~800$ AMD Gaming Build: Ways to reduce price?

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segmund

Honorable
Sep 12, 2013
9
0
10,510
Hi -

I'm building a computer for the first since the late 90s in order to play new games. I want the following things: AMD processor, SSD, 16GB of RAM and I'm really a fan of the 7950 video card. I don't have much of a preference beyond that. People have often mentioned that 250GB is small for the only drive, but I only have one or two games installed at any one time (thanks Steam!) and don't have any video/audio on my machine to take up space. So that should be more than adequate for now. The below build is what I've put together and I'd welcome any thoughts or ways to decrease the price without compromising quality. If I could shave another $50-100 off this, that'd be fantastic. Also, I don't plan on doing any overclocking, just don't have a lot of comfort/experience with it. Thanks in advance!


[PCPartPicker part list](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1CSmm) / [Price breakdown by merchant](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1CSmm/by_merchant/) / [Benchmarks](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1CSmm/benchmarks/)

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/amd-cpu-fd8320frhkbox) | $149.99 @ Microcenter
**Motherboard** | [MSI 970A-G43 ATX AM3+ Motherboard](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-motherboard-970ag43) | $67.15 @ Outlet PC
**Memory** | [Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/crucial-memory-bls8g3d1609ds1s00) | $59.99 @ Newegg
**Memory** | [Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/crucial-memory-bls8g3d1609ds1s00) | $59.99 @ Newegg
**Storage** | [Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/samsung-internal-hard-drive-mz7te250bw) | $176.99 @ NCIX US
**Video Card** | [Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/sapphire-video-card-1003523l) | $199.99 @ Newegg
**Case** | [Rosewill Galaxy-02 ATX Mid Tower Case](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/rosewill-case-galaxy02) | $39.99 @ Newegg
**Power Supply** | [Corsair CX 600W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-power-supply-cx600m) | $57.99 @ Microcenter
**Optical Drive** | [Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-optical-drive-drw24b1stblkbas) | $16.98 @ Outlet PC
| | **Total**
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available. | $829.06
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-12 18:42 EDT-0400 |
 
Solution
Jaxem
an FX 6300 will game just about as well as an FX 8320, that would save you $40, it's $110 on Newegg right now with promo code. And Garret is right, unless you're doing massive renders or editing, 8 GB is way more than enough, another $50 saved. The CX 600 is $20 cheaper on Newegg than what you have listed as well. That's about $100 saved :)
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segmund

Honorable
Sep 12, 2013
9
0
10,510


This probably reveals my ignorance, but my understanding was that one of the least expensive ways to improve performance was to increase ram and so I thought 16GB would be a good move. But if you think there's no need to have more than 8GB right now, then I can save 60$ right there and upgrade in the future. I'd like to be able to use this machine with minimal upgrades for the foreseeable future.

But thanks - that's a good point.
 
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Jaxem

Jaxem

Honorable
Jul 22, 2013
2,170
3
12,960
an FX 6300 will game just about as well as an FX 8320, that would save you $40, it's $110 on Newegg right now with promo code. And Garret is right, unless you're doing massive renders or editing, 8 GB is way more than enough, another $50 saved. The CX 600 is $20 cheaper on Newegg than what you have listed as well. That's about $100 saved :)
 
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Solution
Dark Lord of Tech

Dark Lord of Tech

Retired Moderator
Aug 18, 2009
128,614
1,778
159,590
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($153.61 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Xigmatek GAIA SD1283 56.3 CFM CPU Cooler ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI 970A-G43 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($67.15 @ Outlet PC)
Memory: Kingston Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($176.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($199.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Zalman Z5 Plus ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($44.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $779.68
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-12 18:58 EDT-0400)
 
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J

jdwii

Splendid
Apr 13, 2010
3,790
18
22,965
Get rid of the SSD get a 500GB hard drive instead(less money get a SSD later) drop the 16GB of ram get 8 GB of 1866 done. that should drop the price a decent amount the 8320 could also 6 core piledriver as well if needed but not recommended.
 
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Dark Lord of Tech

Dark Lord of Tech

Retired Moderator
Aug 18, 2009
128,614
1,778
159,590
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($117.98 @ Outlet PC)
CPU Cooler: Xigmatek GAIA SD1283 56.3 CFM CPU Cooler ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI 970A-G43 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($67.15 @ Outlet PC)
Memory: Kingston Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($85.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($199.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Zalman Z5 Plus ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($44.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $653.04
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-12 19:01 EDT-0400)
 
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bryonhowley

bryonhowley

Splendid
Oct 24, 2011
3,742
0
23,960
Agree you could drop the CPU down to a FX-6350
Drop the ram down to 2x4gig. 8gig is more than enough for a gaming rig.
Get rid of the SSD and get a 500gig-2tb hard drive. That will also save some money.

The GPU you picked will be great. I think Sapphire makes the best AMD/ATI cards so you are good to go there. Doing that you can shave some money off of your build.
 
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