Budget Gaming PC Build

[Kasupachew]

So I am planning to build my first pc, but I am also trying to go for a budget build at the same time. My budget is $500 to $700 without peripherals. So far I have idea of what I am planning to build with the use of PCPartPicker.com However, I am not too sure if the build is too good, as I have based the part selection off of ratings and reviews, along with benchmarks and comparisons. I wanted to make sure I am picking out the best for my money by checking with you guys.

 

Processor

AMD FX-6300: $111.01

Picked this out because it happened to be the best for around that price range. I was originally going to go for the Intel i3-4130 (or the i3 4150) but I thought more cores would be better for future gaming, as most people on other forums suggested. I won't need a CPU cooler besides stock because I don't plan on overclocking.

 

Motherboard

Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard: $54.98

Picked for having USB 3.0 headers, along with the price. PCPartPicker also helped to see what this board could handle, by looking at completed builds using it.

 

Memory

Team Vulcan 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory: $69.99

Picked just for price. I didn't look much into this because it is just ram.

 

Storage

Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" SSD: $129.99

Probably going to be either the best or worst part of this build in some peoples' eyes, since this supposed to be a budget build. Although I could many better parts if I ditch this, I am not going to be playing very demanding games. The most demanding games I'll be playing are Bioshock Infinite, Skyrim, Sonic Generations, and GTA 4, the last two being terribly optimized (based off of what I've heard). I really do want faster load times however, because the games I play mostly are TF2 and Skyrim, both having terrible loading times for me, pretty much every minute.

 

Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive: $58.98

Picked for price and rating. Going for 1TB because I really don't need any more, and this is just in case of future proofing for if I get any more games or programs. I would've went with the 750gb model, but I couldn't find any from large sales companies besides smaller places on Amazon which seem pretty sketchy in my opinion.

 

Video Card

Sapphire Radeon R7 265 Video Card: $159.49

Originally was going for the 750TI, but stumbled upon this card instead. It is better for around the same price, so I thought why not. If I manage to change the parts up a bit, or save some extra money, I can go for the R9 270 (not 270X) instead.

 

Case

NZXT Source 210 Elite (White) ATX Mid Tower Case: $41.51

Picked due to having USB 3.0 Front ports, along with the color. If there is a better case out there, I would appreciate the information, as long as it has 3.0 front ports. The color is just a preference, but I am ok with any other colors (absolutely any color).

 

Power Supply

Corsair Builder 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply: $49.99

Picked for price, rating, and wattage. Used the same technique with the motherboard with the power supply, by looking at what it can handle on other builds. Seemed pretty good to me. I didnt want a modular PSU so I didn't try to get one.

 

Optical Drive

Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/ CD Writer: $19.99

Picked for nothing but price and rating. I'll only really use it to install Windows and the occasional CD or DVD I happen to pick up.

 

If you need any more information, the actual build on PCPartPicker is on this link: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Grc7Mp

Also, first post on LTT Forums, woo.

[SAV1OUR]

far better, use the quote button if you want my help

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor  ($109.99 @ Newegg) 

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($28.65 @ OutletPC) 

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard  ($74.99 @ Newegg) 

Memory: Kingston Fury Black Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory  ($82.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Corsair Force LS 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($54.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($53.98 @ OutletPC) 

Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 280 3GB WINDFORCE Video Card  ($199.99 @ Newegg) 

Case: NZXT Source 210 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($33.20 @ Amazon) 

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($64.99 @ NCIX US) 

Total: $683.77

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-19 20:41 EDT-0400

[RubyRoks]

Not bad, but i'm partial to intel. That being said, the FX chips are good for the money up to the $120 range.

I'm worried about the AMD GPU though. It'll probably be fine if it works, but my brother has had driver issues with the R series cards twice in the past. I'd recommend the GTX 760 or 960 depending on which is the newest when you purchase.

The build seems solid overall, but i'd be wary of R series cards.

[Deletive]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
 
CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($179.99 @ NCIX US) 
Motherboard: Asus H81M-D PLUS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($44.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Team Vulcan 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($69.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($58.99 @ NCIX US) 
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($53.98 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 280 3GB WINDFORCE Video Card  ($199.99 @ Newegg) 
Case: NZXT Source 210 Elite (White) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($41.51 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($49.99 @ Amazon) 
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer  ($16.99 @ Newegg) 
Total: $716.42
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-19 20:48 EDT-0400

even games like skyrim really really really prefer intel

[WereCat]

I tried it iwth intel.. you wont be able to overclock CPU but you will still get a whole lot of performance out of it.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($209.99 @ Amazon) 

Motherboard: Asus H81M-D PLUS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($44.99 @ Newegg) 

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

Storage: Sandisk Ultra Plus 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($59.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($53.98 @ OutletPC) 

Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 280 3GB TurboDuo Video Card  ($181.10 @ Newegg) 

Case: Thermaltake VL80001W2Z ATX Mid Tower Case  ($24.99 @ Micro Center) 

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($44.99 @ NCIX US) 

Total: $693.83

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-19 20:54 EDT-0400

[Jack.EXE]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor  ($106.01 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Biostar TA970 ATX AM3+ Motherboard  ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Team Vulcan 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: PNY Optima 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($53.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 280 3GB TurboDuo Video Card  ($181.10 @ Newegg)
Case: Enermax ECA3253-BW ATX Mid Tower Case  ($39.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Rosewill 450W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($27.50 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer  ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $633.54
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-19 21:31 EDT-0400

 

You'll be hard pressed to find a good deal on a board with USB 3.0. but there are cheap add in cards for this purpose, and they work great.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815124122

 

I managed to get a nice black & red theme going too. (I've used every brand in this computer in my own, they are reputable)

[Kasupachew]

Based off of all of the builds suggested to me, I decided to create a hybrid build, attempting to use parts from each build suggested, along with some of my own.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($179.99 @ NCIX US) 

Motherboard: Asus H81M-D PLUS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($44.99 @ Newegg) 

Memory: Team Vulcan 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($69.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Corsair Force LS 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($54.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($53.98 @ OutletPC) 

Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 280 3GB WINDFORCE Video Card  ($199.99 @ Newegg) 

Case: BitFenix Comrade ATX Mid Tower Case  ($39.99 @ NCIX US) 

Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply  ($28.99 @ NCIX US) 

Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer  ($16.99 @ Newegg) 

Total: $689.90

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-19 23:47 EDT-0400

If anything seems wrong, criticism is appreciated, and thanks in advance.

[CloudySky]

500W is a bit dangerous on your intel build.

[awesomenatorrad]

I suggest you get a much better gpu so you do not always have to upgrade it every few months if it is a gaming pc. If the gigabyte windforce gtx 980 is too expensive just get the gtx 970, a much better card than the card you are planning and only 350 usd

CPU Cooler: 
Cooler Master Seidon 120M - PC CPU Liquid Water Cooling System
(I could not add a larger cooler due to the small case size)

Power Supply: 
EVGA Supernova 850 B2 Power Supply

GPU: 
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 980 G1 Gaming Overclocked 4GB GBBR5 

SSD: 
Kingston Digital 120GB

CPU: 
Intel Core i5-4670K Quad-Core Desktop Processor 3.5 GHZ 

HDD:
Seagate Barracuda 2 TB HDD SATA 6 Gb/s NCQ 64MB Cache 3.5-Inch Internal Bare Drive

Motherboard: 
MSI Computer Corp. Z87M GAMING

Ram: 
Corsair Vengeance Blue 8 GB (2X4 GB) PC3-12800 1600mHz

Case: 
Nanoxia Deep Silence 4 Mini Tower Case

[Jack.EXE]

 

I suggest you get a much better gpu so you do not always have to upgrade it every few months if it is a gaming pc. If the gigabyte windforce gtx 980 is too expensive just get the gtx 970, a much better card than the card you are planning and only 350 usd

CPU Cooler: 

Cooler Master Seidon 120M - PC CPU Liquid Water Cooling System

(I could not add a larger cooler due to the small case size)

Power Supply: 

EVGA Supernova 850 B2 Power Supply

GPU: 

Gigabyte GeForce GTX 980 G1 Gaming Overclocked 4GB GBBR5 

SSD: 

Kingston Digital 120GB

CPU: 

Intel Core i5-4670K Quad-Core Desktop Processor 3.5 GHZ 

HDD:

Seagate Barracuda 2 TB HDD SATA 6 Gb/s NCQ 64MB Cache 3.5-Inch Internal Bare Drive

Motherboard: 

MSI Computer Corp. Z87M GAMING

Ram: 

Corsair Vengeance Blue 8 GB (2X4 GB) PC3-12800 1600mHz

Case: 

Nanoxia Deep Silence 4 Mini Tower Case

 

 

I love how you don't post the price, as that is WAY above his budget.