Need help for a new first time build with a budget of $400-500.

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hs99802

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Dec 31, 2013
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Hello there I am seeking out advice for a new gaming build for a friend that isn't very good with computers. Budget is of $400-500, no more than $500.


Approximate purchase date: Sometime between July and August.

Budget: $400-500 no more than $550 definitely no where above $600 (before stupid rebates and after shipping and taxes.) The less cost the better.

System usage: Gaming (Far Cry, Garry's Mod, Steam Games, Arma, Battlefield, Skyrim, Grand Theft Auto IV or V.) Usual things (Internet, email, browsing, YouTube.)

Buying Monitor: No

Parts to upgrade: Haven't built anything to upgrade yet (fresh start.)

Need to buy an OS: Yes, Windows 7 is preferred not Windows 8.

Preferred site: Amazon.com

Location: Houston, TX United States

Parts preference: None really just good brands that are well known and dependable.

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or XFire: No

Monitor resolution: 720p probably 1366 x 768p not sure but that would be my guess, definitely 720p though.

Additional Comments: Just a good starting out enough to play games well PC that's all, no need for full 60fps on ultra settings with advanced controls and stuff. Basic cooling system, maybe overclocking if possible, nothing too advanced. Just helping a friend to build a good enough gaming pc for around $400-500. Friend isn't very experienced with computers and knowledge of computer parts.

Why are you upgrading?: Friend wanted a pc to play games at decent settings on a 720p tv. Replacing an old weak laptop.
 
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Hey, only have time to just post the build. It's upgradeable and overclockable.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($74.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI Z97 PC MATE ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($80.00 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston Blu Red Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($71.88 @ NCIX US)
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: Rosewill Galaxy-03 ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($34.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($84.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $539.73
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

I just had it open in my tab from a previous build, mention what you don't like and I can adjust later :) (busy at the moment)
 
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That's a good build, do you think it will last maybe 2 or 3 years at gaming for my friend? Also i think it is a bit over his budget maybe around the $470 range would be better, let me know if you can adjust it for that price range instead.
 
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I know but I said I might overclock it for my friend if overclocking is possible I didn't say overclocking is a must.
 
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@mozzilbee
lol Idk what kind of troll you are, but you can go to many different topics on toms and there is nothing wrong with getting a CPU cooler later. He also said "maybe", so i'm giving him the option to overclock.

If you think my build is bad, build something better instead of writing 1 sentence non-sense 😛

@HS
I think so yes.
This is an at stock comparison
http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-G3258-vs-AMD-Athlon-X4-760K

This is what it can do overclocked. (comparable to an i3)
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/pentium-g3258-overclocking-performance,3849.html

If you aren't into overclocking that's fine, but I just mentioned it since this cpu is coming out july 1st and the benchmarks looks pretty wicked for a $75 cpu. I'm considering updating an old budget computer just to try it out :)
 
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So the G3258 is faster than the 750k when overclocked right? Also the 750k is a quad core and the G3258 is a dual core don't most games benefit from the extra two cores?
 
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That's true about the cores, but amd has weaker cores while intel has stronger cores.

I'm not saying the 760k is bad, but I'm going by price performance and the G3258 is the better one. You can read up on that toms review I linked to see benchmarks and more detailed info.

And to answer your past question, I might be able to get to $500, but asking for a computer to be upgradeable, futureproof, overclockable and under $500 is a very tall order. It would mean catching sales and relying on rebates which from your first post I don't think you like rebates 😛
(They give me a headache also)
 
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Oh ok yeah I knew that about amd with weaker cores, but if my friend didn't want to overclock would you still recommend the G3258.
 
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Also the build doesn't necessarily have to be all that upgradable because I don't think my friend will dare to upgrade his PC without me helping him I just think it would be good if it lasted you know two or three years or so. Also keep in mind he has a 720p monitor. He doesn't need to max out everything just be able to play with med-high settings is going to be good enough for him. I also think that either processor will be fast to him since he has been using only his old slow laptop. He is quite new to pc gaming as he is a console gamer but now my other friends all have gaming pcs including me so he wants me to help him build one for himself as he doesn't want to miss out on the action and out of them I know the most about computers and stuff I'll help him assemble it.
 
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Nope, but that makes things a lot easier. :)

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3420 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($69.99 @ Mwave)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($49.99 @ Mwave)
Memory: Kingston Blu Red Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($71.88 @ NCIX US)
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: NZXT Gamma Classic (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($34.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($84.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $494.72
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Arma and BF4 are still pretty intensive so I wouldn't change the GPU. The 750ti is onsale right now and in a few years if he makes a new computers, he could give it to a friend or family as it can be reused in other bad computers/prebuilts because it can handle the bad power supplies they have. (it only uses 75w at peak)

We could upgrade the motherboard a bit for $10-20, but check it out and see if it has enough USB ports etc. This is very good for a starting computer for basic needs and gaming.
 
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That's a good build I think it will work for him, but is the processor slower than the 750k and G3258? Also the graphics card what if we changed it to get a bit more performance? Maybe an amd r7 265.
 
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You can find an r265 for less than $125? I haven't looked in 2 days but didn't think it was that low.

I'm a bit confused to as you were just telling me maybe the 750ti was too much 😛

Here are some benchmarks to look at.

BF4
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2013/11/27/battlefield-4-performance-analysis/3
Arma 3
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-750-ti-review,3750-7.html
Watchdogs
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/watch-dogs-pc-performance,3833-6.html

The 750ti does really well for a $100 in all newer games. 30+fps in watchdogs/bf4 on ultra; nothing wrong with that! :)

I dont think you can fit a 265 in your budget :S


 
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Hmm ok. So is the chosen processor good enough for gaming?
 
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I wasn't trolling, and I wasn't writing one sentence nonsense either, I was saying that your build was not overclockable, when you said that it was. Of course it would be if you added an aftermarket cooler, but if that was your idea then you should tell him that, rather than saying that it's saying that it's overclockable in its current state.

Besides I wouldn't recommend adding a cooler later unless you're happy taking everything apart (most coolers require you to change the backplate).
 
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Well, I think you are a nitpicker personally. If you had been thinking clearly at the time of your first post, you'd see why your were acting so ignorant.

Hey, only have time to just post the build. It's upgradeable and overclockable.
I just had it open in my tab from a previous build, mention what you don't like and I can adjust later :) (busy at the moment)
Click to expand...

There is a way to go about this forum and acting like a cooperative group instead of simply trying to attack each other.
What's wrong with saying "Hey HS99802, make sure to add a cpu cooler later for your build or else your cpu will overheat and it's dangerous/not recommended"

I mean, you didn't even acknowledge the original poster or help him really. You left him back at square one and tried to give him impression the parts in my build were bad. That is why I called you a troll :) (still no better build alternative either)

I'd like to put it behind us anyways, as this is not very productive.

@HS
How are things going with the build? Still unsure on the G3220?
 
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Yeah I'm still looking around man trying to fit things together to see how well they will go, also I won't start buying things until after July 30th because that's when I go back to my state to help my friend build the pc and order the parts and stuff, I'm in California right now, I live in Texas so yeah. So in terms of gaming performance how does the G3420 fair against the x4 750k since the x4 750k has 4 cores vs. the G3420's 2 cores. Modern games now benefit from the extra threads more don't they so wouldn't the x4 750k be more future proof? I understand the G3420 will be a lot stronger with single threaded tasks but will game performance be good with it?
 
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Well, taking into consideration that this is somewhat a "throw away" computer, since you mentioned something about him not upgrading a 760k would be more than acceptable and since you keep leaning towards it, you should probably just get it.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-1897689/intel-pentium-g3220-amd-athlon-750k.html
(the g3420 has better dual core performance than the 8320, which says a lot about how bad the AMD cores are)

If he will be happy with doing medium/high settings depending on the game, then the 760k will deliver those kind of CPU/APUs for the foreseeable future.
There are 2 kind of futureproof: one way is that the product will last a long time. The other is that the company making the product will continue to make compatible products for you to use. The first is Intel, while the latter is AMD.

I was just looking at it from an i5 perspective, because in a year he could spend $150 for an i5 that could very well last him 5+ years, instead of buying a new AMD cpu every 2-3 years. I've had my i5 for 4 years now and it's still running amazingly well.
 
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Ahh I see your point now. Since the intel G3420 is on LGA 1150 my friend could buy a new processor later on and upgrade it to make it last longer. My machine personally is with an intel core i5-3330 it works great enough for me.
 
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So the previous list you made is good but the price there is after $70.00 mail in rebates I'll have to ask my friend if he wants to go through with the MIR stuff, I know I wouldn't.
 
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Yup, just 2 different ways of doing it. Both will game about the same and it's more the "futureproofing" that will differ.

Either way, it's as simply as changing the motherboard/CPU around in the build. Does the rest of it look alright to you?
 
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