Building my friend a new gaming PC

TheCheapGamer · Feb 26, 2015

Ok so now firstly I am South African and the Rand to the Dollar is about R11 for $1, and components here are a lot more expensive than anywhere else.

So my friend will be using the PC to game at 1080p, and play games such as :
CounterStrike Global Offensive
Tomb Raider
Battlefield 4 and Hardline

The components I have put together for his price range is about R11 000 or $980.
GPU - AMD R9 280x
CPU - Intel i5-4460
RAM - 8GB single stick to allow for him to add more in the future as he is adamant to.
MOBO - Asus H81i Plus
PSU - 650w Seasonic 80+
HDD - 1TB WD 7200rpm

The rest of the money will go towards his case and possible CPU fans.
Would something like this be able to play games with 60+ FPS at 1080p?

Or do you recommend the GPU be upgraded to something else? The GTX 960 was in mind but it is less powerful for what he would want.

quilciri · Feb 26, 2015

I suggest a motherboard with 4 memory slots and 2x4GB sticks. You gain 5-7% system performance from dual-channel memory.

ZeroWhite · Feb 26, 2015

A computer like this could definitely play those games on 1080p. You should not have to worry.

stormflakes · Feb 26, 2015

This is my suggestion:
http://pcpartpicker.com/user/stormflakes/saved/#view=t2MmP6

because:
never ever use 1 or 3 RAM sticks, always 2 or 4. Browse the net if you wanna know why.
GTX970 is better then 280x and uses less power

questions? shoot

TheCheapGamer · Feb 26, 2015

quilciri :

I did mention this to him but there is no need for dual channel at the moment. He games occasionally and uses the PC for light programming 16GB in the future is more than enough for him! That was my whole thinking of getting a single stick of 8GB now.

TheCheapGamer · Feb 26, 2015

stormflakes :

I know why not to use 1 or 3 sticks, he doesnt have the money to do so right now. Thats why 1 stick is good for now and get another literally a month after the PC is built.

Another thing the pricing on the GTX 970 is $200 more than the R9 280x here and I do not think he will get all the benefit out of a 970 with the games he plays.

To give perspective, the build you sent is $320 more here than it is in the USA. That is my problem with the pricing here.

theyeti87 · Feb 26, 2015

I would also recommend adding a SSD for his OS and select applications and games. You really can't go wrong with a Samsung EVO 850 or other Tom's recommended drives.

In 2015 I would never consider building a PC from scratch and not having a SSD primary. They're too cheap (here anyway) to not have these days and boost overall performance unimaginably.

ZeroWhite · Feb 26, 2015

TheCheapGamer :

stormflakes :

I know why not to use 1 or 3 sticks, he doesnt have the money to do so right now. Thats why 1 stick is good for now and get another literally a month after the PC is built.

Another thing the pricing on the GTX 970 is $200 more than the R9 280x here and I do not think he will get all the benefit out of a 970 with the games he plays.

To give perspective, the build you sent is $320 more here than it is in the USA. That is my problem with the pricing here.

A 280x is a good pick for a well balanced gaming card on a decent budget. I wouldn't change it.

stormflakes · Feb 26, 2015

TheCheapGamer :

I understand, i'm from europe where you can just change the $ sign for the € sign, which means about 30% higher in prices. Or at least it was, Europe has powered on the money-printers ....
Always painfull to see what the Americans can get for the money.

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