Budget build $500-600 too expensive.

[joojimbo]

I am building a gaming PC on pcpartpicker.com and it's over my budget ($500-600). Could anyone help?

Intel Core i5-3350P 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor $169.99 $6.99 $176.98 SuperBiiz

ASRock Z77 Pro3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard $89.99

G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory $79.99

Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive $81.99

Gigabyte GeForce GTX 650 2GB Video Card $129.99

Antec One ATX Mid Tower Case $49.99

Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply $49.99

LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer $20.99

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) $94.98

Acer G196HQLb 60Hz 18.5" Monitor $85.72

It comes out to $815. What should I do? www.pcpartpicker.com

 

[geofelt]

A rule of thumb is to budget 2x the cpu cost for the graphics card.
While the 3350P is a fine cpu, a X4-750K and a suitable motherboard might be a better balance.

Yes, you can save a bit here and there, but not enough to make the budget.
Perhaps it would be best to save up a bit more.

Or... start with a i3-4130 @125 and a inexpensive lga1150 motherboard around $50.
Defer on the graphics card until you have saved enough for a better discrete card. GTX650 is not exactly a high end card. You can play strategy games like civ reasonably well on integrated graphics.

 

[Thanatognomonic]

With some of the great rebates and deals, I managed to build you this up.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor ($116.97 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H81M-HDS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($49.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($30.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital WD Blue 750GB 2.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.48 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 650 1GB Video Card ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($25.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($84.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $523.37
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-23 19:50 EST-0500)

Adding a monitor into this seemed to push it over your $600, so I didn't add one in.
You could use an old monitor/TV for the time-being and buy a newer one when you have the additional money for one.

 

[photonboy]

I'll put a build together as well.

I just wanted to add that you should get WINDOWS 8 64-bit, not Windows 7.

You can easily avoid the new interface with Start8 and there are SEVERAL reasons why you should get Windows 8 instead.

With a MONITOR and Windows that leaves about $400 for a PC so I'll do my best. If possible I'll fit in a GTX750Ti.

 

[Thanatognomonic]

I'll put a build together as well.

I just wanted to add that you should get WINDOWS 8 64-bit, not Windows 7.

You can easily avoid the new interface with Start8 and there are SEVERAL reasons why you should get Windows 8 instead.

With a MONITOR and Windows that leaves about $400 for a PC so I'll do my best. If possible I'll fit in a GTX750Ti.

I was going to go for a 750ti, but then I saw the 650 at $99 and though that was practically a steal.
Also, I've never heard of start8 and if you don't mind me asking, what're the reasons for getting windows 8? I've always personally preferred windows 7.

 

[Thanatognomonic]

Why not build an AMD? The price/performance ratio is a lot better than intel. Sure intel has better performance but it comes at a premium. If you were going for a $1000 build id say intel is fine but I would consider AMD for your budget. Just my 2 cents.

If you are set on building intel, I would go with a slightly cheaper motherboard and look for a processor that is cheaper as well. I would also consider only 4gb of ram to start. It is plenty to get by until you can get a second stick or whatever.

I was thinking of making an AMD build, but with the 4130 it just blows most things AMD out of the water, especially with its aggressive price-point and overall smashing performance..

To answer your improvements, the cheapest motherboard for the 1150 socket is $6 cheaper and it looks fairly poor aesthetically, but that could be done if you aren't much of an aesthetic freak like me.
You could get a cheaper processor, but the i3 4130 is pretty much the best bang for your buck when it comes to gaming and it also beats the FX-6300 whilst it's in a similar price-point, so that's a plus.
Really, if he was to go for an AMD build, the only way he'd see a lower price-point would be to use a kaveri (probably spelled that wrong) APU, but then he'd have to spend more on the RAM to get the best performance.

 

[photonboy]

$613 build:http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2YUoJ

Wow, it's really painful trying to get everything to fit into $600!

Here's a few comments:
1) 2x4GB would be much better. Try to add an IDENTICAL stick later (I put in a stick with good reviews).

2) Motherboard - did my best there for the budget

3) CPU - tough choice there. Pros and cons versus Intel dual-core. Upcoming games will be more capable of using the FOUR cores of the AMD CPU so I think the advantage will shift to it. I also had to save some money to put towards other components.

4) Graphics card - chose the AMD HD7750 so that the PC would support MANTLE. Maybe not a big deal today, but it might make a big difference in a few upcoming games (you can read about Frostbite games using Mantle in the future).

5) Case - like the case.

6) Windows 8 64-bit-> again, I strongly recommend this OS, plus Start8 from Stardock ($5).

7) Monitor - this was the CHEAPEST monitor that had half decent reviews. I could have spent $20 less but all the reviews were really, really bad on those monitors.

SUMMARY:
I had to make a lot of touch decisions to get what I though was the best value at just over $600. Even trying to save $20 was hard.

I could also have made something quite a bit better with more money. Ideally, I would have liked the following at this rough budget level:
- FX-6300 CPU (and compatible AM3+ quality motherboard)
- 2x4GB DDR3 1600MHz
- GTX750Ti 2GB graphics card

That unfortunately would cost almost $800.

 

[AshyCFC]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($117.12 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($49.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($30.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital RE3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.94 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Thermaltake VL80001W2Z ATX Mid Tower Case ($21.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($25.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($84.98 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: AOC E2260SWDN 60Hz 21.5" Monitor ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $644.97
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-23 20:57 EST-0500)

My suggestion of PC + Monitor for $645

You can get a cheaper GPU and then come in budget if this is too much.