$300 Gaming PC

[StonedSoBad]

Forgot to add, if I will be using the HDD from my laptop then the money that will be saved from there would probably go towards a monitor (+ maybe a cheap keyboard)

 

[Woody1999]

Most games I can think of today use more than one core of the processor. I see it like this - whereas the A6 has a higher clock speed and better single threaded performance, you could simply OC the Athlon to the same or better clock speed, and the tri-core system is simply a lot faster when it comes to multicore-rendering.

Also...I like the name 😛

Woody

 

[StonedSoBad]

Most games I can think of today use more than one core of the processor. I see it like this - whereas the A6 has a higher clock speed and better single threaded performance, you could simply OC the Athlon to the same or better clock speed, and the tri-core system is simply a lot faster when it comes to multicore-rendering.

Also...I like the name 😛

Woody

Awesome, thanks! I will be switching out the A6 with the Athlon, the third core would be helpful for my video editing and graphic designing aswell. When overclocking would I be in need of an extra fan or could I just go by with the fan that is already on the CPU? Thanks

 

[damric]

Most games I can think of today use more than one core of the processor. I see it like this - whereas the A6 has a higher clock speed and better single threaded performance, you could simply OC the Athlon to the same or better clock speed, and the tri-core system is simply a lot faster when it comes to multicore-rendering.

Also...I like the name 😛

Woody

Awesome, thanks! I will be switching out the A6 with the Athlon, the third core would be helpful for my video editing and graphic designing aswell. When overclocking would I be in need of an extra fan or could I just go by with the fan that is already on the CPU? Thanks

You aren't going to overclock anything on that turd of a motherboard. I would not recommend obsolete 6 year old AM3 CPU technology either, unless you are buying it at the flea market.

 

[StonedSoBad]

Most games I can think of today use more than one core of the processor. I see it like this - whereas the A6 has a higher clock speed and better single threaded performance, you could simply OC the Athlon to the same or better clock speed, and the tri-core system is simply a lot faster when it comes to multicore-rendering.

Also...I like the name 😛

Woody

Awesome, thanks! I will be switching out the A6 with the Athlon, the third core would be helpful for my video editing and graphic designing aswell. When overclocking would I be in need of an extra fan or could I just go by with the fan that is already on the CPU? Thanks

You aren't going to overclock anything on that turd of a motherboard. I would not recommend obsolete 6 year old AM3 CPU technology either, unless you are buying it at the flea market.

Well now I don't know which one to get :L Also does it matter which mobo I get, as long as it can handle the ammount of RAM I'm installing and has the same socket as my CPU? Thanks!

 

[IamTimTech]

You should get a reliable brand such as Asus or Asrock. Also I would like to recommend you make it work on a 1150 socket. Don't get me wrong I love AMD but you can't do better for the money than a pentium.

 

[StonedSoBad]

You should get a reliable brand such as Asus or Asrock. Also I would like to recommend you make it work on a 1150 socket. Don't get me wrong I love AMD but you can't do better for the money than a pentium.

Can you give me an example of some of the parts? Thanks.

 

[IamTimTech]

What is your top dollar budget and I will make a build specifically for you

 

[StonedSoBad]

What is your top dollar budget and I will make a build specifically for you

Well, as the title suggests, $300 (usd) / 250€ is what I want to spend on the computer. Interested in doing mainly gaming but also a lot of video editing and photoshop work, also would like to look into overclocking. Thanks.

 

[IamTimTech]

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/TimTech/saved/8FGH99

I used your build and basically just changed you over to a Pentium on an MSI board. Really not too spectacular, but you will have room for an i3, i5 or even i7 and I think for your budget you won't do much better. If you could save up some more to push that budget to around $375 you could open up more options like the i3 and an SSD

 

[StonedSoBad]

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/TimTech/saved/8FGH99

I used your build and basically just changed you over to a Pentium on an MSI board. Really not too spectacular, but you will have room for an i3, i5 or even i7 and I think for your budget you won't do much better. If you could save up some more to push that budget to around $375 you could open up more options like the i3 and an SSD

Wouldn't the A6-6400K be a better option as its 3.9 GHz, rest seems to be the same? It also costs less ($49.95)

 

[RCFProd]

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/TimTech/saved/8FGH99

I used your build and basically just changed you over to a Pentium on an MSI board. Really not too spectacular, but you will have room for an i3, i5 or even i7 and I think for your budget you won't do much better. If you could save up some more to push that budget to around $375 you could open up more options like the i3 and an SSD

Wouldn't the A6-6400K be a better option as its 3.9 GHz, rest seems to be the same? It also costs less ($49.95)

The APU's are only useful for budget CPU + Onboard GPU solutions. Clock speed doesn't really mean much.

 

[IamTimTech]

As long as you keep in mind that core for core the intels perform better than AMD and that your upgrade path will be limited in the future then you could go the AMD route. I would stay on the intel platform because when the funds become available you will have upward mobility where if you chose the APU your upgrade path ends with the Athlon X 860K.

 

[RCFProd]

As long as you keep in mind that core for core the intels perform better than AMD and that your upgrade path will be limited in the future then you could go the AMD route. I would stay on the intel platform because when the funds become available you will have upward mobility where if you chose the APU your upgrade path ends with the Athlon X 860K.

nevermind*

 

[IamTimTech]

I mean look in my sig man, I have an AMD APU myself because that is all I need. If you want to go the FM2+ route you won't do so bad. I mean heck the APU can play some games by itself.

 

[StonedSoBad]

I mean look in my sig man, I have an AMD APU myself because that is all I need. If you want to go the FM2+ route you won't do so bad. I mean heck the APU can play some games by itself.

Alright, but will the Intel CPU be overclockable (it should be, right?) and also what to you think games wise, what would I be able to play on such a rig (skyrim etc.) and at which settings.

Really thankful for all the helpful replies on this thread, thank you all for your suggestions!

 

[IamTimTech]

I use the R9 270 so I don't know what the built in graphics can handle but youtube, google and fellow users sure do! And no if you want the overclocking pentium you gotta go G3258 and get a z87/97 board to overclock it, more monies out of your pocket. In that respect I think the AMD build will be better suited for you, especially if you don't want to put anymore undo money into this machine in the future.

 

[StonedSoBad]

I use the R9 270 so I don't know what the built in graphics can handle but youtube, google and fellow users sure do! And no if you want the overclocking pentium you gotta go G3258 and get a z87/97 board to overclock it, more monies out of your pocket. In that respect I think the AMD build will be better suited for you, especially if you don't want to put anymore undo money into this machine in the future.

So, should I just go with my first choise of AMD A6?

 

[IamTimTech]

That one you need to decide. Everyone has helped bring you to the two best conclusions for your budget. You just must answer this question; what do you see yourself doing with this machine for the next few years? If you want to have a platform to build on later then start intel. If you want the most performance for your dollar this minute, it's AMD.

You see my signature, you know what I chose.

 

[damric]

You see my signature, you know what I chose.

A Rocketfish. Those are scary bad.

 

[IamTimTech]

You know everyone says it but I've had this one for ages, it hasn't been replaced because it's still going strong. I think you and I may have already had this discussion. Just so you know my boss gives me just as much crap about it.

 

[StonedSoBad]

Alright, I'm going to go with Intel as I will have more room to grow this way (as noted by IamTimTech). Thank you again for helping me out with this build, very happy with the warm welcoming I got once I joined Tomshardware forums. Very helpful and friendly community. Deffonately coming back once I need some help or to answer someones question. Thanks again for everything!

 

[LucoTF]

You know microcenter are still doing the $99 cpu & mobo bundle:

http://www.microcenter.com/site/brands/G3258Bundle.aspx

Get that + a gtx 750 imo

 

[IamTimTech]

Wow that's a really good deal, I am gonna pick one of those up!

Edit: Damn in store pick up only. The closest one to me is an hour and a half 🙁

 

[LucoTF]

Wow that's a really good deal, I am gonna pick one of those up!

Edit: Damn in store pick up only. The closest one to me is an hour and a half 🙁

Hey, at least gas prices are going down so it won't cost so much to drive there 😀