400$ Gaming Build?

Page 2 - Seeking answers? Join the Tom's Hardware community: where nearly two million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.

Feodor Volg

Reputable
Mar 20, 2015
10
0
4,510
I was inspired by this build: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZR-a35sxLg
This is my updated build: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/tFbvcf
This build will mostly be for AAA title gaming, like Far Cry 4 and GTA V.
What do you think of the build I put together? Any compatibility issues? I strongly
appreciate any feedback from you, as I am a very new member to this forum.
I will also be OC'ing the i5 to about 3.6Ghz, and I DO NOT require an OS!!!
UPDATE:
PCPartPicker part list: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/KWjXNG
Price breakdown by merchant: http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/KWjXNG/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-750 2.66Ghz Quad-Core Processor
Motherboard: Asus P7H55-M Pro Micro ATX LGA1156 Motherboard
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($76.86 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($58.98 @ DirectCanada)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 280X 3GB Video Card ($308.12 @ Newegg Canada)
Case: Thermaltake Versa H22 Window ATX Mid Tower Case ($55.38 @ shopRBC)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($45.63 @ DirectCanada)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WN722N 802.11b/g/n USB 2.0 Wi-Fi Adapter ($13.98 @ DirectCanada)
Total: $558.95
 


I think you are giving up to much in the GPU area to get the I3, this build will be a bit weak in most games.
 

Matt Dobe

Reputable
Jan 20, 2015
621
0
5,360
Cheapest gaming PC you can do for the money (I think):

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($84.00 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: ASRock H81M-DGS R2.0 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($50.50 @ Vuugo)
Memory: Crucial 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($36.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Storage: Toshiba 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.50 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: HIS Radeon R7 260X 1GB Video Card ($129.99 @ Memory Express)
Case: Rosewill FBM-01 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($34.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Power Supply: Antec 450W ATX Power Supply ($34.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Total: $425.94
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-20 12:22 EDT-0400

Will play all modern games quite well actually :)

Could do with more RAM and storage space though.
 

logainofhades

Titan
Moderator


Managed a 260x

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($104.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H81M-DGS R2.0 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($47.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($29.23 @ Amazon)
Storage: Hitachi Ultrastar 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($40.49 @ Amazon)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R7 260X 1GB Core Edition Video Card ($107.28 @ Mwave)
Case: Apex SK-393-C ATX Mid Tower Case ($25.79 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($38.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $394.71
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-20 13:33 EDT-0400
 

Icaraeus

Honorable
You won't be able to build a PC equivalent to the PS4 or better than it for $400 or less, especially in places like Canada/Australia/Europe. The PS4's CPU is equivalent to a Intel i3, GPU is better than a 260X, it has 5GB VRAM for games (meaning, let's say, a GPU at least R7 265 with 4GB VRAM). That's not including bluray drive and case with USB 3.0.
 

Feodor Volg

Reputable
Mar 20, 2015
10
0
4,510

For a pc, there is virtually no need for a blu-ray drive. You can get a good case for 30$, so next time you buy a beer just save for that instead. 2GB VRAM is more than enough for 1080p gaming, unless you are doing heavy Skyrim modding, (which you will not be doing on a PS4 anyways) which is what the build is for. Check out the video that I posted, it CLEARLY beats the PS4 in every single way graphically and performance-wise.

 

Icaraeus

Honorable
Uh no it doesn't. PS4 is faster than a 260X and an Athlon...

PS4 GPU is 1.843TF, 260X is 1.7TF. You really can't get a good case for $30 unless you want it to be made of plastic. There are many uses for a bluray drive, despite what people may think. USB flash sticks don't solve everything, and neither do DVD drives. Graphically, games like Uncharted 4, Silent Hills and The Order are far superior.
 

Feodor Volg

Reputable
Mar 20, 2015
10
0
4,510

So you are saying console graphics are better than PC graphics on max settings?
 

Icaraeus

Honorable
260X can't max out every game, and many games like Uncharted 4, Until Dawn, The Order, Killzone. The Last of Us and infamous look better than many PC games (NOT every game). The PS4 is capable of running many multiplat games at high/ultra settings 30fps at 1080p, however. The games the PS4 runs at 900p can run at 1080p 30fps, except the devs gimped it at 900p 60fps.

I never said that the PS4 is better than PC, only that it's better than a 260X and Intel i3/FX 6300/Athlon/Pentium with 8GB RAM. Games are made on PC, meaning that the PC used needs to be faster than what it takes to make the game.
 

steveb531

Honorable
Feb 6, 2014
141
0
10,690


But then again, console cant max out ANY modern game when compared to the PCs potential, whereas if you have the room to upgrade components later on, you can get by on settings more comparable to a console, then upgrade for better performance later.
Optical drives are not necessary, but do have their uses. But its another thing that is not needed from the get go when your on a budget. Same goes for things like sound cards and masses of RAM.

My advice... Buy something similar to what has been suggested to you (go with an AMD cpu however, you will likely need the extra cores) leaving out anything that's not necessary for your needs and upgrade later down the line as your budget allows for it.
 

Icaraeus

Honorable


Consoles do "max out" many PC games. It depends on which ones. PS4 runs games at equivalent high/ultra settings. How many times do I have to tell this to you? Why are you talking as if people are suggesting things to me? I already have a PC that is superior CPU wise to ANY AMD CPU on the market, and capable of maxing out pretty much every game at 30+fps. I can afford to build a computer close to 3x as expensive as the one I already have but I don't need to nor want to as Intel Skylake and Nvidia Pascal is next year - meaning DDR4, HBM, proper DirectX 12, ultra HD etc for me.
 

steveb531

Honorable
Feb 6, 2014
141
0
10,690


Im pretty sure this is the first time we have spoken? Compared to a PC, all game will be inferior in one respect or another, be is graphics settings or framerate, assuming the PC has superior hardware. Therefore, ANY PC has that potential through upgrades.