Looking to build a PC to compete with next-gen consoles.

JeremiahJK · Jun 24, 2013

Hello,
The next-gen consoles are coming out soon, but now I like PC gaming better. I have been working on a build for a while now with two goals:

1) I want the PC to be as powerful (or close then upgrade later) as the next-gen consoles.
2) I want to keep the build around the price range of $500.

This is what I have come up with so far. I have a few questions about each component (this will be my first PC that I build myself).

Graphics Card:
I have found out that the Xbox ONE has a GPU close to the 7790.
The PS4 has a more powerful one, but I am trying to keep to my budget.
My main worry is video RAM.
It only has 2GB of GDDR5 RAM.
The PS4 has 8 GB of the same RAM, but this is shared between the CPU and graphics card.
The Xbox ONE has 8 GB of DRR3 RAM shared.
Basically I don't want to see the recommended requirements for a next-gen game to have over 2GB of video RAM (at least not for the first year of games).
Also have I made any other mistake picking this graphics card?

CPU:
I am pretty confident that I picked a good CPU, probably better than the next-gen consoles.
My only worry is that the consoles have eight cores, I have four.
Will this be a problem?
Please point out any problems with this CPU if you see any.

Motherboard:
Don't know much about the consoles' motherboards.
Just tell me if there is anything wrong with this one.

RAM:
The next gen consoles have 8GB and I am only getting four for now.
I plan on upgrading to 8 when the consoles are actually released.
I went with a speed of 1600 and not a faster speed.
Is this a problem?
Any other problems?

Hard Drive:
Seems a bit too cheap for my comfort.
Anything wrong with it?
Its storage is double that of the consoles.

Optical Drive:
I decided to save this for a later upgrade.
I plan on installing Windows 7 though a USB device.
Is this a bad idea?

Case:
Is this a good case?
I am worried that it might not be big enough.
Do I need a bigger case or a full tower?
Anything else?

Power Supply:
Is this enough power?
What adapters and/or cables do I need if any?
Any other problems?

Cooling:
I don't have a plan for cooling.
I would really appreciate some advice on this.
What fans do I need?
I don't want to to be too loud, but I don't want it to overheat.

Other:
Any other advice?
Is everything compatible with each other?
Will this system run Windows 7 x64?

Thank you so much for any advice on this.
I am completely new to the hardware side of computers.

TheBigTroll · Jun 24, 2013

you cant compare pcs and consoles. it doesnt work like that.

if you want something that performs well, id get this
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/19MO6

-the 4100 sucks. draws 3x as much power, still doesnt perform better.
-really no point of comparing vram. you can have as much as you want, but if your GPU isnt powerful enough to drive it, its wasted
-you cannot compare consoles to pcs. im going to leave it as is

JeremiahJK · Jun 24, 2013

TheBigTroll :

Thanks for the build. I'll look at it.

EDIT: I was unclear from here down I was talking about my build.
Okay, would it helped if I rephrased the question.
How well will this build run next-gen multiplatform games (after the RAM upgrade)?

TheBigTroll · Jun 24, 2013

why would you upgrade the ram? there was no upgrade to the ram. 8gb of 1600mhz ram is pretty much standard on all builds so that you can play games and do some other stuff without slowing down

JeremiahJK · Jun 24, 2013

TheBigTroll :

Okay, I looked at your build. I like that it has 8GB RAM so I don't have to upgrade and it is the same price as my build. I also have no experience so I'll forget about my build and go with yours.

Does that list include everything I need?
Should I get an extra fan?
Do I need any adapters or cables?
Could I just buy everything on that list and assemble a complete computer (I plan on following TheNewBoston's tutorials)?

Jacks0n · Jun 24, 2013

What is your budget and currency?
Do you want to overclock?
Do you want peripherals included in your budget?
What are you wanting to do with the PC, from most to least important?

TheBigTroll · Jun 24, 2013

it has pretty much everything you need. just that in the build i provided, i already assume you have windows 7.

there shouldnt be a need for a extra fan or any cables.

JeremiahJK · Jun 24, 2013

Jacks0n :

600 USD maybe more if necessary.

Jacks0n :

I am new to all this stuff, I don't know what overclocking is. I have heard the term before and might want to look into it.

Jacks0n :

No, I have some stuff that I can use for now and I'll get better things later.

Jacks0n :

1. Gaming
2. Making and modding games
3. Browsing the internet and using software such as Open Office
4. Image editing
5. Some other things that aren't important

JeremiahJK · Jun 24, 2013

TheBigTroll :

I don't have Windows 7 yet, but I can get that on my own.
Thank you so much for your help.

mastrom101 · Jun 24, 2013

A $500 PC will not outperform next-gen consoles.

You have to take a different approach to it:
A reasonably fast office PC is about $600. A PS4 is $399 (i think). So the build should be about $1000 for a fair comparison.

JeremiahJK · Jul 5, 2013

TheBigTroll :

I decided that I wanted a more powerful CPU.
I want to be a quad-core so that I can multitask better.
Is this a good CPU to use in the place of the CPU in your build?
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80637i53350p

Also, I get confused with service packs.
Is this an upgrade that you install to an existing Windows installation, or can I install this on a PC that doesn't have an OS yet?
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/microsoft-os-gfc02050
And what is the difference between the above and this?
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/microsoft-os-gfc00019
If I need the later link to install Windows 7, why is Windows 8 cheaper?

TheBigTroll · Jul 5, 2013

i wouldnt get that CPU if i were you. if you want to spend more money, id rather suggest getting the haswell platform altogether

service packs are free

JeremiahJK · Jul 5, 2013

TheBigTroll :

How's this?
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1dwWM
Only problem is now I have to spend $170 on the OS (I don't like Windows 8 and some software that I like are only for Windows 7).
I had originally planed to only spend $100 on the OS.

EDIT:
Yeah, this is getting over my budget.
I want to use SoftXpand as a sort of split-screen for the less hardware intensive games.
I figured this would need a quad core.
Could your original build with the dual core do this?

EDIT 2:
PCs are always upgradeable.
Would it be okay to use your build then later upgrade to a different LGA1155 processor?

TheBigTroll · Jul 5, 2013

made it cheaper
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1dxz8

windows 7 is 89.99 regardless. same goes for windows 8. spend more than that you are doing something seriously wrong

JeremiahJK · Jul 5, 2013

TheBigTroll :

Wow, thank you for all your help.
This is great.

TheBigTroll · Jul 5, 2013

no problem

Buhrewno · May 1, 2014

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/Buhrewno/saved/4q2v

This one might work for you. Pretty sure with Mantle you'll be able to cross fire the cpu and the gpu. The gpu is optional, the cpu can function as a gpu.

Just realized last post is from last year. Whoops.

Looking to build a PC to compete with next-gen consoles.

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