$800 target price gaming pc build

firesoul453 · Apr 11, 2014

So I want to build a PC primarily for gaming. The target price I had in mind was $800 but willing to pay more if it was definitely worth it.

Here is my build.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($89.79 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: PNY XLR8 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($64.99 @ TigerDirect)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 280X 3GB Video Card ($299.99 @ Amazon)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($37.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $852.72
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-11 17:56 EDT-0400)

I am open to anything. I'd love to save money. (Is there anywhere to get cheaper ram?)
I wasn't sure if I should go for the 8350 or and i5 or what. Though I don't think I would be happy with an i3 or 6300 or something like that.
Graphics card was kinda stuck between gtx 770 or an r9 280x.

I hope to someday add a second graphics card whichever one I pick. I have no timeframe for this, but
would it be worth going ahead and buying a power supply that could handle that?

I also wasn't sure about hard drive. My first thought was to just buy a 2tb+ hard drive. (1Tb would not be enough for long for me.) While I definitely plan on having windows I do want to also have Linux installed. But I've been told and ssd is almost necessary. I know it definitely increases performance but would I get $64.99 worth of performance from it?

I guess buying an ssd around the road would be a lot harder to set up than just adding another hdd later correct?

My current monitor is 1080p but plan on getting another one for programming purposes.

Any advice? Suggestions?

Thank you!

g-unit1111 · Apr 11, 2014

You could certainly get a better SSD - PNY SSDs are bottom of the barrel and generic Sandforce 2.0 drives. For $15 more you can get a Samsung 840 Evo which is a far superior drive. You could also drop the CPU to an FX-8320 (which is nearly identical to the FX-8350 except for the stock speed) and then upgrade your GPU to a GTX 770. I would personally go for that over an R9. Also don't get a Corsair CX series - they are not what they are advertised and won't power your rig. You want at least a Seasonic G series or an XFX Pro series.

Also you could for your budget go with an Intel i5-4440 and an Asrock H87 motherboard and then that would improve your gaming performance.

firesoul453 · Apr 12, 2014

g-unit1111 :

Hmm if a cheap ssd isn't worth it, how hard would it be to add one down the road? Would there be any reason I can't just reinstall windows on an ssd down the road and leave my other hard drive intact? Right now I think a good ssd is out of my budget.

I guess I should have mentioned that I want my processor to be unlocked and looking at benchmarks it seemed like the i5-4440 was closer to an 8320, and not being to overclock it would be a problem to me.

So is the 8320 the same cpu as the 8350? If I overclocked an 8320 to say 4.2ghz would it be the same as an 8350 at 4.2ghz?
Or would a i5-4670K be worth the extra money? When I looked into it myself it looked like the 8350 beat the i5-4670K on pretty much all the major pc games this year so it seemed like multi threading was the clear way from now on.

I want to be able to upgrade later and one plan is to buy a second r9 280x later.
And overclock the cpu later.

I am definitly open to getting an gtx 770 and I have no brand loyalty, but this page was what connived me to get r80x instead.
Looked like gtx 770 and r9 280x are neck and neck in performance but when your dealing with crossfire or sli it looked like the r9 280x won every time.
But thanks for your suggestions! I definitely haven't looked into PSU's and will keep thsoe in mind.

ScrewySqrl · Apr 12, 2014

the 8320 is basicaly a downclocked 8350, yes. The 8320s also tend to not overclock as well as the 8350s (better binning tends to get the higher number), but most can at least match the stock speed of the higher numbered chip.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($149.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI 970A-G46 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($69.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: GeIL EVO POTENZA 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($62.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($69.07 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 280 3GB Video Card ($269.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Antec GX700 ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX TS 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $811.96
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-12 13:11 EDT-0400)

firesoul453 · Apr 12, 2014

ScrewySqrl :

I don't quite get why I wouldn't just get the 8350 in that case. Since I need to buy a heatsink and overclock it to get it to an 8350 it would cost me more! And then down the road I can't overclock it because I already did.

Also pcpartpicker says "Some AMD 970 chipset motherboards may need a BIOS update prior to using Vishera CPUs."
Does that mean I would need to put in a processor that works to be able to update the BIOS? Or is there a way to update a BIOS without a cpu? Since I do not have an older amd fx cpu lying around.

Once again.
Thank for your time. This will be my first build and I just want it to all go perfectly.

ScrewySqrl · Apr 12, 2014

almost all 970s sold new now have already had the BIOS upgraded to take Vishera chips, I wouldn't worry too much about that.

g-unit1111 · Apr 12, 2014

Hmm if a cheap ssd isn't worth it, how hard would it be to add one down the road? Would there be any reason I can't just reinstall windows on an ssd down the road and leave my other hard drive intact? Right now I think a good ssd is out of my budget.

I guess I should have mentioned that I want my processor to be unlocked and looking at benchmarks it seemed like the i5-4440 was closer to an 8320, and not being to overclock it would be a problem to me.

No SSDs are always worth it, but some brands are definitely better than others, and the controller is the most crucial component of the SSD. The PNY SSDs are very low end and based on the old slow and buggy Sandforce 2.0 controller that's known for errors and BSODs.

I am definitly open to getting an gtx 770 and I have no brand loyalty, but this page was what connived me to get r80x instead.
Looked like gtx 770 and r9 280x are neck and neck in performance but when your dealing with crossfire or sli it looked like the r9 280x won every time.
But thanks for your suggestions! I definitely haven't looked into PSU's and will keep thsoe in mind.

Really? That benchmark doesn't look accurate to me, but then again it's very difficult to read and that poster doesn't make clear what the test parameters were or the test bed specifications.

steave_01 · Apr 14, 2014

my Vertex 3 is still serving me well for more than 2 years. Personally, I think the whole Sandforce 2 issues were blown out of proportion. Most of the issues were fixed by the time FW 2.15 came out and just wondering now when people claim the SandForce controllers are unreliable they never cite any sources or reports of actual failures.

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