Cheapest 1080P Gamer

[Hewhogamez]

Looking for a cheap as can be gaming PC to run a few games at 1080P (or 720P). Using a PS4 for all if the modern games. Need my own PC to play PC type games like Minecraft, Civilization 5 and Skryim (all with mods). So here's what I got. Cheap as can be but not a dead end POS. So upgradability is a little important.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/gbfBhM
Couldn't get the list to load on my iPhone.

 

[TechyInAZ]

That isn't the cheapest you can go, but if you want to play at good fps and good settings then that is a good build.

I recommend getting a B85 mobo, since h81 is really limited on functionality besides the basics.

 

[NBSN]

Well, a few recommendations:
1. That PSU is not appropriate for that GPU. The GPU manufacturer recommends a 500 watt PSU or better...and available connectors of "An available 6-pin PCI-E power connector and an available 8 pin PCI-E power connector"...The PSU you picked out is only 430 watts and only one 6+2-Pin connector.

2. For now I would recommend you going with a more expensive APU, rather than a CPU and GPU combination. That way you can save some money, and although it will not give the same performance...it will work with a lot of games.

3. I would also recommend going with a single 4 GB RAM module so that you could add another 4 GB RAM module later on if you wanted to. Since your motherboard only supports two RAM modules, by purchasing two 2 GB RAM modules, you would have to completely replace one in order to increase the amount of RAM in the system. Of course the amount of RAM supported is affected by the operating system, so this also depends on that.

4. The case you chose comes with one pre-installed fan, so you may want to purchase an additional fan to help with cooling. If you are worried about costs, then you can wait to see what temps you get after using the system a bit.

 

[TechyInAZ]

Well, a few recommendations:
1. That PSU is not appropriate for that GPU. The GPU manufacturer recommends a 500 watt PSU or better...and available connectors of "An available 6-pin PCI-E power connector and an available 8 pin PCI-E power connector"...The PSU you picked out is only 430 watts and only one 6+2-Pin connector.

2. For now I would recommend you going with a more expensive APU, rather than a CPU and GPU combination. That way you can save some money, and although it will not give the same performance...it will work with a lot of games.

3. I would also recommend going with a single 4 GB RAM module so that you could add another 4 GB RAM module later on if you wanted to. Since your motherboard only supports two RAM modules, by purchasing two 2 GB RAM modules, you would have to completely replace one in order to increase the amount of RAM in the system. Of course the amount of RAM supported is affected by the operating system, so this also depends on that.

4. The case you chose comes with one pre-installed fan, so you may want to purchase an additional fan to help with cooling. If you are worried about costs, then you can wait to see what temps you get after using the system a bit.

# 1 and 4 I agree with you but for 2 and 3 I don't.

First off, even though APUs are good for their money, a GeForce gtx 760 is ridiculously faster and an i3 won't bottleneck so you will be good with that.

And 2nd, your mobo utlilizes dual channel memory, so if you put two dims in the mobo, your pc will run faster because it can use both channels of memory.

 

[Hewhogamez]

Yeah don't want the APU because their CPU is crap and falls into the category of a dead end POS. If I want to upgrade to a i5-4670k then I'm screwed. And with 4GB ram I could just add 2x4GB and have 12GB if I want to get into PC gaming. The i3 will do me for a good 2-3 years. Money would be worth spent on a new graphics card rather than a $200 CPU. Anyone think I can change the graphics card to make it cheaper? Skyrim maxed at 40fps 720P is good for me. With this build I just want something to run the modded PC games I can't get on consoles.

 

[NBSN]

To each their own. Whatever you feel works best for you is all that matters...good luck.

 

[bccorrupt]

Yeah don't want the APU because their CPU is crap and falls into the category of a dead end POS. If I want to upgrade to a i5-4670k then I'm screwed. And with 4GB ram I could just add 2x4GB and have 12GB if I want to get into PC gaming. The i3 will do me for a good 2-3 years. Money would be worth spent on a new graphics card rather than a $200 CPU. Anyone think I can change the graphics card to make it cheaper? Skyrim maxed at 40fps 720P is good for me. With this build I just want something to run the modded PC games I can't get on consoles.

I've seen multiple games using more than 4GB of system ram already, including Skyrim with just the official HD pack. My setup uses 4.2-4.3GB on Skyrim at 1080p and 4.6-5.0GB on Witcher 2 with HD mods so you probably want to go ahead and get 8GB.

For reference I can run Skyrim with the official HD pack pretty much pegged at 60fps(vsync) with an i5 and a GTX660 at 1080p so you probably could get away with a 750ti at 720p.

 

[Hewhogamez]

Yeah, I was thinking about that. Even Minecraft, with shaders and a high res textures like x512, will take like 5gb of RAM. 4GB is a kinda not enough but 8gb is a little too much. 5-6GB is about the ideal RAM size. I may rethink my RAM choice. I'll probably go with a 760. My friend plays Skryim w/ shaders and a bunch of mods @ 720P w/ a 7750 (over clocked) & i3 sandy just fine. I don't know if the setting are maxed but I'm satisfied.

So any build suggestions anyone wanna give?

 

[DeanJW]

You can definitely get a cheaper GPU than that and still hit your target @ 1080p. I'd only recommend a GTX 760 if you either want a constant 60fps+ at higher settings or if you have to run games like AC4 on ultra with AA on. I'd recommend (with Maxwell due to be out soon) to skip buying a GTX 760 for that and maybe get a 750 ti. Then upgrade to a mid range card when it comes out. As for games I haven't seen anything use near that 4GB, although I don't generally run modded games. So far I've ran The withcher 2, battlfield 4, assasins creed 4 etc... all fluently while running background apps on 4 Gigs of RAM.

I would only suggest more if you needed to run things in the background.

 

[Hewhogamez]

Yeah, I might do a 750ti. Benchmarks in a game like Bioshock Inifinite show 66Fps maxed @ 1080P. Most multi platform games I'll play on PS4. Currently I'll use this PC for minecraft and skyrim mostly. My dad has a 680 8GB Ram and a 8350 and I push it to the limit if I go crazy with mods. But I'm sure that integrated graphics will play Minecraft 1080P 60fps. I don't care much for any other games really. If I want to play other games then I'll buy a 770 or 780ti.

 

[Hewhogamez]

Here's what I got now. Guess I'm going under $500. And forgot I need a slight bit of room for keyboard mouse.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($118.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($49.98 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Kingston Fury Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Thermaltake Commander MS/I Snow Edition (White/Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($44.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $478.90
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

 

[bccorrupt]

Here's what I got now. Guess I'm going under $500. And forgot I need a slight bit of room for keyboard mouse.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($118.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($49.98 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Kingston Fury Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Thermaltake Commander MS/I Snow Edition (White/Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($44.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $478.90
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

That looks pretty solid, in fact I like just about every single piece in that build.

 

[Outlander_04]

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/budget-gaming-pc,3854.html

Looking at their benchmarks they are playing games like BF4 on medium at 1080p and doing it very well .
If you have a bit more budget you get a quality FM2+ motherboard , and spend a little more on a graphics and a cpu cooler


Be aware that the comparisons to the previous build are a bit pointless since that build cost hundreds more and didnt include an OS .
Also be aware that intels socket 1150 dies in a few months , and that an H81 motherboard has virtually no upgrade potential

 

[CRITICALThinker]

Came up with this, though like many a builds, this one probably has some flaw (most likely the case).

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($118.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85M-DS3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($63.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($72.00 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.91 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Case: BitFenix Merc Alpha (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($25.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $478.85
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

 

[Hewhogamez]

So here's what I've got now, taking some suggestions.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($99.99 @ Micro Center)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85M-DS3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($63.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($72.00 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.91 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Thermaltake Commander MS/I Snow Edition (White/Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($25.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $459.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available