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Budget gaming build help

N

nmillerrider

Junior Member
I am planning on building a system for $600-700 within the next month for general use/moderate gaming (Civ 5, Marvel Heroes, Diablo 3). I’m not looking to run anything on max settings, I just want some smooth performance which my laptop cannot handle. I’ve built systems before, but haven’t been current on hardware since probably 2005. I’m mainly looking for advice on cpu/motherboards combos, and graphics cards.

I’ll most likely be using a 1080p display (but possibly 1920x1200 or 1440p). I do not want to overclock, but I would if it is necessary to meet the performance I want within my budget.

I have a case from an old computer (mid-tower ATX) that I plan to reuse (please no extra-long graphics cards; it’s not roomy). I don’t need an optical drive. I don’t need a mouse/keyboard/monitor.

I have several hard drives for storage that I plan to reuse. I’d like a SSD for the OS and programs though, probably 120GB or larger.

I have no brand loyalties. I’m buying from in the US.

PSU
Motherboard
CPU
Graphics Card
RAM
SSD

Thank you for any guidance you can give me.
 
Here's one way to do it:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6350 3.9GHz 6-Core Processor ($139.98 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ Outlet PC)
Motherboard: MSI 970A-G43 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot Signature 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($52.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB Video Card ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $579.91
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-08-12 09:32 EDT-0400)

Notes:

It looks like the CPU combo from Newegg didn't show up correctly, but here it is for the CPU + MoBo

GPU deal is sick, but it's today only. This is probably a good price if you'd like to order soon, but not today, and it takes your total to almost exactly $600.

If you wanted to move higher in your budget, you could do any of the following:
1) Swap CPU+MoBo for IvyB i3 + MoBo for +$30
2) Go to a more generous SSD (might be nice if you want to have a couple of larger games on your SSD) for +$75
3) Move up to an HD 7950 or GTX 760. This is roughly the diminishing returns point for price/performance of single GPUs and should be fantastic at the resolutions you're using. You can get a solid 7950 for $220 or for $260 you can pick up a dual-fan 760

Edit:

Unless you have a personal committment to $600 rather than $630 or so, I would absolutely take that 7950 deal. It's fantastic price/performance.
 
Last edited:
nmillerrider said:
Would it be worth it at all to spend ~$80 more for an i5 haswell, say http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116895 and http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157383
going with those two, the 7950, and the 250GB SSD and a copy of windows brings my total to $843. Any idea if I'll notice the performance, or if I would just be wasting money?
Click to expand...
get an i5 4430 and a h87 motherboard. drop down to 7870/7850, then get a 128gb ssd. That should be within your budget.
 
If possible, as others suggested, I would try to stretch the budget for an i5. FX 6300 is a good budget processor, but 2 of the 3 titles you mentioned run better on Intel. The i3 would be good for civV and D3, but weak for newer highly multi threaded titles.

With an i5 you get the best of both, fast single core performance and good MT performance.
 
If you don't mind going right up to the budget line, you can get your SSD, your 7950, and the i5...you just won't be able to OC it:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H87 Pro4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($95.55 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot Signature 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($52.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($219.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $695.50
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-08-12 20:23 EDT-0400)

Some synergistic deal-sniffing works out well for you 😀
 
bononos said:
If you're not looking to spend any more money than what is necessary and don't need high framerates for strategy titles, look get the 6350/i3.
Click to expand...

He is moving a 1080p+ monitor... He hasn't built a PC in 5 years and probably won't upgrade again for another 5.
 
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