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$540 Budget

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So I built my computer little over a month ago and my siblings are all wanting to get on it because it is awesome and plays games great. This is really annoying let me tell you, in my house there are 3 laptops and 2 desktop computers. The desktops include the one I built and the home pc is an inspiron one 20" all in one. Laptops are all the same HP-2000's. So they pretty much have no other means of gaming ( besides ps3 and iphones which cant srsly game. )

I've had a job for the last year and the past month been saving up my money and am now building a game-capable computer for my brothers and sisters. I won't be purchasing a monitor for them, will be reusing our old one resolution is 1280x1024 ( haha sucks for them :lol: , their laptops have higher resolution).

Will be purchasing the OS ( windows 8 ) but don't include that in your suggestion, as I am getting it off a local store that sells it cheap. I dont have a microcenter nearby so don't suggest anything from there. Keep in mind that the games they play are all free to play, the most intensive game i've seen them play is gotham city impostors, so they don't need a whole lot.

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in my opinion, this is one of the moments where AMD Trinity based builds are fine. It has a strong enough IGPU for 1280x1024 based gaming and require no other gpus really. Its a solid cpu+gpu combination and is pretty good at power/performance/price ratio.
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Here is an under $540 build that will run anything you throw at it.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($129.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock 960GM/U3S3 FX Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($61.97 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($28.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card ($174.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 311 (Blue) ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($37.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($15.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $529.89
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-11-17 21:37 EST-0500)

milkshakez7z said:
Here is an under $540 build that will run anything you throw at it.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($129.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock 960GM/U3S3 FX Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($61.97 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($28.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card ($174.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 311 (Blue) ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($37.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($15.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $529.89
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-11-17 21:37 EST-0500)



at 1280x1024 resolution, the build would go to waste.

Add the case of your choice under $100 and here you go!

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($129.99 @ NCIX US)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($26.29 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock N68C-GS FX Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($44.98 @ Outlet PC)
Memory: Corsair XMS3 8GB (4 x 2GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.98 @ Outlet PC)
Power Supply: Rosewill Capstone 450W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($73.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $405.19
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-11-17 21:39 EST-0500)

Do you guys think I should buy an 1920x1080 monitor then as well? Will have to deduct $120 from the budget which leaves $420 for the budget.

Also don't recommend the corsair builder series to me, I have had bad experience with this psu before. Its not even corsair made, its just rebranded.

this is more or less what i kinda invisioned with what the build needs to do and keeping price to a minimum so it can be spent on something else:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD A8-5600K 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor ($99.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Biostar Hi-Fi A85W ATX FM2 Motherboard ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Memory: Samsung 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($35.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($45.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec 450W ATX12V Power Supply ($31.64 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($15.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $369.55
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-11-17 21:48 EST-0500)

add in a cpu cooler, and make any changes necessary. just threw things together with cost in mind. I don't think spending the entire 540$ budget for this resolution is worth the effort. the rest of the money can be spent on other cool trinkets, like usb controllers to turn the PC to a multiplayer gaming console as well for certain games that can be played on same screen multiplayer.

dudewitbow said:
the rest of the money can be spent on other cool trinkets, like usb controllers to turn the PC to a multiplayer gaming console as well for certain games that can be played on same screen multiplayer.

You can play split screen on pc? My friends told me that was only possible on console, thats why I own a ps3! My girlfriend and I play Borderlands 2 all the time on my console together.

Thomas Creel said:
You can play split screen on pc? My friends told me that was only possible on console, thats why I own a ps3! My girlfriend and I play Borderlands 2 all the time on my console together.



in very very rare occasions its possible. newer games is probably out of the question. its more aimed at older games and a few indie games as well. moderate examples are open sourced games like MUGEN(fighting) and Dance Simulation games(stepmania etc). I wouldn't expect more modern titles to have computer split screen at all.

its up to you ultimately. though theres a very limited amount of choices for gpus that will push gaming at 1920x1080 with respectable quality. if you did get another monitor, you can probably use a budget build for now, and play at lower resolutions, and buy a gpu(new or used) when its time to fully utilize the monitors use would be my suggestion if a 1920x1080 monitor is being bought.

I'm thinking about it and what I can do is purchase the 1080p monitor with the build, then later on purchase an amd radeon 6670 that I could xfire ( I want to go with the 5800k cpu. )

I think that would be good, what do you think?

personally, i'd avoid using hybrid crossfire at all(its gains are very minimal atm. needs alot of work). the trinity cpu itself isnt that bad of a cpu standalone. it can probably run any sub 250$ of your choice with respectable rates most likely.

Oh and by the way I don't need an optical drive, that can very easily be recycled from old computer. I'm thinking whether or not it is worth buying the 5800k if it can't be later upgraded with a discrete gpu.

The goal here is gaming, and regardless if now or later the PC will eventully be running 1080p. So should I be looking at diferent processing solutions?

What about the i3-3225? I could go Intel instead of AMD. Problem is that it is only a dual core. I guess my goal for this computer is gaming and upgradabilty, because my paycheck is biweekly its relatively easy to save up, but I don't want to have to wait to begin the build.

How well does the HD 4000 graphics run? If it can run games playably on low/medium settings, then next month I can add a better gpu ( 7950. )

If I were you, I'd drive my ass over to Microcenter, however far away it is, and get the i5 2500k...

FOR ONLY $100

But if not,

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($26.29 @ NCIX US)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($28.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: HIS Radeon HD 7750 2GB Video Card ($90.98 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Gamma Classic (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Other: MSI Z68A-G43 (G3) ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($39.99)
Total: $521.21
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-11-17 23:16 EST-0500)

It costs a lot more, but you could overclock it. It'll also play most games on medium settings. The PSU is also Seasonic made, and is a huge steal. If you don't need that,

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($26.29 @ NCIX US)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($28.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 6670 1GB Video Card ($50.60 @ NCIX US)
Case: NZXT Gamma Classic (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Antec 450W ATX12V Power Supply ($31.64 @ NCIX US)
Other: MSI Z68A-G43 (G3) ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($39.99)
Total: $462.48
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-11-17 23:17 EST-0500)

No OC

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-2120 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor ($109.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($28.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 6670 1GB Video Card ($50.60 @ NCIX US)
Case: NZXT Gamma Classic (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Antec 450W ATX12V Power Supply ($31.64 @ NCIX US)
Other: MSI Z68A-G43 (G3) ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($39.99)
Total: $346.19
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-11-17 23:18 EST-0500)

All builds will handle 1080p no problem, as long as it's not ultra settings, or anything like that. The i3 beats out most AMD APUs and the 41xx FX series, so it's the best deal for the price. Although, with the money you have, I'd go with the i5, and let them learn a thing or two about overclocking :p 

Just make sure you're around. Lol

Best solution

the i3 is fine too, and will work for all games,except for the extremely cpu intensive ones. it can handle gpu load outside of cpu loading games(which in those situations, you are more or less forced to lower settings.) as for HD 4000, its only as good as the low end igpu of last gen llano apus. and behind the HD6450, which is a low cost low power consumption gpu.

Yeah I am going to stay away from APU for now, if it has limited GPU support than I don't want it.
@sonicers, where am I supposed to buy those motherboards from? And there is no way I can get to any microcenter and it be worth the trip.

The $100 saved will be wasted on gas there and back, and a lost paycheck for the day ( it really is THAT far away. )

Thomas Creel said:
Yeah I am going to stay away from APU for now, if it has limited GPU support than I don't want it.
@sonicers, where am I supposed to buy those motherboards from? And there is no way I can get to any microcenter and it be worth the trip.

The $100 saved will be wasted on gas there and back, and a lost paycheck for the day ( it really is THAT far away. )


They're from Newegg with a mail in rebate. Looking at reviews, I'd strongly recommend you stay away from Ivy Bridge with it.

Thomas Creel said:
Yeah I am going to stay away from APU for now, if it has limited GPU support than I don't want it.


APU is just like other cpu and should support all GPU, what limited is only the hybrid-crossfire

lengcaifai said:
APU is just like other cpu and should support all GPU, what limited is only the hybrid-crossfire


If you decide on buying a separate GPU, there's no point in buying an APU in the first place, when the i3's are cheaper and better.

@lycros, thats out of budget
@sonicers, exactly what I was thinking might as well go i3

Alright well I have already made a few purchases and I think this topic can be closed now, thanks for the help guys.
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