$500 AU Gaming PC - Pick Holes In My System!

auspcbuild · May 8, 2013

Hi,

I've been trying to find a low end gaming machine build for under $500. I'm building this myself. This is what I've come up with. Keep in mind I am from Australia, so price parts are a little more expensive here, but I've listed everything out.

Is there anything better for this price? I understand this is not going to be a beast of a gaming machine, I get that. It's not meant to be.

Any help is appreciated!

CPU: AMD FX-4130 4-Core 3.8GHz - $110
MOBO: Asus M5A78L-M LX V2 - $60
RAM: G Skill 4G(2x2G) DDR3 1600Mhz - $40
GPU: Gigabyte ATI HD 7770 OC Edition - $118
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 7200RPM SATAIII 6GB/S 3.5 - $55
OPT: LiteON IHAS524 SATA DVD-RW 24X Black Retail - $20
CASE + PSU - CoolerMaster RC430 Black Edition 500W PSU - $80

$483 WITHOUT OS

Thanks!

DarkSable · May 8, 2013

How much more expensive is a 4300? It's actually new tech, and performs much, much better.

Other than that, it looks pretty good. Ask yourself if you really need to spend $20 on a DVD reader - windows can be installed from USB.

Also, I know it's not possible at that price, but you've got $20 to play with - buy a $40 case and RELIABLE power supply, not a PSU-shaped fire hazard.

killerhurtalot · May 8, 2013

Well. a reliable power supply is only needed when you're pushing it close to it's max.... if it's not stressing any of the parts, a cheap psu should be fine... But then again... it is Australia lol.

and a 4300 is not worth it... according to pcpartpicker, it's $20 more expensive...

auspcbuild · May 8, 2013

DarkSable :

I can get the 4300 for an extra $15, so I might do that actually. Good tip! I would love to get a better PSU with case, but it will push me over, maybe it's worth it any way.

envy14tpe · May 8, 2013

For a sub $500 build, that looks really good. Just heads up, AMD is cutting prices on their CPUs so I'm not sure if that FX-4130 has had it's price cut yet. Just as an example, in US prices, the FX-6300 was $138 and AMD cut it to $118. So, you might want to make sure you got the discounted price. Also, if you can try to get the fx-6300 instead of the fx-4130.

You might want to upgrade your system so RAM could be one of those things to upgrade. Also, you might want to add an aftermarket cooler to cool down your CPU better.
First point: 8GB of RAM is the sweet spot but 4GB is ok. If you might be upgrading the RAM soon in the future then I would suggest getting 1x4GB. RAM is better to run in pairs, but if you will upgrade soon then 2x4GB is better than 4x2GB.
Second point: You might want to get more performance out of your CPU by overclocking. To do so you'll need to buy something such as a Cooler Master Evo. This can be big so the RAM needs to have a low profiled (no high heat spreaders) or only 2 sticks of RAM so the cooler can fit in.

All in all I think your build is good.

killerhurtalot · May 8, 2013

auspcbuild :

DarkSable :

I can get the 4300 for an extra $15, so I might do that actually. Good tip! I would love to get a better PSU with case, but it will push me over, maybe it's worth it any way.

4300 would give you like 1-2% more performance for a extra $13% increase in price...

auspcbuild · May 8, 2013

envy14tpe :

For a sub $500 build, that looks really good. Just heads up, AMD is cutting prices on their CPUs so I'm not sure if that FX-4130 has had it's price cut yet. Just as an example, in US prices, the FX-6300 was $138 and AMD cut it to $118. So, you might want to make sure you got the discounted price. Also, if you can try to get the fx-6300 instead of the fx-4130.

You might want to upgrade your system so RAM could be one of those things to upgrade. Also, you might want to add an aftermarket cooler to cool down your CPU better.
First point: 8GB of RAM is the sweet spot but 4GB is ok. If you might be upgrading the RAM soon in the future then I would suggest getting 1x4GB. RAM is better to run in pairs, but if you will upgrade soon then 2x4GB is better than 4x2GB.
Second point: You might want to get more performance out of your CPU by overclocking. To do so you'll need to buy something such as a Cooler Master Evo. This can be big so the RAM needs to have a low profiled (no high heat spreaders) or only 2 sticks of RAM so the cooler can fit in.

All in all I think your build is good.

That's really good advice, thank you for your time. I can get a AMD FX-6100 for an extra $12 over an AMD FX-4130. It's not the 6300 however.

auspcbuild · May 8, 2013

killerhurtalot :

auspcbuild :

4300 would give you like 1-2% more performance for a extra $13% increase in price...

Thanks for your reply. Any thoughts on a AMD FX-6100 for an extra $12?

auspcbuild · May 8, 2013

Here are my options. I can get a AMD FX-6100 for $122 AU, I can get a AMD FX-4130 for $110 and the AMD FX-4300 for $125

killerhurtalot · May 8, 2013

The FX 6100 is definitely worth the extra $12

DarkSable · May 8, 2013

I'd go with the 4300 - the six cores won't help nearly as much for gaming as the more efficient cores.

envy14tpe · May 8, 2013

auspcbuild :

How much is the fx-6300?

auspcbuild · May 8, 2013

envy14tpe :

$145

envy14tpe · May 8, 2013

My vote is FX-4300 unless you can spring to the FX6300.

Will you overclock the CPU?

auspcbuild · May 8, 2013

envy14tpe :

This is for a young friend of mine who wants to have a PC gaming experience over console, so no overclocking.

auspcbuild · May 8, 2013

DarkSable :

I guess my main question would be, will this PSU be stable enough? Obviously I don't want a fire hazard. I can use the same case for $50 and get an 80+ certified 500w PSU for $60. That pushes me just over my limit. Is it worth it?

auspcbuild · May 9, 2013

With adjustments (thanks for all your advice btw!), this is what I'm thinking. It comes in under $500 by $1!

CPU: AMD FX-4300 3.8GHz - $125
MOBO: Asus M5A78L-M LX V2 - $60
RAM: G Skill 4G(2x2G) DDR3 1600Mhz - $40
GPU: Sapphire ATI HD 7770 - $109
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 7200RPM SATAIII 6GB/S 3.5 - $55
CASE: CoolerMaster RC430 Elite Black - $50
PSU: SilverStone ST50F-ES 500W PSU 80+ - $60

$499 WITHOUT OS OR OPTICAL DRIVE

DarkSable · May 9, 2013

80+ certified doesn't matter as much as who makes it, but killerhurtalot, while he was dead wrong about a good PSU not having a point, was right in that this system wouldn't stress the PSU a lot. It's probably fine.

DarkSable · May 9, 2013

auspcbuild :

That looks like a very, very good option. Any young kid just starting out with PC gaming would be lucky to have that.

killerhurtalot · May 9, 2013

DarkSable :

i don't know why everyone thinks some of the off brand PSUs are shit... most pre-built pcs (willing to bet it's more than 95% of the desktop market) ship with TERRIBLE PSUs and you don't see them going up in flames. only reason is because the pre-built systems never tax it.... you can't have a part fail if you never push it... the component quality for regular operating conditions are fine. just when it's pushed to the limits, it'll fail immediately.

and FYI. silverstone is considered a average brand... nothing good about them...

auspcbuild · May 9, 2013

DarkSable :

auspcbuild :

That looks like a very, very good option. Any young kid just starting out with PC gaming would be lucky to have that.

I appreciate your help with my build, thank you!

auspcbuild · May 9, 2013

killerhurtalot :

DarkSable :

i don't know why everyone thinks some of the off brand PSUs are shit... most pre-built pcs (willing to bet it's more than 95% of the desktop market) ship with TERRIBLE PSUs and you don't see them going up in flames. only reason is because the pre-built systems never tax it.... you can't have a part fail if you never push it... the component quality for regular operating conditions are fine. just when it's pushed to the limits, it'll fail immediately.

and FYI. silverstone is considered a average brand... nothing good about them...

Thank you also mate!

schulmanworks · May 9, 2013

Get a pentium g2120 off of Amazon instead of the FX-4130. Use the money you save to buy a better GPU. If you wait for a week or two and subscribe to the newegg newsletter and pcpartpicker.com price drops, you should be able to find an AMD 7850 for ~$160.
Processor: http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B0093H8K1C/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&condition=new

schulmanworks · May 9, 2013

Also, you'll need to find a similar mobo with a 1155 socket.

auspcbuild · May 9, 2013

schulmanworks :

Those are American prices and an American site and I'm in AU, but I can get a g2120 for $77, a MB for around $60 and a hd 7850 for $200, which would still keep me under $500, but I would not have quad core, which I kinda wanted.

$500 AU Gaming PC - Pick Holes In My System!

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