Upcoming System Build Guide - Help us choose the best hardware!

[paulsterio]

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1Xxfq

Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1Xxfq/by_merchant/

Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1Xxfq/benchmarks/

 

CPU: AMD A10-6800K 4.1GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($134.99 @ Amazon) 

Motherboard: Asus A88XM-A Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard  ($83.99 @ Mwave) 

Memory: Crucial Ballistix Tactical 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($55.25 @ Newegg) 

Memory: Crucial Ballistix Tactical 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($55.25 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Sandisk  128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk  ($92.99 @ Microcenter) 

Storage: Western Digital WD Green 2TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($88.94 @ OutletPC) 

Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($29.99 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply  ($39.99 @ Newegg) 

Total: $581.39

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-04 20:06 EST-0500)

 

This is my personal pick for a $600 console killer. 

 

The CPU is the one that Linus said to go with, so I picked that one, not my personal pick though, I would rather go with an Athlon or lower-end FX and have a discrete GPU, something like a 7750 or 7770, which will outperform this. But I can see the logic in this APU approach though. 

 

I picked an FM2+ motherboard because it's like $10 more than an FM2 motherboard and it offers a bit more of an upgrade path. The other thing that appealed to me about this motherboard is that it has 4 DIMM slots which is important because it provides an upgrade path for the RAM, which is quite important for the APU. 

 

I went with 16GB RAM, yes, this is overkill, but at $55/ea, it's great value. Crucial Ballistix Tactical RAM modules look great and Crucial are known to be a reliable brand. Lots of RAM is never a bad thing, though, with modern games demanding more RAM and with applications in general becoming more memory hungry. Personally, Chrome uses up like 3GB of my RAM. So I really do recommend more RAM. Plus, in terms of $/GB, 8GB sticks are now the best, instead of 4GB sticks, so I would almost always recommend going with 8GB sticks. 

 

Went with a 128GB SSD from Sandisk and a 2TB WD Green drive for mass storage. This is sort of the typical storage config. Even though in terms of $/GB 240/256GB SSDs are better, for a budget system, 128GB is more than enough for an OS drive. The mass storage can be for movies, games...etc. and everything else. Green drives are cheap and pretty reliable. 

 

The NZXT Source 210 is a good budget oriented case. It has great cable management options with all the grommets and decent air-flow. For a budget system, I tend to just go with the cheapest case I can find with decent cable management options and this looks like the one to pick. 

 

For the PSU, I chose the Corsair CX500M. There is a non-modular version available for $15 less, but for that amount, the modularity is useful, especially in a budget system where we aren't actually using a lot of the cables. Like, we only need the 24 pin, EPS and a dual SATA power for the drives, so the modular version will save us from having to deal with the excess cables. Corsair PSUs are high quality and run well. I've never had a problem with them. There's also no point going for 80plus Gold or anything like that here. There are countless reports and stuff on the internet that they pretty much never pay themselves off. 

 

Anyway, that's just what I would pick in a $600 system!

[James.]

Here's another build option of many.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

 

CPU:  AMD A10-6800K 4.1GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($154.99 @ Canada Computers) 

Motherboard:  Asus A88XM-A Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard  ($79.12 @ DirectCanada) 

Memory:  G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory  ($75.98 @ Newegg Canada) 

Storage:  Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($62.95 @ Vuugo) 

Case:  Silverstone PS08B (Black) MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($39.99 @ Memory Express) 

Power Supply:  EVGA 600B 600W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply  ($39.99 @ NCIX) 

Total: $453.02

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-04 20:09 EST-0500)

 

Reasoning behind the parts:

The motherboard is just a stand in for whatever Asus FM2 motherboard goes in this system. The memory was simply the fastest I could get at a somewhat reasonable price. 2400MHz would have been nicer but sticks of that started at around $85. The hard drive is just a cheap 1TB hard drive, I've found that in my system at least that 500GB is too little. The Case is not the standard core 1000 in many of the previous builds, however the Silverstone is a decent option as well. It has one more front USB 3 port than the core 100, and can support more Hard Drives and longer gpus, however it it more narrow than the core 1000, and thus would not fit as large of after market coolers. The power supply was just the cheapest decent option I could find, and it also allows room for gpu upgrades if they happen in the future.

[YellowMenace]

Since you've always been doing "Overkill" builds, I say that this build should try and stay within a budget of around $400-$450 and topping up at around $500 to show that gaming on a PC shouldn't be a 4-digit investment.

[LEVELZERO]

 

Umm maybe this

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

 

CPU:  AMD A10-6800K 4.1GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($134.99 @ Amazon) 

Motherboard:  Asus F2A55-M/CSM Micro ATX FM2 Motherboard  ($74.99 @ Newegg) 

Memory:  G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($63.75 @ Newegg) 

Storage:  Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($59.98 @ OutletPC) 

Case:  Fractal Design Arc Mini MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($69.98 @ OutletPC) 

Power Supply:  SeaSonic 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply  ($59.99 @ Newegg) 

Total: $463.68

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-04 18:54 EST-0500)

 

This but.. maybe higher speed ram since it's a APU system.

[ShadowRaven]

Hey Guys, we're planning a system build guide for AMD sometime in the next month or so and I wanted to get the community's feedback on how we should configure it. We're trying to create the best bang for the buck value gaming rig.

 

We're starting with an AMD 6800K APU, and we're planning to use an mATX ASUS FM2 motherboard, but beyond that I'd love to see your picks for the best possible value.

 

We're planning to go with onboard graphics for this one so bear that in mind when you're putting together your configs. I don't want to see $200 cases

 

The emphasis is on reliability and quality on a budget. Upgradeability for the future is also nice to have, so cases that have support for adding a graphics card later on would be great!

This is suggestion for your system build that you are putting together far a amd guide with display and peripherals

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1XwVP

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGBBSF3CGcQ&feature=player_detailpage

 

 

[Artorias]

Since you've always been doing "Overkill" builds, I say that this build should try and stay within a budget of around $400-$450 and topping up at around $500 to show that gaming on a PC shouldn't be a 4-digit investment.

Yup, I agree. Since this is the best bang for the buck APU system. If it's possible. Let's limit it to $500 and cram in as much important hardware as possible.

[ASUSPRIME]

Ram speed is irrelevant if you are going to upgrade to a Dedicated GPU down the road. Save the money and get a better motherboard or SSD.

 

This might be an APU build but its only worth it if you are not gonna upgrade to Dedicated Graphics. I have been there, the HD 8670D is good but you are gonna wish you could disable it to reduce heat and power comsumption once you get the Dedicated GPU. Linus, you should mention the athlon 750k and 760k as viable options. 

 

Athlon 750k ~ $80

4GB DDR3 1333 ~$50

AMD R7 260X ~ $145                            you can even pick up some older cards cheaper on ebay (e.g HD6850, HD7850, or GTX 550 Ti)

 

                          $275

 

OR 

 

A10 6800k ~ $140

8GB DDR3 2133 ~ $80

(plus whatever you spend later on a GPU)

                

                        $220

                          

 

CPU performance is the same once overclocked and the athlon can easily hit 4.5GHz on air 

[Durasara]

Why is no one recommending an SSHD? I have found that an ssd + hdd build is just too difficult for the majority of users. Not only that, one sshd is less expensive than ssd + hdd.

This is an intro build for pc dummies switching from the "it just works" consoles to the superior platform that, let's be honest here, is much more complicated than consoles.

[ShadowRaven]

Why is no one recommending an SSHD? I have found that an ssd + hdd build is just too difficult for the majority of users. Not only that, one sshd is less expensive than ssd + hdd.

This is an intro build for pc dummies switching from the "it just works" consoles to the superior platform that, let's be honest here, is much more complicated than consoles.

There is nothing wrong with a hybrid d rive its just not thought of as much but it is a good idea

[Yoinkerman]

If you put a gun to my head and said GIVE ME BANG FOR BUCK, I would build this:

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/1XxRY

 

CPU: $135 Amd 6800K, gotta have this  

 

CPU Cooler: $13 Arctic cooling 64 pro, dirt cheap and the quality of life is HUGE compared to a noisy stock cooler

 

Mobo#1 Asus mobo

Mobo#2: $62 MSI FM2-A75MA-E35 I can't believe this board is so inexpensive.  It has all the bells and whistles, including front usb3 which is HUUUGE for $62

 

RAM: $40 G.Skill ripjaws ddr3-1866 4GB.  4gb min, win8 does fine on 4gb and games really benefit from 1866 speed.  If you have more budget 8gb is better.

 

Storage:  $88 Kingston 120gb SSDnow v300.  If you can spare the room a SSD is CRAZY quality of life compared to a mechanical drive.  The whole computer experience is uplifted, plus with mklink junctions you can move a couple of games to and from your SSD and have them lightning fast with ease as well.

 

$60 WD Caviar Blue 1TB.  Good price, lots of space.  Get both a mech and a SSD if you can afford it, but if not a single mech drive can't be beat.

 

Case:  Bitfenix merc alpha $35-ish   It's been on sale in canada for about $30 since last christmas.  Solid aesthetic with simple curves and a very functional interior.  For $30 it can't be beat.  I've used it and wouldn't hesitate to use it again.

 

PSU:  Corsair builder 500w $45, Corsair makes very solid PSUs, and 500W is enough to throw in a 280x down the road if you come into grandma money.

 

Possible upgrades/downgrades:

 

8gb over 4gb, not absolutely necessary but worth eating spaghetti for a week to get it.

NO SSD :(:(  Worth getting, but one place to cut if you have to.

PSU: 450w instead of 500w, saves a couple of dollars, good if you don't get a GPU or only plan on a 270x or 260x.

Case:  Couple of different choices, fractal makes good cases, core 1000 usb3 is good, cooler master n200 or K280, solid cases, usb 3 support if you like the aesthetic more

CPU Cooler:  nix it if you don't care about noise.  Grab a CM212 if you want to overclock $30

 

COME AT ME BROS

[dstanding]

Why mATX? Go ITX and an Antec ISK110 or In-Win BP655 for a seriously tiny, smaller-than-console gaming build.

[mc141]

asus asus asus and cooler master

[Evan Owen]

 

Umm maybe this

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

 

CPU:  AMD A10-6800K 4.1GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($134.99 @ Amazon) 

Motherboard:  Asus F2A55-M/CSM Micro ATX FM2 Motherboard  ($74.99 @ Newegg) 

Memory:  G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($63.75 @ Newegg) 

Storage:  Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($59.98 @ OutletPC) 

Case:  Fractal Design Arc Mini MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($69.98 @ OutletPC) 

Power Supply:  SeaSonic 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply  ($59.99 @ Newegg) 

Total: $463.68

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-04 18:54 EST-0500)

 

You need high frequency ram for an apu build because it acts as the vram too

[superchavez]

Here's one

NZXT Source 210 Elite White

AMD A10 6800K Richland 4.1Ghz

ASRock FM2A88M Extreme4+ FM2+/FM2 A88X (Dolton D4)

Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2x4GB) 1866 Desktop Memory

Seagate SV35 Series ST2000VX000 2TB

Corsair CXM series CX430 430W 80 Plus Bronze

Total Cost: $512.94

[1823alex]

A10, Phantom Full ATX tower case?

[Vassili62]

For the case, you could go with a Silverstone FT03. Supports full length graphics cards, and full size ATX power supplies. Not sure if it is widely available anymore though.

[Ps_domingo]

Core 1000

gigabyte board

Small SSD or SSHD
Since you are doing APU's 2400mhz Ram.

450 Watt PSU and what ever cooler can fit on the remaining budget.  

[SlaughterSmurf]

AMD 6300?

[TicTac]

silverstone tj08 e maybe? I say this because its cheap and a good matx case 

[Bentheguy]

How about this?

 

CPU: AMD A10-6800K 4.1GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($134.99 @ Amazon) 

Motherboard: Asus F2A55-M/CSM Micro ATX FM2 Motherboard  ($74.99 @ Newegg) 

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2400 Memory  ($67.50 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($64.99 @ Amazon) 

Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($29.99 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply  ($19.99 @ Microcenter) 

Total: $392.45

[iceepl430y]

I made a budget 2 gaming computer back in may for under 400$. Apu- AMD A10 5800K, case - , hdd - came off another system, mobo - msi mini atx, ram - corsair vengeance 4 gigs 1600 MHz. case - pixxo red w/450 psu. I am thinking of buying a hd 6670 and cf them. Good Luck  

[jjerome214]

My first gaming rig! but selling it already. Just want to have fun building one. :-)

 

Got this whole idea from one of Linus' building guide. Thank you Linus.

 

Price : $ 1,591

 

http://www.tipidpc.com/viewitem.php?iid=27122713

 

Specifications

Processor : Intel Core i7 4770k
Motherboard : Asus Maximus VI Gene
RAM : 16GB G. Skill Ripjaws X (4x4GB) CL9D DDR3-1600MHZ
Graphic Card : Powercolor Devil HD7870 2GB GDDR5 Php 13,500
PSU : Cooler Master GX II 750W
Cooler : Corsair H100i
HDD : 1 TB Western Digital Green 3.0 6Gbps
Optical Drive : Lite on DVDRW

Fans : 3x Cougar Dual X Red Led 120mm(Back, 2x Side panel)
2x Corsair SP120 Quiet Edition(Pull air from the Rad cooler)
2x 120mm Fan White LED (front) Cooler Master
 

Case : CM Storm Scout 2 Ghost White

[skywake]

Why is no one recommending an SSHD? I have found that an ssd + hdd build is just too difficult for the majority of users. Not only that, one sshd is less expensive than ssd + hdd.

This is an intro build for pc dummies switching from the "it just works" consoles to the superior platform that, let's be honest here, is much more complicated than consoles.

 

The problem with getting an SSHD is that it's almost double the cost of a standard drive so if you're aiming for a budget build with a fair chunk of storage it's not as good value. Then when you look at benchmarks they actually run about half the speed of an SSD within the 8GB cache and slower than a standard HDD outside of it. You're also paying not that much more for a 250GB SSD on its own or a 120GB SSD with a 1TB HDD as you do for a 2TB SSHD.

 

It really depends on how the end user is going to use it, whether they care about the cost more than the load times and what other storage options they have already.

[WoodenMarker]

k guys... we're building an onboard graphics system... RoG boards? 350D???

I was thinking something like this: PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU:  AMD A10-6800K 4.1GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($134.99 @ Amazon) 

CPU Cooler:  Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($29.99 @ Microcenter) 

Motherboard:  Asus A88XM-A Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard  ($83.99 @ Mwave) 

Memory:  G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory  ($63.75 @ Newegg) 

Storage:  Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($59.98 @ OutletPC) 

Case:  Silverstone PS08B (Black) MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($34.90 @ Amazon) 

Power Supply:  Corsair CX 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply  ($39.99 @ Newegg) 

Total: $447.59

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-04 23:27 EST-0500)

 

The cooler is totally optional and perhaps a later add on along with a ssd. I was thinking a Fractal Design Core 1000 Usb 3.0 would be a bit more popular due to the brand but it doesn't fit a nice aftermarket cooler like the 212 Evo. 

Of course what I would do would be to shop according to sales more and be stick less to the popular brands but that's not always the most practical when making a video.

how about core since it should be cheap, Core 1000 is the cheapest case on the market right next to the Source 210 that's actually good

The core 1000 doesn't fit an aftermarket cooler like the 212 Evo. If not for the Silverstone PS08 or CM N200, I'd go ahead and get the FD case.

[Reuben]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

 

CPU:  AMD A10-6800K 4.1GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($129.99 @ Microcenter) 

CPU Cooler:  NZXT Respire T40 68.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($29.98 @ OutletPC) 

Motherboard:  Asus F2A55-M/CSM Micro ATX FM2 Motherboard  ($74.99 @ Newegg) 

Memory:  G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2400 Memory  ($65.70 @ Newegg) 

Storage:  Kingston HyperX 3K 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk  ($89.99 @ Amazon) 

Storage:  Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($59.98 @ OutletPC) 

Case:  Corsair 350D Window MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($79.99 @ Microcenter) 

Power Supply:  Corsair CX 750W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply  ($59.99 @ Newegg) 

Total: $590.61

(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-04 23:42 EST-0500)

 

CPU: fastest APU out there

CPU Cooler: Similar in price to the 212, but with slightly better performance.

Board: SLI/CrossfireX ready, looks great, decently cheap

Memory: Fast for the APU, blue matches board, leaves room to double it

Storage: Reliable, fast SSD for OS/programs, hard drive has plenty of room for music, movies, and games.

Case: Great aesthetics, feature set, and price.

PSU: reliable, semi-modular, and powerful enough for multi-GPU expansion

 

TL;DR: fast, good looking, and with enough expansion options for 2 video cards, more storage, and more RAM