Suggestions for strongest PC for a MAX of $800...

[Anomaly1964]

A buddy of mine wants to build a PC for a budget of no more than $800...

If possible he would like to puts Windows 7 on it...

It will be for:

1. Playing the new x-wing vs tie fighter reboot that is coming out soon...
2. Playing games like Skyrim, COD, Batman Arkham, etc...(medium settings
are fine...
3. Internet surfing, open office software, email, FaceBook, etc...
4. New Egg is where he wants to buy the parts and build it...

Thanks and let me know if you need any more details...

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Which of these parts does he need to fit into the $800?

Does he have overclocking intentions?


Operating system

Keyboard

Mouse

Monitor

Motherboard

Video card

Sound card

Case

CPU

CPU cooler

RAM

SSD

HDD

DVD burner

 

[VirtualLarry]

I'm thinking, Haswell i3, and a bargain-priced R9 280 (as low as $150 AR recently) might fit the bill.

 

[Anomaly1964]

Which of these parts does he need to fit into the $800?

Does he have overclocking intentions?


Operating system

Keyboard

Mouse

Monitor

Motherboard

Video card

Sound card

Case

CPU

CPU cooler

RAM

SSD

HDD

DVD burner

Bolded is what he needs, he can use onboard sound from motherboard...

 

[Anomaly1964]

What about this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aA36jNfuck

 

[Ken g6]

Take [thread=2192841]Mfenn's build[/thread], drop down to the R9 280, and you have a very similar build to what's in that video.

Did you mean not to bold the SSD? It's really helpful for everything non-gaming. I wouldn't go without one, though a smaller one is an option.

You didn't answer the overclocking question. If he doesn't want to OC, we can find some cheaper non-OCing hardware and move that money to the GPU.

 

[Yuriman]

Core i3 4160 - $120
ASRock H97M - $65
8GB G.Skill Sniper 1.25v DDR3 1600 CAS9 - $88
Xion mATX tower - $40
Samsung DVD Burner - $15
Corsair CX 500w PSU - $25

Might want to get a second opinion on a power supply. I realize the CX series aren't top-tier, but for $25... and they're still not bad units.

Windows is cheaper for students, and you might find a promotion on it, but setting aside $100 for it (worst case) leaves a $350 budget for a video card and upgrades. Newegg has a GTX 970 in stock for $330, and with shipping on everything you're right around $800. There's also an R280 in stock for $175, which would give you enough budget to to upgrade to an i5 and still have $110 left over for a nicer PSU or case or a few cases of your favorite beverages.

EDIT: Somehow the hard drive managed to fall out of my cart. I had picked out a WD Green 2TB for $83, which would put you right on budget with the R280, possibly able to squeeze in a lower-end i5.

 

[Anomaly1964]

Thanks for all the input so far...

Keep the ideas coming!

 

[sm625]

You can use win 10 preview build until tax day.

 

[Cerb]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($64.99 @ Newegg) <- note: MicroATX
Memory: Pareema 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($72.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk Ultra Plus 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($112.98 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 280 3GB Dual-X Video Card ($164.99 @ Newegg) <- I'm assuming mfenn's $140 AP&AR deal will expire before parts are ordered
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $682.91
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-05 10:26 EST-0500

$90-100 or so for the OS, and $20-30 play room for price changes and deals expiring. Do the rebates. Corsair and Sapphire, at the least, are good for them. Also, if wanting a little more compact case on the cheap, Silverstone's PS08B ($35-40) or PS09B ($40-50) are good MicroATX choices.

If he doesn't need >200GB right now, go for a data HDD later. He'll get spoiled with affordable flash storage quickly. At any given moment, the Crucial M500 (old, but bugs pretty much worked out), M550, MX100, Samsung 840 Evo (also old, and with many a firmware update), and Sandisk Ultra II or Extreme II, would all be fine SSD swap-outs.

P.S. with the factory-OCed R9 280, or more power hungry card, that PSU might not have much headroom, and a slightly more powerful one might be a better choice, just in case.

 

[mvbighead]

If you don't mind spreading the money around and some mail in rebates:

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/ZYC6yc
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/ZYC6yc/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.94 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($74.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 Low Profile Red 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($65.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: PNY Optima 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 285 2GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($199.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Core 2300 ATX Full Tower Case ($34.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($25.00 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer ($13.99 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($88.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $813.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-05 16:56 EST-0500