pc build help

[adamc012]

Hi guys,

need some advice on my first pc build. im looking to build a cheap gaming pc for around $550 AUD, nothing too fancy just something that can run new games at medium to high settings with playable fps.

Buying parts From MSY in Australia, have no intentions of overclocking either.

I've come up with two builds so far

Build 1

CPU: Intel core i3 2120 - $119
Motherboard : MSI H61M-P20(G3) H61 1155 2xDDR3 DVI mATX* - $42
RAM: G.Skill-NT 8GB Kit (4Gx2) DDR3 1333 ram - $35
GPU: Gigabyte GV-N650OC-1GI 1GB GTX650 - $130 or Gigabyte GV-R777OC-1GD 1GB HD7770 - $119
HD Seagate 3.5" Barracuda 500GB ST500DM002 SATA3 7200RPM - $60
Case: *Antec 200V2 Two-Hundred-V2 Gaming Tower Case without PSU - $49
PSU: Antec Neo Eco 520C 520W PSU - $79
Optical Drive: Samsung SATA 22x Black DVD RW - $19
Network Card: TP-LINK TL-WN781N PCI-E 150M*Wireless-N 150M Network Card - $13

Total $545/$534

Build 2

CPU: Intel Pentium G850 2.9Ghz - $79
Motherboard : MSI H61M-P20(G3) H61 1155 2xDDR3 DVI mATX* - $42
RAM: G.Skill-NT 8GB Kit (4Gx2) DDR3 1333 ram - $35
GPU: Powercolor 1GB 7850 PCI-E VGA Card - $179
HD Seagate 3.5" Barracuda 500GB ST500DM002 SATA3 7200RPM - $60
Case: *Antec 200V2 Two-Hundred-V2 Gaming Tower Case without PSU - $49
PSU: Antec Neo Eco 520C 520W PSU - $79
Optical Drive: Samsung SATA 22x Black DVD RW - $19
Network Card: TP-LINK TL-WN781N PCI-E 150M*Wireless-N 150M Network Card - $13

Total $550

Which Build would you consider better for my needs and any advice or suggestions would be appreciated

[riversend]

Do you need a copy of Windows?
Do you have any parts from another system that you can reuse?
What games are you thinking?
What is your monitor resolution?

[adamc012]

Dont need windows
No parts to reuse
games like borderlands 2, fifa 13 but not on maximum ultra settings
1920x1080 res

[lambchops511]

Do you really need that optical drive? FYI. You can install Windows off an USB drive (which I have been doing for several years now).

[Ken g6]

Well, let's see. The difference between putting an i3 in the second build and not is $40. I found MSY's parts list (PDF) here. So, if you drop to the Antec Neo Eco 450, that saves $21. If you can ditch the optical drive as well, that's the entire $40 you need to get the second build with an i3.

[mfenn]

As it stands, the second build is better because the GPU is the #1 most important part of a gaming PC. You can definitely get them both if you can drop the ODD and/or wireless adapter.

If you spend $50 more, you can also get a decent boost with an Ivy Bridge CPU (~15% clock for clock) and a 2GB GPU. The 2GB of VRAM is especially important at 1080p as many games are already exceeding 1GB.

i3 3220 $123
ASRock B75M-DGS $60
G.Skill DDR3 1333 8GB $35
PowerColor 7850 2GB $199
Seagate 500GB $60
Samsung DVD Burner $19
Antec VP450 $52
Cooler Master Elite 334U $40
TP-Link 802.11n card $13