Help finishing light/mid gaming build

[ddog510]

I am looking to build a computer for mainly gaming. I play a wide variety of games including newer releases. I will be building in about a month. I have no parts to reuse except possibly a very old emachines case with 2 fans (is that a bad idea?). I do not need peripherals. I will be using either a 720p or 900p monitor. I already have a copy of Windows 7. I have an old video card - Radeon HD 4650 1GB DDR2 - so if I should wait and save my money for a better gpu, I could use that temporarily.

Reason for upgrading: my laptop needs a break from my gaming and my old desktop is hopelessly out of date

Budget: $300 (does not include what I already bought, budget is flexible up to $400 maybe)

Stuff already bought:
Corsair Vengeance 8 GB ( 2 x 4 GB ) DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3 12800) 240-Pin DDR3
MSI B75MA-P45 LGA 1155 Micro ATX

Overclocking is not important to me. Not wanting to do Crossfire/Sli (but you can see that from my choice of MB).

I have a Microcenter near me, so I am considering the G1610 ($35), the i3-3220 ($100) and the i5-3740 ($150). I have no idea about the gpu, but I like AMD over NIVIDEA. For an hdd I am looking for ~500GB of something reliable. Psu...haven't looked at them much...something reliable would be nice. I like getting my parts from Newegg and Amazon when possible.

Advice? Buy an i5 now and save up for better gpu later? Or skimp on the cpu and get a nice gpu now (will ivy cpus drop in price significantly any time soon?). Or middle road?

Thanks!

 

[yasserBasha]

get i5-3470 and this VGA :

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121663&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

AS FOR THE HDD here it is :
http://www.microcenter.com/product/375688/WD_Blue_500GB_7,200RPM_SATA_30Gb-s_35_Internal_Hard_Drive_WD5000AAKS_-_Refurbished

this is THE psu (THE BEST BRAND OF ALL-don't settle for less ) :

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151094&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=

the case :

http://www.microcenter.com/product/407041/Gamer_Series_Citadel_ATX_Mid_Tower_Gaming_Computer_Case


and finally the optical drive:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151256&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=3938566&SID=


Total : 403$

 

[ddog510]

Thanks for the reponse. I like the idea of the i5 and the 7770. About the psu though...
What makes that THE psu in your opinion? Is it worth the premium over something like this? Also, if I upgrade my gpu in the future, will I probably need a new psu (for more wattage)?

Thanks

 

[yasserBasha]

Thanks for the reponse. I like the idea of the i5 and the 7770. About the psu though...
What makes that THE psu in your opinion? Is it worth the premium over something like this? Also, if I upgrade my gpu in the future, will I probably need a new psu?

Thanks

My dear friend :

Seasonic (among all other) is NO.1 brand in power supplies (not only me says that)
That because of reliability, performance , life-span and efficiency so any Seasonic PSU at any build will guarantee both power-efficiency and performance-need fulfillment

as for upgrading GPU that depends on what GPU will you upgrade to
All of the AMD 7xx series next to 7770 doesn't require more than 500w (includes 7970 single card only... crossfire needs 600 - 850w), while Nvidia requires more as you go up it's hierarchy .
If you plan to upgrade to the upcoming 8xx series so that's another story to tell when the time comes

Glad to help you anytime w/ anyway possible my friend

 

[cutebeans]

That is pretty weird to get.

7770 with an i5?

You should get i3-3220 with a 7850.

 

[yasserBasha]

That is pretty weird to get.

7770 with an i5?

You should get i3-3220 with a 7850.

He originally wants to get the i5

 

[ddog510]

I'm leaning towards the i5 because I feel like it is more future proof than the i3. I can easily upgrade the gpu later if I buy something like a 7770. Is this dumb?

 

[yasserBasha]

I'm leaning towards the i5 because I feel like it is more future proof than the i3. I can easily upgrade the gpu later if I buy something like a 7770. Is this dumb?

Absolutely not ... You're thinking right besides the i5 is more powerful than the i3 and won't bottleneck your GPU as the i3 probably would

 

[tiny voices]

I'm leaning towards the i5 because I feel like it is more future proof than the i3. I can easily upgrade the gpu later if I buy something like a 7770. Is this dumb?

Absolutely not ... You're thinking right besides the i5 is more powerful than the i3 and won't bottleneck your GPU as the i3 probably would

Wrong. I have an i3 and a 7870 and I don't even bottleneck. I can max most all new games without issue at 1080p. The smart move is to buy the i3 and the 7850. Much better performance from the get go.

 

[yasserBasha]

I'm leaning towards the i5 because I feel like it is more future proof than the i3. I can easily upgrade the gpu later if I buy something like a 7770. Is this dumb?

Absolutely not ... You're thinking right besides the i5 is more powerful than the i3 and won't bottleneck your GPU as the i3 probably would

Wrong. I have an i3 and a 7870 and I don't even bottleneck. I can max most all new games without issue at 1080p. The smart move is to buy the i3 and the 7850. Much better performance from the get go.

7870 is expensive card ... we're talking about some balanced build if you haven't noticed

 

[tiny voices]

You said that a 7850 would be bottlenecked by an i3. I am telling you that is completely incorrect because I have a 7870 and it doesn't bottleneck on an i3. An i3 and a better GPU is the best choice here. It will get much more performance right form the get go. The CPU can be easily upgraded in the future to an i5.

 

[yasserBasha]

You said that a 7850 would be bottlenecked by an i3. I am telling you that is completely incorrect because I have a 7870 and it doesn't bottleneck on an i3. An i3 and a better GPU is the best choice here. It will get much more performance right form the get go. The CPU can be easily upgraded in the future to an i5.

again .... the person who suggested i3 paired it w/7850 and you're talking about 7870, much powerful and expensive also ... FOCUS for GOD's sake

 

[tiny voices]

You are missing the point. You said not to get an i3 and a 7850 because it would bottleneck. This is NOT TRUE. I am proving this to you. Please do not give false information.

 

[yasserBasha]

You are missing the point. You said not to get an i3 and a 7850 because it would bottleneck. This is NOT TRUE. I am proving this to you. Please do not give false information.

I'm not ...
have you noticed that we're talking about balanced build money-wise !!

keep your fancy card in your PC AND STOP criticize everything i say just because ...

 

[tiny voices]

I'm just trying to get OP the best performance possible. This will come from the i3 + 7850 build.

 

[yasserBasha]

It's his call ... but i made my Judgement because i saw that he wanted to get the i5 .. that's all

 

[ddog510]

Woah stop arguing please :O
I'm aware that an i3 won't bottleneck any card I get now...I'm just more worried about the card I buy after that one. Will I notice any difference between the i5 and i3 in my non-gaming activities (10+ tabs open on chrome, a few light programs running)?

 

[tiny voices]

Not really. Unless you are editing a decent amount of video or something like that, you won't see a difference. You really have to decide between better gaming performance now or upgrading more later. If you get the i3 and a better GPU now, you will be gaming on higher settings right out of the hole. the i3 will be good for sometime and you can upgrade to the i5 later on (cheaper than doing the GPU more than likely). If you get the i5 and a lower end GPU now, you will be upgrading the GPU (more expensive) sooner to still be able to play modern games at the settings you want.

 

[thehiddenlotus]

Not really. Unless you are editing a decent amount of video or something like that, you won't see a difference. You really have to decide between better gaming performance now or upgrading more later. If you get the i3 and a better GPU now, you will be gaming on higher settings right out of the hole. the i3 will be good for sometime and you can upgrade to the i5 later on (cheaper than doing the GPU more than likely). If you get the i5 and a lower end GPU now, you will be upgrading the GPU (more expensive) sooner to still be able to play modern games at the settings you want.

I'm with tiny on this one, go with the i3 and get the better GPU.