Budget Gaming Computer- Will it...work?!

[danofmacs]

Hello all,

I've been wanting to build an inexpensive gaming rig for about 5 years now, all to no avail.
Now, however, things are DIFFERENT.

I've been on PCPartPicker on and off today, and so far I've come up with THIS.

My question is will it work?? I intend to play Battlefield 3 on it, as I'm tired of playing it on my Xbox 360, as well as other FPS that will eventually be released.

On what settings will I be able to play BF3? I just want to be able to see its shininess!
Also, I'm not too sure about the PSU. Any input is MORE than welcomed. Thanks people!

 

[thor220]

Just some thoughts:

- this is a budget build, remove the cooler and spend that cash on a good brand psu or motherboard. Unless you buy the cpu oem, you are on a budget and could get better basic components before expanding outword

- Try getting the newest generation of gpu that is out that you can afford. The new amd radeons will save you power and money. This will help out your wallet and your power supply in the long run. Check out http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131464 - the best bang for your buck.

With that card you should be able to run the game on high, so it should look great. Also the PSU brand is decent, but I would not consider it elite.

 

[danofmacs]

That's a nice card indeed!!!

The only reason why I was gonna go for the card I have selected is because it's nice and cheap (kinda) and there's a rebate haha! I saw people people playing BF3 on ultra high with it too, it seemed to run well D:

 

[thor220]

the card you picked is good, just trying to pick one that will save you money in the long run + last longer. If you want though, there are 7770s for $120. They are less powerful but very good energy efficiency.

 

[ctomster]

I also think you could up the CPU a bit so you won't bottleneck!

And if you want to crossfire maybe a better psu!

 

[guardianangel42]

Xion's are crap cases. Go with the NZXT Source 210 or Gamma Classic Series. They're only about 7 bucks more than the Xion and infinitely better.

Also, there is only one part in a PC that you must never, ever, ever skimp on. And that's the Power supply. Why? Because a bad power supply can fry any or all of your important, expensive components leaving an honest person no recourse.

Skimp elsewhere (like the RAM; you can make do with a single 4GB stick until you save enough to buy a second while still playing games) or the CPU heatsink (stock cooler works well enough on that i3 and you can always buy a different one later).

My advice: stick to things in tier 3 or above on this chart , don't buy a Xion case (they're worthless when it comes to airflow), and pick parts accordingly.

 

[danofmacs]

Also, there is only one part in a PC that you must never, ever, ever skimp on. And that's the Power supply.

Alrighty, I've made a few changes to the setup thanks to all of you

All I can say is that the PSU talk REALLY got me thinking, lol!

 

[jerreddredd]

Alrighty, I've made a few changes to the setup thanks to all of you

All I can say is that the PSU talk REALLY got me thinking, lol!

if you are going to play BF3 multiplayer you need to get a quad core. multiplayer puts a huge load on the cpu and it will use the extra cores a quad core can offer. as amazingly fast as the i3's are, BF3 multiplayer will put a hurting on them. either bump up to an i5 sandy or ivy if you can afford it or jump to a AMD fx4100 or x4 965BE - these aren't as fast as the intel dual cores in most games, but in BF3 MP you will appreciate them.

the 650w Corsair is over kill. get a CX500 and save some money for toward a i5
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139027

 

[danofmacs]

either bump up to an i5 sandy or ivy if you can afford it or jump to a AMD fx4100 or x4 965BE - these aren't as fast as the intel dual cores in most games, but in BF3 MP you will appreciate them

What about that AMD Octo-Core bad boy??? It's not even that pricy...

 

[thor220]

If you want to go the AMD route, try the AMD phenom II x4 965
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727

it has a $20 doller off code right now: EMCNANF33
brings the price to $90 dollars

It's a great gaming cpu at a great price. I would consider it a viable alt. to an intel seeing as you are on a tight budget

Here is also a motherboard to go with it: ASROCK960gm ($55)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157323

also supports new cpus and usb 3.0 for future proofing.

 

[jerreddredd]

What about that AMD Octo-Core bad boy??? It's not even that pricy...

no real advantage in gaming. the AMD chips are just slow. adding additional cores won't affect gaming except BF 3 MP and Mechwarrior online (maybe a few more games that use more than 2 cores)

you can judge for yourself. (the BF3 test is single player, not multi)
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-fx-pentium-apu-benchmark,3120-3.html

best buy for gaming with BF3 MP is either i5 (2300/2400/3450/3470) @$180-$200 or a fx 4100/4170, 4 965BE @$100-@140. with any of the i5 quad core being the fastest.

 

[danofmacs]

I've reconfigured just about everything with my build. Now it's AMD based, didn't wanna go there but the 965 BE seems to run well.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/h4fI

And yes, I do intend to play BF3 on multiplayer. I've seen all kinds of videos with people playing on Ultra with this CPU/GPU match, but they never state what resolution they're playing in...

I'm also concerned with any potential bottlenecking. I'd just like a nice, smooth running PC to play the occasional FPS. Thanks a TON everyone!

 

[thor220]

One more suggestion before you go and buy, would you be able to get 2 sticks of ram instead of 1? You will get better speed. Just look for 2 sticks at 4gb each.

 

[jerreddredd]

+1^ thor220's dual channel ram suggestion. the system will take a significant performance hit using only single channel. if its in your budget get 2x4GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231396

also you down graded the GPU in the last build significantly. I wouldn't go less the an HD7770/GTX 560se for gaming.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127687

the overclock version is on par with a HD 6850 in most games
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150599
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102993

and to really BF3 on high/ultra you should get a OC GTX 560 or HD6870
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127593
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161396
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-560-benchmark-review,3112-8.html

Battlefield 3 Performance: 30+ Graphics Cards, Benchmarked
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/battlefield-3-graphics-performance,3063.html

 

[danofmacs]

I'm definitely gonna invest in that dual-channel 8GB RAM, and possibly an HD6870 (that's most likely to happen though!)

I'm just more concerned about the PSU not being enough now.
What if I later want to do a crossfire/SLI thing later on? Thank you guys so very much for helping this noob!

 

[ctomster]

If you want to crossfire, you'll need more than 550w. Im not sure how to calculate how much exactly would be sufficient..
maybe this?
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-power-supply-p1750snlb9

 

[jerreddredd]

I'm definitely gonna invest in that dual-channel 8GB RAM, and possibly an HD6870 (that's most likely to happen though!)

I'm just more concerned about the PSU not being enough now.
What if I later want to do a crossfire/SLI thing later on? Thank you guys so very much for helping this noob!

the motherboard you have listed doesn't support SLI or Crossfire

its also micro ATX (not good for heat dissipation, no slot between cards for air flow)

for a psu you would need one the puts more than 50 amps (consideration for OC both GPU's and /CPU's) on the 12v rail and has enough PCIe connectors.

 

[thor220]

Yeah, the rig your building just isn't suited for sli/crossfire. It's not that big of a deal anyways unless you plan to upgrade again soon. I personally found that going single card is much better, no annoying issues that come with it. The best you could do when you upgrade is sell your old card and get a dual gpu card if you want allot of power. Although you would have to upgrade your PSU for that.