$500 Gaming Computer Build Help

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Zumi

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Jul 15, 2015
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I'm hoping to build a decent gaming computer with a budget of 500 dollars but I can go above that if necessary. I'll probably be playing a lot of Minecraft and hosting a small server for a few of my friends to play on. I'd love to be able to play Witcher 3 on this build as well. I already own a pair of new G.SKILL Ripjaws 4GB (2GBx2), a fairly new Western Digital Blue 1 TB HDD, and a Rosewill Dual Fans case. This is the build I have to work off of with the parts I already own:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/7dNrQ7

I'm not too sure if I should get 8GB of RAM or stick with the 4GB... does it really make much of a difference? Feel free to change anything you think
would improve this build.

Any help is greatly appreciated, thank you!
 
Solution
D
If you can go 100 over budget this is a great setup.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($176.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($51.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($53.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 290 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($242.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA GS 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($74.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $600.78
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker...
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cdrkf

cdrkf

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Mar 18, 2013
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For gaming I would drop down to the FX6300, there's little benefit in the 2 additional cores on the FX 8XXX parts.

You could also stand to drop the motherboard down to a more midrange one based on the 970 chipset imo (I run an FX on an ASUS 970 motheboard and it runs lovely and should be a good deal cheaper).

I would recommend getting an additional 2 x 2gb ram modules and make sure your motherboard support 4 slots as the extra ram will be more useful to you than the 8 core chip and higher spec motherboard imo.

Corsair CX supply is good when on a budget, I use a CX500 to run my FX machine with a 280 and it performs great.
 
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Dan425811923

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May 14, 2015
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Much better build.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4160 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor ($95.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($51.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($42.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.99 @ Best Buy)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 280 3GB DUAL-X Video Card ($162.98 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.75 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA GS 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $496.67
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-15 18:07 EDT-0400
 
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Z

Zumi

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Jul 15, 2015
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With this build I'd have at least $130 more I could spend on better parts if I use the case and HDD I already own. What should be upgraded?
 
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Z

Zumi

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Jul 15, 2015
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Sorry for downvoting you, it was an accident! Thank you for your suggestion.

 
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icegod

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May 17, 2015
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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($94.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($26.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-D3P ATX AM3+/AM3 Motherboard ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($33.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 280X 3GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA GS 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($74.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $480.92
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-16 18:05 EDT-0400

Great GPU, that cpu can be overclocked a bit with that mobo and that cpu cooler, added 2x2 ram because you allready got 2x2 and that mobo can handle it, using a great PSU, fully modullar also
 
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Z

Zumi

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Jul 15, 2015
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I'm a bit worried about overclocking since this is my first build. Would this be better than Dan's suggestion?

 
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icegod

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May 17, 2015
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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($176.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($51.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($33.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 280X 3GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA GS 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $507.90
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-16 18:13 EDT-0400

If you dont want to overclock and you dont want to extend your budget by much (i could drop down to a 10 dollar equallity better psu, but non modular if you want)
 
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Z

Zumi

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I can go up to around $550-570 if it'll make much of a difference.

 
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icegod

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May 17, 2015
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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($176.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 PERFORMANCE ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($33.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 280X 3GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA GS 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($74.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $545.90
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-16 18:29 EDT-0400

Just changed it to a better mobo and a bit more wattage psu to be 100% safe, the rest you cant get anything a lot better i think.

And a little question, are you planning on adding a second 280x later on?
If so, you could buy a psu with more watts now
 
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Z

Zumi

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I hadn't really planned on adding a second one, would you recommend I do?
 
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icegod

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Spending more money it is allways recomended, because you get better things, so it is really up to you
A single 280x cant max out withcer 3 1080p, but it does a pretty good job and you can play with the settings on High, it will deliver you a good gaming experience
 
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cdrkf

cdrkf

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Mar 18, 2013
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I wouldn't go dual gpu personally. Yes it can add lots of performance by utilising both cards, however there are too many edge cases to deal with (some games don't support dual cards at all, others stutter and many only work properly after a specific driver patch which can take a while to get). Personally I'd stick with a single card, and replace it down the line if it gets too slow. The 280x
Will handle anything you throw at it currently at
1080p so doubt it will be a problem.
 
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Dan425811923

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May 14, 2015
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19,460
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4170 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor ($114.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($51.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($53.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 280X 3GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA GS 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $465.84
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-16 20:03 EDT-0400[/

Best build.
 
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Dan425811923

Distinguished
May 14, 2015
1,135
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19,460
If you can go 100 over budget this is a great setup.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($176.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($51.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($53.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 290 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($242.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA GS 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($74.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $600.78
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-16 20:05 EDT-0400
 
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icegod

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May 17, 2015
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My second build wont fit, only the first, didnt know you had a mini atx case

And because of that you should be very carefull about the GPU you choose, you need to make sure it fits in your case aswell

 
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