$500 Budget Gaming PC

[JancoV]

I decided to wait a while to get more money for a better pc my max budget would be $550. I would also appreciate it if you could post reasons for choosing which parts. I would just like to play bf4 and COD Ghosts smoothly. I don't care about low settings and graphics since I'm used to playing on X-Box. I already have OS, Monitor, Headphones, Mouse and Keyboard. My monitor is a 1920x1080 TV and the chassis needs to be a mini or medium tower. I won't be overclocking and don't know what SLI or Crossfire is. I prefer if parts are from NewwEgg. Please post your reply with www.pcpartpicker.com.

Thanks

 

[Dylzan]

AMD option:

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3GNHC
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3GNHC/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3GNHC/benchmarks/

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus M5A78L-M LX PLUS Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($56.18 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Asus Radeon R7 265 2GB Video Card ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($45.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 520W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($83.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($26.97 @ Newegg)
Total: $558.08
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-09 12:18 EDT-0400)


Intel/Nvidia option:

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3GNEO
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3GNEO/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3GNEO/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor ($119.97 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H81M-HDS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($52.99 @ Micro Center)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($56.19 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card ($149.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($32.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer 520W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($78.98 @ OutletPC)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $506.10
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-09 12:21 EDT-0400)

 

[Dylzan]

CPU in 1 <CPU in 2 but GPU in 1 > GPU in 2, though there isn't that much difference between them regarding overall benchmarks. The PSU I chose is good quality and leaves room for future upgradability. The second option also comes out at $580 if bought from Newegg alone and the top option comes out at $503 with various etailers.

 

[Danbuscus25]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($109.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock 970 Pro3 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($56.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: PNY GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Enthusiast Edition Video Card ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 431 Plus (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($47.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ NCIX US)
Case Fan: Cooler Master R4-L2R-20AC-GP 69.0 CFM 120mm Fan ($7.20 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $552.11
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-09 12:21 EDT-0400)

this will play your games at medium-high, and it has 2 blue led fans which will look really awesome through the side panel window 😀

 

[Danbuscus25]

dylzan, you forgot ram in your builds 😉

 

[Dylzan]

dylzan, you forgot ram in your build 😉

http://cdn.kickrunners.com/7/73/7324282f_picard-facepalm.jpg

 

[mrpizzaface]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 760K 3.8GHz Quad-Core Processor ($84.73 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus A55M-E Micro ATX FM2 Motherboard ($54.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Kingston Fury Black Series 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($36.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($46.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card ($189.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Enermax OSTROG ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.00 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Thermaltake SMART 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $501.69
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-17 19:19 EDT-0400)

i chose these parts for a $500 computer i was going to build and have upped my personal budget to 600 so

the reason i chose the 760K is because it is STILL a Good processor for running modern games with near no issues

a GTX660 is MUCH faster than any of the GPU's that the chaps before me have posted

and you get a free copy of watch dogs with the GTX660 which is a GTA like open world game

Benches:

BF4 Ultra with no MSAA @1080P 45-60 FPS

COD Ghosts Ultra @1080P <100FPS

I also own the case in this and the case is VERY solid and has a side window

 

[Danbuscus25]

you probly wont be running games on ultra 1080p with 4gb of ram, but i suppose you could upgrade that later. also, why not spent $2 more and get an XFX 550 watt psu?

 

[mrpizzaface]

you probly wont be running games on ultra 1080p with 4gb of ram, but i suppose you could upgrade that later. also, why not spent $2 more and get an XFX 550 watt psu?

your System ram has nothing to do woth resoultion and graphics preformance, RAM only has to do with calculations on the games engine like mouse input and hit detection and controls also unless your doing some video editing or recording (NOT including Live Streaming) 4Gb of ram is still a good ammount (i have my current laptop i use for gaming and it only has 4Gb of ram and i constantly have massive ammounts of programs running ~60% ram useage Win 8.1 (NOT update 1)

i have had WAY too many bad XFX products to even reccommend them its just a bad juju or something and 500Watt leaves ~250 Watts left over

 

[Danbuscus25]

well, you will be forced to use some virtual memory while gaming (usually), and it will be extra slow due to a sata II 3gb/s mobo. and because you are okay with lower settings, i would still get a 750 Ti because it can still play those games at a solid medium 1080p, and the performance difference between the 660 and 750 Ti (in my opinion) doesnt justify the extra cost or power http://gpuboss.com/gpus/GeForce-GTX-750-Ti-vs-GeForce-GTX-660 and also it is weird that xfx has been failling you, they are one of the best....

 

[zemiak]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($109.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Asus M5A78L-M/USB3 Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($54.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($63.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.43 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 270 2GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($154.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($58.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $552.35
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-18 01:10 EDT-0400)

 

[Danbuscus25]

good build, but again, why not the XFX 550 watt? other than that, i would recommend this or the build i posted.

 

[mrpizzaface]

well, you will be forced to use some virtual memory while gaming (usually), and it will be extra slow due to a sata II 3gb/s mobo. and because you are okay with lower settings, i would still get a 750 Ti because it can still play those games at a solid medium 1080p, and the performance difference between the 660 and 750 Ti (in my opinion) doesnt justify the extra cost or power http://gpuboss.com/gpus/GeForce-GTX-750-Ti-vs-GeForce-GTX-660 and also it is weird that xfx has been failling you, they are one of the best....

I Believe you have failed to even look at the comments on what REAL people say and not synthetic benchmarks say, in REAL world tests the 750Ti preforms at a Medium Graphical settings range while the GTX 660 FOR $30 USD MORE preforms at Ultra! this is simple matamatic calculations at this point even at lower graphical settings the GTX660 Will overpreform the GTX 750Ti in almost every thing imagineable

http://www.game-debate.com/gpu/index.php?gid=883&gid2=591&compare=geforce-gtx-750-ti-vs-geforce-gtx-660
look at this link if you dont believe me 😛

Also current Hardware limitations on Mechanical hard drives do <b>NOT</b> see near ANY slowdown between Sata II and Sata III

Also 4Gb of ram is still plenty for gaming today might not be in the 1-2 yr range but at this price point it isnt economical to be using 8 Gb of ram unless your are video editing / rendering
to counteract the fact of less ram anyways i chose the faster Kingston HyperX fury Black kit running at CAS 11 & 1866Mhz

and if you still think you need 4Gb+ to have a smoothe expirence please watch this video from Austin Evans:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kfN4A-8OT4

he states: "For a Standard Gaming PC you really only need 4-8 Gb of ram" 4Gb is fine for a gaming pc i never go over 40% on my computer that is running linux with Bioshck Inf. and even when my computer ran windows i never went over 60% with the same 4Gb ram stick @1333Mhz and also having INTERGRATED graphics i never went over that ammount of sys ram useage and no pagefile useage for the game process

so sir i asy your a blowing alot of smoke up people's asses have a good day

 

[Danbuscus25]

you are a bit mistaken that a 660 will run bf4 on ultra, but close http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2014/02/18/nvidia-geforce-gtx-750-ti-review/5 if you tweak the settings a bit then yes it can run on very high-ultra with a stable 40 fps, however you are wrong that a 660 is SO much better than a 750 ti, as it only has 6 more fps. so i guess it depends on if you want to spend $30 extra, and an extra ~$30 per year for a 660 over a 750 ti for ~5-10 more fps. now about the ram, i only have 4gb of ram, and when it gets all utilized and i need virtual memory, my games get all jumpy and weird. and i didnt mean the speed difference between sata 2 and 3 directly, but i meant the difference between the 3 gb/s and 6 gb/s. i see your point, and i think a 660 is a great card, its just that the 750 ti has better performance/$. and dont even get me started on austin evans, half the time he has no idea what hes talking about XD

also take a look here too http://wccftech.com/maxwell-nvidia-gtx-750-ti-slower-gtx-660/ its pretty interesting, and again, the performance difference between a 660 and 750 ti is NOT from medium to ultra, not even close.