First time builder and need help with lowering price ~$100-$200

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Guest

Guest
So this will be my first build and I'm not the most knowledge person with computer hardware. I already know I've got a few parts that I don't need at their level. I'd just like some help by somebody looking over the specs and recommending parts that I should either change, downgrade, and/or upgrade for what I plan on using this desktop for.

The most demanding things I'd be playing are games like:
Skyrim
Battlefield 3/4
Bioshock Infinite
And some other games that have come out recently and some next gen titles

And I'd like to run these games on medium to high settings

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/qCh88d
My price range is between $700-$750
 

byza

Honorable
How about this?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($188.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 PERFORMANCE ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($76.50 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($51.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 270 2GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Rosewill Capstone 750W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($13.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $756.40
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-20 22:03 EDT-0400
 
Solution
How about a $700 gaming build w/ a stronger gpu?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($184.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus H81M-D PLUS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($78.30 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($51.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 270 2GB TurboDuo Video Card ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Zalman Z11 Plus ATX Mid Tower Case ($54.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: Antec Neo Eco 620W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($41.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($13.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $701.20
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-20 22:44 EDT-0400
 
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Guest

Guest


Yeah, but like I said I don't know much. I use my laptop for everything right now and it can get the job done (like minimal settings for most games) but it overheats all the time and I just need something I can really rely on for gaming. Would it be running games like Skyrim on medium or even better?
 
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Guest

Guest


I know it's probably a dumb question, but how does the gpu affect the game play? does it just increase the frame rate and not put as much work on the computer?
 

byza

Honorable
Well the GPU controls graphics, without a GPU (either intergrated with the CPU or distinct like a graphics card) you won't get anything on the monitor.
If the CPU is like the brain, the GPU is like the eyes, the better the GPU the better everything looks. This is a very basic analogy thats not taking into account for bottlenecking (when one component that is working too slow so it slows down the whole system) in games that are more CPU intensive such as DayZ and Arma, but hopefully you get the idea.

Anyway a better GPU generally means higher frames and higher settings, unless it's getting bottlenecked by the CPU.

There is not really anything wrong with PowerColor, but I tend to feel safer with the major brands (MSI, Gigabyte, Asus, EVGA).
With the PSU, from what I can find the Neo Eco is very similar to the SeaSonic S12II which is a good quality PSU.
The Corsair 300R is generally considered one of the best budget cases on the market. It's very easy to build with.
I'd go with Win8 for OS.
For an extra $4 i'd get the i5-4590 over the i5-4440

With that setup you'd be running skyrim on high at good FPS and other games med-high depending on the game.
 
G

Guest

Guest
Alright sweet, thank you guys so much. I got way more feedback and help than I would have ever expected. This forum is amazing, I'll definitely be looking through it more and maybe learning some more about this stuff
Thanks again!