Help me and my Girlfriend put together her first ever gaming PC...For under $650.00 USD!

otomori

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Sep 24, 2014
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Hello all,

I've only posted on Tom's once, and it was to solve an issue I had with my pre-built PC. You guys were awesome! So I am coming back for a second round and would like to ask a favor - if you will.

My girlfriend Allyson has been gaming with me on a pretty old gaming PC, its been running for 9 years, now it's starting to get goofy with random power-offs and glitches in games. The games she's recently been into have been: Final Fantasy XIV, World of Warcraft, The Sims series, the Bioshock series, Borderlands 1-2, etc. We are looking to build her a new rig with impending tax return money and we'd like to build this one together. :)

The request is: Can anyone out there help us start at square one. Ideas, tips, tricks - anything that would help two first time builders. As well, if anyone was up to it - post some builds of your own. We'd like to spend less than $650 so that is where the challenge lies. I'd be willing to go higher if it was compounded with a significant upgrade.

That's it! I look forward to talking with some of you and discussing ideas. I hope this forum is open to these kind of requests. Thanks again!

- Michael & Allyson
 
Alright, so, let's start this off with some questions and a few notes.

1) Under $650 is a perfectly reasonable budget for a pretty good gaming rig.

Are you going to want to upgrade it in the future, or should we be giving you more 'fire and forget' kind of builds?

Do either of you guys have any parts preferences?

What monitor is she using, and if it's not 1080p or better, does the budget have to include a new monitor?

Do you guys care about form factor? (i.e. should I be using my specialty of making a computer as small as possible, or just getting the most power with the money possible?)
 

iLiftFood

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Dec 5, 2014
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OS needed? New monitor, keyboard or mouse? If not:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($175.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Asus H81M-D PLUS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($44.49 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($44.99 @ Best Buy)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 290 4GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($239.99 @ Micro Center)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($42.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($48.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $652.43
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-21 15:56 EST-0500
A lot of rebates, by the way.
 

mas7873

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Nov 21, 2014
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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.47 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($71.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($44.99 @ Best Buy)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 290 4GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($239.99 @ Micro Center)
Case: Azza SIRIUS ATX Mid Tower Case ($27.50 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ Micro Center)
Total: $658.92
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-21 15:58 EST-0500

The 4460 is only $4 more than the 4440. I assume you already have an optical drive and OS from the previous PC.
 
Solution

otomori

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Sep 24, 2014
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Wow guys - So many responses - Yeah Windows OS most certainly. We plan on buying the monitor / keyboard nearby at our local micro center. So this is strictly for the PC itself.

I love the build mas7873 put together. Thanks again! Looking to hear back.
 

otomori

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Sep 24, 2014
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No specific parts preference. 1080p = YES. The only form factor Allyson is concerned about is possibly having the case be painted with Tiger stripes. She is adamant about that haha!

 

mas7873

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Nov 21, 2014
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Your welcome, if you have any other questions don't hesitate to ask. :)

And if she wishes to paint the case, maybe go with something like a BitFenix Neos. It's a plain black case that would allow you to paint, the AZZA SIRIUS has a window so you would be limited to painting space. The neos also comes in many colors allowing you to customize the color of the stripes to match the case.

Here's a link to the various models: http://pcpartpicker.com/search/?cc=us&q=bitfenix+neos
 


That PSU is JUNK. Stay away from it and buy something quality.