System Builder Marathon, Q2 2013: $650 Gaming PC

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I wonder how a Richland APU + FM2 ITX board would fair against this build.


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD A10-6800K 4.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($139.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: MSI FM2-A75IA-E53 Mini ITX FM2 Motherboard ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2400 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($65.58 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 7870 XT 2GB Video Card ($209.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced (Black) Mini ITX Tower Case ($39.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $640.52
 


I agree probably pretty close I would imagine. Plus you could probably slip in the operating system into the build without cheating the budget price since most don't walk around with a retail version of windows 7.
 

Well, i have 8GB of RAM (and 3 SSDs), and from all the performance monitoring i've done, probably only one game's pushed the system over 4GB. I think that game was Planetside 2, i'm not sure, but i do remember PS2 being held back when i had only 4GB.

I do agree with what you're saying, but i'm just pointing out that it's an acceptable compromise to run 4GB of RAM.

I know quite a few people with 4GB and zero complaints, though i myself am happier with 8GB.
 
Its odd that a Athlon X4 FM2 parts have been out for a year and THG has been precluded from it, While it is a good CPU it defeats the purpose of FM2, and to be honest the prowess of a APU with or without discrete graphics is impressive for its cost. I am merely questioning why Budget is bumped higher and higher every builder marathon, to me a budget build is $400 or less, and as stipulated you can get a strong setup around $700 so its not really a budget build.
 


On second thought, the AMD Athlon X4 750K would be a perfect pair for a FM2 ITX board since it is basically a underclocked A10-5800K CPU core which overclocks better than the 5800K.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD Athlon II X4 750K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($79.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Zalman CNPS8900 Extreme CPU Cooler ($45.36 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI FM2-A75IA-E53 Mini ITX FM2 Motherboard ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 7950 3GB Video Card ($252.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced (Black) Mini ITX Tower Case ($39.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $648.27
 


we have our sub $650 mini itx champion right here. I'd take this over that crap build they put together this month.
 
It's a shame that recent product launches have delayed these articles by a month, but there hasn't been four contiguous publishing days available since the middle of May. I was keeping my fingers crossed that these would go up before Haswell and Richland, but was a little relieved when I found out that Haswell isn't the great overclocker that everyone expected.
 


I would really like to see these articles become monthly or bi-monthly instead of quarterly. Maybe consider picking a budget per month and building 2-3 different builds at said budget?
 
omg almost same with my rig!!! only mobo is diferent, my mobo is z75, but i almost buy that one b75 itx.. the wd, and cpu are the exact same.. gpu radeon hd 7870 xt diff brand..
 
Yeah, put Mercedes rims on a Ford Sierra and call it an S-Class.
If you call ANY PC with a dual core CPU a "Gaming PC", you don't know what planet you're living on.
In a world where most modern games are designed to take advantage of at least 4 cores, where the most powerful CPU manufacturer, Intel, is about to release an 8-core chip for CPU intensive tasks...you gotta be nuts to consider ANY dual-core PC a "gaming" computer.
The dual core era is over, get over it already!
Don't take this as a "moar coars" approach, but rather as a suggestion for a properly configured computer.
When it comes to configuring a PC don't build it for the stuff that's out today only.
A motherboard with support for only 2 DIMMs - again, since memory is the cheapest part in a PC, why limit yourself, especially when it comes to a "gaming" PC?
Then again, 4GB is the standard nowadays, WHO ON EARTH EVER CONSIDERS BUYING 2GB DIMMs for a NEW PC?
I see a very good move from a 1GB GPU to one with twice the VRAM.
Personally, I would almost never consider ASRock products for motherboards, unless they're in the mid to high end range - maybe I could go with one of their products because of a very specific reason - but I still doubt that since there's ASUS, Gigabyte and some others . I guess it all goes down to features available on board, but anyway.
Overall I feel this configuration is unbalanced: a dual core(wow!) CPU paired with a 2GB HD7850, then an ASRock motherboard, a 470GB HDD, and 4GB of RAM in a 2x2 configuration(REALLY? - Why limit yourself when that's the cheapest part to upgrade and one of the most effective upgrades?).
 
3ogdy, at the stated price point AND in the mini-ITX form factor (apparently selected for all the machines this cycle), all of your "arguments" are invalid. While I have concerns about the longevity of this build, that's it. The results show clearly it is able to play modern games well; did you even read them?
That said, I'd love to see how that AMD build with the 750K would compare. Heat is still a concern, but that chip ought to do pretty well (especially vs. an i3, especially in productivity).
 


Interesting. Shall I pick this apart?

It's actually $760 as built, we shop one site and do not count mail-in rebates like you did. (So that's an $85 CPU + $75 cooler) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=35-103-179&Tpk=N82E16835103179

It utilized a processor that was yet to hit North America. Would need to have been A8 or A10 instead. Those were considered, briefly.

Where are you going to mount that 120mm radiator in the Elite 120? Cut out the HDD cage? Where's the HDD going then?

Next, do you really think the 750K plus a radiator is a better use of gaming funds than a far cheaper Ivy Core i3? I don't.

 
It's somewhat popular with DIY builders. You can't please all of the people all of the time...
You're exactly right. In fact, I find that most people who claim to "never" use optical drives are bold-faced liars. They know that in truth they rarely use optical media, but intentionally change the word rarely to never in order to exaggerate their point. I'm sure that the exceptions to this theory will speak out. I'm also sure that many of the people who speak out against my second statement will fall under my first statement.
It's funny how some people presume that a system builder wouldn't be able to transfer the OS from his previous build.
At least you're not feigning ignorance. Please read the title.
Your concept destroyed the HTPC market. An HTPC should be the size of audio rack components, connected to a 500W amplifier, and able to replace the cable box, the DVR, the blu-ray player and gaming console :)
It's a sizeable, and probably the fastest-growing segment of the gaming PC market. And it's not just for LAN parties, check out Chris' Tiki articles. Some people just like to surround themselves with tiny appliances.

 
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/17H4F
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/17H4F/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/17H4F/benchmarks/

CPU: AMD A8-5600K 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor ($109.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Seidon 120M 86.2 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock FM2A85X-ITX Mini ITX FM2 Motherboard ($105.38 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($67.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($67.23 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7790 1GB Video Card ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Case: BitFenix Prodigy (Black) Mini ITX Tower Case ($59.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $600.55
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-18 08:44 EDT-0400)

That is plenty for budget gaming, everything will at least play on high settings at full HD resolutions, even then I have reservations:

APU: The A8 5600K has a rebate special with that motherboard but for a budget gamer you want less heat and power draw, the A8 5500/A8 6500 are better options, it then mitigates the need for a aftermarket cooler. A 1TB drive is also probably unecessary for a gaming system unless you are a compulsive storage junky or like installing games and never really playing them all. I have a GTX650ti Boost and it is a upgrade on the 7790, that said the 7790's power and the performance given is more than copious for a budget gamer on discrete.
 

You've answered your own question, you bought an OEM license. They're not transferable. Retail licenses are. My Windows license is transferable.
 


You're allowed to replace most of the system though. Technically you could toss your old hard drive in the new PC and NOT use it, and still have the old hard drive in the new PC.
 

An entirely agreeable set of responses.
 
M-ITX is good and all and looks nice and snug but when you really get into it, they hardly have less profile than Midi Towers, the CM120 Elite, Prodigy, Sugo's are all still as bulky as a CM690II or as big as a TJ08e and 350D, then you factor in what every enthusiast buying M-ITX from us runs into and that is heat. Reference design coolers for GPU's is preferable but the heat inside still results in high ambient temperatures for high end parts and the fact that ITX boards are pretty flimsy, popped many a board pushing voltage and tweaking. Small isn't always better.

 

Of course, but assumption here (i guess) was that you're moving to a new motherboard as well. I had to call MS only when i switched the motherboard, processor remaining the same.

Um...didn't quite follow the second sentence. I mean, there wouldn't be any point to that, right (moving the old HDD to the new PC and then not use it)? :|
 


1) any "system builder" who shops one site when doing a budget build isn't in system building but advertising. If you don't shop around when you're spending just $650 on a machine you deserve a crappy box like the i3 you guys cobbled together. good lord what a mess. I built my computer on a $275 budget, and i got a 1080p monitor, 5.1 surround sound 500W speaker system, blue ray player, as well as a PhII x4 965be and a HD 7770 plus a glorious Antec Ninehundred Two. Overall, while yours would game a bit better, i'd take the total package i got at 40% the price.

2) how can you not count mail in rebates? I got a $30 mail in rebate from MSI for the 7770 i purchased... brought the price down from $114 to $84. If you're working on a tight budget and looking far and wide for a deal that rebate might be the difference between getting a mediocre monitor or getting a HD monitor (i got a 1080p 22" monitor thanks to that rebate ($60))

2) the Athlon II x4 750 has been available stateside for almost a month. So don't give me that crap that it's not available. It went available about a week after your last "best cpu" list.

3) good catch on the radiator, i wasn't paying close attention to the cpu cooling, and i know you can stick a 120mm rad into that case (if you take out the HD bay), however you need a 2.5" drive to have room to mount one once you take out the HD bay; you can mount a 2.5" drive on the side of the HD cage between the support and the side of the case, you definitely don't have room for a 3.5" drive... i don't think some people appreciate how cramped that case can be. I would probably stick the rad outside the case. no other place for it. That would require a bit of work, but that's about all you can do.

4) yes, i would take a water cooled 750K + 7950 over an i3 + 7870xt. Unless you're FPS watching in civ5... or a big skyrim fan the 750k should make a faster gaming machine under a solid overclock.
 
Thanks to the fact that computers get cheaper over time I tried to build this same system with PC parts picker. I managed to get 8GB of ram into it for under the $600 mark.
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/17KDV
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/17KDV/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/17KDV/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i3-3220 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor ($119.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock B75M-ITX Mini ITX LGA1155 Motherboard ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($55.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Scorpio Blue 500GB 2.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($50.96 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: HIS Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card ($199.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced (Black) Mini ITX Tower Case ($39.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $586.90
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-18 13:08 EDT-0400)
 
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