Need help build a decent $600..kinda of new to building PCs

[peacevector]

Hey, So I wanna build a a gaming PC that can play Arma 2 with Day z and Arma 3 (when in comes out) on at least med settings with a good framerate but to be honest im a bit overwhelmed with different websites giving me different builds so I could use a good opinion...thanks in advance.




Approximate Purchase Date: This friday or saturday (6/29-30/12)


Budget Range: Tight budget so $650 MAX


System Usage from Most to Least Important:Gaming, watching videos, surfing the web.


Parts Not Required: Keyboard and mouse. Any suggestion for a cheap Moniter would be appreciated but a real priority.


Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg, tigerdirect, amazon..basically and good computer site.

Country: USA

Parts Preferences: Kinda new so no real preference

Overclocking: IDK what it is :S

SLI or Crossfire: No preference.

Monitor Resolution: Doesnt really matter

Additional Comments: I just want a pc that can handle Arma 2 with Dayz on med specs..nothing fancy

 

[TheBigTroll]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/9gks

maxed out your budget. this can play most games on high settings maybe even ultra.

 

[manofchalk]

Just recently did a build for someone who is trying play BF3 on high settings for $750 (impossible by the way), so il just tinker that build to bring it under budget for you.

So lets do this.

CPU: i3-2120. $125
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115077

GPU: HD6870. $170
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102948

RAM: G.Skill 8GB 1600Mhz. $47
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231314

Motherboard: AsRock h77 Pro4-M. $90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813157301

PSU: Silverstone Essential series 600W. $65
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817256071

HDD: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200RPM. $100
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822148840

Case: Zalman Z9. $50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811235026

Total is $647
Total + Operating System (If you dont already have it) = $747
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986

You cant overclock the CPU, but you can on the GPU. I would suggest doing it to squeeze as much performance as you can from it.

 

[thetechnoobguy]

I will give you what I know in terms of parts
CPU - Always go intel, only go AMD unless you have to
GPU - Nvidea and amd trade blows here and there, nvidea generally has better support for it's drivers and such, but amd cards can be just as good if not better
PSU - silverstone is a good brand, there are others as well although im blanking right now. try and go for a 80 plus certificate
RAM - g skill, mushkin, corsair and kingston are good brands
MOBO - asus, asrock, gigabyte, msi, are good brands

overclocking is basically putting your cpu or whatever it is past it's regular speeds, making it run faster, however this generates heat and noise meaning you have to buy an aftermarker cooler.

I would recommend going for a 500gb 7200rpm h drive for now along with a single 4gb stick for now and upgrading later when you have the money, that way you can get a good cpu and gpu straight away.

 

[thetechnoobguy]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/9gks

maxed out your budget. this can play most games on high settings maybe even ultra.

Theres no way that build can go anywhere near max settings on high end games without needing everything to be overclocked, and you still get screen tears and frequent frame rate drops. He's not asking to get everything maxed, he said med settings.

Also that build doesn't even have a monitor, something he obviously needs.

 

[peacevector]

wow thanks guys for the fast responses..im very appreciative..ill take a look at them and see which fits best..thanks again

 

[TheBigTroll]

Theres no way that build can go anywhere near max settings on high end games without needing everything to be overclocked, and you still get screen tears and frequent frame rate drops. He's not asking to get everything maxed, he said med settings.

Also that build doesn't even have a monitor, something he obviously needs.

if you havent read, i said high settings bro. not max

 

[TheBigTroll]

he also didnt specify if he needed the monitor included within the price so why are you even arguing

 

[thetechnoobguy]

I don't think this build is possible. After hours of research, I found this that was gathered from steam news:

Arma 3 System Requirments
OS: Windows 7 / Vista
CPU: Intel Core i5 or AMD Athlon Phenom X4 or faster
GPU: Nvidia Geforce GTX 260 or ATI Radeon HD 5770, shader Model 3 and 896 MB VRAM, or faster
RAM: 2 GB
HDD: 15 GB free space
DVD: Dual Layer compatible
DirectX: 10

You may run it on very low if you're lucky with that budget.

 

[thetechnoobguy]

if you havent read, i said high settings bro. not max

ultra settings is max settings i assumed. Also that build may be able to play it on high settings, but whether or not the gameplay will be smooth is a whole nother story (it wont). also its 7am and I haven't slept yet and im getting off right now to sleep lol so i may be a bit cranky.

anyways, if you do some reading arma 3 is going to be a pretty damanding game. don't expect med settings on a $650 budget that is basically from scratch. If you didn't need a case and a OS for example, that would free up $160 automatically.

 

[Onus]

Take a look at the last $500 SBM build. You have another $150 over that; use $120 of it for a monitor (e.g. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009261 ) and use the remaining $30 to improve the CPU to a Pentium.
If you need an O/S also, then you're SOL and will have to save another $100 to make this work, although you did say "medium" settings, so a HD6770 might still let you pull it off.

 

[geofelt]

I think it is doable.... Barely.

Off the top, you need at least $100 for a monitor. Samsung is always of good quality. Spend any extra of your budget here.

You need an OS, and that will be $100 or so. Windows 7 probably 64 bit.

The Tom's SBM $500 build is a good place to start. Use the list as a guide as to how much to budget for parts. Prices will have changed. Feel free to substitute.

Here is the link : http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-pc-do-it-yourself-geforce-gtx-560,3216.html

Do not be put off by the G530 cpu. It is a very capable gaming chip, and trades blows with the Phenom X4, Read this report on <$200 gaming cpu's:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-gaming-cpu-core-i3-2100-phenom-ii-x6-1075t,2859-8.html

$10 will buy you some sort of speakers.

Now, do some research and post what you have found, along with links.
No doubt you will get many comments.

 

[peacevector]

OK...i did find some parts on newegg using the advice you guys gave me but that $500 SBM looks pretty good... I do plan to upgrade in the future when i get more money but i just need something fairly ok for now so thanks for that. Im thinking about going with the $500 SBM and ill try to get a moniter but i dont wanna make any decisions now...thanks again for the responses.

 

[Wisecracker]

FX-4100 SuperCombo: $364 before $25 in rebates

XFX Double D HD-695X-CDFC Radeon HD 6950 2GB: $229 before $30 rebate
(with code EMCYTZT1810 -- end today)

There is a code floating around for a $80 Win7-64 OEM (I think) --- if not, $90 normally covers it.

 

[peacevector]

I don't think this build is possible. After hours of research, I found this that was gathered from steam news:

Arma 3 System Requirments
OS: Windows 7 / Vista
CPU: Intel Core i5 or AMD Athlon Phenom X4 or faster
GPU: Nvidia Geforce GTX 260 or ATI Radeon HD 5770, shader Model 3 and 896 MB VRAM, or faster
RAM: 2 GB
HDD: 15 GB free space
DVD: Dual Layer compatible
DirectX: 10

You may run it on very low if you're lucky with that budget.

i know its a very demanding game. lol but hopefully by the time it comes out i could upgrade my PC

 

[slicedtoad]

If you can find an alternate means to windows 7, here is a very strong build for $637.92. It makes full use of combos and includes a gtx480 which is a very powerful card for it's price.

i3-2120 + Biostar H61 MGC + Patriot 8GB 1333mhz - 187.97

Rosewill Hive 650 + Rosewill Challenger Case - 104.98

EVGA GTX 480 - 199.99

Samsung DVD burner - 14.99

HP 23" 1920x1080 monitor - 129.99

That would be awesome but it doesn't include windows 7. Windows 7 and a monitor really cut a hole out of the budget, if you can find a way around either of them or if you have any spare pieces from old computers, it could really help.

 

[TheBigTroll]

ultra settings is max settings i assumed. Also that build may be able to play it on high settings, but whether or not the gameplay will be smooth is a whole nother story (it wont). also its 7am and I haven't slept yet and im getting off right now to sleep lol so i may be a bit cranky.

anyways, if you do some reading arma 3 is going to be a pretty damanding game. don't expect med settings on a $650 budget that is basically from scratch. If you didn't need a case and a OS for example, that would free up $160 automatically.

ultra is not max. max= every possilbe setting other than AA is turned on

im assuming arma 3 is just as demanding as BF3 so i would assume that the machine can run the game at high or possibly ultra

 

[dkcomputer]

Spend your money on a good case, motherboard, and a 600w rosewill psu from newegg. Then look at a g600 series processor and a gt440 graphics card. Spend at least $100 on your case and $120-150 on your motherboard. Upgrade later as you obtain more money. The resell value on low end 1155 processors is very very good, you can ebay it when you're ready to upgrade. The graphics card will lose a good bit more value, but you will be much happier with your build and its ability to upgrade.

 

[slicedtoad]

^$100 on a case is way too much at this price point, even if upgrades are planned. A good $40-$50 case is more than sufficient, both in size and quality.
Here is the newegg selection of good budget cases: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007583%204025&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&Order=RATING&PageSize=20

Also a gt440 won't play Arma 3 very well. The lowest card to consider at this price point is a 6870.

As to the mobo, ~$70 is more than enough unless you need: sli/cf, ocing or tons of usb slots and other IO ports. Since the op won't need any of those, he doesn't need an expensive mobo.

 

[quilciri]

Do you live near a microcenter?

 

[slicedtoad]

^+1
They have awesome CPU deals.

 

[quilciri]

If you live within driving distance of a microcenter, here's a build.

$100
OS
Win 7 64 Home

$120
Monitor
Acer G215HVAbd Black 21.5" 5ms Full HD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009306

$40
Case
Rosewill Blackbone
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147023&Tpk=blackbone

$45 ($35 after MIR)
PSU
CORSAIR Builder Series CX430 V2 (CMPSU-430CXV2) 430W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026

$130
CPU + mobo
965 black + Asrock 970DE3 bundle
http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/0c732362#/0c732362/28
individual links
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0388180
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0325874

$20
RAM
Crucial Ballistix 4gb 1333
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1412135&CatId=4534

$75
HDD
Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136769

$16
Optical
LG 22x DVDRW
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0372836

$125 ($110 after MIR)
Video
MSI R7770-2PMD1GD5/OC Radeon HD 7770
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127664

After MIR, the total comes to $646

good luck!

 

[peacevector]

IDK if any is still paying attention to this thread but using you guys advice i was thinking about thjis build..any thoughts?

i3-2120 + Biostar H61 MGC + Patriot 8GB 1333mhz - 187.97

Rosewill Hive 650 + Rosewill Challenger Case - 104.98

SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6870 1GB - 169.99

Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB - 69.99

sony optical drive- 20 or so..

 

[TheBigTroll]

i dont really believe in getting biostar boards but in your case, its cheap so why not

another great board is a asus p8h61-le/csm

 

[peacevector]

i dont really believe in getting biostar boards but in your case, its cheap so why not

another great board is a asus p8h61-le/csm

yea..i didnt hear outstanding reviews for biostar but it comes with that great bundle..Ill look around for a better deal but i was curious about putting amd video card with an intel cpu, will they work..