$600 Gaming PC (Windows based)

[DW-]

I'm looking to build a gaming PC for around $600. I'd like it to be able to be upgraded to keep up with games in the future as well.


Approximate Purchase Date: Withing the next 30 days


Budget Range: Around $600, a little over is OK


System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming. BF3, ArmA 3, and able to be upgraded as needed to keep up with the games over the next few years


Parts Not Required: Monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers, OS


Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Amazon


Country: USA


Parts Preferences: I'd like to stick with the i5 3570K, but everything would be considered


Overclocking: No


SLI or Crossfire: Either/or


Monitor Resolution: Vizio LED HDTV, 1080p


Additional Comments:

 

[flamehead269]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1100t

 

[Matthew Papa]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($91.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock 990FX Extreme4 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($139.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($68.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($67.24 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus Radeon HD 7790 1GB Video Card ($137.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair 500R Black ATX Mid Tower Case ($88.00 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 600W ATX12V Power Supply ($74.99 @ Best Buy)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($18.49 @ Amazon)
Total: $687.67
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-29 09:41 EDT-0400)

 

[Matthew Papa]

If you still want to go with the i5 though

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($223.35 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z75 Pro3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($84.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($36.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($67.24 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus Radeon HD 7790 1GB Video Card ($137.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: NZXT Source 210 Window ATX Mid Tower Case ($47.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 600W ATX12V Power Supply ($74.99 @ Best Buy)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($18.49 @ Amazon)
Total: $692.02
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-29 09:46 EDT-0400)

 

[DW-]

I was told that the 7790 would struggle to run Battlefield 3, and wouldn't come close to running Battlefield 4. Was I misinformed?

 

[Matthew Papa]

You could always spend around $200 on a GPU if you wanted to though.
Gigabyte 7850 2GB - $175
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-video-card-gvr785oc2gd
OR
EVGA GTX 660 2GB - $189
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-video-card-02gp42660kr

 

[assasin32]

3570k is pointless to have if you have no intent on overclocking, just get the 3570 which is the same thing but has a locked multiplier (if it's cheaper) as the unlocked multiplier in the "K" version is what we use to overclock. And in order to do that you need a higher end motherboard z77 preferably. That will easily eat up at least $350 between the CPU/Board/Heatsink.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6350 3.9GHz 6-Core Processor ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI 760GM-P34(FX) Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($49.97 @ Outlet PC)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($55.25 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 7870 XT 2GB Video Card ($219.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $625.16
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-30 03:05 EDT-0400)

This is more of a budget build thats not that upgradable and the money is put into the performance from the get go as upgrading from a 3570k won't happen as intel's switching to a new socket. And I don't know the upgrade path for amd sockets off hand. The main thing you be upgrading anyway will be the GPU which can be done.

And with the current budget if you stick with a 3570k you be severely gimped by whatever you can put in the build for the GPU, where as going with an AMD build such as this it will be more balanced and you get far better performance.

 

[DW-]

3570k is pointless to have if you have no intent on overclocking, just get the 3570 which is the same thing but has a locked multiplier (if it's cheaper) as the unlocked multiplier in the "K" version is what we use to overclock. And in order to do that you need a higher end motherboard z77 preferably. That will easily eat up at least $350 between the CPU/Board/Heatsink.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6350 3.9GHz 6-Core Processor ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI 760GM-P34(FX) Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($49.97 @ Outlet PC)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($55.25 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 7870 XT 2GB Video Card ($219.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $625.16
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-30 03:05 EDT-0400)

This is more of a budget build thats not that upgradable and the money is put into the performance from the get go as upgrading from a 3570k won't happen as intel's switching to a new socket. And I don't know the upgrade path for amd sockets off hand. The main thing you be upgrading anyway will be the GPU which can be done.

And with the current budget if you stick with a 3570k you be severely gimped by whatever you can put in the build for the GPU, where as going with an AMD build such as this it will be more balanced and you get far better performance.

This setup will run current games like Battlefield 3 and Arma 3 at close to 60 fps on a low or medium setting?

 

[Matthew Papa]

3570k is pointless to have if you have no intent on overclocking, just get the 3570 which is the same thing but has a locked multiplier (if it's cheaper) as the unlocked multiplier in the "K" version is what we use to overclock. And in order to do that you need a higher end motherboard z77 preferably. That will easily eat up at least $350 between the CPU/Board/Heatsink.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6350 3.9GHz 6-Core Processor ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI 760GM-P34(FX) Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($49.97 @ Outlet PC)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($55.25 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 7870 XT 2GB Video Card ($219.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $625.16
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-05-30 03:05 EDT-0400)

This is more of a budget build thats not that upgradable and the money is put into the performance from the get go as upgrading from a 3570k won't happen as intel's switching to a new socket. And I don't know the upgrade path for amd sockets off hand. The main thing you be upgrading anyway will be the GPU which can be done.

And with the current budget if you stick with a 3570k you be severely gimped by whatever you can put in the build for the GPU, where as going with an AMD build such as this it will be more balanced and you get far better performance.

This setup will run current games like Battlefield 3 and Arma 3 at close to 60 fps on a low or medium setting?

Most likely Ultra.