A PC Build under $350!

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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-750 2.66Ghz Quad-Core Processor  ($50.00) 

CPU Cooler: Arctic Cooling Alpine 11 Plus Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler  ($9.99 @ Newegg) 

Motherboard: MSI P55-GD65 USB3 ATX LGA1156 Motherboard  ($90.00) 

Memory: Team Elite Plus 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory  ($49.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Seagate Pipeline HD 500GB 3.5" 5900RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($39.95 @ Newegg) 

Video Card: PNY GeForce GTX 650 2GB Video Card  ($48.00) 

Case: BitFenix Neos Black ATX Mid Tower Case  ($32.99 @ NCIX US) 

Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($25.00 @ Newegg) 

Total: $345.92

some parts are used but are in good condition.

 

this just goes to show you with a little thrifty-ness and a good eye for a deal, you can get a beast of a PC for the same price as a console. The GTX 650 2GB Card has enough power to run most of the latest titles ( all be it as lower settings ) at not only playable, but comfortable frame rates. here are some bench marks using comprable CPU's.

 

GTA 5: 

seeing about 50fps even with the 1GB model

 

Battlefield 4: 

around 55fps on normal settings, never dropping below 45.

[Toxicable]

snip

 

i'd suggest looking for second hand parts

[Profquast]

The 650 is worse than the consoles though, might as well buy one of those then unless you can upgrade fast. In which case it is a better idea to hold out for a few months and do it right.

[TheSLSAMG]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.4GHz Quad-Core OEM/Tray Processor  ($23.00) You can find it on eBay for this much.

CPU Cooler: Arctic Cooling Alpine 11 GT 28.6 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler  ($9.47 @ Amazon) 

Memory: Team Elite Plus 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory  ($49.99 @ Newegg) Yes, the board uses DDR3.

Storage: Western Digital AV-GP 500GB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($31.95 @ Amazon) 

Case: Xion XON-310_BK MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($22.99 @ Amazon) 

Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply  ($36.98 @ NCIX US) 

Other: ECS G41T-M7 ($35.00) You can find it on eBay for this much.

Other: AMD Radeon HD 7950/R9 280 ($125.00) You can find it on Reddit's hardwareswap subreddit for this much.

Total: $334.38

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-09 18:43 EDT-0400

 

This system might just whoop the OP system's ass. You may be able to squeeze an overclock out of the Q6600 on the board, if not you find a better board or get a $50 Xeon and do the LGA 771 to 775 conversion mod.

[Enderman]