550$ GAMING PC

thereal_ale · May 15, 2015

Hi there, i'm new to the community and I just signed up as I wanted to make this thread. Recently I thought of building my own gaming PC and I'd like to know if any of you guys can give me suggestions on which parts to buy. However I don't want to spend more than 550$ that I put as a goal.

Even though I want to stay on a budget, I definitely want the gaming PC to have an ssd as storage (250gb would be fine that are more or less worth 100$), and also an extremely awesome case (preferibely white with a transparent panel). I give all the rest (CPU, RAM, Graphics card, Power supply...) to you and I accept every single suggestion. Feel free to answer.

Thanks for your time.

WereCat · May 15, 2015

I dont think that you can be picky about Case and SSD at this budget. It will dramaticaly reduce your performance because you will have to go with less powerfull hardware.

thereal_ale · May 15, 2015

I dont think that you can be picky about Case and SSD at this budget. It will dramaticaly reduce your performance because you will have to go with less powerfull hardware.

OK, so how would you build a PC at this budget?

WereCat · May 15, 2015

OK, so how would you build a PC at this budget?

Working on it.

Howhurl · May 15, 2015

Depending on what games you play and what resolution/video quality, the 550 budgetncould be possible

sgtcool · May 15, 2015

Depending on what games you play and what resolution/video quality, the 550 budgetncould be possible

basicly a normal 200$ pc from a store with a better gpu and cpu

kenjigreat · May 15, 2015

Hi there, i'm new to the community and I just signed up as I wanted to make this thread. Recently I thought of building my own gaming PC and I'd like to know if any of you guys can give me suggestions on which parts to buy. However I don't want to spend more than 550$ that I put as a goal.

Even though I want to stay on a budget, I definitely want the gaming PC to have an ssd as storage (250gb would be fine that are more or less worth 100$), and also an extremely awesome case (preferibely white with a transparent panel). I give all the rest (CPU, RAM, Graphics card, Power supply...) to you and I accept every single suggestion. Feel free to answer.

Thanks for your time.

Exactly what Howhurl said , It depends on What resolution and you want to game at, personally I don't think you should go for an SSD. You budget is so tight and most of it will go to your GPU depending on what games/resolution you plan on running.

ObilvionNizer · May 15, 2015

Hi there, i'm new to the community and I just signed up as I wanted to make this thread. Recently I thought of building my own gaming PC and I'd like to know if any of you guys can give me suggestions on which parts to buy. However I don't want to spend more than 550$ that I put as a goal.

Even though I want to stay on a budget, I definitely want the gaming PC to have an ssd as storage (250gb would be fine that are more or less worth 100$), and also an extremely awesome case (preferibely white with a transparent panel). I give all the rest (CPU, RAM, Graphics card, Power supply...) to you and I accept every single suggestion. Feel free to answer.

Thanks for your time.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($111.98 @ Newegg)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H81M-D2V Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($66.99 @ Mwave)

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)

Storage: Seagate 1TB 2.5" 5400RPM Hybrid Internal Hard Drive ($77.00 @ Amazon)

Video Card: Asus Radeon R9 280 3GB DirectCU II Video Card ($203.98 @ Newegg)

Case: Thermaltake Versa H21 ATX Mid Tower Case ($32.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($29.99 @ NCIX US)

Total: $563.92

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-15 18:06 EDT-0400

Mentalguy · May 15, 2015

spend a little more and go with this

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($173.95 @ SuperBiiz)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H81M-S1 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($41.98 @ Newegg)

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($47.99 @ Newegg)

Storage: Sandisk Solid State Drive 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($47.99 @ Newegg)

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($36.14 @ Amazon)

Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 280 3GB TurboDuo Video Card ($159.99 @ Newegg)

Case: BitFenix Comrade ATX Mid Tower Case ($58.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Power Supply: Corsair Builder 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($36.99 @ Newegg)

Total: $604.02

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-15 18:06 EDT-0400

Aniallation · May 15, 2015

I dont think that you can be picky about Case and SSD at this budget. It will dramaticaly reduce your performance because you will have to go with less powerfull hardware.

Agreed. At $550, boot speed and looks should not be top priority.

WereCat · May 15, 2015

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($103.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97-HD3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($68.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($62.99 @ Newegg)

Storage: A-Data Premier Pro SP600 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($52.73 @ Newegg)

Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card ($179.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Case: Zalman Z3 Plus White ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)

Power Supply: Corsair Builder 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($36.99 @ Newegg)

Total: $545.67

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-15 18:07 EDT-0400

There is a catch .. no HDD only SSD so if you want HDD then I will make another build. I will edit it in here.

EDITED

no performance sacrifice, only looks and motherboard is H81 so you wont be able to OC on it if you decide to upgrade to unlocked CPU later.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor ($103.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H81-D3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($60.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)

Storage: Sandisk Solid State Drive 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($47.99 @ Newegg)

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.75 @ OutletPC)

Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card ($179.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Case: Zalman Z5 ATX Mid Tower Case ($23.99 @ NCIX US)

Power Supply: Corsair Builder 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($36.99 @ Newegg)

Total: $552.68

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-15 18:12 EDT-0400

EDIT 2

With 240GB SSD but I changed GPU to AMD. It is slightly over budget with that SSD if you put there 128GB one in the build above it is around $530 total

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor ($103.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H81-D3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($60.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)

Storage: PNY Optima 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($79.99 @ Newegg)

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.75 @ OutletPC)

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 280 3GB Dual-X Video Card ($159.99 @ Newegg)

Case: Zalman Z5 ATX Mid Tower Case ($23.99 @ NCIX US)

Power Supply: Corsair Builder 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($36.99 @ Newegg)

Total: $564.68

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-15 18:21 EDT-0400

thereal_ale · May 15, 2015

Depending on what games you play and what resolution/video quality, the 550 budgetncould be possible

well, I'd like to play to big titles like GTA 5 as well as battlefield or assassin's creed. However I think it would be fine enough to play at 720p with an average 60fps or more. I'm just not interested in going 1080p or 4K yet.

kenjigreat · May 15, 2015

well, I'd like to play to big titles like GTA 5 as well as battlefield or assassin's creed. However I think it would be fine enough to play at 720p with an average 60fps or more. I'm just not interested in going 1080p or 4K yet.

I think You'll do just fine with the GTX 960 Recommendation, 720P is not intensive at all.

Clyne · May 15, 2015

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor ($103.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($37.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Team Dark 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($43.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: PNY CS1111 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($49.99 @ Micro Center)
Storage: Hitachi Ultrastar 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($44.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 280 3GB TurboDuo Video Card ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Thermaltake Commander MS-I ID ATX Mid Tower Case ($32.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($51.69 @ Newegg)
Total: $524.63
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-15 18:13 EDT-0400

GTA 5 likes VRAM

thereal_ale · May 15, 2015

Thanks for all your replies. I think I'll pick the best and then post what I'm actually going to buy.

stconquest · May 15, 2015

$543 before rebates:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($173.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-E34 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($49.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Team Dark 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($43.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 270 2GB TurboDuo Video Card ($132.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Thermaltake Versa H21 ATX Mid Tower Case ($32.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($29.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $516.38
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-15 18:19 EDT-0400

WereCat · May 15, 2015

This is as close as I could get to your expectations:

Pros:

White case with window

240GB SSD

Decent GPU (also white)

good enough CPU

good motherboard for future upgrade of CPU

Cons:

No HDD

no aftermarket cooler (not really necessary)

gold motherboard (doesent looks so good)

non modular cables on PSU

I think that is the best you can get close to your expectations.

If you are willing to go R9 280 from AMD (Sapphire Vapor-X) then you may save around $20-$30 while you barely lose any performance.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($103.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97-HD3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($68.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Memory: G.Skill NS Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($50.99 @ Newegg)

Storage: PNY Optima 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($79.99 @ Newegg)

Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card ($179.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Case: Zalman Z3 Plus White ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)

Power Supply: Corsair Builder 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($36.99 @ Newegg)

Total: $560.93

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-15 18:28 EDT-0400

johnt · May 16, 2015

Crucial is having a sale on refurbished SSD drives. 128gb for $30. It might be worth a thought for this budget. I purchased a refurb 250 or 256gb for $50. Keep an eye out.