Need a gaming computer for 400$ or less

oostab

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Nov 20, 2013
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So, for my birthday/ christmas gift I can get a gaming comp. I will be building it myself. The max I can spend is 400$, And I would like to keep it as low as possible. So far, my friend is giving me his amd radeon 7770 which he only used for maybe 4-5 months because he upgraded. So I was hoping that someone could build a gaming comp around the 7770. Also I was wondering If I could just wipe my hard drive and keep the os on there and just use that to re use in my new comp.
So, So far I have: the video card, (if possible) the os with hard drive. I will be playing games like smite, arma 2, batman arkham origins ( games like that ). Thanks for all the help in advance.
 
Solution
They are, but your budget isn't the best. Also, the G43 is a lower end motherboard that won't allow for much OC (if any) due to the VRMs running hot. Personally, I wouldn't really recommend that board but it is on sale and much cheaper than the rest.
You can try this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($109.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock 970 PRO3 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($72.55 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($59.99 @ Newegg)...
You can't keep your old HDD and keep the OS on there. Since you're changing motherboard, you need to format the HDD which will clean everything.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI 970A-G43 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Antec One ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - OEM (64-bit) ($97.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $362.93
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-20 20:29 EST-0500)

Included OS.
Excluded HDD and ODD because you can take that from your old computer. Just make sure that it uses a SATA connector, not IDE.
FX-6300 is a great processor for this price.
8gb of ram is plenty for games.
 

oostab

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Nov 20, 2013
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looks good, but do you think I would need to get an after market heat sink for the cpu? I've read that the stock fans are rubbish.
 
They are, but your budget isn't the best. Also, the G43 is a lower end motherboard that won't allow for much OC (if any) due to the VRMs running hot. Personally, I wouldn't really recommend that board but it is on sale and much cheaper than the rest.
You can try this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($109.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock 970 PRO3 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($72.55 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Antec One ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - OEM (64-bit) ($97.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $425.47
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-20 20:46 EST-0500)

-Better quality motherboard. Allows for overclocking.
-$25 over budget due to the cpu cooler. You can drop the cpu cooler to be right under your budget and add it as an upgrade later.
 
Solution

oostab

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Nov 20, 2013
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Hmm alright. One last question, sorry. Is it possible I could wipe the hard drive and reinstall windows 7 on the hard drive using the same key as this computer so that I dont have to buy a new os?
 

oostab

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Nov 20, 2013
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Looks like I do need to buy windows 7 :'( thanks a bunch though, you helped alot.