PC Build Help

Andy · 12-30-2013

Going to be building a gaming PC hopefully able to run games such as DayZ and Battlefield 4 with medium quality soon on a $450~ budget (if possible). If a $500 build makes a significant amount of difference, I will go with that. But if not I'll go with a $450 one.

Here are a few builds others have made up, please help me decide whether to choose one of these or what pieces to modify the builds with:

Build from choosemypc.net (~$450):

Spoiler

Reddit recommendation (~$500):

Spoiler

Skill · 12-30-2013

Your first build doesn't seem to have a video card, you'll need one if you want to play games with decent graphics. Intergrated graphics just don't cut it. A 650W power supply is also overkill for that pc as well, you only need one that large if you plan on using 2 video cards or a very high end video card(or any high power consumption devices). I'm not sure how well a micro atx motherboard will work with an atx case, but I'm sure someone smarter can comment on that.

As for the 2nd build, I feel like the ram is a bit weak. 4 GB of 1333 mhz ram isn't very future proof IMO. If you really need a budget build it will cut it, just don't expect to be able to have too many programs going at once(IE your games+steam+skype+music +web browsers etc). Upgrading to 8 GB would be preferred, but not needed.

Also if fp4 comments on this(he often comments on PC build threads), trust him more than me. He has a lot more experience so he's more likely to have better advice.

Crono · 12-30-2013

the reddit build is solid, but i don't like the 430w power supply. go for a cx600 modular and the rest is fine.

Andy · 12-30-2013

Posted by Crono

the reddit build is solid, but i don't like the 430w power supply. go for a cx600 modular and the rest is fine.

The cx600 would up the cost too much for me D: I was hoping to go for a $500 build, $450 if possible

Posted by Crono

the reddit build is solid, but i don't like the 430w power supply. go for a cx600 modular and the rest is fine.

The cx600 would up the cost too much for me D: I was hoping to go for a $500 build, $450 if possible. Anything I can change to make that happen?

Talon · 12-30-2013

You may want to consider an SSD if you don't use too much disk space.

Crono · 12-30-2013

Posted by Andy

The cx600 would up the cost too much for me D: I was hoping to go for a $500 build, $450 if possible. Anything I can change to make that happen?

nah it's fine, the build is solid as it is

Talon · 12-30-2013

Just saw you'll be using 4GB RAM. You also might want to upgrade to 8GB if you're going to be using it for multitasking games/streaming/whatever. If you don't want an SSD and won't be using the full 1TB HDD, you can downgrade to 500GB HDD and put the lost money towards 8GB RAM.

Andy · 12-30-2013

Posted by Talon

Just saw you'll be using 4GB RAM. You also might want to upgrade to 8GB if you're going to be using it for multitasking games/streaming/whatever. If you don't want an SSD and won't be using the full 1TB HDD, you can downgrade to 500GB HDD and put the lost money towards 8GB RAM.

I think I'll do that because I don't have very many games right now and won't be getting any in a while. If I decide to get a 1TB later would the transfer of memory from the 500GB to 1TB be do-able?

Talon · 12-30-2013

Yup. Most cases/mobos are able to store multiple disk drives as well.

Andy · 12-30-2013

Changed to 500GB storage and 8GB of memory:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($56.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Team Vulcan 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($69.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card ($170.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($35.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($23.00)
Total: $513.92
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-30 16:41 EST-0500)

Edit: Just found a really good deal on newegg here save 10%

fp4 · 12-30-2013

Once you factor in MIRs those builds end up in the $550 range. I personally lean more towards the Intel build than the AMD one.

That 430W PSU is fine for both builds, but I would go up to the 500W so you don't have to upgrade the PSU if you get a newer card that needs 2 PCI-E power connectors.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-4330 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($124.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: A-Data XPG Gaming Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($62.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card ($170.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Cougar Spike MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($44.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $543.92
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-30 18:11 EST-0500)

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($64.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: A-Data XPG Gaming Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($62.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card ($170.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Cougar Spike MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($44.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $548.92
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-30 18:18 EST-0500)

Andy · 12-30-2013

The price for those builds are a little too high for me, anything between $450 and a little over $500? Not including MIRs

fp4 · 12-30-2013

Here's $450:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Pentium G3420 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($68.99 @ J&R)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: A-Data XPG Gaming Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($62.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7790 1GB Video Card ($125.38 @ Newegg)
Case: Cougar Spike MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($44.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $442.32
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-30 18:43 EST-0500)

Andy · 12-30-2013

Posted by fp4

Here's $450:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Pentium G3420 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($68.99 @ J&R)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: A-Data XPG Gaming Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($62.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7790 1GB Video Card ($125.38 @ Newegg)
Case: Cougar Spike MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($44.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $442.32
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-30 18:43 EST-0500)

Thanks, I am glad I will be able to upgrade my graphics card without buying other parts

fp4 · 12-31-2013

Posted by Andy

Thanks, I am glad I will be able to upgrade my graphics card without buying other parts

The two big upgrades in the future will be to:

1. Replace the Pentium with an i5.
2. Replace the 7790 with whatever you can afford at your budget.

12-30-2013	1
Andy Andy Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: California Posts: 388	PC Build Help Going to be building a gaming PC hopefully able to run games such as DayZ and Battlefield 4 with medium quality soon on a $450~ budget (if possible). If a $500 build makes a significant amount of difference, I will go with that. But if not I'll go with a $450 one. Here are a few builds others have made up, please help me decide whether to choose one of these or what pieces to modify the builds with: Build from choosemypc.net (~$450): Spoiler PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks CPU: AMD A10-6800K 4.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($119.99 @ Amazon) Motherboard: MSI FM2-A75MA-P33 Micro ATX FM2 Motherboard ($54.99 @ Microcenter) Memory: A-Data XPG Gaming Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($62.99 @ Newegg) Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.98 @ OutletPC) Case: NZXT Source 210 Elite (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($47.99 @ Mwave) Power Supply: Rosewill Hive 650W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ Newegg) Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg) Total: $432.92 (Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.) (Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-29 23:33 EST-0500) Reddit recommendation (~$500): Spoiler PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($116.97 @ OutletPC) Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($56.98 @ SuperBiiz) Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($37.99 @ NCIX US) Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.98 @ OutletPC) Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card ($170.98 @ Newegg) Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($35.99 @ Amazon) Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($23.00) Total: $501.89 (Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.) (Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-29 23:36 EST-0500)

12-30-2013	2
Skill The Unwanted Critic Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 3,639	Your first build doesn't seem to have a video card, you'll need one if you want to play games with decent graphics. Intergrated graphics just don't cut it. A 650W power supply is also overkill for that pc as well, you only need one that large if you plan on using 2 video cards or a very high end video card(or any high power consumption devices). I'm not sure how well a micro atx motherboard will work with an atx case, but I'm sure someone smarter can comment on that. As for the 2nd build, I feel like the ram is a bit weak. 4 GB of 1333 mhz ram isn't very future proof IMO. If you really need a budget build it will cut it, just don't expect to be able to have too many programs going at once(IE your games+steam+skype+music +web browsers etc). Upgrading to 8 GB would be preferred, but not needed. Also if fp4 comments on this(he often comments on PC build threads), trust him more than me. He has a lot more experience so he's more likely to have better advice.

12-30-2013	3
Crono :pluffy: Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Sweden Posts: 5,946	the reddit build is solid, but i don't like the 430w power supply. go for a cx600 modular and the rest is fine.

12-30-2013	5
Talon don't call it a comeback Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 8,268	You may want to consider an SSD if you don't use too much disk space.

12-30-2013	11
fp4 maymay ambassador Join Date: Aug 2011 Posts: 1,508	Once you factor in MIRs those builds end up in the $550 range. I personally lean more towards the Intel build than the AMD one. That 430W PSU is fine for both builds, but I would go up to the 500W so you don't have to upgrade the PSU if you get a newer card that needs 2 PCI-E power connectors. PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks CPU: Intel Core i3-4330 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($124.99 @ Newegg) Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($44.99 @ Newegg) Memory: A-Data XPG Gaming Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($62.99 @ Newegg) Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ Amazon) Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card ($170.98 @ Newegg) Case: Cougar Spike MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($34.99 @ Newegg) Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($44.99 @ Amazon) Total: $543.92 (Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.) (Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-30 18:11 EST-0500) PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($109.99 @ Amazon) Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($64.99 @ Amazon) Memory: A-Data XPG Gaming Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($62.99 @ Newegg) Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ Amazon) Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card ($170.98 @ Newegg) Case: Cougar Spike MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($34.99 @ Newegg) Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($44.99 @ Amazon) Total: $548.92 (Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.) (Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-12-30 18:18 EST-0500)