Best Configs - AMD-Based Gaming PC

[jpishgar]

Our editorial team has selected the top builds submitted by users for our Best Configs feature. Please vote on your favorite of the following builds:

Hunter315
AMD 955
ASUS M4A89GTD PRO/USB3
Samsung F3 1TB
Gskill Eco 2x2GB 1600MHz CL7
XFX 5850
HAF 922
Lite-on DVD burner
Antec TP-750 Blue

Link to Build

ice919
AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ965FBGMBOX
Motherboard:ASUS M4N75TD AM3 NVIDIA nForce 750a SLI ATX AMD Motherboard
RAM:OCZ Platinum 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model OCZ3P1333LV4GK
Graphics Card: (2) * GIGABYTE GV-N460OC-768I GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) 768MB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
Hard Drive: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Case: Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Power Supply: Antec EarthWatts EA750 750W Continuous Power ATX12V version 2.3 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC "compatible with Core i7/Core i5" Power Supply
DVD Burner: Sony Optiarc Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA CD/DVD Burner - OEM

Link to Build

lunyone
AMD Athlon x3 445 & Biostar 770 based mobo
HIS H577FK1GD Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card w/ Eyefinity
OCZ Obsidian 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model OCZ3OB1600LV4GK
Antec Three Hundred + BP430 Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 430W Power Supply
LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA CD/DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Link to Build

simon12
LG 22X DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA Model GH22LS50 LightScribe Support - OEM
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
ASRock 770 EXTREME3 AM3 AMD 770 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
2 x HIS H585FN1GD Radeon HD 5850 (Cypress Pro) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card ...
OCZ Gold 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Desktop Memory Model OCZ3G1066LV4GK
AMD Phenom II X3 740 Black Edition Heka 3.0GHz Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Desktop Processor HDZ740WFK3DGI - OEM
Antec EarthWatts EA650 650W Continuous Power ATX12V Ver.2.2 / EPS12V version 2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified ...
Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Link to Build

TheDuke
Processor: AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition
Motherboard:ASRock 870 EXTREME3 AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0
RAM:G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333
Graphics Card: SAPPHIRE 100281-3SR Radeon HD 5870 (Cypress XT) 1GB
Hard Drive: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM
Case: NZXT LEXA S LEXS
Power Supply: CORSAIR CMPSU-750HX 750W Modular
DVD Burner: LITE-ON Black 24X

Link to Build

 

[duk3]

I agree.
However, for the budget I'd like to see Duke's build with an xfx 750w and cas7 g.skill eco ram.

 

[Onus]

Simon's build has a mobo with ONE PCIE x16 slot (not even a second at x4) and TWO graphics cards. And your editorial team picked it as one of the best????
Anyway, tough call between Hunter and TheDuke for best, but the case choice wins it for Hunter. Lunyone misses an honorable mention for budgetary awareness, by using a questionable PSU and mobo.

 

[dannyboy3210]

I'm amazed at people's views on the word "budget". I thought ~500$ was a budget build, ~1000$ was high end & ~1500$+ was high end/gaming build.

I guess it depends on what your goal is with building the rig; in the office build section, there seem to be a lot of ~400$ builds with integrated or low end graphics cards...

In my opinion, there should be 3 sections of gaming/performance PCs, ~500$, ~1000$ & ~1500$(+). (Just my opinion, please don't bite my head off for it XD)

For example, some of the ~400$ budget PCs could just have another 100$ thrown in to buy a gpu, making it a budget gaming PC.

 

[TheEvolution]

Those r budget config ?
Lol.....

 

[Emperus]

Seriouslly, who is picking them.? And how much margin has been fixed to be qualified as a budget system.?

 

[trybalados]

i don't know if it's okay to mention, but lunyone's build vote changed very drastically

 

[frederico]

I've been on a tech and building forum for 3 years now and we are constantly asked for budget builds - with the exception of one PC these are not even remotely close to budget builds.

 

[myesilyurt]

I think budget gaming PC should be considered as less than 1000$ and the highest performance/budget PC. Of course there must be a minimum performance criteria. Otherwise, generally very low performance specs can have high performance/budget ratio.

 

[dEAne]

There a parts of it I consider on the budget but not all of them.

 

[radiumburn]

simon12's build is a waste of time.. Can't run xfire on that board he picked but dual 5850s would probably take the top spot for graphics tests then a singular 5870 or dual 460's... If he could find a different board at same price point that would actually accommodate the dual video cards then it would be the winner.
Could probably get an even less powerful processor and just OC it and spend a lil more money on the motherboard. Considering the majority of games right now only seem to benefit from a max of 3 cores/threads.

 

[hardware specialists]

that's the entire point of a budget build, make some sacrifices. he goes with a corsair 550w, he may have to drop the GPU down to a 5670, etc.,

i do not know the stats on the corsair 550 but i used a antec bp 550 80+ cert ps and ran dual 4870s with a dual core phenom II x2 @4.0 ghz with 550 watts. if its a decent ps it can pull through.

 

[middels8088]

lunyone's build is quite good in terms of value...

 

[kazuha vinland]

Amateurs, say hello to a real budget build. 590 USD.

Case: Thermaltake V9 Black Edition
Motherboard: MSI 870A-G54
Processor: AMD Phenom II X4 955
Graphics: Zotac GeForce GTX 460
Memory: OCZ Black Edition 1600MHz CL8 4GB
Hard Drive: Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB
Burner: Sony Optiarc AD-7261-S
Power Supply: OCZ ModXStream 600W Modular

Combo 1 = PSU + Burner
Combo 2 = Processor + RAM
Combo 3 = Case + HDD (16$ coupon code too)
Standalone 1 = Motherboard
Standalone 2 = Graphics Card

Cost: 590 USD (saved 160 dollars on rabates & combos)

Here you got a build with USB3 and SATA3, a fast quad core, a slightly overclocked GTX 460 which will play most games exceptionally well on 1920x1080, fast RAM, the fastest 7200RPM drive, a modular PSU and a sexy case that has granted great reviews.

Beats all of the amateur builds in the opening post. -_- This is a budget gamer dammit. Per definition that is one without superfluous components which can play games exceptionally well at a 1920x1080 resolution. Mine can for 590 dollars, so why spend more than a 1000?

 

[sojrner]

same as the intel "budget" builds, one truly meeting the requirement and the others shooting the moon with graphics.

...I'm not a fan of samsung drives (too many failures on my own stuff) but the only budget build on here is solid.

 

[kazuha vinland]

You must have been unlucky. The F3 drives come out real fine most of the time. To check error rate, it's often smart to check large sellers with a feedback system, like Newegg. If there are a lot of 1 eggs, then they deal with DOA a lot. Just judging by personal experience is misleading.

 

[ScrewySqrl]

the original 'budget' was $1000, so those builds are meeting the original budget costs.

Several complained at the time that $1000 was not a real Budget Build for AMD, but the rules were $1000

 

[lunyone]

Simon's build has a mobo with ONE PCIE x16 slot (not even a second at x4) and TWO graphics cards. And your editorial team picked it as one of the best????
Anyway, tough call between Hunter and TheDuke for best, but the case choice wins it for Hunter. Lunyone misses an honorable mention for budgetary awareness, by using a questionable PSU and mobo.

I wonder why a Antec BP430w PSU is questionable?? It has 30A on the combined 12v rails (used mainly for GPU power) and comes with a 3 yr. warranty (if you are skeptical). Most PSU's in the budget realm only offer 1 yr. warranty and don't have good customer support (which I have had great Antec support over the years).

The Biostar Mobo is based on the 770 chipset (one of the better ones) and seems like a good "budget" choice. I've had several Biostar mobo's that worked out just fine (better than some Gigabyte boards), so I'm inclined to suggest them (for the most part). YMMV on any motherboard and I don't claim to be anything, but someone who wants to help out.

So the PSU and mobo that I selected should be just fine, especially since I'm only spending about $500 on the build. This "budget" build should be ~$500, NOT $1k, IMHO. If I had wanted to spend $1k on a build, I would've obviously picked other options, but I feel 95% of people wanting to get a "budget" gaming build would opt for a ~$500 build over a $1k build (especially with the economy the way it is right now).

My 2 cents

 

[kazuha vinland]

It's ridiculous setting the score at round numbers. A budget build is one with few compromises. I've posted one for 590$ above. An enthusiast build removes all boundaries.

 

[Onus]

HardwareSecrets reviewed the 430W Basiq and found it mediocre. The 500W version, otoh, was quite good.
As to the mobo, I just replaced another Biostar mobo that flaked out; at least it lasted over a year, but that's 2/2 (the other one didn't make it six months). That's hardly a representative sample, but personally does not allow me to feel confident about Biostar any more. The board I used as a replacement was the $60 ASRock 770.

 

[coleam45]

Hunter's build gets the vote from me. While I agree that $1k is not really a "budget" build, it was the guideline for the competition, and his system was the best configuration listed, especially since it didn't use combo deals. If we're putting up a system to be used as a reference, it should be something that has a high probability of existing at the same price point in a month.

 

[lunyone]

Hunter's build gets the vote from me. While I agree that $1k is not really a "budget" build, it was the guideline for the competition, and his system was the best configuration listed, especially since it didn't use combo deals. If we're putting up a system to be used as a reference, it should be something that has a high probability of existing at the same price point in a month.

This is the reason why I specified that we should have a REAL "Budget" gaming build. Not a ~$1k "budget" build. I've been saying that they should get back to their original "budget" gaming build that they started about 2-3 years ago at the $500 price point. I'm not saying that these other gaming systems are bad, just I'm just saying that my build is close enough (even without combo pricing) to a true "budget" build.

Edit: I've included a link to one of the original $500 gaming machines that Tom's built. This is what I was referring to above. I'm pretty sure TH built a $500 gaming system in 2006, but I can't seem to find it right now.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/500-gaming-machine-2007-edition,1681.html

 

[Guest]

With this build I'm just trying to get the most bang for the buck:

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition
Motherboard: MSI NF980-G65 980a nforce
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.524421
combo: $274.98 (promo code: MBTEN7 -$15.50)

GPU: GIGABYTE GV-N460OC-1GI GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) 1GB
Power Supply: OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ600MXSP 600W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.514501
combo: $259.98

Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000528AS 1TB 7200 RPM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148433
promo: $69.99 (promo code: EMCZYYS35 -$15)

RAM: CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1600
Case: NZXT M59 - 001BK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.514332
combo: $117.98

DVD Burner: LITE-ON CD/DVD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106289
price: $16.99

TOTAL: $739.92
PROMO: -$30.50
MIRC's: -$55
GRAND TOTAL: $654.42

 

[Guest]

Hunter's build gets the vote from me. While I agree that $1k is not really a "budget" build, it was the guideline for the competition, and his system was the best configuration listed, especially since it didn't use combo deals. If we're putting up a system to be used as a reference, it should be something that has a high probability of existing at the same price point in a month.

the thing is, you may as well use combos, because the prices of everything down the road are going to drastically change anyways. better people are informed of the best deals here and now. i wouldn't expect this thread to stay alive if people aren't updating monthly, if not bi-monthly.

 

[p4nz3rm4d]

Am i the only person out there that is waiting for Bulldozer/SB and not buying somthing now? I just wanted 2 know...is anyone else doing this?