Is this a good budget Gaming PC

[Luther Bird]

This is my 2nd build. This will be used for non hardcore gaming and audio.

What do you think? Any recommendations?

Thank you.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/c93qVn

CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($109.49 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-E33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($45.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($76.97 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill CHALLENGER ATX Mid Tower Case ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.88 @ OutletPC)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($88.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $663.26

 

[bjsm]

Looking good! Not sure why people keep buying optical drives maybe you really need it other than that it looks fine. Decent price

 

[cdrkf]

This is my 2nd build. This will be used for non hardcore gaming and audio.

What do you think? Any recommendations?

Thank you.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/c93qVn

CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($109.49 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-E33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($45.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($76.97 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill CHALLENGER ATX Mid Tower Case ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.88 @ OutletPC)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($88.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $663.26

That's a very sensible budget build. I don't think you could go far wrong (except I'd probably recommend windows 8.1 rather than 7, as it's likely windows 8 users will get windows 10 free on release- which you'll need for upcoming DX12 games).

Some thoughts, that is a good spec if you plan to upgrade (the i3 isn't bad and you have options of i5 or i7 later if needed).
If you want the most for your money now without upgrading then I actually think an AMD FX setup (e.g. a 6300) makes more sense as it will cost about the same, perform the same in games but give you quite a lot more power for other applications thanks to being 6 cores rather than dual + hpyerthreading. The downside of that option is there isn't anything better (games wise) available from AMD right now (the FX 8 core parts don't really perform any different in most games, as games don't use the cores generally).

As for graphics card, the 750ti is a very nice efficient little card, but I wonder if you could get more for your money? The CX500 psu can handle almost any card bar the very high end ones so there's no worry there. Have a look at prices, cards to look out for:

GTX 660, 660ti, 670, 760 and 770 are all faster and worth getting if you can find them for the price. From the AMD side of things, the R7 260X, 265, 270, 270X and 280 cards are all faster and worth getting if you can find for similar money. Where graphics cards are concerned I recommend getting as much as you can as that will have the biggest impact on game performance.

Edit: Option for graphics card:
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/powercolor-video-card-axr92702gbd5tdheoc

The 270 is quite a lot faster than a 750 ti for almost the same money.

Edit Edit: nvidia option:
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-video-card-n660gaming2gd5oc

A 660 is also faster than a 750ti.

 

[cdrkf]

Looking good! Not sure why people keep buying optical drives maybe you really need it other than that it looks fine. Decent price

Optical drives are handy for installing OS and also for sorting problems (boot disks really come in handy). I guess memory sticks serve a similar purpose but I find them more of a pain usually.

 

[logainofhades]

Paying too much for that 750ti. It is way too close to the faster R9 270. Seasonic 620 is on sale and a far better PSU. 256gb Crucial 550 is the same cost as that Samsung, right now.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($109.49 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H81M-DGS R2.0 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($47.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Team Zeus Yellow 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($58.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial M550 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 270 2GB Double Dissipation Video Card ($155.76 @ Amazon)
Case: Rosewill RANGER-M MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($34.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($54.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($98.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $666.16
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-07 10:35 EST-0500

 

[bjsm]

Looking good! Not sure why people keep buying optical drives maybe you really need it other than that it looks fine. Decent price

Optical drives are handy for installing OS and also for sorting problems (boot disks really come in handy). I guess memory sticks serve a similar purpose but I find them more of a pain usually.

Yeah well like you said usb sticks do that fine nowadays but i guess your right it requires a little more knowledge and tweaks. I have just never used a cd in years lol

 

[RookieOfTheYear]

I would definitely go with logains build. Better overall PC for only $3 more. That is a great deal on a 256GB SSD and the Seasonic PSU! Great build Logain!

 

[Luther Bird]

Wow! You guys are great - thanks for the input

Clearly I should rethink the graphics card choice. I wasn't really married to it.

I get good vibes from Logain's choices so I think I'll go with that.

cdrkf - I don't mean to discount your AMD FX input but I'm running a i5 on another machine and might want to swap that out later.

Thanks again crew. Tom's rocks!

 

[cdrkf]

Wow! You guys are great - thanks for the input

Clearly I should rethink the graphics card choice. I wasn't really married to it.

I get good vibes from Logain's choices so I think I'll go with that.

cdrkf - I don't mean to discount your AMD FX input but I'm running a i5 on another machine and might want to swap that out later.

Thanks again crew. Tom's rocks!

If you have an i5 to upgrade to later then the Intel build makes more sense This is AMD's problem right now- they have good budget parts but there's no upgrade path (and no new stuff due for *at least* another year) so it makes them kinda hard to recommend.