Need help picking parts for a PC

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DeJonJ95

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Jul 12, 2013
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This is my first time building a PC and I don't know much as far as parts. My budget is around 700-800. I'm not sure what overclocking is but i've read comments about it, and I'm open to learning, and doing it if it will help my PC.

I'm going to use this PC for gaming primarily, but I'm leaving for school and will use it for school work too. I assume if it can run Bf3 it will be able to browse the internet and let me type word documents, but i felt i should include that I would use it for school.

I don't want to run games on ultra settings or anything, but if within my budget, I could build a PC that could run games like Battlefield 4 or Watch Dogs that would be nice.

Thanks in advance. :)

(I really would like to do these type of things myself in the future, so if you want to give me some advice on parts and stuff and what to loo for, I'd appreciate it)

EDIT: rn I'm using my laptop so I don't have a mouse or keyboard. I'm not really particular about it and will just buy a normal mouse and kb, but if you know of a cheap gaming mouse, i''ll take it. I don't need a 60 dollar deathadder and triple monitor or anything lol
 
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Sangeet Khatri
Okay, so here is my reworked build that i was able to fit in under 800 dollars with "Good Monitor" and "Windows 7"

CPU : The CPU is not quite as powerful as the 4570 but it is not bad either for the price and since the next gen games are almost certain benifitting from more cores, i think that a 6 core CPU would be just fine for gaming.

GPU : The GPU is again not as powerful as the 7970 but it is not bad either. It lies somewhere in between the 7870 and the 7970. So yeah, it would not perform as good as the top of the line 7970 but it should have no problems and is way better than the 7870 you selected.

Storage : Please forget going for SSD for such a tight budget. They never help in games, they help in making the Windows experience...
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This is a beast gaming PC which you can build for exactly 800 US Dollars. It has a nice CPU, An Awesome GPU (comparable to the Nvidia 680 or 770). And can play any current and next gen games at Ultra 1080p without a problem at all. Go for this. I am sure that you would be happy with that build. It is the fastest single GPU Card from AMD, so this definitely is a good buy. Blindly go for this build. There is no doubt that you would love it.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($159.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: ASRock H87 Pro4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($92.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($56.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card ($339.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Gamma Classic (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 600W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($43.00 @ Newegg)
Total: $772.93
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-07-12 14:10 EDT-0400)

If you think that the answer helped, then don't forget to select it as the best answer. It would be highly appreciated by me.
 
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PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($91.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 LE R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($68.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($59.99 @ TigerDirect)
Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($89.99 @ Microcenter)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($56.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card ($189.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Cooler Master eXtreme Power 550W ATX12V Power Supply ($54.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Monitor: Dell E1912H 60Hz 18.5" Monitor ($79.99 @ Microcenter)
Total: $849.86
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-07-12 14:25 EDT-0400)

my build. If i get rid of the ssd to take down price would it affect my gameplay a lot?
 
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Thanks, I'll definitely look into it. I still have to buy Windows and a monitor unfortunately, so with every build I suppose i will have to go a little over my budget.

Can you take a look at the one I posted?
 
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With a 7870, yes you would be able to play the Battlefield 4 but you would have to turn down the settings quite a bit considering that it is going to be so much more graphically intensive than the current Battlefield 3 which the card just runs fine. And also the CPU you chose is not at all even close to the 4570. Let me change some parts just for including monitor and the Windows 7. You should have mentioned it in the first place.

Wait for like 10 minutes, i would be posting the reworked build soon. :)
 
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Thanks a lot man, sorry for about that. ANd I raised my budget a bit to keep the ssd.
 
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Okay, so here is my reworked build that i was able to fit in under 800 dollars with "Good Monitor" and "Windows 7"

CPU : The CPU is not quite as powerful as the 4570 but it is not bad either for the price and since the next gen games are almost certain benifitting from more cores, i think that a 6 core CPU would be just fine for gaming.

GPU : The GPU is again not as powerful as the 7970 but it is not bad either. It lies somewhere in between the 7870 and the 7970. So yeah, it would not perform as good as the top of the line 7970 but it should have no problems and is way better than the 7870 you selected.

Storage : Please forget going for SSD for such a tight budget. They never help in games, they help in making the Windows experience faster. Once the game is loaded, then there is really no difference in speeds between the Hard Disk and the SSD. SSD's are useful in scenarios where people do a lot of video editing and productivity stuff where the performance difference is quite significant with the SSD, but for gaming the SSD's really have no real use.

Case : Again, for that budget, i would stick to the cheapest case available. Cheapest does not mean that it is bad. The thermaltake case i selected is still a very good case with plenty of fan space which makes up for the awesome air cooling. This case is not cheap because it is bad, it is cheap because it is in sale now. it is a good case which costed like 60-70 dollars around a year ago. But now it is selling for very cheap, so this maked the ThermalTake V3 Black Edition case a definite buy as that is an awesome case for the price.

Monitor : A big no from me for that Dell Monitor. You do not want to buy anything less than a 1080p (1920x1080) monitor for gaming. If you really want to enjoy everything then you should definitely go for the monitor that i selected. It is a good 1080p monitor from Asus (one of the best company out there) and it should be the thing to buy. When you invest in a monitor, do invest in a good one because you buy it for once and use it for years to come, so spend a little more for much better monitor.

So, without waiting more let's go right to the build :

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($69.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: A-Data XPG Gaming Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($56.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($254.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Thermaltake VL80001W2Z ATX Mid Tower Case ($19.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Monitor: Asus VS238H-P 23.0" Monitor ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $798.88
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-07-12 20:41 EDT-0400)

If you think that the answer helped, then don't forget to select it as the best answer. It would be highly appreciated by me.
 
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Solution




If budget wasn't a problem, which part of this build would you upgrade? and to what?
 
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If budget was not a problem. I would have changed the CPU + Motherboard to the one below, but since it adds quite a lot to the price around 80-90 dollars, for not so much improvement, so i think that getting an Intel CPU + Motherboard is quite a no brainer. That is why i went with the AMD as it is a beast in performance for the price. But the Intel one is better in games.

CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($159.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: MSI B85M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($64.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $224.98

Also, if i wanted to change something other than the Motherboard + CPU, then that would have had been the SSD. I know it does not offer any gains for gaming but it makes a system faster. Though it is not something that is essentially required. So, if you have extra money then only go for this. Otherwise just don't.

Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($92.99 @ NCIX US)

______________________________________________________________________

In any way you are going to be fine with your build since gaming mostly depends on the GPU and we have got that part covered by a pretty good graphics card so changing other things would not improve performance that much. So finally i would stay that just stick to the AMD 6300 as it is just good enough for the price and this build is already a beast. So just blindly go for it. I am sure that you will like it.
 
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Thank you so much, you've been a huge help today. I'll take your word for it and go with the AMD cpu and Gigabyte mb.. Just one last question. :)

Since the intel came with sound drivers, i hadn't worried about that but do you have a recommendation for sound card?
 
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Thank you so much, you've been a huge help today. I'll take your word for it and go with the AMD cpu and Gigabyte mb.. Just one last question. :)

Since the intel came with sound drivers, i hadn't worried about that but do you have a recommendation for sound card?
Click to expand...

No, there is no need of getting a sound card unless you are an extreme audiophile. Believe me 90 percent of the people won't even notice the difference between the sound by the inbuild audio vs the Sound Card.

The Sound Card is not something made for the general audience. It is made for people who are really into music like Artists, Content Creators, people who have Home Theatre System installed and people like these. For a general gamer there is no difference between the two. I am sure that anyone would be happy with the inbuild audio and there is no need for a sound card.

I hope this helps in clearing your doubts. If you have anything else to ask then feel free to do so. I would be much more than just happy to answer you. It is fun for me, you know and in return i get to learn a lot of new things. So if you have another question. Just feel free to drop it. I would not mind it at all.
 
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So, I was just going to go with a basic mouse and kb but I have some extra cash. What do you suggest for peripherals?
 
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So, I was just going to go with a basic mouse and kb but I have some extra cash. What do you suggest for peripherals?
Click to expand...

I am not sure if i am the right guy to answer that. I do not find anything interesting in those gaming keyboards. They are just buttons according to me. I personally use a Mouse + KB that costed me about 10 dollars . So i have no idea about gaming peripherals since i am pretty much okay with the Cheap Mouse + Keyboard combination and i do not need any more. It is just a button. I just have to press it at the end of the day.

I think you should take advice from someone else for this. Someone who has really used expensive keyboards. He must have the idea that when it is useful. I am not the right guy to answer this. Sorry.

You can always start a new thread about peripherals and someone might reply to it. That is the best way to find your answer. There are quite a lot of enthusiasts who use expensive parts here at TomsHardware Forums. So yeah, make a new thread and your answer should be answered soon.
 
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Okay, that's what I did with my basic(nongaming) lenovo laptop and I never had a problem, but just checking.

Should I invest in a cooler or a better case then? I don't plan on overclocking but I don't want my rig to overheat.
 
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If you still need help, I think I can help you in the peripherals department. So to start, what is your budget for peripherals? This is KB, mouse, headset. I feel like all three of these really add to an awesome gaming experience and I personally would recommend you get all three. If budget is a concern, you can always leave out headset and KB but the mouse should be your #1 priority right now.
 
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Budget is a concern, so I think i can make do with my mechanical kb and $20 sony headset(lol smh) for now. What mouse would you recommend?
 
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