Best gaming build under $550 USD?

[AlanAlan]

I planning on to build gaming pc under $550 what's the most powerful build that I can put together?

[don_svetlio]

give me a min

[lonestar31]

3 minutes ago, AlanAlan said:

I planning on to build gaming pc under $550 what's the most powerful build that I can put together?

 

Will you be reusing any old or existing parts?  

[don_svetlio]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4160 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($113.89 @ OutletPC) 
Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($44.99 @ NCIX US) 
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($32.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: PNY CS1311 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($39.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($49.89 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 380 4GB Double Dissipation Video Card  ($169.99 @ Newegg) 
Case: NZXT Source 210 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($34.99 @ Directron) 
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($76.82 @ Amazon) 
Total: $563.55
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-02-03 10:06 EST-0500

[drewjn]

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-6350 3.9GHz 6-Core Processor  ($122.95 @ SuperBiiz) 
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($24.99 @ Newegg) 
Motherboard: ASRock 970 EXTREME4 ATX AM3+ Motherboard  ($69.98 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($39.88 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($49.89 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card  ($118.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Case: Fractal Design Core 2300 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($54.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($65.98 @ Newegg) 
Total: $547.65
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-02-03 10:18 EST-0500

 

 

[don_svetlio]

5 minutes ago, drewjn said:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-6350 3.9GHz 6-Core Processor  ($122.95 @ SuperBiiz) 
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($24.99 @ Newegg) 
Motherboard: ASRock 970 EXTREME4 ATX AM3+ Motherboard  ($69.98 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($39.88 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($49.89 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card  ($118.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Case: Fractal Design Core 2300 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($54.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($65.98 @ Newegg) 
Total: $547.65
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-02-03 10:18 EST-0500

 

 

You can do a lot better friend

[drewjn]

@don_svetlio

Granted, I usually look more at higher builds, but there are 2 major points of contention to make.

 

1. A lot of games are starting to require or access 4 cores, so a 2 core may not be enough. I don't care how you can oc a pentium.

2. A psu with full modularity and gold rating is still a better choice.

 

It is hard making a build without knowing the goals of the person wanting the computer. With more understanding of what the person plans to use the pc for, you can make better more specified choices. The vid card is not ideal, but again it depends on what you want to cut.

[Xenift]

3 minutes ago, drewjn said:

@don_svetlio

Granted, I usually look more at higher builds, but there are 2 major points of contention to make.

 

1. A lot of games are starting to require or access 4 cores, so a 2 core may not be enough. I don't care how you can oc a pentium.

2. A psu with full modularity and gold rating is still a better choice.

 

It is hard making a build without knowing the goals of the person wanting the computer. With more understanding of what the person plans to use the pc for, you can make better more specified choices. The vid card is not ideal, but again it depends on what you want to cut.

Your argument is invalid. The 2 hyper-threaded cores of the i3 out perform the AMD pricing counterpart in single core benchmarks over the roof. Also AMD chips usually bring a lower minimum fps due to the chipset being not so well supported, unlike Intel. 

 

---Edit---

Also i forgot to mention, benchmarks were taken from this and that the FX CPUs loses. Not that much though, but considering the better option out there, Intel is the way to go for cheap builds around 550.

[don_svetlio]

Just now, drewjn said:

@don_svetlio

Granted, I usually look more at higher builds, but there are 2 major points of contention to make.

 

1. A lot of games are starting to require or access 4 cores, so a 2 core may not be enough. I don't care how you can oc a pentium.

2. A psu with full modularity and gold rating is still a better choice.

 

It is hard making a build without knowing the goals of the person wanting the computer. With more understanding of what the person plans to use the pc for, you can make better more specified choices. The vid card is not ideal, but again it depends on what you want to cut.

I chose an i3 - same performance as an FX 6300 but less money
The Antec HCG is quite a bit better than the EVGA NEX - NEX are made by FSP and are based on the mediocre Aurum platform as opposed to the SeaSonic-made HCG series.

I took the liberty of "optimizing your build"

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor  ($138.89 @ OutletPC) 
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($24.99 @ Newegg) 
Motherboard: ASRock 970 EXTREME4 ATX AM3+ Motherboard  ($69.98 @ Newegg) 
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($29.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($49.89 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 380 4GB Double Dissipation Video Card  ($169.99 @ Newegg) 
Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($29.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($55.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Total: $569.71
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-02-03 10:33 EST-0500

[drewjn]

@don_svetlio

Then I'll bow out on that. Amd are not my specific expertise, nor are lower end pcs. 

 

Sadly enough, we actually still haven't gotten below the 550 usd mark. Listings are still slightly above it, lol.

 

 

Edit:

@Xenift Funny how the times change. It used to be amd was the low cost choice. I still think it might be better to find a way to spring for a quad core regardless, but going into the world of pc building, gaming and content creation has never been the cheapest entry level option.

[don_svetlio]

9 minutes ago, drewjn said:

@don_svetlio

Then I'll bow out on that. Amd are not my specific expertise, nor are lower end pcs. 

 

Sadly enough, we actually still haven't gotten below the 550 usd mark. Listings are still slightly above it, lol.

 

 

Edit:

@Xenift Funny how the times change. It used to be amd was the low cost choice. I still think it might be better to find a way to spring for a quad core regardless, but going into the world of pc building, gaming and content creation has never been the cheapest entry level option.

AMD's GPUs are actually very competitive with the only Nvidia GPU currently being a better buy is the 980 Ti

960 loses to the 380 by a significant amount
390 usually beats a 970 by a bit
390X is 100$ cheaper than a 980 and performs only slightly worse
Nano is the same price as a 980 but performs better and is more efficient
Fury performs better than those 2 and costs only 50$ more
Fury X is the only one that falls short even at 550-600$

[drewjn]

1 minute ago, don_svetlio said:

AMD's GPUs are actually very competitive with the only Nvidia GPU currently being a better buy is the 980 Ti

960 loses to the 380 by a significant amount
390 usually beats a 970 by a bit
390X is 100$ cheaper than a 980 and performs only slightly worse
Nano is the same price as a 980 but performs better and is more efficient
Fury performs better than those 2 and costs only 50$ more
Fury X is the only one that falls short even at 550-600$

I agree on those quite a bit, but it all depends on what the person can afford, and the deals at the time. In the case for the person above, costs are quite prohibitive.

 

For instance, I got my 970 a while back, and on a sale. I believe that was back before the 300 series. Heck at that point, Nvidia had the only decent cards for 4k, and AMD 200 series were powerhogs in comparison to the 970, for around sim performance. Every few months and the balance will shift again. That is the great thing about technology.

[don_svetlio]

1 minute ago, drewjn said:

I agree on those quite a bit, but it all depends on what the person can afford, and the deals at the time. In the case for the person above, costs are quite prohibitive.

 

For instance, I got my 970 a while back, and on a sale. I believe that was back before the 300 series. Heck at that point, Nvidia had the only decent cards for 4k, and AMD 200 series were powerhogs in comparison to the 970, for around sim performance. Every few months and the balance will shift again. That is the great thing about technology.

Indeed.

I am certain the OP can go 20$ above for an extra SSD or the 8320 over the 6350

[drewjn]

5 minutes ago, don_svetlio said:

Indeed.

I am certain the OP can go 20$ above for an extra SSD or the 8320 over the 6350

I do indeed stand by my point of more cores may be important down the road. A few games I play require 4 cores now, and games are FINALLY making use of hyperthreading (shock!).

 

Even if per core performance is lesser, it is still something to think about in the long run. I try to not skimp on cpu whenever I can help it, primarily because even though a gaming pc lives and breathes on the power of the gpu (assuming cpu doesn't throttle it), cpu is still the core of your pc. You can always upgrade your gpu, as also add an sdd later, or an extra stick of ram. Having to replace your cpu and mobo is more work.

 

Hell, fun story for me, is that when I bought my 4790k, I bought it 80 usd off, so it was only near 20 bucks more than the 4690k. Same core, more power without needing to oc, and add hyperthreading? Yes, ty!

[AlanAlan]

7 hours ago, lonestar31 said:

 

Will you be reusing any old or existing parts?  

No all will be new