$400 Console "Contender"

[ZerueLX11]

I came up with a decent build to keep with a console. Also its mildly up-gradable, so lets not be too snobby.

 

 

It uses a 860k, r7 360, 430w PSU and a 1TB HDD.

 

The 860k has better IPC than a 8350, and the r7 360 is decent for 1080/900p 60fps "Medium Settings" AAA gaming.

 

 

The 430w PSU should allow in "theory" for a r9 380. A torture test for a r9 380 is about ~250w thats leaves 180w for the CPU and other things. Anyways if this machine is just gaming not running torture testing upgrading to a 370 or 380 is alright. 390 is out of the question since bottlenecks would appear.

 

Also it uses a stock cooler but luckily the case has side fan so hopefully those can cool the CPU some more!

 

This build is just meant to go up to "high-settings" 1080p 60fps no more no less. This isn't your Intel/Nvidia 4k/144hz SLI build.

 

 

Newegg Standard Shipping Service Important Shipping Information

Western Digital Blue WD10EZEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive Bare Drive

Standard Return Policy

IN STOCK

•  
• $52.99
•  

GIGABYTE GA-F2A68HM-H FM2+ AMD A68H 4 x SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard

Standard Return Policy

 

IN STOCK

• $48.99

 

EVGA 100-W1-0430-KR 430W ATX12V / EPS12V 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC 3 Year Warranty Power Supply Intel 4th Gen CPU Ready

Standard Return Policy

 

IN STOCK

•  
• $34.99
•  

Apotop 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1866 (PC3 15000) Desktop Memory Model U3A4Gx2-18C9GB

Standard Return Policy

 

IN STOCK

•  
• $41.99
•  

 

AMD Athlon X4 860K Quad-Core 3.7GHz Socket FM2+ 95W AD860KXBJABOX Desktop Processor (BLACK EDITION)

Replacement Only Return Policy

 

IN STOCK

•  
• $74.99
•  

 

DEEPCOOL XFAN 120 Hydro Bearing Black Fan

Standard Return Policy

 

IN STOCK

•  
• $5.99
•  

 

GIGABYTE GV-R736OC-2GD Radeon R7 360 2GB 128-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 HDCP Ready ATX Video Card

Standard Return Policy

IN STOCK

LIMIT 5

• $109.99

 

  Newegg Standard Shipping Service Important Shipping Information

COUGAR MX200 Black ATX Mid Tower Computer Case Standard ATX PS2 (optional) Power Supply

Standard Return Policy

IN STOCK

• $29.99

 

Total Price $399.92

 

 

So for $400 you can get a decent gaming PC experience!

 

Tell me your thoughts!

[Aytex]

No. Consoles are best for the money. For 300$ on medium on 900p for some games 60 fps. you cant get better than that man.... unless pc parts have a drastic economic change which wont happen lickely

only con is the games which r pretty expensive :c

[79wjd]

You're missing windows, you can't build a console contender and market it as such unless it can run everything like consoles can, and right now, linux support still isn't good enough. 

[salecar3]

I would use i3, 500w psu,

[TheSLSAMG]

For $400, you can't get shit if you buy an OS from a legitimate source (no, Reddit's /r/microsoftsoftwareswap and G2A are not legitimate sources.) And before someone mentions Ubuntu, how many AAA titles can you play on Ubuntu out of the ones you can play on Windows?

 

For $500, that looks like a decent gaming rig though.

[Aytex]

you're missing windows and a CPU cooler because if you think the AMD stock is gonna keep that CPU cool i will die laughing

? athalons dont get that hot. i had one idle was around 45 and load was around 68

[samcool55]

If you have an OS, it's a good system, not sure why you have an extra fan tho

[ShadowCaptain]

You're missing windows, you can't build a console contender and market it as such unless it can run everything like consoles can, and right now, linux support still isn't good enough. 

 

 

For $400, you can't get shit if you buy an OS from a legitimate source 

 

 

You can use windows 10, and you can continue to use it for free as long as you are happy to basically be a beta tester for updates

[ZerueLX11]

For $400, you can't get shit if you buy an OS from a legitimate source (no, Reddit's /r/microsoftsoftwareswap and G2A are not legitimate sources.) And before someone mentions Ubuntu, how many AAA titles can you play on Ubuntu out of the ones you can play on Windows?

 

For $500, that looks like a decent gaming rig though.

 

 

Well I tried, at least I didn't market it as a "console killer" lol.

 

With this build think of the $100 dollars for windows as a "Xbox live for Life" payment haha.

 

 

But hey, if I can get this performance for $400 flat, then maybe in the future the costs of Xbox, PS4 and PC will be the same, if the PC is entry level.

[PudgyAstronaut]

No. Consoles are best for the money. For 300$ on medium on 900p for some games 60 fps. you cant get better than that man.... unless pc parts have a drastic economic change which wont happen lickely

only con is the games which r pretty expensive :c

 

I only see this argument if you don't own a PC. If you own a $400 PC for web browsing and email, you can just get an $800 one instead, your games are cheaper, and a couple years into a console gen you will be playing at better settings (especially if you are willing to get secondhand parts)

[Aytex]

I only see this argument if you don't own a PC. If you own a $400 PC for web browsing and email, you can just get an $800 one instead, your games are cheaper, and a couple years into a console gen you will be playing at better settings (especially if you are willing to get secondhand parts)

your games arent exactly cheaper... steam tripple A games are still 60 bucks yes there are sales here and there.

also consoles arent second hand parts. they are factory new parts

and consoles are for gaming only.. this pc is for gaming also not browsing. 

the main focus is gaming pc's not browsing pc's

[79wjd]

You can use windows 10, and you can continue to use it for free as long as you are happy to basically be a beta tester for updates

Can you still join the Tech preview even? 

 

And even then, I still wouldn't call that on the same playing field as a console since you're forced to deal with all the random bugs which come from betas (which might make the console a more compelling option -- especially for someone who doesn't want to troubleshoot issues constantly). 

 

 

your games arent exactly cheaper... steam tripple A games are still 60 bucks yes there are sales here and there.

also consoles arent second hand parts. they are factory new parts

and consoles are for gaming only.. this pc is for gaming also not browsing. 

the main focus is gaming pc's not browsing pc's

Except games are pretty much always on sale -- it's not uncommon for a brand new game to hit $40~ as a preorder shortly before it's released (and then hit $50 shortly after and then continue to drop). Although with consoles you do also have the ability to buy used/sell the game when you're done. 

[ZerueLX11]

If you have an OS, it's a good system, not sure why you have an extra fan tho

 

 

The fan is meant to go on the side panel to help cool the stock cooler.

[samcool55]

The fan is meant to go on the side panel to help cool the stock cooler.

What i would do is save that bit of money and wait until you can get a better cpu cooler, even a cheap Hyper 212 will help a lot.

[PudgyAstronaut]

your games arent exactly cheaper... steam tripple A games are still 60 bucks yes there are sales here and there.

also consoles arent second hand parts. they are factory new parts

and consoles are for gaming only.. this pc is for gaming also not browsing. 

the main focus is gaming pc's not browsing pc's

 

Yes, but there is more to life than gaming, so when people make the argument that PC gaming is so much more expensive I have a problem with that thought process if they have a $400 PC sitting in the other room and their $300-$400 console in the living room. Also the brand new games are comparable price, but check anything on a steam sale (dependably happen every six months) vs gamestop or somewhere for 1.5-2 year old games. If you are entering into a platform you will probably want some classics too, not JUST new games. Also the backwards compatibility thing is a strong point for the PC. If you are a high school kid or someone who only needs basic smartphone style computing, then of course the console is a better value for pure gaming, but for a person who would own a computer anyway, the value becomes pretty close.

 

I just built a PC with an i5-4690K and an R9 290 with a friend and it cost under $800 for the tower. He had a free SSD and the 290 was from ebay, but in good condition. Everything else was new. Maybe some would be leary of used parts, but I don't think you can argue a console plays games at better settings than this setup. My point being many people have a crappy $500 laptop and a console which isn't that much cheaper in the grand scheme of things.

[ZerueLX11]

What i would do is save that bit of money and wait until you can get a better cpu cooler, even a cheap Hyper 212 will help a lot.

 

Console "contender", Im not supposed to go over the current price of the PS4. Anyways two fans blowing into the stock cooler should keep it cooler than a Xbox One lol.

 

your games arent exactly cheaper... steam tripple A games are still 60 bucks yes there are sales here and there.

also consoles arent second hand parts. they are factory new parts

and consoles are for gaming only.. this pc is for gaming also not browsing. 

the main focus is gaming pc's not browsing pc's

 

My build is a "contender".

 

con·tend

verb

 

1. 1.

   struggle to surmount (a difficulty or danger).

 

 

Meaning it will attempt to be a console but with a few caveats.

 

$400 for hardware, $100s for Windows

 

 

Xbox $350(cheapest console) plus expensive 60$ games and $60 a year Xbox Live.

[samcool55]

Console "contender", Im not supposed to go over the current price of the PS4. Anyways two fans blowing into the stock cooler should keep it cooler than a Xbox One lol.

 

 

Yes right, but in the end, it's a pc, and you have options with a pc, and you can still decide if you want a cooler/quieter pc if you want to pay a bit more for that, or not.

I would get the cooler if i got the choise, but that's just what i would do. 

[ZerueLX11]

Yes right, but in the end, it's a pc, and you have options with a pc, and you can still decide if you want a cooler/quieter pc if you want to pay a bit more for that, or not.

I would get the cooler if i got the choise, but that's just what i would do. 

 

 

Very true, upgrading is a luxury of PC. The scenario I'm thinking of is someone buying this build plus whatever games they want then, a few months later maybe they save $30 for a Hyper 212. Consider the person a kid on a strict "parents" budget. 

[ShadowCaptain]

Can you still join the Tech preview even? 

 

And even then, I still wouldn't call that on the same playing field as a console since you're forced to deal with all the random bugs which come from betas (which might make the console a more compelling option -- especially for someone who doesn't want to troubleshoot issues constantly). 

 

Fine buy windows for $100, but dont forget $60 for XBox Live, PS Plus!!!

[Starelementpoke]

Fine buy windows for $100, but dont forget $60 for XBox Live, PS Plus!!!

Also the $60 to get a single game on it, while on steam you can get bunch of quality cheap games for like $5.