Building family computer w leftover parts (already have GPU, memory, PSU)

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nombrecinq

Senior member
May 15, 2005
245
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I have a few extra parts so I was thinking about building a family computer with them. I have:

GPU: EVGA GTX 560 Ti Crysis edition
Memory: OCZ Platinum 3 x 2GB DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
PSU: Seagate 600w
misc other things such as wifi card, monitor, keyboard/mouse, etc

I could really use some help picking out some decent parts, especially the mobo + proc that will support the memory I already have.

Thank you!
 
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nombrecinq

Senior member
May 15, 2005
245
0
0
mfenn said:
We're gonna need a little more info from you to make some sort of reasonable recommendations. Can you update your post with the answers to these questions?
Click to expand...

No prob, here's some more info:

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.

It'll be a general purpose PC, with flexibility for some gaming. I don't need to get the highest-end stuff for this computer.

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread

Trying to keep it sensible, maybe $250-$500 for the rest of the machine.

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.

US

4. IF you're buying parts OUTSIDE the US, please post a link to the vendor you'll be buying from.
We can't be expected to scour the internet on your behalf, chasing down deals in your specific country... Again, help us, help YOU.

5. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc.

Not a fanboy.

6. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.

Listed above.

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.

Default speeds.

8. What resolution, not monitor size, will you be using?

This computer should be pretty capable, at least 1 1080p monitor. At some point it might become a work machine that would need to support 2 1080p monitors.

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?
Note that it is usually not cost or time effective to choose your build more than a month before you actually plan to be using it.

Hopefully sometime in Q3.
 
C

chusteczka

Diamond Member
Apr 12, 2006
3,400
1
71
Generic Intel Recommendation
Attention Low-End Gaming System Builders
Attention Mid-Range System Builders


AMD Recommendations
Double Check pcpartpicker.com for price comparisons.

The AMD APU's are for general home use, not heavy work use, with small L2 cache and no L3 cache. You already have a video card and will not benefit from an APU.

CPU:
AMD FX-4300 Vishera 4-core 3.8GHz (4.0GHz) 95W ($110)
AMD FX-4350 Vishera 4-core 4.2GHz 125W ($130)
AMD FX-6300 Vishera 6-core 3.5GHz (4.1GHz) 95W ($110 with promo code expires 7/28)
AMD FX-6350 Vishera 6-core 3.9GHz 125W ($140)

Motherboard
Gigabyte, ASRock, MSI, Biostar ($75 - $80)
Socket: AM3+
Chipset: 970
Ensure USB3.0 connector on board for front panel
GIGABYTE GA-970A-UD3P AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard ($70 after MIR and promo code expires 7/28)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...1&name=Biostar

Hard Drives
SSD 120-128 GB for operating system ($55-$65)
HDD 1TB for files, Western Digital Blue (7200rpm) or Green (5400rpm) ($55)

Memory (optional)
(1x2GB) DDR3 1600MHz ($30)
To increase from 3 to 4 sticks for proper dual channel. Otherwise you will have dual channel + single channel. But wait to purchase until you know for sure the UEFI bios will recognize your RAM.

Heatsink
Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus - CPU Cooler ($20 after MIR)

Optical Drive
Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE 24X SATA DVD Writer Black ($15)

Case
ATX with front panel USB3.0 port ($50)

Total Cost: @ $410 - $440



NewEgg Combo Deals: (CPU & Motherboard)
AMD FX-4300 + MSI 970A-G43 AM3+ AMD 970 ATX AMD Motherboard ($170)
AMD FX-6350 + BIOSTAR TA970 AM3+ AMD 970 ATX AMD Motherboard ($175) (recommended - without onboard USB3 connector for front panel)
 
Last edited:
frozentundra123456

frozentundra123456

Lifer
Aug 11, 2008
10,451
642
126
Do you need a case and Windows?

With up to a 500 dollar budget and the desire to do some gaming, I would go with a low end i5 and a cheap motherboard. The i5 4460 right now is 190.00 on newegg, and a motherboard would range from 50 to 100 dollars. An i5 is definitely the sweet spot for gaming, with far fewer compromises than an i3 (compromises multithreaded) or FX 6300 (compromises single threaded). The i5 is about 70.00 more expensive than an i3 or FX6300, but over the life of the system, to me it is well worth it, especially since it seems you have some flexibility in your budget.
 
Charlie98

Charlie98

Diamond Member
Nov 6, 2011
6,292
62
91
frozentundra123456 said:
With up to a 500 dollar budget and the desire to do some gaming, I would go with a low end i5 and a cheap motherboard.
Click to expand...

Really, what the OP is doing is building a budget PC and adding an existing GPU... kind of what I did (Desk3 in sig below.) Even using your existing PSU and RAM only saves about $100 in general terms.

If the OP is willing to go to the top end of his budget ($400-500) an i5 would be a good choice, if he wants to stay towards the bottom I would recommend a Pentium. My G3220 does everything pretty well, even gaming (BF4, MW1/2, X-Plane) with the GTX560Ti. I would say...

CPU: Intel i5-4590, $200
or Intel Pentium G3258, $70
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-B85M-DS3H, $64 AR,
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 1TB, $55
RAM: $0 (already have)
GPU: $0 (already have)
PSU: $0 (already have)
Case: Fractal Core 1000, $40
OD: LIte-On DVD burner, $13
OS: Windows 8.1, $100

Total: $343 (plus a little shipping in some cases,) or $473 (+ shipping) for the i5. You could save a little more money by cherry picking the sales, and if you live near a MicroCenter you can get a Pentium/mobo combo for $100.

I picked the B85 board over the H81 because it has 4 RAM slots, you can choose to upgrade with an additional RAM card to make it a full 8GB.
 
Last edited:
frozentundra123456

frozentundra123456

Lifer
Aug 11, 2008
10,451
642
126
Can you over clock the Pentium on that motherboard?

If one is willing to go to the 200 dollar range for the CPU, an i5 is the clear choice. In the 80 to 120 dollar range, it is much less clear to me between the Pentium/athlon 750k or between the i3/FX6300.

I live by a micro center as well, and am intrigued by the FX6300/mb combo for 99.00. I just don't know if I trust the motherboard though, since the FX uses quite a bit of power.
 
M

mfenn

Elite Member
Jan 17, 2010
22,400
5
71
www.mfenn.com
Charlie98 said:
If the OP is willing to go to the top end of his budget ($400-500) an i5 would be a good choice, if he wants to stay towards the bottom I would recommend a Pentium. My G3220 does everything pretty well, even gaming (BF4, MW1/2, X-Plane) with the GTX560Ti. I would say...

CPU: Intel i5-4590, $200
or Intel Pentium G3258, $70
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-B85M-DS3H, $64 AR,
HDD : Seagate Barracuda 1TB, $55
RAM: $0 (already have)
GPU: $0 (already have)
PSU: $0 (already have)
Case: Fractal Core 1000, $40
ODD : LIte-On DVD burner, $13
OS: Windows 8.1, $100

Total: $343 (plus a little shipping in some cases,) or $473 (+ shipping) for the i5. You could save a little more money by cherry picking the sales, and if you live near a MicroCenter you can get a Pentium/mobo combo for $100.
Click to expand...

:thumbsup: to this. The half-step between the Pentium and the i5 would be an i3 4150 for $130. I think that's a great match for the GTX 560 Ti in terms of power.
 
Charlie98

Charlie98

Diamond Member
Nov 6, 2011
6,292
62
91
frozentundra123456 said:
Can you over clock the Pentium on that motherboard?.
Click to expand...

Not sure if they have a BIOS update that will allow it on the B85's like they do with the H81. The budget H81M-H I have is supposedly OC'able, but it only has 2 RAM slots. The OP said he didn't want to OC, so I didn't specifically look out for that.
 
N

nombrecinq

Senior member
May 15, 2005
245
0
0
Charlie98 said:
Really, what the OP is doing is building a budget PC and adding an existing GPU... kind of what I did (Desk3 in sig below.) Even using your existing PSU and RAM only saves about $100 in general terms.

If the OP is willing to go to the top end of his budget ($400-500) an i5 would be a good choice, if he wants to stay towards the bottom I would recommend a Pentium. My G3220 does everything pretty well, even gaming (BF4, MW1/2, X-Plane) with the GTX560Ti. I would say...

CPU: Intel i5-4590, $200
or Intel Pentium G3258, $70
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-B85M-DS3H, $64 AR,
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 1TB, $55
RAM: $0 (already have)
GPU: $0 (already have)
PSU: $0 (already have)
Case: Fractal Core 1000, $40
OD: LIte-On DVD burner, $13
OS: Windows 8.1, $100

Total: $343 (plus a little shipping in some cases,) or $473 (+ shipping) for the i5. You could save a little more money by cherry picking the sales, and if you live near a MicroCenter you can get a Pentium/mobo combo for $100.

I picked the B85 board over the H81 because it has 4 RAM slots, you can choose to upgrade with an additional RAM card to make it a full 8GB.
Click to expand...

The Wolfdale suggested by denis280 looks like a nice proc at a nice price. How is that compared to the newer 4th gen stuff?
 
Torn Mind

Torn Mind

Lifer
Nov 25, 2012
11,685
2,658
136
Dual core Wolfdales are being supplanted the "G-series" Pentiums, and the G3258 is probably the finishing blow, as it can be overclocked just like the Wolfdales in many instsances thanks to its unlocked multiplier and mobo manufacturers enabling overclocking on budget boards. The only reason to go Core 2 Duo is lower initial costs. This is because those chips can be found for dirt cheap used on Ebay or in cheap refurb prebuilts at Newegg, etc.

Clock speed and the how quickly the cpu does "work" each clock cycle are two of the key variables in determining CPU speed. As an example, two CPUs at 3.0 GHz can differ in how quickly the perform mathematical operations. In other words, one CPU performs "faster" than the other. A Pentium G3220 and an Core 2 Duo E8400 both have a 3.0 Ghz clock speed, but the Pentium will outperform the E8400 in most tasks due to Haswell being more efficient than the Core microarchitecture.
 
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