Need $400 gaming pc build

ge7atme · Mar 8, 2014

I already have 500 GB of storage, windows, and a case, but I need the rest of the components for, preferable, under $400. Any help would be appreciated

Kelthar · Mar 8, 2014

This is what I'd suggest:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-78LMT-S2 Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($42.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($77.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card ($159.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 650W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $470.95
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-08 17:48 EST-0500)

However, that's a quality PSU. You can cut down on the PSU, but I generally find that not to be a good idea since a bad PSU can blow up and take your whole system with it.

If anyone has any suggestions, of course feel free to contribute.

ekagori · Mar 8, 2014

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/36sDd
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/36sDd/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/36sDd/benchmarks/

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 750K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($79.98 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($30.98 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: Kingston Beast 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($83.54 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition 1GB Video Card ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer ($20.49 @ Amazon)
Total: $384.96
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-08 17:47 EST-0500)

Best I could do

Kelthar · Mar 8, 2014

Decided to change my suggestion a bit. That GPU was perhaps overkill for the budget. New build:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-78LMT-S2 Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($42.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($77.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 750 1GB Video Card ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Enthusiast 650W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $420.95
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-08 17:54 EST-0500)

@ekagori Corsair CX build quality isn't exactly good, and I wouldn't recommend it. I'd rather spend more on a PSU that can later be reused than end up with a fried rig.

Karadjgne · Mar 8, 2014

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($109.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Asus M5A78L-M LX PLUS Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($44.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition 1GB Video Card ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $399.91
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-08 18:11 EST-0500)

Karadjgne · Mar 8, 2014

@kelthar. Corsair CX is a tier3 PSU. That means it does pretty much as it claims. It's an average PSU, neither good nor bad, with average life expectancy, uses average components and is of average quality. It by no means exceptional, but then again, you get what you pay for. This is what the op can afford, and it'll give the op 3ish years of mild gaming to save up for a powerhouse.

Kelthar · Mar 8, 2014

I don't see much of a reason to get a CPU cooler for stock clock, instead of investing that in the PSU. The GPU however can be debated, but I believe that going a bit overboard on the budget to get a better one (and having to cut down on the optical drive) might be worth it.

ekagori · Mar 8, 2014

Kelthar :

Either the FX-6300 or X4 750K sport unlocked multipliers so it would be in the OP's best interest to overclock to gain some performance bonus, hence why an aftermarket cooler would be advisable. As for an optical drive, we can't assume that the OP has the know how to put his OS on a usb stick and load it from there, so adding the drive allows him to install his OS as it is more likely that he has an installation CD.

ekagori · Mar 8, 2014

Kelthar :

Corsair's Builder series are good enough for a normal rig, I would never suggest it for a high end rig, besides if you want to recommend a psu, xfx pro 550W would be a more solid choice.

Kelthar · Mar 8, 2014

Since this is a gaming rig, getting a better GPU instead of overclocking would be the best. The bottleneck WILL be the GPU, whether the CPU is unlocked or not. Might as well try to reduce the difference, not increase it.

Might compromise in terms of the PSU, but the GPU is the weakest link, not the CPU.

ekagori · Mar 8, 2014

Kelthar :

I agree with the sentiment that gpu is more important but given the OP's budget, neither cpu will bottleneck a gpu in his price range. Even going for a 750ti will not be bottlenecked. Now a 770... that's a different story all together.

Kelthar · Mar 8, 2014

Exactly. The CPU will never bottleneck the GPU, that's why the money spent on getting getting slightly higher clock rates should be put into getting a better GPU, which is the current bottleneck.

ekagori · Mar 8, 2014

Kelthar :

There is still nothing in his price range under $400 that will give him significant performance boost... I still believe in aftermarket cooling, even for the sake of temperature. I edited my rig and found an r7 260 which should be better.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/36yRP
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/36yRP/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/36yRP/benchmarks/

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 750K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($79.98 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Thermaltake CLP0605 79.3 CFM CPU Cooler ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: Kingston Beast 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($83.54 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R7 260 1GB Video Card ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS95 DVD/CD Writer ($20.49 @ Amazon)
Total: $379.97
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-08 21:10 EST-0500)

ge7atme · Mar 8, 2014

I really don't want to try and over clock it cause I really don't know how, thanks. Also, would any memory unit work with any motherboard, or do I need to invest in a new one

ge7atme · Mar 8, 2014

Also, my os is on my old hard drive on my old computer, could I just move that hard drive over to this?

ekagori · Mar 8, 2014

You can't just bring your hard drive onto the new pc, you have to reinstall windows otherwise you will have lots of crashes and BSODs.
As for your memory question, if you have DDR3 memory then yes, you can use it with your new pc. How much RAM do you currently have and What operating system are you running?

Even if you don't want to overclock, having an aftermarket cooler helps bring your cpu temperature down a few degrees, so I'd recommend getting one but that is your choice.

Karadjgne · Mar 8, 2014

A good aftermarket CPU cooler does 2 things for a stock clocked system. It cools much more effectively (especially in a not so well ventilated case) and it will put the breaks on that freight train of a stock cooler under load. Those stock coolers get loud! Not so sure an FX 6300 will be bottlenecked in any way by the 7770, its the exact same gpu as used by the upper A10 apu's. The only reason I suggested it, it was the best gpu for the price and was on sale it seems, otherwise I would have suggested an r7-260 or 260x if one could be found. Also, an aftermarket cooler would be a help there if the gpu did indeed stress the CPU to constant high loads.

Need $400 gaming pc build

Reputable

Honorable

Honorable

Honorable

Titan

Titan

Honorable

Honorable

Honorable

Honorable

Honorable

Honorable

Honorable

Reputable

Reputable

Honorable

Titan

Share this page