$150 CPU Budget

[JesusVanDam]

Building new rig for a friend. Already went over how much he wants to spend and decided $150 for a CPU would be appropriate for him.

 

Computer will be used for moderate gaming (1080p, pushing most games to medium/high settings) and web browsing, not for video editing or 3D rendering. Mostly plays NBA 2K15, Sid Meier's Civ, and Batman games.

 

Wants a balance of a quiet, cool, and well-performing system, so I recommended the i3-4370 which can be found at $140 at our local MicroCenter. I have an AMD FX-8320 in my system, so another thought was an FX-8320E. Am I steering him in the right direction or is there another option I'm not seeing? Any feedback will be appreciated.

[lani100]

Building new rig for a friend. Already went over how much he wants to spend and decided $150 for a CPU would be appropriate for him.

 

Computer will be used for moderate gaming (1080p, pushing most games to medium/high settings) and web browsing, not for video editing or 3D rendering. Mostly plays NBA 2K15, Sid Meier's Civ, and Batman games.

 

Wants a balance of a quiet, cool, and well-performing system, so I recommended the i3-4370 which can be found at $140 at our local MicroCenter. I have an AMD FX-8320 in my system, so another thought was an FX-8320E. Am I steering him in the right direction or is there another option I'm not seeing? Any feedback will be appreciated.

The i5 4690 is available for 160 bucks at microcentre pickup only I would go for that since it's a good deal.

[Anthony10]

Can you say the whole budget/parts already bought? All parts depend on other parts to build a good pc

[SparkySamZa]

please read the rules of this part of the forum:

1. what's your budget

2. where are you based

3. what's it used for

4. are you willing to stretch it a little

[JesusVanDam]

Can you say the whole budget/parts already bought? All parts depend on other parts to build a good pc

GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 770 Superclocked 2GB

MoBo: Around $150-$200 budget

RAM: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2x8GB) @ 1600 (Told him 8GB would be plenty for his needs, but others recommended 16GB)

PSU: FirePower Silencer MK III 750W 80+ Gold (Given as a gift from a friend, doesn't factor into budget)

Case: Fractal Design Define R4 Black Silent Edition

Cooling: Corsair H100i and other misc. case fans

Storage: Samsung 840 EVO (250GB) & WD Black (1TB)

Budget sits around $1250-$1500 (US$)

[Krytopsy]

Many mistakes in this setup but the major one is I would go with GTX 970 and G3258 instead.

[mariohead123]

GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 770 Superclocked 2GB

MoBo: Around $150-$200 budget

RAM: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2x8GB) @ 1600 (Told him 8GB would be plenty for his needs, but others recommended 16GB)

PSU: FirePower Silencer MK III 750W 80+ Gold (Given as a gift from a friend, doesn't factor into budget)

Case: Fractal Design Define R4 Black Silent Edition

Cooling: Corsair H100i and other misc. case fans

Storage: Samsung 840 EVO (250GB) & WD Black (1TB)

Budget sits around $1250-$1500 (US$)

You don't need a 150-200 motherboard with a 150 dollar processor, that doesn't make any sense, get a 200-230 dollar processor and get a cheaper motherboard.

[Anthony10]

GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 770 Superclocked 2GB

MoBo: Around $150-$200 budget

RAM: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2x8GB) @ 1600 (Told him 8GB would be plenty for his needs, but others recommended 16GB)

PSU: FirePower Silencer MK III 750W 80+ Gold (Given as a gift from a friend, doesn't factor into budget)

Case: Fractal Design Define R4 Black Silent Edition

Cooling: Corsair H100i and other misc. case fans

Storage: Samsung 840 EVO (250GB) & WD Black (1TB)

Budget sits around $1250-$1500 (US$)

Are those parts bought already?

If so, then I would get a 4690k and a cheap z97 motherboard

[comstock]

GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 770 Superclocked 2GB

MoBo: Around $150-$200 budget

RAM: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2x8GB) @ 1600 (Told him 8GB would be plenty for his needs, but others recommended 16GB)

PSU: FirePower Silencer MK III 750W 80+ Gold (Given as a gift from a friend, doesn't factor into budget)

Case: Fractal Design Define R4 Black Silent Editionas 

Cooling: Corsair H100i and other misc. case fans

Storage: Samsung 840 EVO (250GB) & WD Black (1TB)

Budget sits around $1250-$1500 (US$)

changes that i would make is get a cheap z97 board ( the gigabyte z97x-sli is a good and cheap one) and go for the i5-4690k or even a lower i5 and a gtx 970 not 770 as they are basically the same price and it has much better preformance and a lower end psu a 650w one is enough

[thatguyjerry]

Many mistakes in this setup but the major one is I would go with GTX 970 and G3258 instead.

 

I was about to recommend this as well. Spend the extra money on your GPU and opt for a weaker CPU, expecially the G3258! (mine runs at 4.5 Ghz with just a CM hyper 212 evo)

 

There are lot of areas where you can cut some cost and improve.

[typographie]

I'm also going to add that you can certainly find much cheaper RAM than that, and I'd also recommend 8 GB rather than 16 for gaming. You also don't need anything even close to an H100i for a G3258 if you go that route. I've heard of people overclocking it just fine with the packaged cooler, and I'm sure you don't need any more than something like a CM Hyper 212.

[Faceman]

@JesusVanDam

 

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/VpgDmG
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/VpgDmG/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($229.97 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Seidon 240M 86.2 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty Z97X Killer ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($102.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory  ($73.95 @ Newegg)
Storage: A-Data Premier Pro SP600 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($53.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB ACX 2.0 Video Card  ($329.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case  ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1025.85
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-30 12:17 EDT-0400

 

Much better build, upgrade ready and stronger from day one.  Buy your CPU and motherboard at Microcenter. i5-4690k + Z97-AR for ~$300.

 

For gaming, get Intel.  An FX8 will only bottleneck a high end card.

 

Stay away from the H100i.  It has a lot of problems with mounting, pump noise, and software.  The Seidon 240M has the same specs, and performs the same minus all the problems.