Looking to build my first gaming PC $400-$500

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hujo10

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Jul 6, 2013
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Hello, I am 15 and looking to get into the exciting world of PC gaming! I am selling my 360 and everything included, plus getting some help from my parents. I will have about $400-500 to spend. I am looking to play games like DayZ, Planetside 2, Rust, and games coming out in the next year or so fairly smoothly. I hear building a PC is not as hard as it seems with the right guide so I am giving it a try. Any builds or help is appreciated. I do not have a monitor either but I can probably get that on my own.
Edit: I will need an OS
 
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Mephikun

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Jan 8, 2013
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This is about the best build I can put together for you. $9 over budget though.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 750K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($79.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI A88XM-E35 Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($67.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Kingston XMP Blu Red Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($57.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card ($149.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($44.00 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($44.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $509.92
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-22 22:05 EDT-0400)

You may want to look into getting some things used (but not abused aka in good condition and not too old), such as a Graphics Card, and maybe Motherboard and RAM? If you don't have an issue with this I'd be happy to help you out through PM and find you some links to parts.
 
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Dark Lord of Tech

Dark Lord of Tech

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Aug 18, 2009
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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI 970A-G43 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($59.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($57.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: PNY GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Cougar Solution (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($19.99 @ Micro Center)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($15.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $518.90
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-22 22:19 EDT-0400)
 
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Dark Lord of Tech

Dark Lord of Tech

Retired Moderator
Aug 18, 2009
128,614
1,778
159,590
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI 970A-G43 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($59.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($64.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($57.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: PNY GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Thermaltake VL80001W2Z ATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($19.99 @ Micro Center)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($15.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $503.90
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-22 22:22 EDT-0400)
 
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hujo10

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Jul 6, 2013
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Which of the two is better?
 
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Mephikun

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SR-71 I don't want to start an argument as you really helped me out a while back when I had almost no knowledge in Power Supplies, but I don't understand why cutting corners is better than buying used components. I've had a build that was made completely from used components that has lasted for years (although it's not really used anymore). As long as the parts are good quality, are in good shape and they're pretty recent I see no problem with it, especially if you know its usage as anyone who really wants to sell a used part would detail.
 
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ayushde

ayushde

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Feb 6, 2013
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@ SR-71.....he needs an OS too...

@ hujo10...how about this..
Could've included a better GPU...but you needed an OS so...

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 760K 3.8GHz Quad-Core Processor ($84.74 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock FM2A88X Extreme4+ ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($57.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition 1GB Video Card ($90.38 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 430 ATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($19.99 @ Micro Center)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($84.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $508.05
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-22 23:04 EDT-0400)
 
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hujo10

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Jul 6, 2013
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Thanks! Will this run the games I mentioned smoothly?
 
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ayushde

ayushde

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I don't have any personal experience with those games....but I guess you could play on high settings @ 1080p and even max them out if you don't mind dips below 40 fps
 
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Mephikun

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Edited ayushde's build a little. Better PSU, CPU that runs a lot cooler, etc $26 over budget though

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 750K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($79.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI A88XM-E35 Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($67.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($57.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition 1GB Video Card ($90.38 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 430 ATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($44.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($84.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $526.29
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-22 23:10 EDT-0400)
 
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ayushde

ayushde

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Nice build....but is there any specific reason you chose the 750k over the 760k....I mean both of them run fine with the stock cooler unless of course you plan on overclocking (but in that case you'll need an aftermarket cooler for both the cpus)....And I guess the extra 400 MHz worth of performance is well worth the extra 5$..
 
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Mephikun

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This is why:

"The original temperature reads were alarming to say the least... (70C at idle) however after doing some research i found that for some reason these processors run hot out of the box regularly."

"Runs really hot with stock cooler
-TDP of 99W
-Stock cooler isn't good enough for gaming
-Gets hot enough to shut off the PC while gaming"

"Heat and noise with stock heat sink. I paid for the chip not for stock cooler.Please buy aftermarket cooler!"

Those are just a handful of the reviews of it. Runs FAR too hot, but nobody seems to have any issues with the 750K in that regard.
 
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ayushde

ayushde

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Could you post some links......just for my knowledge.... ;)
 
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RookieOfTheYear

RookieOfTheYear

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Here is a deal I found on Newegg.com that is already built and comes with windows 8

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883220445

I am no expert, however this computer seems to be a pretty good deal for only $9 over the budget price. The reviews I have read seem to say that the Radeon HD 8760 is a pretty decent mid range GPU. I don't play many games though, so I don't know how well it would play any of the games you have listed. But I feel the processor should last you (especially if you overclock it in the future).I would think you would want to upgrade the PSU on the next birthday or Christmas, but should be suffice until then.

I hope if I am wrong to suggest this deal, someone will let me know of my mistake. I do know that you will not need more than 8gb's of ram for any game out there so don't worry about that.

I do own the AMD FX-6350 CPU, and from experience and research, it seems that the FX family of CPU's seem to run rather hot. I don't know much about the FX-8300, but would guess it would be along the same lines. So since you plan on doing extensive gaming you would probably want to look into an aftermarket CPU cooler at some point soon (I would think to do it before upgrading the PSU). But CPU coolers tend to be relatively inexpensive (around $35-45 for an Evo 212 which is a pretty good one).

Hope I could be of some help. Good luck to you in finding the best rig for your needs.
 
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ayushde

ayushde

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Wait a sec......I read the reviews of both the 750k and the 760k....both of them show similar complaints.....Bad stock cooler...I guess nothings wrong with the chip...He could do with a 212 EVO :D and be fine with even the 760k
 
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ayushde

ayushde

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Yeah....Just check the newegg reviews for the 750k....they too have similar complaints....it is the crappy stock cooler that is the main culprit...
 
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HomeSkillenSlice

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Mar 23, 2014
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These builds are great an all but if you guys have ever heard of the requirements for those games you'd know that DayZ is an incredibly unoptimized POS and that view distance destroys every rig , regardless of whether or not there is a $350 i7 in the rig. Planetside is also quite CPU intensive but not as much as DayZ.

AM3+ may also be dead. FM2+ is the way to go if you want to upgrade to Excavator next year although it all depends on whether or not they improve the IPC. Kaveri was a relatively good success in terms of upgrading their iGPU tech but it was an outright failure on IPC improvements, and this is coming from someone who prefers AMD. I also liked the other tech they introduced like True Audio, Mantle, HSA etc. but its not worth it at a $200 price point simply because wide adoption of those technologies have yet to become a reality.

There are no other builds to beat the ones listed above. Its what I would also recommend. Just be weary of those things if you build one of these two rigs.
 
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