Gaming PC Build

[Leroy Jenkins]

Hello everyone! I am not sure if this is the correct spot to post this thread, as I am new to this forum, but will give it a try. I have recently been wanting a gaming PC to step away from console gaming. I have used computers A LOT during my life, but am not familiar with parts and such. Doing some research, I have made my first list and want to get some opinions on it. My budget is $500.00 or up to as much as $600.00. This list comes out to about $520.00. Here is the list I came up with, feel free to leave me some tips and criticism. Thanks!!

Gaming PC Parts list-

AMD FX 4350 Black Edition 4.2GHz Quad-Core Socket AM3+ Boxed Processor- $120.00

ASUS M5A78L-M LX PLUS Socket AM3+ 760G mATX AMD Motherboard- $55.00 ($45.00 after rebate)

Crucial Ballistix Sport XT 8GB DDR3-1866 (PC3-14900) CL10 Dual Channel Desktop Memory Kit (Two 4GB Memory Modules)- $90.00

Toshiba 2TB 7200 RPM SATA 6Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive- $70.00

EVGA GeForce GT 740 2GB Superclocked Video Card- $110.00


Thermaltake TR2 Series 500 Watt ATX Power Supply- $45.00 ($30.00 after rebate)

Diablotek EVO Mid Tower ATX Computer Case- $40.00

Grand Total- $520.00

 

[Batmeat]

Not sure if Spoof (knowing about the whole Leroy Jenkins setup bit from WoW) or serious.

Either way, this totally depends on what games you're wanting to run. What games are looking to get/own ?

 

[Leroy Jenkins]

I just chose the name because my last name is Jenkins, haha. But, onto the games. I will be wanting to play games like the Call of Duty series, Battlefield 4, GTA V when it comes out this fall. Those are just some examples that I can think of off the top of my head.

 

[Ketchup]

I don't think you want to buy a 740 for a video card. You would be just as well off (and saving money) getting a Richland CPU for $140 and using it's buit-in GPU (graphics processor):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819113356

This chip would take a different board. This Asrock has newer technologies all around (USB3, and PCI-Express 3, SATA 6Gb/s and HDMI) for $3 less than the Asus Board:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157482

If you wanted a noticeably better video card, you have some good options. You could go up to to the 750TI for $150:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...31&ignorebbr=1
Or get an AMD 260x for $130
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-762-_-Product
Or if you go with the integrated video on the richland chip, use the money you saved to get an SSD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-820-_-Product

Now, a case is a user preference, but I was looking at the case you have listed, and users are saying it is very cheaply built (which you should somewhat expect for the price) and one of the fans blocks one of the drive bays.
Just a thought here: since you are getting a mATX board, how about a mATX case? Cooler Master is a good case maker, and one like this will give you better cooling, be more solid, and more compact, for about $10 more:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119274

 

[Leroy Jenkins]

Thanks for the input, Ketchup. I just have one question. You said I shouldn't get the 740 for a graphics card. You linked me to a different product which I should get that you said I would save money on, but it was $30.00 more and was a processor, not a graphics card. Wrong link, or am I seeing this wrong?

 

[Ketchup]

Sorry for the confusion Leroy, and I probably added a couple things after you posted. The A10-6790K CPU has a video card built-in, the HD 8670D, so you wouldn't need a dedicated card, or at least not until down the road if you wanted to upgrade later.

According to this thread, the 8670D and 640 are pretty close (the 740 being a new sku for the 640 but about the same performance):
http://forums.anandtech.com/showpost.php?p=34790731&postcount=18

 

[bononos]

Hello everyone! I am not sure if this is the correct spot to post this thread, as I am new to this forum, but will give it a try. I have recently been wanting a gaming PC to step away from console gaming. I have used computers A LOT during my life, but am not familiar with parts and such. Doing some research, I have made my first list and want to get some opinions on it. My budget is $500.00 or up to as much as $600.00. This list comes out to about $520.00. Here is the list I came up with, feel free to leave me some tips and criticism. Thanks!!

Gaming PC Parts list-

AMD FX 4350 Black Edition 4.2GHz Quad-Core Socket AM3+ Boxed Processor- $120.00

ASUS M5A78L-M LX PLUS Socket AM3+ 760G mATX AMD Motherboard- $55.00 ($45.00 after rebate)

Crucial Ballistix Sport XT 8GB DDR3-1866 (PC3-14900) CL10 Dual Channel Desktop Memory Kit (Two 4GB Memory Modules)- $90.00

Toshiba 2TB 7200 RPM SATA 6Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive- $70.00

EVGA GeForce GT 740 2GB Superclocked Video Card- $110.00


Thermaltake TR2 Series 500 Watt ATX Power Supply- $45.00 ($30.00 after rebate)

Diablotek EVO Mid Tower ATX Computer Case- $40.00

Grand Total- $520.00

A Pentium/i3 build would give you an upgrade path.
Get the cheaper Crucial 1600 memory for $76
The 740 is a rebadged 640/650 - very poor performance for the price.
Get a better psu instead of the TR2.

Look at this thread:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2391850

 

[Ketchup]

Nice thread you linked bononos.

So, I couldn't help myself (as this thread probably should be in general hardware anyway) but here is a buid with the SSD, a 2 TB drive, and a DVD burner. Leroy, should we assume you already have the OS you want to install?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD A10-6790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($129.96 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock FM2A78M-HD+ Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($52.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($73.95 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($104.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($83.49 @ OutletPC)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($44.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: Antec 450W ATX Power Supply ($37.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $543.35
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-05 21:18 EDT-0400


BTW, if you wanted to make it easier and just by all the parts from one location, I get a total of $577.92 for this build on Newegg.

 

[Ketchup]

One more for tonight. This on has the Intel i3, which is a more powerful and cooler running chip. So you will get a faster CPU, much better graphics performance, but no SSD, but still within your budget.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4330 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H97M-HD3 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($76.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($83.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card ($119.50 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($44.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: Antec 450W ATX Power Supply ($37.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $587.93
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-05 21:43 EDT-0400

 

[Leroy Jenkins]

Thanks, Ketchup! I'm liking that first build. I tried again to make another parts list, but made two this time. If you guys could, tell me which one is better? Thanks!

List 1:
Processor- AMD Athlon X4 760K
Motherboard- MSI A78M-E35
Graphics card- Sapphire Radeon R7 260X
RAM- 8GB (2x4GB) Crucial Ballistix Sport 1600MHz
HDD- Western Digital Black 1TB Hard Drive
Power Supply- 430w Corsair CX430

List 2:
Processor- FX 6300 Black Edition 3.5GHz Six-core Boxed processor
Motherboard- MSI 970A-G46 AM3+ ATX
Graphics card- Sapphire Radeon R7 260X
RAM- G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 1866
HDD- Seagate Barracuda
Power supply- Thermaltake SMART series 550w ATX 80 PLUS BRONZE

 

[Ketchup]

List 1 is a better socket (board has newer features and you might want to upgrade someday), better hard drive (the black is not an SSD, but I have run one for years and they are fast) and a better power supply.

 

[Leroy Jenkins]

Thanks! So do you think I should go with the first list?

 

[Ketchup]

I think you would be pretty happy with it.

 

[Leroy Jenkins]

Sounds good! Thanks for your time and help Ketchup!! ����

 

[Ketchup]

Np. Let us know how it goes.

 

[Tamron]

I too am interested in the end result.