Budget build for a friend

[N0od1es]

hey yall, my friend is wanting to do a moderate gaming system for $500 U.S., in the provided link is the build we came up with, he does not need a monitor, keyboard/mouse, mass storage or os, any help is appreciated.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/DJKk3C

 

[GamingMaster]

In my opinion I would highly consider this card
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487091

Also I see you have no hard drive in there. A SSD is great for OS and 60GB should be fine but he needs somewhere to store his games on! IF he isnt gonna be upgrading the computer in the future than 500W should be fine but you should aslo consider a 1000W for future upgrades. Build looks okay to me!

 

[DeathRabit]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($97.39 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($26.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($63.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 60GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($45.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 280 3GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($174.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($44.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $509.19
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-21 11:18 EDT-0400

Or take this same CPU from microcenter * pick up only

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($89.99 @ Micro Center)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($26.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($63.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 60GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($45.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 280 3GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($174.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($44.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $501.79
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-21 11:23 EDT-0400

 

[N0od1es]

In my opinion I would highly consider this card
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487091

Also I see you have no hard drive in there. A SSD is great for OS and 60GB should be fine but he needs somewhere to store his games on! IF he isnt gonna be upgrading the computer in the future than 500W should be fine but you should aslo consider a 1000W for future upgrades. Build looks okay to me!

He has a 2 tb external he is going to use for mass storage, and idk how far he is looking to go for upgrade ability, he doesn't play very demanding games, unfortuantely he can't do the 960 do to his budget being so low

 

[artemiskhros]

Wasting money on the aftermarket CPU cooler, Case and Power Supply.
Also 60GB is NOT enough space. I would recommend no less than 120GB.

Here is what I came up with;
The case comes with a 500W power supply, which should be more than enough.
Its a little over the price point - I would try to find a z87 or z97 refurb to get the price lower.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/sbpBRB

 

[N0od1es]

I appreciate the help everyone, the next time i speak to my friend I will discuss the builds with him and see if he is still wanting to build the computer. Thank You.

 

[EpicStarman]

Alright. So this is what I think looks good for the price-point stated. It does go about 15 dollars over budget, however I assure you it is 15 dollars well spent!

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($164.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: MSI 970 GAMING ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($98.88 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Superclocked Video Card ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($25.00 @ Newegg)
Total: $513.74
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-21 11:23 EDT-0400

Now I'll tell you why I picked these parts.
CPU: The AMD cpu I picked is relatively inexpensive for a CPU and provides some great performance in game. It has eight cores and comes stock clocked at 4.0 Ghz.
Motherboard: MSI is a great brand especially in motherboards and this one will provide the opportunity in the future to overclock if he is so inclined.
RAM: I picked eight gigs of G-Skill RAM because I run with eight gigs...and most games these days won't need too much more than that.
Case: The HAF 912. What can I say about it. It has great airflow, so while it may not be the quietest case it is very efficient, and efficiency is key.
PSU: Corsair Power supplies are great. In fact I have one in my machine right now! It is reliable as all heck too.

I didn't include an SSD in this build because at this price-point, it would just make it over budget.
Let me know what you think!

 

[EpicStarman]

Alright. So this is what I think looks good for the price-point stated. It does go about 15 dollars over budget, however I assure you it is 15 dollars well spent!

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($164.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: MSI 970 GAMING ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($98.88 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Superclocked Video Card ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($25.00 @ Newegg)
Total: $513.74
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-21 11:23 EDT-0400

Now I'll tell you why I picked these parts.
CPU: The AMD cpu I picked is relatively inexpensive for a CPU and provides some great performance in game. It has eight cores and comes stock clocked at 4.0 Ghz.
Motherboard: MSI is a great brand especially in motherboards and this one will provide the opportunity in the future to overclock if he is so inclined.
RAM: I picked eight gigs of G-Skill RAM because I run with eight gigs...and most games these days won't need too much more than that.
Case: The HAF 912. What can I say about it. It has great airflow, so while it may not be the quietest case it is very efficient, and efficiency is key.
PSU: Corsair Power supplies are great. In fact I have one in my machine right now! It is reliable as all heck too.

I didn't include an SSD in this build because at this price-point, it would just make it over budget.
Let me know what you think!

 

[Iamsoda]

Alright. So this is what I think looks good for the price-point stated. It does go about 15 dollars over budget, however I assure you it is 15 dollars well spent!

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($164.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: MSI 970 GAMING ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($98.88 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Superclocked Video Card ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($25.00 @ Newegg)
Total: $513.74
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-21 11:23 EDT-0400

Now I'll tell you why I picked these parts.
CPU: The AMD cpu I picked is relatively inexpensive for a CPU and provides some great performance in game. It has eight cores and comes stock clocked at 4.0 Ghz.
Motherboard: MSI is a great brand especially in motherboards and this one will provide the opportunity in the future to overclock if he is so inclined.
RAM: I picked eight gigs of G-Skill RAM because I run with eight gigs...and most games these days won't need too much more than that.
Case: The HAF 912. What can I say about it. It has great airflow, so while it may not be the quietest case it is very efficient, and efficiency is key.
PSU: Corsair Power supplies are great. In fact I have one in my machine right now! It is reliable as all heck too.

I didn't include an SSD in this build because at this price-point, it would just make it over budget.
Let me know what you think!

I would ease off the CPU budget, because the GPU makes up most of the frames in a lot of games. I would rather drop out and get a better GPU and pair that with an i3 4160. That will give him the ability to upgrade and still have enough dual core 4 thread performance for now. The GTX 750 TI is a great GPU, but I wouldn't recommend it for scratch builds as it is running out of life. I do recommend for that looking to add some GPU to almost an prebuilt or older system.

 

[Iamsoda]

Alright. So this is what I think looks good for the price-point stated. It does go about 15 dollars over budget, however I assure you it is 15 dollars well spent!

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($164.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: MSI 970 GAMING ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($98.88 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Superclocked Video Card ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($25.00 @ Newegg)
Total: $513.74
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-21 11:23 EDT-0400

Now I'll tell you why I picked these parts.
CPU: The AMD cpu I picked is relatively inexpensive for a CPU and provides some great performance in game. It has eight cores and comes stock clocked at 4.0 Ghz.
Motherboard: MSI is a great brand especially in motherboards and this one will provide the opportunity in the future to overclock if he is so inclined.
RAM: I picked eight gigs of G-Skill RAM because I run with eight gigs...and most games these days won't need too much more than that.
Case: The HAF 912. What can I say about it. It has great airflow, so while it may not be the quietest case it is very efficient, and efficiency is key.
PSU: Corsair Power supplies are great. In fact I have one in my machine right now! It is reliable as all heck too.

I didn't include an SSD in this build because at this price-point, it would just make it over budget.
Let me know what you think!

And reviewers will tend to differ how reliable Corsair PSUs are. They are ok, but not great.

 

[EpicStarman]

Alright. So this is what I think looks good for the price-point stated. It does go about 15 dollars over budget, however I assure you it is 15 dollars well spent!

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($164.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: MSI 970 GAMING ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($98.88 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Superclocked Video Card ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($25.00 @ Newegg)
Total: $513.74
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-21 11:23 EDT-0400

Now I'll tell you why I picked these parts.
CPU: The AMD cpu I picked is relatively inexpensive for a CPU and provides some great performance in game. It has eight cores and comes stock clocked at 4.0 Ghz.
Motherboard: MSI is a great brand especially in motherboards and this one will provide the opportunity in the future to overclock if he is so inclined.
RAM: I picked eight gigs of G-Skill RAM because I run with eight gigs...and most games these days won't need too much more than that.
Case: The HAF 912. What can I say about it. It has great airflow, so while it may not be the quietest case it is very efficient, and efficiency is key.
PSU: Corsair Power supplies are great. In fact I have one in my machine right now! It is reliable as all heck too.

I didn't include an SSD in this build because at this price-point, it would just make it over budget.
Let me know what you think!

I would ease off the CPU budget, because the GPU makes up most of the frames in a lot of games. I would rather drop out and get a better GPU and pair that with an i3 4160. That will give him the ability to upgrade and still have enough dual core 4 thread performance for now. The GTX 750 TI is a great GPU, but I wouldn't recommend it for scratch builds as it is running out of life. I do recommend for that looking to add some GPU to almost an prebuilt or older system.

From what I can see in PCPartPicker, even if you got the i3 processor, the best GPU while still staying in budget will still be a 750 TI, maybe a high end one if you're lucky.

 

[Iamsoda]

Alright. So this is what I think looks good for the price-point stated. It does go about 15 dollars over budget, however I assure you it is 15 dollars well spent!

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($164.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: MSI 970 GAMING ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($98.88 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Superclocked Video Card ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($25.00 @ Newegg)
Total: $513.74
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-21 11:23 EDT-0400

Now I'll tell you why I picked these parts.
CPU: The AMD cpu I picked is relatively inexpensive for a CPU and provides some great performance in game. It has eight cores and comes stock clocked at 4.0 Ghz.
Motherboard: MSI is a great brand especially in motherboards and this one will provide the opportunity in the future to overclock if he is so inclined.
RAM: I picked eight gigs of G-Skill RAM because I run with eight gigs...and most games these days won't need too much more than that.
Case: The HAF 912. What can I say about it. It has great airflow, so while it may not be the quietest case it is very efficient, and efficiency is key.
PSU: Corsair Power supplies are great. In fact I have one in my machine right now! It is reliable as all heck too.

I didn't include an SSD in this build because at this price-point, it would just make it over budget.
Let me know what you think!

I would ease off the CPU budget, because the GPU makes up most of the frames in a lot of games. I would rather drop out and get a better GPU and pair that with an i3 4160. That will give him the ability to upgrade and still have enough dual core 4 thread performance for now. The GTX 750 TI is a great GPU, but I wouldn't recommend it for scratch builds as it is running out of life. I do recommend for that looking to add some GPU to almost an prebuilt or older system.

From what I can see in PCPartPicker, even if you got the i3 processor, the best GPU while still staying in budget will still be a 750 TI, maybe a high end one if you're lucky.

I still recommend the i3 4160 simply so that he has an upgrade path beyond a dead chipset.

 

[EpicStarman]

I don't think a chipset that gives the same if not better performance than some Intel processor that was just released can be considered "dead".

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Pretty clear with the FX 8350.

 

[Iamsoda]

Show me link to where any AMD flagship beats any Intel flagship CPU?

 

[DeathRabit]

I adjusted bulid to curent Prices added better mobo removed CPU cooler * for start box cooler will be ok later buy 212 EVO or used Scyte Mugen for ebay and you can OC up to 4,5Ghz

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($89.99 @ Micro Center)
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Apotop 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($43.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 60GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($45.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 2GB SuperSC ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($189.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($44.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $494.90
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-24 03:14 EDT-0400

If you drop SSD

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($134.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Apotop 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($43.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 2GB SuperSC ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($189.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($44.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $493.95
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-24 03:19 EDT-0400

If you buy CPU in Micro Center

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($119.99 @ Micro Center)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($26.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Apotop 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($43.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 2GB SuperSC ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($189.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($44.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $505.94
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-24 03:22 EDT-0400