BF4 @1080p and later 1440p for <$600?

[escrow4]

I disagree. I have a quad core haswell i7 laptop, a macbook pro with a 4960HQ, and the extra cores help but I'm not doing video or audio encoding i'm playing games.

Thief:

http://www.techspot.com/review/787-thief-benchmarks/page4.html - 10FPS difference to i5

I suspect that gap will really widen come Christmas and next gen AAA titles, and its an even worse idea if you play RTS's:

http://www.overclock.net/t/1426315/gamegpu-total-war-rome-ii-benchmarked

 

[nwo]

Crap, you're right. Pretty easy fix. Swap the OS for a 120GB SSD and it's complete.

Yep, and you'll end up with some spare change since 120's are so cheap nowadays. They're usually $60-70 unless you're looking for something high end.

 

[mvbighead]

Here it is sans OS:
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3cN20
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3cN20/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3cN20/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ECS B85H3-M3(1.0) Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($49.79 @ Newegg)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($63.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($69.99 @ Micro Center)
Storage: Hitachi Ultrastar 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R7 260X 1GB Video Card ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Thermaltake VL80001W2Z ATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($37.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $594.73
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-19 17:01 EDT-0400)

 

[moonbogg]

OP is concerned about a strict budget under $600, yet in a couple weeks he's going to blast $800 down the drain on an overpriced 290x? Something wrong with this picture? Wait, for crying out loud until you can buy good stuff.

 

[mfenn]

I also think an SSD is necessary for a modern comp. 8GB ram is great but it ends up being unnecessary. I can always drop in another 4GB stick

FYI, the M500 listed in my build is an SSD.

 

[mfenn]

OP is concerned about a strict budget under $600, yet in a couple weeks he's going to blast $800 down the drain on an overpriced 290x? Something wrong with this picture? Wait, for crying out loud until you can buy good stuff.

To be fair, an R9 290X is only $600. I agree with the sentiment though. It seems super wasteful to build a machine that can play BF4 marginally only to buy a GPU that costs as much as the whole PC less than a month later.

 

[TreVader]

Here it is sans OS:
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3cN20
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3cN20/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3cN20/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ECS B85H3-M3(1.0) Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($49.79 @ Newegg)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($63.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($69.99 @ Micro Center)
Storage: Hitachi Ultrastar 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R7 260X 1GB Video Card ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Thermaltake VL80001W2Z ATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($37.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $594.73
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-19 17:01 EDT-0400)

This is the best build i've seen yet for something that will work now and in a month or so be upgradable to something really nice

 

[TreVader]

OP is concerned about a strict budget under $600, yet in a couple weeks he's going to blast $800 down the drain on an overpriced 290x? Something wrong with this picture? Wait, for crying out loud until you can buy good stuff.

The reason i'm focusing on a strict $600 price is to compare it to the main alternative purchase: Xbone. I can buy Xbone, titanfall, and an extra controller for $600.


I know that PS4 is faster (whatever) I prefer the xbox live ecosystem (and i've been on xbox live since like 2001)


This computer will serve to replace the xbone until I feel like its really worth the money.