Rate My (Future) Budget Build

[timeconsumer]

In about 1 month I plan on doing a new build for a budget gaming PC. I'm trying to stay around $600 for the box (no OS or peripherals included). I want something able to handle games decently at 1900x1080, ultra high settings not required. Even so, a lot of titles I play are 5-10 years old (nostalgia gamer). Of course it will also be used for Netflix, surfing, Excel, some photo editing, etc. I want something that can last 5+ years if possible (my current box is pushing 8), I don't plan on overclocking anything. I would prefer Mini-ITX just for fun.

CPU: Core i3 4160
Motherboard: ASRock B85M-ITX
RAM: 8gb G.Skill Ripjaws X 1600
Graphics: AMD R7 260X 2gb (brand depends on price/availability when I purchase)
SSD: 256gb Crucial MX100
HDD: 1TB Western Digital/Seagate
PSU: 500w EVGA
Case: Cooler Master Elite 110

This puts me pretty close to $600. I appreciate any advice or guidance on the selection of parts.

 

[DonkeyOatie]

Gone a bit over, but

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($174.61 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M-ITX/AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($79.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: Team Xtreem Dark Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($94.99 @ Adorama)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R7 260X 2GB Core Edition Video Card ($112.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 130 Mini ITX Tower Case ($32.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: Antec Basiq Plus 550W 80+ Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $638.43
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-03 20:09 EST-0500

i5 and WiFi.

 

[drew0501]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/YtQKbv

do not get a ssd at this price range this is the best performance for your budget

 

[timeconsumer]

Thanks for your feedback and suggestions guys. I really appreciate the insight. Here's my thoughts:

Honestly an SSD is pretty much going to be a requirement for me just for everyday convenience of use, hence why I opted for less graphics card to fit it in the budget. I may have mislabeled this as a gaming build (it is, but pretty much every game I play is 5+ years old), the added graphics muscle just isn't necessary for my games. My goal was to make something well-rounded and low priced.

The most important thing for me is it being cost effective. The more I save on the box the more I can spend on other parts of the system like getting 2 nice displays, which again is going to be more important to me than a system that can get 60 FPS in Battlefield4 on Ultra or a high score on Futuremark.

If I can work a core I5 into the budget then that would be nice because I do work with some pretty complex spreadsheets sometimes. I can also save some money by just skipping the HDD and recycling my 640gb WD into this build. I'm trying not to rely too much on the mail-in rebates because sometimes you just never get them.

Finally, most of this is likely going to be purchased off newegg because I have a gift card there. So some of these price comparisons won't work for me unfortunately.

 

[DonkeyOatie]

url=http://pcpartpicker.com/p/HrzXpg]PCPartPicker part list[/url] / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($191.98 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock B85M-ITX Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($77.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Team Xtreem Dark Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R7 260X 1GB Core Edition Video Card ($111.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 110 Mini ITX Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec 450W ATX Power Supply ($43.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $620.89
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-04 04:47 EST-0500

But I would rather use the motherboard in my first build.

 

[LucoTF]

In about 1 month I plan on doing a new build for a budget gaming PC. I'm trying to stay around $600 for the box (no OS or peripherals included). I want something able to handle games decently at 1900x1080, ultra high settings not required. Even so, a lot of titles I play are 5-10 years old (nostalgia gamer). Of course it will also be used for Netflix, surfing, Excel, some photo editing, etc. I want something that can last 5+ years if possible (my current box is pushing 8), I don't plan on overclocking anything. I would prefer Mini-ITX just for fun.

CPU: Core i3 4160
Motherboard: ASRock B85M-ITX
RAM: 8gb G.Skill Ripjaws X 1600
Graphics: AMD R7 260X 2gb (brand depends on price/availability when I purchase)
SSD: 256gb Crucial MX100
HDD: 1TB Western Digital/Seagate
PSU: 500w EVGA
Case: Cooler Master Elite 110

This puts me pretty close to $600. I appreciate any advice or guidance on the selection of parts.

I like it, very solid for the price.

Don Quixote's option is also ok (dropping the extra storage in favor of an i5) but there's nothing wrong with using a haswell i3 for gaming, or anything that you're doing

 

[timeconsumer]

Awesome stuff. That last i5 build is definitely an option, depending on how much I end up spending on displays.

 

[qwerty987123]

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

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($173.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M-ITX/AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($79.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($94.99 @ Adorama)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R7 260X 2GB Video Card ($104.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Thermaltake Core V1 Mini ITX Tower Case ($37.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: Antec Basiq Plus 550W 80+ Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $586.93
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-04 09:28 EST-0500

 

[timeconsumer]

Just curious because I see we're straddling a range with the PSUs. I figured 500w would be somewhat overkill but plenty of overhead as the capacitors age in 5+ years, hence why I included it in my original build. How would say a 430w or a 450w handle this situation? I wouldn't necessarily do it to save an extra $5, but rather to get myself into the 80+ bronze category for more efficiency. Thoughts?

 

[LucoTF]

Don't worry too much about bronze etc,also total wattage too - the +12v rating is more important than total wattage.

That said, yes a good quality 450w could power your rig but it's worth spending a little extra for a good quality 550w to give you more options for the future

 

[DonkeyOatie]

About 6 months ago, I embarked on my first new computer build in many years. (In a previous life, I did quite a few). I looked at my needs and budget, and read everything I could and decided that an i3 would do everything I needed' and then I thought about the future.

So I went back to threads from five years ago on this and other sites and looked at what they were building then, and what was being upgraded today. What I discovered was that those who chose a good higher-end CPU then, were still using them today, and had no plans to upgrade. Those who chose a lower-end processor, had replaced or were thinking of replacing them.

Motherboards were good, only replaced for the socket on the new CPU. RAM was fine and might need to be upped to 8GB (16Gb in the future?)
Cases and PSUs were forever unless something else needed to be upgraded, and everyone lived with the storage they had.

GPU's have a very short half-life and are replaced or upgraded more frequently than anything else, in general.

What I took from this was to get a better CPU than I needed, so I got an i5 (an not an i7 because I think it will be obsolete before I really need it ).

There are many things you might upgrade in a system in the next three years, but the CPU should not be one of them.

That was my experience/thinking. I share it for your information.

 

[timeconsumer]

Thanks for all the help again, I ended up deciding to scrap the ITX plan and re-use my old CM 690 case and 640gb WD hard drive along with these components. Going to use boxed cooler. Decided to throw a few extra dollars at the PSU, if only for the peace of mind. Parts should be here in a few days, can't wait!

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/4vqfjX
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/4vqfjX/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($173.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($60.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Team Vulcan 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($52.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($99.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 280 3GB Dual-X Video Card ($184.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $631.90
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-02 21:50 EDT-0400

 

[DonkeyOatie]

Good choice on the GPU, that's a great step up. Combined with the CPI, that will handle your stated needs for quite a while.

 

[timeconsumer]

Yeah, glad I took your advice on the i5 and h97 combo. I feel that I nailed a sweet spot on price/performance for most of my parts. Especially if the $20 rebate on the GPU actually comes through and brings it down to $165.

Got really lucky today and got in touch with someone locally selling a used Asus VG248QE for $170. Assuming it's in good condition that should be an excellent way to top off this build. I'll find out tomorrow.

 

[DonkeyOatie]

Let us know how it turns out.

 

[timeconsumer]

It's turned out great, as a matter of fact. Everything went together smoothly and the system is fast as lightning. A couple things to note:

1) I easily tightened the timings on the memory to 8-8-8-21 @ 1600. I didn't attempt to go any further. I'm very happy with the value of this kit.
2) This GPU is a monster. I took it up to 1175MHz core clock and 1500 (6000) Mhz vram clock. That's a 25% increase in core speed and 20% increase on vram speed. I didn't try to push it any harder than that, but I likely could. It handled all this without going above 70c or 50% fan speed...fully loaded!!
3) CPU stays at a decent 65c under prime95 load with stock cooler and thermal paste, can't complain about that.
4) Benchmark performance has been great. I average over 55fps on Heaven bench @ 1080p, Ultra, 8xAA.

My expectations have been 100% exceeded by the machine. Couldn't be happier (unless it was free)

 

[DonkeyOatie]

Post some pictures, we like pretty pictures.

Thanks for the feed-back. It may help someone else with their decision.