$400-$500 gaming computer

[hardwareman11]

Early next year, I will have enough for a budget range gaming pc.

I want an AMD/ATI system.

I am looking for a system that has best upgradeability possible and what I NEED to play all games out there at a mix of high settings and maybe some medium at a resolution of 900 to 1080p.

I also want enough room to upgrade everything in the future including to a high end card in a few years. I'm sure it can be done; no moping about raising my price up by 2 or 3 hundred dollars. I cannot afford that.

I have a television set that can be a monitor with speakers of course. Whichever operating system works best.

I will be ordering from Newegg next year.

I also plan to crossfire in the future, so i can use the same card but another to keep up with tech. If not, I will simply be using one powerful card as i can get.

 

[Mapsx15]

Check out youtube for heaps of 500 dollar gaming builds, it's the easy place to start.

 

[hardwareman11]

well. i'm wondering if anybody can post maybe 2 variations I can checkout. because realistically. All I will do with it is play all my games and all other games i will buy like metro 2033, mafia II. grand theft auto, crysis. it just NEEDS to have the best upgradeability possible without being excessive. Just what I need: play all games at majority high some medium at either 900 or 1080p resolution. Most parts need to be under a hundred bucks; but be the best quality possible for them all; most expensive parts need to be the GPU, cpu, motherboard. THis quality list sounds correct. Also RAM should be at least 1333.

 

[djangoringo]

Intel(recommended) :

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Pentium G860 3.0GHz Dual-Core Processor ($67.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock H77 Pro4/MVP ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot Intel Extreme Master, Limited Ed 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($31.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card ($179.99 @ Amazon)
Case: BitFenix Merc Alpha (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Antec 450W ATX12V Power Supply ($30.95 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Sony AD-7280S-0B DVD/CD Writer ($18.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $479.88
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

AMD :


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock 960GM/U3S3 FX Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($60.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Patriot Intel Extreme Master, Limited Ed 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($31.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card ($179.99 @ Amazon)
Case: BitFenix Merc Alpha (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Antec 450W ATX12V Power Supply ($30.95 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Sony AD-7280S-0B DVD/CD Writer ($18.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $492.87
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

 

[hardwareman11]

Wow, sweet. I would tweak it a bit, it would probably go voer by about 20 or 30 bucks. but.

 

[Mastashake15]

Wow, sweet. I would tweak it a bit, it would probably go voer by about 20 or 30 bucks. but.

I would spend every additional dime you can on a higher quality power supply than the one suggested, otherwise go with that build.

 

[quilciri]

If you want upgradeability, I don't reccommend an AMD system right now. While the fx-6300 is a great chip (about the best AMD has to offer for gaming right now), there will never be a significant upgrade over this chip without replacing your entire platform.

Unless you plan on overclocking, I *strongly* reccommend you go with an intel/nvidia build. You could fit either an i3-3220, or a gtx 660 into your budget (or both if you're willing to stretch). Both parts have better stock performance than the full AMD build. AMD's real performance comes out if *and only if* you're willing to significantly overclock your components.

Still, here you go.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-78LMT-S2 Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($49.98 @ Outlet PC)
Memory: Patriot Intel Extreme Master, Limited Ed 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($31.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card ($179.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Apex SK-393-C ATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Thermaltake Smart 430W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Sony AD-7280S-0B DVD/CD Writer ($18.99 @ Newegg)

Total: $515.91 (Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.) (Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-12-30 19:50 EST-0500)

If you're willing to flash the card's bios and bump the voltage to 1.2-1.3 volts, the 7850's are overclocking beasts, but at stock speeds the 660 has it beat by a solid margin (it's closer to the 7870 at stock speeds).

good luck!

 

[hardwareman11]

Okay. anything else?, I would like a crossfire motherboard and if possible a newer 4 core or 6 core even. Then thats pretty much it, maybe a better case; judging by more fans.

 

[hardwareman11]

I need windows 7 premium too. Did not include that, thought you guys would figure that in.

 

[djangoringo]

That mobo needs to be flashed in order to use the FX-6300, it needs a prior supported cpu, if not it will reboot, AMD 760G chipset are not good for that.
The asrock h77 has crossfire support, it has 8 sata ports, and supports any i5 or i7 ivybridge for the future.
But if you want to add latter a i5 to oc, get this mobo : http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007P709Q6/?tag=pcpapi-20
I recommend going with a decent case and psu.
The bitfenix is a good one, best budget case, also the antec has really good quality, it can deliver even more then 450w.
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Antec-VP450-Power-Supply-Review/1487/9
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Antec-VP450-Power-Supply-Review/1487/11

So you need the os ? it's gonna be hard then...to fit 500$.

 

[quilciri]

...

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/353572-31-build-upgrade-advice

 

[djangoringo]

Either you spend more 70$ :

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Pentium G860 3.0GHz Dual-Core Processor ($67.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock H77 Pro4/MVP ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot Intel Extreme Master, Limited Ed 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($31.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card ($179.99 @ Amazon)
Case: BitFenix Merc Alpha (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Antec 450W ATX12V Power Supply ($30.95 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Sony AD-7280S-0B DVD/CD Writer ($18.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $569.86
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)


or you have to downgrade the gpu :

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Pentium G860 3.0GHz Dual-Core Processor ($67.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock H77 Pro4/MVP ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot Intel Extreme Master, Limited Ed 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($31.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus Radeon HD 7770 1GB Video Card ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: BitFenix Merc Alpha (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Antec 450W ATX12V Power Supply ($30.95 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Sony AD-7280S-0B DVD/CD Writer ($18.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $479.86
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

or this card : http://pcpartpicker.com/part/galaxy-video-card-65igh8dl7axx

 

[hardwareman11]

Is it possible to use the operating system from my laptop? it has windows 7, desktop type with a few programs for the laptop though. I have a mirror and a system backup.

 

[quilciri]

No, unless you bought windows seperatley from you laptop. If windows came with your laptop, it's an OEM version that will only work with that specific hardware.

 

[hardwareman11]

Can't get one again. Too much money.

 

[hardwareman11]

Best answer selected by hardwareman11.