Build Mid Range Gaming for $700

ladouthitt

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I have no prior experience building a PC and need a little Help.
I am a photographer and a light gamer. I need a good $700 build that will handle
Sim-city 5 and The Sims 3 on maximum settings. I also use Photoshop CS6 and Pinnacle Video editing software. I would like those to run perfectly. I have a bluray drive and want to watch blurays on my pc too. I know the basics of PC hardware but I have trouble understanding compatibility. I have been to PC Picker but I am unsure what parts will work for me. I would greatly appreciate any help anyone has for me. Thank you very much!
 
Solution
Ok, here is a suggested system. This will be MUCH, MUCH better than the system you quoted. I'll explain the details in a subsequent post.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1230 V3 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($244.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H81M-HDS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($57.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: GeIL EVO POTENZA 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($62.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Hitachi Ultrastar 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.88 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R7 260X 2GB Video Card ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Silverstone PS09B MicroATX...

ladouthitt

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I use photoshop to edit bulk photos such as weddings and proms. I work with 1080p video. I transcode.


 

vertexx

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Ok, here is a suggested system. This will be MUCH, MUCH better than the system you quoted. I'll explain the details in a subsequent post.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1230 V3 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($244.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H81M-HDS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($57.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: GeIL EVO POTENZA 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($62.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Hitachi Ultrastar 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.88 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R7 260X 2GB Video Card ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Silverstone PS09B MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($46.83 @ TigerDirect)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $697.62
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-27 16:30 EDT-0400)
 
Solution

ladouthitt

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Could you explain how this system is better? I'd like to understand. Also could I run windows 7 instead?



 

vertexx

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Here is the reasoning:

CPU: For your use case, you want multiple cores & threads. That Xeon E3 is the lowest cost 8-thread Intel processor you can buy. It's essentially equivalent to an Intel i7 processor but without the built-in graphics (i.e. you don't need that because you have a graphics card). Transcoding HD movies takes a long time, and you will be very happy with this Xeon E3 processor. For example, I have an AMD processor under my desk, and this Xeon processor powering my home server. When I transcode a blu ray movie, I offload that to the Xeon and it takes an hour shorter than the AMD processor would.

Motherboard: Budget ASRock uATX Motherboard. It supports the Xeon E3. It also has an on-board USB 3.0 port, which you will want for loading photos more quickly using a USB card reader. It has mixed reviews on Newegg, but it is a budget board.

Memory: Cheapest DDR3-1600 4GB memory available right now. If you wait a few days to order, use PCPartpicker, and select DDR3-1600, 8GB(2x4GB), and CAS 9. Find the cheapest one and order that.

Storage: Cheapest 7200RPM 1TB Drive available right now. Again, if you wait, use PCPartpicker and get the cheapest 3.5", 7200RPM, 1TB drive available.

NOTE: If you have an extra $100 to spend, I would highly recommend getting an SSD in addition to the 1TB storage drive. Let me know if you can stretch that, and I can make a suggestion. Otherwise, you will want to make an SSD your first possible upgrade. It will really help your system performance.

Video Card: R7 260X 2GB. More than enough to power those games. The video card on the system you selected actually won't do very well for Simcity.

Case: Brand new Silverstone model that is setup as a quiet running PC. Figured you want to hear your videos, not your PC fans. Silverstone cases are very good quality, and this one has a very good price.

PSU: Budget power supply with a good mail-in rebate right now.

OS: Recommend Windows 8 at this point unless you really want to stick with Windows 7. Windows 8 is transferable to a new PC, whereas the Windows 7 license is not.

Let me know if you have any questions.
 

ladouthitt

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Could you explain what adding a SSD would do for me? I know it helps loading times. I could use windows 8, just would have to get use to it lol



 

vertexx

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Helps system boot and shutdown tremendously. System load times, and overall responsiveness are also improved.

I've been on the fence between Windows 7 & 8. So you could really go either way. If you think you'd swap the OS to another PC at some point, it's worth getting Windows 8. If not, then I look at Windows 8 as sort of like Windows Vista - the next version probably will be much better.
 

vertexx

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Also, let me know if you're not crazy about the case - choice of case is highly subjective. If not, let me know if you'd prefer one with/without lighting capability, whether having a quiet PC is important, whether size of the PC is important. With this case, it's a new model. It has 2 usb 3.0 ports in front. It also takes advantage of the smaller micro-ATX form factor, and is smaller in size than a full ATX tower case. Finally, how important is it to be able to upgrade this system to higher performing graphics card going forward (i.e. this case probably doesn't have the best cooling capacity for a true high-end graphics card, but it's fine for your build). All those factors can go into selecting a case. The good & bad news is that the case can be one of the cheaper components to buy/upgrade, but also the most difficult to upgrade (i.e. need to rebuild the system).
 

ladouthitt

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What is the cheapest SSD I could buy?



 

vertexx

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The lowest capacity I'd recommend is 120GB - so here is a pcpartpicker list:
http://pcpartpicker.com/parts/internal-hard-drive/#sort=a10&t=0&S=120000,150000

Of that list, I'd recommend the Crucial M500. It has better ratings than the cheapest.

If you can spend a little more, I'd pick the 240GB M500 from this list:
http://pcpartpicker.com/parts/internal-hard-drive/#sort=a10&t=0&S=240000,256000

For me, 240GB was the smallest I wanted in a drive, but alot of people do install the 120GB models. The SSD will have your OS, programs, and user application data. Documents, media and other storage will go on the HDD.

In short, 120GB is doable but will require you to be more disciplined about what goes on that drive. 240GB is plenty of space for lots of programs and application data.
 

vertexx

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The overall strategy of this build was to place greater emphasis on your photo and video work. The Xeon E3 is an entry-level professional workstation processor, and you will definitely notice very high performance when you're doing that work.

The build emphasizes gaming somewhat less. The GPU will have no problems running your listed games on max. If you get interested in some of latest, most graphics intensive games, it will allow you to play on medium to high settings.

Adding an SSD will be icing on the cake for an overall really sweet system for the uses you stated.

EDIT: Here is a review of a comparable 260X GPU. Most titles are playable on high or ultra. Only the absolute toughest will need to be played on Medium. But for these titles, even Medium is pretty darned good.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/HIS/R9_260X_iPower_IceQ_X2/14.html
 

ladouthitt

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Thanks! I will be buying the components in the next month or so. How hard will it be to put a compete system together. I am not a huge fan of the case but it will do. If you know of something with a little more WOW that would be sweet, but price point and effectiveness is most important.
 

vertexx

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You're welcome. Here is a link to a starting point on how to build a PC:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/274745-31-step-step-guide-building
You can also search in youtube for system build videos - there are plenty of them. Bottom line is it's pretty easy. Just take your time, read through a couple of tutorials, and read the instructions of the components when they come in.

As far as cases are concerned, here are a couple links:
Newegg Micro ATX Cases - these will be more compact systems:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007583%20600006307%20600006305%20600006306%20600311678%20600311671%20600311679%20600311680%20600029808&IsNodeId=1&name=No&Order=PRICE&Pagesize=100

Newegg ATX Mini & Mid-Tower Cases - these will be bigger, but there is a much larger selection if you stretch the budget up to the $50 range for a case:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007583%20600311678%20600311671%20600311679%20600311680%20600029808%20600006302%20600006310&IsNodeId=1&name=ATX%20Mini%20Tower&Order=PRICE&Pagesize=100

Let me know one you like, and I can give you some pros/cons.
 

vertexx

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When you're ready to buy, you'll want to double-check the components to get the cheapest at that point. I'll keep following this thread, so if you want me to check up again when you're ready, just let me know.

Finally, do me a favor and select a "Pick as Solution" in one of the posts. Thanks!
 

ladouthitt

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Would it be worth the extra 45 to get 16GB ram?
http://www.amazon.com/PNY-Memory-Module-MD16384KD3-1600-X9-total/dp/B00D1IUEHW/ref=psdc8_t1_B00F902QY4_B00D1IUEHW

Also I am adding a SSD.
http://www.amazon.com/ADATA-Premier-2-5-Inch-Internal-ASP600S3-128GM-C/dp/B009SX6VLC/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1396469857&sr=1-1&keywords=ssd

I should be ordering in the next 2 weeks.



 

vertexx

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I think if you're going to spend an extra $45, you would benefit more by getting a larger SSD.

If you want to upgrade memory, you'd be better off getting faster memory at this point. You could get as much as a 5% performance bump in video transcoding and probably your heavier photoshop duties, less of a bump in gaming, by upgrading to DDR3-2133 or 2400. Take a look at this article at the H.264 video transcoding tests:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/7364/memory-scaling-on-haswell/3

To select memory, I use the below sort on pcpartpicker. Basically, if you go with DDR3-1600 (which is currently the standard, but I would say is on the verge of moving up), you want to make sure you want a CAS 9 capable memory. If you increase that to DDR3-2133 or 2400, then you can go as high as CAS 11. In the below link you can see a pair of GSkill RipJaws DDR3-2400 CAS11 for $80. You can decide if that's worth a 5% performance bump in transcoding.

http://pcpartpicker.com/parts/memory/#s=301600,301866,302000,302133,302400&Z=8192002&L=90,110&sort=a10

I'd still recommend putting any extra money into a larger SSD. Also, I'd suggest not going with the absolute cheapest SSD. My go-to budget SSD is the Crucial M500. Just look at the difference in Newegg 1-egg ratings between the Adata and the Crucial. Basically, the Crucial is much more reliable (only 8% 1-egg versus a whopping 26% for the Adata):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211719
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148693

Bottom line, if you can stretch it for the 240GB Crucial M500, I'd go for that. Then if you have any $$ left over, go for a higher speed memory. Or, if you want to up your gaming capability, you can move up to the next level of Video card. It depends on your final total budget and how much you want to emphasize your photography and video productivity vs. gaming.
 

ladouthitt

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So if I get GSkill RipJaws DDR3-2400 CAS11 what SSD would you recommend?


 

vertexx

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The Crucial M500 240GB, or if you cant afford that then the 120GB version. If you have a PC now, then take a look at the size of your 2 program files folders and add 30GB for the OS, and that's how big of an SSD you need plus you want some for growth.
 

ladouthitt

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I think I will get the faster ram and the 240 SSd. What would the next level in the video card be? I may be able to swing that too. Thanks



 

ladouthitt

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I am seeing this note at the bottom.
G.Skill Ripjaws Z Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2400 Memory operating voltage of 1.65V exceeds the Intel Haswell CPU recommended maximum of 1.5V+5% (1.575V). This memory module may run at a reduced clock rate to meet the 1.5V voltage recommendation, or may require running at a voltage greater than the Intel recommended maximum.



 

vertexx

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Actually - that's not a big deal, but your motherboard is - oversight on my part. In order to run the faster RAM, you would need to upgrade your motherboard to a Z87 based motherboard. That would add another $20 to the cheapest Z87 motherboard.

DDR3-1600 is really fine for your budget. If you're wanting to spend more, then we may want to take another look at the overall system.

Did you pick out a case yet?
 

ladouthitt

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My budget could be a the very top $825. I do like the case you picked, i like the idea of a quite case. I keep the 1600.