best 500 dollar budget gaming pc build july 2014

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Gabe Sandstrom

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Jul 24, 2014
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Hello I'm throwing away the console and games and am now ready to build my own pc and start gaming my heart out on it. There's just a couple problems. Idk what to buy. It has to be 500 or less but has to perform very well also. I have no problem upgrading parts in the next year or 2 but I want something that will perform great when gaming 6 to 8 hours a day with good graphics and speed. I have a microcenter 45 minutes from me I just don't know what to get or buy. I'm very much a noob but I'm wanting to change all of that in the pc realm. Please help me. I just need plenty of suggestions and help so I can get this all done in the next 2 weeks. Thank you. Also please type down the pieces and prices of them so I can just pick them up from my microcenter. Thank you very very much!
 
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Pr3di

Pr3di

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Sep 18, 2013
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Do you already have any parts?
Monitor, maybe some HDD? If you by any chance have an HDD, you can add an SSD later on, and try for now something like this:

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 270X 2GB TWIN FROZR Video Card
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply
 
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LucoTF

LucoTF

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Sep 6, 2013
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Something like this imo

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($69.00 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($94.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($76.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R7 260X 1GB Video Card ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Case: BitFenix Merc Alpha (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/RSBS DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $500.91
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-07-24 03:53 EDT-0400
 
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LucoTF

LucoTF

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Sep 6, 2013
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Yeah the 260x is generally good for 1080p/medium or 720p/high but that's about it
 
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T

t3nn1spr3p

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Jul 3, 2012
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Not overclocking saves you on the heatsink and motherboard.
Cheaper case + power supply so I could fit in the R9 270X. Would give a huge performance increase.

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core ($69.00 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 PRO4 ($89.66 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) ($75.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 320GB ($41.51 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 270X 2GB 256bit ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Diablotek DIAMOND ATX Mid Tower Case w/400W Power Supply ($29.99 @ Micro Center)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer ($12.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $489.13
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-07-24 09:31 EDT-0400

Also no mail-in rebates.
 
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LucoTF

LucoTF

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Sep 6, 2013
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I know you said not overclocking, but you can still OC a bit even with your setup (H97 + stock cooling) which would give a nice boost to the g3258

You need to change that 1.65v ram though
 
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Gabe Sandstrom

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Jul 24, 2014
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LucoTF- how long could I be able to game on that build before I would have to upgrade parts and stuff. Also will that build allow me to play other great intensive games to come? Oh and will the dual core be a problem, bc I believe I read or heard that dual sucks for gaming
 
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LucoTF

LucoTF

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Don't believe everything you hear - two good cores are better than 4 weak ones. Look at performance of this chip vs the quad core athlon 750k and you'll see what I mean (hint - the dual core wins).

The build should be good for a while, especially as the anniversary board overclocks at the press of a button:
http://cdn4.wccftech.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/ASRock_Z97_Z97M_Anniversary_pri01.jpg

but because it's a x97 build you can easily upgrade the CPU in future to an i5 or i7, so it's built to be built upon (if that makes sense)
 
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Gabe Sandstrom

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Jul 24, 2014
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LucoTF- that makes sense. Will I have to also upgrade my graphics card in the next year also? I plan on upgrading a bit after time I just don't wanna make it one huge money pit. Like I want it to always feel great and running great but I also want good graphics
 
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Beezy

Beezy

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Nov 4, 2013
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personally i think the FX 6300 is much more future proof
 
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LucoTF

LucoTF

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It's 18 months old and already behind the current mid-range offerings from intel, with more intel CPUs on the way (that will be compatible with the x97 boards). Having two extra cores isn't going to save it from extinction, certain tasks can only ever go through one thread and that's why you get dimishing returns with each additional core.
 
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TheLastof Me

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Jul 23, 2014
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I would never recommend a dual core processor to anyone for any reason. Those CPUs are for low-end OEM laptops and desktops that people buy from Best Buy for cheap. They are for casual users. Like someone said, don't believe the hype (regarding synthetic benchmarks and AMD cores being "weak"). Your GPU will determine your gaming performance.

With a low end GPU you will not notice the difference with a 2, 4, 6 or 8 core (or an i3, FX or i7 for that matter). However, everything else you do will have an effect, including Windows updates, program installations, multi-tasking, etc. The new consoles have 8 cores in them to have a longer shelf life so that much higher performance can be achieved as time passes. Time has already passed by on dual-core chips.

For a gaming budget build, the person who recommended the FX-6300 pointed in the right direction. You will be sorely disappointed purchasing a dual-core processor in the year 2014.

My wife has an i3 in her laptop and I have a dual-core A6 in my laptop. Both chips are crap. We bought them for cheap from Best Buy and HHGregg thinking, "hey, we don't need all those cores". This was a few years ago when I got back into tech. If you just want to use Facebook and surf the web then go with a Pentium.

However, you will have much better performance in real-life using your PC (as opposed to synthetic benchmarks) with the FX-6300 over a Pentium processor, especially in gaming.

Just my two cents.
 
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Beezy

Beezy

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DirectX 12 is being written for cores, simply put. games are utilizing more cores. All the consoles have 8 cores. if the APIs are to get any more streamlined the FX line will only get better. more streamlined development across all platforms is a win win for everyone.

The FX 6300 can be overclocked to match an FX 8320 in performance pretty easily. Dual cores are being left behind, id love to watch that pentium struggle with a new game like watch dogs. Minimum requirements is a quad core intel/AMD and ubisoft recommends i7/FX8350. If all OP wants to play is minecraft and MMORPGS (and games up to 2012 that is) then the pentium dual core will due, these games rely on strong single threads. But newer AAA games want cores and a STRONG GPU, for a lot of these new games a dual core just wont cut it for long.
 
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TheLastof Me

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Jul 23, 2014
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Anyone stating that the cores are not used either: a) only surfs the web; b) does not monitor CPU usage in task manager. The argument about not using multiple cores/threads really no longer applies in the year 2014. Why HT the i3 if it does not matter? Why HT a i7?...

The only game I own that only uses two cores is StarCraft 2. The CPU spreads its workload out over threads to maintain efficiency and keeping resources free for other tasks. While playing BF3, all 8 of my cores run smoothly. Other games its 4 to 6. So instead of two cores at 100% (which is what you are going to get with a dual core), your CPU will spread workload to say, 6 cores each at around 20% utilization.

Also, to compare the two-core Pentium to the FX-6300 is not really a comparison. The Pentium simply does not have the resources to compete with the 6300 in demanding tasks (i.e. more than just web surfing). It is not even HT. Does it even have a L3 cache? L3 cache is important for gaming.

Either way, I advice the OP to do more research.
 
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TheLastof Me

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Jul 23, 2014
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Thanks Beezy for talking some sense. Intel marketing is great! They have convinced a large portion of the market that a two core, two thread CPU can outperform a 6-core CPU! That is incredible.

And since when is 18 months old for a CPU? How often do you upgrade CPUs anyway? The CPU should be the last upgrade if you built right the first time. It is already the fastest component in the entire system.
 
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Beezy

Beezy

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also the age is such a stupid point to make, an i7 3960X was released like 2 or more years ago?? are you going to tell me that chip shouldn't be considered because of its age? i dont think anyone here would be turning one away
 
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Beezy

Beezy

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Nov 4, 2013
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even calling it just 3 modules that can do 6 threads is still more appealing to me than 2 cores ,even if they are strong and can be overclocked, its very limited.
 
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