Ultimate Value Gaming Build Guide

[Denzof]

Can you tell me the quality you ran the games on please.

I also have Dirt Showdown and have everything on max, if I run the ingame benchmark or even just drive myself I only have average of 60 FPS I hardly think that you had it full everything. Thanks

[bgiunta]

Gahhh.. Linus, why you no push 24 pin plug in all the way.

[NordriOfUthgard]

Am I the only one who thinks it's a questionable approach to teach people who clearly don't know much about computers (whom this guide is clearly aimed towards) to overclock their CPUs?

I personally would've gone for something like an ASUS M5A78L-M USB3 and an AMD FX-6300 on a value build. Doesn't OC as well but do you really need a heavily overclocked (>4 GHz) CPU for a rig with a graphics card like the r7 260x? The GPU is the bottleneck for gaming performance in this build anyways, isn't it?

 

[theodoro]

Sorry Linus, love your channel and the site, but this is a retarded build. Instead of wasting the $200 this G3258 + Z97 board cost might as well have spent $220 on an i5-4440 and a B85 board. No one on an extreme budget is going to be using SLI, so what's the point of Z97? Not a lot of value in this system.

It's not about the i5. It's about the motherboard.

Spend some less money on your mobo and buy a better GPU, because in this budget, the fps/$ are better on GPUs than CPUs. 

Even with an i7 or i5, the biggest bottleneck is going to be the GPU and you are not going to see a big improvement with a 260X even with a much better CPU. If you had a GTX770 or a R9 280X or 290 then, yes, the i5 would be a much better choice, but in this case the Pentium is just fine.

This is also the reason i would probably get the FX6300. It won't cause a significant bottleneck for gaming and the 6 cores will help with other applications and maybe in some future games as well. The only drawback would be the higher TDP, but still, the stock cooler will be enough. 

Of course you are not going to have the same upgradability as Z97 has, but most people won't change their computer for years (3-5), so even after 4 years you will probably change Z97 too. 

[latuman]

Yeah, I agree with the poor choice of mobo. I think the mistake here is that this is a value build for enthusiasts; it's a build that an enthusiast would consider value for themselves, or their significant other, whereas most people who buy value builds are against spending money on cutting edge technologies and are buying a new computer because their old one has died or is dying; they buy it because they have to. What they care is what the price will be and thats it.

 

For us, building computers is all fun and games.

[Dion]

Shouldn't the PSU be facing fan down? Since the case does have a fan filter on the bottom.

[rinslime]

Gahhh.. Linus, why you no push 24 pin plug in all the way.

THIS!!

 

Linus you better add some annotations to the video before people start thinking it's OK to do that.

[EricX2]

"A Hard-drive costs the same as going to the Movies"

 

Erm.

No it doesn't. Going to the movies with some friends costs £15 at Max, however a good 1TB hard-drive will set you back at least £40. Well over double... 

 

Pretty sure he's talking about as a father taking his wife and kid(s), plus buying popcorn/candy/drinks.

[thatguy321]

4.4GHz on stock cooler! What was the temps and the voltage?

 

Think is my question! I actually ordered all the parts for a very similar build on the 28th and still waiting for all my parts to arrive.

 

Working with a B85M mobo with a 1.2V max. Want to overclock some but would like to stay well within safe ranges using the stock heatsink. I haven't read of anyone hitting 4.2-4.4 without turning up the V's some.

 

This is my first build and first time experimenting with OC'ing, just trying to learn as much as I can and figure the best way to go about doing so.

[sendekyo]

I said this in the YouTube comments, but will say it again here...

This was timed perfectly because I was just planning a super budgeted build.

Thanks @LinusTech!

Also, I sent Edzel an Android to help him with the intro. Mine is on the left with the ping pong paddle. lol

[WMW]

Gahhh.. Linus, why you no push 24 pin plug in all the way.

 

I think it might be a problem with the PSU. I have the 600 watt version of that PSU and the 24 pin power connector doesn't plug in all the way either.

 

 

Think is my question! I actually ordered all the parts for a very similar build on the 28th and still waiting for all my parts to arrive.

 

Working with a B85M mobo with a 1.2V max. Want to overclock some but would like to stay well within safe ranges using the stock heatsink. I haven't read of anyone hitting 4.2-4.4 without turning up the V's some.

 

This is my first build and first time experimenting with OC'ing, just trying to learn as much as I can and figure the best way to go about doing so.

 

Depends on how lucky you get. I have 2 g3258 chips, one of them I'm posting on right now and its stable @ 4.5 at 1.2 volts. The other one needs 1.4 volts to be semi stable at 4.5 (stable enough for daily use, not stable past a few minutes in P95).

[Doctorfrozo]

If you are one for IPS Gaming monitors rather than TN, perhaps this would make a good monitor to consider.

 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/916657-REG/acer_um_vh6aa_003_h236hl_bid_23_wide.html

[profesorfrink42]

It's not about the i5. It's about the motherboard.

Spend some less money on your mobo and buy a better GPU, because in this budget, the fps/$ are better on GPUs than CPUs. 

Even with an i7 or i5, the biggest bottleneck is going to be the GPU and you are not going to see a big improvement with a 260X even with a much better CPU. If you had a GTX770 or a R9 280X or 290 then, yes, the i5 would be a much better choice, but in this case the Pentium is just fine.

This is also the reason i would probably get the FX6300. It won't cause a significant bottleneck for gaming and the 6 cores will help with other applications and maybe in some future games as well. The only drawback would be the higher TDP, but still, the stock cooler will be enough. 

Of course you are not going to have the same upgradability as Z97 has, but most people won't change their computer for years (3-5), so even after 4 years you will probably change Z97 too. 

 

Can confirm. Proud owner of a G3258@4.4GHz+R9 270X combo, apart from a few very specific games, I'm being bottlenecked by the GPU in most cases (99% GPU use with ~60-70% on both cores). I'd really consider going cheaper on the mobo and getting a better GPU.

[seanjonna]

Hi guys

This is my first post, what do you think about this budget build http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/c7WRMp

i'm planning to OC

[Takata]

Actually, nvm my suggestion for a cheaper Z97 motherboard. The Asus H81M-E supports overclocking (as Linus mentions in the holiday build guide), so why not go for that? Yes, the Z97 boards provide upgradeability, but is that really the best strategy? Luke's first motherboard guide video suggests it's better to spend about $100 on a motherboard now and $100 again in 3 years rather than trying to make a $200+ motherboard last for 6 years. I see nothing to suggest we can't apply that strategy at a lower price point. So... get a $50 motherboard now and another one in 2 years instead of spending $100 on a motherboard now with features you don't need now. ?

As a side benefit, you'll be able to reuse your old motherboard for a spare computer, a NAS, or just resell it.

[00.0]

Good video, but its not great, sorry guys.

 

I don't get why they didn't explain on what budget they where on and how much each individual part costs. For an budget video like this,I think its mandatory to explain the costs of each part and take a look at the budget as a whole. Even if I look in the description, I see no text about any costs whatsoever, which seems strange.

 

Also, a quick rundown for cheap peripherals would be nice. I mean, well, Linus dit a quick rundown....but just a bit to quick and felt cheap in comparison to the rest of the guide. 

 

At last, we all know you are sponsored by Intel and Corsair, but in these video the marketing for their products it is bit to blatantly and with such behavior you can scare off quite some viewers (in the long run). 

[thatguy321]

Depends on how lucky you get. I have 2 g3258 chips, one of them I'm posting on right now and its stable @ 4.5 at 1.2 volts. The other one needs 1.4 volts to be semi stable at 4.5 (stable enough for daily use, not stable past a few minutes in P95).

 

So a bump to 4.0 with the preset voltage or a very slight increase in voltage seems completely reasonable as a place to start? Or should I take the time to walk it up all the way from 3.2 on preset voltage (Maybe is incraments of .2), then increase V's once I hit a stability issue?

 

Are you running the included heatsink or an aftermarket cooler? What temps are you hitting?

[thatguy321]

how much would all this cost?

 

Make a few minor changes and shop around and it can be done for under $400.

[SteveGrabowski]

Think is my question! I actually ordered all the parts for a very similar build on the 28th and still waiting for all my parts to arrive.

 

Working with a B85M mobo with a 1.2V max. Want to overclock some but would like to stay well within safe ranges using the stock heatsink. I haven't read of anyone hitting 4.2-4.4 without turning up the V's some.

 

This is my first build and first time experimenting with OC'ing, just trying to learn as much as I can and figure the best way to go about doing so.

 

I hit 4.4GHz on my G3258 on 1.18V with stock cooling (my board also has a 1.2V limit). I can't remember what was the best I could get without upping the vcore and I don't have the Pentium in my rig any more, but I think it was at least 3.8GHz.

[SteveGrabowski]

Hi guys

This is my first post, what do you think about this budget build http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/parts/partlist/

i'm planning to OC

 

It's not showing up. You have to give us the URL from the Permalink field of the page.

[dragoon20005]

Think is my question! I actually ordered all the parts for a very similar build on the 28th and still waiting for all my parts to arrive.

 

Working with a B85M mobo with a 1.2V max. Want to overclock some but would like to stay well within safe ranges using the stock heatsink. I haven't read of anyone hitting 4.2-4.4 without turning up the V's some.

 

This is my first build and first time experimenting with OC'ing, just trying to learn as much as I can and figure the best way to go about doing so.

it could be a limitation of you board

 

did you update your BIOS?

 

The Pentium even as a dual core need 1.25 volts to reach the 4.2-4.5GHz but may be higher depending on the chip you got

 

some users who got bad ones need up to 1.3V just to hit 4.5GHz

[Guest]

I do not really get one thing, a 150 dollar motherboard was used with a ton of expansion slots, but also a 430w PSU because you don't plan on upgrading. And i don't like the idea of a motherboard more expensive than a GPU for something value-oriented. And are they that heavily sponsored to recommend Intel SSD's? Samsung or one of the other major brands are at least as good as those Intel ones. That's just my feedback.

 

The Asus B85M-G is my personal choice for value builds, comes with nothing more than what a gamer would need.

 

This Intel sponsorship is getting on my nerves. It used to be that some blurb about the SSD 730 made it into half of all the videos, now it's down to recommending the SSD 530? As a user of the SSD 530 (and other SSDs) myself, I'm hard-pressed to recommend it to anyone, at least at the absurd prices it's sold at. Even the 840 EVO manages to come in at a much lower price point, and the 840 EVO's not a budget drive here in canada.

 

personally if the build uses cheaper parts here and there it might be this

-snip-

 

The board supports SLi and CF for future expansion. SanDisk have been in the memory business for quite a while and as a user of both the SD card and SSD. They are value for money. And if you want more performance you can go for the Extreme Pro version. Buying a bigger PSU might be overkill for the current build but I chose it because of the future upgrades in mind like CF or SLi gpus and i5 or i7 cpu in the near future.

 

Those are US prices. The Extreme Pro is only available as a 240GB capacity minimum. I beg to differ on the value for money point because Sandisk basically doesn't have a 120GB SSD at the sub-$90 price point (the Ultra II, Ultra Plus are all priced at around $99, and the prices you see on ca.pcpartpicker aren't accurate because NCIX is having a short sale). Their "Solid State Drive" lineup is bog standard SF-2281 and isn't competitive at all, even at the $69 price it's usually at).

 

I do agree that the CX430 is a supremely stupid part choice. I cannot think of a reason why anyone would think to use this low-quality, low-wattage PSU in anything other than an office/home theater build. 

[XionEternum]

yea alot of work to be done on the build

 

like your build, just lookin quickly at it it looks ok apart from n400 that is pain in the ass to clean and i would never buy it with that price tag

 

we can make a seperate thread on this or we can wait for Budget Build-off in Planning section of forum right @dragoon20005. This video is more of a build(ing) guide than planning and build guide.

In video Linus forgot to tell ppl they come in Planning section of this forum.

Integrated non-removeable dust filters are not hard to clean: Just Hoover them whenever you clean the room. I've also used the Elite for the side-panel window without fan grills. I've also used the S340 in a couple builds recently. I've also used Fractal, etc. I just threw in a common example ~$50 chassis.

[WMW]

So a bump to 4.0 with the preset voltage or a very slight increase in voltage seems completely reasonable as a place to start? Or should I take the time to walk it up all the way from 3.2 on preset voltage (Maybe is incraments of .2), then increase V's once I hit a stability issue?

 

Are you running the included heatsink or an aftermarket cooler? What temps are you hitting?

Bump up the voltage right away. 1.2V is relatively low for the g3258. As long as your temps aren't going over ~75-85C (depending on your comfort level) during stress tests you should be ok. I have an aftermarket cooler, the stock one is garbage though it should be able to handle it, just keep an eye on the temps.

[dragoon20005]

Those are US prices. The Extreme Pro is only available as a 240GB capacity minimum. I beg to differ on the value for money point because Sandisk basically doesn't have a 120GB SSD at the sub-$90 price point (the Ultra II, Ultra Plus are all priced at around $99, and the prices you see on ca.pcpartpicker aren't accurate because NCIX is having a short sale). Their "Solid State Drive" lineup is bog standard SF-2281 and isn't competitive at all, even at the $69 price it's usually at).

 

I do agree that the CX430 is a supremely stupid part choice. I cannot think of a reason why anyone would think to use this low-quality, low-wattage PSU in anything other than an office/home theater build. 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($68.98 @ OutletPC)

Motherboard: MSI Z97S SLI Plus ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($100.98 @ Newegg)

Memory: Team Zeus Yellow 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($58.99 @ Newegg)

Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($104.99 @ Amazon)

Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 270 2GB TurboDuo Video Card  ($131.98 @ Newegg)

Case: Corsair SPEC-01 RED ATX Mid Tower Case  ($49.99 @ Newegg)

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($59.99 @ Newegg)

Total: $575.90

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-01 20:44 EST-0500

 

well this is the improved build using a better value SSD I hope

 

While the Pentium build does allow for expansion

 

If the build is used for  casual AAA gaming or FPS games like BF4 and Far Cry 4

 

then the build will be this

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 860K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($69.99 @ NCIX US)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master GeminII M4 58.4 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($30.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Motherboard: ASRock FM2A88X Extreme4+ ATX FM2+ Motherboard  ($69.99 @ Newegg)

Memory: Team Zeus Yellow 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($58.99 @ Newegg)

Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($104.99 @ Amazon)

Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 270 2GB TurboDuo Video Card  ($131.98 @ Newegg)

Case: Corsair SPEC-01 RED ATX Mid Tower Case  ($49.99 @ Newegg)

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($59.99 @ Newegg)

Total: $576.91

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-01 20:46 EST-0500

 

The 860K even with just a quad core CPU is faster than the FX 8320 in terms of IPC and test shown it surpasses the FX in multi and single treaded processing

 

Far Cry 4 esp now need a quad core CPU to work although there is a mod to let the game run on a dual core

 

Just like the Pentium, the 860K can be OC to 4.4-4.5GHz and put up a good fight with the Pentium for the same price

 

Getting stable fps is crucial for FPS and racing games and any stutters in games is annoying and turn anyone off