Budget $600 build

[Dupontrocks11]

Hello everyone, I am building a computer for a friend switching over from console. My buds and I have been PC gamers for a while; this friend is just a little late to the party. He has a very low budget of around $600 but I still managed to put together a computer that will play decent on ultra settings on most games. I live very close to Microcenter and considering how cheap it is there, that's mostly likely where the buying will take place. So here it is:

CPU: AMD FX-6100 black edition 3.3Ghz Hex-Core $109.99
Mobo: ASUS M5A78L-M AM3+ 760G $9.99 (bundled at microcenter)
RAM: Crucial Ballistix 2x4GB DDR3-1600 $42.99
GPU: Gigabyte Windforce Radeon 7850 $259.99
HDD: HGST Deskstar 7K1000.D 7200RPM 1TB $69.99
Optics: Samsung 22X DVDRW $15.99
PSU: OCZ ModXStream 600W Modular $69.99
Case: Zalman Z9 $39.99

TOTAL: $652.26

So this is not the best build and the FX-6100 is not the best CPU but it's a pretty solid build but $650 bucks. If anybody has an input, it is appreciated!

 

[Spicy_benie]

Ok you kind of said it yourself fx series cpu's are not very good for gaming, also it cost about as much as a i3 2120 i would swich out for that, and a cheap mobo, What is his res? The 7850 isn't really needed if he has a low res but is a great card for 1920x1080... never heard of that hdd, but i would suggest WD/segate... Im not very informed about what is good/bad in the world of ocz but if i was you i would just pick up a seasonic 520watt, otherwise the build looks pretty decent

 

[guerrero]

If gaming switch that FX to an i3. I have the 2120 and it's pretty good (No gaming yet since I have no GPU )

 

[Dupontrocks11]

Ok you kind of said it yourself fx series cpu's are not very good for gaming, also it cost about as much as a i3 2120 i would swich out for that, and a cheap mobo, What is his res? The 7850 isn't really needed if he has a low res but is a great card for 1920x1080... never heard of that hdd, but i would suggest WD/segate... Im not very informed about what is good/bad in the world of ocz but if i was you i would just pick up a seasonic 520watt, otherwise the build looks pretty decent

The only problem is that I cant seem to find a motherboard that coincides with the budget, and the fx-6100 with a mobo is only $114.99. He is using a samsung B300 which is a fantastic monitor at 1920x1080. It's funny that not many people have heard of it. I run a small home server with 5 of these drives and I have to say they are fantastic; much more reliable than the barracudas I've used. The thing with seasonic is price. He's trying to stay under 650 so a seasonic isnt really in the budget. I've had moderately good luck with OCZ and the modxstream seems to be one of their better models.

 

[Spicy_benie]

What about a asrock z77 pro3 mobo thats only 95$!

 

[Dupontrocks11]

But 99+95 is 194, which would blast the budget. Ill check microcenter to see if i can find any good mobos for cheap.

 

[rex000]

It's decent. The FX-6100 for $110 is the lowest I've seen yet, and it's not complete utter ***. It'll still work.

As an FYI, you can get the 7870 for $200 nowadays so I think you should re-consier your options.
http://forums.redflagdeals.com/me-xfx-radeon-hd-7870-double-d-ghz-edition-2gb-gddr5-199-99-pm-mir-1216916/

Also, you are paying too much for that PSU as well. I got the 700W version for $45 last month. It's decent, it works. But there should be better options out there if you are willing to pay $60.

 

[sadams04]

If considering a budget Intel build look toward something like the build below. Obviously you have a little extra budget to work with so whether that goes into the CPU or GPU is your call...

MB - ASRock B75M - $65
CPU - G860 3.0GHz - $90
CPU Cooler - Stock
MEM - Wintec One 4GB DDR3-1600 CL9 1.5v - $27
HD - Samsung F3 500GB - $70
GPU - XFX HD 6870 - $145 after MIR
DVD - Samsung 22x - $22
PSU - Antec VP-450 - $35
CASE - Rosewill Blackbone - $40

$494

 

[hunterpostit88]

Just consider this:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/fkJL
If you want AMD you could do:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/fkKA
They're both around the $620 range if you don't mind paying that much. Don't buy those no named HDD. Never heard of the one you mentioned. I hope this helped. The 7850 will destroy a modern game, even games in years to come.

 

[hunterpostit88]

And that GPU is factory OC.

 

[Dupontrocks11]

@rex000 Thanks for the heads up on gpu. I kinda sorta knew that but had considered paying a little extra in order to buy it at all the same store. Ill definitely shop around

@sadams You see my friend is coming over from console, so naturally he is a big multiplayer player. He is really interested in playing bf3 with my friends and I. A pentium or even an i3 get raped by multiplayers, and so I think a better and cheaper choice would be the fx-6100. I am also aware that he is not going to be able to upgrade in the future, but he said he is willing to spend the money for a much better system later down the road if need be.

@hunter I dont see what the difference is between my build and your build except mine has a better processor, faster ram and more storage. I can assure you the hdd works great, so i see no reason to downgrade 500gb to save 5 bucks

 

[tryn]

I agree with sadams04.

 

[hunterpostit88]

Which build were you taking about in my post? Anything that's low end will get raped. I
m running the FX-4100 while recording in FRAPS. And just for the record you will either have to manually replace your BIOS or send it to ASUS and wait 2 weeks to give it back. The 760 chiset doesn't work without a BIOS update. You have to have a 970 at the least. I used the 770 and it didn't work. Then I got the M5A97(great mobo).

 

[Dupontrocks11]

Im not really not worried about the mobo, as there are many substitutions that mantain the $10.00 bundled price point.

It was your AMD build. In mine I have a fx-6100, Ram clocked at 1600mhz and 1TB of storage. I dont see what your AMD would upgrade for me besides the name of the HDD manufacturer.

 

[hunterpostit88]

But still you should get a 970 chipset mobo. Something like this http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0382894
And you definitely want to get an HDD like Seagate, Western Digital, or Samsung

 

[guerrero]

If considering a budget Intel build look toward something like the build below. Obviously you have a little extra budget to work with so whether that goes into the CPU or GPU is your call...

MB - ASRock B75M - $65
CPU - G860 3.0GHz - $90
CPU Cooler - Stock
MEM - Wintec One 4GB DDR3-1600 CL9 1.5v - $27
HD - Samsung F3 500GB - $70
GPU - XFX HD 6870 - $145 after MIR
DVD - Samsung 22x - $22
PSU - Antec VP-450 - $35
CASE - Rosewill Blackbone - $40

$494

Get 1333 MHz Ram instead to save a few $$ and you cant use 1600 on that Pentium

 

[Dupontrocks11]

But still you should get a 970 chipset mobo. Something like this http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0382894
And you definitely want to get an HDD like Seagate, Western Digital, or Samsung

Really, my friend just needs a simple mobo. The 970 offers more connectors that are completely unneccesary.

*sigh* I'll repeat myself, Hitachi is a great brand. I use them for all my hard drive needs, Maximum PC uses their drives in almost every issue, and if it helps you sleep at night, they are owned by Western Digital.

 

[hunterpostit88]

No, youo're not understanding the 970 vs earlier chipsets. I recommend you do a little reasearch before you plug in an FX CPU into a 760 chipset and find that there wil be NO display on the monitor...

 

[Dupontrocks11]

Ahh OK that is a lot more direct than what you said earlier, I'll just manually update it when the time comes.