500-600$ gaming build(Including OS)

MrFlyingbananas · Mar 2, 2014

Hello all, I need to create a friend a 500-600$ gaming computer that doesn't require any peripherals.

Robert Pankiw · Mar 2, 2014

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($161.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($89.99 @ NCIX)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($90.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Hitachi Ultrastar 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Video Card: MSI Radeon R7 260X 2GB Video Card ($178.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Case: Antec One ATX Mid Tower Case ($52.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($58.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($98.87 @ DirectCanada)
Total: $732.77
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-02 23:50 EST-0500)

If you prefer Windows 8.1, it's the same price.

That's the best PC I could put together given the budget. You could shift money away from the CPU and towards a better graphics card, but I'd rather not. It's easier to upgrade a GPU in the future (say, 18-24 months?) than a CPU.

You can get 30+ FPS(average) in many games on ultra settings at 1080p with that card, but if you want your minimum to be above 30, you'll have to drop to high instead of ultra. Really, not a big loss on a $600 build.

Edit: I used the Reddit markup instead of BBCode

lunyone · Mar 2, 2014

Here is a build to consider:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 750K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus A85XM-A Micro ATX FM2 Motherboard ($66.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition 1GB Video Card ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($44.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($101.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $518.90
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-02 22:44 EST-0500)

I'm not sure if you need/want a Keyboard/Mouse/Monitor with this build or not?