$600 Gaming PC able to play new games at max. (using some used parts)

fooball

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Approximate Purchase Date: in the next 3 weeks (from June 18th).

Budget Range: $400 Before Rebates; After Shipping (aiming for the rebates to make up for shipping). May consider $450. Not including a keyboard ($25) and monitor ($30) that I will need.

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, web surfing, word processing, and Graphic Design/things to do with movie making (possibly in the future).

Are you buying a monitor: Yes, a used tv with hdmi.


Parts to Upgrade: All, making a new system.

Do you need to buy OS: No.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg.ca, ncix.com, http://wiki.freegeekvancouver.org/article/Thrift_Store_Price_List, anywhere else where parts can be found for the least money.

Location: Vancouver, Canada.

Parts Preferences: Amd (for value) cpu (would like FX. 6300?). Good gpu. eg. HD 7870 or R9 270 (I heard r9 270 is better for price). Can get cheap ram, dvd drive, and hdd (and any other parts in which used is ok) used for cheap. Mobo to have 4 ram slots as I would like 16gb ram cheap.

Overclocking: Maybe. (Probably yes)

SLI or Crossfire: if I can get two used gpus for cheap. (no)

Your Monitor Resolution: Probably buying used hdmi tv, I think 1280x1024 (found out later that it was 1280x733). (Ended up buying a 1080p monitor)

Additional Comments:
I can buy used parts to reduce cost

I have never built before. I currently don't have a desktop.
I want to buy to play current new games at max and be able to play new games 7 years later (quality doesn't have to be too good at that time). Edit: 5 years

Something cheaper than this:
PCPartPicker part list: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/mv9BhM
Price breakdown by merchant: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/mv9BhM/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($124.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($54.95 @ Vuugo)
Storage: Can buy used 500GB 3.5" Internal Hard Drive ($30.00)
Memory: Can buy used for $40
Video Card: Club 3D Radeon R9 270 2GB '14Series Video Card ($159.99 @ NCIX)
Case: Enermax ECA3253-BW ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: Thermaltake SMART 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($39.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Total: $489.89
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-18 22:30 EDT-0400

Any responses/builds/answers will be appreciated!!! Thanks!
 
Solution
The powercolor are always cheaper than other brands, nothing wrong with them though.

You said you wanted to order this some time in the next 3 weeks, yes? My suggestion would be to take a few days to round up your "Used Items" . This way, you can sure up your budget number and we'll know exactly what you have left to spend for new parts. You can probably even find a used keyboard while you're at it. (even a case)
I also very much doubt you will find 4x4gb of ram for $40, but if you do, congratz. :p

The problem right now is, you want to do overclocking while still being upgradeable; this raises your budget a lot. If you just wanted to do just overclocking, it's be the 6300. If you wanted something just upgradeable/futureproof, it'd be...

jaraldo

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I tried to make a build, but the "maybes" make it impossible. An overclocking/upgradeable mobo is $100 and cpu will be between $75-120. We haven't even touched the GPU yet. Worst is you want $450 before the rebates when canadian prices are so high already :p

And futureproofing is a bit of marketing at play because technology advances so quickly, that a $600 build in 5 year may be equivalent to a $900-1000 build now. Not only that but who knows what the requirements for games will be in the future :)
 

fooball

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So what would be the cheapest setup to play today's games at high/max settings?
What settings would you expect my listed build to play?

 

fooball

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For me, I would be hoping for the best performance for as little as possible. I haven't built anything before (no experience), so I'm not very sure what would be the true cheapest way to go.

I'm hoping to play games for at least 5 years, at least on minimum settings

Oh ya, should I edit it to be certain for each maybe and possibly?

 

fooball

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Where would I get the cheap parts?

 

jaraldo

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You will be investing a lot into gpu-->cpu--->mobo, most expensive 3 usually.

I know in my build it was about 40-45% of my budget for them. (out of $1100 build)
On a tight budget build though, mostly the CPU/GPU will be the issue and usually around 35-50% the budget.
 

jaraldo

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^--- agree, everyone seems to think they can do a first time build and have the greatest thing ever made :p.
Even just tonight there was a guy who wanted the same thing as you fooball, but he was on a $300 budget...Yesterday some guy wanted to turn a $60 PC from 5 years ago into a monster gaming machine. o_O It's just not possible.

Here are some benchmarks for Watchdogs
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/watch-dogs-pc-performance,3833-5.html
If you are fine with low/medium, then you might be able to make something work but there is no way to know if you'd get those FPS on newer games and you certainly wouldn't be able to Overclock.

 

fooball

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Thanks!
Is it possible to get a amd equivalent processor for cheaper (or is that just for the lower end cpus)?
And should I go for a cheap psu (considering the price of the whole build)? I heard cheap ones are bad.
 

fooball

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I was relying too much on the reviews and internet :( Like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xXzUEjNL0Q

 

jaraldo

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You could try something like this. You'd still have to find that used ram but it's the best thing I can think of. You can overclock, play the games you want at high with 40+ fps and you have a good PSU for any single card set up you want. The G3258 is overclockable aswell, but I think you'd want a CPU cooler for that.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($76.09 @ NCIX)
Motherboard: MSI Z97 PC MATE ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($81.50 @ Vuugo)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ Canada Computers)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7850 1GB Core Edition Video Card ($119.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Case: BitFenix Merc Alpha (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($54.99 @ NCIX)
Total: $432.55
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-19 00:22 EDT-0400
 

DeanJW

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That will be fine playing games at max, I'm running a $280 dollar build composed of a gtx 750 ti and an fx6300 (worse than what you propose) and I'm doing BF 4 at max, 40fps + 1080p.
 

fooball

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Thanks for all your help guys!
DeanJW, could you state your build?
Thanks!

 

fooball

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I actually would like to know what the difference between the fx 6300 and i5 is. Because the fx seems to have a 3.5 ghz clock speed and can be overclocked. Is it really worth it to pay the 70% premium?
I am looking at this 7850 3gb double d card for $150 (but can reduce price a bit): http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/rch/sys/4516597596.html. Is it better than a r9 270 or 7870?
Thanks for the help
 

jaraldo

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It depends on how you want to look at it :p , also about which i5 you are talking about. I'd take an 4670k anyday, but a 4430 I would maybe pass on.

One thing people will mention is that the Intel is upgradeable. Well, in truth it's only for 1 more year. (that's intel's usual cycle; new socket ever 2 years) So I don't really consider that so much when deciding on which CPU to take.

About the 6300, I don't exactly like getting it because then your only good upgrade is the 8320. The 8320 is only like what, $20-25 more? It would make more sense to get the 8320, a cpu cooler and a nice 990 board for overclocking. ($270 for those)

Though I will say, a 8320 would last you a long time, regardless of what people say it is really a great CPU for the price even if am3 is going to be obsolete; you are on a budget after all. (everything will be obsolete eventually anyways)

If you were building a $600 8320 computer and it lasted 4-6 years, I'd say you got your money's worth and more. I still have an i5-2500k from 4 years ago running strong and I see topics posted weekly about if people should replace a 2500k and it's "no" most of the time.

As for the r9 270 vs 7870, I would never buy anything but ram/hdd/case 2nd hand. You won't get warranty on anything, won't have any idea how it was treated and won't know if there are problems with it until you actually try it out.

The r9 270X and the 7870 are the same, while the r9 270 and the 7850 are the same. The r9's will have higher clock speeds though.
 

fooball

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Aww. Just spotted a gtx 580 for $110. :(
What is the best graphics card for my budget? Does a 1gb vs 2gb same card matter much?
I'm also super newbie at the PSUs. I'm really tempted to go for a cheap one, but people are saying that most cheap ones suck. So how would I spot a good one from bad ones (I heard brand)?
 

jaraldo

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http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-1804779/power-supply-unit-tier-list.html
This is a list of powersupplies ranked. I would recommend this one
http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-power-supply-p1550sxxb9

If you are still sticking to a $400-450 budget, then I would get the intel build I linked above; the 7850 is onsale now and so it's your option. Because you want to it be overclockable/upgradeable, you aren't in the position to choose about what you want or not. It's not like I can go to a car dealer ship with $1000 and ask them to get me something close to a mustang :p

You can go with an fm2+ if you want, but you'll be lucky to get bf4 on high.

Take a look at these benchmarks and you will see why everyone is saying the cheap ones suck.
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2013/11/27/battlefield-4-performance-analysis/3
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-750-ti-review,3750-7.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/watch-dogs-pc-performance,3833-6.html

A 7770 the lowest card I recommend to attempt to game on. Something like a r9 265 or 750ti would be a nice fit to your build, but then again you are building to be upgradeable, so something somewhere has to fall short. I guess you just have to decide where :) (that or raise your budget)
 

fooball

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Ok, so I ended up with this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($164.95 @ Vuugo)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($58.50 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 270X 2GB TurboDuo Video Card ($179.99 @ NCIX)
Case: Xion XON-560 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($39.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($54.99 @ NCIX)
Keyboard: Gigabyte Force K3 Wired Gaming Keyboard ($18.50 @ Vuugo)
Other: Used 4x4gb RAM (16gb) ($40.00)
Other: Used 500gb HDD ($25.00)
Other: Used DVD RW Drive ($5.00)
Other: Used 21" HDTV with HDMI input ($25.00)
Total: $611.92
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-20 00:26 EDT-0400

I would like to decrease that price preferably by at least $30.
Right now I'm looking at that r9 270x, and this r9 270 OC. The difference is the 270x is $209 with $30 rebate, and the 270 is "SAVE $50.00 off our regular price of $219.99 if you buy today! Ends 06/25/2014"
I'm also unsure about whether to go for a 6300 processor instead of an 8320 to save money.

Why does the part list chart here: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/user/fooball/saved/Z8Nv6h show the low prices steeply rise at May 30? Is this a glitch?
 

jaraldo

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The powercolor are always cheaper than other brands, nothing wrong with them though.

You said you wanted to order this some time in the next 3 weeks, yes? My suggestion would be to take a few days to round up your "Used Items" . This way, you can sure up your budget number and we'll know exactly what you have left to spend for new parts. You can probably even find a used keyboard while you're at it. (even a case)
I also very much doubt you will find 4x4gb of ram for $40, but if you do, congratz. :p

The problem right now is, you want to do overclocking while still being upgradeable; this raises your budget a lot. If you just wanted to do just overclocking, it's be the 6300. If you wanted something just upgradeable/futureproof, it'd be an i5.

With all that said, maybe this is just the simpler option for you

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($119.79 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($109.99 @ NCIX)
Video Card: Club 3D Radeon R7 265 2GB royalQueen Video Card ($139.99 @ NCIX)
Case: Enermax ECA3253-BW ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($54.99 @ NCIX)
Keyboard: Logitech K120 Wired Standard Keyboard ($11.25 @ DirectCanada)
Other: Used 4x4gb RAM (16gb) ($40.00)
Other: Used 500gb HDD ($25.00)
Other: Used DVD RW Drive ($5.00)
Other: Used 21" HDTV with HDMI input ($25.00)
Total: $571.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-20 02:14 EDT-0400

I think DirectCanada does free shipping on orders over $50, so I did the CPU/Keyboard with them. The rest I did all with NCIX which should save you from our atrocious shipping costs here.

This computer will be able to overclock, you will just need to buy a good CPU cooler when you are ready to. The mother board is a cheaper one because it's a slightly older chipset, this doesn't make it bad though. You will get some acceptable overclocks out of it and it comes with the option to do crossfire if you ever wanted to.

The PSU will handle most single card upgrades (like an r9 280), this is the only kind of "upgrade" I think you will get at this budget.

Here's a review of the 265, it's a nice card that will be good for your needs right now until you upgrade in a year or 2.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-r7-265-review,3748.html
 
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DeanJW

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I just noticed something re-reading the initial post you state you are buying a hd tv that is only 1024x1280. I am not sure what you intend so if what i'm about to recommendation is rubbish for you, ignore it. I would consider keeping an fx 6300, getting the r265 and using that budget to find a better screen. Even an fx 6300 + r7 265 will be overkill for that resolution nevermind the 270 with a 8320. You list gaming as your top priority, a better screen will give you a much better experience gaming and be good for graphics design (as you proposed you want in the future). Look for about 24 inch imo as you can get those pretty cheap at 1080x1920.

If I were you I would do this but each to his own, I can only give my opinion. Apart from that it's a pretty good system you've spec'd it will handle things nicely.
 

jaraldo

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Nice catch, I didn't even think about that, thank you :)

Although, I think right now he might not have the cash to spend on a good 24'' monitor, or even a used one. When I checked the classifieds, I could find many 17'' for $10-20. the 23-24'' were $75-100. I agree that the CPU/GPU will be overkill for now, but like I mentioned somewhere above in this long thread "something has to give", so I guess it's the monitor that takes the hit. :p
 

fooball

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Sorry, I don't understand your statements. :eek: I looked again and a normal 19" insignia hdtv has a resolution of 1366 x 768 (the 1024x1280 was just a guess). So does this mean that monitors are higher quality/definition and better than HDTVs? One reason I was going for a hdtv was because I saw some for ~$25 (I thought they were better than monitors) and wanted a hdmi port for my ps3(hdmi) and I was thinking that stuff with hdmis are more future proof.
And sorry for taking so much of your time :( I really appreciate your help :D
 

jaraldo

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Look at watchdogs as an example
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/watch-dogs-pc-performance,3833-5.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/watch-dogs-pc-performance,3833-4.html

In low resolution even the GTX 650 would be a good card...

The lower the resolution you game on, the less of a GPU you need to play it at good FPS.

If you aren't going to be spending $100 on a monitor, then I would not even consider any $20-30 used on as "future proofing".

Please, let me make this clear, as it's mentioned a few times in the thread.
If you want something to last you 3-5 years, you HAVE to spend money now, so you don't have to later

If you are happy gaming on 1366x768 for now, then I'd suggest you just get my intel build with the G3258 and call it a day. It's in your original price range and will do that resolution of gaming fine, it can be upgraded later and overclocked now even if you buy a stock cooler.