Need help with a good gaming budget build $700

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
Z

Zeyedica

Honorable
Jun 14, 2012
18
0
10,510
Hello everyone. I am in the market for a new pc gaming computer. My current one is to old, and while it can play some newer games like Neverwinter ok. It's not very optimal and is lacking with only 2gb ram and a HD4xxx vid card. So instead of trying to upgrade, I figured it was best to build an entire new system. I will mainly only be playing games on it. Mainly MMORPG's like Neverwinter and Elder Scrolls Online. I want to stay at $500 for this. I know it might be a tough task to do though. Thank you for all of your help.

Approximate Purchase Date: e.g.: Over the course of the next month

Budget Range: 700 perferably before rebates

System Usage from Most to Least Important: gaming
Are you buying a monitor: I currently own a flat screen monitor, but I would like to upgrade it in the future. Not necessarily needed for current build. But suggestions are always welcomed.



Parts to Upgrade:n/a

Do you need to buy OS: Yes I perfer Win 7 most likely the OEM edition.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: I would perfer list to be in the pcpartpicker format

Location: Indiana, US

Parts Preferences: none

Overclocking: No

SLI or Crossfire: No

 
Sort by date Sort by votes
X79

X79

Honorable
Apr 17, 2013
3,039
0
13,460
Really hard pressed getting a build for such a small budget.

Would be swell if you could expand it to 700ish.

Anyways... Here's an almost completed build. Needs a case and 500W PSU.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($149.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Pro3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($94.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($53.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
Total: $553.94
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-26 19:20 EDT-0400)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
K

killerhurtalot

Distinguished
Aug 16, 2012
1,207
0
19,460


I wonder if he's even near a microcenter...
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Z

Zeyedica

Honorable
Jun 14, 2012
18
0
10,510
I am not near a microcenter. My current computer plays Neverwinter ok, the main problem is the memory can slow it way down, coupled with server lag. Would increasing my budget to $700 make it a lot more feasible? I have to currently buy parts one at a time and build it over time.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
X79

X79

Honorable
Apr 17, 2013
3,039
0
13,460
Yes !

The more the better.


I got it to this thus far, when you said 700$

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-2100 3.1GHz Dual-Core Processor ($119.17 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock H61M-DGS Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($44.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 250GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($38.00 @ Compuvest)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 430 ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 520W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($79.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $657.09
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-26 19:37 EDT-0400)

No mouse or keyboard. Very little HDD and a processor which ought to be an i5.

Otherwise the system will run your games great.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
K

killerhurtalot

Distinguished
Aug 16, 2012
1,207
0
19,460
What Case do you have current have? And what HDD/Ram too.

you can probably reuse it and save some money to put towards other components.

The more you tell us about your current PC the better since we can take stuff off of your current PC and put the money towards the other parts.

and what resolution are you gaming at?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
K

killerhurtalot

Distinguished
Aug 16, 2012
1,207
0
19,460


why would you downgrade the CPU... most MMOs are CPU heavy... downgrading from a quad core would take more out of the performance than the other components upgrade...
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Z

Zeyedica

Honorable
Jun 14, 2012
18
0
10,510
It's a cooler mast elite case. I am unsure of the particular model number of it. I do know that it's an atx form though. I'm unsure about my current PSU as well. As far as what brand and how much wattage it is. It might be possible to reuse it as well. Other than those two things I am not sure if anything else is worth salvaging from it. It's really just a hodge podge of parts from different computers. I've been pretty lucky with it so far, and playing newer games like Diablo 3 and Neverwinter. But that is not saying it's good. lol

Currently I am hooked up to my 50 inch plasma tv at 1360 x 768. Eventually though I will buy a pc monitor.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
K

killerhurtalot

Distinguished
Aug 16, 2012
1,207
0
19,460


Hmm... that means you'll eventually upgrade to probably a 1080p monitor. might as well as prepare you for that too lol.

Well. Let's see what you can definitely salvage:

PC Case
DVD drive
HDD (as a spare/installing everything else)

I'll just assume you'll need everything else.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Z

Zeyedica

Honorable
Jun 14, 2012
18
0
10,510


Yes I can keep all of that. And upgrade it all at a later time. I have 3 HDD's in my current computer and it comes out to a bit over 300gb's total. But i'm not to concerned about a HDD. I can always catch one on sale down the road.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
A

Azmodan91

Honorable
May 20, 2013
21
0
10,520
Sorry, wrong video card. Also, old hard drives of those small capacities tend to be slower than dirt. And they like to fail. It's not something i would skimp on if i was you. And if you have an optical drive, put the $20 into the memory, and you'll have 8GB. (adjusted the build for this)

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/10hc5

You have a quad core CPU...important for MMO's.
A good amount of memory from a good manufacturer
A motherboard with good value and features including USB 3.0
A new relatively quick hard drive (i say relatively compared to an SSD)
The best video card under $200 http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-3.html
A good looking case(i know this is subjective, but...) with USB 3.0
A quality PSU from XFX (built by Seasonic) http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/power-supply-oem-manufacturer,2913-10.html
Windows 7 (or 8 if you prefer)

Hope that helps!



 
Upvote 0 Downvote
K

killerhurtalot

Distinguished
Aug 16, 2012
1,207
0
19,460
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($185.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: MSI B75MA-E33 Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($59.98 @ Outlet PC)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($61.20 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Asus Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB Video Card ($219.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $672.13
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-26 20:38 EDT-0400)

Here's what i came up with lol.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
K

killerhurtalot

Distinguished
Aug 16, 2012
1,207
0
19,460


Toms hardware always comes out with slightly outdated info.... when that article published, it doesn't take into account of anything else other than the initial price...

They don't mention that you get 4 games with the AMD card that you can play or sell for around $30-40 or more pretty easily.... (right now it's bioshock infinite, tomb raider, farcry 3 blood dragon, and crysis 3)

That would make the 7870 ghz edition cheaper and better than the GTX 660 by a long shot...
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
A

Azmodan91

Honorable
May 20, 2013
21
0
10,520
Killer, we agree on a lot of the hardware, i suppose it's up to the OP if he wants to pay for more video card up front to possibly sell included games that he may or may not want. I was only taking into account the speed of the card for the initial price, which seemed to be important to him, seeing his original budget was $500...and the resolution he was working with. I doubt you'd see any difference at all at that resolution. As always, more money will always buy more upgrades.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom