Entry level gaming PC

[joelarm1998]

I have a friend who want to get his first gaming PC. He does not play games that are very demanding (Minecraft), and he has a budget of about 600-700 dollars. Here is what I have so far, but I am open to any suggestions on lowering the cost, raising performance, part compatibility, or whatever else you want.

[WoodenMarker]

Recommended edits: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3pyCe

[ColorfulShardMC]

You can probably fit in 2133 RAM because it makes a difference, and overclock for more performance

[ColorfulShardMC]

Didn't see your post WoodenMarker! But if you want to stick to AMD, you might wanna do that.

[ilikemacandpc]

Justification

 

Updated to have a 750 Ti instead of a 750. The 750Ti is a great overclocker, and you'll get a noticeable performance increase by juicing up the clock speed a bit.

 

This rig, by virtue of its K series CPU, aftermarket heatsink, and motherboard with a VRM heatsink, can have a decent OC on its CPU. Furthermore, dual channel ram will significantly affect overall performance, considering modern games do use dome memory. It also has an IPS monitor that will be a lot better than the bargain basement TN panels. 

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

 

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

CPU Cooler:  Cooler Master Hyper TX3 54.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($19.99 @ Amazon) 

Motherboard:  MSI A88XM-E45 Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard  ($62.99 @ Amazon) 

Memory:  Kingston Black 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($64.99 @ Amazon) 

Storage:  Hitachi Ultrastar 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($52.00 @ Amazon) 

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

Case:  Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($34.99 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply:  Corsair Builder 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($19.99 @ Newegg) 

Operating System:  Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($89.99 @ NCIX US) 

Monitor:  AOC I2269VW 60Hz 21.5" Monitor  ($119.99 @ Best Buy) 

Total: $694.90

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

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-10 17:33 EDT-0400)

[joelarm1998]

Recommended edits: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3pyCe

Why do you recommend those edits?

[Tea1337]

You can probably fit in 2133 RAM because it makes a difference, and overclock for more performance

It will only make a great difference if he gets an APU, it usually doesn't maybe by 1-2 frames with a regular CPU.

 

This is if he goes with the APU, if not then the best is 1600mhz ram.

[WoodenMarker]

Why do you recommend those edits?

It's plain better?

It's a similar cpu with a much more powerful gpu along with a better display.

[ilikemacandpc]

It's plain better?

It's a similar cpu with a much more powerful gpu along with a better display.

 

You have another $40 to play with. An Athlon 750K, Hyper TX3, VRM heatsinks, and dual channel ram only improve upon your build. 

[Bad@Gaming]

It's plain better?

It's a similar cpu with a much more powerful gpu along with a better display.

 

He doesn't really need anything other than integrated graphics to play minecraft tho.

[joelarm1998]

 

It's plain better?

It's a similar cpu with a much more powerful gpu along with a better display.

I can see how your edits greatly improve the system, thanks a lot for the help.   Could you please explain how that monitor is better?

[joelarm1998]

He doesn't really need anything other than integrated graphics to play minecraft tho.

Minecraft can get really demanding with high resolution texture packs and mods.

[Probenja]

He doesn't really need anything other than integrated graphics to play minecraft tho.

But does he add mods to his minecraft, because that can reduce the performance quite a lot.

 

I would go with this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

 

CPU:  AMD Athlon X4 760K 3.8GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($84.73 @ OutletPC) 

Motherboard:  MSI A88XM-E45 Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard  ($62.99 @ Amazon) 

Memory:  Kingston Black 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($64.99 @ Amazon) 

Storage:  Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($54.98 @ OutletPC) 

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

Case:  Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($34.99 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply:  Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($24.99 @ Newegg) 

Optical Drive:  Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer  ($19.98 @ OutletPC) 

Operating System:  Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($89.99 @ NCIX US) 

Monitor:  AOC I2269VW 60Hz 21.5" Monitor  ($119.99 @ Best Buy) 

Total: $712.62

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

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-10 18:23 EDT-0400)

[WoodenMarker]

You have another $40 to play with. An Athlon 750K, Hyper TX3, VRM heatsinks, and dual channel ram only improve upon your build. 

Taxes and whatnot. 

He doesn't really need anything other than integrated graphics to play minecraft tho.

Why use integrated graphics if a dedicated solution isn't much more?

It would also help for minecraft mods and other games. 

I can see how your edits greatly improve the system, thanks a lot for the help.   Could you please explain how that monitor is better?

IPS > TN 

TD; DR: It looks better.

[joelarm1998]

WOW, I wish I knew some of this when I was making my own system. I feel like I wasted my money when I could have gotten a much better value.

[MEC-777]

Here's another optional build with an R7-265 which is a little faster than the 750Ti.

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3pMYB

[spwath]

Look at my rig in profile but get am acx 770 and a evga 750 watt psu

[joelarm1998]

Recommended edits: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3pyCe

Do you think he should get a better CPU cooler, or will the stock one be ok?

[WoodenMarker]

Do you think he should get a better CPU cooler, or will the stock one be ok?

Stock one is fine but feel free to get a 212 Evo to oc a bit and to lower the noise if you're interested. 

I'd suggest investing in getting a ssd first if you have extra money to spend though.

[MEC-777]

FYI, the Athlon X4 740 CPU cannot be overlocked. For only about $20 more, the X4 760K in the build I listed earlier is a fair bit faster out of the box and can be overclocked.