Cheapest way to : play/basic photo edit/word

[tostaky]

Hi, i'm looking to build myself a cheap but not crappy computer. I want beaing able to play games like diablo 3, company of heroes and civ 5. I will also do some photo editing, nothing fancy only basic photoshop elements stuff. This computer will also be suse for web browsing and for office work. The least I pay the better it is ! Let's say 600$ or less. I do live in Canada.
The only thing i've got is a monitor (Asus PA238Q, 23 inch 1080p). I know that I will need Windows (7 or 8 ?). I don't know about choosing between an i3 or a quad core amd.
Thanks a lot for your help !

 

[tiny voices]

Here is a good combination; http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Ayd3

Not trying to be mean but this build is pretty bad.
-the CPU is old and not very good.
-the GPU won't even play games at low settings at 1080p
-you don't need a sound card
-your ram is single channel
-an SSD on this budget is not a good idea (waste of money)


Get this instead. It will play games at medium/high settings and be upgradeable in the future.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-3220 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor ($109.99 @ NCIX)
Motherboard: ASRock B75M-GL Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($62.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Memory: Patriot Intel Extreme Master, Limited Ed 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($44.99 @ Memory Express)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($57.99 @ NCIX)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7770 1GB Video Card ($99.99 @ NCIX)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 430 ATX Mid Tower Case ($54.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($59.99 @ NCIX)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.99 @ NCIX)
Total: $598.91
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-30 19:56 EST-0500)

 

[tiny voices]

I don't want someone to buy it only to realize it won't do what they want.

I am by no means trying to pick on you or anything.

I just want the OP get the best build possible, and in this case, yours is pretty wrong.

 

[tiny voices]

Try to stick with recent parts. Also maybe read some articles and look at some GPU/CPU benchmarks.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

 

[cball1311]

Here is my suggestion.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-4300 3.8GHz Quad-Core Processor ($122.57 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-78LMT-S2P Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($53.99 @ Computer Valley)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($37.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Hitachi 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.99 @ NCIX)
Video Card: HIS Radeon HD 7850 1GB Video Card ($159.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 370 ATX Mid Tower Case ($19.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 450W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($39.99 @ NCIX)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS72 DVD/CD Writer ($17.06 @ DirectCanada)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($96.99 @ Computer Valley)
Total: $596.56
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-30 20:10 EST-0500)