Budget Gaming PC

madars111 · Feb 18, 2013

Hello,
I'm new to this forum,so HI ALL!!!

I want to get a new computer as soon as I can, so I would like to ask your advices on my low budget PC. I have searched all over internet and found in my opinion good components for it, but to bad that I'm not a computer genius, so I'm not to sure about component compatibility and effectiveness.

I want to use this computer basically for gaming, I'm aware that I won't be able to play newest games on high settings, but I hope to play them atleast on medium settings with 1240x1024 resolution.

My budget is around 500$ and I live in Latvia, because of this I can't get any components from NewEgg or other popular sites.
I don't have any particular brand preferences, as far as all components work well. I won't use any of my old PC parts.

Here are the parts I'm intending to use:
CPU: AMD A-Series FM2, A10-5800K (4C, 3.8GHz, 4MB Cache, 100W)
Motherboard: Asrock FM2A75 PRO4-M
Memory: Corsair Vengeance Black, 8GB, DDR3, 1866MHz, CL9, Kit of 2
Storage: Seagate 1TB, 7200rpm, 64MB, Sata III, Barracuda
Case: Cooler Master Elite 241, Black
Power Supply: Chieftec 450W, 12cm fan, GPA Serie

I have some questions too, like, will I be able to insert graphic card later in to this motherboard and use it simultaneously with iGPU? Or will this PSU be enough if I will choose a to do a little overclocking? If yes, then should I have some additional cooling for processor, video card and etc?

Thank you all in advance.

Ken g6 · Feb 18, 2013

Can you link to any of those sites all over the Internet where you found good components? This doesn't look like a bad plan, except for the no-name PSU. But I think you could possibly do better.

madars111 said:
I want to get a new computer as fast as I can

Now that I think about it, this is ambiguous. Do you mean you want to get the computer as soon as possible, or that you want the computer to be as fast as possible? Or both?

Overclocking would mean you should get additional cooling for the processor.

madars111 · Feb 18, 2013

Thank you for fast response.
Basically I searched articles about best price/performance CPU and Video cards in sites like: http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu_value.html
or: http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_value_available.html
and then picked up other components that should work with them.
I also read articles in sites like http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/forum-13-322.html about their PC build.

All components I found in Latvian internetshop: http://www.dateks.lv/en/komponentes.php

I corrected my previous post, I want a new PC as soon as possible, but ofcourse it can be as fast as possible

madars111 said:
I think you could possibly do better.

Then can you please suggest components that can work better? And if this PSU is untrustworthy, what should I choose instead?

Insert_Nickname · Feb 18, 2013

Does not seem half bad actually. Except for that PSU. Most folk here prefer the Corsair CX430 for budget builds. Its a very solid PSU for the price. Have 3 of them running myself.

http://www.dateks.lv/en/cenas/73/56591_corsair_430w_cx_v2_series_12cm_fan_80_.php

About the mainboard. Found this Asus for 2 more. It uses the A85X chipset, and seems a better deal to me:

http://www.dateks.lv/en/cenas/63/73004_asus_f2a85_m_le.php

madars111 · Feb 18, 2013

Ok, Insert_Nickname, thank you for your advice. I will change the PSU

About the motherboards, as I asked, is it possible to add independent video card into them, like HD 7850. Or I can only have that iGPU from the processor.

Torn Mind · Feb 18, 2013

Yes, you can put an independent video card into the PCI-e slot and run it with the CPU. I guess the onboard would be automatically disabled. Crossfire is only available with the 6670, I believe. But single 7770 is probably more powerful than the Crossfired 6670s.

Insert_Nickname · Feb 19, 2013

Torn Mind said:
Yes, you can put an independent video card into the PCI-e slot and run it with the CPU. I guess the onboard would be automatically disabled. Crossfire is only available with the 6670, I believe. But single 7770 is probably more powerful than the Crossfired 6670s.

I really don't see the point of doing hybrid Crossfire and dealing with driver compatibility/incompatibility, when a simple 7770 is faster all-round...

madars111 said:
About the motherboards, as I asked, is it possible to add independent video card into them, like HD 7850. Or I can only have that iGPU from the processor.

No problems there, the onboard is just disabled when you plug the other card in. You can even run them simultaneously if you need that. Just remember to plug the monitor in to the discrete card...

madars111 · Feb 19, 2013

Ok, thank you all for your help! Now I'm sure everything will work as planed

frozentundra123456 · Feb 19, 2013

Do you have the monitor already? If not you might want to consider a widescreen monitor like 1440 x 900 or similar aspect ratio. They usually are better for gaming. You will be able to play most games at lower resolutions/image quality on the igp, but some more demanding current games may be very severely limited. I would definitely get the HD 7770 if possible.

Hubb1e · Feb 19, 2013

I think if you want to play games you should get a discrete video card. You can save some money on the CPU by going with the Athlon II X4 750K (This is the same chip as your A10 with the video disabled) and then get a 7770. Without the GPU in the CPU you should be able to get a decent overclock on the CPU with the stock heatsink, and the GPU is much more powerful than the integrated graphics. This is a bit more expensive but it doesn't waste the onboard video when you decide you want to upgrade the video card.

Athlon 750K €70
http://www.dateks.lv/en/cenas/21/74191_amd_athlon_ii_x4_750k_4c_3_4ghz_4mb_cache_fm2_.php

AMD 7770 €114
http://www.dateks.lv/en/cenas/25/64173_gigabyte_radeon_hd7770_1gb_gddr5_oc.php

frozentundra123456 · Feb 19, 2013

Hubb1e said:
I think if you want to play games you should get a discrete video card. You can save some money on the CPU by going with the Athlon II X4 750K (This is the same chip as your A10 with the video disabled) and then get a 7770. Without the GPU in the CPU you should be able to get a decent overclock on the CPU with the stock heatsink, and the GPU is much more powerful than the integrated graphics. This is a bit more expensive but it doesn't waste the onboard video when you decide you want to upgrade the video card.

Athlon 750K 70
http://www.dateks.lv/en/cenas/21/74191_amd_athlon_ii_x4_750k_4c_3_4ghz_4mb_cache_fm2_.php

AMD 7770 114
http://www.dateks.lv/en/cenas/25/64173_gigabyte_radeon_hd7770_1gb_gddr5_oc.php

Good suggestion. I keep forgetting about that chip.

Sleepingforest · Feb 19, 2013

I think you'd be better off with cheaper RAM and an Intel i3-3220/7770 CPU/GPU combo. The Corsair Vengeance RAM is stupidly overpriced (in the US, its generally 50-100% overpriced compared to its less ostentatious brethren) and if you get an dedicated GPU, you might as well spend the extra 40 or so Euros to get a superior CPU.

Hubb1e · Feb 19, 2013

An A10 and a i3 trade blows in benchmarks. The 750K can be clocked to 4ghz easily and beyond so I don't really see much benefit in spending an additional 40-50 euros as we're already over his budget with the 750k and the 7770. The i3 is a great chip too and allows a better upgrade path but the 750K and 7770 are no slouch either.

And good point about the RAM. If you drop the integrated graphics you don't need to worry much about memory speed. DDR3 1600 is fine for CPUs only.

madars111 · Feb 20, 2013

frozentundra123456 said:
Do you have the monitor already? If not you might want to consider a widescreen monitor like 1440 x 900 or similar aspect ratio.

I have an old monitor, but I will buy a new one. Haven't decided what I will buy though.

Hubb1e said:
I think if you want to play games you should get a discrete video card. You can save some money on the CPU by going with the Athlon II X4 750K (This is the same chip as your A10 with the video disabled) and then get a 7770. Without the GPU in the CPU you should be able to get a decent overclock on the CPU with the stock heatsink, and the GPU is much more powerful than the integrated graphics. This is a bit more expensive but it doesn't waste the onboard video when you decide you want to upgrade the video card.

Athlon 750K €70
http://www.dateks.lv/en/cenas/21/74191_amd_athlon_ii_x4_750k_4c_3_4ghz_4mb_cache_fm2_.php

AMD 7770 €114
http://www.dateks.lv/en/cenas/25/64173_gigabyte_radeon_hd7770_1gb_gddr5_oc.php

Awesome idea. I will get a decent boost on gaming performance. Will definitely consider it.

So I have a little adjusted my previous build and now it looks something like this:
CPU: AMD Athlon II X4 750K (4C, 3.4GHz, 4MB Cache, FM2)
GPU: Giga Byte Radeon HD7770, 1GB, GDDR5, OC
Motherboard: Asrock FM2A75M-DGS
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport, 4GB, DDR3, 1600MHz, CL9
Storage: Seagate 1TB, 7200rpm, 64MB, Sata III, Barracuda
Case: Zalman ZM-T1
Power Supply: Corsair 430W, CX V2 Series, 12cm fan, 80+

Only 45$ more than I was intending ^^

Insert_Nickname · Feb 20, 2013

Hubb1e said:
I think if you want to play games you should get a discrete video card. You can save some money on the CPU by going with the Athlon II X4 750K (This is the same chip as your A10 with the video disabled) and then get a 7770. Without the GPU in the CPU you should be able to get a decent overclock on the CPU with the stock heatsink, and the GPU is much more powerful than the integrated graphics. This is a bit more expensive but it doesn't waste the onboard video when you decide you want to upgrade the video card.

Athlon 750K 70
http://www.dateks.lv/en/cenas/21/74191_amd_athlon_ii_x4_750k_4c_3_4ghz_4mb_cache_fm2_.php

AMD 7770 114
http://www.dateks.lv/en/cenas/25/64173_gigabyte_radeon_hd7770_1gb_gddr5_oc.php

madars111 said:
So I have a little adjusted my previous build and now it looks something like this:
CPU: AMD Athlon II X4 750K (4C, 3.4GHz, 4MB Cache, FM2)
GPU: Giga Byte Radeon HD7770, 1GB, GDDR5, OC
Motherboard: Asrock FM2A75M-DGS
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport, 4GB, DDR3, 1600MHz, CL9
Storage: Seagate 1TB, 7200rpm, 64MB, Sata III, Barracuda
Case: Zalman ZM-T1
Power Supply: Corsair 430W, CX V2 Series, 12cm fan, 80+

Only 45$ more than I was intending ^^

If the 750K is available its a pretty good budget CPU. Its very easy to get to 5800K levels, I hear. Even with stock cooler.

VirtualLarry · Feb 20, 2013

I had what I think was a Chieftec (High Power) PSU back in the Athlon XP days. When I upgraded my rig to include an X850 AGP card, it had power issues. I upgraded the PSU to a 450W SuperFlower and all was good.

Hubb1e · Feb 20, 2013

Insert_Nickname said:
If the 750K is available its a pretty good budget CPU. Its very easy to get to 5800K levels, I hear. Even with stock cooler.

Yeah, but make sure you do overclock this. At 3.4ghz it's not a great performer. At 4ghz+ it starts to do really do well.

madars111 · Feb 20, 2013

Hubb1e said:
Yeah, but make sure you do overclock this. At 3.4ghz it's not a great performer. At 4ghz+ it starts to do really do well.

Ok. I will remember this

radtechtips · Feb 20, 2013

What about this setup, I am looking for a budget PC too. Has anyone used these parts?

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/EJQh

Hubb1e · Feb 20, 2013

weshred said:
What about this setup, I am looking for a budget PC too. Has anyone used these parts?

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/EJQh

Same advice on the PSU as the OP. There is a good sale on the Corsair 430W builder series.

Also, I'd step up to an Ivy bridge based Pentium for a couple bucks more:
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80637g2120
If you get the ivy CPU then you'll want an h77 board for easy compatibility.

This is a good productivity build but you're missing a graphics card if you plan to play games and you're using a dual core CPU which could limit you in brand new well threaded games. But, as a productivity build you're good to go.

mfenn · Feb 20, 2013

weshred said:
What about this setup, I am looking for a budget PC too. Has anyone used these parts?

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/EJQh

You're not going to play games at anything other than the lowest settings (if at all) on those parts. Also, the PSU is pointless when the 430CX exists.

It's a fine basic productivity machine though.

madars111 · Feb 21, 2013

Today I went to PC shop and asked what they think about mine gaming build. They offered to build me a PC for almost the same price as I would buy all details in internet shop, also they suggested a few changes:

Mainboard: Asus F2A85-M LE (Just like Insert_Nickname suggested) or Giga Byte GA-F2A85XM-D3H
PSU: Corsair CX 600W (Not sure about this, but they said that 430W wont be enought,probably just wants earn more money

)

So before deciding I'm asking your opinion one more time

Insert_Nickname · Feb 21, 2013

madars111 said:
PSU: Corsair CX 600W (Not sure about this, but they said that 430W wont be enought,probably just wants earn more money )

As a reference my own Core i7-3770+HD7870+assorted drives, uses ~250-270W FULL load (measured at the wall)... :whiste:

Of course if they got a good deal on the CX600, it wouldn't hurt anything. Current Danish price is 460DKK (~61) for the CX430 and 500DKK (~66) for the CX600. So its nothing earth-shattering...

madars111 · Feb 21, 2013

Well here CX430 cost 32.43Ls (45.97&#8364

, but CX600 47.17Ls (66.87&#8364

, it's not a heart breaking difference, but still if I don't need more powerful PSU why should I pay more

Insert_Nickname · Feb 21, 2013

madars111 said:
Well here CX430 cost 32.43Ls (45.97), but CX600 47.17Ls (66.87), it's not a heart breaking difference, but still if I don't need more powerful PSU why should I pay more

You got that right. You'll be fine with the CX430.

Budget Gaming PC

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