$400-$450 (First Gaming PC)

[Mr_Cerberus]

Hey everyone, I'm not to the forums and I'm definitely a noob when it comes to PC building. With that said I've been told that it isn't rocket science either and a buddy of mine recommended me this forum.

I realize that for $400 I won't be able to build a high-end gaming PC, but I'm not planning on playing most games on Ultra High settings either and can't really go much over that budget.

Here's all the info:

Approximate Purchase Date: middle of this month (February 2012)

Budget Range:: $400-$450

System Usage: gaming (mainly), internet browsing, work

Parts Not Required: keyboard,mouse,monitor(will upgrade it later),speakers, Windows 7

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com,amazon.com

Country: U.S.A.

Parts Preferences: Currently my LCD's resolution is 1280x1024 but in the future i might upgrade to a monitor with 1680x1050, please recommend a good but inexpensive hard drive (doesn't need more than 500GB), apart from that a good Nvdia GPU (in this price range), I assume 4GB of ram should be enough.

Overclocking: No, maybe in the future (too noob for that now)

Monitor Resolution: 1280x1024 - will upgrade to 1680x1050 in the future


Additional Comments: I want to be able to play most modern games on high settings (if the budget allows it). Some of them will be: Killing Floor, Skyrim, Fallout 3, COD

A great "Thanks" for helping me out.

 

[aznshinobi]

Check out my $400 build here:
http://www.squidoo.com/electronicandmore

The CPU's APU (Onboard GPU) will last you a while @ 1280x1024. Until you can actually get an actual GPU like a 6870 or something. The onboard 6550D will defiantly be fine for the games you plan to run. Here's a review of the 3870K I recommended.
http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews/1365/pg6/amd-fusion-a8-3870k-overclocking-and-dual-graphics-performance-review-skyrim.html
As stated, playable @ 1280x1024 in the review.

 

[tlmck]

Motherboard - $53.99 after rebate - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128527

CPU - G620 - $69.99 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116399

Ram - 4gb - $22.99 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231396

Vid card - AMD 6770 - $99.99 after rebate - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102940

Hard drive - WD 500gb - $89.99 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136769

DVD RW - Samsung - $16.99 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151244

Case - CM HAF - $49.99 after rebate - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233

PSU - XFX 450w - $38.99 after rebate - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207018

Total after rebates, but before shipping - $442.92.

Unfortunately I could not fit a decent Nvidia card into this budget. The equivalent in this case would be the 550 Ti. There is also no such thing as a cheap hard drive right now due to the shortage. You can Google search for the reason for the shortage if you want. There are other brands of hard drives for a few dollars cheaper, but WD is worth the extra few.

When you get more money, you can get a faster processor first. A Core i5-2400 would be nice. And the power supply will still allow a minor upgrade in the video card. Note on these charts the processors and video cards 3 levels up from the ones I quote. Those will be your next target.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-cpu-overclocking,3077-5.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-7.html

 

[agasis]

fx 6100
hd 7750 or 7750
amd 970 mb
8gb ram or 4gb

 

[mikerockett]

AMD

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($98.79 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-78LMT-S2 Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($48.58 @ Outlet PC)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Smart Tracer 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.35 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition 1GB Video Card ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($52.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 400W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($45.98 @ Outlet PC)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $453.66
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-19 03:47 EST-0500)

Intel

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Pentium G2120 3.1GHz Dual-Core Processor ($77.98 @ Outlet PC)
Motherboard: MSI B75MA-E33 Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Smart Tracer 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.35 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition 1GB Video Card ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($45.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 400W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($45.98 @ Outlet PC)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($18.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $438.24
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-19 03:53 EST-0500)

 

[michxymi]

NZXT Source 210 S210-002 White w/Black Front Trim “Aluminum Brush / Plastic” ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146076

SeaSonic S12II 520 Bronze 520W ATX12V V2.3 / EPS 12V V2.91 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151094

AMD FX-4130 Zambezi 3.8GHz Socket AM3+ Quad-Core Desktop Processor FD4130FRGUBOX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113291

ASRock 970 PRO3 AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157319

Crucial Ballistix 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900) Desktop Memory Model BLE2KIT2G3D1869DE1TX0
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148499

MSI R7770-PMD1GD5 Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127687

Western Digital WD Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

That's what I would pick for around 450$. You have a high quality case and PSU as start along with the new FX 4130. Motherboard is good enough with all solid caps, USB & Sata III plus it's fully upgradeable to the newest CPUs AMD will produce! GPU is enough for playing the games you listed at your current resolution. It won't be enough for 1080p though so it must be replaced when you change your monitor!

 

[ScrewySqrl]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-4300 3.8GHz Quad-Core Processor ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($77.55 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($39.98 @ Outlet PC)
Storage: Hitachi 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition 1GB Video Card ($96.99 @ Microcenter)
Case: Zalman Z5 ATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($26.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $446.46
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-19 07:02 EST-0500)

best quad core you can get at this price point (a Piledriver 4300), the 7770 GHz model will handle gaming at 1680x1050 on high settings just fine.