$700 Budget Gaming Build for a friend.

[Interfectorem]

Hello everyone! My friend recently told me that he is interested in building his own PC, and his mom gave him a budget of 700 USD. His uses will be mainly gaming and school work. He needs a copy of Windows 8.1, no peripherals or monitors needed. He is upgrading from a MacBook Air that he says he likes, but can't play very many games on. So I've come here for some suggestions, since 700 is quite a tight budget, and this is what I came up with. Does anybody have any suggestions? I also don't know if he will take MIR, but to be on the safe side, let's assume no. I'm a bit skeptical about ASRock, not sure if their products are reliable, does anybody here know, specifically the motherboard I listed? Thanks for any suggestions.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($69.99 @ Newegg) 

Motherboard: ASRock B85 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($67.98 @ Newegg) 

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($73.98 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($54.99 @ Newegg) 

Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 280 3GB Double Dissipation Video Card  ($189.99 @ Newegg) 

Case: NZXT Source 210 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($43.28 @ Amazon) 

Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($54.99 @ Newegg) 

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($99.60) 

Total: $654.80

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-09 18:30 EST-0500

[dizmo]

He doesn't plan on playing many AAA titles does he?
The dual core can really shit the bed with some of them.

[thekeemo]

hows this

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($224.99 @ Newegg) 

Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($75.98 @ Newegg) 

Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($69.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($53.97 @ OutletPC) 

Video Card: Asus Radeon R9 270 2GB DirectCU II Video Card  ($145.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($29.98 @ OutletPC) 

Power Supply: Corsair CSM 450W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($73.75 @ Amazon) 

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($89.98 @ OutletPC) 

Total: $753.63

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-09 18:38 EST-0500

[Interfectorem]

He doesn't plan on playing many AAA titles does he?

The dual core can really shit the bed with some of them.

Yes, I too was cringing when I decided to put the G3258 in there, I think I can squeeze a i3-4150 in there.

[dadasmithywinkle]

 

hows this

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($224.99 @ Newegg) 

Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($75.98 @ Newegg) 

Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($69.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($53.97 @ OutletPC) 

Video Card: Asus Radeon R9 270 2GB DirectCU II Video Card  ($145.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($29.98 @ OutletPC) 

Power Supply: Corsair CSM 450W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($73.75 @ Amazon) 

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($89.98 @ OutletPC) 

Total: $753.63

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-09 18:38 EST-0500

 

 

Give it at least a 270X or it's not worth it. Go with a cheaper mobo (H81/B85) and a locked i5 (4440 maybe) and you should have the budget to upgrade the list's GPU to the 270X.

[thekeemo]

Give it at least a 270X or it's not worth it. Go with a cheaper mobo (H81/B85) and a locked i5 (4440 maybe) and you should have the budget to upgrade the list's GPU to the 270X.

or 860k and 280

[dizmo]

Yes, I too was cringing when I decided to put the G3258 in there, I think I can squeeze a i3-4150 in there.

Have you thought of getting a used graphics card? I've seen 280's and 280x cards go quite cheap.

[cec4]

try getting a used video card and then get a better cpu in the long run you dont want a crappy lil duel core >.< not for the money your talking about

[Johannes_Lazor]

This is what id suggest, It is harder to get much more performance for the price.

I chose the 6300 becouse it is cheap and is a good gaming CPU.
And i chose the R9 280 becouse thats the best for the price i could find.
And i were even able to put in a SSD in there to give a more fluid overall experience.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor  ($96.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 LE R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard  ($68.98 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Kingston Fury Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($71.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: A-Data Premier Pro SP600 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($53.97 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 280 3GB DUAL-X Video Card  ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 430 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($45.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($38.50 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $696.38
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-09 18:50 EST-0500

Edited January 10, 2015 by Johannes_Lazor

[cec4]

Have you thought of getting a used graphics card? I've seen 280's and 280x cards go quite cheap.

same for the r9 290s. i got one of mine for 218$ shipping and tax from amazon

[SImoHayha]

Here is what I came up with ^~^

 

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4360 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($141.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($87.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Patriot Signature 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($66.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($53.97 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Superclocked Video Card  ($119.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 350 ATX Mid Tower Case w/500W Power Supply  ($54.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSC0B DVD/CD Writer  ($15.00 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $630.90
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-09 19:06 EST-0500

 

Base Total: $670.89   Promo Discounts: -$4.99   Mail-in Rebates: -$35.00   Total: $630.90