Challenge: Build a good gaming computer for under $475

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Its pci-e 3 mate so yes its good for any current gpu.

The only issue you will have is that its a very compact board,Im fairly sure the gpu will block off the pci-e 1x slot meaning that wireless adapter wont fit - you would have to go with a usb adapter.

like this

http://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-TL-WN822N-Wireless-External-Antennas/dp/B00416Q5KI/ref=sr_1_6?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1429645959&sr=1-6&keywords=wireless+usb

or a standard pci one like this

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/rosewill-wireless-network-card-rnxn150pcx
dump the sound card ,you honestly wont need it

The sole reason I suggest that board is simply because you will have no compatibility issues with the 860k - its a new revision board & will work out of the box - A lot of other boards require a bios update with an older chip to work with the 860k which is always a worry,


 

Seeing as I've never built a computer before I want the build to go as smoothly as possible, having a compatible board out-of-box would certainly help me. So what would be the best combo with a board that works out-of-box?
 

Would the GTX 960 be better for my uses, and if so, what board would work out of box with the 960?

 
^ any current board will work with the gtx 960 mate - if you pair the 860k,that Asus hm-plus board & a gtx 960 you will have a fairly solid high setting budget gaming rig.
The 960 is 100% definitely worth the $50 premium over a 750ti - its in a completely different league.
 
wouldn t be an i5 4430 paired with the r9 270x just be 20-30 dollars more than with the 750ti? Here in europe I can get the 270x for 160€ and the 750ti starts from 140€... Atm I see amd cards all the time reduced and soon the new 300er series will be released which should drop the prices for couple more bucks...
Aye what I forgot, witcher 3 promo with gtx 960 is still running. The game will be 60 bucks, shouldn t be a problem to sell it for 30. So basically it drops the price for the 960 for another 30.
Maybe u than can get the i54430 with the 960
 
This is bang for buck IMO - you're not going to do better for the money.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 860K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor ($72.89 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: RAIJINTEK AIDOS 48.6 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($22.13 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus A68HM-Plus Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($60.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.30 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card ($181.79 @ Amazon)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.98 @ OutletPC)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WN851ND 802.11b/g/n PCI Wi-Fi Adapter ($19.00 @ Amazon)
Total: $551.04
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-22 09:52 EDT-0400
 
Bembene - no,not possible mate - equivalent 4430 build leaves less than $90 for the GPU.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4430 3.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($175.82 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($68.98 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($58.89 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.30 @ Amazon)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.98 @ OutletPC)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WN881ND 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($18.78 @ OutletPC)
Total: $466.73
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-22 09:58 EDT-0400
 
"handle gaming really well and cost $450-475"

It really depends on the games you're playing and the resolution/refresh of your display. I'd honestly combine the i5 and the 960. If I was building a new system right now, I wouldn't go any worse than this

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($163.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97-HD3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($72.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($55.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 2GB SuperSC ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($199.99 @ Micro Center)
Case: Raidmax Super Hurricane (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($37.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($29.99 @ NCIX US)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WN881ND 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($18.78 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Asus VS239H-P 23.0" Monitor ($157.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $790.05
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-22 12:33 EDT-0400

Note that I did throw in a 1080p/60Hz monitor (I have two of these and they're nice) based on your request, so you can shave off $160 to give a $630 system.

Metro is probably your hardware-intensive game out of the ones you listed. Based on it's recommended requirements, you could drop the components down to this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4160 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor ($109.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97-HD3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($72.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($55.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Superclocked Video Card ($124.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Raidmax Super Hurricane (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($37.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($29.99 @ NCIX US)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WN881ND 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($18.78 @ OutletPC)
Total: $503.06
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-22 12:49 EDT-0400

Just a personal preference, but I'd get the Corsair 300R case or something. I usually like to make sure each component I've selected is reviewed really well.

I'm just adding my two cents; there are a lot of other good builds in here too.

Cheers
 
I just want to mention that one thing being missed on most of these lists is the OS that will add a bit to your cost seeing as this is a first PC and not one you can and you likely want windows for gaming.
 


hi, I see I see. I just thought maybe he don t need dvd and wifi for now and maybe he found another 50bucks under the bed.. than it would be possible but when he is on a tight tight budget than sure no chance...
Also he say this summer by then amd maybe have released the 300er series and thinks can change..
greetz
 


I just made this build... Any thoughts? http://pcpartpicker.com/p/4XrCVn
 

Updated build: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/4XrCVn

And I was planning on plugging the PC into my 30 inch samsung smart tv, would this be a problem with latency or delay?

 
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($97.46 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($61.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($58.89 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 280 3GB DUAL-X Video Card ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($38.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WN851ND 802.11b/g/n PCI Wi-Fi Adapter ($19.00 @ Amazon)
Total: $537.79
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-23 01:29 EDT-0400
Go with the board above mate seriously - its the only decent matx board around for fx chips.

The n200 may look plain but its a superb little case,good preinstalled fans,easy to build in & very good for cable management.

That 280 is a good find - you should have no orobs with a Samsung TV ,my main gaming screen is a 60 inch sharp aquos tv .

I would consider dropping $20 on a aftermarket cooler for the 6300 .
 

So you would say that the R9 280 beats out the 960 for games like Counter Strike and Garry's Mod? And that the 6300 beats the 860K?
 
I personally think the 6300 is THE biggest bang for buck chip on the market.
At stock speed it won't quite beat the 860k's single core performance but its a monster overclocker should you decide to drop $20 on that aidos cooler.

Look at my SIG ,theres a 6300 running a 970 there & its never disappointed me.


The 280 vs the 960 is a hard one - that's entirely a amd/nvidia preference IMO - nvidias shadowplay for recording/twitch streaming is superior to amd's raptor recording though no doubt about it.
 

I don't plan to do any overclocking whatsoever :) I'm a newb. So would you say this build http://pcpartpicker.com/p/VDqQ99#incompatibilities Would be best for the games I am interested in? (Counter Strike Garry's Mod)

 
I think Im going to get the gtx 960, but I don't know which CPU to get that would work out of box with the 960. I also need a good out of box mother board.
 
you can safely go with either the 6300 build I post or the 860k one mate & just change the gpu to the 960 if you prefer - theyre both the same $550 dollar pricepoint.

this would honestly be my choice

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($96.95 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: RAIJINTEK AIDOS 48.6 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($22.13 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($51.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($52.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card ($181.79 @ Amazon)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($43.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($27.99 @ NCIX US)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WN851ND 802.11b/g/n PCI Wi-Fi Adapter ($19.00 @ Amazon)
Total: $538.31
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-24 11:36 EDT-0400
 

I've read a lot about how the 860K has a faster clock speed and a faster speed per core, I know not all games use all cores, so the 860K should be a better choice because you get more speed per core, right?

 
If you can afford the 6300+aidos cooler go for it - if budget is tight go for the 860k (still with the aidos cooler though)

theyre different pricepoints & the choice is yours,Id consider the 6300 a substantially better cpu than the 860k personally,others wouldnt.
Single core performance difference is negligible,theyre so close performance wise to make it a defunct argument.
Theyll both overclock substantially with that cooler (the 6300 more so in my experience) , the 2 extra cores may make a big difference when dx12 hits next year.
 
Overclocking the FX 6300 will make it better than the i3, yes? So that makes the 6300 seem to be the better choice, but what about upgrades? The i3 has a much better upgrade path. Although the i3 only has 2 cores. So it really comes down to the more expensive i3 with a good upgrade path, or the less expensive more powerful but worse upgrade path 6300.... What do you guys think I should do?
 


that my friend is down to your choice - the i3/6300 debate will rage on forever
 
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