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Non-gamer needs help building gaming PC for Brother-in-law

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GreenRambler

Junior Member
First off, I'm not a gamer. But my brother-in-law wants me to build him a gaming pc. He is not computer technical at all. He wants to play the newest games at decent settings.

He has been given a list of components from a friend or fellow gamer that looks like this:
  1. AMD FX-6100
  2. Gigabyte GA-970A-D3
  3. Sapphire 100314-3L Radeon HD 6870
  4. Corsair CX600 power supply
  5. Corsair Vengeance PC3-12800 8gb
It sounds like the PC will be used almost exclusively for gaming.
Since he is not technical, I'd rather stay away from overclocking.
I plan to build before Christmas. I'm in the US.
I have no problem finding/buying used parts if it makes sense.
I have no brand preference. I'm more concerned with value.
I don't have a specific budget yet, but since the PC will be used only for gaming (they have their own MacBooks), I'd like to keep it reasonable.

I want to build him the best, but practical gaming pc I can. Money is tight, and I'm wondering if there are better alternatives to the AMD FX-6100 route suggested?

I've read several articles on builds in the $500-800 range, and usually the best choice is an Intel i5 based system, or even an AMD X4 or i3.

I would appreciate any suggestions or resources. I'll try to be more specific once I get a feel for the direction I should be taking.
 
FX-6100 is one of the worst possible choices. But let's back up...

First, does he specifically want a gaming PC, or does he just want to game? If the latter, a gaming console, xbox or PS3, sounds like a reasonable, low-budget choice. (Depending on your definition of "decent settings".)
 
what you really want to do is get a dell xps system so that when there's trouble he'll call them instead of you.


if you're set on building it for him, the other things we need to know are if you need a monitor included in that price and if you're near a microcenter.
 
I agree the FX-6100 is a poor choice. That's why I'm here.

He already has a PS3 and plays WOW on his MacBook. I assume he want's to play something he cannot on what he already has. So I assume he wants a gaming PC.

I don't know much about resolutions/settings, etc. as it relates to gaming. So I don't know what's to be expected.
 
I am not near a Microcenter, he's in El Paso so maybe there is one there.

I would say a $500-800 budget would NOT need to include monitor or accessories.
 
ElFenix said:
what you really want to do is get a dell xps system so that when there's trouble he'll call them instead of you.
Click to expand...
Close. Very close. Considering the price for Windows and HDDs these days, I'd suggest you:

1. Get this iBuyPower for $450.
2. Reinstall Windows on it - seems to be a requirement from the reviews.
3. Install a nice 6870 in it. $150AR.

Total: $600 AR.

I tried selecting the parts separately, but I just couldn't beat this value.
 
Ken g6 said:
Close. Very close. Considering the price for Windows and HDDs these days, I'd suggest you:

1. Get this iBuyPower for $450.
2. Reinstall Windows on it - seems to be a requirement from the reviews.
3. Install a nice 6870 in it. $150AR.

Total: $600 AR.

I tried selecting the parts separately, but I just couldn't beat this value.
Click to expand...

So what you're saying is that with an Intel i3, and a 6870 video card...he could be playing the newest games at a reasonable setting?
 
This is what I would do. First off the ONLY chip these people should be recommending you is an intel 2500k as its the best gaming chip on the market for the money currently. Also using a z68 motherboard ensures that he could upgrade the processor to the newer ivy bridge that is coming out later on in 2012.

Here are the parts that I would use sir.
Case - antec 300 - its cheap and effective at keeping parts cool.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129042

Corsair 500watt PSU + 8gb of ram
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.761045

Intel 2500k CPU + z68 ud3 mobo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.764352

560 ti - only grab this one because after MIR its 199.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814162074

Total price 752.11 AFTER SHIPPING *to my place heh* However there are 55 dollars in mail in rebates so the real price is 697.11

Now with this system you are going to need a hard drive. I am recommending that ALL members go to best buy or walmart and look for hard drives at good prices because online prices are through the roof. BB was just having a special for 55 dollar 1TB drives that are on newegg now for about 150.

If you need an operating system then please add another 100 dollars to the above prices. Hopefully you have something you can use though.

Either way the above system will beat anything that anyone else lists.
 
fastamdman said:
Either way the above system will beat anything that anyone else lists.
Click to expand...

Be careful throwing down those challenges. :awe: Yours is $810 AR counting market price for an HDD and ODD. You can't just pick a price out of thin air and declare victory without providing a link.

Here's something better for the OP's situation for less money:

i5 2400 $190 - "non-technical" to me means no overclocking
ASRock Z68 Pro3 $100
Kingston DDR3 1333 8GB $40
6950 2GB Dirt3 $240 AR - can probably unlock to 6970 but I'm keeping "non-technical in mind
Hitachi 500GB + Sony DVD Burner combo $100
XFX 650W $60 AR
Antec Three Hundred $45 AR
Total: $775 AR
 
ElFenix said:
what you really want to do is get a dell xps system so that when there's trouble he'll call them instead of you.
Click to expand...

Seconding this. You didn't state if you need an OS (non-technical, so assuming you need one) and a Dell comes with one. (mfenn's build above is great as usual but it'd be $100 more with Windows 7)

You can pick up a base XPS 8300 on Dell Outlet with an i5 2300 for $469 ($439 scratch and dent)
i5 2310's, 2320's, and 2400's are also priced well -- the only difference is clock speed (2.8. 2.9. 3.0, or 3.1GHz, so only a 10% spread.)
Watch for pricey options that you may not need like the 6450 (definitely don't need) or the Dell 1520 802.11 b/g/n wireless card. Dell Outlet only shows what they have available and their stock changes by the minute.

To that base XPS 8300 you can add an aftermarket 6870 for ~$150 after rebate (come back when you're ready to buy and we'll find you a deal), which gives you a perfectly capable gaming system with 90% of the RMA hassles taken out for only $620.
 
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fastamdman said:
This is what I would do. First off the ONLY chip these people should be recommending you is an intel 2500k as its the best gaming chip on the market for the money currently. Also using a z68 motherboard ensures that he could upgrade the processor to the newer ivy bridge that is coming out later on in 2012.
Click to expand...

The websites of Asus and Gigabyte both state that all their Rev 3 boards will also support Ivy Bridge CPUs, so you shouldn't recommend the Z68 chipset based on that criteria alone.

🙂
 
DominionSeraph said:
To that base XPS 8300 you can add an aftermarket 6870 for ~$150 after rebate
Click to expand...
I generally agree with this...except that Dell doesn't provide the best PSUs. To add any decent aftermarket GPU you'll probably need a new PSU as well. Which is why I pointed out the iBuyPower earlier - it has a good enough PSU for a 6870, at least.
 
Ken g6 said:
I generally agree with this...except that Dell doesn't provide the best PSUs. To add any decent aftermarket GPU you'll probably need a new PSU as well. Which is why I pointed out the iBuyPower earlier - it has a good enough PSU for a 6870, at least.
Click to expand...

the xps 8300 has a factory option for a 6870. and there's only one power supply they put in it. so that tells me that the machine is perfectly capable of running a 6870. SLI or xfire? not really an option on that supply. but you don't need a 750 watt power supply to run a decent graphics card.

it should also take a 6950 as they're basically the same for power consumption (and lower than the 560ti that they offer).

dell actually has quite a few gold rated power supplies on offer. though mostly offered in business and server products rather than the home line.

it'd be interesting to take a couple dell supplies and ship them over to jonny.
 
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Ken g6 said:
I generally agree with this...except that Dell doesn't provide the best PSUs.
Click to expand...
They're Delta (OEMs for Antec Earthwatts, Antec High Current Pro, and Antec Signature). Far better than the no-name crap iBP uses.

I wouldn't go over 6870, but I *would* recommend this option.
 
s44 said:
They're Delta (OEMs for Antec Earthwatts, Antec High Current Pro, and Antec Signature). Far better than the no-name crap iBP uses.

I wouldn't go over 6870, but I *would* recommend this option.
Click to expand...

no wonder 305 watts can run my hunkadunka
 
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