A good gaming computer for 300$

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ImHungreyNZ

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Dec 2, 2015
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I need to know what kind of parts for a 300$ budget would look like? Im building a new PC, you can build the PC on PartPicker if you like. Thanks ahead!
 
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no console vs pc wars, for 350$ you can run games 60 fps sometimes 30 with a mix of low-high settings it includes an os and input device, if you realy are so arrogant that you need to disagree with facts then give me a build for 350$ with an os mouse and keyboard that can run bf4 medium settings 60fps 1080p pc CANNOT beat console hardware wise at that low of a price 😛
 
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but what about the paid internet? the more expensive games, the mods, the larger amount of games? ect ect
 
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none of that is required, pc do cost less mods are in fallout 4 on xbox and i think low key modding will happen on xbox
 
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i was talking price and performance and to make up for mods you could argue more AAA exclusives like halo cod (basically an exculsive considering they cant make a good port to pc and give 0 craps), for 350$ you cannot get a pc that can run low-high 60 fps 1080p(some games on xbone are 900p)

honestly i think he should save up for a good gaming pc because pc gaming in my opinion is more worth it and alot more fun and i dont like the console exclusives anyways i think that at a 350$ price point though console crushes pc in performance
 
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most modders are pro pc and will not make mods for the console, pc will still get the vast majority of the mods. and i know that internet isn't required, but if you want to play online it is. and (almost) everyone has a pc, for school or for email or something else, if you get a console you would still kinda need a pc, if you get a pc you already have a pc.
 
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they get ported over they are not created for console seperatly , and why are you even mentioning this when i am talking about hardware, stop being biased against console trying to say everything possible bad abut it, anyways a 350$ pc would need at least 100$ for a OS mouse and keyboard so really you would only have 250$ for a pc which would be to weak to run games on even low settings 60 fps and your saying "oh but we have mods" that has nothing to do with what i said and your being a fanboy of pc, accept that you cant beat console at that price range unless you really want to go hunting and know how to build a PC yourself with used parts. I even said that the guy asking the question and you immaturely try to start an argument, grow up.
 
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what a joke
1. an os can be obtained free (linux, from another pc, if you are a student i believe you can get win10 education something something for free, don't quote me on that, and a few other ways, or you can get a windows key for way less than $100. mouse and keyboard, well who doesn't have that laying around, and if not, you can get something not that bad for $20.
2. as i already mentioned before, almost everyone owns a pc, so if you buy a console you would still need a pc. (you can do so much more with a pc)
3. i know they get ported and not created for console separately, but that doesn't mean that they will get ported at all.
4. haven't i proven already that you can beat a console for the same amount of money...
5. those issues consoles sometimes have with framerate, with a pc you can dive in the settings and turn them down to get the magic 60, you cannot do that with a console.
6. consoles almost never run at 60 fps, so you cannot make that argument
7. consoles don't run games at high setting either, so you cannot make that argument.
8. consoles are more expensive in the long run (more expensive games, paid internet)
9. you can upgrade your pc
10. a mouse and keyboard offer much more precision.

you talked about bf4, the multiplayer requires internet you know, so for how many years of paid internet may i add to the price of the pc? o and i read something about AAA titles and console exclusives, guess which platform has the most exclusives?(and i mean good games)

still not convinced?
 
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Ok
1 wtf even are u saying, you can't expect someone to have an os mouse and keyboard lying around example my friend who recently got a pc didn't have an os keyboard and mouse he had to buy that, my girlfriend buying a pc soon has to get an os mouse and keyboard too and even when u do pirate or get it through other ways that take extra work where as with a console you are directly buying the os and system
2. That is very true PC Is amazing that's why I have one and it is SIGNIFICANTLY Better than console, I never said console was better, Im saying at the 350$ price point console is better, if someone had 350$ and said should I buy a console or pc I would tell them save more and get a PC.
3 mods have nothing to do with this stop bringing them up, your saying PC has mods and that's true, but a 350$ pc even without a mouse os and keyboard probably couldn't run many mods.
4 no you haven't lol when did u prove that? U didn't for a higher price yes PC destroys console in every aspect possible
5 with the hardware your showing in your "console killing" builds the console would perform better even if u lower pc settings, but when u do lower the PC's settings it will look like crap, and the most on console u need to be playable is 30 fps and it normally never drops that low where as on oc 30 fps affects gameplay and don't say "u can use a controller on oc too" it is crappily optimized for some games and it still is affected by low framerates
6. Yes that is true it drops frequently in bf4 and other games multiplayer but the oc would have worst performance but some games do run 1080p and never drop below 60 like halo5 it never drops below 59... Ever from what I've seen and some other games are like that, the console isn't good because its hardware its good at that price range because of optimization
7 they do not and I never said they do? I said low-high they run a mix of low-high settings
8.games are not massively more expensive and the PSN/ XBL is only 60$ a year m, that's not that much
9 u don't have to upgrade your console lol it runs new games and if u have to upgrade that brings the price over 350$
10 That is preference but yes it does I love mouse and keyboard for FPS games but controller can be better than mouse and keyboard SOMETIMES

yes I know it does still it is a better deal for the money and of course pc has more exclusives that's a stupid argument but console has its exclusives (i don't like any of them) but they sell amazingly well so they can't be too bad (except for destiny....wtf bungie what was that)

don't resspond with more arguments its pointless make a build for 350$ including mouse keyboard and OS it doesn't even have to be exactly 350$ just because "console cost monthly it can be a little over" stop arguing I am literally saying pc is better but a 350$ pc with is not better lol sorry, if it was wouldn't console be dead if there was a real "console killer" build and be glad there is a console, u don't want all the console fan boys 12 year olds who all did "stuff; with ur mom on pc trust me and all the scrubs, so many scrubs on console
 
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Only problem with pc part picker is that, that builds price will probably change, my girlfriend was going to get a build of of this site because it said 450$ but really the purchase price was like 550$ two days after the build was posted, but even then a console fan out perform that pc, consoles use 6 cores for EVERY game their is despite how many cores the oc version uses, my point was that at that price point even with the internet the Xbox has a os input device and the console itself that outperforms that pc its near pointless to spend that small amount for a PC may as well get a console if the person can't save up any more no matter what, otherwise the person should save up at least 550$ and get a PC that will massively outperform the console and be more fun overall. Let's please stop arguing about this can u agree with that?
 
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do you even know how weak the cores in consoles are?
you are right about the pcpartpicker thing though
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/tCtjdC
it is better and for about the same price with more mail in rebates, all from newegg
even without the redebates it is a damn good value.
 
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Personally, this would be my approach. Try starting with a bare minimum set-up and work in upgrades as time moves on.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($69.99 @ B&H)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($69.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($36.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.98 @ OutletPC)
Case: Thermaltake Commander MS/I Snow Edition (White/Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: Antec Basiq 430W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($37.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $289.82
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-12-05 17:35 EST-0500

Work off the iGPU until you can afford to grab a GTX 950/960. After that upgrade to either an i3-4170/i5-4590/Xeon 1231 V3. After that a solid state drive to reload the operating system onto would be a nice touch. Lots of little options.

Uses roughly your full budget after tax. I'd rather spend it all on a platform that has a clear upgrade path NOW, rather than dead end myself with something that all around isn't up to snuff.
 
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That wouldn't outperform it and anyways that is way over the price and as said before pc part picker, that build is really 470$ those deals can be over in a day as said before because the console uses 6 cores and is going to be able to use 7 soon it is more powerful than that pc plus the video card is better in consoles. Console hardware is weak but optimized specially for new games
 
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well ok, that's 2 years of internet.
and no, the 270 has the same amount of stream processors as the 270 (http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/171375-reverse-engineered-ps4-apu-reveals-the-consoles-real-cpu-and-gpu-specs) and the 270 has better compute performance (2.37tflops vs 1.84tflops)
and those jaguar cores are very very weak, lower ipc and sub 2ghz compared to the 860k, double the cores, half the clockspeed, do the math yourself. and then add the lower ipc of the jaguar cores and tada. (that's with all 8 cores, not 7 which they can use for games, since a pc has background programs as well)
you are kinda right about the optimization, they get optimized for consoles yes, but the recent pc releases were steaming piles of post digestive system food.
 
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upgrading costs more than buying what you want/need in the first place right away, and you cannot game on the igpu (technically you can do some games) and you cannot run a lot of games with only 2 cores.
and upgrade path? hah, you know that there is nothing new coming out for the 1150 platform right?
and a i3 is already a bit over $100, the cheapest 950 is around $150. that's already $250...
my build will almost perform the same as yours AFTER the upgrades, and mine is 470 without rebates and with a windows copy.
 
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I love when people try to dissect my suggestions. Here's the skinny on yours.

1.) Four weak cores processor on a terrible mobo with little to no overclocking potential, not that you've included an aftermarket cooler to begin with.

2.) 250GB of mechanical space. With the size of some games these days being 40-60GB and even more with added content, that won't stretch far at all after OS and basic user files are accounted for. Not to mention minor things like seagate drives having a clear three times greater failure rate than WD with far less power on hours. Much higher probability of reallocated sector counts.

3.) Nice card fit into the budget. Too bad you're throwing money into a version of the 270 that has an aftermarket cooler more or less equivalent to the stock cooler, which on Curacao means lots of heat. Not to mention you chose a brand that literally, LITERALLY has one person handling RMA/Customer Support. And his track record for being reasonable is slim at best.

4.) 4GB of system memory won't stretch far at all. Enough said.

5.) Not to mention you've somehow picked a case with fewer options than even I managed to select. That's saying something!

Also, an upgrade path means that you're currently not at a dead end on the socket you're using. Although 1150 is a dead end in terms of new release, at the Pentium level he has many options to choose from in terms of upgrades in the future. Far far more than what he gets with your proposed build. If he wanted a stronger processor, he'd need a new board as well. Everything he'd do in terms of upgrading would be bottlenecked by his memory. He'd run out of space quickly and would need a replacement/additional drive space.

Providing the OP with a semi decent platform to begin with, and clear upgrade suggestions over time would bring him the best gaming experience overall. $300 is not enough to make it happen now.
 
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1. 4 cores, yes they are weaker, but by all means not weak. and do you have prove that it is terrible mobo?
2. 250gb yes, i had to fit it in the budget.
3. still a lot better than the igpu of that pentium.
4. again, budget.
5. i picked a cheap case that was available on newegg.
6. the op has a budget, in how many years do you expect him to upgrade?
7. i also made sure all were on newegg, if you take a closer look you will see that all parts are from newegg. this drove the price up a little.
8. a semi decent system doesn't have a dual core.
9. i didn't include an aftermarked cooler, did you? no?
10. i included an os and a keyboard and mouse, and it is only $100 more, which is the price of windows.
 
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@knarf In the build you made the GPU is slightly better than the console but that CPU is pretty weak its almost equivalent to the fx 4130 and I know from experience that a gtx 760 with a fx 4130 gets outperformed by my Xbox one at 900p resolution Your builds also has half as much ram as a console and has a base purchase price of more, which brings me to my main point, can a 350$ pc build including the same things an Xbox (os and input device)includes REGARDLESS OF GAMES SUBSCRIPTIONS ETC outperform a console answer that question I don't want to hear any more pathetic arguments. I am not saying "oh console is better than pc" pc is better than console, if someone only has 350$ they should save and get a PC in my opinion. but at that price point console Wins performance wise
 
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the 860k is slightly better, but by no means a strong cpu, but i never said that. that combo outperforms an xbone, which game(s)?
and you are right, a pc of 350 all included will not outperform a console, but only a few spend that much on a console, the majority has a subscription. you are saying you don't need that, well you don't need to pay for windows either.
i also agree that he should save up and get at least 400-500.
and yes, i am a bit anti console, but that is because of developers,all attention goes to making a console version, giving the pc version no attention, and than you end up with badman arkam knight, and noone wants that i assume.

ps. a console has shared ram, so vram and ram, a pc has dedicated vram. just saying
 
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1.) I excluded an aftermarket cooler as it isn't required to overclock a G3258, whereas to get any form of overclock beyond stock voltage with the Athlon you'll need something better than the stock cooler. Again not that you'll get much of an overclock with that motherboard either. Read some reviews on it, or at least take a look at even newegg's reviews on it. Almost 2016 I would saddle myself with an FM2 board.

2.) Fitting it in the budget. That's the whole angle here. I fit a wiser platform into his actual budget, while keeping taxes in mind. The pentium is limiting, but in time the OP can decide for himself if he needs more processing power, and choose one of several upgrade options.

3.) Where did the OP state that he needed his parts list consolidated to Newegg? Or that he required a keyboard and mouse in his proposed budget?

4.) Additionally the power supply you selected for your original build was questionable at best. I see you've revised your list to include a CX series unit instead. Even worse.

The OP has a budget for NOW. I've given him the best option within budget to give him longevity and ease of access in the future when he can allocate more funds.
 
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the fact that he has a limited budget now doesn't give me a signal that he will have more money in a year that he wants to spend on his pc.
and if you read a bit of the discussion you'll see why i chose to pick all parts from one webshop, the same goes for os, keyboard and mouse. i know that the psu isn't really that good, but what you said, limited budget. o and yes i've read the reviews on newegg, but on amazon there are a lot less negative reviews, and who is more motivated to write a review, someone that received it and it worked like it should, or someone who had it die on him or doa.
the best for his money now? it doesn't even include a dedicated gpu.
 
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what about this then?
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD A10-7850K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor ($122.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus A88XM-A Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($54.88 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.98 @ OutletPC)
Case: Thermaltake VL80001W2Z ATX Mid Tower Case ($22.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 300W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($35.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $316.72
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-12-07 10:48 EST-0500
 
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