Budget Gaming PC

[Matt_Twinkletoes]

I'm going to be building my first PC in march! I want it to be fairly cheap ($800 and below) but still run games on normal-ultra. I've been doing some research and I'm pretty happy with the two builds I have but with the G3258 build I'm not sure how I feel about overclocking and getting an aftermarket cooler and z97 MOBO (I know you can get a h81 but people have been telling me it could be unstable or something like that) the other build is cheaper and more in my price range. I think having more cores might be better but I'm not to sure, I don't know what GPU I was going to go with the r9 280/280x

depending on prices but someone said they're really loud so I went with the gtx 760. I really have no idea what wireless card to use all the pci cards had bad ratings and said they always drop the connection so I went with a usb 2.0. If there is anything I should change please let me know. I know I said the budget was below 800 but I'm trying to keep it in the $700 range with OS and 1080p monitor. (as I see prices go down on parts I'll order them here and there) EDIT: Also I kind of want shadowplay so thats one reason I went with the 760

 

AMD CPU build: (Leaning towards AMD build) Would the MOBO I selected be compatible if I ever wanted to upgrade to a better AMD CPU?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor  ($99.98 @ OutletPC) 

Motherboard: Asus M5A78L-M/USB3 Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard  ($44.95 @ SuperBiiz) 

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($52.85 @ OutletPC) 

Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 760 2GB DirectCU II Video Card  ($194.99 @ Micro Center) 

Case: NZXT S340 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($64.99 @ Micro Center) 

Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($39.99 @ Micro Center) 

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($99.98 @ OutletPC) 

Monitor: BenQ GW2255 60Hz 21.5" Monitor  ($104.99 @ NCIX US) 

Wireless Network Adapter: Rosewill RNX-N150UBE 802.11b/g/n USB 2.0 Wi-Fi Adapter  ($11.99 @ Newegg) 

Total: $714.71

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-04 17:21 EST-0500

 

Intel CPU build:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($69.98 @ OutletPC) 

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($28.75 @ OutletPC) 

Motherboard: ASRock Z97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($89.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($52.85 @ OutletPC) 

Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 760 2GB DirectCU II Video Card  ($194.99 @ Micro Center) 

Case: NZXT S340 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($64.99 @ Micro Center) 

Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($39.99 @ Micro Center) 

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($99.98 @ OutletPC) 

Monitor: BenQ GW2255 60Hz 21.5" Monitor  ($104.99 @ NCIX US) 

Wireless Network Adapter: Rosewill RNX-N150UBE 802.11b/g/n USB 2.0 Wi-Fi Adapter  ($11.99 @ Newegg) 

Total: $758.50

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-04 17:24 EST-0500

[Guest Haduvokone]

I would wait for the 960

[Tagiau]

A 280/x is better than the 760. And everything can be louder than anything, it depends on the cooler you go with. Other than that, the intel build will be a bit better in games, but will run into more issues since it is only a dual core. The amd build will be better doing anything that requires more cores. 

[RichardsD]

Not bad builds, you could definitely get a cheaper mobo for the intel one.. 500W is a bit much, but $40 for that PSU, might as well get it.

[Rebelattack]

Get a 280 for sure or wait for the 960 which hopefully comes out soon. Also I would go for the intel build but with a i3-4100 serie for the HT so you can run all the games. The AMD looks fancy but unless you do a lot of editing then no I would rather get a CPU with a good Z97 mobo so I have upgradability to a i5-4690k or a i7 if you are gonna edit stuff. Also the FX serie is getting old and nothing will come for it anymore and the 6300 bottlenecks newer GPU's.

[Rebelattack]

Not bad builds, you could definitely get a cheaper mobo for the intel one.. 500W is a bit much, but $40 for that PSU, might as well get it.

 

Only by going to a H97 Chipset or and older one this is one of the cheapest Z97 motherboards.

[Matt_Twinkletoes]

Get a 280 for sure or wait for the 960 which hopefully comes out soon. Also I would go for the intel build but with a i3-4100 serie for the HT so you can run all the games. The AMD looks fancy but unless you do a lot of editing then no I would rather get a CPU with a good Z97 mobo so I have upgradability to a i5-4690k or a i7 if you are gonna edit stuff. Also the FX serie is getting old and nothing will come for it anymore and the 6300 bottlenecks newer GPU's.

 

I would wait for the 960

 

Will the 960 be the same price as the 760?

[APrettyCoolWalrus]

Any color theme that you are going for?

[Matt_Twinkletoes]

Any color theme that you are going for?

don't really care about colors though I did get a case where you can see everything inside

[Rebelattack]

Will the 960 be the same price as the 760?

 

Says the 200 Dollar price point but that might be for the reference card from nVidia itself although during the time waiting you can save up to get one. Better performance same to less power draw and more quiet then the 280.

[Matt_Twinkletoes]

Says the 200 Dollar price point but that might be for the reference card from nVidia itself although during the time waiting you can save up to get one. Better performance same to less power draw and more quiet then the 280.

I'm building it in March so it might be out by then? You did say the z97 mobo is cheap will it still work good sense its a z97 chipset? 

EDIT: because upgrading to an i5 was one of my plans at a later time

[Guest Haduvokone]

Will the 960 be the same price as the 760?

Yes About the same

[APrettyCoolWalrus]

This is a maxed-out build. I spent a bit more on the GPU to match the blue color theme since you have a case with a window. Use the extra $25 to buy yourself a Windows 8.1 key on G2A.com.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Xzwdt6

Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Xzwdt6/by_merchant/

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($168.99 @ NCIX US) 

Motherboard: ASRock Z97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($89.99 @ Newegg) 

Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($72.69 @ B&H) 

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($59.00 @ Amazon) 

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 280 3GB Dual-X Video Card  ($169.99 @ Newegg) 

Case: NZXT S340 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($64.99 @ Micro Center) 

Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($44.99 @ Micro Center) 

Monitor: BenQ GW2255 60Hz 21.5" Monitor  ($104.99 @ NCIX US) 

Total: $775.63

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-04 17:49 EST-0500

[SImoHayha]

Here is a nice build you won't be to overclocking with it but you you four cores seeing that most games today require four cores.....and do you have your own RAM ? ? because in  those builds I don't see any RAM.....

 

 

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($168.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($52.85 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 280 3GB Dual-X Video Card  ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Enermax OSTROG ATX Mid Tower Case  ($39.99 @ Directron)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply  ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($99.98 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: BenQ GW2255 60Hz 21.5" Monitor  ($104.99 @ NCIX US)
Wireless Network Adapter: Rosewill RNX-N150UBE 802.11b/g/n USB 2.0 Wi-Fi Adapter  ($11.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $763.76
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-04 17:51 EST-0500

 

Base Total: $803.76   Mail-in Rebates: -$40.00   Total: $763.76

[Rebelattack]

I'm building it in March so it might be out by then? You did say the z97 mobo is cheap will it still work good sense its a z97 chipset? 

EDIT: because upgrading to an i5 was one of my plans at a later time

 

It isn't as specced out as a more expensive board but it does the job. It has PCI-e 3.0 x16, 6 SATA3 Ports and can use 32 Gb RAM.