Building first ever pc for gaming under $700

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Eowyn

Reputable
Aug 10, 2014
4
0
4,510
Ok. So I have absolutely no experience with building computers. I currently own a laptop that is terrible and can not handle the games I would like to play. Games I play/will be playing once I build this are: Starcraft 2, the Sims 4(once its released), Skyrim, LoL, and Mass Effect.

Just about 2 weeks ago I realized I have a few hundred to spend and will make more in a few months, so I decided it is finally time to upgrade. My budget is $700, which I know will not make a top of the line gaming PC but I just want something that doesn't lag, has decent fps, and that can handle starcraft 2 on at least medium graphics, preferably high.

When I made the decision to upgrade, I started looking for premade pcs and came across this:
http://amzn.com/B00J9D4MVW
I thought, " it has 5 stars and looks like it can handle games I'll just get that!". Then my friend told me it isn't very good and said I could make a much better PC myself, so he made me this with pcpartpicker:
http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/user/thejames10/saved/2Xytt6

It was nice and all but I have my doubts...i know nothing about computers. Like I know what the parts do but I don't understand how to place stuff together, all the numbers and shit confuse me and I just feel like building this myself could lead to disaster. My friend lives far from me but I can call him for help, which I suppose is useful. He has built a ton of pcs and seems to know what he is doing, and believes I can do this. I just don't know if I can nor do I know where to start. I watched videos on YouTube and honestly I am just more confused now.

Anyways, any thoughts/comments on what I should do, improvements on the pcpartpicks, reassurance and all that are much needed. Thanks!
 
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EasyLover

EasyLover

Splendid
Dec 30, 2013
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Ask your friend about this build. It is with Intel core i5 which is recommended for gaming and it is full ATX motherboard. It is more suitable for you and is well within your range:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.00 @ Canada Computers)
Motherboard: MSI H87-G43 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($96.00 @ Vuugo)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($89.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.95 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card ($139.99 @ NCIX)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 361 ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.50 @ Vuugo)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ Memory Express)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($15.79 @ DirectCanada)
Total: $670.20
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-10 09:07 EDT-0400
 
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M

masterboy9

Honorable
Oct 27, 2013
85
0
10,660
Much better card:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Memory Express)
Motherboard: ASRock H81M-HDS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($56.00 @ Vuugo)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($79.99 @ Memory Express)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.95 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 280 3GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($209.99 @ NCIX)
Case: DIYPC Solar-M1-G ATX Mid Tower Case ($51.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Power Supply: EVGA 430W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($22.99 @ NCIX)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($16.79 @ DirectCanada)
Total: $687.68
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-15 17:15 EDT-0400
 
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F

Frazman

Reputable
Aug 3, 2014
47
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4,540
Hello! I disagree with the above posted build on a few parts. First off the cpu listed is not the best for your price point. The FX6300 is by far the best cpu for this price, it is only 110$ roughly, has more cores, much higher clock speed, and is easily overclocked with a few clicks to 4.5 ghz, safe and stable. Secondly, what is the base of all your components? the Motherboard...so dont cheap out and get this crappy 50$ one. Spend a little more, and get a proven, better board. such as the ASRock 970 Extreme3, its awesome, what i use currently, and it also looks great with a black paint finish. Thirdly, the graphics card which i think is the best for the money, and is better than the amd listed above, is the GTX 660. It is very capable, can run almost everything on high-ultra, and doesnt break your wallet at only 200 roughly. Finally, i would not go with the stock cpu fan , and the best value, and by far the most popular is the CM Huper 212 EVO, and its only roughly 30$, even less with savings. Here is the best value build IMO!

http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/H4d88d

AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor $119.99 NCIX
CPU Cooler

Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler $29.79 DirectCanada

Motherboard

ASRock 970 Extreme3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard $89.99 NCIX

Memory

Kingston Black Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory $79.99 Memory Express
Remove

Storage

Seagate Barracuda 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive $49.79 DirectCanada

Video Card

Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card $189.99 Memory Express

Case

Thermaltake VL80001W2Z ATX Mid Tower Case $42.99 Canada Computers

Power Supply

Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply 59.99$


FINALLY THIS IS GONNA BE AN ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL BUILD!!! ALL BLACK
 
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tiny voices

tiny voices

Titan
Sep 6, 2012
34,175
5
99,965
Easy, your build is good, I agree it is not optimized for gaming. An fx-8320 and a better GPU would be a much better gaming experience. A 750ti will not allow that i5 to even stretch it legs and show that it is any better than an FX CPU.

Also, change that PSU. People seem to forget that the EVGA B units (not B2) are just as bad as the Corsair CX ones.
 
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G

Guest

Guest
Coming with a full build. Working on it :)

Also what do you need? Only the computer ? Operating System(Windows)? Mouse+Keyboard? Monitor? Headset/speakers? Tell us ! :D

Edit:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.99 @ Memory Express)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($53.75 @ Vuugo)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($86.59 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($57.99 @ Canada Computers)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 280 3GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($239.99 @ NCIX)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ Memory Express)
Power Supply: EVGA 430W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ Memory Express)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Canada Computers)
Total: $731.28
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-04 09:36 EDT-0400

CPU,MoBo and RAM:Got yourself i5 because i3`s an G3258 might start bottlenecking in the future. i5 4570 is pretty good and can handle almost everything. Motherboard is cheap, but it should work fine. RAM has good amount of likes and is speedy.

Storage and Video Card: Could not fit anything other than a 1TB HDD to your build. R9 280 with WINDFORCE cooler should work fine and is a good midrange-high end card :)

Case and PSU: EVGA 430W PSU has good amount of reviews (from customers) and is tier3 (what, I learned it now, thought it was tier2) but even as a tier3 unit, I think its gonna work fine. Case is cheap and I don`t know much about it. PcPartPicker said the GPU may block some drive bays.

Edit2: Also your friends build does not make much sense about the CPU. He used a 110$ CPU with 90$ MoBo and 30$ cooler. Its 230$ total. He could have got picked my CPU and MoBo for 20$ more or got i3 and H81.

He may say "BUT FX 4300 IS 4 CORE IDIOT LOL" but FX cores and Haswell cores are much, much diffrent. In fact, 2 core i3 4130 often beats FX 6300, which is 6 cored. Even the tomshardware CPU bang for buck list lists it as Mid range.

Also don`t think you need 2TB unless you have HUGE archive. I made the mistake of picking 2TB HDD, but all I use now right now is like 300-400GB.
 
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EasyLover

EasyLover

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Dec 30, 2013
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Agreed. I changed CPU and Mobo from the OP's build actually.
 
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EasyLover

EasyLover

Splendid
Dec 30, 2013
6,551
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Oki revise the build as suggested by tiny voices:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($197.70 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($53.75 @ Vuugo)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($84.79 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.97 @ DirectCanada)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 270X 2GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($194.99 @ NCIX)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ Memory Express)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($64.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($15.79 @ DirectCanada)
Total: $701.96
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-04 10:54 EDT-0400
 
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EasyLover

EasyLover

Splendid
Dec 30, 2013
6,551
0
24,960
This is second option

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($197.70 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($53.75 @ Vuugo)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($84.79 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.97 @ DirectCanada)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 280 3GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($214.99 @ NCIX)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ Memory Express)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($64.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($15.79 @ DirectCanada)
Total: $721.96
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-04 10:55 EDT-0400
 
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EasyLover

EasyLover

Splendid
Dec 30, 2013
6,551
0
24,960
Anyhow, just for that case:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($197.70 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($53.75 @ Vuugo)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($84.79 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.97 @ DirectCanada)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 280 3GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($214.99 @ NCIX)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ Memory Express)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($79.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($15.79 @ DirectCanada)
Total: $736.96
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-04 14:02 EDT-0400
 
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