Cheap Gaming PC. Under $550

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flamefire999

flamefire999

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Nov 9, 2013
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I was wondering if this PC that I'm thinking about building would be good for gaming for a while or if I should make it better and save up longer. My budget is $550 and I don't need an OS or a mouse or a monitor. Here is the link for it: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2Ai5V . I will get extra RAM later to make it 8 gb's. I don't know if I need a 2gb card but it was cheaper than most and it had HDMI so I put that in. I don't know if I need a better motherboard because the one I have is pretty cheap so if I need a better one then I will drop the card to 1gb and get a better motherboard.
Thanks for helping,
Mitch
P.S. I will be buying the parts in stores (Best Buy, Gamestop, Walmart, etc.)
 
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photonboy
flamefire999,
I was making my above post before reading your last one.

Your build is a lot better and it's amazing what a little more money can do. I do advise you to aim for 8GB, and if that's not possible then get a 2x2GB kit of DDR3 1600MHz memory.

A good R9-270 will perform roughly 75% of the GTX760 but then mine costs $70 more. If that's your budget then the R9-270 isn't too bad.
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MDXX

MDXX

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IMO dont get an APU. Switch it to an fx 6300. get 2x 2gb sticks instead of 1 4gb stick

But that would put you over your budget.

If you must stay under get a quad core amd cpu. Something in the Athlon series
 
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photonboy

photonboy

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Jun 20, 2006
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I agree with the FX-6300.

The APU is actually a CPU and a GPU (graphics) on the same chips. When you get the dedicated card you will disable the GPU anyway on that APU. Thus you are left with a CPU in that APU that's not nearly as good as the FX-6300 would be.

That R9-270 is okay, but I don't see any reviews or pictures for that specific card. I do recommend 2GB of VRAM though.

I'd also get the Antec VP450 power supply at this price range.

*Make absolutely sure whichever Graphics Card you get, that the power supply has the proper 6/8-pin connections.

I also recommend trying to put just a little more money into that build, but again build around the FX-6300 at this price point.
 
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flamefire999

flamefire999

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What do you think I should put more money into? I was thinking of maybe getting a better case (one with usb 3 in the front)
 
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MDXX

MDXX

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Put more money into a gpu.
 
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flamefire999

flamefire999

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I have a 2gb card so shouldn't that make it fine for some gaming? This is the updated one: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2AjD2 . I changed the case and PSU.
 
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photonboy

photonboy

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Here's an example of what roughly $650 will get you. Motherboards at this price range don't tend to overclock and I'd normally spend more but for the BUDGET this is about as good as I can do:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2AjBC

Everything BUT the graphics card costs $400 and I advise you to get something similar.

If you can't afford this graphics card, then be sure to look up BENCHMARKS. For example, here's how the Asus GTX760 I linked performs:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/7503/the-amd-radeon-r9-270x-270-review-feat-asus-his/9

Other:
I didn't add any parts not listed by you, but obviously you'd want Win7/8 64-bit, possibly a DVD drive, and a better CPU cooler like the $30 Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO is a good idea to keep quieter.
 
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flamefire999

flamefire999

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So you think that the motherboard is good enough for what I need? Because I saw an article somewhere about how most games will need at least 12gbs of RAM in 2014- 2015.
 
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photonboy

photonboy

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Jun 20, 2006
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flamefire999,
I was making my above post before reading your last one.

Your build is a lot better and it's amazing what a little more money can do. I do advise you to aim for 8GB, and if that's not possible then get a 2x2GB kit of DDR3 1600MHz memory.

A good R9-270 will perform roughly 75% of the GTX760 but then mine costs $70 more. If that's your budget then the R9-270 isn't too bad.
 
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Solution
photonboy

photonboy

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Jun 20, 2006
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12GB in 2014/15?

Not likely. Game manufacturers make games for what MOST PEOPLE HAVE. They can't suddenly increase the hardware demand.

Un-modded Skyrim for example, needs a maximum of 1.75GB of System RAM (for itself) and few games need above 2GB. I don't think we'll see any games in the next several years need more than 4GB (for itself, not total). Windows can likely get by with 1.5GB if it needs to (can swap files if game needs more space). Currently MOST GAMES are fine with 4GB of TOTAL MEMORY but an increasing number need more than this.

The new CONSOLES will also influence the amount of memory used. They have 8GB of Shared Memory (CPU and GPU share same memory) but a game can use roughly 5GB of that which might translate roughly as 2GB video and 3GB System to oversimplify.

*If you're uncomfortable then get a board that supports more DDR3 memory. Welcome to the joys of building a BUDGET system; there's always some compromise you need to make for the optimal value!
 
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