$700 Gaming and Recording Build (Aus)

[elecxonica]

My sister is currently looking into building a new machine, with a budget of around $700 (she'd prefer less though).

 

Important details:

• Budget: $700 max
• Location: Australia
• Aim: Gaming (mostly skyrim, Fallout New Vegas, Deus Ex Human Revolution, Just cause 2 mostly), recording with an external HDMI H.264 Capture card and working in Photoshop
• Monitors: Doesn't currently have one
• Peripherals: She has a mouse, headphones, microphone. She needs a keyboard, WiFi connection, and the system will be run on the floor.
• Operating System: She has a copy of Windows 7
• She is upgrading so she can get better performance and stability while gaming as opposed to her laptop.

[JLCitadel]

Best I could do.. I'm not sure if the amd apu's come with a stock heatsink, so that could shave off 20$.. but this is pretty much the cheapest I could do for a stable experience. Also if you lend her your optical drive, you can save 20$ for when she installs windows. That brings it down to 725$ pretty much.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

 

CPU:  AMD A10-7850K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($215.00 @ Mwave Australia) 

CPU Cooler:  Thermaltake CLP0598 45.1 CFM CPU Cooler  ($20.00 @ CPL Online) 

Motherboard:  ASRock FM2A88M-HD+ Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard  ($84.00 @ CPL Online) 

Memory:  GeIL EVO Veloce Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($89.00 @ PLE Computers) 

Storage:  Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($55.00 @ PCCaseGear) 

Case:  Silverstone PS08B (Black) MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($49.00 @ CPL Online) 

Power Supply:  Silverstone Strider Essential 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply  ($59.00 @ CPL Online) 

Optical Drive:  LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer  ($21.00 @ Mwave Australia) 

Monitor:  ViewSonic VA2349S 60Hz 23.0" Monitor  ($139.00 @ CPL Online) 

Wireless Network Adapter:  TP-Link TL-WN781ND 802.11b/g/n PCI Wi-Fi Adapter  ($12.99 @ Mwave Australia) 

Keyboard:  Gigabyte Force K3 Wired Gaming Keyboard  ($23.00 @ CPL Online) 

Total: $766.99

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

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-20 12:52 EST+1000)

 

She can always add and SSD GPU & More Ram Later.

[elecxonica]

It's going to be hard to get a good tower itself, a monitor, wifi adapter and a keyboard for 700 AUD...but I'll try. Hold on. 

 

 

 

Best I could do.. I'm not sure if the amd apu's come with a stock heatsink, so that could shave off 20$.. but this is pretty much the cheapest I could do for a stable experience. Also if you lend her your optical drive, you can save 20$ for when she installs windows. That brings it down to 725$ pretty much.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

 

CPU:  AMD A10-7850K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($215.00 @ Mwave Australia) 

CPU Cooler:  Thermaltake CLP0598 45.1 CFM CPU Cooler  ($20.00 @ CPL Online) 

Motherboard:  ASRock FM2A88M-HD+ Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard  ($84.00 @ CPL Online) 

Memory:  GeIL EVO Veloce Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($89.00 @ PLE Computers) 

Storage:  Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($55.00 @ PCCaseGear) 

Case:  Silverstone PS08B (Black) MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($49.00 @ CPL Online) 

Power Supply:  Silverstone Strider Essential 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply  ($59.00 @ CPL Online) 

Optical Drive:  LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer  ($21.00 @ Mwave Australia) 

Monitor:  ViewSonic VA2349S 60Hz 23.0" Monitor  ($139.00 @ CPL Online) 

Wireless Network Adapter:  TP-Link TL-WN781ND 802.11b/g/n PCI Wi-Fi Adapter  ($12.99 @ Mwave Australia) 

Keyboard:  Gigabyte Force K3 Wired Gaming Keyboard  ($23.00 @ CPL Online) 

Total: $766.99

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

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-20 12:52 EST+1000)

 

She can always add and SSD GPU & More Ram Later.

 

Ok. Would it be a better idea to wait for the new AM1 platform to come out then?

[JLCitadel]

Ok. Would it be a better idea to wait for the new AM1 platform to come out then?

 

It could be.. but it's just one of those things where you wait for something new and when that something new comes you hear about something else.

 

If i were her, I'd put more money into higher speed ram and pick up an SSD as my first upgrade to the build.

 

Then toss in a GPU and she'll be golden.

[Str_Mape]

If you're able to pickup this is the best I could do.
 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

 

CPU:  AMD A10-7850K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($215.00 @ Mwave Australia) 

Motherboard:  ASRock FM2A88M-HD+ Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard  ($84.00 @ CPL Online) 

Memory:  G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($99.00 @ CPL Online) 

Storage:  Seagate Barracuda 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($59.00 @ CPL Online) 

Case:  Silverstone PS08B (Black) MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($49.00 @ CPL Online) 

Power Supply:  Silverstone Strider Essential 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply  ($59.00 @ CPL Online) 

Monitor:  AOC E2260SWDN 60Hz 21.5" Monitor  ($135.00 @ CPL Online) 

Wireless Network Adapter:  TP-Link TL-WN781ND 802.11b/g/n PCI Wi-Fi Adapter  ($12.99 @ Mwave Australia) 

Keyboard:  Gigabyte GK-KM6150 Wired Standard Keyboard w/Optical Mouse  ($12.00 @ CPL Online) 

Total: $724.99

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

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-20 13:02 EST+1000)

[mkessler9]

 

My sister is currently looking into building a new machine, with a budget of around $700 (she'd prefer less though).

 

Important details:

• Budget: $700 max
• Location: Australia
• Aim: Gaming (mostly skyrim, Fallout New Vegas, Deus Ex Human Revolution, Just cause 2 mostly), recording with an external HDMI H.264 Capture card and working in Photoshop
• Monitors: Doesn't currently have one
• Peripherals: She has a mouse, headphones, microphone. She needs a keyboard, WiFi connection, and the system will be run on the floor.
• Operating System: She has a copy of Windows 7
• She is upgrading so she can get better performance and stability while gaming as opposed to her laptop.

 

One thing you might want to try is going to some local pawnshops and see if you can find a good cheap monitor. That way you may be able to replace the apu with an actual gpu.

Edited April 20, 2014 by mkessler9

[elecxonica]

One thing you might want to try is going to some local pawnshops and see if you can find a could cheap monitor. That way you may be able to replace the apu with an actual gpu.

That is a good idea. I'll look into it.