Best $500 gaming computer build

[Ultimate Assassin]

My friend wants me to build him a computer that run games for as cheap as $500. I want to spend more on the graphics card. Im thinking either a gtx 960 or 950. I dont care if the CPU is extremely fast, as long as it does not bottleneck. I dont care about motherboard. I want the case to be spacey but not too big. I want a cheap optical drive. one ssd to install windows. 1tb hard drive for games. I will use stock cooler for CPU. I want 8gb ram. And a power supply to support my needs. Also im going to do a bit of overclocking, so take that into account when giving psu. Please give me a good build with either of those gpus (preferrably 960).

 

So what I really want is a gtx 960 with ok everything else or a gtx 950 with slightly better everything else. I think the 960 will do better for gaming, so try to give my parts that will go good with that and totals to around 500 dollars.

 

He wants to run:

-GTA V

-H1Z1

-ARK

-Tomb Raider

-Theif

 

He also will play g mod and csgo, but that doesnt need too much processing.

[The Official Czex]

Athlon 860K + R9-380

 

A R9-380 will outperform the 960 by a fairly large margin for less than its cost.

[Starelementpoke]

My friend wants me to build him a computer that run games for as cheap as $500. I want to spend more on the graphics card. Im thinking either a gtx 960 or 950. I dont care if the CPU is extremely fast, as long as it does not bottleneck. I dont care about motherboard. I want the case to be spacey but not too big. I want a cheap optical drive. one ssd to install windows. 1tb hard drive for games. I will use stock cooler for CPU. I want 8gb ram. And a power supply to support my needs. Also im going to do a bit of overclocking, so take that into account when giving psu. Please give me a good build with either of those gpus (preferrably 960).

 

So what I really want is a gtx 960 with ok everything else or a gtx 950 with slightly better everything else. I think the 960 will do better for gaming, so try to give my parts that will go good with that and totals to around 500 dollars.

 

He wants to run:

-GTA V

-H1Z1

-ARK

-Tomb Raider

-Theif

 

He also will play g mod and csgo, but that doesnt need too much processing.

Overclocking with a stock cooler. Your just asking to be hit.

[theereal]

1: Youre not going to do any CPU oc'ing on a stock cooler

2: You say you want a cheap MOBO, but a cheap MOBO may not support oc'ing

3: For your budget an SSD? Forget It

[Mohenjo]

Overclocking with a stock cooler. Your just asking to be hit.

_ignore_ 

[Starelementpoke]

_ignore_ 

Okay, maybe not the hitting part. But stock cooler+overclocking is just not a good idea.

[Mohenjo]

Okay, maybe not the hitting part. But stock cooler+overclocking is just not a good idea.

no no,  i meant ignore what i said. posted in the wrong thread 

[Starelementpoke]

no no,  i meant ignore what i said. posted in the wrong thread 

Oh, okay then.

[jimakos234]

This is your best shot with everything you asked.

But an i3 and a 380 without ssd would be  better.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 860K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($68.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock FM2A88M PRO3+ Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard  ($56.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($38.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Sandisk SSD PLUS 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($44.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($44.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 950 2GB Video Card  ($154.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Deepcool TESSERACT BF ATX Mid Tower Case  ($33.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($53.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $497.72
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-13 11:16 EST-0500

[Starelementpoke]

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/GzQyhM

Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/GzQyhM/by_merchant/

 

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 860K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($68.89 @ OutletPC) 

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper TX3 54.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($17.89 @ OutletPC) 

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard  ($65.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Memory: Mushkin ECO2 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($35.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Hitachi Deskstar 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($43.00 @ Amazon) 

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 285 2GB Dual-X Video Card  ($173.98 @ Newegg) 

Case: Thermaltake Versa H21 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($34.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

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

Total: $480.72

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-13 11:24 EST-0500

 

A ssd isn't worth it at this price point.

[Guest]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor  ($89.99 @ Micro Center)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper T2 54.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($14.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock 970M PRO3 Micro ATX AM3+/AM3 Motherboard  ($36.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill NS Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($35.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 250GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($23.65 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 290 4GB Video Card  ($222.98 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($37.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($35.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $498.57
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-11-13 11:58 EST-0500

 

EDIT: Added cooler

[Ultimate Assassin]

Overclocking with a stock cooler. Your just asking to be hit.

overclocking the gpu not cpu

[Starelementpoke]

overclocking the gpu not cpu

This explains much.