Computer build under $500

[dragonpurity]

purchase date: within month
budget: $500
system usage: skyrim/witchers 2/diablo 3 and mmo's
buyint monitor: own one already
parts to upgrade: all but monitor
buying os: yes
parts from websites: amazon and newegg preferably
location: usa
overclocking: probably not
sli or crossfire: either
resolution: 1024x768
additional: quiet pc, and i dont need high end settings..i play more for the game itself and not for the best graphic settings. a game with good graphics and bad storyline/gameplay is still a bad game.

 

[sonicers]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Pentium G645 2.9GHz Dual-Core Processor ($59.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: ASRock H61M-DGS Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($39.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Pareema 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($18.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7850 1GB Video Card ($158.98 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec 450W ATX12V Power Supply ($31.64 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) ($89.99 @ CompUSA)
Total: $499.55
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-11-11 17:33 EST-0500)

Whew, just under XD

You'll be able to max those games!

 

[Thomas Creel]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Pentium G645 2.9GHz Dual-Core Processor ($59.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: ASRock H61M-DGS Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($39.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Pareema 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($18.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7850 1GB Video Card ($158.98 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec 450W ATX12V Power Supply ($31.64 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) ($89.99 @ CompUSA)
Total: $499.55
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-11-11 17:33 EST-0500)

Whew, just under XD

You'll be able to max those games!

That memory and processor are slowing down the video card ( bottlenecking. ) However with his resolution any game will easily be maxed out anyways.

 

[sonicers]

That memory and processor are slowing down the video card ( bottlenecking. )

1) Memory doesn't bottleneck video cards, I'm not sure what you're thinking. Anything higher than 1333 MHz will be useless anyways because the processor is Sandy Bridge
2) The Pentium G645 won't really bottleneck the card; in one of the older Tom's Hardware System Builder Marathons they paired a Celeron with a GTX 560ti, and there was very little bottlenecking. The G645 is a significant step up.

The build is solid, for the most part, considering he needs it under 500.

 

[Thomas Creel]

1) Memory doesn't bottleneck video cards, I'm not sure what you're thinking. Anything higher than 1333 MHz will be useless anyways because the processor is Sandy Bridge
2) The Pentium G645 won't really bottleneck the card; in one of the older Tom's Hardware System Builder Marathons they paired a Celeron with a GTX 560ti, and there was very little bottlenecking. The G645 is a significant step up.

The build is solid, for the most part, considering he needs it under 500.

Not the speed of the memory, the amount, 4GB, witcher 2 has been known to use more than 4GB of memory.
Yeah with a better processor the video card would show its real potential, so with this lower end one you get lower frame rates while with a better cpu you get higher frame rates. I was under the impression that meant you were limiting your components.

At $500 it is still good, would be better if he opted for a cheaper operating system "Solution"

but whatever.

 

[sonicers]

Not the speed of the memory, the amount, 4GB, witcher 2 has been known to use more than 4GB of memory.
Yeah with a better processor the video card would show its real potential, so with this lower end one you get lower frame rates while with a better cpu you get higher frame rates. I was under the impression that meant you were limiting your components.

At $500 it is still good, would be better if he opted for a cheaper operating system "Solution"

but whatever.

Like Linux?

 

[Thomas Creel]

Like Linux?

If you say so

 

[tiny voices]

He is talking about pirating an OS, which this forum doesn't support...

 

[Thomas Creel]

He is talking about pirating an OS, which this forum doesn't support...

I never said that.

 

[sonicers]

I've actually heard great things about Ubuntu, I suppose Linux+Wine launcher+upgrade to i3 would be plausible

 

[Thomas Creel]

Ubuntu has it's problems, whenever I was using it, before purchasing a new game I had to actually Google if it was compatible. A week later I was able to install Windows 7 home premium and haven't had any problems since.

 

[sonicers]

Eh, it's debatable. There's no Steam over Wine? Huh, I guess Ubuntu isn't as plausible after all.

 

[grumbledook]

purchase date: within month
budget: $500
system usage: skyrim/witchers 2/diablo 3 and mmo's
buyint monitor: own one already
parts to upgrade: all but monitor
buying os: yes
parts from websites: amazon and newegg preferably
location: usa
overclocking: probably not
sli or crossfire: either
resolution: 1024x768
additional: quiet pc, and i dont need high end settings..i play more for the game itself and not for the best graphic settings. a game with good graphics and bad storyline/gameplay is still a bad game.

Case\psu: Rosewill R363-M-BK Black Ultra High Gloss Finished MicroATX Computer Case with 400W http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147099 50$
CPU(apu): AMD A10-5700 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113289 125$
Motherboard: MSI FM2-A75MA-E35 FM2 AMD A75 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130662 50$
HDD:Seagate Barracuda 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=63468&vpn=ST500DM002&manufacture=Seagate&promoid=1387 53$
RAM: Team Xtreem LV 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820313205 40$
Optical drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204 17$
OS: Windows 7 64bit sp1 http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004Q0PT3I/?tag=pcpapi-20 92$
Total: 427$

This should be a fairly quiet system.
Review of the cpu so you can consider if it's powerful enough for you or not: http://hexus.net/tech/reviews/cpu/47257-amd-a10-5700/
It doesn't have skyrim or witcher 2 in the tested games, but the slightly faster a10-5800k plays them at 50+ fps so it will be around that.

 

[dragonpurity]

that was quick people..thanks for the help..not much into the technical aspects of computers so is 50 fps decent for a game? and whats the base difference between the amd and intel cpu that were listed?

 

[Thomas Creel]

that was quick people..thanks for the help..not much into the technical aspects of computers so is 50 fps decent for a game? and whats the base difference between the amd and intel cpu that were listed?

50FPS is very good, anything about 30FPS for me is "smooth gamplay." The difference is architecture between the 2 compnies.

 

[sonicers]

The A10 might be able to get 50 FPS, but you have to keep in mind, that A10's graphics are the equivalent of that of a Radeon HD 6670. The 7850 absolute RAPES the 6670, considering the 6670 costs about a third of the 7850.

 

[dragonpurity]

okay thanks..was thinking with going with above build but wheres the video card or is it integrated? would i be able to upgrade a video card later if needed? and as such graphics arent all that too me..as long as the game play is great.

 

[sonicers]

Keep in mind that that 50 FPS is on MEDIUM settings, and the card that I picked out would play those games on ULTRA settings at 70+ FPS, and on MEDIUM settings at 100+ FPS, which would be important for games like first person shooters. It's well worth the extra 80 dollars.

That case picked out is also a terrible choice; Rosewill never made really "nice" power supplies except for the higher end ones with like 80+ GOLD, and a built in power supply could only be worse.

 

[dragonpurity]

could i downgrade the video card then on your build so i can get 8gb of memory instead? was reading about witcher 2 and it takes a lot of memory.

 

[sonicers]

No, 8GB of memory is like 8 dollars more, just keep the video card. I was trying to stay under 500 dollars, but just find 8 dollars somewhere, it's not a lot of money.

 

[dragonpurity]

k thanks...will try this out within the month. and see how it goes

 

[sonicers]

Good luck and have fun with your build.

Glad I helped! :lol:

 

[grumbledook]

sonicers is likely right that the psu in my build is a bit crap, but it wouldn't have mattered much for a low power solution like the a10-5700.
As a sidenote you should consider to start saving up for a 1080p monitor with that build to get the most out of the powerful 7850 in the future. Maybe look for a used one. Your games will look much better