$400 Budget Gaming Build

[neoxblu]

Hi guys,

I will be helping a friend build a budget gaming pc and would like to get a second opinion to see if all the components will work well together.

Thanks for the help!


Approximate Purchase Date: Black Friday

Budget Range: $450 including tax/shipping

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming/ Surfing/ Office/ Movies

Are you buying a monitor: No

Do you need to buy OS: No

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com, ncix.com, amazon.com

Location: Los Angeles, CA

Parts Preferences: Intel, nVidia, Asus

Overclocking: No

SLI or Crossfire: No

Your Monitor Resolution: 1680x1050

Additional Comments: Will be using to play Starcraft II, C&C Generals 2 when released


Here's what I got so far, the main parts are based on the system builder marathon, the mobo has some bad reviews is there any others you would recommend without going too high off budget?

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/nG7C

 

[excella1221]

Here's a small revision.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/nGdT

Make sure to get the discounts promos before they end.
I read you have a nVidia preference, but the 550 Ti is somewhat crappy card, I doubt even nVidia fanboys would disagree.

 

[cutebeans]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Pentium G860 3.0GHz Dual-Core Processor ($69.54 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock H61M-DGS Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($44.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: AMD Entertainment Edition 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($12.29 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7770 1GB Video Card ($115.50 @ NCIX US)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 430 ATX Mid Tower Case ($36.43 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $371.72
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-11-14 02:47 EST-0500)

This would be a better build. The 550ti isn't a great card. The 7770 would be a better performer. Don't get 2 x 2gb. You would be filling up your ram slots limiting you to 4gb. If you have the extra money definitely get 8gb.

You can actually get 8gb right now and still be under budget.

 

[cutebeans]

Here's a small revision.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/nGdT

Make sure to get the discounts promos before they end.
I read you have a nVidia preference, but the 550 Ti is somewhat crappy card, I doubt even nVidia fanboys would disagree.

I agree!!

 

[neoxblu]

The only reason I decided to go with the GTX 550ti is because its a pci-e 2.0 and I read that the Pentium G860 only supports up to pci-e 2.0 however the HD 7770 is a pci-e 3.0 so would they be compatible together?

 

[cutebeans]

Yeah, you won't notice the difference. It's backward compatible so no worries. Although, I think it's more on the motherboard than the CPU.

Anyway, you're clear. Get the 7770.

 

[neoxblu]

Thanks for the help would you happen to know if the 7770 comes with a dvi to vga conversion?

 

[killerhurtalot]

Well. I don't read lol.

Anyways, With your budget, there's still headroom on improvements since their builds only top out to around $420 a piece.

might as well as upgrade to 8 GB ram....