Trying out PC Gaming

[cheeze_tartz]

Hi all, I've decided to try out PC gaming and see how it is. I am a little bit new to the PC world but I have some knowledge about it. I am thinking of building one for around $500. I am not looking forward to playing some demanding titles, just games like Payday 2, TF2, Planetside 2, etc. at Ultra settings at at least 60+ FPS. How do you guys think about these specs?

 

Intel Pentium G3258 Dual Core 3.2 GHz (can be overclocked to 4.8 GHz) ~ $70

MSI H81M-E34 Motherboard ~ $52.99

SAPPHIRE Radeon R7 260X 2GB DDR5 GPU ~ $115

Corsair Vengeance 8 GB (2 x 4GB) Ram ~ $70

WesternDigital Blue 1 TB Hard Drive ~ $55

Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO CPU cooler ~ $35

Corsair CX430 PSU ~ $45

Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ~ $45

 

Total is around $490. I also have a few questions. 1) Should I use an AMD FX-6300 CPU instead of the Pentium? 2) Will the CM Evo be able to overclock the Pentium? 3) Should i get a GTX 750 TI instead of the 260X?

 

I already have a Razer Tartarus, Corsair K30, and Razer Deathadder, a 1080p Monitor and a copy of Windows 8.1.

 

All answers appreciated, Thanks!

 

 

 

[nhatduy1611]

You are not going to run those game at ultra 60 fps+ that just not going to happend. Medium-High 60 fps is what you should expect

[TheSLSAMG]

I'd recommend either an FX 6300 or i3 4xxx over the G3258, as they game as well without overclocking. The i3 however tends to be better.

 

As for the GPU, the R7 260X and GTX 750 Ti at stock trade blows, but the GTX 750 Ti tends to overclock better which gives it a decent lead. Unless it's significantly ($30+) more expensive, I would go for it. Alternatively, you can get an R9 270 or R9 270X used for around $90-$120 and it will leave both in it's wake.

[Enflics]

TF2 60, Payday 60, but planetside 2 no no no, Not on that CPU. Yes the 750 TI would be better. The FX-6300 is all about your choice. I would prefer fx part but on the intel platform you would have way better upgrade path.

[FlighterLuid]

Intel Pentium G3258 Dual Core 3.2 GHz (can be overclocked to 4.8 GHz) ~ $70

You could get a G3258 that might not overclock at all, don't assume you're going to get a specific clock.

 

MSI H81M-E34 Motherboard ~ $52.99

No overclocking on H81.

 

2) Will the CM Evo be able to overclock the Pentium? 3) Should i get a GTX 750 TI instead of the 260X?

2. It might, it might not, the silicon lottery may not favor you.

3. Yes, more performance and lower power consumption.

[TheSLSAMG]

You are not going to run those game at ultra 60 fps+ that just not going to happend. Medium-High 60 fps is what you should expect

Planetside 2, most definitely not. However, Payday 2 and Team Fortress 2 should with no problem.

[TheSLSAMG]

You could get a G3258 that might not overclock at all, don't assume you're going to get a specific clock.

 

No overclocking on H81.

 

2. It might, it might not, the silicon lottery may not favor you.

3. Yes, more performance and lower power consumption.

Most H81 boards have BIOS updates with OC abilities. However, this one does not.

[nhatduy1611]

Here spend a bit more and get this it's much better and can drive those game above at ultra setting.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i3-4160 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($109.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($43.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Memory: Team Elite 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($51.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($49.98 @ NCIX US) 

Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 280X 3GB Double Dissipation Video Card  ($199.99 @ Newegg) 

Case: Thermaltake VL80001W2Z ATX Mid Tower Case  ($22.99 @ Micro Center) 

Power Supply: Rosewill Capstone 550W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply  ($39.99 @ Newegg) 

Total: $518.92

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-25 19:33 EDT-0400

[Drackeo]

Idk what the guys above are talking about. For just getting into this the g3258 is AMAZINGBALLS. I love mine. Have it running at 4.8 and about 65C at load. Its a great little CPU if you dont mind learning the ins and outs of the BIOS to get a good stable OC. My g3258 with my r9-280x is able to run anything and everything 60+fps High to Ultra.... Though i really won the Intel lotto with cpu ocing lmo

[Drackeo]

You could get a G3258 that might not overclock at all, don't assume you're going to get a specific clock.

 

No overclocking on H81.

 

2. It might, it might not, the silicon lottery may not favor you.

3. Yes, more performance and lower power consumption.

 

Yes you can now, with the right BIOS update. But no where near 4.8GHZ

see this link: http://forums.anandtech.com/maintenance.html?t=2389948

 

Planetside 2, most definitely not. However, Payday 2 and Team Fortress 2 should with no problem.

 

Im running Payday and TF2 120ish FPS at high with 4xAA

[TheSLSAMG]

Idk what the guys above are talking about. For just getting into this the g3258 is AMAZINGBALLS. I love mine. Have it running at 4.8 and about 65C at load. Its a great little CPU if you dont mind learning the ins and outs of the BIOS to get a good stable OC. My g3258 with my r9-280x is able to run anything and everything 60+fps High to Ultra.... Though i really won the Intel lotto with cpu ocing lmo

The board he chose won't overclock with any BIOS update you throw at it, and games can still take advantage of the extra threads that an i3 or FX 6300 has.

 

It's not to say G3258 is a bad chip, but you hit the silicon lottery. My chip doesn't like being taken past around 4.6GHz/1.3V without me feeling uncomfortable about it, and more and more games list quad-core CPUs in the minimum requirements. (The i3 can fufil this due to the strong architecture and quad threads.)

[cheeze_tartz]

Yes you can now, with the right BIOS update. But no where near 4.8GHZ

see this link: http://forums.anandtech.com/maintenance.html?t=2389948

 

 

Im running Payday and TF2 120ish FPS at high with 4xAA

How do you update the BIOS on a motherboard?

[dmanschramm]

Hi all, I've decided to try out PC gaming and see how it is. I am a little bit new to the PC world but I have some knowledge about it. I am thinking of building one for around $500. I am not looking forward to playing some demanding titles, just games like Payday 2, TF2, Planetside 2, etc. at Ultra settings at at least 60+ FPS. How do you guys think about these specs?

 

Intel Pentium G3258 Dual Core 3.2 GHz (can be overclocked to 4.8 GHz) ~ $70

MSI H81M-E34 Motherboard ~ $52.99

SAPPHIRE Radeon R7 260X 2GB DDR5 GPU ~ $115

Corsair Vengeance 8 GB (2 x 4GB) Ram ~ $70

WesternDigital Blue 1 TB Hard Drive ~ $55

Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO CPU cooler ~ $35

Corsair CX430 PSU ~ $45

Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ~ $45

 

Total is around $490. I also have a few questions. 1) Should I use an AMD FX-6300 CPU instead of the Pentium? 2) Will the CM Evo be able to overclock the Pentium? 3) Should i get a GTX 750 TI instead of the 260X?

 

I already have a Razer Tartarus, Corsair K30, and Razer Deathadder, a 1080p Monitor and a copy of Windows 8.1.

 

All answers appreciated, Thanks!

 

1) Depends on upgradeablility. If you are comfortable with overclocking and want to upgrade (either or), the Pentium will have massive overclocking potential and the LGA 1150 allows for upgradeablility too. If you're not planning on upgrading, go with the FX-6300 (if you are going with the Pentium, get a Z97 board - no overclocking on budget boards)

 

2) Yes, the CM Evo will be able to overclock the Pentium. I'm not sure, but if you can, mount another fan for maximum performance.

 

3)The 750Ti will typically outperform the r9 260X (but not always)

 

Hope this answers your questions!

[TheSLSAMG]

How do you update the BIOS on a motherboard?

Usually, it's done with a USB flash drive. You put the BIOS file that you download from the MSI website in this case on a FAT32 formatted drive, plug it in, go into the BIOS and update from there. However, it does pose the ability to brick the board if your PC freezes or loses power in the process, so there is risk involved and is usually not recommended to update unless it's absolutely necessary.

[Drackeo]

How do you update the BIOS on a motherboard?

 

Its a download usually from the manufacturers website.

[Drackeo]

The board he chose won't overclock with any BIOS update you throw at it, and games can still take advantage of the extra threads that an i3 or FX 6300 has.

 

It's not to say G3258 is a bad chip, but you hit the silicon lottery. My chip doesn't like being taken past around 4.6GHz/1.3V without me feeling uncomfortable about it, and more and more games list quad-core CPUs in the minimum requirements. (The i3 can fufil this due to the strong architecture and quad threads.)

 

Well that is deffinatly true. My little chip is fantastic. With any intel chip it is a bit of a loto but normally you can get 4.5 even on a non Z board at about 1.3V (if it supports voltage modifiers)

 

 

Hi all, I've decided to try out PC gaming and see how it is. I am a little bit new to the PC world but I have some knowledge about it. I am thinking of building one for around $500. I am not looking forward to playing some demanding titles, just games like Payday 2, TF2, Planetside 2, etc. at Ultra settings at at least 60+ FPS. How do you guys think about these specs?

 

Intel Pentium G3258 Dual Core 3.2 GHz (can be overclocked to 4.8 GHz) ~ $70

MSI H81M-E34 Motherboard ~ $52.99

SAPPHIRE Radeon R7 260X 2GB DDR5 GPU ~ $115

Corsair Vengeance 8 GB (2 x 4GB) Ram ~ $70

WesternDigital Blue 1 TB Hard Drive ~ $55

Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO CPU cooler ~ $35

Corsair CX430 PSU ~ $45

Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ~ $45

 

Total is around $490. I also have a few questions. 1) Should I use an AMD FX-6300 CPU instead of the Pentium? 2) Will the CM Evo be able to overclock the Pentium? 3) Should i get a GTX 750 TI instead of the 260X?

 

I already have a Razer Tartarus, Corsair K30, and Razer Deathadder, a 1080p Monitor and a copy of Windows 8.1.

 

All answers appreciated, Thanks!

 

 

An to the GPU, if you can spare the money id go with an r9-270 or 280. Id suggest the 280 though. But if you cant i would really go with the 750ti, not much can beat ut,

[Rooah]

So just a couple questions. Are you planing to overclock, are you planning on upgrading in the future, do you have things like Operating system, keyboard and mouse and speakers, and are you limited by how large the tower can be?

[Johntheawesomeguy]

get rid of the cooler and use a stock one and use the money into a 270

[Johntheawesomeguy]

also get a cheaper kit of ram, you can get 8 gb for cheaper

[Johntheawesomeguy]

 

Here spend a bit more and get this it's much better and can drive those game above at ultra setting.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i3-4160 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($109.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($43.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Memory: Team Elite 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($51.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($49.98 @ NCIX US) 

Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 280X 3GB Double Dissipation Video Card  ($199.99 @ Newegg) 

Case: Thermaltake VL80001W2Z ATX Mid Tower Case  ($22.99 @ Micro Center) 

Power Supply: Rosewill Capstone 550W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply  ($39.99 @ Newegg) 

Total: $518.92

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-25 19:33 EDT-0400

 

much better, only thing I would change is put a couple more $ into ram from a non shady, trusted manufacturer. I wouldn't trust that RAM to be reliable and last long

[cheeze_tartz]

So just a couple questions. Are you planing to overclock, are you planning on upgrading in the future, do you have things like Operating system, keyboard and mouse and speakers, and are you limited by how large the tower can be?

Yes. I have a copy of Windows 8.1, a 1080p monitor, Razer Tartarus, Razer Deathadder, and Corsair K30 Keyboard. 1) I am planning on overclocking, but if i can get a CPU to perform good without spending too much $$$, I am fine with that. 2) I am not planning on upgrading, (maybe like the graphics card only) but I am not a huge PC Gamer.