Build for girlfriend.

[acidydragon]

Hello all!

So me and my girlfriend have been dating for about three years now, and we like to play games together.

She currently plays on an eMachine AIO computer. The only real specs I know are that it has 2 gb of ram (because I upgraded that), and it's generally bad...

 

So, for a late valentines day gift (also her birthday/whatever-else-I-can-get-away-with) I want to make her a machine that will out perform her eMachine.

 

I need no peripherals or monitors or anything, just the case and internals

 

Here's what I've cooked up so far...

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

 

CPU:  AMD A10-7850K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($184.99 @ Newegg) 

Motherboard:  Gigabyte GA-F2A88XN-WIFI Mini ITX FM2+ Motherboard  ($107.99 @ Staples) 

Memory:  G.Skill Ripjaws Z Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2400 Memory  ($81.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage:  Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($59.98 @ OutletPC) 

Power Supply:  Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($32.98 @ Newegg) 

Total: $452.93

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-20 15:50 EST-0500)

 

Not sure on some of the stuff that isn't listed. I already own a Hyper 212 Evo CPU cooler if we can fit that in there.

 

I like the idea of ITX, but if you guys can give me a decent reason (pricing) not to do it that way, I'll listen Biggest I would want would be a moderate sized mid-tower.

 

My budget sits around 400 to 600 (which will be tight) USD.

Thanks for all the help guys

 

Edit:

She currently just plays WoW, but I'm weaning her into more and more.

1080p monitor (24 inch for parts concern)

[Paralectic]

Better off with an Athlon and a dedicated GPU, 4GB ram and anything else of your choice.

[Ryan Leech]

I would recommend an SSD instead of the HDD

[Tea1337]

Should be able to do a build in that price with the new GTX 750 ti, I'll see what I can get together.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU:  Intel Core i3-4330 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($132.97 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard:  Gigabyte GA-H81M-DS2V Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($56.99 @ Newegg)
Memory:  Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($59.99 @ Microcenter)
Storage:  Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($59.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card:  Asus GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card  ($154.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply:  SeaSonic 350W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($41.99 @ Mwave)
Total: $506.91
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-20 16:05 EST-0500)

[consoleconvergence2pc]

Looks good for a apu build.

since you have a bit left with your budget why not throw in a ssd and the case is your preference 

[SAV1OUR]

hows this? 
 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

 

CPU:  AMD Athlon X4 750K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($79.98 @ OutletPC) 

Motherboard:  Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard  ($89.99 @ Microcenter) 

Memory:  Kingston Beast 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($86.74 @ Amazon) 

Storage:  Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk  ($82.95 @ Amazon) 

Storage:  Western Digital Caviar Green 1TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($55.94 @ Amazon) 

Video Card:  Asus GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card  ($154.99 @ Amazon) 

Power Supply:  Corsair CX 500W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($49.99 @ Microcenter) 

Total: $600.58

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-20 16:04 EST-0500)

[FTW_Perverse]

No GPU listed.  And why such high Mhz on the RAM?  1600 should be fine.  You can save a little money there (not much tho).  

 

Sounds like any upgrade you do will outperform what she has now.  A 750Ti or 760 will be a great card for her at this point.

[FTW_Perverse]

 

hows this? 

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

 

CPU:  AMD Athlon X4 750K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($79.98 @ OutletPC) 

Motherboard:  Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard  ($89.99 @ Microcenter) 

Memory:  Kingston Beast 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($86.74 @ Amazon) 

Storage:  Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk  ($82.95 @ Amazon) 

Storage:  Western Digital Caviar Green 1TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($55.94 @ Amazon) 

Video Card:  Asus GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card  ($154.99 @ Amazon) 

Power Supply:  Corsair CX 500W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($49.99 @ Microcenter) 

Total: $600.58

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-20 16:04 EST-0500)

 

 

Agreed on this list!  Nice work @SAV1OUR.

[kinkywink]

No GPU listed.  And why such high Mhz on the RAM?  1600 should be fine.  You can save a little money there (not much tho).  

 

Sounds like any upgrade you do will outperform what she has now.  A 750Ti or 760 will be a great card for her at this point.

high ram mhz is because the integrated graphics likes it on the amd apus

[FTW_Perverse]

high ram mhz is because the integrated graphics likes it on the amd apus

meh- I'd still go dedicated GPU.

[WoodenMarker]

Edits: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2WVAM

[acidydragon]

what case would you recommend for cheap. Also, how much more would it be to go ITX?

[acidydragon]

also, any reason you didn't go with the power supply I listed?

[f22luke]

high ram mhz is because the integrated graphics likes it on the amd apus

 

 

meh- I'd still go dedicated GPU.

Anything is better than that Emachine and for WOW or Sims and even Bf4 with mantle the APU is just fine.  Plus if you need to throw in an R7 card later on.  Going with the APU will mean you won't have to skimp so much on other components. 

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

 

CPU:  AMD A10-7850K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($184.99 @ Newegg) 

Motherboard:  Gigabyte GA-F2A88XN-WIFI Mini ITX FM2+ Motherboard  ($107.99 @ Staples) 

Memory:  G.Skill Ripjaws Z Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2400 Memory  ($81.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage:  Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk  ($82.95 @ Amazon) 

Storage:  Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($59.98 @ OutletPC) 

Case:  Fractal Design Node 304 Mini ITX Tower Case  ($89.56 @ Mwave) 

Power Supply:  XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($25.99 @ Newegg) 

Operating System:  Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($84.99 @ NCIX US) 

Total: $703.44

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-20 16:47 EST-0500)

[FTW_Perverse]

 

 

Anything is better than that Emachine and for WOW or Sims and even Bf4 with mantle the APU is just fine.  Plus if you need to throw in an R7 card later on.  Going with the APU will mean you won't have to skimp so much on other components. 

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

 

CPU:  AMD A10-7700K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($149.99 @ Newegg) 

Motherboard:  Gigabyte GA-F2A88XN-WIFI Mini ITX FM2+ Motherboard  ($107.99 @ Staples) 

Memory:  G.Skill Ripjaws Z Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2400 Memory  ($73.80 @ Newegg) 

Storage:  Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk  ($82.95 @ Amazon) 

Storage:  Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($59.98 @ OutletPC) 

Case:  Fractal Design Node 304 Mini ITX Tower Case  ($89.56 @ Mwave) 

Power Supply:  Rosewill Hive 550W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($49.99 @ Newegg) 

Operating System:  Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($84.99 @ NCIX US) 

Total: $699.25

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-20 16:34 EST-0500)

 

Agree to disagree.  Mantle with APU is overrated as it stands now.  Just because you can "play" a game doesn't mean you will enjoy your experience.

[acidydragon]

my thoughts for the APU were that I could start now with better components for everything else, and later possibly for something like a present, I could add a GPU.

not saying that that is the only way to go, just my thought process.

[f22luke]

my thoughts for the APU were that I could start now with better components for everything else, and later possibly for something like a present, I could add a GPU.

not saying that that is the only way to go, just my thought process.

I like the Node 304 but here is a build with the Prodigy 

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

 

CPU:  AMD A10-7850K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($184.99 @ Newegg) 

Motherboard:  Gigabyte GA-F2A88XN-WIFI Mini ITX FM2+ Motherboard  ($107.99 @ Staples) 

Memory:  G.Skill Ripjaws Z Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2400 Memory  ($81.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage:  Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk  ($82.95 @ Amazon) 

Storage:  Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($59.98 @ OutletPC) 

Case:  BitFenix Prodigy (Black) Mini ITX Tower Case  ($69.99 @ Amazon) 

Power Supply:  XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($25.99 @ Newegg) 

Operating System:  Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($84.99 @ NCIX US) 

Total: $683.87

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-20 16:44 EST-0500)

[f22luke]

Agree to disagree.  Mantle with APU is overrated as it stands now.  Just because you can "play" a game doesn't mean you will enjoy your experience.

An APU with good memory can do just fine and like I said it allows her to try it out and if she really gets in to it then add a dedicated card.  If this build needed to play high end games right off the bat then things would be different.

[FTW_Perverse]

An APU with good memory can do just fine and like I said it allows her to try it out and if she really gets in to it then add a dedicated card.  If this build needed to play high end games right off the bat then things would be different.

 

Fair enough.  I never want my experience to be just fine.  But I guess that's what this guy is asking for... 

[Suika]

This is about as low as I'd go for the build. Any less and I don't think the build would be too great comparatively.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

 

CPU:  AMD Athlon X4 750K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($79.99 @ Amazon) 

Motherboard:  MSI FM2-A75MA-E35 Micro ATX FM2 Motherboard  ($57.78 @ Newegg) 

Memory:  PNY Optima 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory  ($74.99 @ Best Buy) 

Storage:  Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($59.99 @ Newegg) 

Video Card:  EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card  ($149.99 @ Amazon) 

Case:  Xion XON-560 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($34.98 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply:  XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($25.99 @ Newegg) 

Total: $483.71

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-20 16:52 EST-0500)

 

Here's going up further in the budget, and it's a moderately nicer build in my anything but humble opinion.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

 

CPU:  AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor  ($117.12 @ OutletPC) 

Motherboard:  ASRock 990FX Extreme3 ATX AM3+/AM3 Motherboard  ($112.98 @ Newegg) 

Memory:  Kingston 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($63.99 @ Best Buy) 

Storage:  Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($59.99 @ Newegg) 

Video Card:  Asus GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card  ($179.98 @ SuperBiiz) 

Case:  NZXT Gamma Classic (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($32.98 @ Best Buy) 

Power Supply:  XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($25.99 @ Newegg) 

Total: $593.03

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-20 16:59 EST-0500)

[acidydragon]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

 

CPU:  AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor  ($117.12 @ OutletPC) 

Motherboard:  ASRock 990FX Extreme3 ATX AM3+/AM3 Motherboard  ($112.98 @ Newegg) 

Memory:  Kingston 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($63.99 @ Best Buy) 

Storage:  Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($59.99 @ Newegg) 

Video Card:  Asus GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card  ($179.98 @ SuperBiiz) 

Case:  NZXT Gamma Classic (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($32.98 @ Best Buy) 

Power Supply:  XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($25.99 @ Newegg) 

Total: $593.03

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-20 16:59 EST-0500)

 

[acidydragon]

@WoodenMarker @SAV1OUR @Tea1337 @Suika

 

Is there an advantage going low end intel over the AMD side?

If GPU is the route, would a 660 be a better deal than a 750 ti (the benches seem higher)

 

Also, the build above seems nice (Thanks Suika), but ASRock motherboard seems fishy, also I would switch out for dual channel ram.

 

Thoughts?

[WoodenMarker]

@WoodenMarker @SAV1OUR @Tea1337 @Suika

 

Is there an advantage going low end intel over the AMD side?

If GPU is the route, would a 660 be a better deal than a 750 ti (the benches seem higher)

 

Also, the build above seems nice (Thanks Suika), but ASRock motherboard seems fishy, also I would switch out for dual channel ram.

 

Thoughts?

A 660 would be a bit better but it costs a bit more and a bit more power hungry. 

You save a bit more power and get better single thread performance with Intel. 

 

Nothing wrong I see with the Asrock board other than the price.

[ilexious]

The 750 TI atm is one of the best power for $ gpu out there until crypto currency miners make it 400$. Until then it will play most games at medium to low settings and saves alot of power letting you use a cheaper mid wattage psu. Dual channeling your RAM is a Great thing to do so please do. AMD gets more power per buck as well but suffer from high heat and other crap most people solve with getting bit more expensive Intel CPU.

[f22luke]

@WoodenMarker @SAV1OUR @Tea1337 @Suika

 

Is there an advantage going low end intel over the AMD side?

If GPU is the route, would a 660 be a better deal than a 750 ti (the benches seem higher)

 

Also, the build above seems nice (Thanks Suika), but ASRock motherboard seems fishy, also I would switch out for dual channel ram.

 

Thoughts?

Here's an edit of that build, note that it doesn't include an OS like my other builds

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

 

CPU:  AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor  ($117.12 @ OutletPC) 

Motherboard:  Asus M5A99X EVO R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard  ($114.97 @ OutletPC) 

Memory:  Kingston Black Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($69.99 @ Amazon) 

Storage:  Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($59.99 @ Newegg) 

Video Card:  Asus GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card  ($154.99 @ Amazon) 

Case:  Raidmax Atlas ATX-295WB ATX Mid Tower Case  ($24.99 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply:  XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($25.99 @ Newegg) 

Total: $568.04

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-20 19:20 EST-0500)