Which build?

[Justin90]

CPUAMD A8-5600K 3.6GHz Quad-Core$73.99

MotherboardMSI A78M-E35 Micro ATX FM2+$56.99

MemoryCrucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600$62.99

StorageWestern Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM$51.88

Video CardZotac GeForce GT 730 1GB$60.99

CaseRosewill RANGER-M MicroATX Mini Tower$34.99

Power SupplyAntec 520W ATX12V / EPS12V$53.20

Wireless Network AdapterTP-Link TL-WN881ND 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1$18.78

Base Total: $426.60   Promo Discounts: -$7.79   Mail-in Rebates: -$5.00   Total: $413.81
 

 

my two possible builds, just want to know which one would be better in regards to performance wise, quality, etc. and why. Also i am open to suggestions, however, these are basically what i feel is the best parts for the budget im on, (both build max my budget cap at about $420 before rebates). so any suggestions for either build, please bear in mind that i cant go any higher on price that what it is now, but if u can lower the price with cheaper, yet equal or better quality parts, im all for that lol

 

seond build:

 

CPUIntel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core$64.98

MotherboardASRock H81M Micro ATX LGA1150$59.99

MemoryCrucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600$62.99

StorageWestern Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM$51.88

Video CardZotac GeForce GT 730 1GB$60.99

CaseRosewill RANGER-M MicroATX Mini Tower$34.99

Power SupplyAntec 520W ATX12V / EPS12V$53.20

Wireless Network AdapterTP-Link TL-WN881ND 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1$18.78

Base Total: $420.59   Promo Discounts: -$7.79   Mail-in Rebates: -$5.00   Total: $407.80

[79wjd]

This would be much better than either one:

Alternatively, you could also go with a G3258 and then upgrade to an i5 later on. But the G3258 isn't a great for general gaming as newer games need more than two cores. 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 860K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($69.75 @ OutletPC) 

Motherboard: MSI A58M-E35 Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard  ($48.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Memory: Team Elite Plus 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($57.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($48.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Video Card: XFX Radeon R7 260X 1GB Core Edition Video Card  ($108.97 @ OutletPC) 

Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($29.99 @ Micro Center) 

Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($41.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WN881ND 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter  ($18.78 @ OutletPC) 

Total: $425.45

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-02 23:22 EST-0500

[athesean1]

 

This would be much better than either one:

Alternatively, you could also go with a G3258 and then upgrade to an i5 later on. But the G3258 isn't a great for general gaming as newer games need more than two cores. 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 860K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($69.75 @ OutletPC) 

Motherboard: MSI A58M-E35 Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard  ($48.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Memory: Team Elite Plus 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($57.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($48.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Video Card: XFX Radeon R7 260X 1GB Core Edition Video Card  ($108.97 @ OutletPC) 

Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($29.99 @ Micro Center) 

Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($41.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WN881ND 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter  ($18.78 @ OutletPC) 

Total: $425.45

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-02 23:22 EST-0500

 

if i were to choose a build this would be it, although i would go for a g3258 with an asus msi h97m-g43 becuse the g3258 has bettter single core proformance, the mobo might be a bit small in your case but you cant see it anyway

[79wjd]

if i were to choose a build this would be it, although i would go for a g3258 with an asus msi h97m-g43 becuse the g3258 has bettter single core proformance, the mobo might be a bit small in your case but you cant see it anyway

The g3258 has good single threaded performance, but most games nowadays are moving away from dual cores -- and a few won't even open on a dual core cpu without some file tweaking. It's still a great cpu, but not as a permanent choice -- I'd only get a G3258 if he was planning on upgrading in the near future (but, in that case he would also need to upgrade his gpu as a 260x is a pretty good match for a G3258). So yeah....it depends on what is exact use is, but an 860k is a better all-around-use cpu (multitasking and such). 

[Justin90]

i cant go that high on the base price tho. that build you posted is 463 before rebates, out of my price range, i need either a build that is that same price as either of the two i posted, or which build of my two is the better one. also the case i selected is one of my choices but also this : http://www.amazon.com/Sentey-Cs2-1333-Transparent-Management-Watercooling/dp/B00PJ67WNS/ref=sr_1_18?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1422939457&sr=1-18&keywords=pc+case+with+windowwhich of those two case is better? id rather have a window, but if u have to skip that for now, to get a better quality cheaper case thats fine. (which is why i chose the rosewill, it doesnt have a window but it does have a nice look to it. 

[Justin90]

also, i dont really do to much gaming, especially newer games, im just trying to build a desktop with a video card, within my budget, (up to 420-425 base price before rebates) that is better than my dell inspiron n5030 laptop. 

[79wjd]

i cant go that high on the base price tho. that build you posted is 463 before rebates, out of my price range, i need either a build that is that same price as either of the two i posted, or which build of my two is the better one. also the case i selected is one of my choices but also this : http://www.amazon.com/Sentey-Cs2-1333-Transparent-Management-Watercooling/dp/B00PJ67WNS/ref=sr_1_18?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1422939457&sr=1-18&keywords=pc+case+with+windowwhich of those two case is better? id rather have a window, but if u have to skip that for now, to get a better quality cheaper case thats fine. (which is why i chose the rosewill, it doesnt have a window but it does have a nice look to it. 

Uncheck rebates, it's $425 without rebates. 

 

 

also, i dont really do to much gaming, especially newer games, im just trying to build a desktop with a video card, within my budget, (up to 420-425 base price before rebates) that is better than my dell inspiron n5030 laptop. 

If you don't game you don't even need a gpu. What games do you play/what do you use your computer for? 

[Justin90]

for either of my builds a gpu would be better than the integrated graphics that may come with the cpus, also, i dont really game much now bc i have a crap system, but if i were it still wouldnt be any high demand games bc to be honest i dont play the ones most people build a gaming pc for, but basically, with that gpu or similar one that still puts the build in my price range, i would play any game that interest me that the gpu is capable of running 

[79wjd]

for either of my builds a gpu would be better than the integrated graphics that may come with the cpus, also, i dont really game much now bc i have a crap system, but if i were it still wouldnt be any high demand games bc to be honest i dont play the ones most people build a gaming pc for, but basically, with that gpu or similar one that still puts the build in my price range, i would play any game that interest me that the gpu is capable of running 

Well, for $420~ the build I linked is about as good as it gets. It's just a question of whether or not you go for an 860k + FM2+ board or G3258+H81 board -- and that depends on how you'll use your computer. If you're only going to be doing single threaded tasks, and little to no multi-tasking, then the G3258 is the better choice. If you're going to be multi-tasking then the 860k is the better choice. 

 

But you shouldn't necessarily underestimate integrated graphics. The integrated graphics in the G3258 is good enough to play TF2/CSGO/Dota2/LoL at acceptable settings.

[Mistersprinkles]

Because nobody else on this potato head forum has asked you the most important question, I will-- WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH THIS PC?

[Justin90]

and basically for my build, apart from the cpu and mobo, possibly the psu, are what id prefer to have. after searching around and based on worthy reccomendations, the ram,and hard or my preferances for those. the wireless adapter after research i decided thats the one im going with. and as for the case, ive looked at within my price range, either of those, the rosewill, or the sentry, which is more recommended, are my choice for a case. i know that doesnt really give much room to improve or slim down price, but again i do have my preferences and would rather not change those. 

[Justin90]

the athlon cpu is an older model than the a8 tho isnt it, and im not underestimating the integrated graphics, i just know that in general, games tend to run better with a gpu vs integrated. and as for what im doing with the pc, ive mentioned it before, but i do alot of multitasking, between converting videos and browsing, as well as online games, which some can be very demanding, and also some light gaming, depending on what newer games i like, that arent to demanding. i dont need the best gpu but id still rather have one thats decent enough, and from what ive been told, the one ive listed for my build should be good for what i do, and if i do play some newer games that my current computer wont run

[79wjd]

the athlon cpu is an older model than the a8 tho isnt it, and im not underestimating the integrated graphics, i just know that in general, games tend to run better with a gpu vs integrated. and as for what im doing with the pc, ive mentioned it before, but i do alot of multitasking, between converting videos and browsing, as well as online games, which some can be very demanding, and also some light gaming, depending on what newer games i like, that arent to demanding. i dont need the best gpu but id still rather have one thats decent enough, and from what ive been told, the one ive listed for my build should be good for what i do, and if i do play some newer games that my current computer wont run

The build I linked will still far outperform either of the two you linked and still cost the same amount. A GT730 is barely above integrated graphics and gets destroyed by an R7 260x (which is already a budget gpu). And an AMD X4 860k is the fastest of the FM2+ CPUs. 

[Justin90]

https://pcpartpicker.com/parts/partlist/ ok, well keeping the athlon cpu, mobo, and gpu, and just changing the case, hd, and memory, i did shave a few bucks off, but its still a little over budget, is there anything that i can do about that?

[79wjd]

https://pcpartpicker.com/parts/partlist/ ok, well keeping the athlon cpu, mobo, and gpu, and just changing the case, hd, and memory, i did shave a few bucks off, but its still a little over budget, is there anything that i can do about that?

Stick with the Barracuda, the ram I chose (or go with two 4gb Mushkin Silver sticks). Paying more for a WD Blue or for different ram is really silly when you're already trying to save every penny you can.

 

If you're really intent on saving as much as possible, then this is what I would get. Just realize you're getting a decently worse psu and you're losing the potential to easily upgrade to 16gb of RAM all in an effort to save $15~. 

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/nfP6xr

[Justin90]

HIS Radeon R7 240 2GB Video Card what about this gpu? its r7 240, which i assume should be slightly worse the the other one u had for the build, but still better than the intergrated graphics, and it would put my build back into a more ideal price range

[Justin90]

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/boyer90/saved/Zvjscf with this build i can keep the cpu,mobo, and psu that you suggested. i did change the case to one i prefer better, which is only a few bucks more, and also the ram, which compared to the 1x8gb team elite stick, is only again a few bucks more for 2 4gb sticks, which give me the dual channel for the ram. i also changed the gpu to a slightly lower model of the r7, which is around $70 so it does put my build back in ideal price range all the while keeping my main preferences, and the mobo cpu and psu recommedations of yours. so basically, the gpu is the only major change, so my question is, is that a good gpu for that price range or is there another for 70 or less thats better than the one i listed? i mean even if its halfway between the integrated graphics and the gpu you orginally posted thats fine, i dont need nothing to special atm. i hope all that made sense. lol

[79wjd]

HIS Radeon R7 240 2GB Video Card what about this gpu? its r7 240, which i assume should be slightly worse the the other one u had for the build, but still better than the intergrated graphics, and it would put my build back into a more ideal price range

The r7 240 is significantly worse. 

 

 

and also the ram, which compared to the 1x8gb team elite stick, is only again a few bucks more for 2 4gb sticks, which give me the dual channel for the ram.

 

i also changed the gpu to a slightly lower model of the r7, which is around $70 so it does put my build back in ideal price range all the while keeping my main preferences, and the mobo cpu and psu recommedations of yours. so basically, the gpu is the only major change, so my question is, is that a good gpu for that price range or is there another for 70 or less thats better than the one i listed? i mean even if its halfway between the integrated graphics and the gpu you orginally posted thats fine, i dont need nothing to special atm. i hope all that made sense. lol

Dual channel isn't worth anything in general use or gaming, and is only useful in heavy rendering -- which you don't have the power to do anyway. Plus in the revised build in my previous post I chose two 4gb sticks as they're a bit cheaper than a single 8gb stick, your choice however, is more expensive than both. An r7 260x is well worth the extra $40 -- even if that means going over budget, it's worth it as it will be powerful enough to give you the freedom to do what you want. I'd just assume go with integrated graphics rather than an R7 240 and just save up a bit longer and buy an R7 260x. 

[Justin90]

https://pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-video-card-r72501gd5oc

https://pcpartpicker.com/part/his-video-card-h240f2g

 

those two look to be about the best of the gpu that are just a step down from r7 260, one being a 240 and the other a 250 i believe, and at the lower price of around 70, it keeps me in my budget, well im still over bc my budget is like 400, but it puts it like 30 over which i can deal with

[Justin90]

ok, what if i scratch the 240 and go with the 250? thatd just be a step down from the 260x right? and its still cheaper, or would the 250x be better than the 250? and if i do go with cheaper ram, and based of what you mentioned about dual channel not really mattering, 1 stick is fine, or the revised ram u posted (out of stock tho) that would def lower it. but my main question is, if i do step down from the 260x to the 250 or 250x, how good are those? if they arent to much worse, thats fine with me

[79wjd]

https://pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-video-card-r72501gd5oc

https://pcpartpicker.com/part/his-video-card-h240f2g

 

those two look to be about the best of the gpu that are just a step down from r7 260, one being a 240 and the other a 250 i believe, and at the lower price of around 70, it keeps me in my budget, well im still over bc my budget is like 400, but it puts it like 30 over which i can deal with

Save up an extra week and get something that's actually worth the money. 

 

Getting something thats slower than a 260x really isn't worth your time or money. I really wouldn't go with anything lower than this. 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 860K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($69.75 @ OutletPC) 

Motherboard: MSI A58M-E35 Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard  ($48.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Memory: Mushkin Silverline 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($27.99 @ Newegg) 

Memory: Mushkin Silverline 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($27.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($48.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Video Card: XFX Radeon R7 260X 1GB Core Edition Video Card  ($108.97 @ OutletPC) 

Case: Rosewill RANGER-M MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($34.99 @ Amazon) 

Power Supply: EVGA 430W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply  ($29.99 @ Newegg) 

Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WN881ND 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter  ($18.78 @ OutletPC) 

Total: $416.44 ($406 after rebates) 

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-03 01:53 EST-0500

[Justin90]

ok, so the 260x does seem like the best choice, it pretty much doubles even the 250x in all aspects. so i think i will go with that one, and find a way to keep the pc in budget or wait a couple weeks and get the gpu later. i will post a link to my build with the 260x for review, and bare in mind some thing will be different, ei:hd, case, but those are just preferences and if bc of those i have to wait to get the gpu thats fine, i just wanna make sure the rest, ei:cpu,mobo,psu,gpu, are the same ones you said to do.

[Justin90]

would the 1gb memory vs the 2gb memory make much of a difference, like between the xfx one and the sapphire one?

[Justin90]

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/boyer90/saved/Zvjscfis what i think i my final build. i went with the 2gb sapphire 260x instead and kept my ram bc its only like 5 bucks extra and is in stock. also kept my preference with the hd bc its only $1 more base price. apart from those, everything is what you suggested. so hopefuly the link i posted looks good.