$500 gaming PC build help

[NEri]

Approximate Purchase Date: As soon as possible. Hopefully this week.

Budget Range: $500.

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, editing videos, surfing the internet, watching movies.

Are you buying a monitor: No.

Parts to Upgrade: CPU, mobo, RAM, GPU, power supply, case.

Do you need to buy OS: No.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com

Parts Preferences: by brand or type: I always liked having EVGA video cards since I never really got another brand. Maybe there is another brand that performs better?

Overclocking: No.

SLI or Crossfire: No.

Your Monitor Resolution: I have two monitors with resolutions of 1920x1080, and 1440x900.

Additional Comments: I would like a quiet PC. I will also use it for editing videos. I want to run current gen game at a decent framerate, and I also play a lot of games on emulators.

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: I had this PC for 8 years, and the parts are slowly dying. It also struggles to run new games since it got so old. When I also edit videos, it sometimes stutters and rarely crashes. When I render the videos, it sometimes crashes the video editing program.

_________________________


This is what I came up with so far:


[PCPartPicker part list](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/m8cZqs) / [Price breakdown by merchant](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/m8cZqs/by_merchant/)

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [AMD Athlon X4 860K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/amd-cpu-ad860kxbjabox) | $88.78 @ Amazon
**Motherboard** | [Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-HD3 Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-motherboard-gaf2a88xmhd3) | $55.18 @ Newegg
**Memory** | [Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/crucial-memory-bls2kit4g3d1609ds1s00) | $74.99 @ Amazon
**Video Card** | [EVGA GeForce GTX 760 2GB Superclocked ACX Video Card](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-video-card-02gp42765kr) | $189.99 @ Newegg
**Case** | [Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/cooler-master-case-nse200kkn1) | $39.99 @ Newegg
**Power Supply** | [Rosewill 650W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/rosewill-power-supply-arc650) | $60.04 @ Amazon
| | **Total**
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available | $508.97
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-01 14:41 EDT-0400 |

 

[TopLuca]

Much better than what you've originally built :

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/qH4tNG
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/qH4tNG/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85M-DS3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($66.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Mushkin Blackline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($68.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 280 3GB Dual-X Video Card ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill Galaxy-01 ATX Mid Tower Case ($31.49 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($45.61 @ Amazon)
Total: $503.06
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-01 15:19 EDT-0400

 

[NEri]

I always heard people say that if you do a lot of video editing, go with more cores. Someone said that dual-core Intel CPU is really good only if I intend to be purely gaming. I always tended to shy away from the Intel CPU's since they were always expensive, and people say AMD CPU's have better performance for the money, but if you have a lot of money to spend, go with Intel. I only built a pc 8 years ago, so I don't know much about how this works. I also plan to play emulators a lot, and I heard that it's a more CPU intensive task to run them, so would having 3.7GHz help more than having 3.5GHz?

I looked up the r9 280 card, and someone was saying that it runs hot and loud while gaming. Is what he said true? I also tend to like Nvidia cards more, with the EVGA name on them, since I always liked Nvidia cards more, and EVGA seems to be the biggest name with Nvidia. How is the GTX 760 card? Is it a decent card for the money? I decided to try the superclocked card. I never had an overclocked card. Does it run louder and hotter?

Also, what are the differences between RAM cards? Is the Mushkin more durable?

I also decided to go with the Rosewill Galaxy-01 case you recommended. While I was looking online, people seem to prefer anything other than the cooler master N200 case. I also went with the power supply you recommended, since it has 500W, and the one I chose was 650W. The estimated wattage I'll be using with my parts is 334W, so the extra 150W seems like a waste to have. I'm inexperienced with these things, so I'm trying to say things that make the most sense to me lol. Also going with your power supply, I save $20. That leaves me with some more room for a slight upgrade to something else. Not sure what I can upgrade.

I checked the reviews for the motherboard I chose, and the reviews don't seem too good. Any other good ones that can fit inside my $500 budget, considering I have slightly more to spend?

I'm sorry for all these questions. Trying to find the best parts that fit inside my budget. I hope this build is quiet.

Here's my newer build setup:

[PCPartPicker part list](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/pmznNG) / [Price breakdown by merchant](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/pmznNG/by_merchant/)

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [AMD Athlon X4 860K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/amd-cpu-ad860kxbjabox) | $88.78 @ Amazon
**Motherboard** | [Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-HD3 Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-motherboard-gaf2a88xmhd3) | $55.18 @ Newegg
**Memory** | [Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/crucial-memory-bls2kit4g3d1609ds1s00) | $74.99 @ Amazon
**Video Card** | [EVGA GeForce GTX 760 2GB Superclocked ACX Video Card](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-video-card-02gp42765kr) | $189.99 @ Newegg
**Case** | [Rosewill Galaxy-01 ATX Mid Tower Case](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/rosewill-case-galaxy01) | $31.49 @ Amazon
**Power Supply** | [EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-100b10500kr) | $40.98 @ Newegg
| | **Total**
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available | $481.41
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-01 20:25 EDT-0400 |

 

[Outlander_04]

I would stick with the 860K if you want to have decent performance in online gaming .

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 860K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor ($88.78 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Xigmatek Prime SD1484 90.3 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-HD3 Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($55.18 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($74.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 280 3GB TurboDuo Video Card ($140.00 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Rosewill 650W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($60.04 @ Amazon)
Total: $488.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-01 21:41 EDT-0400

 

[TopLuca]

For Video editing and some modern games more cores are better however the frequency of the cores isn't really defining . Intel Frequencies Vs AMD Frequencies are a whole different story but long story short for your budget the FX-6300 is the best bet .

AMD aren't a small GPU company , the R9 280 doesn't run hot and won't set your house on fire when you're gaming as this is a misconception by Nvdia's fanboys , while the 760 might run a little cooler however it won't be as fast the R9 280 in most cases.

The RAM , Well I chose the cheaper one and usually all of them do the same thing so any ram from a reputable company will suffice.

Here's My updated build :

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/23hP99
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/23hP99/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($106.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($84.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: Crucial 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($68.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 280 3GB Dual-X Video Card ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill Galaxy-01 ATX Mid Tower Case ($31.49 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($45.61 @ Amazon)
Total: $518.05
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-02 12:50 EST-0500

 

[Outlander_04]

For Video editing and some modern games more cores are better however the frequency of the cores isn't really defining . Intel Frequencies Vs AMD Frequencies are a whole different story but long story short for your budget the FX-6300 is the best bet .

AMD aren't a small GPU company , the R9 280 doesn't run hot and won't set your house on fire when you're gaming as this is a misconception by Nvdia's fanboys , while the 760 might run a little cooler however it won't be as fast the R9 280 in most cases.

The RAM , Well I chose the cheaper one and usually all of them do the same thing so any ram from a reputable company will suffice.

Here's My updated build :

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/23hP99
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/23hP99/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($106.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($84.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: Crucial 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($68.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 280 3GB Dual-X Video Card ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill Galaxy-01 ATX Mid Tower Case ($31.49 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($45.61 @ Amazon)
Total: $518.05
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-02 12:50 EST-0500

Definitely the strongest gaming build in the thread . If the budget stretches to $520 then this has to be the contender

 

[NEri]

Thank you TopLuca for all the help. I'm going with the last build you posted. Hopefully these will be my final questions before I go and buy it. I also have a little more money to spend, so I can go over the budget a bit. The price on the build is $491 for me, but when you posted it, it showed $518. Maybe some of the parts went on sale.

I heard recording and editing videos is CPU intensive. I don't do commentaries on my videos, just record games and do some editing. Since doing those can put some stress on my CPU, will it get too hot if I use a stock cooler that comes with the AMD processor? I looked around and found a lot of people praising the Cooler Master 212 EVO. I'm nervous about buying and applying thermal paste, so I'll try to skip them for now and look for CPU coolers instead.

I also have a question about the 500W EVGA PSU. Would 500W be more than enough? Would getting the 600W version be kind of a waste? I heard some say that extra headroom would help relieve some strain when the PSU is under heavy load, and as a result, the fans would spin slower and reduce the noise it makes. If the 500W does the same, I would get that one.

Hopefully I can buy the parts tomorrow. Thanks for all the help.

 

[TopLuca]

Thank you TopLuca for all the help. I'm going with the last build you posted. Hopefully these will be my final questions before I go and buy it. I also have a little more money to spend, so I can go over the budget a bit. The price on the build is $491 for me, but when you posted it, it showed $518. Maybe some of the parts went on sale.

I heard recording and editing videos is CPU intensive. I don't do commentaries on my videos, just record games and do some editing. Since doing those can put some stress on my CPU, will it get too hot if I use a stock cooler that comes with the AMD processor? I looked around and found a lot of people praising the Cooler Master 212 EVO. I'm nervous about buying and applying thermal paste, so I'll try to skip them for now and look for CPU coolers instead.

I also have a question about the 500W EVGA PSU. Would 500W be more than enough? Would getting the 600W version be kind of a waste? I heard some say that extra headroom would help relieve some strain when the PSU is under heavy load, and as a result, the fans would spin slower and reduce the noise it makes. If the 500W does the same, I would get that one.

Hopefully I can buy the parts tomorrow. Thanks for all the help.

You're always welcome , The price is definitely on sale that's why it went down.

Look applying the CPU cooler and heatsink isn't hard at all , the thermal paste and remover are very easy to apply so you needn't worry .

With the Spare money I'd buy the Cooler master Hyper Evo 212 and EVGA 600B ( just to eliminate your concerns and add a room for some upgrades ) or you can ditch the EVGA 600B and go for a XFX 550W PSU which is better quality with higher wattage that you already have.

Feel Free to ask any questions

Also I'd like to thank Outlander.