Sell iMac 2006 and Macbook 2009 to build custom gaming rig

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ExplosivePoop

Member
I own the two macs listed in the title. I crunched some numbers and I can build an extremely good gaming rig for under a grand. I'm not skimping on any region either - I just so happened to find these parts on different sites, and they are all on sale for roughly 10% to 15% off. I'm a Mac fan due to the raw power of a stock computer, but I'm finding that my school and gaming habits are leading me down a PC-oriented road, and the rig I'd build is inherently better than either of the macs I own.

[Note: I also have about 8 gigs of ram and a bunch of 13/i5 processors laying around from PC's my friends threw away - \o/ they were morons]


CPU
Core i5 2500K
$220
Graphics
XFX Radeon HD 6870
$200
Motherboard
Gigabyte GA-Z68MA-D2H
$125
Memory
Corsair Vengeance DDR3-1600 8GB kit (Or I might just keep the 8 gigs I already have and save an extra 100 bucks)

$95
HDD
Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB
$60
Optical drive
Samsung SH-B123L BD-ROM combo
$65
Case
Coolermaster HAF 912
$60
PSU*
Corsair Builder Series CX600 600W
$70



Total cost
$995

I already have Windows 7 Premium AND 8 gigs of RAM. Price without Win 7 Prem and 8GBRAM: $795. Both my Macs would fetch around $1200 <--- based on averaged prices found on Amazon.com and Ebay.com, 50 products on each sitehell of a RIG without splurging big-time, and I'd also have about $205 in profit, which I'll probably end up using to buy an i7 Ivy Bridge instead. I don't mind ending up with no money left over as I'd still end up turning a profit by selling my two Macs and ending up with a much more powerful computer anyway


Thoughts?
 
Dabbleh

Dabbleh

Legions Developer
Looking good, although I would highly recommend taking a look at the new ASUS Z77 mobos, they are truly awesome.

Nice to see someone getting rid of their Macs, haha.
 
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ExplosivePoop

Member
Beautiful motherboard. I like.

However, if I end up with $205 left over, I'll have to ask one of my working siblings/parents for a loan of roughly $70 so I can afford the ASUS Z77. Is it really worth it, though? Just how much of a difference will it make?


Haha, both Macs and PCs are great; I just find that they're highly situational. At this point I'd rather have a great gaming PC not only for school, but so I can pursue my love of Just Cause 2 and other great 3D games. It just makes more sense right now.


Seymour, I love Apple products too. They're ravishing pieces of technology, but right now, having a powerful work/gaming PC would free me up so much. It's time I moved on, for now. [Hey Sey, wanna buy my iMac? It's really shiny. You'll get all the ladies with it. ;)]



Oh, crap. I'd have to buy a decent monitor, unless I can use my tiny 20" plasma as a substitute. That's maybe another $40 I'd have to magically produce (earn) before I make any moves. If I end up doing anything, I'd have a time frame of 2 -4 days. I have an absymally busy school schedule which requires computer use every day.
 
SeymourGore

SeymourGore

Flatulent Cherub
Tempting! I'm picking the wife up a iPad3 in a week or two and plan on making her next system a iMac (because I intend on using her as a guinea pig before I make the plunge to a iMac for myself). Don't get me wrong, I'll still have a gaming PC, but I'd like to make it a dedicated gaming machine and using a Mac as my all around general purpose machine.
 
Jordahan

Jordahan

World Leader of The 21st Century
SeymourGore said:
Tempting! I'm picking the wife up a iPad3 in a week or two and plan on making her next system a iMac (because I intend on using her as a guinea pig before I make the plunge to a iMac for myself). Don't get me wrong, I'll still have a gaming PC, but I'd like to make it a dedicated gaming machine and using a Mac as my all around general purpose machine.
Click to expand...
Make a hackintosh(add 2nd HDD w/OSX install.) Way cheaper.
 
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ExplosivePoop

Member
Sey still wouldn't be getting a shiny bocks though, would he? ;)


Either way, it'll end up sold to SOMEbody on Amazon or Ebay. Hopefully everything works out budget-wise.



Anybody have some better specs for me that are in my price range? I want to get the best buzz for my buck. (And if anyone knows of a case large enough to hold all the components yet small enough to be convenient other than the Coolermaster HAF 912, let me know. I'd be even happier if it also has pretty lights on it. :rolleyes:)



[Edit]: Crunched some more numbers, weighed out my options, and this is the best option for me. I also don't have to build it myself, so I can get started up with school and gaming right off the bat. http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/Mega_Special_III/ Thoughts on this rig?)
 
D

Doom Of Neroflame

Guest
Jordahan said:
Make a hackintosh(add 2nd HDD w/OSX install.) Way cheaper.
Click to expand...
only certain motherboards work though for that no? i tried but mine wasnt compatible :(

ExplosivePoop said:
[Edit]: Crunched some more numbers, weighed out my options, and this is the best option for me. I also don't have to build it myself, so I can get started up with school and gaming right off the bat. http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/Mega_Special_III/ Thoughts on this rig?)
Click to expand...

pssst you forgot to tick the part where it said free Mass effect 3 and free mouse ...
 
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ExplosivePoop

Member
Doom Of Neroflame said:
pssst you forgot to tick the part where it said free Mass effect 3 and free mouse ...
Click to expand...

I'd have to purchase an i7. Too expensive for me. =P

Also, I'm looking at this laptop. http://configure.us.dell.com/dellst...235fe202&ecomm=ecomm.dell.com&c=us&l=en&cs=19 <--- click "Review and Checkout". So syked! I just hope my Macs sell.


[If anyone here has a deep understanding of gaming computers: If there is something better I can do while still staying under a grand, let me know. I want the best possible outcome for my money.]
 
St3lth

St3lth

Backend Contributor
I prefer AMD over Intel, so here is a AMD desktop if you're interested.

MSI 970A-G46 AM3+ AMD 970 AMD Motherboard - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130637

Radeon HD 6870 1GB - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150561

CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750W - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139021
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231428

AMD Phenom II X4 975 Black Edition Deneb 3.6GHz - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103923

LITE-ON 24X DVD Writer 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106335

COOLER MASTER ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233

Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533

This will cost you about $796.92 w.o shipping and the monitor, keyboard, mouse and headset cost is not included. It's not the best gaming rig, but imo, for its price its good enough. Also, you can crossfire the AMD 6870 with another 6870 for higher performance if you'd like and it'd still be under a $1000.

I built this in like 10 minutes, and I can definitely come up with something better so hit me up with a PM if you do want something better.
 
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ExplosivePoop

Member
While I love those specs, Stelth, I'd rather have a laptop in case I travel.

I'm going to be selling my iMac and Macbook as a business/home package with two pairs of iBuds, new charging/power supply cables, clean keyboards and shells, a Windows 7 install disk, a 500 GB external HD for storage and backup, and a red spectrum case for the MB, for just over $1,500. Just trying to make it a little enticing for possible buyers. This way I can get a nice Alienware lappy as soon as the money's wired to me but still have a few hundred extra to upgrade from an i5 to an i7. I heard the i5 is a better choice for gaming due to hyper threading (if you have four cores, which the M11X has), so I'm probably going to take a 5 year full-coverage warranty out on it, buy a better fan, and upgrade ram to maybe 16 gigs. Maybe buy a nice mouse, too.

For future posters: If you've got any links to newegg for 16 gigs of ram compatible with Alienware lappies and a wonderful cooling fan, please, let me know. Any other tips on gaming accessories and stuff would be well-recieved.
 
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ExplosivePoop

Member
Dell sucks. Yeah. But I seriously want a nice gaming lappy. If they don't exist, I guess I'll just have to go with building a desktop and take leave if I go on vacation, trips, etc. Which would cause me do get seriously behind on my hectic school schedule. Laptops are highly preferred. -Hint, hint-

As far as gaming rigs go, you guys know what you're doing, so I know I'm well off to begin with.



If I end up with a total of $1,550, I might just get the i7 and 16 gigs of RAM. I'll have a bit of room to work with, thankfully. The iMacs serial number starts with the infamous W8, so I'm gonna have to replace the logic board, as the screen's already showing those stupid cyan and yellow lines (dead pixels). Unless Apple mans up and fixes it for free, as it's a manufacturing error.

So if Apple fixes the logic board for free, the cost of the machine Stelth gave me comes out to around $801, leaving me with $749. And even if I DO have to pay for the logic board, I'll still be left with $600 when the two macs sell. I'm still going to subtract about $54 'cos I want to send them with a pair of new Apple iBuds, a new power cord for the iMac, and a new charger cable for the Macbook.

(Not sure if I'm going to take a one year warranty out on the two of them, just so they're more enticing to possible buyers - most likely won't, though)

\o/ with $749 - $600 added to my budget, I'd totally upgrade. PMing you, Stelth; hopefully you can hit me with something which will add serious power but doesn't skimp out on anything.
 
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ExplosivePoop

Member
I changed it to AMD. Stelth has a few pointers for me as far as configurations and prices. No Alienware for me - dangit, I'm gonna miss those fancy little lights! Grr.

I'll still be getting one hell of a rig. Might buy BF3 and Mass Effect 3 with the left-over cash.
 
WildFire

WildFire

Warrior of Linux
AMD processors actually suck. Don't pick them unless you're on major budgeting and want to do APU (which is kinda made less niche due to better hd 4000 graphics)
 
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