Upgrade-able entry level budget gaming build??

5eebone · Apr 3, 2015

Hi everyone. I am trying to come up with an entry level build that I can keep adding on to in the future as I have more money. Here's what I have come up with so far:

-Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz
-ASRock Z97M Pro4 Motherboard
-G.Skill Ares 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600
-Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5"
-EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Superclocked
-Cooler Master N200 case
-Corsair Builder 430W

Is this build way off or does it make sense? Would you guys change anything?
Thanks - Any help would be greatly appreciated

nikos_gevre · Apr 3, 2015

buy the g.skill sniper instead of the ares or the kingston hyperx fury. everything else is good in my opinion.

logainofhades · Apr 3, 2015

PSU is not very good. Motherboard is a poor overclocker, and doesn't support SLI. Nothing wrong with Ares ram, How much is your budget?

RCFProd · Apr 3, 2015

The power supply and case need improvement for future proofing.

RAM, HDD, Graphics and CPU are just fine. Motherboard not yet.

What's your budget exactly for now?

geofelt · Apr 3, 2015

I like your thinking.
Here is a post I made earlier:
------------------------------ budget build ---------------------------
For a budget build, I like to recommend that one builds for future expandability.
That means paying a bit more up front for some parts that allow for an easier future upgrade.
Let me start where you might not expect:
1. Buy a good 620w psu. Such a unit will run any future graphics card.
I would normally suggest Seasonic 620w:
2. Buy a Z97 based motherboard. Z97 will allow you to install a overclockable cpu and even offer a future 14nm broadwell upgrade.
You should find one for under $100.
Here is a M-ATX : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157529
3. I suggest a G3258. It is a overclockable dual core at a budget price of about $65.
Here is what it can do: http://techreport.com/review/26735/overclocking-intel-p...
In time, you can upgrade to any I3/I5/I7 cpu that you want and market the G3258.
4. The intel stock cooler will do the job up to a point. But, I suggest a $30 tower type cooler like the cm hyper212 with a 120mm fan. It will cool better and be quieter under load.
5. For ram, speed is not important. Buy a 8gb kit of 2 x 4gb DDR3 1.5v ram.
If you will be using the integrated graphics, I suggest faster ram. It improves the performance. 1866 is good. You will get a WEI of 6.4.
6. Cases are a personal thing. Buy one you love. Most will do the job for <$50.
It would be hard to beat $34 delivered for this Antec GX500 :
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129191
7. The graphics card is the most important component for gaming. My usual rule of thumb is to budget 2x the cpu cost for the graphics card. I like the GTX750ti and EVGA as a brand.
Here is a superclock version:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
You could go stronger in the video card if your budget permits and your games need it.
On the other hand, you could build using the integrated graphics and see how you do.
By deferring on the graphics card, you will get a better idea of what you really need.
Integrated is fine for sims, but not fast action games.
8. Lastly, I will never build again without a SSD for the "C" drive. It makes everything you do so much quicker. 120gb will hold the OS and a handful of games.
With 240gb you may never need a hard drive at all. Defer on a hard drive until your ssd approaches 90% full.
Currently, I like samsung 850 EVO best.

The only change I would definitely make is to buy a 550w psu or stronger of better quality.
Look for Seasonic, xfx, or antec. 550w will run even a GTX980.

GTS 07 · Apr 3, 2015

Is'nt the R7 265 better than the 750ti?

geofelt · Apr 3, 2015

GTS 07 :

They are comparable performers. It takes a benchmark for a particular game to tell the difference, and it won't be much.
The R7-265 need a 6 pin power connector, commonly available on 430w power supplies.
The GTX750ti is powered by the pcie slot and needs less than 300w. Some overclocked versions will need more power.

There are amd and nvidia fans, take your pick.

I have a method to pick between equally performing products.
Go to newegg and find the candidates.
Filter on the most reviews by verified buyers.
Then look at what percent of the reviews have one or two eggs indicating some sort of a problem.
In particular, look at the reasons for a bad review. Some are not very valid, so exclude those.

5eebone · Apr 3, 2015

logainofhades :

No more than 600. Any suggestions on mobo and psu?

nikos_gevre · Apr 3, 2015

5eebone :

mobo: Asus Z97M-PLUS
psu is good in my opinion but ofc not the best. your budget is limited though so i would stay with it. maybe the 430m which is modular is better for your small case.

geofelt · Apr 3, 2015

For motherboard, look at this ECS Z97-PK for $65 after rebate.
ECS is not well known, but I was impressed with one of their earlier motherboards that I tried
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813135389

For psu, I suggest this XFX 550w unit
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207013

You will leave performance on the table if you don't plan on overclocking the G3258, at least modestly.
For that, you want a better cooler than the stock intel cooler.
This Phanteks is excellent:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835709018

logainofhades · Apr 3, 2015

This would be far better, for $600, and gives plenty of upgrade potential.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($104.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI Z97S SLI Krait Edition ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($56.99 @ Adorama)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 270X 2GB HAWK Video Card ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Deepcool TESSERACT BF ATX Mid Tower Case ($37.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $597.88
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-03 16:44 EDT-0400

Or you could forget that future upgradability, and get something better now.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($173.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H81M-DGS R2.0 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($47.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($51.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 2GB SuperSC ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($192.71 @ Amazon)
Case: Rosewill FBM-02 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($24.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($55.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $595.59
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-03 16:52 EDT-0400

5eebone · Apr 3, 2015

nikos_gevre :

5eebone :

mobo: Asus Z97M-PLUS
psu is good in my opinion but ofc not the best. your budget is limited though so i would stay with it. maybe the 430m which is modular is better for your small case.

That Asus mobo is quite a bit more expensive. How would it do with overclocking?

5eebone · Apr 3, 2015

geofelt :

I like your thinking.
Here is a post I made earlier:
------------------------------ budget build ---------------------------
For a budget build, I like to recommend that one builds for future expandability.
That means paying a bit more up front for some parts that allow for an easier future upgrade.
Let me start where you might not expect:
1. Buy a good 620w psu. Such a unit will run any future graphics card.
I would normally suggest Seasonic 620w:
2. Buy a Z97 based motherboard. Z97 will allow you to install a overclockable cpu and even offer a future 14nm broadwell upgrade.
You should find one for under $100.
Here is a M-ATX : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157529
3. I suggest a G3258. It is a overclockable dual core at a budget price of about $65.
Here is what it can do: http://techreport.com/review/26735/overclocking-intel-p...
In time, you can upgrade to any I3/I5/I7 cpu that you want and market the G3258.
4. The intel stock cooler will do the job up to a point. But, I suggest a $30 tower type cooler like the cm hyper212 with a 120mm fan. It will cool better and be quieter under load.
5. For ram, speed is not important. Buy a 8gb kit of 2 x 4gb DDR3 1.5v ram.
If you will be using the integrated graphics, I suggest faster ram. It improves the performance. 1866 is good. You will get a WEI of 6.4.
6. Cases are a personal thing. Buy one you love. Most will do the job for <$50.
It would be hard to beat $34 delivered for this Antec GX500 :
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129191
7. The graphics card is the most important component for gaming. My usual rule of thumb is to budget 2x the cpu cost for the graphics card. I like the GTX750ti and EVGA as a brand.
Here is a superclock version:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
You could go stronger in the video card if your budget permits and your games need it.
On the other hand, you could build using the integrated graphics and see how you do.
By deferring on the graphics card, you will get a better idea of what you really need.
Integrated is fine for sims, but not fast action games.
8. Lastly, I will never build again without a SSD for the "C" drive. It makes everything you do so much quicker. 120gb will hold the OS and a handful of games.
With 240gb you may never need a hard drive at all. Defer on a hard drive until your ssd approaches 90% full.
Currently, I like samsung 850 EVO best.

The only change I would definitely make is to buy a 550w psu or stronger of better quality.
Look for Seasonic, xfx, or antec. 550w will run even a GTX980.

Awesome, this was very helpful. Thanks a million!

nikos_gevre · Apr 4, 2015

5eebone :

it will oc great, since asus mobos are the best overclockers. asus motherboards are the best motherboards in my opinion. you pay a little more but, you get why you pay for. it has an m.2 socket for transfer speeds up to 10gb/s. it has the best UEFI BIOS. it does not support sli-crossfire but in the end who really cares? it would be a much much better upgrade if you buy a single more powerfull gpu in a few years than buying the same you already have (at least that's my opinion).

GTS 07 · Apr 4, 2015

geofelt :

GTS 07 :

They are comparable performers. It takes a benchmark for a particular game to tell the difference, and it won't be much.
The R7-265 need a 6 pin power connector, commonly available on 430w power supplies.
The GTX750ti is powered by the pcie slot and needs less than 300w. Some overclocked versions will need more power.

There are amd and nvidia fans, take your pick.

I have a method to pick between equally performing products.
Go to newegg and find the candidates.
Filter on the most reviews by verified buyers.
Then look at what percent of the reviews have one or two eggs indicating some sort of a problem.
In particular, look at the reasons for a bad review. Some are not very valid, so exclude those.

Thanks for explanation

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