400$ Budget PC Suggestions?

[ryanrhino24]

Approximate Purchase Date: 3-4 weeks

Budget Range: 400-450$, 450 is above my limit but I can go there if needed.

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Mostly gaming, looking to run mainstream games at mid-high setting smoothly.

Parts Not Required: For parts, i'm going to need everything except a keyboard, mouse, monitor, and speakers.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: I'm still not sure if I will be using used parts or new parts, but Newegg and Ebay will be the primary websites.

Parts Preferences: Not sure if I should go with new or used products. I would like to use brand name products, to insure that they work and respond correctly, but I know this may not be possible with such a low budget.

Overclocking: Maybe, but probably not.

SLI or Crossfire: No


I have a few parts selected already, but I am open to suggestions and comments regarding them.

ASUS EAH6670/DIS/1GD5 Radeon HD 6670 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121442&Tpk=Asus%20radeon%20HD%206670/url


ASRock 880GM-LE FX AM3+ AMD 880G Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157292&Tpk=Asrock%20880gm-le/url


AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ965FBGMBOX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727/url

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-8GBXL
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231426/url

These are the parts I have picked out so far, if anyone has suggestions on any of the parts above or a PSU, or hard drive that would be greatly appreciated. Also, any advice on cooling or fans would help as well. Thanks for reading!

 

[popatim]

With a $400 budget you're only going to be gaming at lower settings or lowered resolutions. You will probably do ok at x1050 res.

 

[digdog]

honestly i don't think you will be able to assemble a rig for $400 .. it's just not enough. even with the most basic case and PSU ..

if you go for a "case+ PSU = $50" combo then you're looking at a really dodgy setup, that could blow up at any time ..

i would say bare minimum if $100 for case + PSU.
another $50 for a HD

which leaves $250 for ram, cpu, mobo and gpu.

honestly, i'd just go to eBay and try to find a deal there.

 

[ryanrhino24]

I found a 50 dollar case with cooling, and a PSU for 50 dollars.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171031/url

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119227&Tpk=coolermaster%20elite%20430/url

Plus, i found the processor for 80 bucks on ebay, slightly used.

 

[werewolfyman]

He could build a PC based off a Pentium G620 or Celeron G530 for that much.
And that's actually not too bad.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106289

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136771

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121442

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146061

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835154003

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157256

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116399

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277

That runs about $450.

And the G620 is actually pretty competent.

And compared to the Phenom, it gives similar performance while having a much lower power draw.

(Note the G630 is actually just the G620 with another 100 mhz, meaning little to no performance difference.)

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-fx-pentium-apu-benchmark,3120-6.html

Not sure if this is what you had in mind.

 

[Pearlmam]

Approximate Purchase Date: 3-4 weeks


G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-8GBXL
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231426/url

I would splurge 6 dollars for this:

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL7D-8GBXH
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231440

It has 7-7-7-21 timings vs the 9-9-9-24 of the one you listed.

I know very little about AMD CPUS or Radeon GPUS, so I wont say anything about that.

 

[ryanrhino24]

Ya that is what I had in mind, except i would probably stick with the phenom, just for the quad core, similar price, and great reviews I have heard about it. And regarding RAM, 4gb is enough?

 

[werewolfyman]

Plenty in most cases.

I never use more than 3 gb on my i5 in most tasks.

Using a new quad core of ANY kind would necessitate at least $100 being added to that budget.

 

[cmi86]

He could build a PC based off a Pentium G620 or Celeron G530 for that much.
And that's actually not too bad.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106289

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136771

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121442

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146061

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835154003

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157256

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116399

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277

That runs about $450.

And the G620 is actually pretty competent.

And compared to the Phenom, it gives similar performance while having a much lower power draw.

(Note the G630 is actually just the G620 with another 100 mhz, meaning little to no performance difference.)

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-fx-pentium-apu-benchmark,3120-6.html

Not sure if this is what you had in mind.

Are you serious right now ?? Comparable performance hahahahahaha ?? Yeah maybe in single threaded applications. Anytime the Phenom II is able to use it's 2 more cores it will embarrass a G series CPU , any of them. Not interested in an off topic fanboi rant, just setting the record straight.

 

[cmi86]

Ya that is what I had in mind, except i would probably stick with the phenom, just for the quad core, similar price, and great reviews I have heard about it. And regarding RAM, 4gb is enough?

Do you live near a microcenter by chance ??

 

[werewolfyman]

Are you serious right now ?? Comparable performance hahahahahaha ?? Yeah maybe in single threaded applications. Anytime the Phenom II is able to use it's 2 more cores it will embarrass a G series CPU , any of them.

Fair enough.

I was thinking of emulation, but I suppose some games do use more than 2 cores.

I built my PC for about $650.

I5 2300

Asus p8h67-m

8gb corsair vengeance ddr3

Evga GTS 450

Raidmax Altas case

Antec BP550

Tuniq thermal paste.

Lite-on DVD-burner

And a 320gb WD hard drive.

(If that helps.)

 

[ryanrhino24]

Sorry, not sure what a microcenter is haha, but @werewolfyman, the phenom X4 is available for around the same price, so I will probably be going with that.

 

[cmi86]

Sorry, not sure what a microcenter is haha, but @werewolfyman, the phenom X4 is available for around the same price, so I will probably be going with that.

Microcenter is a computer super store. You can go there and buy any hardware your heart could ever desire. What state are you in ? (not web-creeping just trying to see if an MC is near you) They have a CPU+Mobo bundle deal with a 960T and a motherboard for $99.99. You can't lose !

 

[werewolfyman]

Meh.

AMD is just sort of average.

They do make for good backup builds, IMO.

 

[ryanrhino24]

I live in southern California, and that sounds awesome!

 

[werewolfyman]

No, I was just messing around, they actually do overclock exceptionally well for the price, they just aren't as price-performance as they used to be right now. I want to see Piledriver!

Hell, I considered getting a 960t before my i5, and then I realized I'd be doing mostly single and dual threaded tasks so I went Intel.

 

[cmi86]

I live in southern California, and that sounds awesome!

Well there is one in tustin and one in silicon valley so whichever would be closest for you. The 960T is still an extremely sought after chip as it has the ability to unlock to a 6X in about 80% of cases. The fact MC is selling them for $99.99 with a board is mind blowing.

 

[ryanrhino24]

Can i order online from a microcenter? That would be ideal

 

[cmi86]

Can i order online from a microcenter? That would be ideal

No unfortunately its an in-store only deal. You can build a machine with $400, you just gotta find the good deals

 

[werewolfyman]

I got my build on black friday.

My GTS 450 would have been a GT 430 if not for that.

 

[ryanrhino24]

The one in tustin is about 45 minutes from my house, might be a good idea to go there. 100 bucks for a 960t and motherboard thats insane. It would be around 180 dollars on new egg.

 

[ryanrhino24]

Would a 450 watt PSU be enough to power what im getting? Or should i get 550 watts just in-case.

 

[cmi86]

I would choose a higher quality 450W over a lesser quality 550W. I would go ahead and call the Tustin store ahead of time to verify that they have the 960T in stock, they tend to sell out very very fast.

 

[ryanrhino24]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817101048/url

Found this for 47 bucks, good reviews. 600 W which should be plenty.

 

[cmi86]

I recommend this 530W Rosewill PSU-$49.99. Single 12V Rail and 80+ Bronze certified.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182199