WB. These are due to availability of products, and are equivalences.
Want to Save on the above build?
Then exclude the Windows 7 Operating system (if you already have it, or can get it elsewhere). This can save you $99, making the total cost of the build about $1117.
Are you not going to be overclocking anytime soon? Then there is no reason to buy the separate CPU cooler, saving you an additional $25, making the build $1092 now.
Shop around for cheaper prices on another power supply, because honestly, Raidmax is not a”top of the line” power supply anyways. (Aim for something around the same wattage).
If you have any more questions on how you can improve upon this build do not hesitate to ask me! Plus you can check out the Newb Computer Build Gaming PC Build’s of the Month page and compare the builds located here. The Gaming PC build of the month between $500 and $1000 is very comparable in performance, and can be good for the gamer with a budget in mind 🙂