Looking to build first computer - 10 Q's answered plz help

[christianq2]

Hi everyone, so I'm looking for a new PC and I have many questions honestly. Heres my responses to those questions.

1. I'm gonna use it for gaming and everyday tasks, not too high powered games but ones like counter strike, maybe minecraft etc... might download some better games like skyrim etc.
2. I know I'm gonna get laughed at for this, but im in the very low budget right now of 400-500$. The cheaper the better, I just really need a new PC that has good specs.
3.USA
5. I hear intel is the best but I have no preference between intel and AMD
6. I have a monitor/mouse/keyboard. I also have a AMD Radeon HD5450 graphics card.
7. I don't really plan on overclocking it's not on my priority list
8. 1080p
9. Hopefully sometime in April.

I was just curious how this computer would run also since it's not too expensive and seems to have everything I need and if it's even worth it - http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...Sku=C477-G1403

Sorry for the long thread, any help is appreciated thanks!

 

[Ken g6]

FX-6100 is not good, especially for Skyrim. Neither graphics card mentioned is good. What you probably want is some i3 and a 750/750ti or 7750, depending on what you can find used cheap. Do you need Windows in that budget or no?

 

[norseamd]

I was just curious how this computer would run also since it's not too expensive and seems to have everything I need and if it's even worth it - http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...Sku=C477-G1403

the only two concerns i might have would be the video card and the power supply. not sure what a very low end video card like that might be able to do so you might want a nicer video card especially for skyrim. what settings do you want to run at?

as for the power supply i like to have a high quality power supply like corsair or seasonic so you might not need it. you want to look out for bad power supplies so it is still a good idea to find out what brand of power supply that computer uses

 

[Charlie98]

'Low budget' and 'gaming computer' shouldn't be used in the same sentence... just saying.

Besides the CPU, the biggest cost factor on a gaming computer is the video card... and that's where the money needs to go.

If you are on a budget, you can build a basic computer with an i3 CPU, like Ken G6 suggested... and use the integrated graphics or the HD5450 until you can scratch up $200 for a reasonable video card. I used the iGPU on my i5 CPU to run Modern Warfare 1 & 2 until I got the loot up for my GPU... it was playable, to be sure, if not necessarily stellar... but it beat not playing at all. What I would NOT do is try to make a complete gaming build for $500... you will wind up being disappointed. The GPU is the most easily upgradeable component... start with a solid build and add a suitable GPU later.

 

[christianq2]

Thanks for the responses guys,

the only two concerns i might have would be the video card and the power supply. not sure what a very low end video card like that might be able to do so you might want a nicer video card especially for skyrim. what settings do you want to run at?

as for the power supply i like to have a high quality power supply like corsair or seasonic so you might not need it. you want to look out for bad power supplies so it is still a good idea to find out what brand of power supply that computer uses

So if I purchased it, I could just upgrade the video card and power supply and I would be good? The only reason I'm thinking of purchasing it is because I don't want anything breaking while putting together a computer of my own if I bought the parts

FX-6100 is not good, especially for Skyrim. Neither graphics card mentioned is good. What you probably want is some i3 and a 750/750ti or 7750, depending on what you can find used cheap. Do you need Windows in that budget or no?

I'll be honest the only game I'll really be playing is Counter Strike: GO and I just want to run that at as high quality as I can get, and I need to do everyday tasks for college like papers, researching the web etc... and I would like Windows yes.

 

[christianq2]

'Low budget' and 'gaming computer' shouldn't be used in the same sentence... just saying.

Besides the CPU, the biggest cost factor on a gaming computer is the video card... and that's where the money needs to go.

If you are on a budget, you can build a basic computer with an i3 CPU, like Ken G6 suggested... and use the integrated graphics or the HD5450 until you can scratch up $200 for a reasonable video card. I used the iGPU on my i5 CPU to run Modern Warfare 1 & 2 until I got the loot up for my GPU... it was playable, to be sure, if not necessarily stellar... but it beat not playing at all. What I would NOT do is try to make a complete gaming build for $500... you will wind up being disappointed. The GPU is the most easily upgradeable component... start with a solid build and add a suitable GPU later.

How much would an i3 comp be if I was to just use my own graphics card for now? It's something I'd definitely be interested in if I could just buy a graphics card later

ALSO - Just wanted to throw this is right now, this i5 seems to be pretty nice, and I could just throw in my graphics card for now and upgrade when the time comes. Would that be a good build?

http://www.officemax.com/technology...mputers&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=24299778#blank

 

[Ken g6]

Well, I searched, but I couldn't find an i3 under $400 that looked in any way decent. So I went to PCPartPicker, and put together a build with the cheapest parts I could find.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor ($124.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($38.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($30.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Hitachi Ultrastar 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 750 1GB Video Card ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Thermaltake VL80001W2Z ATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($19.99 @ Micro Center)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($15.99 @ Micro Center)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($84.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $502.92
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-22 14:28 EDT-0400)

Edit: You can add another 4GB of RAM when you get some money.

 

[mfenn]

Well, I searched, but I couldn't find an i3 under $400 that looked in any way decent. So I went to PCPartPicker, and put together a build with the cheapest parts I could find.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor ($124.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($38.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($30.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Hitachi Ultrastar 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 750 1GB Video Card ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Thermaltake VL80001W2Z ATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($19.99 @ Micro Center)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($15.99 @ Micro Center)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($84.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $502.92
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-22 14:28 EDT-0400)

Edit: You can add another 4GB of RAM when you get some money.

Impressive!

 

[ztraver91]

Well, I searched, but I couldn't find an i3 under $400 that looked in any way decent. So I went to PCPartPicker, and put together a build with the cheapest parts I could find.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor ($124.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($38.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($30.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Hitachi Ultrastar 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 750 1GB Video Card ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Thermaltake VL80001W2Z ATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($19.99 @ Micro Center)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($15.99 @ Micro Center)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($84.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $502.92
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-22 14:28 EDT-0400)

Edit: You can add another 4GB of RAM when you get some money.

I'm very impressed. This would seem to be the exact build this gentleman is looking for.

 

[christianq2]

Well, I searched, but I couldn't find an i3 under $400 that looked in any way decent. So I went to PCPartPicker, and put together a build with the cheapest parts I could find.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor ($124.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($38.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($30.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Hitachi Ultrastar 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 750 1GB Video Card ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Thermaltake VL80001W2Z ATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($19.99 @ Micro Center)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($15.99 @ Micro Center)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($84.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $502.92
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-22 14:28 EDT-0400)

Edit: You can add another 4GB of RAM when you get some money.

Thanks for the build, I just had a few questions. So let's say I want to buy these things over a month or so, I could definitely afford them. I put together this build just because I want a computer that will be a little faster or what not. Here's what I came up with - http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3eXLt

Now my problem with it is I have no idea what I'm doing and I feel like I'll break something, the flip side of building myself is I found this computer - http://www.officemax.com/technology/...24299778#blank

It's got the same processor and 8 GB RAM, there is no graphics card but I could purchase the one you mentioned and install myself. I could also buy the power supply you mentioned and put that in. Would that be a safe thing to do while still getting a good product?

 

[Ken g6]

Now my problem with it is I have no idea what I'm doing and I feel like I'll break something

At this point it looks like, whatever you do, you'll break...the bank.

Yes, that i5 computer's not a bad deal, and yes you could buy the power supply and the graphics card and put them in. The graphics card should even work with the built-in PSU. But you're going $120 above the top end of your budget doing so. As you are with that build you put together.

Based on the benchmarks I've seen, CS:GO doesn't require a high-end CPU or GPU. None of the games you listed above use a lot of threads, so none will be better on an i5 than an i3. If I was going to add $120 to your budget, I'd add RAM, and then an SSD for those non-gaming tasks you mentioned.

If you insist on buying a pre-built, I think I did finally find a halfway-decent i3 for under $400. Add the GTX 750, which ought to work with that PSU even though it's less of a sure thing, and you're at just $520. Its main downside is that it only has 4GB RAM. That's probably in a single stick, so you should be able to match the voltage, speed, and timing of that RAM and get a matching stick for 8GB, and you're still under $600. Or adding a $75 SSD instead and sticking the OS, most programs, and the swapfile on it could be almost as good, and still under $600.

 

[christianq2]

At this point it looks like, whatever you do, you'll break...the bank.

Let's sure hope not haha, but I have a few new things that came up. So I talked to one of my friends and he knows someone that can help build a computer, so i'm pretty sure I'm gonna give building a shot now

And as for my price range, since I'm building, I'm going to be purchasing everything over the next month or so, so I will definitely be able to afford it if I just have patience which is gonna be hard to do lol.

So I came up with this build, my friend helped me out with it a little bit as well as your input - http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3fbU9 - I really didnt change much, but I added a SSD because I know those can be nice to have for everyday tasks and you recommended one. Will 120GB be enough for an SSD?

Also another question, will the motherboard be okay? I know it's a cheaper one but should I invest in one thats a little better? I really don't know the difference between them so I figure the more expensive the better but I don't know in what ways. And as for the RAM and processor, I'm gonna stick with i5 and 8GB because I want this computer to last for a while

Thanks for your input and help as well, I really appreciate it!

 

[mfenn]

You can do a little better on RAM if you grab this Team DDR3 1600 8GB kit for $63.

As for upgrading to a quad core, it depends on what you mean when you say that you want the computer to "last a while".

- Office tasks don't matter and would be totally fine on the i3.
- For newer games, you'll run into a GPU bottleneck on the GTX 750 long before you run into a CPU bottleneck with the i3.
- For heavy encoding or video editing, it would make sense to get the quad before the GPU.

So, for your purposes, if you want to spend ~$700, I'd keep the i3 and swap the GPU to an R9 270 for $190.

 

[NewCanaan]

IMO, if you arent playing high powered games, I would buy an Intel Core i3-4330. The Intel Integrated Graphics 4600 are much better than the 4400 the i3-4130 supplies and can acually play low games on "Ultra" settings at 1080p :shocked:.

 

[christianq2]

You can do a little better on RAM if you grab this Team DDR3 1600 8GB kit for $63.

Thanks on the recommendation, as for i5 I found a great deal on it picked up at a store so I think im just gonna keep it. This is the build I think I'm gonna go with - http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3ffNO

With the RAM here - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820313435

What do you guys think, good build? And will everything be compatible?

 

[mfenn]

Thanks on the recommendation, as for i5 I found a great deal on it picked up at a store so I think im just gonna keep it. This is the build I think I'm gonna go with - http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3ffNO

With the RAM here - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820313435

What do you guys think, good build? And will everything be compatible?

Yes, everything is compatible. However, the currently-available V300's use very slow NAND, much slower than what was originally sampled to reviewers. I'd swap it for the M500 120GB. The M500 isn't a speed demon compared to more expensive SSDs, but it's better than the new V300.

 

[lehtv]

Yes, everything is compatible. However, the currently-available V300's use very slow NAND, much slower than what was originally sampled to reviewers. I'd swap it for the M500 120GB. The M500 isn't a speed demon compared to more expensive SSDs, but it's better than the new V300.

In the 120GB class, Sandisk Ultra Plus 128GB ($80) is a pretty decent choice. Yes, it's Sandforce and it's not the fastest drive on Earth either, but it's basically what Kingston V300 used to be. Comparing performance of the Ultra Plus 256GB to M500 240GB: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/807?vs=736. Differences with the 120GB/128GB models should be similar.

 

[ascalice]

OP, you posted your "first" build in September and now it is March. That us 6-7 months :smack:.

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2344233&highlight= :hmm:

I will further deny commenting on this thread because of past posts and I have a suspicion the OP is trolling. Carry on kid.

People's plans fall through all the time, it's a normal thing that happens. One thread every 6 months is hardly trolling. Now, you on the other hand, are trolling.

mfenn
General Hardware Moderator

 

[mfenn]

In the 120GB class, Sandisk Ultra Plus 128GB ($80) is a pretty decent choice. Yes, it's Sandforce and it's not the fastest drive on Earth either, but it's basically what Kingston V300 used to be. Comparing performance of the Ultra Plus 256GB to M500 240GB: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/807?vs=736. Differences with the 120GB/128GB models should be similar.

Very true, good find!

 

[christianq2]

OP, you posted your "first" build in September and now it is March. That us 6-7 months :smack:.

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2344233&highlight= :hmm:

I will further deny commenting on this thread because of past posts and I have a suspicion the OP is trolling. Carry on kid.

People's plans fall through all the time, it's a normal thing that happens. One thread every 6 months is hardly trolling. Now, you on the other hand, are trolling.

mfenn
General Hardware Moderator

Thanks mfenn, I don't believe he understands that I was planning on doing it back in September but things come up and I had to postpone it. I've already ordered 4 items from newegg from the build I've posted on this thread about 5 posts up. I'll make sure to put up pictures when it's all finished