Beginner Budget Build

[uberjuicey]

Hey guys. I haven't built a computer in over a decade and would like to ask your opinions on a couple of things.

Requirements: Gaming, specifically be able to play Skyrim at high/ultra settings at 1920x1080. No overclocking. Just looking for stable, easy and reliable build.

Preferred: Intel chipset, budget of $500-$600, USA, Newegg and Amazon only if possible, within the next month.

I don't need a monitor, OS, mouse or keyboard. Don't need an SSD (I don't mind waiting that extra 10-15 seconds on bootup).

Looking for: CPU, motherboard, GPU, 8gigs ram, case, PSU, 1-2TB HD

First off, is this even possible or am I setting my budget too low? This is going to be my first build so I don't want to spend a lot. I plan to upgrade every 1-2 years so looking for the best "budget" setup.

I've been trying to catch up on the latest stuff but there's so much info out there. What's the minimum budget I should be expecting? If this isn't doable, I'll just have to work and wait an extra couple months. Thanks a lot for your help.

 

[sophiebeth100]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 LE R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($79.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($71.37 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB Video Card ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($45.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $597.30
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-07-24 16:56 EDT-0400)

Should be able to play Skyrim at max settings with this build
I would add a Hyper 212 Evo is you can afford it. It's an extra $30 and will allow you to overclock your CPU to get more performance

 

[Maxime506]

Your budget is a bit little low for a intel build. Mind getting a good AMD build which performs better in $500-600 budget?

Here is my thought:


PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1kftu
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1kftu/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1kftu/benchmarks/

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($69.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston XMP Blu Red Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($58.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: XFX 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $589.91
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-07-24 17:03 EDT-0400)

It should be able to handle most of the games in high or even max settings in decent fps.

 

[uberjuicey]

Thanks guys for your advice. I did some digging and Newegg is having this bundle:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1351773

which includes recommendations similar to what you posted for $560. The only downside I can see is the GPU is a GTX 650 Ti. Otherwise would you recommend getting the bundle?

 

[Maxime506]

GTX 650 ti has only 70-80% performance as GTX 660 or HD 7870. It also has limited memory bandwidth which bottlenecks it too.

Seems Rosewell isn't a very solid brand though and the PSU the bundle included doesn't have modular, which make this PSU more vulnerable to heat and shorten its life.

Just stick to my build or the other lady's build. Bundle has tricks and u may easily be tricked. This bundle is only barely $30 cheaper but u've lost 20-30% graphic performance and get a not-so-solid PSU. I don't recommend u to go for the bundle.