Looking for $800 Gaming Build

[williamchacha]

I am looking for some help with a good gaming builds at $800 dollar mark (exclude monitor). If possible I would like to include one SSD (for system and frequently used files) and one HDD (for all other files) in the build. I would really appreciate any help as this is my first time building a pc.

Additional information:
- Aprox. purchase date: anytime from now to end of April
- Usage: primarily gaming, I am also planning to use it for photo shop and everyday stuff.
- Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- OS dont need to be included
- Monitor resolution: 1920*1080
- I am not planning to do overclocking or use SLI / Crossfire.
- I would prefer an Intel cpu

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

AMD would be a better choice for that budget.

 

[schau314]

You could always do either though.

 

[Shneiky]

Well 800 in CAD is not going far.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4430 3.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($194.79 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: ASRock B85M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($85.50 @ Vuugo)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($89.99 @ Memory Express)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ Canada Computers)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($289.00 @ Canada Computers)
Case: Zalman ZM-T1 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($34.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($55.99 @ NCIX)
Total: $810.25
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-12 21:11 EDT-0400)

You can add the SSD later. Best price/performance I could make up.

 

[ekagori]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.75 @ Vuugo)
Motherboard: ASRock H87 Pro4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($93.50 @ Vuugo)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($74.79 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($96.24 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ Canada Computers)
Video Card: Club 3D Radeon R9 270 2GB Video Card ($184.99 @ NCIX)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 361 ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.50 @ Vuugo)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($55.99 @ NCIX)
Total: $804.75
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-12 21:18 EDT-0400)

Best I could do to squeeze what you want

 

[blt54321]

I think you would get better Photoshop performance with an 8 core AMD tbh

This includes the cost of an OS I put Win 7 but you can change it windows 8 if you want and I put a micro-atx mobo because I don't think the Mobo is too important unless you're overclocking.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3qIOr

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($179.00 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Biostar A960D+ Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($35.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 270 2GB Video Card ($202.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair Carbide Series 300R Windowed ATX Mid Tower Case ($58.00 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $825.91
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-12 21:20 EDT-0400)

 

[ekagori]

Here's an AMD build:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($119.99 @ Canada Computers)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-D3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($69.88 @ Canada Computers)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($74.79 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($96.24 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ Canada Computers)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($269.64 @ TigerDirect Canada)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 361 ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.50 @ Vuugo)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($55.99 @ NCIX)
Total: $786.02
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-12 21:30 EDT-0400)

 

[RazerZ]

I would get this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($168.25 @ Vuugo)
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($101.99 @ NCIX)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($74.79 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ Canada Computers)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 280 3GB Video Card ($279.99 @ NCIX)
Case: Zalman ZM-Z9 U3 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Memory Express)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($55.99 @ NCIX)
Total: $800.99
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-12 21:59 EDT-0400)

Should be great for your needs, and if you need more performance later on you can get a heatsink and overclock the cpu.

 

[williamchacha]

Well 800 in CAD is not going far.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4430 3.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($194.79 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: ASRock B85M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($85.50 @ Vuugo)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($89.99 @ Memory Express)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ Canada Computers)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($289.00 @ Canada Computers)
Case: Zalman ZM-T1 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($34.99 @ NCIX)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($55.99 @ NCIX)
Total: $810.25
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-12 21:11 EDT-0400)

You can add the SSD later. Best price/performance I could make up.

Thank you so much for the advise! I agree with you that SSD can be deferred in order to save budget for other components. After reading everyone's comment I guess I should be more flexible with cpu choices. Would you recommend switching to a AMD build under the same budget? I think I should mentioned that I am planning to use this pc to play games such as Total War Rome 2 and Skyrim.

 

[williamchacha]

Here's an AMD build:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($119.99 @ Canada Computers)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-D3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($69.88 @ Canada Computers)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($74.79 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($96.24 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ Canada Computers)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($269.64 @ TigerDirect Canada)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 361 ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.50 @ Vuugo)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($55.99 @ NCIX)
Total: $786.02
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-12 21:30 EDT-0400)

Thank you so much for your recommendations! I really appreciate the fact that you took the effort to reply me with both intel and AMD option. I think I am convinced by everyone that I should consider AMD as well as I could save ssd for later. If I can save the extra cost on the ssd in your AMD build, I think I can get a better video card. Do you have any recommendation on the card choice?

 

[Shneiky]

Not entirely sure about Total War, but Skyrim is not optimized for many threads. Both FX 8350 and FX 6300 lose significantly to even the older I5s and I3s in Skyrim. Same will happen with any MMO of choice - Tera, Star Wars, Guildwars 2, etc.Or any game from 2012 and back. Many new games, still don't fully saturate 6/8 threads, so single threaded performance still wins.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-processor-frame-rate-performance,3427-6.html

http://www.overclock.net/t/1426315/gamegpu-total-war-rome-ii-benchmarked

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-processor-frame-rate-performance,3427-9.html

My proposal is: sacrifice the SSD now and add it later. It is easier than having to change CPU.

P.S On the Photoshop front - a lot of the tools like brush, stamp, blur/smudge, etc are not heavily threaded. In other words - more MHZ and IPC dependent than core count. What is heavily threaded is the filters. Personally, I spend 90% of the time brushing/stamping and only 10% for adjustments or filters. But then again, I mainly do textures or IBL domes and sometimes concept art, I don't really use it for photos.

 

[williamchacha]

I would get this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($168.25 @ Vuugo)
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($101.99 @ NCIX)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($74.79 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ Canada Computers)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 280 3GB Video Card ($279.99 @ NCIX)
Case: Zalman ZM-Z9 U3 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Memory Express)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($55.99 @ NCIX)
Total: $800.99
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-12 21:59 EDT-0400)

Should be great for your needs, and if you need more performance later on you can get a heatsink and overclock the cpu.

Thank you so much for this build! I think I like it the most right now. I checked each parts and noticed that the case is a bit hard to get at that price (memory express had a huge discount but all units are sold out, other retailers are not even close to the price point). If you don't mind, can I ask you to recommend some alternative choices for the case?

 

[RazerZ]

I think you would get better Photoshop performance with an 8 core AMD tbh

This includes the cost of an OS I put Win 7 but you can change it windows 8 if you want and I put a micro-atx mobo because I don't think the Mobo is too important unless you're overclocking.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3qIOr

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($179.00 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Biostar A960D+ Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($35.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 270 2GB Video Card ($202.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair Carbide Series 300R Windowed ATX Mid Tower Case ($58.00 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $825.91
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-12 21:20 EDT-0400)

I would get this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($168.25 @ Vuugo)
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($101.99 @ NCIX)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($74.79 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ Canada Computers)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 280 3GB Video Card ($279.99 @ NCIX)
Case: Zalman ZM-Z9 U3 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Memory Express)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($55.99 @ NCIX)
Total: $800.99
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-12 21:59 EDT-0400)

Should be great for your needs, and if you need more performance later on you can get a heatsink and overclock the cpu.

Thank you so much for this build! I think I like it the most right now. I checked each parts and noticed that the case is a bit hard to get at that price (memory express had a huge discount but all units are sold out, other retailers are not even close to the price point). If you don't mind, can I ask you to recommend some alternative choices for the case?

Sure no problem


Corsair 200r

Zalman Z5 plus

Bitfenix Shinobi

Thermaltake Chaser A31

Corsair 300R

 

[ekagori]

If you're playing Skyrim then I recommend going Intel, it's the one game AMD struggles with.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.75 @ Vuugo)
Motherboard: ASRock H87 Pro4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($93.50 @ Vuugo)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($74.79 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ Canada Computers)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($279.99 @ NCIX)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 361 ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.50 @ Vuugo)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($55.99 @ NCIX)
Total: $803.51
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-12 23:05 EDT-0400)

This will serve you well at 1080p.

 

[RazerZ]

If you're playing Skyrim then I recommend going Intel, it's the one game AMD struggles with.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.75 @ Vuugo)
Motherboard: ASRock H87 Pro4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($93.50 @ Vuugo)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($74.79 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ Canada Computers)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($279.99 @ NCIX)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 361 ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.50 @ Vuugo)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($55.99 @ NCIX)
Total: $803.51
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-12 23:05 EDT-0400)

This will serve you well at 1080p.

But it's just one game that AMD struggles with. Besides with a R9 280, the difference in fps will be easily made up.

 

[Shneiky]

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-processor-frame-rate-performance,3427-9.html

Not just one.

 

[ekagori]

If you're playing Skyrim then I recommend going Intel, it's the one game AMD struggles with.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.75 @ Vuugo)
Motherboard: ASRock H87 Pro4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($93.50 @ Vuugo)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($74.79 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ Canada Computers)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($279.99 @ NCIX)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 361 ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.50 @ Vuugo)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($55.99 @ NCIX)
Total: $803.51
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-12 23:05 EDT-0400)

This will serve you well at 1080p.

But it's just one game that AMD struggles with. Besides with a R9 280, the difference in fps will be easily made up.

A 760 and 280 trade blows depending on the game so it wouldn't make up that much ground. Either choice between Intel and AMD will be good for him, it's just that for Skyrim, Intel is best.

 

[RazerZ]

If you're playing Skyrim then I recommend going Intel, it's the one game AMD struggles with.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.75 @ Vuugo)
Motherboard: ASRock H87 Pro4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($93.50 @ Vuugo)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($74.79 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ Canada Computers)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($279.99 @ NCIX)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 361 ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.50 @ Vuugo)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($55.99 @ NCIX)
Total: $803.51
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-12 23:05 EDT-0400)

This will serve you well at 1080p.

But it's just one game that AMD struggles with. Besides with a R9 280, the difference in fps will be easily made up.

A 760 and 280 trade blows depending on the game so it wouldn't make up that much ground. Either choice between Intel and AMD will be good for him, it's just that for Skyrim, Intel is best.

Oh sorry you're right. I was thinking of the R9 290

 

[williamchacha]

If you're playing Skyrim then I recommend going Intel, it's the one game AMD struggles with.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.75 @ Vuugo)
Motherboard: ASRock H87 Pro4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($93.50 @ Vuugo)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($74.79 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ Canada Computers)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($279.99 @ NCIX)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 361 ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.50 @ Vuugo)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($55.99 @ NCIX)
Total: $803.51
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-12 23:05 EDT-0400)

This will serve you well at 1080p.

May I ask for some alternative case choices? Also, I am considering paying a bit more to get a psu around 600w just to be on the safe side, any recommendation you would think of?

 

[ekagori]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.75 @ Vuugo)
Motherboard: ASRock H87 Pro4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($93.50 @ Vuugo)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($74.79 @ DirectCanada)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ Canada Computers)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($279.99 @ NCIX)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 361 ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.50 @ Vuugo)
Power Supply: XFX 650W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ NCIX)
Total: $827.51
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-13 10:46 EDT-0400)