Building a gaming pc for $400 & need advice. #2

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crimsongiant

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Okay so I've returned seeking more knowledge, I last posted here: http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2520301/gaming-advice.html, that I was looking to make a $350-$365 gaming PC but I've returned with an expanded budget as I'm sure $50 can make a huge difference.

Here's what I'm specifically looking for: Best performance given the budget (the $400 budget is firm), a machine that is upgradeable for the future, & a machine that could just possibly do a bit of video editing on the side.

Note: My gaming PC knowledge is utter garbage. Please help.
Thanks.
-Cochise
 
Solution
damric


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 760K 3.8GHz Quad-Core Processor ($73.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus A78M-E Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($42.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133...
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damric

damric

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This isn't pretty but it will play games at 720p. You should add another 4GB stick of RAM as soon as you can, and you can add a bulk HDD and discreet GPU later too.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD A10-5800K 3.8GHz Quad-Core Processor ($86.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Asus A78M-E Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($47.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Mushkin Silverline 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($27.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($62.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Cougar MG100 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($28.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Antec 450W ATX Power Supply ($31.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($13.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.75 @ OutletPC)
Total: $390.62
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-03 23:58 EST-0500
 
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crimsongiant

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I already have a Windows 8 OS disk, & is an optical drive immediately necessary? Thanks
-Cochise
 
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damric

damric

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DVD drive only useful for installing windows. You don't need it if you can load windows from a USB stick. That opened up some room for improvement.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 760K 3.8GHz Quad-Core Processor ($73.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus A78M-E Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($47.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($69.30 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($62.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R7 260 1GB Video Card ($79.98 @ OutletPC)
Case: Cougar MG100 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($28.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Antec 450W ATX Power Supply ($31.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $395.17
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-04 01:00 EST-0500

 
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filippi

filippi

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Best i could think mate :D

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($68.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($44.88 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Mushkin Silverline 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($27.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R7 265 2GB Video Card ($140.98 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($36.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $398.80
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-04 02:17 EST-0500
 
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crimsongiant

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Is this better than the build above?
 
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filippi

filippi

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OP asks "a machine that is upgradeable for the future". Now a days it is as he said Haswell build.
My build has:
- a very simple yet reliable H81 MSI motherboard famous as a good mobo for a oced G3258;
- a regular CAS9/DDR3-1600 4GB RAM easily upgradable w/ one more regular CAS9/DDR3-1600 4GB RAM for dual channel 8GB. Anything else would give OP less than 1% in gaming performance;
- A regular tier 3 PSU like for instance Corsair CX series. Maybe better than that. Fine for a budget build.

See toms power-supply-unit-tier-list:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-1804779/power-supply-unit-tier-list.html

Tier Three - Meets standard ATX specifications, though closer to the edges than Tier two units. These are still solid units, which still supply stable power to your system, though not ideal for serious overclocking.

Exactily the situation here.


Finally the build has a mild good 2GB RAM GPU.

It is a good entry-level gaming build. will play well a lot of 2014/2015 games. Still a entry-level gaming rig though.
But its not a dead-end. It has a very good upgrade path (i5/i7/xeon).
 
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crimsongiant

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I'm about ready to purchase your maching, however could you factor in mouse/keyboard & wifi while keeping the cost under $400? Downgrades are fine, I'll be looking to upgrade parts soon.
 
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RCguitarist

RCguitarist

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This is the lowest cost system I can build for you ($432) that will perform well today and will give you a good upgrade path for the future:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor ($100.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H81M-HDS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($49.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($62.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 430 ATX Mid Tower Case ($40.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($27.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $432.88
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-04 13:50 EST-0500


With this system, you should be good for playing games on ultra settings at 720p resolution or at medium settings at 1080p resolution. Then, later on, when the need and money arises, you can swap the cpu for an i5 and the graphics card to whatever you want.

I personally would add a dvd drive, more case fans and an upgraded cpu cooler when you have more money, but those are not essential.
 
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filippi

filippi

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Here mate:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($63.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($39.89 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Mushkin Silverline 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($27.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($43.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R7 265 1GB Core Edition Video Card ($129.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($31.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Wireless Network Adapter: Rosewill RNX-N150PCe 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($11.49 @ OutletPC)
Keyboard: Cooler Master CM Storm Devastator Gaming Bundle Wired Gaming Keyboard w/Optical Mouse ($23.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $403.31
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-04 14:31 EST-0500
 
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damric

damric

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Sep 17, 2010
8,017
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37,990


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 760K 3.8GHz Quad-Core Processor ($73.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus A78M-E Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($42.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($69.30 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($59.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R7 260 1GB Video Card ($79.98 @ OutletPC)
Case: Cougar MG100 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($23.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Antec EarthWatts Green 380W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($36.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Keyboard: Gigabyte KM5300 Wired Standard Keyboard w/Optical Mouse ($9.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $397.13
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-04 16:50 EST-0500
 
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