$500 AMD Gaming Build - Please Help

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phcarson

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Nov 26, 2013
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10,520
My 13 year old son wants to build a gaming PC. He has earned $250 and I will match his contributions, so our total budget is $500.

Do not need an OS
Do not need a monitor, keyboard, ormouse
His monitor can display 1080p

We spent some time on pcpartspicker.com and like the following:

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2noX2
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2noX2/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2noX2/benchmarks/

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI 760GMA-P34(FX) Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($66.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($42.50 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.43 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card ($160.00 @ Newegg)
Case: Xion XON-560 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($19.99 @ Microcenter)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($15.99 @ Microcenter)
Total: $492.87
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-20 16:29 EST-0500)

I would love your feedback/suggestions.

He does not yet show much interest in overclocking, but I think that may develop after he gets this thing built.

His current games are not very graphics intensive - Roblox, Minecraft, Magic the Gathering, etc. He wants to start playing Civilization V, Call of Duty, and Skyrim.
 
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Kampinkarl1

Kampinkarl1

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Dec 17, 2013
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Your parts are compatible with each other, but I'd invest a bit more in the motherboard and get a 900 series chipset as the 700 series is outdated. You can still get a good priced microATX board in the 900 series for a little more than what you're currently looking at.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138372

Not MicroATX but still a cheaper board for the 900 series chipset.
 
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phcarson

Honorable
Nov 26, 2013
14
0
10,520
Thanks for the help. Clearly we are a noob.

Would this be better?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock 970 Extreme3 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($41.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.22 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7790 2GB Video Card ($125.66 @ Newegg)
Case: Zalman Z11 Plus ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($19.99 @ Microcenter)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($15.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $485.81
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-20 19:29 EST-0500)
 
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RCFProd

RCFProd

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Dec 8, 2013
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Looks quite good. Maybe you can go with a 500W-550W +80 Bronze Certified PSU and get an extra CPU cooler which will cause less noise and better cooling in general. The Hyper 212 Evo will do fine in this case. (It's not that necessary, but it does a lot. The stock cpu cooler is useless and very loud)
 
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Kampinkarl1

Kampinkarl1

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Dec 17, 2013
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The memory will give you more help when you're gaming at a higher resolution or across multiple monitors. If you're going for great FPS at high settings on a single monitor, go for the killer card.
 
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phcarson

Honorable
Nov 26, 2013
14
0
10,520
I cannot thank you all enough for your help. It is a challenge to build a decent machine in this price range. I had to remove item from Microcenter because we do not live close to one and they only allow pick up in person. I think this is our preferred setup:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock 970 Extreme3 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($41.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.22 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7790 2GB Video Card ($125.66 @ Newegg)
Case: Antec One ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Thermaltake TR2 500W ATX Power Supply ($29.99 @ TigerDirect)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($15.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $485.81
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-20 21:10 EST-0500)

We should be able to add additional memory and a CPU cooler and perhaps a second graphics card in the future assuming my son has interest. Any estimations how this machine will be able to perform for the games he wants to play - Civilization V, Skyrim, Call of Duty 3?
 
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TheGarza

Honorable
Nov 12, 2013
124
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10,690
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2nyfg
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2nyfg/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2nyfg/benchmarks/

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($68.00 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital RE3 250GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($32.44 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus Radeon HD 7790 1GB Video Card ($112.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 430 ATX Mid Tower Case ($40.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $529.37
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-20 22:06 EST-0500)
Here's a wonderful build and you can get the fx 8320 for $130 at times which will bring the build into your budget.
 
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