Best $650 pc

[Hochothecreamdog]

I have never built a pc before, and I am wondering what the best $600 to $625 pc is.
I plan on overclocking cpu and gpu.

This is my current Idea http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/XBzrXL

Does anyone have any ideas or recommendations?

 

[Trik'Stari]

Go with the I3 rig. AMD cpu's are a joke these days (regarding single core performance), unfortunately they haven't had the funding to do anything really spectacular lately.

 

I say the I3, because it offers a much better upgrade path than AMD cpu's do, for if/when you find that you need to upgrade your CPU. 

 

Edit: Not sure that PSU is enough for a 280x, you'd have to ask someone else.

[niofalpha]

http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/BWxXpgIs what id'e personally go for.

 

Selecting a B81 MoBo would make it ~50$ Cheaper.

 

And you should Avoid AMD's Non- APU CPU's like a Plague, unless your under some pretty specific requirements.

[Aniallation]

Edit: Not sure that PSU is enough for a 280x, you'd have to ask someone else.

It's definitely enough. The Seasonic-made XFX ProSeries are great PSUs

[Trik'Stari]

It's definitely enough. The Seasonic-made XFX ProSeries are great PSUs

I was thinking more about it only being 550w and a 280x. I know AMD cards are generally power hogs, and if he plans to OC.... I just don't know that much about PSU's to intelligently comment on them.

 

Edit: @Hochothecreamdog you can't overclock an I3 (to my knowledge). Don't get me wrong, it's pretty decent for gaming, but if you want to OC an 1150 cpu you need a 4670k, 4690k, or 4790k. Or that pentium anniversary edition, although that is pretty much out of date now, even with overclocking.

[Aniallation]

@Hochothecreamdog

 

Welcome to the forum!

 

Do you have a quarter to spare? In that case, this would be a better build

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($224.75 @ Vuugo) 

Motherboard: MSI CSM-H81M-P32 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($59.99 @ Memory Express) 

Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($82.50 @ Vuugo) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($58.98 @ DirectCanada) 

Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 280 3GB Double Dissipation Video Card  ($229.99 @ NCIX) 

Case: Antec VSK-3000 MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($39.98 @ Newegg Canada) 

Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($62.98 @ NCIX) 

Wireless Network Adapter: StarTech PCI300WN2X2 802.11b/g/n PCI Wi-Fi Adapter  ($21.08 @ Amazon Canada) 

Other: Windows 8.1 Pro for Students ($69.99)

Total: $850.24

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-16 21:17 EDT-0400

[Suffokation]

The i3 configuration is a far superior machine for gaming.

Also, it offers a good upgrade path into an i5 or i7.

Hope this helped.

[orangecat]

Go with the I3 rig. AMD cpu's are a joke these days (regarding single core performance), unfortunately they haven't had the funding to do anything really spectacular lately.

 

I say the I3, because it offers a much better upgrade path than AMD cpu's do, for if/when you find that you need to upgrade your CPU. 

 

Edit: Not sure that PSU is enough for a 280x, you'd have to ask someone else.

A 500 watt PSu is enough for a 280. I have a GTX 970 G1 and I'm lucky if at full load I pull 300 watts.

[Aniallation]

I was thinking more about it only being 550w and a 280x. I know AMD cards are generally power hogs, and if he plans to OC.... I just don't know that much about PSU's to intelligently comment on them.

550W is definitely enough for a 280X. Reviewers don't even hit 500W of total system load with an overclocked 280X/7970 GHz, and that's with high-end extreme edition CPUs that are also overclocked, not a locked i3/i5. OP will barely be brushing 450W pulled from the PSU, even under full system load (unrealistic)

[Trik'Stari]

A 500 watt PSu is enough for a 280. I have a GTX 970 G1 and I'm lucky if at full load I pull 300 watts.

Word.

 

I'm guessing my 750w Seasonic X-series is overkill for my stock clocked 4690k and ftx 970

[Aniallation]

A 500 watt PSu is enough for a 280. I have a GTX 970 G1 and I'm lucky if at full load I pull 300 watts.

280X uses twice as much power as a 970 though, 300W for your current system, around 450W if you had a 280X instead of a 970

[Hochothecreamdog]

 

@Hochothecreamdog

 

Welcome to the forum!

 

Do you have a quarter to spare? In that case, this would be a better build

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($224.75 @ Vuugo) 

Motherboard: MSI CSM-H81M-P32 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($59.99 @ Memory Express) 

Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($82.50 @ Vuugo) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($58.98 @ DirectCanada) 

Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 280 3GB Double Dissipation Video Card  ($229.99 @ NCIX) 

Case: Antec VSK-3000 MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($39.98 @ Newegg Canada) 

Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($62.98 @ NCIX) 

Wireless Network Adapter: StarTech PCI300WN2X2 802.11b/g/n PCI Wi-Fi Adapter  ($21.08 @ Amazon Canada) 

Other: Windows 8.1 Pro for Students ($69.99)

Total: $850.24

 

I can clearly see that this is a superior build, although I am not sure if I am comfortable building in a microATX case, as I have never done a pc build before.  If I do end up going for this case rather than a mid-tower, is it easy to build in?  Also if I do go to a mid-tower, is the Deepcool Tesseract a good option? Thank you

 

 

 

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-16 21:17 EDT-0400

 

 

[Aniallation]

I can clearly see that this is a superior build, although I am not sure if I am comfortable building in a microATX case, as I have never done a pc build before.  If I do end up going for this case rather than a mid-tower, is it easy to build in?  Also if I do go to a mid-tower, is the Deepcool Tesseract a good option? Thank you

 

MicroATX is fine. In your particular build there's not that many components, so it's definitely not hard to build in an mATX case. Personally I like mATX because it's after your build is done that you realize how much less real estate that an mATX case takes up, whether it be on the floor or next to your desk. I used to do all my builds in mid-towers and full-towers, but now that I've switched to mATX (Cooler Master N200) I don't think I can ever go back to ATX as a personal rig

 

However if you personally feel that a mid-tower is more appealing to you then definitely go for it. The Tesseract is a decent case.

[Hochothecreamdog]

I think that I will go with the deepcool tesseract because I might want to recycle my case for my next build which might use a atx motherboard. I also might want to add something later on. I have also heard good things about the deepcool tesseract. I am very thankful for your advice.

[Hochothecreamdog]

I have an outdated monitor from 2003, 1280 x 1024,  would this build be worth it?

http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/PPCft6

 

If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know.  Thank you.