I'm working on building a cheap gaming computer for a friend. He hoped to get a price around $550, including the cost of the OS. This is what I've put together so far:
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/WtyD7P
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/WtyD7P/by_merchant/
CPU: AMD Athlon X4 750K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($79.49 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital RE3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($53.00)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 270 2GB Dual-X Video Card ($155.38 @ Newegg)
Case: Cougar Solution (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($39.00 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $518.82
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-04 14:16 EDT-0400
I wasn't able to find the RAM I was looking at on PC Part Picker, but it is listed below:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820313265
Team 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 ($35.99)
Grand Total: $554.81
My friend wanted a hard drive with at least 1tb. I believed it was okay to go with 4gb of RAM, even though the standard is 8gb. I didn't see any other place worth reducing to get an extra 4gb of RAM. The motherboard may seem expensive for this budget, however it is in a combo with the optical drive. Together, those two items get a $13 discount. There were some cheaper motherboards available, however I was worried by their lower ratings. The Gigabyte board was the cheapest I could find with an acceptable rating. In most cases, such as the motherboard and the GPU, the primary reason for going with a more expensive part was for a better rating. I welcome suggestions for cheaper components, however I only like the highly rated (within reason) ones.
For the CPU, I was trying to decide between the AMD 750k and the Intel G3220. I eventually decided to go with the 750k due to the fact that my friend has no intention of overclocking anything. That is also the reason for sticking with the stock cooler. I'm looking for a second opinion on this decision especially. My friend is only going to run games at a maximum of 1280x720 pixels, so the CPU doesn't have to be especially powerful. If you believe the G3220 (or a similar model) would be better suited, please recommend a reputable motherboard to go with it.
Thanks for you help! Please keep in mind the $550 budget. Mail-in Rebates are acceptable.
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/WtyD7P
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/WtyD7P/by_merchant/
CPU: AMD Athlon X4 750K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($79.49 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital RE3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($53.00)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 270 2GB Dual-X Video Card ($155.38 @ Newegg)
Case: Cougar Solution (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($39.00 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $518.82
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-04 14:16 EDT-0400
I wasn't able to find the RAM I was looking at on PC Part Picker, but it is listed below:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820313265
Team 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 ($35.99)
Grand Total: $554.81
My friend wanted a hard drive with at least 1tb. I believed it was okay to go with 4gb of RAM, even though the standard is 8gb. I didn't see any other place worth reducing to get an extra 4gb of RAM. The motherboard may seem expensive for this budget, however it is in a combo with the optical drive. Together, those two items get a $13 discount. There were some cheaper motherboards available, however I was worried by their lower ratings. The Gigabyte board was the cheapest I could find with an acceptable rating. In most cases, such as the motherboard and the GPU, the primary reason for going with a more expensive part was for a better rating. I welcome suggestions for cheaper components, however I only like the highly rated (within reason) ones.
For the CPU, I was trying to decide between the AMD 750k and the Intel G3220. I eventually decided to go with the 750k due to the fact that my friend has no intention of overclocking anything. That is also the reason for sticking with the stock cooler. I'm looking for a second opinion on this decision especially. My friend is only going to run games at a maximum of 1280x720 pixels, so the CPU doesn't have to be especially powerful. If you believe the G3220 (or a similar model) would be better suited, please recommend a reputable motherboard to go with it.
Thanks for you help! Please keep in mind the $550 budget. Mail-in Rebates are acceptable.
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