Under 700$ Gaming Build

[rohanp3]

I'm looking to build a gaming computer for a friend under 700$. He really can't even go a dollar above 700$. I put together this build in about 30 minutes, and was wondering on ways to improve it / or if it's alright as it is.

Motherboard: BIOSTAR TA990FXE AM3+ AMD 990FX
CPU: AMD FX-4100 Zambezi 3.6GHz
GPU: ASUS ENGTX560 DCII OC/2DI/1GD5 GeForce GTX 560 (Fermi)
RAM: CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
Case: COOLER MASTER HAF 912 RC-912
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Green WD5000AZRX 500GB
PSU: Rosewill Green Series RG630-S12 630W

He already has a monitor, keyboard, mouse, headset and operating system.
He wants to play Diablo 3, Counter Strike: Source, Counter Strike: Global Offensive, Starcraft 2, and Battlefield 3 + Minecraft.


Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138341 (129.99)
CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103996 (109.99)
GPU:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121446 (189.99)
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233144 (49.99)
Case:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233 (59.99)
Storage: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822236155 (84.99)
PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182200 (59.99)

 

[nekulturny]

I'd make a couple changes to it:

better CPU- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727

Video card that is just as good but cheaper:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161396

 

[rohanp3]

I could just get the 4.2 GHz FX for him for the same price, no?

 

[nekulturny]

You could, but the Phenom IIs are more consistent. The FX have a very Dr. Jeckel and Mr. Hyde performance to them, they're pretty good for heavily threaded applications like media encoding and video editing, but mediocre for gaming. The Phenom IIs despite being older have a more consistent performance.

 

[rohanp3]

And dosen't the 560 outperform the 6870 in games like D3 and SC2?

 

[sage_28]

Just don't buy the AMD... Buy this one instead:

Core i3 2120
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115077

and this motherboard:
ASRock Z77 Extreme4
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157293

 

[nekulturny]

Diablo 3 is not a very demanding game in terms of the system, SC2 is a little CPU intensive, but the 6870 is pretty close to the 560 TI in performance take a look for yourself and draw your own conclusions, but they look close enough to apply the rule of horseshoes and hand grenades for the money:

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/290?vs=330

 

[nekulturny]

Just don't buy the AMD... Buy this one instead:

Core i3 2120
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115077

and this motherboard:
ASRock Z77 Extreme4
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157293

Theres absolutely nothing wrong with a Phenom II for gaming, but thanks for playing.

 

[nekulturny]

If you do want to consider an Intel build, the advantage of a more expensive Z68 or Z77 chipset is non-existent with an i3. as the advantage they bring to the table is overclocking, which an i3 cannot do as they are locked CPUs, you could spend less money on a board like this (Personally, I'm not a fan of dual core CPUs for a modern system, (which an i3 is):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131793

Also, I think the motherboard for the AMD build is a little on the north side of pricey for the system you're looking for:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131795

 

[sage_28]

Yeah there's a point. If only for gaming, the Phenom II is good, I had a X4 945. But for everyday computing, I prefer Intel over AMD because it's faster starting up programs and running videos and simple stuff I feel AMD doesn't do well.

And ok, the board is expensive for what it will reall work.

Thanks for sharing info.

 

[nekulturny]

No problem. I'm not really looking for a fight over it or anything, the x4 945 was a different stepping than the the 965, they C2 steppings weren't as good I'll give you that. All I can say is we do own a system with an i5-2400 with a GTX460 card (boyfriend's computer) and mine you can see in my signature, maybe on paper theres a difference in performance, but neither of them have any noticeable difference in terms of actual use, gaming or anything else. At least as far as I can tell.