Please help me improve my PC build to be better for gaming.

[Chris reckner]

I have a build that i plan to build, but it came to a point where i have $100 extra budget than the build requires. I am looking to find the best improvement in gaming performance with an upgraded part, i just don't know what to improve. Please try to keep it below $800 where possible
Thank you

 

[Chris reckner]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/FGZnXL
sorry i forgot to add it

 

[TopLuca]

This isn't anywhere under $800 but a great value for gaming thanks to the i5 , SSD , better PSU and better GPU :

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/bvVv23
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/bvVv23/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($187.93 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85M-DS3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($66.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($53.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 280 3GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($187.27 @ TigerDirect)
Case: Rosewill Galaxy-03 ATX Mid Tower Case ($34.00 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($47.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHDS118-04 DVD/CD Drive ($17.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($101.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $808.12
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-23 20:31 EDT-0400

 

[Chris reckner]

This isn't anywhere under $800 but a great value for gaming thanks to the i5 , SSD , better PSU and better GPU :

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/bvVv23
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/bvVv23/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($187.93 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85M-DS3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($66.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($53.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 280 3GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($187.27 @ TigerDirect)
Case: Rosewill Galaxy-03 ATX Mid Tower Case ($34.00 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($47.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHDS118-04 DVD/CD Drive ($17.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($101.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $808.12
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-23 20:31 EDT-0400

I must ask why the Intel processor is better when it says lower specs? If this question seems simple i apologize i am semi- new to the whole Pc building Experience.

 

[TopLuca]

No not at all , its not lower specs.

I'll give you an example , you have two cars one of them is a Toyota Corolla and one is Mercedes Benz . For the same of argument the Toyota is AMD and Mercedes is Intel.

The toyota has higher horse power , capable of delivering higher speeds or at least in theory it should be able to out pace the Mercedes . While on the other hand the Mercedes has higher stability , better handling and rough coarse tyres to improve the brakes functionality . Furthermore the Toyota becomes practically unusable at such higher speeds so it can't really deliver what it can achieve in theory , on the contrary the Mercedes not only achieved whats written but it achieved it while consuming less fuel and with more efficiency.

So here the better car is the Mercedes thanks to its all-round approach .

You might be thinking what does this have to do with CPUs , we'll its like cars ; what you're referring to as lower specs is the lower frequency of the i5 .
While its true that the i5 might be running at a slower frequency but it can achieve its job with 100% efficiency in single and multi-threaded apps thus yielding better results with less frequency while the FX is faster on paper but in practice it can't really do its job with 100% efficiency and is weaker in Single threaded apps so it has to do the process multiple times to achieve what the i5 achieved in one try .

The i5 is a Quad core CPU , better at handling single threaded apps like games and compared to the FX is better in multi-threaded applications thanks to its 4 strong cores with separate ALUs and L1 cache.

The FX's performance is compared to an i3 , and only shines when overclocks to match or surpass the i3's performance in some cases.

 

[Kohwali]

No not at all , its not lower specs.

I'll give you an example , you have two cars one of them is a Toyota Corolla and one is Mercedes Benz . For the same of argument the Toyota is AMD and Mercedes is Intel.

The toyota has higher horse power , capable of delivering higher speeds or at least in theory it should be able to out pace the Mercedes . While on the other hand the Mercedes has higher stability , better handling and rough coarse tyres to improve the brakes functionality . Furthermore the Toyota becomes practically unusable at such higher speeds so it can't really deliver what it can achieve in theory , on the contrary the Mercedes not only achieved whats written but it achieved it while consuming less fuel and with more efficiency.

So here the better car is the Mercedes thanks to its all-round approach .

You might be thinking what does this have to do with CPUs , we'll its like cars ; what you're referring to as lower specs is the lower frequency of the i5 .
While its true that the i5 might be running at a slower frequency but it can achieve its job with 100% efficiency in single and multi-threaded apps thus yielding better results with less frequency while the FX is faster on paper but in practice it can't really do its job with 100% efficiency and is weaker in Single threaded apps so it has to do the process multiple times to achieve what the i5 achieved in one try .

The i5 is a Quad core CPU , better at handling single threaded apps like games and compared to the FX is better in multi-threaded applications thanks to its 4 strong cores with separate ALUs and L1 cache.

The FX's performance is compared to an i3 , and only shines when overclocks to match or surpass the i3's performance in some cases.

*clap clap clap* Well said!

 

[TopLuca]

No not at all , its not lower specs.

I'll give you an example , you have two cars one of them is a Toyota Corolla and one is Mercedes Benz . For the same of argument the Toyota is AMD and Mercedes is Intel.

The toyota has higher horse power , capable of delivering higher speeds or at least in theory it should be able to out pace the Mercedes . While on the other hand the Mercedes has higher stability , better handling and rough coarse tyres to improve the brakes functionality . Furthermore the Toyota becomes practically unusable at such higher speeds so it can't really deliver what it can achieve in theory , on the contrary the Mercedes not only achieved whats written but it achieved it while consuming less fuel and with more efficiency.

So here the better car is the Mercedes thanks to its all-round approach .

You might be thinking what does this have to do with CPUs , we'll its like cars ; what you're referring to as lower specs is the lower frequency of the i5 .
While its true that the i5 might be running at a slower frequency but it can achieve its job with 100% efficiency in single and multi-threaded apps thus yielding better results with less frequency while the FX is faster on paper but in practice it can't really do its job with 100% efficiency and is weaker in Single threaded apps so it has to do the process multiple times to achieve what the i5 achieved in one try .

The i5 is a Quad core CPU , better at handling single threaded apps like games and compared to the FX is better in multi-threaded applications thanks to its 4 strong cores with separate ALUs and L1 cache.

The FX's performance is compared to an i3 , and only shines when overclocks to match or surpass the i3's performance in some cases.

*clap clap clap* Well said!

Hahaha thanks a lot , mate !! Really appreciate it

 

[Chris reckner]

No not at all , its not lower specs.

I'll give you an example , you have two cars one of them is a Toyota Corolla and one is Mercedes Benz . For the same of argument the Toyota is AMD and Mercedes is Intel.

The toyota has higher horse power , capable of delivering higher speeds or at least in theory it should be able to out pace the Mercedes . While on the other hand the Mercedes has higher stability , better handling and rough coarse tyres to improve the brakes functionality . Furthermore the Toyota becomes practically unusable at such higher speeds so it can't really deliver what it can achieve in theory , on the contrary the Mercedes not only achieved whats written but it achieved it while consuming less fuel and with more efficiency.

So here the better car is the Mercedes thanks to its all-round approach .

You might be thinking what does this have to do with CPUs , we'll its like cars ; what you're referring to as lower specs is the lower frequency of the i5 .
While its true that the i5 might be running at a slower frequency but it can achieve its job with 100% efficiency in single and multi-threaded apps thus yielding better results with less frequency while the FX is faster on paper but in practice it can't really do its job with 100% efficiency and is weaker in Single threaded apps so it has to do the process multiple times to achieve what the i5 achieved in one try .

The i5 is a Quad core CPU , better at handling single threaded apps like games and compared to the FX is better in multi-threaded applications thanks to its 4 strong cores with separate ALUs and L1 cache.

The FX's performance is compared to an i3 , and only shines when overclocks to match or surpass the i3's performance in some cases.

Well put i don't think i could have got a better explanation anywhere else.

 

[Chris reckner]

[PCPartPicker part list](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/kj2svK) / [Price breakdown by merchant](http://pcpartpicker.com/p/kj2svK/by_merchant/)

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/intel-cpu-bx80646i54460) | $187.93 @ OutletPC
**Motherboard** | [Gigabyte G1.Sniper B5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-motherboard-g1sniperb5) | $95.46 @ Newegg
**Memory** | [G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gskill-memory-f312800cl9d8gbsr) | $69.99 @ Newegg
**Storage** | [Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/seagate-internal-hard-drive-st1000dm003) | $53.98 @ OutletPC
**Video Card** | [MSI Radeon R9 280 3GB TWIN FROZR Video Card](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-video-card-r9280gaming3g) | $187.27 @ TigerDirect
**Case** | [Rosewill Galaxy-03 ATX Mid Tower Case](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/rosewill-case-galaxy03) | $39.99 @ Newegg
**Power Supply** | [EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-power-supply-100b10500kr) | $32.99 @ NCIX US
**Optical Drive** | [Lite-On iHDS118-04 DVD/CD Drive](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/lite-on-optical-drive-ihds11804) | $17.99 @ Newegg
**Operating System** | [Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)](http://pcpartpicker.com/part/microsoft-os-wn700615) | $101.98 @ Newegg
| | **Total**
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available | $767.58
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-23 21:18 EDT-0400 |

I changed it to that because i don't really need the ssd and i like to have the crossfire option in the future.

 

[TopLuca]

Looks good , the SSD is something that's very nice to have as its lightning fast but hey its your money

The motherboard chosen is also something that I wouldn't consider , at that price I'd rather get a H97 Motherboard which is crossfire compatible and supports the next gen of Intel's CPUs "Broadwell".

Like this one : AsRock H97-m Pro 4 ( The M version stands for micro atx , it supports CFX while the non-m doesn't ).

Or Gigabyte H97-D3H also supports CFX.

Other than this everything looks nice and dandy.

 

[alex240]

I have a build that i plan to build, but it came to a point where i have $100 extra budget than the build requires. I am looking to find the best improvement in gaming performance with an upgraded part, i just don't know what to improve. Please try to keep it below $800 where possible
Thank you

this is what im getting maybe this under 800 and you can swap out the 760 for a 660.

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/Just_Another_Bandit/saved/b2WmP6

 

[TopLuca]

I have a build that i plan to build, but it came to a point where i have $100 extra budget than the build requires. I am looking to find the best improvement in gaming performance with an upgraded part, i just don't know what to improve. Please try to keep it below $800 where possible
Thank you

this is what im getting maybe this under 800 and you can swap out the 760 for a 660.

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/Just_Another_Bandit/saved/b2WmP6

R9 280 Beats the GTX 760/660 while costing less :

Full Benchmarks ( indicate the same , even the 270X edges them out ) : http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/amd-radeon-r9-285-tonga,3925-6.html

The CX series of PSU are made of cheap capacitors and is known to fail underload , the B series from EVGA is a better choice.

Only 4 GB of RAM will hinder his gaming and multitasking potential. IMO the build is massively unbalanced .

No offense.

 

[alex240]

I have a build that i plan to build, but it came to a point where i have $100 extra budget than the build requires. I am looking to find the best improvement in gaming performance with an upgraded part, i just don't know what to improve. Please try to keep it below $800 where possible
Thank you

this is what im getting maybe this under 800 and you can swap out the 760 for a 660.

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/Just_Another_Bandit/saved/b2WmP6

R9 280 Beats the GTX 760/660 while costing less :

Full Benchmarks ( indicate the same , even the 270X edges them out ) : http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/amd-radeon-r9-285-tonga,3925-6.html

The CX series of PSU are made of cheap capacitors and is known to fail underload , the B series from EVGA is a better choice.

Only 4 GB of RAM will hinder his gaming and multitasking potential. IMO the build is massively unbalanced .

No offense.

none taken. its my first. also what else is wrong with it in your opinion.

[Fix]? CPU Intel Core i5-4670 3.4GHz Quad-Core
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-B85M-DS3H Micro ATX LGA1150
Memory G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600
Storage Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM
Video Card EVGA GeForce GTX 760 2GB Superclocked ACX
Case Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower
Power Supply EVGA 500W ATX12V / EPS12V
Optical Drive Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer
Operating System Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM)

 

[Kohwali]

For just gaming on a budget build, the general rule of thumb is i5-4430, 8GB of RAM, and a GPU as high as you can go. I believe the 4430 is where the line is drawn for potential bottlenecking.

 

[allanitomwesh]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($169.98 @ OutletPC)

Swapped your CPU and GPU for more performance
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($53.95 @ Amazon)
Video Card: HIS Radeon R9 290 4GB IceQ X² Video Card ($229.99 @ Newegg)
Case: BitFenix Comrade ATX Mid Tower Case ($44.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($28.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHDS118-04 DVD/CD Drive ($21.99 @ Mwave)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($101.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $791.85
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-25 11:49 EDT-0400

 

[Chris reckner]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($169.98 @ OutletPC)

Swapped your CPU and GPU for more performance
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($53.95 @ Amazon)
Video Card: HIS Radeon R9 290 4GB IceQ X² Video Card ($229.99 @ Newegg)
Case: BitFenix Comrade ATX Mid Tower Case ($44.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($28.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHDS118-04 DVD/CD Drive ($21.99 @ Mwave)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($101.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $791.85
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-25 11:49 EDT-0400

What if i change it to this?
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/4JG8xr
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/4JG8xr/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($187.93 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($81.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($53.95 @ Amazon)
Video Card: HIS Radeon R9 290 4GB IceQ X² Video Card ($229.99 @ Newegg)
Case: BitFenix Comrade ATX Mid Tower Case ($44.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($28.99 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHDS118-04 DVD/CD Drive ($21.99 @ Mwave)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($101.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $816.79
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-25 12:31 EDT-0400

 

[TopLuca]

500W on R9 290 is going to be a stretch , Get at least 550W from XFX.

 

[allanitomwesh]

Sorry,I was away.
If you change....
1.You lose overclocking
2.It costs more