looking for a gaming pc under 550$

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evo_

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Apr 23, 2015
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I'm new to pc gaming and hardware don't know much I'm thinking about switching from console to pc and I need a good gaming pc under 550$ with Windows 8 preferably
 
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NA_xGG
For your budget, this would be a great starter build. I used to have the 860k & it performs very well. Until you can afford an i5 or better, I would go with AMD & enjoy gaming. Save up more money over the course of a year or so, and you'll have an easy MoBo & CPU upgrade to Intel one day.

You'll be able to play all the games you want (although newer titles you'll have to lower your graphics settings). This CPU is very strong at its price point & the GPU is also strong for gaming on medium - high settings (ultra for less intensive games such as CS:GO & League of Legends).

Start with this & welcome to PC gaming :D

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 860K 3.7GHz...
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Phil923

Phil923

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Aug 24, 2014
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It is tricky to build a rig for $550 that will play games well, however I put this together, it should be able to play games pretty well at medium-high settings. I still ended up going over budget even after rebates, tell me if the budget is too tight and I'll mess around with some other things to try and make it work.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($76.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill AEGIS 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($53.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.30 @ Amazon)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 270 2GB TurboDuo Video Card ($132.98 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($37.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($44.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($87.79 @ OutletPC)
Total: $571.01
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-23 04:33 EDT-0400
 
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Vice93

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Jul 3, 2014
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For that budget, buying a 'good' gaming PC is asking a little too much. Though I came up with a build that can at least run current games on medium-ish settings. Problem with build below is a little slow CPU.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4330 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($129.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H81 Pro BTC ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($51.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Team Dark 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($47.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Hitachi Ultrastar 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($39.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($122.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Thermaltake VL80001W2Z ATX Mid Tower Case ($21.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($26.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($87.79 @ OutletPC)
Total: $528.71
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-23 04:30 EDT-0400


Though if you remove the need to buy Windows 8 from the build (which alone costs alot) you suddenly have a much better gaming PC:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($234.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H81 Pro BTC ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($51.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Team Dark 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($47.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Hitachi Ultrastar 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($39.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($122.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Thermaltake VL80001W2Z ATX Mid Tower Case ($21.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($26.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $545.92
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-23 04:33 EDT-0400
 
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NA_xGG

NA_xGG

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Jan 12, 2015
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For your budget, this would be a great starter build. I used to have the 860k & it performs very well. Until you can afford an i5 or better, I would go with AMD & enjoy gaming. Save up more money over the course of a year or so, and you'll have an easy MoBo & CPU upgrade to Intel one day.

You'll be able to play all the games you want (although newer titles you'll have to lower your graphics settings). This CPU is very strong at its price point & the GPU is also strong for gaming on medium - high settings (ultra for less intensive games such as CS:GO & League of Legends).

Start with this & welcome to PC gaming :D

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 860K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor ($71.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($45.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill NS Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($51.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Hitachi Ultrastar 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($39.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Superclocked Video Card ($124.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Thermaltake VL80001W2Z ATX Mid Tower Case ($21.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: Antec EarthWatts Green 380W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($32.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($87.79 @ OutletPC)
Total: $491.70
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-23 09:33 EDT-0400
 
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Solution
Phil923

Phil923

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Aug 24, 2014
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I can also suggest the R9 270, same price as the 750ti but is one tier higher and better for gaming (anywhere from 10-20% faster). The only downside is the 270s higher power consumption. You would have to get a better power supply, but the XFX P1 as suggested in my build can support it easily and only costs $10 more. Just my opinion on this.

I edited NA's part list with my suggested changes, hope you don't mind :)

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 860K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor ($71.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($45.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill NS Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($51.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Hitachi Ultrastar 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($39.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 270 2GB Dual-X Video Card ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Thermaltake VL80001W2Z ATX Mid Tower Case ($21.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($44.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($87.79 @ OutletPC)
Total: $508.71
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-23 18:34 EDT-0400
 
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