Budget recommendations for a friends build ($600)

[Nvidiaguy07]

Helping my friend build a cheap, but pretty decent gaming computer.

USE: Mainly for games.

Budget: $600 not including monitor, kb+m and all that. Especially interested in recommendations for motherboard and PSU, so id like to stay under 100 for the motherboard, and maybe under 50 for a psu.

Country: US

Brand Preference: None really - I have mostly bought nvidia/intel in the past, but only because it was the best option at the time.

Current parts: Giving him my WD raptor so he can use that as his system drive until he gets another $100 for an SSD. (this way he can buy his storage drive first and then just swap out the raptor pretty easily) This is not set in stone, if its in budget, he would like to get an SSD right away, but if theres anything he can wait on its this.

Overclocking: I would like to do some overclocking - nothing extreme, but looking for a modest overclock. that being said, if we decide on a CPU that is locked down and its more costs effective to settle on that, then OCing isnt THAT important, but i would like the option.

RES: For now 1080p, but might be buying a 1440p monitor in the distant future.

WHEN: In the next few weeks.

SOFTWARE: Ive got a license to sell him, dont factor this in. If its still possible to buy windows 7 or 8 anywhere for <$50 lmk, but dont add this value into the total.
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Im pretty open to anything. I started putting a list together from looking at Toms top rated stuff for games, and the system builder articles. My problem is i dont know where i should be putting more money (cpu<gpu or cpu=gpu) so i kinda gave up and decided to get some recommendations from here.

My biggest thing i keep getting stuck on is if overclocking is worth it or not considering what cpu's he has highly rated at lower prices are all locked down (i3 3220 and i53350p) and the ones that are pretty OCable are at the extremes (phenom II x4 965 and 3570k). Because I cant decide on this, im not sure what motherboard I should be looking for, since i dont know if OCing is really worth it anymore. (though the ASROCK Z75 Pro3 looks pretty good). From there i dont know how much budget will be left for other parts.

Like i said i would like to keep it around 500-600 possibly with or without the SSD.

Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[Sleepingforest]

Here's an AMD build which can overclock, and should have support for better CPUs (like the FX-8320) in the future. It also has a reasonably good video card for 1080p gaming:
CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($98.24 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($52.50 @ Newegg with promo code EMCXTWV66, ENDS TODAY)
Video Card: HIS Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($15.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $526.69 (before taxes, possibly $20 less after rebate)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-18 19:16 EDT-0400)

 

[Termie]

The AMD FX6300 is a great and very overclockable gaming cpu for around $140. At worst, it's about even with the 3220, but is often way ahead, especially in new games that leverage cores. That and a $70 motherboard will be a good base for the system. That leaves just under $400 for a case, psu, gpu, memory, and optical drive. I'd be tempted to get an SSD now. Transferring the data later from the raptor isn't that straightforward. So say $300 left for the other parts.

Corsair psu - $20AR
Corsair case - $50AR
8GB of RAM - $50
DVD - $20

Get a $180 HD7850 and it's just $20 over budget.

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

Awsome, thanks. Looks like im going with AMD.

I think both of those CPU's are more than enough for what my friend is looking for, so if he wants to spend a little more, I'll have him get the FX6300.

The motherboard you linked had a lot of mixed reviews on newegg - problems with memory modules. Any other good AMD socket ones out there?

I havent bought an AMD card in a while - how does the 7850 compare to a 660 or 660ti? Ive seen the 660 for ~180 on slickdeals, and the 660ti for about ~200, so is that a better deal than the 7850? The last time i bought an ATI card i remember hating getting drivers for it and stuff like that - is this still the case? How big is the 7850 btw? should i at all be worried about fitting it in a case? I usually buy pretty big cases for myself, so its a problem i havent had to worry about.

and is 430 watts going to be enough for something like this?

thanks again.

EDIT:
any of these look good?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...$$$$$$$;13-130-637:$$$$$$$;13-131-873:$$$$$$$

 

[Sleepingforest]

430W is definitely enough, but if you're worried, a 500W unit is $50 after a $10 rebate. The drivers, as far as I know, aren't too bad--I myself have an Nvidia 670, but if I could have done my build over, I probably would have gotten a 7970 or 7950.

Anyway, the 7850 is pretty much tied with the 660 at stock, but it overclocks seriously high to potentially match a 7950 (which beats a 660ti). There's no guarantee, of course, but if you want to overclock, the 7850 is pretty much the best GPU choice in your price range.

As for the motherboard--avoid MSI, because I believe they don't allow for voltage adjustment (even on overclocking chipsets). This is true for their Intel boards, at least. I'd go for the Gigabyte or Asrock.

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

430W is definitely enough, but if you're worried, a 500W unit is $50 after a $10 rebate. The drivers, as far as I know, aren't too bad--I myself have an Nvidia 670, but if I could have done my build over, I probably would have gotten a 7970 or 7950.

Anyway, the 7850 is pretty much tied with the 660 at stock, but it overclocks seriously high to potentially match a 7950 (which beats a 660ti). There's no guarantee, of course, but if you want to overclock, the 7850 is pretty much the best GPU choice in your price range.

As for the motherboard--avoid MSI, because I believe they don't allow for voltage adjustment (even on overclocking chipsets). This is true for their Intel boards, at least. I'd go for the Gigabyte or Asrock.

Yea ill probably go with the 430, seems good enough. I also see a lot of deals that include bioshock and tomb raider, so for someone who will be buying games soon this looks great. I see a sapphire card for 170 that includes both games.

I think he might need a least a storage hard drive for games - i would normally recommend a wd black (i think 1tb is about $80-100). How do the blue and red drives compare? Are either worth buying?

Also, should he be spending $20-30 on a decent cooler? I was thinking maybe the h212+

 

[Termie]

Yea ill probably go with the 430, seems good enough. I also see a lot of deals that include bioshock and tomb raider, so for someone who will be buying games soon this looks great. I see a sapphire card for 170 that includes both games.

I think he might need a least a storage hard drive for games - i would normally recommend a wd black (i think 1tb is about $80-100). How do the blue and red drives compare? Are either worth buying?

Also, should he be spending $20-30 on a decent cooler? I was thinking maybe the h212+

The Bioshock/Tomb Raider deal should come with any HD7850, but I don't recommend the 1GB models. The cheapest 2GB model I've seen recently is $180: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161405

As for a cooler, you don't absolutely need one for typical use, but since you're interested in overclocking, the Hyper 212+ for about $20AR would be a good choice.

 

[mfenn]

I havent bought an AMD card in a while - how does the 7850 compare to a 660 or 660ti? Ive seen the 660 for ~180 on slickdeals, and the 660ti for about ~200,

A GTX 660 Ti for $200 is a good deal. Failing that, I'd rather have the 7850 2GB for $170.

I think he might need a least a storage hard drive for games - i would normally recommend a wd black (i think 1tb is about $80-100). How do the blue and red drives compare? Are either worth buying?

A WD Black 1TB isn't worth the money at $100 IMHO. I'd grab this Blue for $75.

 

[DominionSeraph]

Dell Outlet has 30% off the XPS line this week with coupon code 8DQRXPX$?1$RTZ. If you can snipe a ~$560 XPS 8500 with an i5, that'll put him into an i5 for $400 after coupon. Throw in a 7850 and you're golden.

That gets him a hard drive and Windows. (And a serviceable mouse)

 

[Sleepingforest]

Dell Outlet has 30% off the XPS line this week with coupon code 8DQRXPX$?1$RTZ. If you can snipe a ~$560 XPS 8500 with an i5, that'll put him into an i5 for $400 after coupon. Throw in a 7850 and you're golden.

That gets him a hard drive and Windows. (And a serviceable mouse)

Oooh, that is pretty excellent. Do you know what PSU the XPS uses? If I recall correctly, they're fairly decent (a 460W unit, possibly from Delta?), but I don't know for sure.

The only thing I am hesitant about is upgrade path/wanting to overclock.

 

[Nvidiaguy07]

The Bioshock/Tomb Raider deal should come with any HD7850, but I don't recommend the 1GB models. The cheapest 2GB model I've seen recently is $180: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161405

As for a cooler, you don't absolutely need one for typical use, but since you're interested in overclocking, the Hyper 212+ for about $20AR would be a good choice.

prob gonna grab the h212+ since i doubt hes gonna wanna install it later after hes all set up. I think the 7850 is prob what were gonna go with, hopefully for around 180.

A GTX 660 Ti for $200 is a good deal. Failing that, I'd rather have the 7850 2GB for $170.



A WD Black 1TB isn't worth the money at $100 IMHO. I'd grab this Blue for $75.

added to build list

Dell Outlet has 30% off the XPS line this week with coupon code 8DQRXPX$?1$RTZ. If you can snipe a ~$560 XPS 8500 with an i5, that'll put him into an i5 for $400 after coupon. Throw in a 7850 and you're golden.

That gets him a hard drive and Windows. (And a serviceable mouse)

I will suggest, but i think he wants the experience of actually building one for himself (with my help). I havent heard great things about dells desktops in terms of lasting past just a few years.

 

[Sleepingforest]

The Phenom II X4 965 BE will overclock reasonably well even on the stock cooler, but if you are looking for a quieter/cooler HSF, the Hyper 212+ is a very good option for the price.

Also, jump on that RAM deal. You won't see RAM that good (low voltage, meant for overclocking to something like 1800MHz and strict timings of 9-9-9-24) for so little (or that low at all) after today!