$650 Gaming PC

[UnseenK]

I'm hoping to build a budget friendly gaming PC build. This PC will be primarily used for gaming, and maybe a little game recording on the side. I already have a mouse, keyboard, and Windows 8 64 bit. Budget is $650 USD. I think I'm going to try to get an Nvidia GPU because AMD's driver support is plain awful.

ATI 4870 1gb gpu (back when ATI was ATI )

4 gigs of DDR2 ram

e8400 CPU

EP45-UD3P motherboard pretty sure it's this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128358

OCZ ModXStream 600W PSU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817341017

The older Antec Three-Hundred case, the one that doesn't look like a rave concert.

Western Digital 750 GB HDD 7200 RPM-32 mb cache-3 GB/s.

I'm curious which of these parts I can reuse? I'm guessing only the case, PSU, and maybe the hard drive. Is it safe to continue using that PSU and HDD when it's about 4 years old?

 

[richaron]

There's a thread with questions for people building systems.

Personally I would reuse as much as I could: the case is fine, & hdd would be useful as storage (so you can get an SSD for your OS drive). I'd assume the PSU is fine, though some might say it's risky... I'd rather spend the extra $coin on other stuff. Monitor?

 

[lehtv]

I would not reuse the HDD, $650 is enough of a budget to buy a new unit. The ModXStream's warranty is expired.

The case and the HDD (and an optical drive if you have one) are fine, just make sure you have a backup solution. You don't need to buy an SSD. On this budget, I think the money is better spent on graphics performance.

Is your Windows 64bit?

 

[UnseenK]

I edited the OP with some things from the posted thread above.

So you wouldn't reuse the HDD...but it's fine? Did you mean the PSU?

And yes, I have an optical drive. I was thinking of skipping on the SSD for a better GPU as well. I'm kinda leaning towards Nvidia for my gpu since the awful support I've received in the past year or two for my 4870, unless a similarly priced AMD card blows Nvidia away.

I have a copy of Windows 8 64 bit.

 

[GreenOrbs]

You can totally build a workable computer for your budget. I'm kinda new to this too but here's what I'm doing. After looking around I thought the 7850 is a really good value at 100-120ish. Another option I considered was the 7950 3gb for $180 on Newegg AR.

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/GreenOrbs/saved/2s7G

Obviously, with a higher budget you can get 2x4 RAM and nicer case and whatnot. I see no reason for you to forego a SSD since you can totally afford it.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

I edited the OP with some things from the posted thread above.

So you wouldn't reuse the HDD...but it's fine? Did you mean the PSU?

And yes, I have an optical drive. I was thinking of skipping on the SSD for a better GPU as well. I'm kinda leaning towards Nvidia for my gpu since the awful support I've received in the past year or two for my 4870, unless a similarly priced AMD card blows Nvidia away.

I have a copy of Windows 8 64 bit.

Sweet! Having the OS already makes your build much better for the budget.

Is your WD a black? They have a pretty good rep for longevity. 4 years is starting to get into higher statictical probability of failure though.

I'm not a fan of OCZ so would say that yes, you want to replace that as well.

4670k and ASRock Fatal1ty combo $320.-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...=Combo.1440368

Team Vulcan 8GB (has a 10% off code) $60.-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820313345

Powercolor 7950 for $209....$179 after rebate .... nvidia cards not really a great value right now
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814131458

Hard drive depends on the space you need.

Power supply depends on if you ever plan to crossfire/SLI

 

[UnseenK]

The hard drive does appear to be a black series: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136283
A hard drive failure sounds devastating though, its one of the worst things that could ever happen to your PC I feel. How do you feel about continuing on with this HDD knowing that its a black?

I suppose I could replace the PSU, although it doesn't appear to be showing any signs of aging (not that I would know what those signs would be). I just turn my PC on and it works .

I most likely will never crossfire/sli, I personally feel that if my gpu ever stopped feeling adequate I would just upgrade to a better performing single card.

Besides that, the build you posted looks good, you found some serious deals, I never thought I could get a quad core that cheap (if you account for the fact it comes with a mobo).

 

[monkeydelmagico]

It's your call but it sounds like you would not be a happy camper if your HD failed. How much space do you need?

Do you overclock your CPU or plan to?

 

[monkeydelmagico]

Inexpensive power supply with enough juice to push a 7950. Cheap insurance. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...&SID=u00000687

If your heart is set on Nvidia heres a decent card for $200.... $180.- after rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814125443

 

[UnseenK]

I probably won't really be overclocking, I thought I would on this pc but I never did after 4 years lol. 1 TB would probably be good for me, I'm not a space snob, if I need more space I'll just delete something.

If you truely believe that AMD card is superior I suppose I can settle with it, I just worry how it'll be in a couple of years when AMD doesn't care about it anymore.

That PSU is super cheap, didn't know I could even settle with something so cheap, I wouldn't mind buying one at that price.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

Ahhh good. No OC and no SLI means your budget stretches even further. Here's your build:

Intel 3470 with Corsair 500 watt PSU combo $227.- .... $207 after rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...=Combo.1429160

Team Vulcan 8GB (has a 10% off code) $60.-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820313345

ASRock mATX mobo $60.- w/shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157449

Powercolor 7950 for $209....$179 after rebate ....
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814131458

WD Black 1tb $90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136533


TOTAL: $646 before rebates ..... $596 after

Will run any current games at high details with most eye candy maxed 1080/1200 resolutions

 

[mfenn]

The hard drive does appear to be a black series: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136283
A hard drive failure sounds devastating though, its one of the worst things that could ever happen to your PC I feel. How do you feel about continuing on with this HDD knowing that its a black?

Any hard drive can fail at any time. It doesn't matter what the brand, model, age, or capacity are. Since HDD failure is not a matter of "if", but "when", you need to have a solid backup strategy in place. If you spend $60 on a new drive, you should keep the old one around and make backups to it. Alternatively, you can spend that $60 on a cloud backup service (this may not be an option if your ISP has strict bandwidth limits).

If you truely believe that AMD card is superior I suppose I can settle with it, I just worry how it'll be in a couple of years when AMD doesn't care about it anymore.

Let's be fair here: a 4870 is more than a couple of years old, it was released in 2008. Nvidia's mainstream driver branch only goes back to the GeForce 8000 series, which was released in 2006. So you're talking about a difference of 5 or 7 years for mainline support. The latest driver release for the 4000 series came out at the beginning of this year (Cat 13.1) same as for Nvidia's older branch.

 

[mfenn]

Ahhh good. No OC and no SLI means your budget stretches even further. Here's your build:

Intel 3470 with Corsair 500 watt PSU combo $227.- .... $207 after rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...=Combo.1429160

Team Vulcan 8GB (has a 10% off code) $60.-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820313345

ASRock mATX mobo $60.- w/shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157449

Powercolor 7950 for $209....$179 after rebate ....
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814131458

WD Black 1tb $90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136533


TOTAL: $646 before rebates ..... $596 after

Will run any current games at high details with most eye candy maxed 1080/1200 resolutions

This looks good to me except for the HDD. $90 is too much for a 1TB drive, get the WD Blue 1TB for $70 instead. The OP should use the older 750GB drive for backup purposes.

 

[UnseenK]

Alright, so basically all the stuff monkeydelmagico stated, minus the HDD, swapping it for a $20 less HDD?

I'll wait for a few confirmations from you guys and then purchase it .

 

[richaron]

Yes. Though I'd still swap out the hard drive for a SSD.

They're awesome, & they are not easily added later (like an external hard drive). I keep my super important files backed up on cheapy flash drives or dvds anyway, so an old HDD is enough for storage.

 

[lehtv]

An SSD is actually easy to add later, you can clone your OS partition from the HDD onto the SSD. Then you can boot to the SSD and free up the space from the HDD

 

[richaron]

"Easy" is such a relative term :hmm:

Probly should have said "...they are not as easily added later...."

 

[UnseenK]

I'll get the ssd later, thanks guys. I'm probably ordering this PC this week, I have to wait until I get my $100 gift card for amazon.

 

[UnseenK]

Is it alright to swap the GPU with this Gigabyte? The PowerColor is out of stock now.

I think I'm going to go with this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814125414

What do you guys think of me not buying a HDD and just getting a SSD? The reason I'm considering this is because I have $100 credit for amazon right now, but I have to wait for it to ship to my house, so what I could do is build my PC and install Windows 8 on the hard drive I'm using now, and then when I get my SSD I can clone W8 to it and not have to wait two weeks just to get my new PC and not go through gaming withdrawal . What SSD would you guys recommend for under $100?

SSD or HDD, that is the question <_<.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

Is it alright to swap the GPU with this Gigabyte? The PowerColor is out of stock now.

I think I'm going to go with this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814125414

What do you guys think of me not buying a HDD and just getting a SSD? The reason I'm considering this is because I have $100 credit for amazon right now, but I have to wait for it to ship to my house, so what I could do is build my PC and install Windows 8 on the hard drive I'm using now, and then when I get my SSD I can clone W8 to it and not have to wait two weeks just to get my new PC and not go through gaming withdrawal . What SSD would you guys recommend for under $100?

SSD or HDD, that is the question <_<.

That GPU seems very good. 7950's can be hot and noisy. With a three fan cooler it should stay cool and quiet.

An SSD is one of the better upgrades you can buy. Even if it is a 120gb you can easily fit your operating system and a few other important pieces of software on it. It makes a big difference in how quickly the computer can access and load. You will notice the difference.

Since you have a working hard drive you can use for backup and a $100.- Amazon card I would suggest this Crucial M500 120gb: http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-2-5-In...0544113&amp;sr=1-4

 

[lehtv]

That GPU seems very good. 7950's can be hot and noisy. With a three fan cooler it should stay cool and quiet.

The Gigabyte Windforce 3X isn't any quieter than dual fan coolers from Sapphire, MSI or Asus

 

[monkeydelmagico]

The Gigabyte Windforce 3X isn't any quieter than dual fan coolers from Sapphire, MSI or Asus

I suspect you are right, as long as it's not a single fan 7950. I haven't tested this particular card myself but from some reviews it seems to have a bit of advantage over a typical two fan setup

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/foru...rce-msi-hd-7950-twin-frozr-iii-review-18.html

http://www.techspot.com/review/496-amd-radeon-7950/page11.html

http://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/gigabyte_hd7950_windforce_review,9.html

Regardless, UnseenK will have a great GPU with any of those choices.

 

[UnseenK]

I ordered it this morning with the Gigabyte.

So I'm wondering, if I wipe the HDD I'm using now, and then install Windows 8 and all of my drivers to it, how hard would it be to move Windows 8 and all the drivers (and maybe a few applications I may have downloaded?) to the newly acquired SSD I should get in 2 weeks?

 

[mfenn]

2 weeks? Wow, I didn't realize that AZ was that desolate! Has Amazon given you a delivery estimate?

 

[UnseenK]

It's not the fact that it's desolate, the amazon gift card I'm getting is from my bank, and it's supposed to ship within 5-10 days, and then on top of that I'll have to buy the ssd AFTER I get that card and wait probably a few days after that. All my other crap is supposed to come on Wednesday or Thursday . Arizona shipping isn't bad.