650$ Gaming PC Build w/ upgrade potential

Acoupleships · Nov 21, 2013

Hi Guys,
I would like to build a gaming pc with optimal performance for around 650$.
I can get an OS from my school. My main concern is being able to upgrade it later on without having to buy a complete new PC.

Thanks in advance

Arcanine300 · Nov 21, 2013

Will you pay for taxes or does it have to be under $650 with taxes and will you take mail in rebates?

WarWolverineWarrior · Nov 21, 2013

With SSD

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6350 3.9GHz 6-Core Processor ($134.99 @ TigerDirect)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Seidon 120XL 86.2 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($44.99 @ Newegg)
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)
Storage: Kingston HyperX 3K 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($89.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($58.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB Video Card ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 430 ATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $628.91
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-21 18:27 EST-0500)

WarWolverineWarrior · Nov 21, 2013

Or a Beast GPU 7970

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6350 3.9GHz 6-Core Processor ($134.99 @ TigerDirect)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Seidon 120XL 86.2 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($44.99 @ Newegg)
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)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($58.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card ($259.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 430 ATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $668.92
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-21 18:28 EST-0500)

Arcanine300 · Nov 21, 2013

WarWolverineWarrior :

Or a Beast GPU 7970

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6350 3.9GHz 6-Core Processor ($134.99 @ TigerDirect)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Seidon 120XL 86.2 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($44.99 @ Newegg)
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)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($58.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card ($259.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 430 ATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $668.92
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-21 18:28 EST-0500)

i just want to point out that the mdi 970a-g43 has problems with cpu tdp's of 125w and higher.

WarWolverineWarrior · Nov 21, 2013

Best one right here:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($196.49 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V LK ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($114.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($58.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB Video Card ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 430 ATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $630.43
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-21 18:32 EST-0500)

Acoupleships · Nov 21, 2013

WarWolverineWarrior :

Best one right here:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($196.49 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V LK ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($114.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($58.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB Video Card ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 430 ATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $630.43
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-21 18:32 EST-0500)

What experience do you have with this build? How upgradable is it?

NormH · Nov 21, 2013

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/266n7

this would be my i5 build very upgradeable and better gpu

Arcanine300 · Nov 21, 2013

or an and build

[PCPartPicker part list](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/26erA) / [Price breakdown by merchant](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/26erA/by_merchant/) / [Benchmarks](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/26erA/benchmarks/)

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/amd-cpu-fd6300wmhkbox) | $119.99 @ Newegg
**Motherboard** | [Asus M5A97 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-motherboard-m5a97r20) | $94.99 @ Amazon
**Memory** | [Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-memory-cmz8gx3m2a1600c9) | $74.99 @ Newegg
**Storage** | [Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/seagate-internal-hard-drive-st1000dm003) | $59.98 @ OutletPC
**Video Card** | [EVGA GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-video-card-02gp42761kr) | $229.99 @ Amazon
**Case** | [Cooler Master Elite 430 ATX Mid Tower Case](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/cooler-master-case-rc430kwn1) | $24.99 @ Newegg
**Power Supply** | [Rosewill Hive 650W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/rosewill-power-supply-hive650) | $49.99 @ Newegg
| | **Total**
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available. | $641.92
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-21 18:37 EST-0500 |
This build can upgrade easily as it has a 650w power supply and if you need to upgrade your power supply it is semi-modular which means if you get a new psu you won't have to unplug as may things. The amd fx-6300 is a very good gaming cpu and the gtx 760 is an amazing gpu (i have it in my machine

). This build also has high quality ram and hard drive.

Arcanine300 · Nov 21, 2013

NormH :

The problem with this build is that the psu doesn't have that great of upgrading range (the wattage is lower). And you're skimping on the motherboard. You want a good mobo if you want the build to be upgradeable.

NormH · Nov 21, 2013

can easily fix that while in budget http://pcpartpicker.com/p/26eEQ

NormH · Nov 21, 2013

ive used that mobo in other builds for friends and family and believe it or not its actually very solid despite the cost.

WarWolverineWarrior · Nov 21, 2013

Acoupleships :

I have I7-3770K
Same mobo as I posted
1600 Mhz 2x8GB
MSI TWIN FRZ III 7950

I use my pc for Gaming and Pic, Video rendering, Else I would've went with I5. (U'll never have to change CPU)
CPU can be OC with good cooling and it will not bottleneck.

In fact, the only thing that you may want to upgrade is a water cooling to OC the CPU and a 2nd GPU.

I would get a PSU that supports 2 GPUs if you are planning on using 2 GPUs. (I myself have 1KW PSU)

Tom's recommends unlocked Intel CPUs for gaming
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-review-overclock,3106-5.html

Arcanine300 · Nov 21, 2013

[PCPartPicker part list](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/26eRV) / [Price breakdown by merchant](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/26eRV/by_merchant/) / [Benchmarks](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/26eRV/benchmarks/)

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/amd-cpu-fd6300wmhkbox) | $119.99 @ Newegg
**Motherboard** | [Asus M5A97 LE R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-motherboard-m5a97ler20) | $69.99 @ Microcenter
**Memory** | [Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-memory-cmz8gx3m2a1600c9) | $74.99 @ Newegg
**Storage** | [Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/seagate-internal-hard-drive-st1000dm003) | $59.98 @ OutletPC
**Video Card** | [Sapphire Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/sapphire-video-card-100351sr) | $259.99 @ Newegg
**Case** | [Cooler Master Elite 430 ATX Mid Tower Case](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/cooler-master-case-rc430kwn1) | $24.99 @ Newegg
**Power Supply** | [Rosewill Hive 650W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/rosewill-power-supply-hive650) | $49.99 @ Newegg
| | **Total**
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available. | $646.92
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-21 18:51 EST-0500 |

here a revised build with a slightly better gpu than my previous build with little to no rebates

Acoupleships · Nov 21, 2013

Arcanine300 :

Could you please describe to me the upgradability?

WarWolverineWarrior · Nov 21, 2013

I guarantee you that I5 unlocked is better for gaming than Any AMD.
GPU is what's used for gaming and I5 wount bottleneck any GPUs that you put in.

Arcanine300 · Nov 21, 2013

Acoupleships :

Arcanine300 :

Could you please describe to me the upgradability?

Okay so this build has high wattage so you will be able to upgrade things without worrying about power but if you do need to upgrade the psu its semi-modular so you don't have to unplug everything when/if you upgrade the psu. The cpu has great performance in games on 1080p (my fx-4100 runs battlefield4 56-60fps with a gtx 760 which is a slightly worse gpu than the radeon 7970). The gpu is really good and will last you a long time. The ram is very highly regarded and it is very good. The mobo is also very high quality. So in short you won't really have to upgrade this pc as all the parts will go out of date at nearly the same time and by then you will be looking to get a new pc or upgrade this one.

Arcanine300 · Nov 21, 2013

WarWolverineWarrior :

that is true but cpu's don't really matter for gaming its all about the gpu. I run battlefield4 56-60fps on my fx-4100 and my gtx 760 on very high to ultra. This cpu is way better than mine so i don't think this build with this cpu and gpu on games. The i5 is more meant for video editing and things that require lots of processing power.

Christopher Shaffer · Nov 21, 2013

Arcanine300 :

Both of these statements are, or at least can be, FALSE.

Just as any team is only as strong as its weakest member, a slow component can hold up your gaming rig. A CPU is just a critical to your build as your GPU, maybe even more so.

Any work done by a GPU using DirectX is going to need to be able to harness CPU, too. When your GPU is running full steam processing rendering, there are plenty of other processes handed off to the CPU. Ideally, you can run at max settings in a game and not have either your GPU or CPU run at 100%; if it does, it's a bottleneck.

Games aren't all graphics. Just like there's a lot more to a website than HTML and pretty pictures, there's a lot more going on in the back ground of a game.

If you think you can run a Titan on a Pentium M and get the same performance, well you're wrong.

Arcanine300 · Nov 21, 2013

Christopher Shaffer :

Arcanine300 :

Both of these statements are, or at least can be, FALSE.

Just as any team is only as strong as its weakest member, a slow component can hold up your gaming rig. A CPU is just a critical to your build as your GPU, maybe even more so.

Any work done by a GPU using DirectX is going to need to be able to harness CPU, too. When your GPU is running full steam processing rendering, there are plenty of other processes handed off to the CPU. Ideally, you can run at max settings in a game and not have either your GPU or CPU run at 100%; if it does, it's a bottleneck.

Games aren't all graphics. Just like there's a lot more to a website than HTML and pretty pictures, there's a lot more going on in the back ground of a game.

If you think you can run a Titan on a Pentium M and get the same performance, well you're wrong.

All of that is true but those are extreme cases. All I'm saying is that he doesn't need a i5 to get great performance in games. Sure i may have made it seem as if the cpu is worthless in gaming but really it isn't as important as a gpu. In this case he can sacrifice the processing power of an i5 and get the fx-6300 (which is "designed" for gaming) and get a better gpu so he can run the games faster.

Christopher Shaffer · Nov 21, 2013

Arcanine300 :

Christopher Shaffer :

All of that is true but those are extreme cases. All I'm saying is that he doesn't need a i5 to get great performance in games. Sure i may have made it seem as if the cpu is worthless in gaming but really it isn't as important as a gpu. In this case he can sacrifice the processing power of an i5 and get the fx-6300 (which is "designed" for gaming) and get a better gpu so he can run the games faster.

I would agree if the motherboard were not a factor. There are so many good Z77 boards for such a great price now, the extra $90 for a 3570k will likely result in a cheaper or equivalently priced build with a better CPU.

In fact, that's exactly how I ended up with a 3570k. I simply could not build an equivalent performance AMD system for as low a price, and the closest was still a bit lower in performance. I was actually NOT expecting this.

Acoupleships · Nov 21, 2013

Christopher Shaffer :

Arcanine300 :

I would agree if the motherboard were not a factor. There are so many good Z77 boards for such a great price now, the extra $90 for a 3570k will likely result in a cheaper or equivalently priced build with a better CPU.

In fact, that's exactly how I ended up with a 3570k. I simply could not build an equivalent performance AMD system for as low a price, and the closest was still a bit lower in performance. I was actually NOT expecting this.

Ok so i'd like to change my request and say that I'm leaning towards an Intel based CPU because I am going to be doing some video rendering and animation. So this means I should get something with hyperthreading right?

Christopher Shaffer · Nov 23, 2013

Acoupleships :

Christopher Shaffer :

Arcanine300 :

I would agree if the motherboard were not a factor. There are so many good Z77 boards for such a great price now, the extra $90 for a 3570k will likely result in a cheaper or equivalently priced build with a better CPU.

In fact, that's exactly how I ended up with a 3570k. I simply could not build an equivalent performance AMD system for as low a price, and the closest was still a bit lower in performance. I was actually NOT expecting this.

Ok so i'd like to change my request and say that I'm leaning towards an Intel based CPU because I am going to be doing some video rendering and animation. So this means I should get something with hyperthreading right?

You are correct, though most of the i5/i7 CPUs will have HT.

Your GPU will be just as critical. You'll want to pay attention to compute power, which probably means Nvidia.

WarWolverineWarrior · Nov 23, 2013

Christopher Shaffer :

Acoupleships :

Christopher Shaffer :

Ok so i'd like to change my request and say that I'm leaning towards an Intel based CPU because I am going to be doing some video rendering and animation. So this means I should get something with hyperthreading right?

You are correct, though most of the i5/i7 CPUs will have HT.

Your GPU will be just as critical. You'll want to pay attention to compute power, which probably means Nvidia.

He will be uprgading his system. 7870 GZ edition can play all games on High/Ultra for now without a problem for now. He can upgrade later

Christopher Shaffer · Nov 24, 2013

WarWolverineWarrior :

Christopher Shaffer :

Acoupleships :

You are correct, though most of the i5/i7 CPUs will have HT.

Your GPU will be just as critical. You'll want to pay attention to compute power, which probably means Nvidia.

He will be uprgading his system. 7870 GZ edition can play all games on High/Ultra for now without a problem for now. He can upgrade later

The 7870 is a great card for the money but I was referring to his need to do video processing. The Nvidia chips tend to score better on the compute side, which is what is needed for video processing.... Not the same as requirements for games.

Though, your CPU will do a lot of the video processing heavy lifting, especially if you use a workstation software that supports multiple CPU utilization -this will take advantage of the cores better, rather than getting core 1 up to 100% before passing of processes.

650$ Gaming PC Build w/ upgrade potential

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