My Newb Build - Will it Work?

[GameDevKev]

Hi, I've been doing a lot of research here at tomshardware, and it seems like the best place online to come ask this question as i've seen others ask about similar builds and receive positive feedback. I'm attempting my first build, and before I buy all this stuff and realize I'm a moron, I figured I'd ask the internets best for a critique. I want this computer to be able to play most new games, and specifically oculus rift games, therefor i need a decent framerate. I should also note that this is an extreme budget build! I am trying to build the entire system for under $400 leaving me $100 for an OS to make a $500 gaming system. After many hours of research and price comparisons, this is what I came up with:

1. First of all, I am going to build a custom case. It has a budget of it's own, we will just not go there right now, unless you have some crucial advice for case building (Im aware that this is stupid to do for a budget build, but building a case is just something I want to do for fun)

2. MoBo - GIGABYTE GA-970A-UD3P AM3+ AMD 970
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128651

3. CPU - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009O7YU3S/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3MDUFUQOQTCYS

4. PSU - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817170018

5. RAM - G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 4GB 240-Pin DDR3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231720

6. HDD - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822236070

7. GPU - PowerColor Go! Green AX5450 1GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131338


My goal here was not only to build a system for under $500 but to leave plenty of room for expansion. My questions are simple.

-Will this build work? Is everything compatible? I know enough to know that I don't know enough to know the answer to this question.

-Will this build, as is, play all the newer video-games (ex. Wasteland 2, Elderscrolls online)?

-Are there any components in here that can be swapped with lower priced equivalents (without sacrificing future upgrade capabilities?, for ex. I want 2 PCI express slots even though i will only be using one at first.)

Also, if you have any suggestions as to the best video tutorial for putting this together I would appreciate it! Thanks in advance!

 

[Calculagator]

While all of your parts should fit together and run, you will not be pleased with gaming performance. If you look at Tom's "Best Graphics Cards For the Money" articles, you will see that the gpu you have selected ranks way at the bottom -even below most modern integrated graphics.
For your budget an APU would give much better graphics performance so that you would at least be able to play the games.
It may not be as much fun, but I would recommend buying a used hp/dell desktop from ebay. You can get an HP 6200 Pro with an i3 processor, hard drive, memory, power supply, motherboard, and Windows included for about $200. Take the $300 you are saving and buy a good 400-500 watt power supply and the best GPU you can afford. If you can score a deal on an R9 290, you can get the whole package for about $500. This is pretty much the only way to obtain a "decent framerate" and keep to your budget.
Good luck.

 

[GameDevKev]

If you look at Tom's "Best Graphics Cards For the Money" articles, you will see that the gpu you have selected ranks way at the bottom -even below most modern integrated graphics.

As this build is, I still have a few bucks to spare. Is there a better GPU in the $50 range that would be better than an APU? I'm not exaclty sure what I'm looking for in a GPU obviously.

Can you point me to the article here on tomshardware that you mentioned that has the GPU I selected, I can't seem to find it. Thanks for the help Calculagator!

 

[Calculagator]

If you look at Tom's "Best Graphics Cards For the Money" articles, you will see that the gpu you have selected ranks way at the bottom -even below most modern integrated graphics.

As this build is, I still have a few bucks to spare. Is there a better GPU in the $50 range that would be better than an APU? I'm not exaclty sure what I'm looking for in a GPU obviously.

Can you point me to the article here on tomshardware that you mentioned that has the GPU I selected, I can't seem to find it. Thanks for the help Calculagator!

The article is on the front page: "Best Graphics Cards for the Money"
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107.html

 

[logainofhades]

This is the absolute lowest I would recommend.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor ($114.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($77.97 @ OutletPC)
Memory: A-Data XPG V1.0 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Hitachi Ultrastar 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($45.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: HIS Radeon R7 250X 1GB Video Card ($89.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($47.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer ($13.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit) ($90.26 @ OutletPC)
Total: $515.18
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-18 15:42 EST-0500

 

[GameDevKev]

you will see that the gpu you have selected ranks way at the bottom
...
The article is on the front page: "Best Graphics Cards for the Money"
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-car...

PowerColor Go! Green AX5450 not mentioned in this article, thanks though, might look into some of these

 

[logainofhades]

Edited post above, for some reason, my build didn't paste in the post. :lol:

 

[Calculagator]

you will see that the gpu you have selected ranks way at the bottom
...
The article is on the front page: "Best Graphics Cards for the Money"
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-car...

PowerColor Go! Green AX5450 not mentioned in this article, thanks though, might look into some of these

It is a Radeon HD 5450. It's listed on the Hierarchy page. They don't list individual brands because they all perform about the same.