Building a Mid-Level Gaming Computer

[shazmania]

Hello, I am trying to build a new pc for the upcoming Diablo 3 and to play Mass Effect 3. I do not care to play everything in its highest settings because I know I can't afford it. I am a casual gamer looking for a mid-level rig at said price level, if you can get it cheaper then that's better. If something is a little more I wouldn't mind hitting $650ish to get something that makes a big difference. All in all, I want as much performance I can get out of the $600. Thanks for the help! Let me know about your ideas

I have: Keyboard, Mouse, OS, Monitor, and an M-Audio Speaker system, so don't those.

EDIT: I apologize, I was excited reading what the users on this forum had to say and their knowledge in the subject I posted without looking at the rules.


Approximate Purchase Date: (e.g.: this week (the closer the better))

Budget Range: 600-700

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, Movies, Photoshop, Internet

Parts Not Required: (e.g.: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS) **Include Power Supply Make & Model If Re-using**

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg.com, tigerdirect.com, microcenter.com Anywhere with good deals

Country: U.S

Parts Preferences: No Preference, maybe if we could get in an i5 processor? But that would probably take me out of budget, let me know!
Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe

Monitor Resolution: 1680x1050

 

[shazmania]

Thank you mate, I'ma go with your first build But should I do the 975 or a bull dozer series instead of the 965? The FX 6100 being a budget alternative to the 8120 FX? Or the i3 which is 10 bucks more?

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/102?vs=289
Judging by that the i3 is better, look at the games, I3 out performs the AMD

 

[nekulturny]

Shaz,

The 975 and 965 are identical in terms of design, the only difference is the 975 is clocked higher. You can easily make a 965 perform like a 975 or even a 980 model in about 2 seconds. Bulldozer in my opinion is not worth considering over Intel's choices or Phenom IIs as long as they are still around.

Yes you are correct that the i3 on paper perform better than the Phenom II 965, however, the difference is practically zero in terms of actual gameplay experience. The reason I say the 965 is the better choice is due to the fact that the i3 is only a dual core. You may find this limits you when playing online games and as new games come out. As of today, only 1 or 2 games are capable of utilizing more than 2 cores in a CPU. In the future as new games come out, the dual core may become a limitation.

Based on that information, its really your choice, as its your computer and you're the one that has to be happy with it.

 

[shazmania]

Thank you very much, I will stick with a quad core