Cheap gaming pc advice welcome goal is to get as close to $500

[rustyjar]

would like to get this as close to $500 as i can, its for my brother so i don't feel like going all out, any tips or suggestions would be appreciated. its for gaming by the way.

 

[cball1311]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Pentium G860 3.0GHz Dual-Core Processor ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI B75MA-E33 Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($39.98 @ Outlet PC)
Storage: Hitachi 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 1GB Video Card ($164.99 @ Newegg)
Wireless Network Adapter: Rosewill RNX-G300LX 802.11b/g PCI Wi-Fi Adapter ($12.52 @ Amazon)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($22.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $570.39 ($615.40 before rebates)
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-12 14:40 EST-0500)

The 7750 is very weak for games (especially any new games). This depends on you monitor resolution though. Go with a 1155 Socket CPU and you/he can upgrade it later.

 

[tiny voices]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Pentium G860 3.0GHz Dual-Core Processor ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI B75MA-E33 Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($39.98 @ Outlet PC)
Storage: Hitachi 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 1GB Video Card ($164.99 @ Newegg)
Wireless Network Adapter: Rosewill RNX-G300LX 802.11b/g PCI Wi-Fi Adapter ($12.52 @ Amazon)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($22.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $570.39 ($615.40 before rebates)
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-12 14:40 EST-0500)

The 7750 is very weak for games (especially any new games). This depends on you monitor resolution though. Go with a 1155 Socket CPU and you/he can upgrade it later.

+1. This build is the way to go for sure.

 

[rustyjar]

well i know his moniter is like 1600 x 900 naive resolution, honestly i am bit of a fanboy for amd i know their proccessors arent as good as intels. but cant beat the price differnce if you ask me. is there and amd am3+ build you might be able to reccomend?

 

[tiny voices]

To be honest, no. The comparable CPU to a pentium would be a phenom 2 x4 965 BE and honestly its not worth $30 more. Plus with the intel 1155 socket you can upgrade to an i3/i5/i7 later.

 

[AMD Radeon]

actually, amd build is more expensive nothing below phenom can handle 7850. fx cpu is 100++

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 975 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor ($82.18 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock 970DE3/U3S3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($39.98 @ Outlet PC)
Storage: Hitachi 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7850 1GB Video Card ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Wireless Network Adapter: Rosewill RNX-G300LX 802.11b/g PCI Wi-Fi Adapter ($12.52 @ Amazon)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($21.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $601.58
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-13 00:38 EST-0500)

 

[cball1311]

actually, amd build is more expensive nothing below phenom can handle 7850. fx cpu is 100++

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 975 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor ($82.18 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock 970DE3/U3S3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($39.98 @ Outlet PC)
Storage: Hitachi 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7850 1GB Video Card ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Wireless Network Adapter: Rosewill RNX-G300LX 802.11b/g PCI Wi-Fi Adapter ($12.52 @ Amazon)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($21.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $601.58
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-13 00:38 EST-0500)

And that 975 is Out of Stock at superbiiz

 

[tiny voices]

You have to also buy a cooler with that phenom 2 x4 975 because its OEM and doesn't come with the stock one.

 

[camohanna]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Pentium G860 3.0GHz Dual-Core Processor ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI B75MA-E33 Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($39.98 @ Outlet PC)
Storage: Hitachi 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 1GB Video Card ($164.99 @ Newegg)
Wireless Network Adapter: Rosewill RNX-G300LX 802.11b/g PCI Wi-Fi Adapter ($12.52 @ Amazon)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($22.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $570.39 ($615.40 before rebates)
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-12 14:40 EST-0500)

The 7750 is very weak for games (especially any new games). This depends on you monitor resolution though. Go with a 1155 Socket CPU and you/he can upgrade it later.

Very nice, if you can spare the $10, get a asrock h77m

 

[rustyjar]

either way would work i suppose any more suggsetions ill play around with these setup a lil bit see if i cant get them cheaper. but ill do that in the morning!

 

[rustyjar]

what about sometihng like this?

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 975 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor ($82.18 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($69.98 @ Outlet PC)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($39.98 @ Outlet PC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($58.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: Asus Radeon HD 7850 1GB Video Card ($155.41 @ eCost)
Wireless Network Adapter: Rosewill RNX-G300LX 802.11b/g PCI Wi-Fi Adapter ($12.52 @ Amazon)
Case: Rosewill REDBONE ATX Mid Tower Case ($36.00 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $603.01
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-13 14:20 EST-0500)

 

[rustyjar]

bump

 

[camohanna]

what about sometihng like this?

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 975 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor ($82.18 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($69.98 @ Outlet PC)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($39.98 @ Outlet PC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($58.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: Asus Radeon HD 7850 1GB Video Card ($155.41 @ eCost)
Wireless Network Adapter: Rosewill RNX-G300LX 802.11b/g PCI Wi-Fi Adapter ($12.52 @ Amazon)
Case: Rosewill REDBONE ATX Mid Tower Case ($36.00 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $603.01
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-13 14:20 EST-0500)

That is a good build.

 

[rustyjar]

too bad it seems that the 975 is out of stock everywhere around that price anyhow

 

[cball1311]

too bad it seems that the 975 is out of stock everywhere around that price anyhow

That is why I would go for the Pentium build. It can later be upgraded to an i5 (hopefully when Haswell CPUs come out, the i5 Ivys will drop in price). And do go with the H77 mATX board. It is a bit better than B75

 

[rustyjar]

so this is what i am curently thinking about, i knwo the stock cooler and fan for processor isnt the best choice but ic an upgrade that in a few weeks, same as for getting windows 7 i have xp right now and that should be fine for a little bit. i was also thinking of droping to 1gb card to save a little cash and a dvd drive isnt need i have spare one. so what do you all think?
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU:AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($98.79 @ Amazon)
Motherboard:MSI 970A-G46 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($79.98 @ Outlet PC)
Memory:G.Skill Value 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($29.98 @ Outlet PC)
Storage:Samsung Spinpoint F4 320GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card:Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card ($188.98 @ Newegg)
Wireless Network Adapter:Rosewill RNX-G300LX 802.11b/g PCI Wi-Fi Adapter ($12.52 @ Amazon)
Case:Zalman Z5 ATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply:Corsair Builder 600W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $590.22
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-16 17:20 EST-0500)

 

[camohanna]

so this is what i am curently thinking about, i knwo the stock cooler and fan for processor isnt the best choice but ic an upgrade that in a few weeks, same as for getting windows 7 i have xp right now and that should be fine for a little bit. i was also thinking of droping to 1gb card to save a little cash and a dvd drive isnt need i have spare one. so what do you all think?
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU:AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($98.79 @ Amazon)
Motherboard:MSI 970A-G46 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($79.98 @ Outlet PC)
Memory:G.Skill Value 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($29.98 @ Outlet PC)
Storage:Samsung Spinpoint F4 320GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card:Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card ($188.98 @ Newegg)
Wireless Network Adapter:Rosewill RNX-G300LX 802.11b/g PCI Wi-Fi Adapter ($12.52 @ Amazon)
Case:Zalman Z5 ATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply:Corsair Builder 600W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $590.22
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-16 17:20 EST-0500)

Looks decent. But get 2x 4gb sticks.