Gaming PC $500 - $600

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jakebolger5031

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Hi, I'm looking for a gaming rig (Pre-Built or Custom) for around 5-600 dollars.

I would like to play GTA 5 (with mods), Call of Duty zombies(with custom maps for WaW), maybe some Skyrim, Modded Minecraft, Garry's Mod, and some FTP MMO games.

I would just like to know if this is even possible at this price range. Thanks in advance!
P.S. If this isn't possible I suppose I'll have to stay under the highly dreaded stereotype of "The Console Peasant".
 
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Alright...you can use a TV. I did when I first got my gaming rig. I ended up getting a monitor because it is just nice than looking at a huge TV screen all the time. But then I would suggest going with this build then.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4330 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($127.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97M Pro4 Micro ATX...
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turkey3_scratch

turkey3_scratch

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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($109.47 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-E33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($45.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Kingston Fury White Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($74.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 280X 3GB Tri-X Video Card ($229.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill REDBONE U3 ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($44.99 @ Micro Center)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($13.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $609.29
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-10 11:02 EST-0500

I was trying to squeeze in an i5 but I could not without reducing the video card to a cheaper one, and I wanted to keep the video card as the highmost component because you do a lot of textures. I chose an I3 over the Pentium because of its hyperthreading capabilities which should help in gaming.
 
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RookieOfTheYear

RookieOfTheYear

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This is about as cheap as you can get everything to start gaming. It includes an operating system, monitor, mouse and keyboard...as well as all the hardware. I also included a slightly more expensive Z97 chipset motherboard so that you can just upgrade to a nice "K" series i5 or i7 in the future and be able to overclock still.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor ($106.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($97.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($66.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Hitachi Deskstar 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.97 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cougar Spike MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($29.99 @ Mwave)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($92.99 @ NCIX US)
Monitor: Planar 997-7687-00 60Hz 20.0" Monitor ($97.46 @ TigerDirect)
Keyboard: Cooler Master CM Storm Devastator Gaming Bundle Wired Gaming Keyboard w/Optical Mouse ($25.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $727.31
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-10 11:18 EST-0500
 
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jakebolger5031

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No, I'll probably connect the PC to my 60" TV and see how that goes, and if I don't enjoy it, can I use a small television as a monitor or must it be a dedicated computer monitor? The OS will not be included in this price.
 
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turkey3_scratch

turkey3_scratch

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As long as the TV has HDMI, VGA, or DVI you are good.
 
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RookieOfTheYear

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Alright...you can use a TV. I did when I first got my gaming rig. I ended up getting a monitor because it is just nice than looking at a huge TV screen all the time. But then I would suggest going with this build then.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4330 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($127.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($97.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($66.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Hitachi Deskstar 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.97 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Club 3D Radeon R9 280 3GB royalKing Video Card ($164.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Cougar Solution (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($38.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($54.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $600.77
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-10 11:38 EST-0500
 
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jakebolger5031

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Oh and also I'm surely looking to upgrade parts in the future. But will these options be able to run the more graphic intensive games I would like to play with some modding (Car mods for GTA in particular)? And also, should I be worried if PCPartPicker lists some possible compatibility issues?
 
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jakebolger5031

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Being 14 years old I'm not exactly the most wealthy of persons lol. This set-up will be incremental. I'll start with the PC on my TV, then get a monitor, possibly upgrade some parts, etc, etc :)

 
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RookieOfTheYear

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Absolutely. I can definitely understand that. So I would suggest maybe something more like this.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($109.49 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($97.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($66.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($54.22 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Hitachi Deskstar 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus Radeon R7 260X 2GB Video Card ($121.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Cougar Solution (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($38.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($54.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $614.60
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-10 13:27 EST-0500

In this build I chose to go with a solid state drive and the Asus 260x. It really comes down to what is more important to you. I personally very much prefer a solid state drive, and after having one, will never go without one.

The idea is to use the 120GB SSD as your boot drive. So you put windows and all your programs on it, and all your personal files(music, videos, games, pictures ect.) on the 1TB hard drive. You could then also put like 2 or 3 of the games you play most at the time on the SSD to increase load times and get more steady FPS(but its not a huge increase over a hard drive, but it does help).

Now, I personally own a 7790. The 260x is basically a re-branded 7790 with a few tweaks on it, and are perfect entry level gaming GPU's. I was actually quite impressed with the performance of my 7790. I could play watchdogs at high settings (which still looks really good) getting a consistent 30fps. Here are a few links to the performance of the 260x I suggested.

http://www.game-debate.com/hardware/index.php?gid=1971&graphics=Radeon%20R7%20260X%20Asus%20DirectCU%20II%20OC%20Edition
http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu.php?gpu=Radeon+R7+260X
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0ITy_G3hVk
http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/high_end_gpus.html

But this way you have a good starting point. And then around your next birthday or Christmas or whenever you come into money to put towards your rig, you could get a monitor. Then I would say your next upgrade should be your GPU (preferably the GTX 970). Then I would upgrade your CPU last to either an i5 "K" series or an i7. You would then have a very powerful gaming computer.
 
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RookieOfTheYear

RookieOfTheYear

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I just noticed the hard drive I had listed for some reason went up to $70. So with bringing that price down to where it should be, I would go with this build instead. I switched the 260x for a CLUB 3D 270, which will get you a fair amount more performance for only $2 more.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($109.49 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($97.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($66.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($54.22 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: Club 3D Radeon R9 270 2GB '14Series Video Card ($143.55 @ NCIX US)
Case: Cougar Solution (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($38.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($54.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $616.17
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-10 13:41 EST-0500

Here are some links to the R9 270's specs and performance.

http://www.ncixus.com/products/?usaffiliateid=1000031504&sku=94193&vpn=CGAX-R927614&manufacture=Club3D
http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu.php?gpu=Radeon+R9+270&id=2766
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BamBALHO03k
 
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