Best gaming PC $500-$700? Any help appreciated!!!

[JasonD95]

This will be my first build and I will mostly be playing mmos on this computer. Im not very keen with all the tech talk so an educated opinion will be much appreciated. I have two builds in mind which I will post below but feel free to write down a completely different build if you believe it will give me better performance for the money.


1. CPU-AMD Phenom II X4
RAM-G.SKILL 8GB (2 x 4GB) 1866
GPU-SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 7870 (comes with bioshock infinite, tomb raider, and farcry 3)
Motherboard-ASUS M5A97 LE R2.0 AM3+ AMD 970
HDD-Western Digital WD Blue 1TB
Case-Rosewill Challenger
DVD Drive- Black SATA 24X DVD Burner
PSU-Corsair CX 500


2. CPU - Intel Core i5-3470
RAM - 8GB Corsair Vengeance RAM
GPU - EVGA GTX 660
MSI B75MA-P45 Motherboard
500GB Western Digital Caviar Blue Hard Drive
430W Corsair CX430 Power Supply
NZXT Source 220 Case

Thanks!

 

[AMD Radeon]

vote build #2
hands down

 

[giltyler]

Do you have any Local stores like Frys or Microcenter

 

[JasonD95]

Do you have any Local stores like Frys or Microcenter

not that i know of. Just good ole WorstBuy with pre builts that are terrible for the price.

 

[l89]

definitely the 2 build
cx 430 would be enough but why take a risk get a cx500 would be better

 

[JasonD95]

definitely the 2 build
cx 430 would be enough but why take a risk get a cx500 would be better

Thanks for the fairly quick responses guys. Can you tell me how much the GPU's differentiate between both these builds in performance and let me know if there are more optimal GPU's I should buy for the money? Sorry if I'm being picky I'm just kind of OCD and want the best bang for my buck like most other gamers out there.

 

[giltyler]

What is your location city area

 

[JasonD95]

What is your location city area

I live in Bloomington Indiana. I wouldn't be surprised if there's a store like that with the campus being here and what not.

 

[JasonD95]

What is your location city area

Just looked up some local pc stores. WOW what a rip off. There charging nearly 600 dollars for a $285 GeForce video card. No wonder they call it a business.

 

[RobCrezz]

number 2 - 100%

 

[JasonD95]

number 2 - 100%

Do you think option two has the best GPU for my budget? That's mostly what I care about since I plan on mainly just gaming on it.

 

[RobCrezz]

number 2 - 100%

Do you think option two has the best GPU for my budget? That's mostly what I care about since I plan on mainly just gaming on it.

The thing is, MMOs tend to hit the CPU harder, and the CPU in build 2 is way better than build 1.

If you could save a little more money and upgrade the PSU to a 500w and the GPU to a 660ti in build 1 that would be very good.

 

[giltyler]

See if this store has a location you or someone you know can go to.
Prices on CPU and MOBO are quite good http://www.microcenter.com/#

 

[piebegu]

i voted build two. But change the 660 for a 7870 XT MHO ( if you can't find a XT edition get the 660.) But the GTX 660 is plenty fine for mmo's (i play mmo's too.) Also look into the haf series by cooler master for cases. Also for the i5 look into a CM 212 Evo. I have it and it's pretty quiet and it's like 25$. Pc's can get pretty hot when raiding or playing mmo's.

 

[marshallbradley]

The 7870 is arguably better than the GTX 660, which sits somewhere inbetween the 7870 and the 7850 by most metrics. The CPU though is miles better in the 2nd build (and this is a fairly Intel-centric community here).

If you want the most bang for your buck, definitely go for one of the 7870 XTs. They are the best value video cards out there by a mile. Why you might ask? Because they are actually just a gimped 7950 (maybe a 7940 really -- they have exactly the same architecture as a 7970/7950, unlike the rest of the 78xx series) and perform less than 5% slower than one, but sold at a price only a few dollars more than your typical 7870. The 7870 XT nips at the heels of the 7950 and most people would agree with current drivers outclasses the 660 Ti as well. It's been named the best value sub $300 video card multiple times.

So yes my recommendation would be build 2 with a 500W power supply (the 7870 XT is a real demon, one of its only downsides) and a 7870XT instead of the GTX 660. Also make sure that the ram is a) low profile (will make things much easier if you ever want an aftermarket CPU cooler) and b) 2 sticks of 4gb, therefore dual-channel. This makes a reasonable difference to performance.

M

 

[piebegu]

I was able to find an XT on amazon for 260$ which is what i'm buying.

 

[JasonD95]

I was able to find an XT on amazon for 260$ which is what i'm buying.

http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?p=AT-7870XT2&c=pw&hash=053cBlUbk8XaI3YjLVn%2FVNLviQinNJ5BM7nxulbDT%2Fs%2BmraMbUsmaEBbrl7Uj%2FMovg7dAtlQn7m%2F7RwgdPxrFhgPxrfgLS%2FU%2FCI5u7noHSHzMiXVaIWUiqok

Here's the same card for a better price and free games my friend.

 

[piebegu]

I was able to find an XT on amazon for 260$ which is what i'm buying.

http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?p=AT-7870XT2&c=pw&hash=053cBlUbk8XaI3YjLVn%2FVNLviQinNJ5BM7nxulbDT%2Fs%2BmraMbUsmaEBbrl7Uj%2FMovg7dAtlQn7m%2F7RwgdPxrFhgPxrfgLS%2FU%2FCI5u7noHSHzMiXVaIWUiqok

Here's the same card for a better price and free games my friend.

Okay thanks man. I won't be getting it for a few weeks because I have to buy some other parts first. Hopefully the 8000 series will be out and the prices will drop!

 

[marshallbradley]

There's probably not going to be an 8000 series of GPUs for desktops. Even when the next series does release (probably the 9xxx by the looks of it) it'll be the very high end stuff (the 9970) so it shouldn't make much of a price impact on that segment of the market. Either way it'll be awhile so don't get your hopes up!

M

 

[giltyler]

Nice find Jason that is a heck of a deal for at 7870 XT
Would make a stout xfire set-up under $500

 

[marshallbradley]

When you think about it, if you overclock, you're probably just about equalling nVidia Titan performance right there for less than $500. It won't be as reliable as the Titan of course since CrossFire is never going to be as good as just a single GPU, but still... The value for money is just incredible. With this setup you could build a killer 5760x1080 machine for $1000 excluding monitors. That's pretty crazy I think...

M