Motherboard, CPU, Ram, Graphics Card for less than $500 for gaming, my head hurts

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DireStraits

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Nov 17, 2013
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As the title says, looking to do a partial upgrade of one of my systems for gaming and I am going to need a Motherboard, CPU, Ram and graphics card for less than $500. I've looked at both AMD (which I am leaning toward due to the price obviously) and intel, various cards and motherboards and I'm more confused than informed at this point.

The problem is that I am not really sure which combination works best performance wise or even which brands/models are best as I have been comparing various components for the last few days.

Any suggestions on a solid sub $500 build? I am leaning toward AMD but am open to any recommendations.

Thanks in advance!
 
Solution
nikoli707
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($164.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 PRO4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($72.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($63.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 280 3GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $481.95
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-01 23:28 EST-0500

though i have to ask what power supply you are using.
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nikoli707

nikoli707

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Jan 4, 2012
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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($164.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 PRO4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($72.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($63.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 280 3GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $481.95
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-01 23:28 EST-0500

though i have to ask what power supply you are using.
 
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Solution
mrgnex

mrgnex

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Jan 1, 2014
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Here you go:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($96.69 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($28.75 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock 970 Extreme3 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($59.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($62.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Asus Radeon R9 290 4GB DirectCU II Video Card ($244.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $493.41
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-02 06:53 EST-0500
 
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nikoli707

nikoli707

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paring anything higher than a 760/280 with the fx processor is not a good idea at all.
 
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mrgnex

mrgnex

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You sure? I have a FX8320 and a R9 290 and before that a FX6350 and a R9 280X. FX CPU's overclock amazingly and I think that eliminates a lot of bottlenecking.
 
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nikoli707

nikoli707

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depends on the kind of games one plays but there is plenty of benchmarks showing how far the fx needs to be overclocked to match an i3 in something like battlefield 4. but not everybody plays bf4. the fx does get an honorably mention, but for simplicity, its just easier to go with an i3 that down the road an i5/i7 could drop right in if one chooses.
 
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DireStraits

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Nov 17, 2013
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Been busy and haven't had a chance to get back on this but will be ordering my parts next week.

Interesting discussion, it's this kind of stuff I have been getting hung up on. In your opinion, for the current budget conscious due to recent holidays and a handful of kids, would an i3 in the above Intel build to later be replaced with an i7 at the end of the year be the way to go?

I play games like PlanetSide 2, Arma III, Skyrim and the like. In any case it will be better than my current system that is around 7 years old at least with a GeForce GTX 260 and Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300. Gaming is getting rather lackluster with this system compared to way back when obviously.
 
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nikoli707

nikoli707

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Jan 4, 2012
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if this is purely for gaming, the i7 isn't going to help you out much at all. in many games the i5 isn't much faster than the i3. though skyrim is a game the certainly can scale well with cpu horsepower, especially if you start heavily modding the game. though generally it runs well above 60fps@1080p on just about any modern setup(i3+750ti). otherwise skylake will by out by the end of the year so your upgrade choice may completely change if skylake is a home run.
 
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