technology Budget PC Build, your guy's opinion?

[Milk Wave 454]

So recently, i've been putting together on Newegg a build that is cheap, cheerful, and can play games quite well. My most demanding right now is Saints Row 3, which I have been playing at 1366 x 768 on 720p Low settings for my laptop. It gets between 25-40 FPS depending on if you put in the charger or not (( turbo boost is sweet )), but now i'm starting to feel like I need a power increase.

 

Now just know, parts will change depending on if things go on sale or not (( Since i'm going to probably be putting stuff together after Christmas, which gives me time to look )) but right now this is what I have.

 

Case: NZXT Lexa S ATX Mid Tower case, with 4 fans included.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146060

 

Processor: AMD Athlon X2 370K Dual core processor clocked at 4.0 Ghz.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113336

 

Graphics Card: HIS Radeon HD 7790 1GB (( small but w/e )).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161435

 

RAM: G-Skill Ripjaws X Series 8 GB DDR3-1600 Dual Channel Memory.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231428

 

Motherboard: ASUS A88XM-A FM2+/FM2 AMD Motherboard.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813132045

 

Power Supply: Corsair CX 600, or 600 Watt Power Supply.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139028

 

Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 7200RPM Hard Drive.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136769

 

All in all, it's around like 530-550 dollars in total. Right now it's cheaper because of Black Friday, which I wish I could get it at this time but meh.. Don't have the money. Anyways, what are your guys's opinion on this? Mind you this is a budget build and it's not meant to go over $575 or anything like that.

[FoxyCryptid 4,330]

You're gonna probably want to upgrade to a quad-core CPU for gaming, I think even now there's a few games that benefit from it. 

 

I'd also consider at least a 1TB HDD, but that's something you can upgrade later. 

Edited November 30, 2013 by Shoboni

[Milk Wave 454]

You're gonna probably want to upgrade to a quad-core CPU for gaming, I think even now there's a few games that benefit from it. 

 

I'd also consider at least a 1TB HDD, but that's something you can upgrade later. 

I looked and sadly the WD Caviar Blue 1TB was like 3 bucks more, but that I think is from the Black Friday sale. Also if I do get more money I would be upgrading to the Athlon X4 750K Quad core clocked at 3.4 Ghz. Very nice processor :3

 

Thanks for your thought about it~

[long gone 8,929]

 

 

You're gonna probably want to upgrade to a quad-core CPU for gaming, I think even now there's a few games that benefit from it. 

 More games are starting to take advantage of quad-core processors, so if you want better performance it's best to go for a quad-core processor.

 

Also, 1GB is pushing it for today's games. Here's a 2GB version of that GPU for $30 more. It also comes with a CrossFire bridge if you decide to install another GPU.

 

And yeah, you should go for a 1TB drive, although you could also have the 500GB drive be the OS/applications drive and a separate 1TB drive for games. That's what I prefer.

[Milk Wave 454]

@, 

 

Also, I looked at the ASUS 2GB version of the 7790 yesterday too. After finding out most demanding games use 2GB very well, that's quite nice. I wish they made an HIS version though, I prefer them.

 

Damn I need more money.

 

Just a little more, but that's all :3

[long gone 8,929]

The only other 7790 I could find with 2GB VRAM was from Gigabyte and cost $142, so it seems that if you want a 2GB 7790 your only choices are Asus or Gigabyte.

[Milk Wave 454]

@, 

 

I know that, but i'll pick the ASUS one over the Gigabyte one. After all, it matches with the Motherboard so i'm all good. :3

*nuzzle nuzzle* I wanna hug you..~

[long gone 8,929]

@, 

 

I know that, but i'll pick the ASUS one over the Gigabyte one. After all, it matches with the Motherboard so i'm all good. :3

*nuzzle nuzzle* I wanna hug you..~

um... okay?

 

I already have, like... six people that want to do that.

[Milk Wave 454]

um... okay?

 

I already have, like... six people that want to do that.

*hugs you*

 

You're just such a cutie pie..~

 

Also are you an Intel fan? Most people are, just curious.

[long gone 8,929]

*hugs you*

 

You're just such a cutie pie..~

 

Also are you an Intel fan? Most people are, just curious.

Yes I am. I've only used AMD once and don't really want to look back.

[Milk Wave 454]

@, 

 

I've been in the same situation too. AMD Athlon x64 single core processor clocked at 1.6 Ghz, in a laptop. It was the cheapest ACER my mom and dad got me, and I was super dissapointed.

 

The motherboard fried (( from my fist at being mad to the computer )) and the hard drive died in 1 1/2 years. So yeah, we threw it away and now i'm the one making the decisions for computers.

[long gone 8,929]

@, 

 

I've been in the same situation too. AMD Athlon x64 single core processor clocked at 1.6 Ghz, in a laptop. It was the cheapest ACER my mom and dad got me, and I was super dissapointed.

 

The motherboard fried (( from my fist at being mad to the computer )) and the hard drive died in 1 1/2 years. So yeah, we threw it away and now i'm the one making the decisions for computers.

Hah, mine was also an Acer laptop. Dual-core AMD Athlon 64 QL-62 @ 2GHz. After a year the cooling system all but failed, the USB ports began dying, the touchpad became less responsive, a long line of dead pixels showed up on the 1280x800 display and after two years, the only thing you could do with it was turn it on and off again. Of course by then I stopped using it outside of "science". I've since taken it apart :3

 

And after that I switched back to Intel and love it.

[Demirari 454]

That's a nice build for a cheap gaming PC, but a 1TB is really require these days for gaming. Or at least it is for me. And I would suggest a 2GB graphics card instead of a 1GB. Then like what Daring and Shoboni said, get a quad-core or higher for a better performance.

And I'd like to defend AMD, they have always for me so far, never failed me.

Have a nice day!

Edited November 30, 2013 by Demirari

[Milk Wave 454]

Hah, mine was also an Acer laptop. Dual-core AMD Athlon 64 QL-62 @ 2GHz. After a year the cooling system all but failed, the USB ports began dying, the touchpad became less responsive, a long line of dead pixels showed up on the 1280x800 display and after two years, the only thing you could do with it was turn it on and off again. Of course by then I stopped using it outside of "science". I've since taken it apart :3

 

And after that I switched back to Intel and love it.

Yeah, I guess you can say stuff like that's a bit kinky and such. Now after looking through Intel stuffs, I decided, hey.. The GPU on these things are a lot better. Why not go with AMD one more time and see how it works?

 

So far it's the best decision i've made.

AMD A8-4500m Quad core runs great, but it's still slow on some occasions. Graphics is a nice 7640G integrated Radeon which works well for me, and it's said to perform around 6% better then the HD 4000. Very small margin, but for being more towards budget that's pretty cool.

 

 

That's a nice build for a cheap gaming PC, but a 1TB is really require these days for gaming. Or at least it is for me. And I would suggest a 2GB graphics card instead of a 1GB. Then like what Daring and Shoboni said, get a quad-core or higher for a better performance.

And I'd like to defend AMD, they have always for me so far, never failed me.

Have a nice day!

Yup, I know. 1TB is what I was really wanting, and I really want one. Bluhhhh why can't I have so much mooneyyy :c

[cuteycindyhoney 13,316]

@, 

 

I've been in the same situation too. AMD Athlon x64 single core processor clocked at 1.6 Ghz, in a laptop. It was the cheapest ACER my mom and dad got me, and I was super dissapointed.

 

The motherboard fried (( from my fist at being mad to the computer )) and the hard drive died in 1 1/2 years. So yeah, we threw it away and now i'm the one making the decisions for computers.

You can't very well blame ACER or your mom and dad if you had a temper tantrum and smashed the computer.

[Milk Wave 454]

You can't very well blame ACER or your mom and dad if you had a temper tantrum and smashed the computer.

I know that, that was my fault for doing so. Even so though it was still a bad computer nonetheless, being that it would run hot by even loading Google in IE.

[cuteycindyhoney 13,316]

I know that, that was my fault for doing so. Even so though it was still a bad computer nonetheless, being that it would run hot by even loading Google in IE.

No offense, but if you were my child, (Yikes, you could be! I'm 20 years older then you. I was born Feb 1st, 1979!) I would not have replaced or repaired it if it was broken due to a temper tantrum. Your parents must be very easy going.

[Milk Wave 454]

No offense, but if you were my child, (Yikes, you could be! I'm 20 years older then you. I was born Feb 1st, 1979!) I would not have replaced or repaired it if it was broken due to a temper tantrum. Your parents must be very easy going.

Actually I lied to them and said it failed on me from being defective. Trust me, i've learned to cool quite a bit off after that and I make sure not to smash motherboards now :3

[Luna the Great of all the Russias 3,003]

When exactly do you plan to buy the parts? And would you be willing to save up a little more than $575? In this budget range, spending a relatively small amount of money more could mean having much better performance. If possible, I would say saving for a $600 PC build (not including tax and shipping costs) may be worthwhile.

Or if you must absolutely spend less than $575, I would suggest changing your case choice for a more inexpensive one; it's better to invest in other computer (perhaps most importantly the GFX card) components instead of the case unless, I suppose, you plan on making future upgrades to the computer; it's probably safe to say that the case is the part of the computer that will be useful the longest. Edited November 30, 2013 by 115Predator

[Milk Wave 454]

When exactly do you plan to buy the parts? And would you be willing to save up a little more than $575? In this budget range, spending a relatively small amount of money more could mean having much better performance. If possible, I would say saving for a $600 PC build (not including tax and shipping costs) may be worthwhile.

 

 

Or if you must absolutely spend less than $575, I would suggest changing your case choice for a more inexpensive one; it's better to invest in other computer (perhaps most importantly the GFX card) components instead of the case unless, I suppose, you plan on making future upgrades to the computer; it's probably safe to say that the case is the part of the computer that will be useful the longest.

I'm alright darling, 500-550 was my budget range anyways. I was going to get them after Christmas from Newegg and such and then once it came in I would assemble it together with my dear friend who is much more experienced then me.

 

Also, I changed the case, I bumped up about 10-20 bucks on it since I wanted that Lexa S from how it looked. It's a pretty nice case, got some good reviews and stuff. I changed up the Motherboard too since my friend did say it's best not to low ball as much on there, so I did and such.

 

The reason why the parts are a little less powerful is because i'm building the computer to last long, which in turn means more expensive and trusted parts. Now you'd be like: 'AMD's not reliable', but the thing is, AMD is reliable and it's better for a budget. Heck I was gonna go with an Intel Celeron Dual core the first time I put this build together, and i'm glad I switched to different stuff.

 

I also don't do single channel RAM and never go under 1600Mhz for it, so yeah, that too. But anyways, thanks for your own input on this! It's given me some time to think a lot about things, and maybe I might kick down the 600 watt to a 500 watt from the estimation wattage under load. (( it was like 300-360 watts or so ))

Edited November 30, 2013 by Milk Wave

[Chacobos 160]

It seems I am late to the party as usual! Tbh what you have there should work fine but I would do what others are saying and go for a quad-core and possibly save up a bit more for a Radeon 7850. I personally use the XFC Radeons but that is just my personal preference.

 

To get an idea my rig costed me $600 and I can play BF3, Skyrim, Dark Souls, etc. on minimum high settings with pretty good frame rates.

 

The main thing you should ask yourself is what games you plan on playing on it

Edited November 30, 2013 by Captain Variance

[Milk Wave 454]

It seems I am late to the party as usual! Tbh what you have there should work fine but I would do what others are saying and go for a quad-core and possibly save up a bit more for a Radeon 7850. I personally use the XFC Radeons but that is just my personal preference.

To get an idea my rig costed me $600 and I can play BF3, Skyrim, Dark Souls, etc. on minimum high settings with pretty good frame rates.

The main thing you should ask yourself is what games you plan on playing on it

Pssh, i'm playing like minecraft, team fortress 2, borderlands, fallout 3 and new Vegas, as well as Saints Row 3 and all. I may save up for like, battlefield 4 in the future but I don't plan to play it at all in ultra.

 

Worst case scenario I play my games in medium, but that's fine with me.

[Chacobos 160]

in that case I do suggest you upgrade the graphics card in my opinion. The graphics card you picked are by no means bad, it's a great card for the money, it's just I would think it is best if you not only better benefit the experience you have but also future installments so you don't need to upgrade and spend more money as fast.

 

I also noticed you have a Steam acc, may I add?  

[A Blithering Div 247]

The CPU is very weak. It doesn't even come close to a Pentium dual core. If you insist on going with AMD, you want at least the Athlon x4 750k. Slightly lower clocks but the extra module will help a lot. Outside of that, looks decent.

[FoxyCryptid 4,330]

No offense, but if you were my child, (Yikes, you could be! I'm 20 years older then you. I was born Feb 1st, 1979!) I would not have replaced or repaired it if it was broken due to a temper tantrum. Your parents must be very easy going.

 

Hey! I finally don't feel like an old man!

 

*ahem* I mean, someone turned me onto this idea for a cheaper CPU with good performance, it's a bit pricey compared to what you have, but the fact it's 8-core and can be over-clocked makes it look like a good choice for having some form of future proofing on a budget:

 

http://www.amazon.com/AMD-FX-8120-8-Core-Edition-Processor/dp/B005UBNKZG