First Time Build :D

Wyatt_WYPOUT · April 6, 2015

Hello everyone I've been watching Linus for a while now and have always been super interested in computers. Recently I have been taking a Computer Engineering course at my high school (technically online, it's run by netacad) and have what I believe to be a fairly good understanding of how everything operates and how to properly install components and drivers, software, etc. I have been saving for a wee bit now and have around $430ish to throw at this and can possibly go up to $500. I'm not going for some gaming beast or great video editing beast of a computer. I know what this price range will get me and I am perfectly content with that. My current PC that I'm running on is okay but I find that the daily activities that I need and want to perform are in most cases a struggle. I blame AMD's E1 series APU's for this (Mine is Dual-Core clocked at 1.4GHz and is soldered onto motherboard so noneupgradeable.)

My current goal for this build is to have a computer that can run light-moderate photo edit programs and play a couple games at nice and playable framerates (At least 30fps on 720p for things like SimCity, Napoleon Total War, Minecraft, maybe even Battlefield? on High settings) I want this to be practical and kind of fill the gap I have with not getting a next-gen gaming console. I have a couple of things already so I'll start the lists accordingly.

What I have:

1 TB Western Digital Caviar Green HDD

Monitor 720p supports DVI and VGA

Keyboard

Mouse

Speakers

Basically necessary peripherals and a HDD I also have an old Dell tower case from a 2003 PC it's solid and the right size but I'd like to see some suggestions about cases that will run 40-50ish US Dollars

What I Want:

-I Want an ATX motherboard with 4 DDR3 DIMM Slots, a PCIe slot(s), and support for AMD Processors (But if anyone has an Intel build in mind that is comparable I am interested.)

Preferably an AMD AM3+ motherboard ^^^^^^^^^^^^

-500 Watt Power Supply (Reliable)

-4GB DDR3 Graphics card

-8GB DDR3 RAM

-AMD AM3+ Processor Quad-Core minimum (Thoughts on the Six-Core and Eight-Core processors offered?)

-ATX Mid-Tower case suggestions?

-SATA Disc writer/reader

-SSD (Not necessary but if I can find one cheap enough that'd be awesome )

What I've Been Looking at:

*RAM- Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB Kit

*CPU- AMD FD6300 6-Core Processor Black Edition

*Motherbaord- MSI ATX DDR3 2133 Motherboard 970 GAMING (I know it's a bit luxurious for the budget but it looks nice and spacious)

*GPU- EVGA GeForce GT 740 Superclocked Single Slot 4GB DDR3 Graphics Card

*PSU- EVGA 500W 80PLUS Certified ATX12V/EPS12V Power Supply

*CD/DVD thingy- I can just get something cheap or borrow for installing Windows and such. ( I do have a copy of 64 bit Windows 8.1)

Running the numbers on What I've been looking at I seem to be around budget but I am curious to see if any of you have recommendations or if there are any problems with my current hypothetical setup. Thanks for taking the time to read this and hopefully respond

Speedyv · April 6, 2015

Sorry off topic...

Why do I always click on these expecting a build log?....

CatzRuleZWorld · April 6, 2015

use pcpartpicker, start with G3258, get cheapest motherboard from MSI, ASUS, Gigabyte, ASRock that you can find, Get cheapest 2x4GB RAM kit (pentium can only use up to 1400MHz so the speed hardly matters but you should be able to get under CL9), Find a cheap case that you like that works with the rest of the build, Get the 500W 80+ Bronze EVGA PSU, Add a hyper 212 EVO of you think you need it, Put the rest into your GPU. VWALLA!

Edit: oh yah, add some storage. I'd suggest just getting a ssd if you don't need a lot of space.

Like this:

go with a 270 if you need to save on cost, switch out ssd for a 1tb barracuda if you need space.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($49.99 @ Micro Center)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.75 @ OutletPC)

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

Memory: Team Vulcan 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($52.99 @ Newegg)

Storage: Crucial MX100 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($64.95 @ SuperBiiz)

Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 270X 2GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($179.99 @ Amazon)

Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ NCIX US)

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