A couple budget builds..

[gassend]

A couple of my friends who I've been gaming with want to upgrade their older systems.. I have some extra CD Drives, Hard Drives, and other stuff, but mainly they just need the following..

Friend #1
(These are what I picked out, if anybody has any opinions please share. First build has a price range of 400-450)

Motherboard: MSI A55M-P33 FM1.. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130641
CPU:AMD A8-3870k Llano 3.0GHz.. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819106001
GPU:HIS iCooler H777F1G2M Radeon HD 7770 Ghz.. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161402
RAM:CORSAIR Vengeance 8gb (2 x 4GB).. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145345
PSU:RAIDMAX HYBRID 2RX 530W.. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817152028

Friend #2
(Same thing here, but already has a PSU and Ram. Probably going to go with the same CPU/GPU/Mobo noted above.)
*300-400 Price Range*

If anybody has any opinions on any parts or any suggestions please share, It's harder to shop for a couple friends when they don't really know what they want other than, they want it faster than their current PC's and would like to run newer games..

 

[johnsonjohnson]

Hi. Do they mind buying from other websites other than Newegg? What RAM and PSU does Friend #2 have? Here's a build that will give better performance. Feel free to make changes as you'd like.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-2105 3.1GHz Dual-Core Processor ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H77M Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($46.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 1GB Video Card ($164.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Rosewill Hive 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $435.95
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-23 19:41 EST-0500)

 

[gassend]

Yeah I can use other websites other than Newegg.. Neweggs been a favorite of mine for awhile haven't really gone off that path other than going to Micro Center every now and again.. I forgot to state in those price ranges that includes a case.. They don't want any special case just like a $60 case they will pick out.. Now I have a question on the CPU changing over to Intel, I'm an Intel Fanboy and probably always will be, but since it's not my computer and they wanted to save money I went with an AMD CPU and Card since the new APU's and Discrete cards work together now.. Should I just stick with that or would it be smart to get ahead and run with an i3..

 

[cball1311]

Friend #1 and #2 (of course, minus PSU and RAM, if need be):

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($84.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-78LMT-S2 Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($49.98 @ Outlet PC)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($38.12 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7850 1GB Video Card ($179.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 311 (Blue) ATX Mid Tower Case ($34.98 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Rosewill Hive 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $463.04
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-23 20:01 EST-0500)

For friend #2, I would check on the PSU ad RAM to make sure it is definitely compatible. I threw a cooler in there because you can OC the heck out of these 965s. They will like the quad-core for games that utilize it too.

 

[gassend]

Sorry forgot the second part, I can't remember what ram my friend has, I know it's 4x4GB DDR3 1333 Speed, and the PSW I haven't been over to their house to look at that yet but i'm sure it's enough power just gotta check connectors..

 

[cball1311]

Just make sure that it is a reliable brand if it has enough power. You don't want a failing PSU to take out the entire rig.

 

[johnsonjohnson]

The i3 is a capable gaming processor but there's nothing wrong with an AMD build. It's just that there's no point in getting an APU when you are getting a discrete graphics card; just get a CPU instead. cball1311 has a good AMD build for them. This is as low as I can get it without downgrading to an Intel Pentium which isn't a bad processor either or the GTX 650 Ti.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-2105 3.1GHz Dual-Core Processor ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock B75M-DGS Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($58.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($47.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7850 1GB Video Card ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 450W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($42.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $416.94
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-23 20:16 EST-0500)

 

[gassend]

Yeah I know what you mean.. Do you have any other Video Card options? Just in case he wants to reduce his price range?

 

[johnsonjohnson]

The GTX 650 Ti is the next step down but try not to pay too much for it to the point that it's more sensible to just pay a little more for the HD 7850.