Gaming PC Build ~$700-$800 Buying Soon What Do You Think?

Timbe012314 · Jan 28, 2014

Hi Everyone!

I was wondering what you thought of this build. I am planning to buy this week. I will be using the PC as of right now for mostly older strategy/RTS games like Civilization and Total War and for work(mostly just multiple instances of excel and many browser tabs open). What do you think?

CPU: Intel Core i5-4430 3.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($184.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H81M-HDS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($49.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory: Kingston 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($78.00 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial M500 240GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($139.95 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.66 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus Radeon R7 240 2GB Video Card ($69.99 @ Microcenter)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WN722N 802.11b/g/n USB 2.0 Wi-Fi Adapter ($11.99 @ B&H)
Case: Sentey CS1-1410 PLUS ATX Mid Tower Case ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($16.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - OEM (64-bit) ($99.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $766.50
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-01-27 23:49 EST-0500)

I know the Video Card will be a bottleneck, but since I wouldn't be doing too much intense FPS gaming in the near future its always possible to upgrade this in the future if I wanted to. That being said, how do you think this setup would handle BF4? (Just want to gauge the potential)

Thanks in advance!

combine1237 · Jan 28, 2014

I would drop the ssd, get 1600 9 latency ram, slightly better motherboard, and better gpu.

Alec Mowat · Jan 28, 2014

The videocard is a little weak for gaming. I would drop the SSD entirely and use all of that money for a Videocard if you plan on playing any games.

nashdes001 · Jan 28, 2014

buy ram of atleast 1600mhz and cx series psu have bad reputation bcoz of bad capacitors in them. Try seasonic psu and about gpu did u consider R9 ?

Thomzey · Jan 28, 2014

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sph6cjJeRdI

here is a great review on the card

Timbe012314 · Jan 28, 2014

Lol great review! I understand that the card isn't great. The games I would be playing I can run on my 2.5 year old $500 work computer albeit they bog down eventually which is why I haven't played in awhile. Perhaps I could just save $70 and use the integrated graphics for awhile until I need to upgrade.

I am really set on the SSD. The idea of near instant load times excites me.

This is the new build I came up with to improve the ram and mobo. Mobo had good reviews on newegg.

PU: Intel Core i5-4430 3.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($184.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H81M-HD3 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($67.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($87.32 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Crucial M500 240GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($139.95 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.66 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus Radeon R7 240 2GB Video Card ($69.99 @ Microcenter)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WN722N 802.11b/g/n USB 2.0 Wi-Fi Adapter ($11.99 @ B&H)
Case: Sentey CS1-1410 PLUS ATX Mid Tower Case ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 520W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($73.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($16.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit - OEM (64-bit) ($99.98 @ Best Buy)
Total: $832.82
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-01-28 00:49 EST-0500)

Alec Mowat · Jan 28, 2014

That videocard is such a bottleneck that it pains me to look at that system. Even drop the SSD to a 120GB and get a better videocard.

nashdes001 · Jan 28, 2014

SSD wont b helping u in gaming. Gaming needs a good Gpu and urs a little weak
If u want ssd try low capacity 1 and use that money to buy a good gpu

combine1237 · Jan 28, 2014

Here is a slightly more balanced build than the last one proposed, and it still contains fairly decent components.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4430 3.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($184.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H87M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($72.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($72.25 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial M500 240GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($139.95 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital RE3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($51.94 @ Amazon)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 7790 1GB Video Card ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Thermaltake Commander MS-I ID ATX Mid Tower Case ($32.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($15.99 @ Microcenter)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit - OEM (64-bit) ($80 @ NEWEGG)
Total: $821.05
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-01-28 01:53 EST-0500)

Go to newegg and get the os, it will save you 20 usd with this promo code EMCPWHF46
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832416776

So you could get upgrades for the same price as your old build.

Timbe012314 · Jan 28, 2014

Hey Thanks for the heads up Combine! I think I will go with that build. Thanks for all your help.

Alec, your comment was hilarious. Luckily Combine helped me out a bit on the videocard front.

I'm just using this to gauge how the build stacks up, but what sort of performance do you think this rig would get in BF4?

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Gaming PC Build ~$700-$800 Buying Soon What Do You Think?

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