Challenge: Build a good gaming computer for under $475

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
C

CaidenG

Reputable
Apr 19, 2015
23
0
4,510
Here is the build I made: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/FFW6FT

I've never built a PC, but I am going to this summer. I was messing around on PCPartPicker.com and made this. I thought it looked pretty good, but I need an expert's approval before buying it. My challenge to you is build a computer that can handle gaming really well and cost around the 450-475 dollar range. It would also really help me out if you could improve my build.

I don't know if I need to buy an aftermarket CPU fan because the tower already has a fan in it. Also, there is no monitor, so a good, cheap monitor for gaming would be nice, but would not be included in the final price of the build.

P.S. I really like the towers with lights and windows. :)
 
Lights and windows cost extra money. You barely have enough for a minimal system as it is. Beggars can't be choosers, and all that. This would be a better build as far as performance and reliability. You also don't need an aftermarket soundcard. Modern motherboards have very good sound built in. You certainly don't want a Raidmax case, or anything made by Raidmax for that matter. Very low quality components.

And the Corsair CX, CS, VS and RM power supplies are really not reliable for use with gaming cards.


This is about as close as I can get using all quality components, unless we drop the graphics card down to one that's not going to give you a very pleasant experience. You also don't need an additional CPU fan. The CPU comes with it's own cooler.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 860K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor ($72.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus A88XM-E Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($68.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston Fury Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($57.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.30 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card ($192.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Thermaltake Versa H25 ATX Mid Tower Case ($37.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Antec 450W ATX Power Supply ($33.98 @ Directron)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($12.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $527.11
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-20 20:02 EDT-0400



 

I have a few questions about your build...

PCPartPicker said "Some AMD A88X chipset motherboards may need a BIOS update prior to using Kaveri CPUs." What does this mean, and is this an issue.

Also, I noticed there is no wireless card, I have no access to ethernet where I am in the house, would I still be able to connect to internet without a card?
 
I'd recommend just getting a 20 dollar USB wireless adapter. They work just as well as a card in most cases, as long as the signal isn't TOO far away.

As far as the board goes. Pretty much any A88X board currently being sold in US, Canada and UK markets should already have the necessary BIOS version for Kaveri.
 
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4430 3.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($175.82 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($40.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill NS Series 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($26.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 320GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($27.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Superclocked Video Card ($145.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Cooler Master TC102 ATX Mid Tower Case w/500W Power Supply ($37.99 @ Micro Center)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($12.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $467.76
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-20 20:47 EDT-0400
 
Or you can do this:


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 860K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor ($72.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus A88XM-E Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($68.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.30 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card ($192.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Thermaltake Versa H25 ATX Mid Tower Case ($37.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Antec 450W ATX Power Supply ($33.98 @ Directron)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($12.99 @ Newegg)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WN781ND 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($14.50 @ Mwave)
Total: $533.61
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-20 20:51 EDT-0400
 


Seriously, that's not even close to the realm of the GTX 960 and the 750 TI can't honestly be considered as part of a build that anybody would ever consider to "handle gaming really well". It's an ok build for somebody, just not somebody looking to game at a moderate to high level. It's actually about half the performance of the 960.
 
This is with better power supply.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4430 3.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($175.82 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($40.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill NS Series 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($26.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 320GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($27.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R7 260X 2GB Core Edition Video Card ($106.10 @ Amazon)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($38.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($12.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $468.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-20 20:56 EDT-0400
 


Have you used the EVGA 750 ti? The FTW w/ACX , which is similar to the Superclocked, runs Far Cry 4 on max with 30 FPS. As long as you aren't a FPS freak and you're fine with 30 FPS at a minimum, then the 750 TI is fine.

I dealt with a AMD Athlon for about 5 years, and I absolutely hate the line. It was way too slow, I'd take a faster processor and a 750ti over a Athlon and a 960 any day.

 
Still it's rather weak for anything above low settings. Maybe medium, at least on any halfway demanding games. Plus even that EVGA PSU isn't a good choice for a gaming card. You don't want to use any of the EVGA B1, W1 or G1 power supplies with gaming cards OR if you're overclocking. If you go with an EVGA unit you want a B2, G2, P2 or V series unit. The others use a different manufacturers and are much lower quality than the Superflower built units.

You can see who builds what for each brand at the following link. Professional reviews and the PSU tier list are a good way to determine what's good and what's not. For the most part I try to stick to units made by Seasonic, Superflower and Delta.


Who's who in power supplies: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/power-supply-psu-brands,3762.html


PSU Tier list (Tier 1 or 2 for gaming cards OR overclocking): http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html
 
Seriously, where are you getting low settings from?

Far Cry 4 - Max settings - average 30 FPS
Advanced Warfare - High settings - average 40 FPS
Skyrim - Ultra +2k textures - 60 FPS

I can go on and on. It's not a low settings card, at the very least it's a high medium.
 
Those are ALL CPU bound games. None of those titles are GPU dependent in the way that the majority of games are, so of course the CPU is going to be a bigger factor with those titles than with titles that are GPU bound. I'd like to see the quality of your gameplay on a 60hz monitor, which is the majority of them these days, at only 30fps. Will it play, sure. Is it going to be a pleasant user experience, not so much. But whatever you think. I'm not trying to convince you or anybody else of anything really. Just trying to lay out a decent build for the budget and it's pretty difficult to assemble a worthwhile machine with a six hundred dollar or less budget.
 

Just going to put out there that the intended games for this machine are games like: CS:GO, Metro, Garry's Mod, things like that.
 
Well, if you want to play those at a high level, I'd highly recommend something higher than a 750 TI or 260x. They'll play. But not a 60fps or higher on high or ultra.

I dunno. I put my 2cents out there. For what it's worth.
 


Would the GTX 960 be better for those types of games?

 

And the AMD athlon is also better for playing games such as, Counter stirke, Garry's Mod, Metro, TF2, thing like that?

 

Would you say though, that the pros of the 960 outweigh the negatives of the AMD Athlon?

 
Just my two cents.. I can tell you that my 750 Ti SC handles a lot of things without struggle. I can play Metro 2033 on max settings with tweaked tessellation & AA at 60fps steady (that's when I had an x4 860k, too). Sure, the 960 is stronger, but the 750 is a lot stronger than people give it credit.
 


I've played CS:GO on max settings and got over 100 fps. Of course, I turn the settings down because I like to have over 200 for a twitch shooter.

See my last post about Metro.

Regardless, whichever card he picks, he will be happy with. Unless he's getting a 980 or Titan, he knows he's not going to get ultra settings on every single game.. he'd be silly to expect that performance at that price point.
 


I'll quote it so he sees it twice lol

Also, 600W PSU isn't necessary.. that GPU doesn't require additional power. A 400-500W PSU from a reliable brand would be better.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom