Help With Gaming PC $500 Budget

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Drucrazy3

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Jun 9, 2014
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Please try and get all the products at a specific store so it is easily purchased.
Here are some quick things if you need to know about this build...

Approximate Purchase Date: 2-3 Months

Budget Range: $500 - $600

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming

Do you need to buy OS: Yes

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg

Location: Maryland

Overclocking: Maybe
 
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Colin Hartigan

Colin Hartigan

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Mar 20, 2014
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this is a great build by JayzTwoCents on youtube credit goes to him
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-4300 3.8GHz Quad-Core Processor ($104.76 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI 970A-G46 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($86.38 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($82.06 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 320GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($58.30 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 650 2GB Video Card ($140.38 @ Amazon)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($37.56 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($53.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($110.97 @ Newegg)
Total: $674.39
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-09 18:24 EDT-0400)
 
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photonboy

photonboy

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Jun 20, 2006
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Exactly.

Is Windows included in the $500?
Do you need peripherals like monitor, mouse/keyboard/xbox game controlller?

*Try going to PCPARTPICKER as well, make a build and ask others for advice on it. Start with the CPU. My recommendations are one of the following:
a) FX-6300
b) X4-760K
c) Intel G3258 (overclockable 2-core Pentium)

All the above have their pros and cons. The Intel 2-core does a lot better in older games and even some modern games. The AMD CPU's may do better in well threaded games like BF4 though I'd have to do more research.

*If you think you'd possibly upgrade the CPU later, the Intel CPU might be best as it uses the recent 1150 socket for Haswell. So you could probably easily sell your G3258 dual-core CPU later then buy a 4-core Haswell.
 
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bob hays

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Nov 21, 2012
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I watch him and he gives good advice on guidelines, but that is very inefficient for an actual build.
An r7 260x performs better than the 650 and can be had for about 120. A cheaper motherboard would save money, you can get an fx 6300 for a little bit more or an athlon 760k with fm2 motherboard for much cheaper. 8gb ram should be about 70, 1tb hard drive for 60, needs less than 400 watts but a quality one would still be about 50 (xfx 550 or vs 450)
 
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shortstuff_mt

shortstuff_mt

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Apr 1, 2008
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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-4330 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H81M-H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Team Vulcan 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R7 260X 1GB Video Card ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($66.30 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($26.97 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($102.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $583.19
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-09 19:00 EDT-0400)
 
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Solution
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Drucrazy3

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Jun 9, 2014
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I already have 3 extra monitors, some spare mice, and a keyboard. All I would really want to run is some steam games here and there nothing like BF4, but it would be nice if the computer could even run that.
 
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photonboy

photonboy

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Jun 20, 2006
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I'll make a build.
It will be based on the unlocked G3258 dual-core CPU:
http://www.bit-tech.net/news/hardware/2014/06/05/scan-overclocks-pentium-g3258-to-4-5ghz/1

*My build will NOT include the CPU which should be about $85 so my total will be roughly $415, including Windows 8.1 64-bit.

**Windows 8.1 64-bit is ideal, don't get Windows 7. I would recommend trying the new interface but also get START8 so you can run the normal interface with Start Menu, disable the new Charms Bar etc.

I'm not including an after-market CPU cooler either. You can investigate that later if needed but the included stock one is likely fine even for an overclock.
 
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photonboy

photonboy

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Jun 20, 2006
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http://pcpartpicker.com/p/4MJMTW

I'm over budget once you add the new G3258 ($85 likely) so it would come to $645.

Rather than mess around trying to get under $600 I thought I'd post what I have. The PROBLEM is that at this budget level to meet that budget I either have to drop to a $100 graphics card which makes a huge difference, or get a cheap motherboard which is problematic for both quality AND the ability to overclock the CPU.

So I'll leave those decisions up to you.

*BUILD COMMENTS:
1. CPU:
I recommend the new G3258 (and motherboard that supports overclocking). The X4-760K is another option but my second choice.

2. Motherboard - the Gigabyte I chose is the cheapest one I though that was good enough quality AND supported overclocking

3. HDD - 1TB WD. great drive.

4. DDR3 - 2x4GB is pretty standard.

5. case - you may want different. Just looking for an adequate, inexpensive case.

6. Video card - Asus GTX750Ti is a really great card for the budget. The HD7770 for example is about 65% the performance, and the Asus card can be overclocked even further (roughly 20% more).

7. Windows 8.1 64-bit:
Highly recommended. Don't get Windows 7. START8 can make the interface look almost exactly like Windows 7. There are however many changes under the hood that make W8 better.
 
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D

Drucrazy3

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Jun 9, 2014
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Looks great, Its fine if you went over the budget, I could probably squeeze in a few more dollars for the build. :)

 
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photonboy

photonboy

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Jun 20, 2006
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Not sure of the DATE that CPU goes on sale.

The BIOS update to support the new CPU's was on January 24th, 2014 for the Gigabyte board I recommended so any board you buy now from a store should have the updated BIOS.
 
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