Need Help Lowering PC Cost

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Avidius

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I'm making my first gaming rig and, let's just say I'm $400 off of what I had originally planned. I require help shoving the rest of what was going to be a beast gaming computer back down to around $500. Theme is black and red and I MUST stick with Intel. Sorry.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/6ksKf7
 
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Signalll

Ok I built a similar build to RCFProd but Instead got you a red graphics card and shaved about $20 off of the price for you without sacrificing much performance...
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RCFProd

RCFProd

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The build is already quite weak, and without peripherals + DVD drive it is a build of 510 dollars. You're already at the minimum budget to be fair.

Here the following changes:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/NsfpXL

I did not lower the price, but I made changes so that it performs MUCH better at the same price point. The GTX 950 isn't red/black, but switching this for the GTX 750 Ti just because of color scheme is just suicide.

You can OC the H97 Killer, so you don't miss anything yet you pay less.

Added a CPU cooler so you can OC the CPU up to 4.4-4.5 Ghz just fine.

FOR CLARIFICATION, AS NOT EVERYONE MAY UNDERSTAND, THIS BUILD IS NOT CHEAPER THAN YOUR BUILD. THE BUILD IN ADDITION WITH THE PERIPHERALS CHOSEN BY YOU WILL MAKE IT AROUND THE SAME PRICE AS YOUR ORIGINAL PCPARTPICKER LIST. IT IS JUST TO LET YOU KNOW WHAT CAN BE IMPROVED FOR THE CURRENT PRICE YOU'VE MADE YOUR CURRENT LIST OF.
 
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Signalll

Signalll

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Ok I built a similar build to RCFProd but Instead got you a red graphics card and shaved about $20 off of the price for you without sacrificing much performance.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($64.89 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG M9i 48.4 CFM CPU Cooler ($23.25 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty H97 Killer ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($95.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($42.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($45.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus Radeon R7 360 2GB Video Card ($106.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair SPEC-03 Red ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $479.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-12-27 18:38 EST-0500

My reasoning:

CPU: Pentium is really your only option in this price range, so theres that...
Cooler: It's a good cooler at a low price.
Mobo: Cheapest non-msi board that is red and a 97 chipset. (Low-end MSI boards are usually terrible, and have low-quality components)
Memory: Best red ram with 'gamer' heat spreaders in this pricepoint.
Storage: I use two of the same series 3TB models in my personal rig and have had no issues, as well as Seagate is a good name and always very reliable.
Graphics Card: I hate doing this but If you really want red and black it's better than the 750 ti. I really would agree with RCF prod its absurd to not use a 950 just because of the colors. But this is a good segway into the second build I put together.
Case: Case is very personal preferance wanted to keep what you liked.
PSU: Good Tier 2 PSU shaved off some more cash as well.

Although the first one I put together above is good, I put one together for $10 more that includes a RED AND BLACK GTX 950.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($64.89 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG M9i 48.4 CFM CPU Cooler ($23.25 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty H97 Killer ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($95.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($42.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($45.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 950 2GB Video Card ($137.99 @ Micro Center)
Case: Corsair SPEC-03 Red ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $510.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-12-27 18:45 EST-0500

Cheers,
Signal
 
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Solution
giantbucket

giantbucket

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and now WHY would you exclude parts that the OP actually included? that's like excluding a case and PSU as well. clearly if he wants to get down to "around 500" and he's already there if he EXCLUDES the OS and monitor, he wouldn't be making the thread.




...which clearly DOESN'T solve the issue. really. it doesn't. all it does is pretend that other parts don't exist, even though they did. or are you offering to purchase those parts for him using your own money?
 
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Signalll

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And my build was just two modified versions of his... It's next to impossible to get peripherals and OS for $500 unless you go prebuilt.... No matter what it won't be blazing fast.
 
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RCFProd

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The point is not that I'm an idiot, It's simply that you didn't think at all why I removed the peripherals. It's simply to focus on what the hardware without peripherals cost. I'm having difficulties staying calm with your post, but somehow I am writing normal.

And if you read my post AGAIN it all makes sense. The build will cost exactly the same if the same peripherals he had chosen were added back. And besides that I MENTIONED, that IT'S NOT A GOOD IDEA, to make the build CHEAPER, than it already is. So I provided an alternative that would cost THE SAME. I didn't pretend those peripherals don't exist.

Thanks for your time, grumpy man. Appreciate my effort and bow down to me. :fou::kaola:
 
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rwoody

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A budget of $500 with an OS and monitor? I would stop bothering trying to build and buy one off the shelf at a local retail store. At least there, you can get package deals that minimize the cost of the OS and monitor. At this budget, the rig won't be crazy fast no matter if you build or buy.
 
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giantbucket

giantbucket

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OP posts a build that costs $650 and says he need to get it down to $500

you REMOVE $150 of parts and claim to have solved it. you changed nothing.

the OP's build would STILL be $650 as soon as he factors in that OS and monitor that he needs anyways.

WHY OH WHY are you removing parts that he NEEDS in order to claim to have hit a $500 build? the OP already had that build!!!

you could remove the thermal paste and extra fan as those are not really necessary and that would shave $10 but that's about it. just because it's not easy or possible, doesn't mean you simply remove-and-ignore parts that ARE part of the required build to then claim that you've hit his target.

that's like me cutting off your legs if you tell me that you need to lose 40 pounds of weight. would i hit the target? yes. would you undo it as soon as you get a surgeon to reattach your legs? yup.
 
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Signalll

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In his post he explains how he did not make the build cheaper, just made it better for the same price point... I built off of that same idea by giving him a red graphics card. NOWHERE did either of us claim to get it down to $500 with OS and Peripherals..

Instead of bickering like children how about we actually try to help the OP...


 
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RCFProd

RCFProd

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Anyways, the point is that 500 dollars including all the peripherals is impossible to make an even relatively good office PC of. Your current components are already on the lower-end side. So you can only make something better out of your current 680 dollar build, or just leave it and save up money before you buy something,
 
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rwoody

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RCFProd is right. I think you would be happier if you were able to save up some more money before attempting this build. You could try to keep your budget where it is and build with the suggested components, or you could try to find a pre-built system that minimizes the cost of the OS and peripherals, but either way you will likely be dissatisfied with a PC in the $500 budget range.
 
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Avidius

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Alright. Am I correct in saying that I could use that R7 360 and later switch to an Nvidia GTX without having to buy new components? What is the difference between the Z97 motherboard I had done and the H97 you put down, Signalll? Also, the Spec-02 was what I originally had, not the Spec-03.

Oh, one more thing: I'd prefer to keep the PSU semi-modular, and yes, I realize that the one I had originally had down was non-modular.

And then another thing I forgot. I'm planning on playing things like Battlefield 4 and Rainbow Six: Siege. I'm looking to play with at least something similar to PS3 graphics. If I can't get maxed out settings on these games, I can stand that until the upgrades come in in about a year.
 
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giantbucket

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i realize this would be "cheating", but if you play at 720p instead of 1080p, you can make do with a lower end card and still get great frame rates and plenty of otherwise-good settings. 720p would likely be half of the load on the graphics card that 1080p is. but everyone wants to play at 1080p, so...

Z97 would be needed if you want to overclock OR if you plan on having dual (SLI / CrossFire) graphics cards. for a no-OC / single card setup, an H97 would be just as good and cheaper. and then you buy the cheapest i5 you can get. or if you're not stuck on intel, you can buy an AMD processor and board, like an FX-series or the X4 860k or whatever it is. though i'm not sure if "4-core" games would see those processors are 4 cores or not.
 
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rwoody

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Yes, you can switch GPU's from AMD to Nvidia. Just make sure your drivers are up to date. The Z97 motherboard is designed for overclocking CPU's. They often have additional features designed with overclocking in mind. A "Z" board is still okay to use even if you don't overclock, they just typically cost slightly more than their non-overclocking counterparts. Whether your PSU is non-modular, semi, or fully modular wont affect much besides your cable management, and thus your case temps. Fully modular is best, but semi is better than not modular at all. The more modular your PSU is, the cleaner and cooler you case will be. PS3 graphics would be either 720p or 1080p depending on the TV/monitor. You should be able to run those games with a GTX750ti on 1080p, but likely with medium settings to get a playable frame rate.

Once you start upgrading, you will want to upgrade things in relatively quick succession. If you upgrade your GPU, you will most definitely bottleneck your CPU, which would result in NO increased performance. In such a case, you'll want to upgrade your CPU as quickly as you can to see the expected performance upgrade.
 
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Avidius

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The Z97 I had down was about the same price as the H97 suggested. I cannot go to AMD as I plan on upgrading to i5 later and it saves me on the motherboard. And again, no issues with the switch from AMD to Nvidia later on, right?
 
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RCFProd

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The H97 Killer I listed primarily, the first response in this thread, is because it can also be overclocked with ''Non-Z OC'' (A rare feature that allows an H97 mobo to be overclocked). The H97 Killer also has 4 true VRM phases so overclocking performance will be equally good compared to the Z97 Killer (Also 4 true VRM phases).

When you switch your GPU from AMD to Nvidia you simply have to remove the drivers. The easiest way of doing this is using DDU (Display Driver Uninstaller). Then you can take your AMD GPU out and replace it with an Nvidia GPU without any problems.
 
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Avidius

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Thanks. Though I'd be fine with it bottlenecking (I know it sounds evil) for a slight while just until I can afford the other part. As long as the new GPU or CPU would still perform similarly. Bottlenecking wouldn't cause an increase in temp would it? If it for some reason does, I'll do my best to get them at the same time. I hope I'd be able to if I sell the parts anyway.
 
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Avidius

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Yeah, but will it NEED to overclock to handle those games? Leaving out the cooler drops some more money off of it. I need it to be playable with good framerates. Anything that ups the performance can wait. Plan on getting a cooler and SSD before new CPU and GPU anyway.
 
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rwoody

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Leaving out a cooler is fine, but only to a point. If your temps are really high (due to overclocking or not) you can't just ignore that fact simply because you want to keep the overall budget down. Don't bother overclocking at all unless you have a CPU cooler. They can be had for as little as $20 on sale.

 
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