Sub 600 Dollar Build

[Kylie McMilin]

CPU: AMD Phenom II x6 1045T $79.99

Hard Drive: Western Digital 1TB Black $59.99

Motherboard: AsRock Extreme3 $84.99

Power Supply: Antec VP-450 450 Watt $37.99

CD Drive: Samsung x24 $15.99

RAM: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB $59.99

Video Card: GTX 6500Ti Boost $154.99

Case: Thermaltake Commander MSI Snow $47.99

 

[dudewitbow]

if you are getting an AMD cpu, get the older 965be. the 4100 isn't that great, albeit your getting it for 70$

 

[Kylie McMilin]

if you are getting an AMD cpu, get the older 965be. the 4100 isn't that great, albeit your getting it for 70$

Oh, well, the cheapest I can get a 965 BE is for 95$ from newegg, and that will make it over 700 dollars, so I'm not sure... I guess I could drop buying one of my games to get it.. maybe.

 

[dudewitbow]

are you buying all of this entirely on newegg at the moment?

on a side note, its 85 until 5/6 due to 10$ promotion

 

[Kylie McMilin]

No, all on Microcenter currently, as I have one locally. I was going to use the SSD, but would it be better (more performance when recording with fraps) if I got a 965 BE instead of a FX-4100? And I forgot to throw in my CD drive.

 

[dudewitbow]

I cant say how much exactly. The only thing known is that per core, the 965 BE will perform slightly better than the 4100 both in single core and generally multi core performance since the 4100 only has 2 integer cores, and isn't as optimized as its 4300 piledriver brother is. I mean if budget does not allow it, then it should be fine to use a 4100 with a 7790.

 

[Kylie McMilin]

So I heard there was a glitch with BF3, where the person that opens the gate isn't there, would that apply to this processor? (If it isn't patched) and I guess I can take out my SSD and throw in a 965.

 

[giltyler]

Remember Microcenter will match price with Newegg so use that where you can.
The GTX 650TI Boost is same price and better performance and get the 2 gig flavor.

Look at this Microcenter Bundle


ASRock 970 Extreme3 Socket AM3+ 970 ATX AMD Mother $44.99
SKU: 21747

AMD FX 6300 Black Edition 3.5GHz Six-Core Socket A $119.99
SKU: 006759

 

[Kylie McMilin]

I updated my build, thanks for the help guys 😀 plus, I can get another GTX 650Ti Boost (for SLI) later this year. or a 8150?

 

[dudewitbow]

Do not get a bulldozer based cpu. either the older Deneb/Thuban or any newer cpu starting from Piledriver(4300/6300/8320/8350) and up. Bulldozer(4100/4170/6100/8120/8150) is a near lost cause.

 

[Kylie McMilin]

Ok, should I go 1045T? It's on microcenter for $79.99

 

[Onus]

I agree with previous posters that there are some better choices available.

CPU: AMD FX-4100 Quad Core (Possible Overclocked) $69.99
The FX-4100 is a Faildozer chip. Either get a Piledriver (FX-4300 or FX6300), or get a Phenom II. There are deals around on the 965BE or 955BE. You'll also want a 120mm cooler (bigger fan means a lot less noise) for overclocking, at least a little. I use Xigmatek Gaias with good results. They are often on sale for as low as $20. The usually more-expensive CM Hyper212 EVO cools slightly better (1C per Frostytech), but is 6db louder.

RAM: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB DDR3 1600 Mhz $59.99
Ok, but look for deals on RAM; I can't help but think you might get this down to < $50.

Power Supply: Thermaltake TR2 600 Watt $44.99
Oh hell no. This ancient Thermaltake unit isn't good for its label, and is inefficient. On a budget, get a 450W Antec VP-450 instead.

SSD: Samsung 840 120GB (For Fraps recording) $99.99
HardOCP found this drive to be a poor performer, especially on writes. Either step up to the Pro, or get a Crucial M4.

Case: Thermaltake Commander MS-I Snow $47.99
Ok; case is a personal preference item. Check out some of the budget Rosewill cases though. I've used a lot of them. Most were good, and none sucked.

Motherboard: AsRock Extreme3 AM3+ ATX $84.99
Ok. I've often bought ASRock boards, and you do want the 900-series chipset.

Video Card: Saphire 7790 OC $169.99
For the same cost, a GTX650Ti Boost Edition will outperform this card. HardOCP did an excellent review in which it actually performed slightly better in games than the HD7850.

Hard Drive: Segate Baraccuda 1TB $64.99
Make sure it isn't one of those ancient 7200.9 drives. If your budget can take it, I like the WD Black series drives because AFAIK they are the only consumer drives to have retained a five year warranty since the Thailand floods. They're also fast.

 

[Kylie McMilin]

I agree with previous posters that there are some better choices available.

CPU: AMD FX-4100 Quad Core (Possible Overclocked) $69.99
The FX-4100 is a Faildozer chip. Either get a Piledriver (FX-4300 or FX6300), or get a Phenom II. There are deals around on the 965BE or 955BE. You'll also want a 120mm cooler (bigger fan means a lot less noise) for overclocking, at least a little. I use Xigmatek Gaias with good results. They are often on sale for as low as $20. The usually more-expensive CM Hyper212 EVO cools slightly better (1C per Frostytech), but is 6db louder.

RAM: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB DDR3 1600 Mhz $59.99
Ok, but look for deals on RAM; I can't help but think you might get this down to < $50.

Power Supply: Thermaltake TR2 600 Watt $44.99
Oh hell no. This ancient Thermaltake unit isn't good for its label, and is inefficient. On a budget, get a 450W Antec VP-450 instead.

SSD: Samsung 840 120GB (For Fraps recording) $99.99
HardOCP found this drive to be a poor performer, especially on writes. Either step up to the Pro, or get a Crucial M4.

Case: Thermaltake Commander MS-I Snow $47.99
Ok; case is a personal preference item. Check out some of the budget Rosewill cases though. I've used a lot of them. Most were good, and none sucked.

Motherboard: AsRock Extreme3 AM3+ ATX $84.99
Ok. I've often bought ASRock boards, and you do want the 900-series chipset.

Video Card: Saphire 7790 OC $169.99
For the same cost, a GTX650Ti Boost Edition will outperform this card. HardOCP did and excellent review in which it actually performed slightly better in games than the HD7850.

Hard Drive: Segate Baraccuda 1TB $64.99
Make sure it isn't one of those ancient 7200.9 drives. If your budget can take it, I like the WD Black series drives because AFAIK they are the only consumer drives to have retained a five year warranty since the Thailand floods. They're also fast.

Thank you SO MUCH! I will update this component list and get back to you.

 

[Kylie McMilin]

I agree with previous posters that there are some better choices available.

CPU: AMD FX-4100 Quad Core (Possible Overclocked) $69.99
The FX-4100 is a Faildozer chip. Either get a Piledriver (FX-4300 or FX6300), or get a Phenom II. There are deals around on the 965BE or 955BE. You'll also want a 120mm cooler (bigger fan means a lot less noise) for overclocking, at least a little. I use Xigmatek Gaias with good results. They are often on sale for as low as $20. The usually more-expensive CM Hyper212 EVO cools slightly better (1C per Frostytech), but is 6db louder.

RAM: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB DDR3 1600 Mhz $59.99
Ok, but look for deals on RAM; I can't help but think you might get this down to < $50.

Power Supply: Thermaltake TR2 600 Watt $44.99
Oh hell no. This ancient Thermaltake unit isn't good for its label, and is inefficient. On a budget, get a 450W Antec VP-450 instead.

SSD: Samsung 840 120GB (For Fraps recording) $99.99
HardOCP found this drive to be a poor performer, especially on writes. Either step up to the Pro, or get a Crucial M4.

Case: Thermaltake Commander MS-I Snow $47.99
Ok; case is a personal preference item. Check out some of the budget Rosewill cases though. I've used a lot of them. Most were good, and none sucked.

Motherboard: AsRock Extreme3 AM3+ ATX $84.99
Ok. I've often bought ASRock boards, and you do want the 900-series chipset.

Video Card: Saphire 7790 OC $169.99
For the same cost, a GTX650Ti Boost Edition will outperform this card. HardOCP did an excellent review in which it actually performed slightly better in games than the HD7850.

Hard Drive: Segate Baraccuda 1TB $64.99
Make sure it isn't one of those ancient 7200.9 drives. If your budget can take it, I like the WD Black series drives because AFAIK they are the only consumer drives to have retained a five year warranty since the Thailand floods. They're also fast.

Here's my updates list
CPU: AMD Phenom II x6 1045T $79.99

Hard Drive: Western Digital 1TB Black $59.99

Motherboard: AsRock Extreme3 $84.99

Power Supply: Antec VP-450 450 Watt $37.99

CD Drive: Samsung x24 $15.99

RAM: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB $59.99

Video Card: GTX 560Ti Boost $184.99

Case: Thermaltake Commander MSI Snow $47.99

 

[Onus]

Is that a typo on the video card? You list "GTX 560Ti Boost;" you want "GTX 650Ti Boost," and it should be considerably less than $185: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127731 for example, is $155.
That's a great price on the WD Black.
I'm not sure what I think about that CPU choice. It has more cores (which is good for recording while you play), but they're slow cores, and it's a locked chip. I suspect a FX-6300 would perform a lot better.

 

[Kylie McMilin]

It's a typo, and I will check that out. Thanks 😀 and what would my FPS be playing BF3 (On highest possible setting) with a 650 ti boost, and a FX 6300?

 

[Onus]

"Highest possible" settings? I'm not sure; Kepler doesn't like lots of AA. "Enjoyable" settings, with 2xAA (maybe 4x) and nothing lower than "High"? I'll let someone who actually has the game answer, but I'd guess at close to 60FPS.