Built a Budget PC.....Good or Bad?

[Rockstar525]

I put together a build for my friend. His price was anywhere from 400$-450$ and possibly 500$. I think he should be able to run most games at 1080p 40-60fps just depending on the game and settings. He is not an extreme gamer just something to dink around on and average gaming.

Heres the build....

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 860K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard

Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive

Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 270X 2GB HAWK Video Card

Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case

Power Supply: Rosewill Capstone 550W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply

 

[Rhezner]

yeah that is pretty good. You probably should have gone with 2 sticks of memory rather than 1 and if the r9 270x was more than 135$ then that is too much as you can get an r9 280 for 150$

is this already built?

 

[Xemko]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4160 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor ($108.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-E34 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($49.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($48.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($46.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 280 3GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Rosewill Capstone 550W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $494.79
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-05 13:43 EDT-0400

This one will be much better gaming performer, also provide you possible upgrade to i5.

 

[Rhezner]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4160 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor ($108.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-E34 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($49.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($48.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($46.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 280 3GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Rosewill Capstone 550W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $494.79
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-05 13:43 EDT-0400
This one will much better gaming performer.

i would get this if you haven't already built it. The only thing i would change is the 1866mhz ram to 1600 as this board runs 1600 max. It will still work but will lower the 1866mhz ram to 1600mhz.

 

[CTurbo]

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 860K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard

Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive

Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 270X 2GB HAWK Video Card

Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case

Power Supply: Rosewill Capstone 550W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply

Just swap the 270x for the 280 that's in Xemko's build and get a 2x4GB RAM kit you're good to go.

 

[Rockstar525]

yeah that is pretty good. You probably should have gone with 2 sticks of memory rather than 1 and if the r9 270x was more than 135$ then that is too much as you can get an r9 280 for 150$

is this already built?

No its not built yet.

 

[Xemko]

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gskill-memory-f312800cl9d8gbxl - 48.99.
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gskill-memory-f314900cl9d8gbxl - 48.99.
Same price, that's why i picked 1866.

 

[Rockstar525]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4160 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor ($108.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-E34 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($49.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($48.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($46.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 280 3GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Rosewill Capstone 550W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $494.79
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-05 13:43 EDT-0400
This one will much better gaming performer.

i would get this if you haven't already built it. The only thing i would change is the 1866mhz ram to 1600 as this board runs 1600 max. It will still work but will lower the 1866mhz ram to 1600mhz.

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 860K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard

Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive

Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 270X 2GB HAWK Video Card

Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case

Power Supply: Rosewill Capstone 550W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply

Just swap the 270x for the 280 that's in Xemko's build and get a 2x4GB RAM kit you're good to go.

Would the Intel build overall perform better?

 

[Rhezner]

Yes intel will definitely perform better in gaming and most other tasks. It will perform better almost everywhere than the athlon will and it will have a better upgrade path.

 

[CTurbo]

The i3 is a little better than the 860k.

I only recommend parts that I would actually use myself and I would not use a H81 motherboard. The Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H is WAY better for the same price which is why I would choose the 860k build instead. Nor for roughly $15-20, you could get a H97 motherboard with the i3 then I would go that route.

The i3 + H97 wins mainly due to the upgrade path.

The actual performance difference between the i3 and 860k is not that big.

 

[Xemko]

Intel i3 will perform better, for sure.

 

[Rockstar525]

The i3 is a little better than the 860k.

I only recommend parts that I would actually use myself and I would not use a H81 motherboard. The Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H is WAY better for the same price which is why I would choose the 860k build instead. Nor for roughly $15-20, you could get a H97 motherboard with the i3 then I would go that route.

The i3 + H97 wins mainly due to the upgrade path.

The actual performance difference between the i3 and 860k is not that big.

So in that case for a first time budget pc would going with the 860k be fine?

 

[CTurbo]

Yes either option would be fine for your budget and you would be happy with either. The 860k should have a $30ish price advantage.

 

[Rockstar525]

Yes either option would be fine for your budget and you would be happy with either. The 860k should have a $30ish price advantage.

Thanks for the help!

 

[Rockstar525]

Yes either option would be fine for your budget and you would be happy with either. The 860k should have a $30ish price advantage.

Could I use the 860k and 280 together, or should I get a stronger cpu?

 

[CTurbo]

The 860k and 280 will work fine together

 

[Rockstar525]

The 860k and 280 will work fine together

Alright just wanted to double check.