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Friend Upgrading to a new PC. Any thoughts on the bulld I've thought up for him?

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  • Tom's Hardware
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February 7, 2014 1:28:00 PM

Hey there Tom's Hardware, another one of my friends is looking into upgrading with a tight budget of $500. He has everything already (monitor, windows, etc) except the actual computer and he is looking to do some gaming. Last time I had a budget this tight I decided to go APU because the guy didn't game too hard but I suspect my friend might do better with a discrete graphics option. So far this has been my build. Any thoughts or suggestions or noticing compatability issues would be very helpful.

MD FX-6300 Vishera 3.5GHz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

BIOSTAR A960D+ AM3+ AMD 760G
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

MSI R7770-PMD1GD5 Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition 1GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Western Digital WD10EZEX 1TB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

NZXT Source 210 Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

Rosewill Green Series RG630-S12 630W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

LITE-ON DVD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...


Thanks again for the help, I appreciate you guys.

More about : friend upgrading thoughts bulld thought

February 8, 2014 12:01:19 AM

Also, my friend is open to either intel or AMD. I just had a harder time squeezing in a good intel processor and board with his budget.
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February 8, 2014 3:30:36 AM

So far you have a good basis for a budget build.

- The FX6300 is a good microprocessor for a budget build that can keep up with system upgrades later on. Plus, when you use AMD's AM3+ socket, you're allowing for upgrades at least up to their next upcoming generation of CPU's. I think between the long-term socket support and good price-performance ratio that this makes the FX6300 a budget beast. $120

- The 760G chipset is really going to limit this build. While it will work, I would personally save up a little more money and go with a 990FX chipset. If He does not want to save up a little more for the 990FX, then I would say at the absolute minimum, go with the 970. My personal budget board recommendation would be: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168.... $110

- The video card is a fine budget card. Plus, if he does find that later on it is hindering his performance he can always upgrade. It is a good overall card in terms of real-world performance versus price. The 1GB memory and 128-bit interface will really hinder the card, but he should be able to get away with respectable settings in a lot of games, just don't expect do power a multiple monitor configuration with this card unless it is just for basic productivity. $100

- Hard drive is good enough. Again, this is something he can easily change later on if he really feels like it is holding him back. So, I wouldn't worry too much about it for the initial build and it will give him good enough performance overall. $60

- Memory is fine. I'd personally recommend saving up a little more and getting 8GB instead of 4GB, but the 4GB should be enough if he isn't playing super intensive games or a heavy power user. $40

- A case is a case. As long as it supports the size of your motherboard and has room for the components you want to use, has good enough airflow, then it is all subjective. $40

- While this power supply seems to get good enough reviews, most of them are based on superficial testing or short-term use. I personally would go with a Corsair, Seasonic or XFX PRO series power supply to make sure my components are safe, stable and always getting sufficient clean power. I'd probably go with http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168.... $90

- Optical drive is fine. $20.

New Total: $520 + shipping.

Yeah, it puts you $20 + shipping over budget, but it would be worth it to save up the extra ~50 bucks and increase the quality of the build by a large margin. The extra money really lets you build on a solid base that can be upgraded upon later to achieve the desired performance. You will pay a lot more than the $50 down the road by cheaping out on key components now.
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February 8, 2014 10:20:09 AM

Dunno if he is in the market of upgrading in the NEAR future just because the way he is but I think it might try my best to make sure he has options at the very least. Gonna look into some more 990 boards and maybe try to convince him on the PSU as well. Always wanna stay safe with that.
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February 16, 2014 10:44:24 AM

What will he be using the computer for? For most uses besides general every day use (which i suspect this is not), I would recommend at least 8GB RAM, and a WD Black HDD (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA2W0...) due to far better reliability and read/write speeds. I know it's more expensive, but it really is worth the extra $30-40.
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February 17, 2014 12:30:04 PM

General computer use and some gaming but nothing too hard core. As far as the Hard Drive and ram are concerned, on his budget he'll just have to deal with upgrading at a later point I think. Which is why I got the 1 4GB stick instead of the 2GB x2.
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February 18, 2014 7:07:38 PM

Should be fine then, just figured I'd ask since I nearly made the mistake of not enough RAM and almost picked the wrong HDD when I built my gaming rig.
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