550$ gaming PC build assistance required

HCW123

Reputable
Jun 25, 2014
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4,510
Hello, this is my 1st thread and post, so treat gently.
I am on a 550$ budget and are looking for a PC that can run most games coming out late 2014-2015 at high settings or better with at least 30 frames per second. I am also relativley new to building a PC.

I have tried PC part picker,but failed horribly,going about 150 dollars above budget.This is my PCPartPicker setup.

CPU

AMD Athlon X4 760K 3.8GHz Quad-Core Processor
$84.73 $84.73 OutletPC

CPU Cooler

Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 45.0 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler
$24.99 -$7.00 FREE $17.99 Newegg

Motherboard

MSI A78M-E45 Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard
$69.99 -$10.00 $59.99 Micro Center

Memory

Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory
$88.99 Free two-day shipping with Amazon Prime $88.99 Amazon

Storage

Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
$88.97 $88.97 OutletPC

Video Card

Asus GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card
$154.99 -$10.00 $144.99 NCIX US

Case

Aerocool Strike-X One ATX Mid Tower Case
$59.98 $59.98 OutletPC

Power Supply

Antec Basiq 350W ATX Power Supply
$29.99 Free two-day shipping with Amazon Prime $29.99 Amazon

Optical Drive

Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer
$19.99 -$3.00 FREE $16.99 Newegg

Operating System

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit)
$94.98 -$10.00 $84.98 OutletPC

Base Total: $717.60
Promo Discounts: -$10.00
Mail-in Rebates: -$30.00
Total: $677.60


If someone can please help adjust this build for me,and suit it towards gaming.I am trying to go more GPU than CPU.

All help appreciated.
 
Solution
@HCW123
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AgN1D79Joo7tdE9xMUFlMEVWeFhuckJEVF9aMmtpUFE&gid=0
The motherboard you have chosen isn't that good but is "ok".

I would recommend the Gigabyte 970A-Ud3p. It is the best 970 board you can get and I find it is the best budget board for the price. It's only $8 more than the MSI board. You want to have as many VRM/Phase count (or more) for each core your CPU has.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128651&cm_re=ud3p-_-13-128-651-_-Product

I would also recommend tis PSU as it's the most recommended 550w and right now it's 60%+ off the original price. ($25 right now)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207013

Msi mobo has 4+1 VRM, while the...
Your motherboard choice is going to limit you on upgrades later on to IF and WHEN AMD decides to release the newer A10s without built in graphics. For only about $30 more you could go with an AM3+ board with an FX-4300 or an 1150 board with an i3 and both choices would leave lots of options later on.

The 1866 ram isn't going to make any difference on a $700 build so you could save $20 there by going with 1600.

The power supply is not good at all. $20 more there will get you a solid one.
 

jaraldo

Honorable
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI Z97 PC MATE ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($88.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston Blu Red Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($71.88 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.92 @ Amazon)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 270 2GB Core Edition Video Card ($139.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Thermaltake Commander MS/I Snow Edition (White/Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($25.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $594.71
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Here is an intel build that is upgradeable and you could even overclock it if you wanted to. (just buy a better cpu cooler if you ever did want to)
Overclocking is rather easy on intel motherboards.

The graphics card is a nice step up from the 260x and that PSU is on sale and is a recommended buy no matter which way you go. (intel or amd)

Edit:
The r9 270 will average 57fps in Arma3
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-750-ti-review,3750-7.html
38fps in BF4
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2013/11/27/battlefield-4-performance-analysis/3
38fps in Watchdogs
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/watch-dogs-pc-performance,3833-6.html
 

HCW123

Reputable
Jun 25, 2014
12
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4,510
Thanks both of you, I just have a question, isn't Pentium a extremley old and slow brand? I mean, even the computers at the nearby college still using them.Its dreadful.
 


No, it's just a name Intel has used for years, same with AMD and "Athlon". The new pentium dual cores can hold their own against older core2quads and newer low end AMD quad cores.
 

t3nn1spr3p

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Jul 3, 2012
247
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10,710
My recommendation. The previous build would be a little more because of mail-in rebates that only give you gift cards to buy other things.
The 4GB would be ok initially and easily upgradeable later on, as well as the i3 and graphics card.
Also, the optical drive is optional, unless you don't have a friend's or family member's computer you can use to get the windows install cd mounted to a flash drive.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 Haswell-Refresh ($124.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 ($50.39 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill AEGIS 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: WD Caviar Blue 320GB 3.5" 7200RPM ($34.89 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Superclocked ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Gamma Classic (Black) ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ($50.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($84.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $556.22
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
 

jaraldo

Honorable


They are just a flagship CPU for intel for a long time now, these new ones are actually quite good for their price.

I would still take the G3258 over the i3 as the normal upgrade plan is to eventually get an i5. Here is an article about the G3258 overclocked performance
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/pentium-g3258-overclocking-performance,3849-2.html
http://www.bit-tech.net/news/hardware/2014/06/05/scan-overclocks-pentium-g3258-to-4-5ghz/1
It's actually very comparable to an i3. Even if you only went to 4.0gzh overclock, it is the best price/performance you will get for $75.
To overclock one, it just as simple as changing a few settings in bios while also just testing for stability . (there will be some guides out soon for the G3258 to)

Imo, the G3258 would also have a better resale value when you choose to upgrade because of it's ability to overclock. This would help to pay for a new i5-4670k in a year or so. (or whatever new CPU is out then)

Here's a lengthy thread about it
http://www.overclock.net/t/1495300/various-intel-pentium-g3258-anniversary-edition-reviews
Take your time and do your research ;) Feel free to ask questions




 

HCW123

Reputable
Jun 25, 2014
12
0
4,510
Ive made this build,if I purchased these, would it work (I have a O.S)

CPU

AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor
$112.99 $112.99 NCIX US
Buy
Motherboard

MSI 970A-G43 ATX AM3+ Motherboard
$72.71 $72.71 OutletPC
Buy
Memory

Kingston Fury Black Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
$69.99 Free two-day shipping with Amazon Prime $69.99 Amazon
Buy
Storage

Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
$49.99 Free two-day shipping with Amazon Prime $49.99 Amazon
Buy
Video Card

PowerColor Radeon R9 270X 2GB TurboDuo Video Card
$189.99 -$30.00 FREE $159.99 Newegg
Buy

$30.00 mail-in rebate

Case

BitFenix Merc Alpha (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case
$34.99 $34.99 NCIX US
Buy
Power Supply

EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply
$49.99 -$20.00 FREE $29.99 Newegg
Buy

$20.00 mail-in rebate

Base Total: $580.65
Mail-in Rebates: -$50.00
Total: $530.65
 

jaraldo

Honorable
@HCW123
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AgN1D79Joo7tdE9xMUFlMEVWeFhuckJEVF9aMmtpUFE&gid=0
The motherboard you have chosen isn't that good but is "ok".

I would recommend the Gigabyte 970A-Ud3p. It is the best 970 board you can get and I find it is the best budget board for the price. It's only $8 more than the MSI board. You want to have as many VRM/Phase count (or more) for each core your CPU has.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128651&cm_re=ud3p-_-13-128-651-_-Product

I would also recommend tis PSU as it's the most recommended 550w and right now it's 60%+ off the original price. ($25 right now)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207013

Msi mobo has 4+1 VRM, while the Gigabyte one has 8+2 VRM.

@xzyzer
I'd be careful with that motherboard; there is 0 chance of overclocking that system or upgrading the CPU because of it. How long have you had this system?
 
Solution

HCW123

Reputable
Jun 25, 2014
12
0
4,510
jaraldo,i haven't bought that system, i'm preparing to by buying parts individually.

I have added your suggestions to my build, however, I noticed things like sound cards,coolers,etc. Do I need all those with my current build?I probably won't do any overclocking, and if I do, a very small amount
 

jaraldo

Honorable
hehe, I know you haven't bought the system. That last part I was talking to the other guy, XZYZER.

Well, from what you stated in your original post, the budget is the main concern here. You also missed putting in the operating system in the build above; it would be $670 instead of $580. From what you mentioned about slight overclocking, I'd still go with the G3258 build I had, but I won't push you on it either :)

Another nice benchmark about it though :p
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2014/06/24/intel-pentium-g3258-review/7


Imo, sound cards are only for picky people and if you have listened to music/watched videos on your computer before and not complained, then you should be okay without one. Case fans don't hurt, but they can always be added later.

Since you mentioned you want to do a slight overclock, get a Hyper 212 evo when you are ready to.
 

HCW123

Reputable
Jun 25, 2014
12
0
4,510
I've got a spare OS laying around here somewhere, that and i've looked up and seen you can trasnfer OS's?Something lke that.I'll play with the CPU cooler later when i've got more money, as I believe the default cooler should be adequete.
 

jaraldo

Honorable
Well, it depends, if you've used the OS CD before, then it may not work with your new build. Usually they are locked to 1 motherboard to my understanding.

Yes, the default/stock cpu cooler is adequate, if you want to overclock though then you will need to upgrade.