700 gaming build for my son

jeremys73 · Jan 26, 2015

Hi All,

I'm looking to build a gaming computer for my son. He plays primarily steam games but recently was complaining about Planetside 2 running slowly for him. I can't imagine this build can't handle a 2 year old game but ideally I would like him to be able to play more demanding games should he decide to do so.

Approximate Purchase Date: this week

Budget Range: 600-700 but cheaper is always better since there are 2 more kids who will be getting computers this year

System Usage from Most to Least Important: gaming, ms office stuff for school

Are you buying a monitor: No

Parts to Upgrade: everything

Do you need to buy OS: Yes

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg

Location: Portland Oregon

Parts Preferences: by brand or type: no preference

Overclocking: No

Ze parts so far: 663.92 +10.10 shipping

CPU 124.99
Intel Core i3-4160 Haswell Dual-Core 3.6GHz LGA 1150 54W Desktop ProcessorIntel HD Graphics 4400 BX80646I34160

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117447

Graphics Card 194.99
SAPPHIRE DUAL-X 100373-2L Radeon R9 280 3GB 384-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 CrossFireX Support Video Card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202112

MOBO 45.99
MSI H81M-P33 LGA 1150 Intel H81 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130731

RAM 67.99
Team Vulcan 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory (Yellow Heat Spreader) Model TLYD38G1600HC9DC01

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820313345

Power Supply 44.99
EVGA 100-W1-500-KR 500W ATX12V / EPS12V 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC 3 Year Warranty Power Supply Intel 4th Gen CPU Ready

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438016

HD 54.99
Western Digital Blue WD10EZEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive Bare Drive

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822236339

Case 29.99
Antec NEW SOLUTION SERIES VSK-3000 Black SGCC steel MicroATX Mini Tower Computer Case

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129186

OS 99.99
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832416806

Demosthenest · Jan 26, 2015

I recommend you get a gtx 960 for the same price. Rest looks fine to me.

tiny voices · Jan 26, 2015

I agree with the 960 for sure.

I would tell you to get 8.1 not 7 but it doesn't matter because everyone gets 10 for free anyway.

Raiin · Jan 26, 2015

stay with the 280, your son might want to play games that have options of 3gb Texture and he wont be able on the 960,
and its best to get a better quality Psu.

tiny voices · Jan 26, 2015

If he gets the 280, then I recommend getting a better quality PSU like an XFX550.

At 1080p, the extra GB of Vram will not matter though. It just won't.

Demosthenest · Jan 26, 2015

I would not go with r9 280 and a 500w psu. r9 280 will heat up the air in the case too and an aftermarket cooler would be necessary.

jeremys73 · Jan 26, 2015

Raiin :

Is this power supply better, worse, or just different? Looking at the reviews I'm seeing some not great things about the EVGA. Reviewers seem pretty happy with this one.

Antec EarthWatts Green EA-380D Green 380W Continuous power ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Intel Haswell Fully Compatible

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371033&ignorebbr=1&cm_re=PPSSBNFPPNHQKP-_-17-371-033-_-Product

tiny voices · Jan 26, 2015

That PSU is way too small. You need 500w MINIMUM.

Raiin · Jan 26, 2015

jeremys73 :

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371071&cm_re=antec_550w-_-17-371-071-_-Product

one of the best PSu to buy at this price point

jeremys73 · Jan 26, 2015

tiny voices :

Thanks all for the feedback

better reviewed power supply

EVGA 500 B 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified 500W Active PFC ATX12V v2.31/EPS 12V v2.91 3 Year Warranty 100-B1-0500-KR Power Supply ...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438012

tiny voices · Jan 26, 2015

That PSU is better but not great. The Antec listed above is light-years better.

jeremys73 · Jan 26, 2015

tiny voices :

Saw that right after I posted. I'll probably be going with that one instead.

logainofhades · Jan 26, 2015

That motherboard may need a bios update, to work with that CPU.

jeremys73 · Jan 26, 2015

logainofhades :

I grabbed it from the budget system builder article, any suggestions on a better one?

Raiin · Jan 26, 2015

this will work right out of the box

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128667&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

ZeroGravity780 · Jan 26, 2015

[PCPartPicker part list](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/BwrF3C) / [Price breakdown by merchant](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/BwrF3C/by_merchant/)

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [Intel Core i5-4430 3.0GHz Quad-Core Processor](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80646i54430) | $182.99 @ Best Buy
**Motherboard** | [ASRock Z87 Pro3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asrock-motherboard-z87pro3) | $99.99 @ Newegg
**Memory** | [Kingston Fury White Series 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/kingston-memory-hx316c10fw4) | $37.99 @ Amazon
**Storage** | [Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/western-digital-internal-hard-drive-wd10ezex) | $49.88 @ OutletPC
**Video Card** | [MSI GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB TWIN FROZR Video Card](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-video-card-n750titf2gd5oc) | $139.99 @ Newegg
**Case** | [Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/cooler-master-case-rc912kkn1) | $42.99 @ Micro Center
**Power Supply** | [EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-120g10650xr) | $64.99 @ NCIX US
**Optical Drive** | [Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-optical-drive-drw24b1stblkbas) | $16.98 @ OutletPC
**Operating System** | [Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit)](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/microsoft-os-gfc02050) | $88.98 @ OutletPC
| | **Total**
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available | $724.78
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-26 18:04 EST-0500 |

tiny voices · Jan 26, 2015

^ that build has way too weak of a GPU for it to be considered.

ZeroGravity780 · Jan 26, 2015

tiny voices :

What would be a good card for that build? gtx 770? Im not trying to steer him in the wrong direction just trying to help.

tiny voices · Jan 26, 2015

Well, the motherboard is a gen old already. Also, for a locked i5, an h97 board is the proper choice.

1 4gb stick of RAM will not cut it. You want a dual channel 8gb kit.

The PSU is junk.

The proper level of GPU for that build would be nothing lower than a 280x or a 960.

Raiin · Jan 26, 2015

ZeroGravity780 :

[PCPartPicker part list](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/BwrF3C) / [Price breakdown by merchant](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/BwrF3C/by_merchant/)

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [Intel Core i5-4430 3.0GHz Quad-Core Processor](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80646i54430) | $182.99 @ Best Buy
**Motherboard** | [ASRock Z87 Pro3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asrock-motherboard-z87pro3) | $99.99 @ Newegg
**Memory** | [Kingston Fury White Series 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/kingston-memory-hx316c10fw4) | $37.99 @ Amazon
**Storage** | [Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/western-digital-internal-hard-drive-wd10ezex) | $49.88 @ OutletPC
**Video Card** | [MSI GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB TWIN FROZR Video Card](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-video-card-n750titf2gd5oc) | $139.99 @ Newegg
**Case** | [Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/cooler-master-case-rc912kkn1) | $42.99 @ Micro Center
**Power Supply** | [EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-120g10650xr) | $64.99 @ NCIX US
**Optical Drive** | [Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-optical-drive-drw24b1stblkbas) | $16.98 @ OutletPC
**Operating System** | [Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit)](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/microsoft-os-gfc02050) | $88.98 @ OutletPC
| | **Total**
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available | $724.78
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-26 18:04 EST-0500 |

why are you putting a 750ti with a 650w psu? the 750ti is to weak, you can get a r9 270 for the same price.

ZeroGravity780 · Jan 26, 2015

lol i really didnt help at all, dang. well forget my post then as i will retire this thread.

damric · Jan 26, 2015

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4160 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor ($111.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($66.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Team Dark Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($67.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($64.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 280 3GB TurboDuo Video Card ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cougar MX300 ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($13.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($87.75 @ OutletPC)
Total: $683.61
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-26 18:31 EST-0500

logainofhades · Jan 26, 2015

jeremys73 :

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.97 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($71.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($61.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($44.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 270 2GB TurboDuo Video Card ($149.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Thermaltake Versa H21 ATX Mid Tower Case ($30.59 @ Directron)
Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($52.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($13.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($91.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $698.48
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-26 21:58 EST-0500

Raiin · Jan 26, 2015

Op the build above with a 4440 + r9 270 is the best your gonna get for overall gaming at 700$. unless you want to i3 4150+r9 280.

jeremys73 · Jan 26, 2015

So my wife came home and instead of the answer I was expecting she said to throw another $100 at the build. Would I be better off throwing it all at the graphics card or splitting it between a couple other upgrades? Or will an extra $100 not make an appreciable difference?

700 gaming build for my son

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