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DK, post: 78983, member: 3039 Wrote:This is what Anubis and I (forgot the other ones I know) use as a case:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.asp...6811129042

It's cheap and it has both, USB 2.0 and 3.0. Total USB ports I have = 8

Antec is a known brand and that case looks like great value, but it doesn't seem to have USB 3.0 connectors.
That shouldn't be an issue for the gamer on a budget, and you can always get a front panel bay device for it if you need it in the future. USB 2.0 is already plenty fast.

To cut costs, I'd recommend temporarily dropping the HDD if you think there's anyway you can get away without it for a bit.
If you're just using your computer for games and music, with a little thought and effort, 120GB will get you by for awhile and your system will still be incredibly fast.
If you plan to download hi-def movies or TV series though, that HDD is a must; in which case you may want to consider waiting on the SSD till you have more cache. Both HDD and SSD prices will likely continue to drop, but HDD more drastically so--so if you can get by for the moment without it, there's 75$ back without losing gaming performance.

Besides that, unless you need its macros for specific gaming titles, you might want to at least temporarily substitute that gaming keyboard with a simple but reliable regular one.
For example, this Microsoft Keyboard: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.asp...6823109233
Or this Liteon one: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/ProductRevi...6823107120
Could shave off at least $30

Oh, and as thousands of other CS gamers will tell you, the Razer Deathadder is worth every cent.
Good luck with your build!

HDD prices aren't dropping, SSD prices have been falling rapidly since their release. HDD prices have actually increased due to real world problems in Taiwan over the last year or two. Looking at your gfx card I'd compare it to the 6990 just based on available numbers. Just based on what I can scrounge up the 7870 is about 50-70% of what a stock 6990 would be and that card only has 2gb of vram which is what the 6970's were running.

You'll start to see vram maxing out when you try to crank up settings like AA MSAA and basic graphic quality. The processor typically falls under the highest load when running extra things (shadows, smoke, particle effects). I might be talking out of my ass here but I've played BF3, Metro2033, and a few other high res games and this is just what I've noticed and double checked on OC forums. Keep in mind that the new series of AMD cards is supposed to release around christmas, and like I've said before, I can let you borrow (til the AMD release) a card or sell you a decent one for cheap (cus we friends and I'm fuckin cool like that).

^^

Understanding how something works is always better than just listening to what someone tells you and blindly following it.

HoboBob, post: 79075, member: 4107 Wrote:Understanding how something works is always better than just listening to what someone tells you and blindly following it.

You know I'm just messing around...

HoboBob, post: 79067, member: 4107 Wrote:HDD prices aren't dropping

Here in Japan I've seen steep price drops in HDDs over the last few months. A typical HDD costs about 40% less than it did back in July. The damaged caused by flooding in Thailand last fall halted a lot production and hiked prices internationally by up 200% or 300%. Like analysts at the time predicted, extremely limited supply kept prices artificially inflated through to the beginning of summer, but it's been dropping a lot recently, which means production is back (as expected).
If prices haven't adjusted yet where you live, wait just a little longer. Unless there is a new intense disruption in the supply chain, prices will not just drop, but continue to do so for a while.

Regard SSD pricing, it'll probably also continue to drop, but only incrementally. A comment by a writer at Tomshardware.com last month leaves room for concern.

Quote:"Have you held off on an SSD upgrade? You may not need to. Vendors are cutting their prices yet again, and 256 GB drives under $200 are particularly tempting. We've heard rumors as to why SSDs are so cheap, though, and we're not sure this is sustainable."

While SSD prices may continue to drop, HDD prices look set to do so at a far more rapid rate.

::edit::
I'm just curious, but why are you mentioning the Radeon 6990? Do you have an extra one that he could use?
Availability on that card was intensely scarce right from it's release. It was only produced in limited quantities, ran hot and loud if I remember correct, and cost an arm and a leg. I'm sure it runs faster than a 7870 since they're in different classes, but the 7870 is still an absolutely decent card that use so much less power to achieve it's results.
This page may be of interest:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gami...107-5.html

Oh, and if Cas has access to a temporary or used decent graphics card at a killer price, a little more juice in the CPU department (eg. Core i5 with a different MoBo) sounds good. Battlefield 3 seems to be very graphics dependent in single player, but multi-player might require a little more from the CPU.
::edit::