Under 500$ Gaming PC

[dirtydre01]

Hey guys, I am new to building PCs and want to give it a shot. I am trying to build a PC under 500$ mainly for Diablo 3 and mmos such as Tera and maybe battlefield 4 down the road. Here is what i have so far

Case - Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower

MoBo - GIGABYTE GA-78LMT-S2 amd 760g

PSU - CORSAIR Builder Series CX600 600W ATX12V v2.3

Memory - Mushkin Enhanced Silverline 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666)

CPU - AMD FX-6350 Vishera 3.9GHz Socket AM3+ 125W Six-Core

The graphics card on the motherboard can play diablo 3 on high settings so im not to worried about a graphics card atm. Also i plan on using my laptop Hard drive for the desktop for now cause i really just want an OK gaming pc asap. Please help me! Am i on the right track. Will these parts work together and fit in the case? Will they catch on fire!?!?! Any tips are welcome and thanks!

 

[luckiest charm]

Yeah those things would fit in quite well and no .. they won't catch on fire in any case ..

You need to make sure your storage drive is either RAID 0, RAID 1 or RAID 10.

It is possible to connect a 2.5" (2 1/2") laptop hard drive into a 3.5" (3 1/2") desktop with additional accessories often running between $10 and $20 US dollars. A user will need to purchase a laptop conversion kit or adapter that will include a small PCB that connects to the laptop hard drive and has a standard 40 pin IDE connector and power connector on it.

Because this will also be a non standard upgrade for a desktop computer if you plan on keeping this hard drive in the desktop computer and are not just using it to backup or transfer information you will also need a mounting bracket to put the 2.5" drive in a 3.5" bay or a 5.25" (5 1/4") bay.

Also, without a "mid to high end video card" you can not call a PC, gaming PC and usually gaming PCs are made for higher than $1000. Minimum being $750.

But don't worry about your current stuff compatibility.

 

[Jack Revenant]

Yeah those things would fit in quite well and no .. they won't catch on fire in any case ..

You need to make sure your storage drive is either RAID 0, RAID 1 or RAID 10.

It is possible to connect a 2.5" (2 1/2") laptop hard drive into a 3.5" (3 1/2") desktop with additional accessories often running between $10 and $20 US dollars. A user will need to purchase a laptop conversion kit or adapter that will include a small PCB that connects to the laptop hard drive and has a standard 40 pin IDE connector and power connector on it.

Because this will also be a non standard upgrade for a desktop computer if you plan on keeping this hard drive in the desktop computer and are not just using it to backup or transfer information you will also need a mounting bracket to put the 2.5" drive in a 3.5" bay or a 5.25" (5 1/4") bay.

Also, without a "mid to high end video card" you can not call a PC, gaming PC and usually gaming PCs are made for higher than $1000. Minimum being $750.

But don't worry about your current stuff compatibility.

Eh, you can throw together a gaming PC to $500, though it's not easy. If what OP has will work for the games he wants to play, that's fine, but you could squeeze a system with a decent GPU out of $500, though cuts would have to be made.

 

[luckiest charm]

Then not here in India .. $500 = Rs. 25000 .. and the fun thing is that Core i3 systems start at Rs. 30000. Below that we have all Pentium with no graphics.

Actually I can make a system in $500 ... but that would difficult -

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($91.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock 970DE3/U3S3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($75.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($32.09 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Samsung Spinpoint M8 320GB 2.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 650 Ti 1GB Video Card ($129.99 @ Microcenter)
Sound Card: Creative Labs Audigy SE 24-bit 96 KHz Sound Card ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Wired Network Adapter: Asus NX1101 10/100/1000 Mbps PCI Network Adapter ($13.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 430 ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Cooler Master eXtreme Power Plus 500W ATX12V Power Supply ($39.98 @ Outlet PC)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $500.96
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-07 11:05 EDT-0400)

Heh .. I succeeded ... this one has solid performance.
Also threw in sound card and network card. Had to sacrifice HDD and RAM though but that does not matter as no games use more than 4 GB RAM. IT is in recommend specifications of almost all the modern games out there. If you take out the card, you can put in SSD, and RAM too.

Pretty powerful for a $500 rig. Damn things in USA are so frickin cheap. In India this same rig would cost around $1000. :/

 

[Madn3ss795]

Compatible build you got there. I'm just going to modernize it a bit ( with usb3.0, sata3.0, better power design to support OC-ing and such ) : http://pcpartpicker.com/p/13WLW . You should also consider getting a SSD as boot drive to increase overall system performance, with your laptop drive for storage only. This would be the best option under 100$ : http://pcpartpicker.com/part/plextor-internal-hard-drive-px128m5s . All parts will work normally with each other, of course.

 

[Jack Revenant]

Then not here in India .. $500 = Rs. 25000 .. and the fun thing is that Core i3 systems start at Rs. 30000. Below that we have all Pentium with no graphics.

Actually I can make a system in $500 ... but that would difficult -

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($91.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock 970DE3/U3S3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($75.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($32.09 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Samsung Spinpoint M8 320GB 2.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 650 Ti 1GB Video Card ($129.99 @ Microcenter)
Sound Card: Creative Labs Audigy SE 24-bit 96 KHz Sound Card ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Wired Network Adapter: Asus NX1101 10/100/1000 Mbps PCI Network Adapter ($13.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 430 ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Cooler Master eXtreme Power Plus 500W ATX12V Power Supply ($39.98 @ Outlet PC)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $500.96
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-07 11:05 EDT-0400)

Heh .. I succeeded ... this one has solid performance.
Also threw in sound card and network card. Had to sacrifice RAM though but that does not matter as no games use more than 4 GB RAM. IT is in recommend specifications of almost all the modern games out there.

Pretty powerful for a $500 rig. Damn things in USA are so frickin cheap. In India this same rig would cost around $1000. :/

Yep. It's pretty cool sometimes, living in the decadent heart of a decaying empire. I feel really bad for the generation-after-next, though. They are going to get utterly shafted when things collapse.

I'd generally knock off the sound card, use a $30 Corsair PSU, and see if I couldn't fit a 650 Ti Boost in there, but you get the idea.

Edit: Also, thank you, Madn3ss. Damn decent of you.

 

[luckiest charm]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($91.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock 970DE3/U3S3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($75.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($32.09 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($64.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost 1GB Video Card ($149.99 @ NCIX US)
Wired Network Adapter: Asus NX1101 10/100/1000 Mbps PCI Network Adapter ($13.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 430 ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 600W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($37.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $513.98
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-07 11:22 EDT-0400)

Made slight changes ... Added 600W Corsair PSU, changed storage from 320 GB to standard 1 TB, removed sound card, added GTX 650 TI BOOST 1.02 GHz. Cost is now $513. But I can say this build is stronger than OP's build in all cases.

 

[Jack Revenant]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($91.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock 970DE3/U3S3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($75.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($32.09 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($64.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost 1GB Video Card ($149.99 @ NCIX US)
Wired Network Adapter: Asus NX1101 10/100/1000 Mbps PCI Network Adapter ($13.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 430 ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 600W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($37.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $513.98
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-07 11:22 EDT-0400)

Made slight changes ... Added 600W Corsair PSU, changed storage from 320 GB to standard 1 TB, removed sound card, added GTX 650 TI BOOST 1.02 GHz. Cost is now $513. But I can say this build is stronger than OP's build in all cases.

Stronger in all cases save one: It won't upgrade as well. That said, it's a heck of a good build, and I think that it would be a good choice for OP. However, if he intends to add a GPU later and what Madn3ss posted will work for the moment, his would be stronger in the long run.

 

[dirtydre01]

Thanks for all the ideas!! When i get home i will do a little more research and implement your ideas and see where i go. Ill post my final build and see if it is a good choice. Thanks again guys!!

 

[Jack Revenant]

Thanks for all the ideas!! When i get home i will do a little more research and implement your ideas and see where i go. Ill post my final build and see if it is a good choice. Thanks again guys!!

I'm glad we were able to help.

I look forward to seeing your final build.

 

[dirtydre01]

Ok, so here is where I'm at.
Case - Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 49.99$
Optimal drive - ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner 19.99$ (optional)
MoBo - GIGABYTE GA-78LMT-S2 AM3+ AMD 760G Micro ATX AMD Motherboard 49.99$
PSU - APEVIA ATX-CB700W 700W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Power Supply - OEM 39.99$
Ram - GeIL EVO Veloce Series 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10660) - 28.99$
CPU - AMD FX-6350 Vishera 3.9GHz Socket AM3+ 125W Six-Core Desktop Processor FD6350FRHKBOX 139.99$
-----330$ all together which saves me a bit of money for an OK GPU----
I have a question though. If i want to use my laptop's hard drive as my main drive what is the EXACT cable i will need to get. I have a hitachi HTS543232a7A384 ATA. I really want to use my laptops hard drive cause thats an easy 130$ saved...

I did benchmarks on the other CPU's that was mentioned earlier and they seem weak. Am I missing something that I dont get? With the saved up money I can afford a hd 7870 GPU! Which seems to be pretty good! Thanks again for all the help. You guys are awesome!

 

[Madn3ss795]

Ok, so here is where I'm at.
Case - Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 49.99$
Optimal drive - ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner 19.99$ (optional)
MoBo - GIGABYTE GA-78LMT-S2 AM3+ AMD 760G Micro ATX AMD Motherboard 49.99$
PSU - APEVIA ATX-CB700W 700W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Power Supply - OEM 39.99$
Ram - GeIL EVO Veloce Series 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10660) - 28.99$
CPU - AMD FX-6350 Vishera 3.9GHz Socket AM3+ 125W Six-Core Desktop Processor FD6350FRHKBOX 139.99$
-----330$ all together which saves me a bit of money for an OK GPU----
I have a question though. If i want to use my laptop's hard drive as my main drive what is the EXACT cable i will need to get. I have a hitachi HTS543232a7A384 ATA. I really want to use my laptops hard drive cause thats an easy 130$ saved...

I did benchmarks on the other CPU's that was mentioned earlier and they seem weak. Am I missing something that I dont get? With the saved up money I can afford a hd 7870 GPU! Which seems to be pretty good!

That PSU is bad, stick with the CX600 ( a great deal atm that you don't want to miss ). As for motherboard, consider paying 10$ more to get the Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 due to heatsink for the power design and usb3.0 ports. The newer version of Rosewill challenger that supports usb3.0 is also 10$ cheaper than older version atm. And here we are : http://pcpartpicker.com/p/14bL9

 

[dirtydre01]

PSU is bad, stick with the CX600 ( a great deal atm that you don't want to miss ). As for motherboard, consider paying 10$ more to get the Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 due to heatsink for the power design and usb3.0 ports. The newer version of Rosewill challenger that supports usb3.0 is also 10$ cheaper than older version atm. And here we are : http://pcpartpicker.com/p/14bL9

I changed my MoBo to the one you preferred and switched back to the PSU i had before. I saw the difference in the mobo and it is well worth the extra 10$. The link you showed me is a 1600 ram but i thought the mobo can only handle 1333? I am really liking this build im so excited lol.

 

[Madn3ss795]

Yes it supports DDR3 speed up to 1333mhz only, but doesn't mean that it doesn't support 1600mhz and above bars. it's just that the speed will be limited at 1333mhz. 1600mhz bars aren't so expensive over 1333mhz ones, however, so grabbing a 1600mhz bar from right now will be more useful in the future in case you want a newer motherboard ( that supports 1600mhz speed ).