1st PC build, budget gaming PC

ralob101 · May 22, 2014

Please review my build and let me know any better part for similar price or recommended changes.
I want a decent gaming PC at a low budget.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3OKwf

I will be running WIN 7 64-bit OS

cdrkf · May 22, 2014

That's a nice build imo.

The R9 270 is really good value and fast enough for gaming at 1080p on high settings.

The i5 is also decent, should keep up with anything. That power supply also looks good (something allot of people get wrong).

You might be able to get a little more oomph for the same money by dropping to a lower i5 or a high i3, and putting the extra into a faster graphics card (maybe look at the R9 280 if you can find one at a good price). It depends on what games you want to play though- this set up will be better in CPU intensive games, whilst the i3 + 280 combo will do better in GPU limited games.

gopher1369 · May 22, 2014

Yep, agreed with cdkrf on all points. I'd just add that more games are GPU limited than CPU so I would tend to go with the i3 + R9 280.

IHaveDaBestPC · May 22, 2014

That's quite a good build, but are you sure you need an aftermarket cpu cooler and a ssd? My rig using an i5 4570 runs ultra setting at acceptable temperature (50 ~ 56 celsius) with OEM cooler, and ssd only boost your windows and application boot time, data transfer but not gaming performance.

If you can drop those away (or even lower your 4570 to 4440), spend the extra money on GPU such as the GTX 770 or R9 280, that would make your 700$ rig runs ultra like a boss

Novuake · May 22, 2014

Drop the SSD and CPU cooler. Its a waste under a tight budget.
This would be my suggestion.
Important that its a much higher quality PSU.
Much better graphics card.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3OL6c
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3OL6c/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3OL6c/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.96 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H87 Pro4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($87.49 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.43 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 280 3GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($200.00 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill Challenger-U3 ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $706.84
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-22 07:48 EDT-0400)

DanDustEmOff · May 22, 2014

IHaveDaBestPC :

An SSD and aftermarket cooler will absolutely improve Gaming performance a cooler CPU gives head room to overclock and an SSD does improve data transfer rates leading to quicker boot times and higher frame rates on modern games.

IHaveDaBestPC · May 22, 2014

DanDustEmOff :

I agree with the cpu cooler, but I think it's worth investing the GPU rather than the ssd now, after all, VGA heavily affects gaming performance, after that he can save money to buy a 120 gigs samsung 840 evo

DanDustEmOff · May 22, 2014

IHaveDaBestPC :

DanDustEmOff :

I agree with the cpu cooler, but I think it's worth investing the GPU rather than the ssd now, after all, VGA heavily affects gaming performance, after that he can save money to buy a 120 gigs samsung 840 evo

Agreed I would always invest in the GPU first and SSD after the system was built if the cost was critical. I agree with your point just not the wording I suppose.

Novuake · May 22, 2014

DanDustEmOff :

There is no higher frame rates in games from using an SSD. Only loading times would decrease marginally.
As for CPU cooler, the H87 and non-K CPU is not overclockable anyway, so...

Not to mention that your reasoning is completely flawed, how could an overclock and SSD improve FPS more than a graphics card that is BETTER?
Makes no sense at all.

cdrkf · May 22, 2014

Novuake :

I'm on the fence on this one- no the SSD doesn't improve gaming performance, however it does improve the overall responsiveness of the PC in non gaming tasks so I do think it's worthwhile. Very often a slow HDD is what makes a good machine feel 'old'. Still it's easy enough to add an SSD later if you partition your HDD with one in mind to start with- you can then use something like the free AOMEI partition assistant to migrate everything over.

You're probably correct in saying that it would be better for the OP to save the money and plough it into a better graphics card at this stage.

Novuake · May 22, 2014

Exactly cdrkf.

Don't get me wrong, I struggle to cope on PCs that don't run SSDs after I got used to mine, but a better graphics card would cost less and give more than an SSD that is much easier to add.

ralob101 · May 22, 2014

I have taken some of the advice given. I have removed the SSD and upgraded the Video card to the MSI Radeon R9 280 3GB TWIN FROZR.
Reluctant to remove the CPU cooler(has better cooling than original, should last longer, and be quiter also)
I also changed the ram to the G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 for purchasing convenience.
I also removed the Optical drive to cut the fat(I can use the one I have in my current desktop that this will be replacing)
Also added monitor, but does not count towards, budget for the $700 range of computer.
Not sure if updated this correctly, will take advice on this also.
New link is: http://pcpartpicker.com/user/Ralob101/saved/4LhO
New link is

DanDustEmOff · May 22, 2014

Novuake :

Didn't notice the board was on a H my mistake. However with the right board it is possible to overclock a non-k variant. I have a 3770 running at 4.2 Ghz. I never suggested that buying a better card wouldn't improve his performance at all. I stated that running a better cooler and SSD would improve performance. I disagree with the notion that SSD's do not improve gaming performance. I get a substantial frame rate boost when running games on an SSD over a HDD about 10 fps on Crysis 3. Also boot times are a lot shorter not just a few seconds. At least in my experience.

cdrkf · May 22, 2014

ralob101 :

Looks good! Also remember you can always get additional parts (e.g. better cooler) later, however you probably don't need it unless you're over clocking (as the current Intel cpu's sip power anyway).

DanDustEmOff · May 22, 2014

cdrkf :

Novuake :

I'm on the fence on this one- no the SSD doesn't improve gaming performance, however it does improve the overall responsiveness of the PC in non gaming tasks so I do think it's worthwhile. Very often a slow HDD is what makes a good machine feel 'old'. Still it's easy enough to add an SSD later if you partition your HDD with one in mind to start with- you can then use something like the free AOMEI partition assistant to migrate everything over.

You're probably correct in saying that it would be better for the OP to save the money and plough it into a better graphics card at this stage.

I never said that he shouldn't sink the money into a better card I just disagreed with the notion that a better cooler and SSD wouldnt improve gaming performance. In my experience bandwith heavy games like Crysis, Arma and even Minecraft do have a substatial performance increase and a better overall experience when the game is stored on an SSD.

DanDustEmOff · May 22, 2014

ralob101 :

It has been pointed out to me that with the board you are going to use you can not overclock on. Hence the cooler is not really needed the stock one would be fine. Unless you plan on overclocking the CPU at some point. If this is the case then you need to be looking at a Zxx board over a Hxx.

ralob101 · May 22, 2014

I appreciate the input that has been given.
I removed the CPU cooler to cut down on cost. I removed the Monitor to more easily watch price of componets.
I added the SSD drive because I want to put my OS on it and get the overall performace enhancement it brings with it.
New Link: http://pcpartpicker.com/user/Ralob101/saved/4LhO

I appreciate all the input given.

Is there anywhere else I can cut down the price without losing anything significant?
Is anything I have only my list looking like a bottle neck?
Or anything that is overkill for what the rest of my system has?

ralob101 · May 22, 2014

I have made some additional changes, hopefully for the better.
http://pcpartpicker.com/user/Ralob101/saved/4LhO

Novuake · May 23, 2014

I don't trust EVGA PSUs. Get something better. Like XFX or Seasonic, or Antec even.

gopher1369 · May 23, 2014

DanDustEmOff :

I broadly agree with you. My issue with some of the comments above is that some people are measuring gaming performance purely by FPS. You give me the choice of: a) Stock cooler + HDD + Radeon 280 or b) aftermarket cooler + SSD + Radeon 270 and I will always pick the latter. The stock cooler is unreasonably loud and the noise ruins the gaming experience for me, I find it incredibly distracting. The SSD can also provide a much better experience, for example open world games that continually stream data from the drive are a more enjoyable experience on an SSD vs a HDD.

To put it another way, I could sell my Radeon 7850, Asus Xonar U7, 250Gb Samsung 840 SSD and Antec Kuhler 620 water cooler and with the money buy something like a Radeon 280X, but there is absolutely no way in a million years I would do so!

cdrkf · May 23, 2014

gopher1369 :

I agree for a balanced build a better cooler + SSD makes sense. The idea behind my and other's comments though is it's quite easy to add those things later when you have a bit of spare cash, and you'll have a better graphics card + CPU that can handle anything.

If you invest in a weaker GPU now, you'll have to change it later- imo a false economy. I guess there isn't a right or wrong answer here though.

Novuake · May 23, 2014

Let me just say this. Running an SSD does not improve FPS to a significant degree.

Why?

Information is cached on the RAM and VRAM LOOOOOONG before being retrieved from the storage system.

cdrkf · May 23, 2014

Novuake :

That does depend on the game engine to some extent- I believe that systems that employ 'streaming textures' load things on the fly from the hdd so having a faster drive can help (a good example of a game like that is Rage - or the new Wolfenstien which is built on the same engine). The reason some games use this approach is that it allows the use of much larger textures (too big to fit into even the main system ram).

gopher1369 · May 23, 2014

That does depend on the game engine to some extent- I believe that systems that employ 'streaming textures' load things on the fly from the hdd so having a faster drive can help (a good example of a game like that is Rage - or the new Wolfenstien which is built on the same engine).

I play LOTRO which has no loading screens, streams data on the fly from the disk. Every time a piece of the world is loaded from a harddrive into the vRAM there is an obvious judder. With an SSDs and its essentially zero latency, that juddering goes away making the game much, much smoother and more enjoyable.

I agree for a balanced build a better cooler + SSD makes sense. The idea behind my and other's comments though is it's quite easy to add those things later when you have a bit of spare cash, and you'll have a better graphics card + CPU that can handle anything.

I'd suggest the opposite is true, it's much harder to add an SSD at a later date, if you've never done it before cloning a harddrive is not a trivial piece of work. Adding in an afetrmarket cooler requires disassembling the entire PC as you usually have to install a backplate behind the motherboard. Swapping out a graphics card is literally the easiest upgrade you can do (except maybe for RAM, that's even easier).

I guess there isn't a right or wrong answer here though.

I completely agree with you. Everything you and all of the other contributers have written here is true, none of the advice conflicts. The OP just needs to decide what's more important to him within his/her budget.

DanDustEmOff · May 23, 2014

gopher1369 :

Thanks for the support I was starting to doubt my approach. I agree I would never do that either. Also I agree it is much easier to swap out a card or even add a second, so long as the motherboard supports it. On This build though I would ditch the cooler as there is no way to overclock a H series board and probably the SSD to have a more powerful card.

I would then install the SSD later doing a fresh install on the SSD rather than migrating. When I tried to migrate the data from my HDD to the Samsung 840 it was very difficult due to the fact that the HDD has way more data than the SSD would fit. My end solution was to have a dual boot solution the HDD now serves as a media centre with Anti virus and all the other crap and the SSD is kept very clean on a segrigated system with no protection and very few applications and background programs and is used purely for running games.

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