Getting Ready to Buy First Gaming PC

Toore

Reputable
Feb 13, 2015
8
0
4,510
Hello! Let me start by saying that the computer I am currently running is a piece of trash. It has like 512 mb of ram (is that even a thing), and some integrated graphics card. Yuck. I can barely run chrome to be honest.

Anyways, I've been putting some money aside from my last few paychecks to go towards my first gaming computer. Hopefully, the goal is to make it last through college for that kind of stuff, aside from gaming. I really only want to run a few things, like:

  • League of Legends
    SMITE
    WoW
    Skyrim (Maybe)
    And maybe a few more, depending on the capabilities.

Here is the computer I put together and have been considering getting.
Case: Cooler Master N300 Gaming Mid-Tower Case (Black Color)
Case Lights: 12in Cold Cathode Neon Light (Blue Color)
CD: 24X Double Layer Dual Format DVD+-R/+-RW + CD-R/RW Drive (BLACK COLOR)
Coolant: Standard Coolant
CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.50 GHz Eight-Core AM3+ CPU 6MB L2 Cache & Turbo Core Technology
Case Fans: Default case fans
Cooling: Asetek 550LC 120mm Liquid Cooling CPU Cooler - Extreme Cooling Performance (Single Standard 120MM Fan)
HDD: 1TB Western Digital Caviar Blue SATA-III 6.0Gb/s 7200 RPM HDD [-19] (Single Drive)
IUSB: Built-in USB 2.0 Ports
Memory: 8GB (4GBx2) DDR3/2133MHz Dual Channel Memory (ADATA XPG V3)
Motherboard: * GIGABYTE 970A-DS3P AMD 970 ATX w/ Ultra Durable 4 Classic, On/Off Charge, GbLAN, 2 PCIe x16, 3 PCIe x1, 2 PCI
Network: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network
OS: Windows 8.1 (64-bit Edition)
Power Supply: 600 Watts - Standard 80 Plus Certified Power Supply - SLI/CrossFireX Ready
Sound: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
Video: AMD Radeon R9 280 3GB GDDR5 PCIe 3.0 x16 Video Card (Single Card)
WNC: PCI Wireless 802.11n 150Mbps Network Interface Card [+19]

Will this computer be able to run the games mentioned? If so, on what settings and with around what FPS? Does the video card / motherboard (not sure which one) have a VGA port? That's the only thing my monitor has, unfortunately.

Would you recommend me to make any changes before I buy this? I'm hoping to buy it tonight if all goes well.
 


Unless he gets a i5/k version there is no point because the FX will overclock and be on par if not better than a i5 4440/4460 when those extra cores kick in, I agree intel is better but not if you can't overclock which without the K version you can't.
 
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($174.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock H81M-DGS R2.0 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($47.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($62.95 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 290 4GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($291.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Antec VSK-3000 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($32.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($44.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit) ($92.00 @ B&H)
Total: $796.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-13 17:39 EST-0500
 
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core OEM/Tray Processor ($213.98 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($19.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI Z97-Gaming 3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($121.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($56.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($62.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 280 3GB TurboDuo Video Card ($162.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Zalman Z9 ATX Mid Tower Case ($37.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ Micro Center)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer ($14.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.75 @ OutletPC)
Total: $870.40
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-13 17:44 EST-0500

I can make it $50 cheaper but I would be making the motherboard worse.
 


For the price this might be better than mine, has a strong GPU but weaker elsewhere.

 
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.89 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($28.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI Z97 Guard-Pro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($70.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($51.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 280 3GB TurboDuo Video Card ($162.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair SPEC-02 ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Directron)
Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($34.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.75 @ OutletPC)
Total: $809.53
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-13 18:49 EST-0500
 
You should probably get a better power supply, not in terms of wattage, but in terms of quality of performance and build. Check out the tiers here: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-1804779/power-supply-unit-tier-list.html

The EVGA B1 and NEX aren't as good. If you want to go with EVGA, get the B2, G2, or P2. There are also other options besides EVGA, such as Seasonic, and anything else in Tier One or Tier Two, Class A. Double check whatever you choose at JonnyGURU or hardwaresecrets:

www.JonnyGURU.com

www.hardwaresecrets.com

Hope that helps!