$550 Build(USD)

[Mefoga]

My friend is looking to build a $550 computer, but he has some requirements. The computer will mainly be used for gaming, as well as normal people things like web browsing, video streaming, the like. Some of the requirements are: Nvidia only, he hates AMD with a passion. This also means that Intel is required. He also plans on upgrading over time, and I interpret that to mean buy some very good products, and cheap placeholders that would work well for about a month or 2. This means that he will probably use the new Pentium 3258, paired with a good board or something along those lines. The build has to include an operating system, which we can find any of them for 100 dollars somewhere, so just figure that the actualy parts are only $450. As well, don't include rebates. This is what I came up with:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($71.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($56.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB FTW ACX Video Card  ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair SPEC-03 White ATX Mid Tower Case  ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 430W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply  ($30.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit)  ($99.99)
Total: $546.91
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-28 11:13 EST-0500

[Mao_Zedong]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/pWqmWZ

I swapped out the mobo and gpu.

[Fate]

You can get a CX600M for that price and it'll make it so you won't have to upgrade your PSU if you wanna buy something like a 970/980 in the future. Also, there's a Microcenter in Atlanta and you can get a G3258+Z97 motherboard for $100.

[Lotus]

Couple things:

 

1) NVidia only is pure stupidity at this price point. It makes no sense. I will acquiesce to people wanting things based on looks/aesthetics, but fanboyism is just something I can't stand. In the sub $300 market segment of GPUs right now, AMD destroys NVidia thanks to all the deals going on.

2) Even with an NVidia card, you can still go AMD for the CPU, which actually might be the way to go since this isn't a $550 build, but a $450 build, and the 860k is a very well placed GPU. You're most likely looking at an 860k CPU with an R9 270 GPU.

 

Here is the system I would recommend:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 860K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: MSI A78M-E45 Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard  ($47.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Team Zeus Blue 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($67.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($46.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 280 3GB TurboDuo Video Card  ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Core 2300 ATX Full Tower Case  ($34.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Rosewill 450W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit)  ($90.26 @ OutletPC)
Total: $553.19
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-28 11:23 EST-0500

 

It's more suited towards modern games that aren't single-threaded limited. I'll edit this post with a second build with an Intel CPU that has good single-threaded performance, but worse multi-threaded performance. You're also likely to get a worse GPU due to cost.

 

 

edit: I removed a stick of memory to save on cost instead of downgrading the GPU. You can add a second one in anytime later without replacing components, and the R9 280 at $160 is such a steal I couldn't go with a different CPU. The i3 has good single-threaded performance, but it's multi-threaded performance is barely passable. It's still way better than the G3258 in your build which can't even play some modern games like CoD:AW without modding. Anyway, if you play older games like MMOs and other single-threaded dependent games, this is the way to go. Just buy a second stick of memory whenever you get the chance:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($99.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H81M-H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($44.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($37.96 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($46.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 280 3GB TurboDuo Video Card  ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Core 2300 ATX Full Tower Case  ($34.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Rosewill 450W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit)  ($90.26 @ OutletPC)
Total: $550.12
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-28 11:26 EST-0500

Edited November 28, 2014 by Lotus

[Arphenyte]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3220 3.0GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock B85M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($65.64 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card  ($128.48 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($34.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: EVGA 430W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply  ($30.99 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit)  ($129.94 @ OutletPC)
Total: $545.01
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-28 11:33 EST-0500

[Rodneyg87]

I'll admit i'm not a fan of AMD either but thats not fanboyism that's due to pure badluck with AMD components, but if all he has is $550 to spend thats going to be hard to get components that can do what he wants without having issues. You might want to take some of the builds that these generous people have provided you and research the differences between the AMD components and the Intel/Nvidia components and show your friend just how much of a performance boost he will get from going AMD at that price point. Another thing to consider since your friend intents to upgrade in the near future that means he will have steady income coming in to upgrade this rig, Lotus mentioned being able to get you better performance at $550 on parts not including windows why not go with windows 10 technical preview for the time being and just upgrade to a full copy of windows in a few weeks/months, which in turn will give him another $100 to play with for better components.

[Mefoga]

I'll admit i'm not a fan of AMD either but thats not fanboyism that's due to pure badluck with AMD components, but if all he has is $550 to spend thats going to be hard to get components that can do what he wants without having issues. You might want to take some of the builds that these generous people have provided you and research the differences between the AMD components and the Intel/Nvidia components and show your friend just how much of a performance boost he will get from going AMD at that price point. Another thing to consider since your friend intents to upgrade in the near future that means he will have steady income coming in to upgrade this rig, Lotus mentioned being able to get you better performance at $550 on parts not including windows why not go with windows 10 technical preview for the time being and just upgrade to a full copy of windows in a few weeks/months, which in turn will give him another $100 to play with for better components.

How would he go about getting windows 10 technical preview in the first place?

[Rodneyg87]

How would he go about getting windows 10 technical preview in the first place?

sign up for it here and go through all the steps so get enrolled for it, yes it is free and will allow you at minimum 2 months of windows before they take it down. Its well worth it since he is trying to get the most performance for a very little amount of money even though it will take probably about 20-30 minutes to get signed up for everything. Again to the point i was making before just let him know that the only way to get a "GOOD" Intel/Nvidia gaming rig is to spend around $700 initially since that will allow him to have parts that wont need to be upgraded immediately and allow him to take his time to find deals. So tell him if he is hell bent on sticking to Intel/Nvidia he might want to try to come up with another $150 and go with that technical preview and then come back to the forums and im sure many people can give you a break down on a very solid Intel/Nvidia build at that price. Because otherwise he is just spending twice the amount of money in a very short time span. Think about it like this spend $550 now and then in 3 months have to say replace the processor and he goes with a i5-4690k he just spent the amount he would've for an i7-4790k to get less performance. So it is my recommendation that he wait until he can spend at least $700 if he is determined to stick with Intel/Nvidia.

 

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/preview

[Mefoga]

sign up for it here and go through all the steps so get enrolled for it, yes it is free and will allow you at minimum 2 months of windows before they take it down. Its well worth it since he is trying to get the most performance for a very little amount of money even though it will take probably about 20-30 minutes to get signed up for everything. Again to the point i was making before just let him know that the only way to get a "GOOD" Intel/Nvidia gaming rig is to spend around $700 initially since that will allow him to have parts that wont need to be upgraded immediately and allow him to take his time to find deals. So tell him if he is hell bent on sticking to Intel/Nvidia he might want to try to come up with another $150 and go with that technical preview and then come back to the forums and im sure many people can give you a break down on a very solid Intel/Nvidia build at that price. Because otherwise he is just spending twice the amount of money in a very short time span. Think about it like this spend $550 now and then in 3 months have to say replace the processor and he goes with a i5-4690k he just spent the amount he would've for an i7-4790k to get less performance. So it is my recommendation that he wait until he can spend at least $700 if he is determined to stick with Intel/Nvidia.

 

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/preview

The thing is, it's his parents paying for it, so all he has is 550. I was also trying to make it so he replaces the least amount of parts. I'll look into the windows 10 things though.

[Rodneyg87]

Here is a build that is high end without breaking the bank and keeping him under $700 if he was to purchase right now including rebates.

 

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/gQpHrH

Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/gQpHrH/by_merchant/

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($208.99 @ NCIX US) 

Motherboard: ASRock Z97 EXTREME4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($108.79 @ Newegg) 

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($39.98 @ OutletPC) 

Storage: Seagate  1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Hybrid Internal Hard Drive  ($69.99 @ Amazon) 

Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 760 2GB TWIN FROZR Video Card  ($179.99 @ Newegg) 

Case: Corsair SPEC-03 Red ATX Mid Tower Case  ($29.99 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply: Fractal Design Tesla R2 500W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply  ($57.99 @ Directron) 

Total: $695.72

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-28 12:14 EST-0500

 

The only upgrades to really consider immediately would be another stick of GSKILL ram identical to whats on here and a CPU cooler if he is planning to overclock which much like many people on this forum I would recommend the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus ill put a link for it down below.

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/part/cooler-master-cpu-cooler-rrb10212pg1

[Rodneyg87]

The thing is, it's his parents paying for it, so all he has is 550. I was also trying to make it so he replaces the least amount of parts. I'll look into the windows 10 things though.

Ah I see then you might want to explain to him AMD cpu and AMD gpu is the only way he will get good performance at that price otherwise he is sacrificing performance just for a brand name. Since AMD rules the roost when it comes to low cost high performance components on the lower end. Im not to familiar with AMD builds these days but I would recommend going the Lotus's first build he posted with the AMD quad core and the R9 280 since that will allow your friend to have his $550 budget and still be able to play the majority of current and future games at high settings on a 1080 panel and still be able to do some light streaming. Otherwise at that price with Intel/Nvidia he wont be able to do any streaming while he is gaming and his games will have to be set at max on Medium. 

 

Though there is one change that I personally would make to Lotus's build and thats the hard drive I would spend $20 more and get the Seagate  1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Hybrid Internal Hard Drive  ($69.99 @ Amazon) since that is a mechanical hard drive with a small SSD internally that will tremendously speed up boot times and application loading vs a standard mechanical drive without having to spend an enormous amount on a dedicated SSD for boot and a mechanical for mass storage. With that he can have the best of both worlds.

[Mefoga]

Ah I see then you might want to explain to him AMD cpu and AMD gpu is the only way he will get good performance at that price otherwise he is sacrificing performance just for a brand name. Since AMD rules the roost when it comes to low cost high performance components on the lower end. Im not to familiar with AMD builds these days but I would recommend going the Lotus's first build he posted with the AMD quad core and the R9 280 since that will allow your friend to have his $550 budget and still be able to play the majority of current and future games at high settings on a 1080 panel and still be able to do some light streaming. Otherwise at that price with Intel/Nvidia he wont be able to do any streaming while he is gaming and his games will have to be set at max on Medium. 

 

Though there is one change that I personally would make to Lotus's build and thats the hard drive I would spend $20 more and get the Seagate  1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Hybrid Internal Hard Drive  ($69.99 @ Amazon) since that is a mechanical hard drive with a small SSD internally that will tremendously speed up boot times and application loading vs a standard mechanical drive without having to spend an enormous amount on a dedicated SSD for boot and a mechanical for mass storage. With that he can have the best of both worlds.

How is windows 10 with gaming and installation? Can my friend make a bootable flashdrive on his old PoS computer? As well, he will mostly be playing RTS games and maybe a few FPS/Adventure games like Borderlands 2/Pre Sequel.

[Rodneyg87]

How is windows 10 with gaming and installation? Can my friend make a bootable flashdrive on his old PoS computer? As well, he will mostly be playing RTS games and maybe a few FPS/Adventure games like Borderlands 2/Pre Sequel.

From what I understand windows 10 will work with any game/application that could work on windows 8.1 so it should be fine and as for install that website i linked you is for a bootable iso image to be used with a flash drive. I dont personally have windows 10 on my computer since what i have currently is a late 2013 15" Retina Macbook pro thats setup with a dual boot of mac osx mavericks and windows 8.1 pro i dont have enough hard drive space to put a 3rd operating system on it lol. But I have heard good things about it.