Making My Own Low Budget Gaming Computer

brianchoi93

Honorable
Nov 26, 2013
1
0
10,510
Hello,
I'm thinking about making my very first gaming computer, but I'm having some difficulty trying to figure which parts would be best for my budget. If anyone can help me figure this out and educate me a little on computers, that would be ggreat! Thanks everyone!

Budget Range: My budget is around $700 - $800.

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, School Work, Browsing the web, Watching videos/movies.

Are you buying a monitor: Yes, I'm gonna need a monitor.

Parts to Upgrade: I'll be needing whole sha-bang. I'm starting from scratch.

Do you need to buy OS: Yes. I don't know what would be best for a gaming computer.. Windows 7 or Windows 8?

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: The only websites i'm familiar with are newegg and amazon, so if you guys have any other great websites, that would be great.

Location: Los Angeles, CA, LOS ANGELES COUNTY

Parts Preferences: Whichever one is best for my budget.

Overclocking: No definitely will not be overclocking. Don't want anything to go wrong haha.

SLI or Crossfire: No

Your Monitor Resolution: A decent sized monitor. Not too big or too small.

Additional Comments: A quiet PC would be nice. I'll be playing Dota2, LoL, Diablo3.

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: The computer I'm using right now can handle some gaming on lowest settings and currently I've been having trouble playing League of Legends ,on the lowest setting, cause of the recent update so I thought it was time to get a gaming computer. I've been contemplating on whether I should buy a laptop that can handle gaming or if I should buy a desktop. Then I came by some posts talking about making their own gaming computer and how much cheaper it is then buying pre-made. I thought it'd be a fun experience making my own computer.
 

GamerDrone

Honorable
Jun 11, 2013
204
0
10,710
Here it is.. more than you need !

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Biostar TA970 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB Video Card ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 Professional (OEM) (64-bit) ($109.00 @ Amazon)
Monitor: Asus VS247H-P 23.6" Monitor ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Keyboard: Thermaltake eSPORTS Challenger Wired Gaming Keyboard ($44.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Mouse: Cooler Master SGM-2001-BLON1 Wired Optical Mouse ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $792.88
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-28 02:03 EST-0500)

Everything is included !
 
Solution
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($119.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-D3P ATX AM3+/AM3 Motherboard ($62.55 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB Video Card ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair Carbide Series 300R Windowed ATX Mid Tower Case ($62.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - OEM (64-bit) ($98.98 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Asus VE247H 23.6" Monitor ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $773.43
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-28 02:21 EST-0500)

I suggest you overclock because AMD processors are meant to be overclocked.
And then you can add whatever keyboard/mouse you want.

But then I noticed that you live near a Microcenter. There is a microcenter in Orange County, CA, about a 40-50 minute drive one-way. So roughly 2 hours round trip. If you want to take a drive to Microcenter, you can get a better processor at a cheaper price:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB Video Card ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair Carbide Series 300R Windowed ATX Mid Tower Case ($62.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - OEM (64-bit) ($98.98 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Asus VE247H 23.6" Monitor ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Other: FX-8320 + ASRock 970 Extreme4 at Microcenter ($159.98)
Total: $759.87
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-28 02:24 EST-0500)

Microcenter is popular for their cheap processor/motherboard combos.