DIY grow light for 5x5

[Smudged]

So i’ve got a 5x5 grow tent and everything needed to start up except for the light. I was hoping to get the mars hydro fc-8000 but it’s a bit out of my price range atm and my prescription is costing a lot, so i’ve decided to just make my own LED rig and start running autos until I get some better lights.
I can’t really find many 800w+ lighting options for cheap so I thought this would be my best bet. I’m just not sure if i should go with strips or bulbs.
Any advice would be appreciated. I’ve heard samsung strips are best but have no idea how many i’d need to add to cover the 5x5 fully. Hoping to make it around 1000w.
Thanks

 

[Farmville]

The fce-8000 is cheaper and just a good of a light PPFD wise. Maybe that would be in your budget. It is the fce model making it cheaper

 

[Newty]

So i’ve got a 5x5 grow tent and everything needed to start up except for the light. I was hoping to get the mars hydro fc-8000 but it’s a bit out of my price range atm and my prescription is costing a lot, so i’ve decided to just make my own LED rig and start running autos until I get some better lights.
I can’t really find many 800w+ lighting options for cheap so I thought this would be my best bet. I’m just not sure if i should go with strips or bulbs.
Any advice would be appreciated. I’ve heard samsung strips are best but have no idea how many i’d need to add to cover the 5x5 fully. Hoping to make it around 1000w.
Thanks

You may not save quite as much as you think. If you're making a bar light with Samsung Sunboards, generally you want to make the light almost the same size as the tent and bar spacing 6"-8". That's a lot of Sunboards, especially when I can only seem to find them on 15" length and a 12 pack is almost $200. You would need 4 sunboards in a row just for 1 bar at 5' and with 6" spacing pack of 12 isn't going to go far, you would need 3-4 packs at $200 each for a 5x5 and then need to add a quailty driver which will set you back a little bit more. We can't forget about the cost of heat sinks, wiring, solder, etc as well.