Can I Play Games on Ultra?

[iDewMagic]

Hello... I'm slowly getting into the pc gaming and would like to hear from everyone if this build is a good build or not:

Processor: AMD FX-8350 CPU (8x 4.00GHz/8MB L3 Cache

Motherboard: ASUS M5A97 R2.0 -- AMD 970 w/ 2x PCIe x16, 2x USB 3.0, 6x USB 2.0

Memory: 8 GB [4 GB x2] DDR3-1600 Memory Module

Video Card: AMD Radeon R9 270 - 2GB or the AMD Radeon R9 270X 2GB

PSU: 500 Watt - Corsair CX500 V2 - 80 PLUS Bronze

 

[Darkbreeze]

As a budget entry level system it's not terrible but there are a few things I'd change.

Do you have a specific budget or just basically "as cheap as possible"?

Do you have ANY plans to overclock now OR later?

You're going to find that card is not going to allow you to game with very exciting settings but that all depends on what titles you plan to play and what kind of settings you want to expect. For basic gaming at medium to low settings on a single 760 or 1080 monitor it's probably ok for most titles.

 

[iDewMagic]

As a budget entry level system it's not terrible but there are a few things I'd change.

Do you have a specific budget or just basically "as cheap as possible"?

Do you have ANY plans to overclock now OR later?

You're going to find that card is not going to allow you to game with very exciting settings but that all depends on what titles you plan to play and what kind of settings you want to expect. For basic gaming at medium to low settings on a single 760 or 1080 monitor it's probably ok for most titles.

I'm looking for something cheap atm or the most is $1000, but it should still be up gradable in the future. I also am planning to overclock as well. Anything you would recommend me to change or add??

 

[Darkbreeze]

Yep. Be back shortly with a revised build.

I'll make a couple of tweaks including adding a CPU cooler which you left off.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Do you already have an SSD or HDD?

Case?

Operating system?

I don't see that either.

 

[ZeusGamer]

That PSU is too small for the CPU and the GPU, no?

I'd be safer with a 650W or at least 750.

 

[iDewMagic]

Do you already have an SSD or HDD?

Case?

Operating system?

I don't see that either.

I'm still deciding between the AZZA Armour Gaming Case or Enermax ECA3290A-G COENUS Mid Twr ATX Computer Gaming Case.

I planning on also getting Windows 7 home.

As you can probably tell...I'm a noob and thanks for helping. =)

 

[iDewMagic]

That PSU is too small for the CPU and the GPU, no?

I'd be safer with a 650W or at least 750.

Ah ok thanks alot =)

 

[Darkbreeze]

This will get you to ultra on most titles depending on number of displays and resolution, the 270x would not. Feel free, obviously, it's your build, to exclude anything you don't need or want and you can drop down to a lower tiered GPU just keep in mind that gaming is mainly GPU dependent and the lower you go the more likely you are to lose capability. You could however drop to a lesser card to save a few bucks (Be aware that with other cards you may need a higher capability PSU, this GPU is extremely PSU friendly.) but may also lose some performance depending of course on the card you choose.

If you want ultra on modern titles though, no way that's happening with the R9 270x.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($169.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U14S 55.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($79.79 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($73.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($53.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card ($329.98 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX TS 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($62.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1000.66
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-16 01:44 EDT-0400

 

[ZeusGamer]

That PSU is too small for the CPU and the GPU, no?

I'd be safer with a 650W or at least 750.

Ah ok thanks alot =)

Also, don't cheap out on your PSU, that's one of the major cause of the most problems in PC gaming.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Do you already have an SSD or HDD?

Case?

Operating system?

I don't see that either.

I'm still deciding between the AZZA Armour Gaming Case or Enermax ECA3290A-G COENUS Mid Twr ATX Computer Gaming Case.

I planning on also getting Windows 7 home.

As you can probably tell...I'm a noob and thanks for helping. =)

I'd stay with Windows 8.1 for the improved hardware and driver support. If you don't like the Metro user interface in 8 and 8.1 you can always use Classic shell which is a free utility that returns the feel and look of windows 7 or xp to the OS.

 

[Darkbreeze]

That PSU is too small for the CPU and the GPU, no?

I'd be safer with a 650W or at least 750.

Actually, no, even if he did go with the R9 270 he wouldn't need anything larger than a 550w, if that, so long as it was a good quality Tier 1 or 2 PSU.

 

[iDewMagic]

This will get you to ultra on most titles depending on number of displays and resolution, the 270x would not. Feel free, obviously, it's your build, to exclude anything you don't need or want and you can drop down to a lower tiered GPU just keep in mind that gaming is mainly GPU dependent and the lower you go the more likely you are to lose capability. You could however drop to a lesser card to save a few bucks (Be aware that with other cards you may need a higher capability PSU, this GPU is extremely PSU friendly.) but may also lose some performance depending of course on the card you choose.

If you want ultra on modern titles though, no way that's happening with the R9 270x.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($169.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U14S 55.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($79.79 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($73.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($53.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card ($329.98 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX TS 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($62.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1000.66
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-16 01:44 EDT-0400

This build is better then mine XD... Thanks alot I'll look into it

 

[Darkbreeze]

That will get you pretty darn good bang for the buck. If you want a really decent system, no upgrade needed later, like, for quite a while, and can save a couple hundred extra dollars up, this would even be better, by far.



PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($309.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U14S 55.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Asus MAXIMUS VII HERO ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($203.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($73.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($128.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card ($329.98 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX TS 550W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($68.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1330.89
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-16 02:17 EDT-0400