- Jan 9, 2016
- 3
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- 4,510
Hi all,
I'm building a gaming PC on a budget and I would love some people to give a second opinion on my build, and see if I could improve it in any way, without spending more than $750
Here is the build in question:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($242.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Thermal Compound: ARCTIC MX4 4g Thermal Paste ($6.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H81M-S2PV Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($55.99 @ Directron)
Memory: Kingston HyperX FURY 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($76.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($45.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R7 370 4GB Video Card ($159.99 @ Micro Center)
Case: Enermax Thorex ATX Mid Tower Case ($38.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA 400W ATX Power Supply ($19.99 @ Micro Center)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/RSBS DVD/CD Writer ($18.89 @ OutletPC)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WN781ND 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($14.69 @ SuperBiiz)
Fan Controller: NZXT Sentry Mix 2 Fan Controller ($29.88 @ OutletPC)
Total: $711.27
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-09 13:16 EST-0500
To justify my choice of CPU, I know that it doesn't overclock by multiplier, and I won't prefer a i7 4770k, even if it is unlocked. A Xeon E3-1231 V3 is basically a higher binned i7-4770 with a disabled iGPU for $100 less. I wanted a reliable, cool CPU to do constant, stable gaming with minimal power draw, and Xeons are designed to just that, because they are server-grade. The low TDP allows me to stick with the stock cooler, and the thermal compound is top-notch. If the need to overclock occurs, I will simply activate turbo mode or carefully overclock the base clock through the FSB. The locked multiplier allows me to cheapen the motherboard, for I do not need the gimmicks featured in high-end boards. Sorry for rambling, I just did that so no one would say that this particular Xeon isn't meant for gaming.
The same reasoning applies for the R7 370. It is basically an improved version of the R7 270 with improved power draw and components. I used the 4gb version to not have higher resolutions and anti-aliasing eat up my VRAM, causing stuttering.
I will mainly play games like ArmA 3 or DayZ, which rely on heavy simulation and are mostly dependent on the IPC of your CPU, which puts AMD out of the question.
I am worried about the PSU, however. If I upgrade my GPU to something more high-end right now, I'm afraid it will damage my components. Also, it isn't modular, so cable management will be iffy.
On a side note, I am waiting for the new line of GPUs, Polaris and Kepler. Polaris promises better TDP and wattage along with HBM. Kepler doesn't seem that much promising to me, and if someone can point out some interesting articles to me I'll consider it.
Cheers.
I'm building a gaming PC on a budget and I would love some people to give a second opinion on my build, and see if I could improve it in any way, without spending more than $750
Here is the build in question:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1231 V3 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($242.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Thermal Compound: ARCTIC MX4 4g Thermal Paste ($6.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H81M-S2PV Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($55.99 @ Directron)
Memory: Kingston HyperX FURY 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($76.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($45.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R7 370 4GB Video Card ($159.99 @ Micro Center)
Case: Enermax Thorex ATX Mid Tower Case ($38.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA 400W ATX Power Supply ($19.99 @ Micro Center)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/RSBS DVD/CD Writer ($18.89 @ OutletPC)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WN781ND 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($14.69 @ SuperBiiz)
Fan Controller: NZXT Sentry Mix 2 Fan Controller ($29.88 @ OutletPC)
Total: $711.27
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-09 13:16 EST-0500
To justify my choice of CPU, I know that it doesn't overclock by multiplier, and I won't prefer a i7 4770k, even if it is unlocked. A Xeon E3-1231 V3 is basically a higher binned i7-4770 with a disabled iGPU for $100 less. I wanted a reliable, cool CPU to do constant, stable gaming with minimal power draw, and Xeons are designed to just that, because they are server-grade. The low TDP allows me to stick with the stock cooler, and the thermal compound is top-notch. If the need to overclock occurs, I will simply activate turbo mode or carefully overclock the base clock through the FSB. The locked multiplier allows me to cheapen the motherboard, for I do not need the gimmicks featured in high-end boards. Sorry for rambling, I just did that so no one would say that this particular Xeon isn't meant for gaming.
The same reasoning applies for the R7 370. It is basically an improved version of the R7 270 with improved power draw and components. I used the 4gb version to not have higher resolutions and anti-aliasing eat up my VRAM, causing stuttering.
I will mainly play games like ArmA 3 or DayZ, which rely on heavy simulation and are mostly dependent on the IPC of your CPU, which puts AMD out of the question.
I am worried about the PSU, however. If I upgrade my GPU to something more high-end right now, I'm afraid it will damage my components. Also, it isn't modular, so cable management will be iffy.
On a side note, I am waiting for the new line of GPUs, Polaris and Kepler. Polaris promises better TDP and wattage along with HBM. Kepler doesn't seem that much promising to me, and if someone can point out some interesting articles to me I'll consider it.
Cheers.
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