Exactly. You just click through the component pages, toss everything into your cart, and proceed to checkout—where you'll enter your info, shipping address, payment method, and select your delivery options. It’s a foolproof process. I'd recommend doing a quick Google search for the specific retailer's name to check out user reviews first. For instance, if you use Newegg, they offer free shipping (which isn't a huge deal anyway) and free assembly on orders over $667. From there, all you have to do is install the OS and your drivers. There are plenty of reliable shops like that . On another note—is an SSD absolutely mandatory? I'm asking because if we ditch the drive (or maybe go with an SSHD instead), we could potentially squeeze more gaming performance out of the build by opting for a beefier GPU or a more powerful processor
If you're paying cash, I’d suggest ordering from retailers like Newegg or Micro Center instead. They’re significantly cheaper, totally reliable, and they often throw in free assembly and stuff like that. You can even pay via COD when it hits your doorstep. If you happen to be in Los Angeles, maybe check out Best Buy:
Keep an eye out, though—that GPU is on sale until August 11th.
With that $67 buffer of about $4,500, you won't find anything meaningful performance-wise at Best Buy anyway—they don't carry the Intel Core i5-3570K, an i5 won't cut it, a beefier GPU won't fit, and they don't stock SSHDs... You could maybe pick out a nicer case if you really wanted to.
We don't know which specific i3 you're talking about or which GPU is actually in there—whether it's a Radeon HD 7700 Windows 7 Ultimate version with DDR3 or DDR5, or maybe a 7770 or 7790. That difference matters immensely. I also need to know the motherboard, the power supply, and the case. If this is just some used setup or a pre-built rig someone slapped together, just skip it.
Here is a comparable new build:
1 x Intel Core i3-4130 Processor, 3.40GHz 1 x ASUS H81M-K, 1150, Intel ® H81 express chipset, DDR3 1 x DDR3 8GB (1x8GB) Crucial, 1600MHz CL11 1 x Sapphire R7 260X 2GB GDDR5, 2GB GDDR5 128bit, 28nm 1 x WD 1TB HDD, Caviar Blue 10EZEX, 1000 GB, SATA3, 64 MB, 3.5", 24mo 1 x Samsung 120 GB 840 evo Basic, SSD, 120 GB Capacity, 2.5" 1 x XFX Core edition 80 450W PSU - EasyRail technology 1 x ZAL-ZM-T2 plus micro tower case. 189(W) x 427.5(H) x 364(D)mm 1 x LG GH24NS DVD burner, DVD±RW, 24x DVD±R, 8x DL, 40x CD-R
$1413 This is all brand new, featuring a much stronger graphics card, an excellent power supply with a 5-year warranty, a top-tier SSD, and a 1TB hard drive...
It really depends on what you intend to do with the machine—what kind of software you're running or which games you play. If you need an all-arounder capable of handling heavy rendering alongside gaming, I’d suggest going with an FX build. However, if your focus is strictly gaming, or if you plan to split your budget equally between the CPU and GPU, an Intel combination is the way to go. An i5 can definitely squeeze out higher FPS in many titles, provided you pair it with a high-end graphics card. On the flip side, the fx83xx remains a much better value; it's a total best-buy.
I would personally opt for the modifications you suggested. 😬
To be perfectly blunt, that Intel build just doesn't make sense—it’s completely unbalanced. You’ve paired a top-tier overclocking motherboard with an excellent CPU (honestly, you'd be much better off going with the i5-4690K), but then you undercut the whole thing with an entry-level cooler. You aren't going to see any meaningful overclocking gains or decent temperatures with that setup. On the flip side, if you decide to pivot to AMD, it would be a waste to miss out on the massive cost advantage they offer. If you want to stay efficient, stick to the architecture's strengths by opting for an FX 8320 paired with either an ASUS M5A97 EVO R2.0 or a Gigabyte 990XA-UD3.
By the way, here’s an interesting video regarding power consumption. Click. Keep in mind that these prices are based on California rates, but you can easily adapt the formula to fit your own location.
Here is one of my old posts, complete with plenty of links:
Take a look at the Linus Tech Tips test—check out the 6:17 mark specifically, though you really should watch the whole thing.
Take a look at games running on the most demanding engines out there—Far Cry 3, Crysis 3, and Battlefield 3. Every single word this guy says is spot on. I couldn't agree more. Here’s my take on Battlefield 3 Multiplayer—which, honestly, remains one of the most CPU-intensive titles out there, even more demanding than BF4 in some ways. I’m running this on a gtx 660 ti with Linus Tech Tips hardware references in mind. Think of it this way: you’re looking at an FX 8350 pushed to a rock-solid 4.6 GHz—a benchmark that any individual unit should be able to hit reliably. On the other side of the coin, you have the i5-4670K hitting an optimal overclock of 4.2 GHz, which should also be a standard achievement for every single chip in that lineup.
It’s common sense that games optimized for just two to four cores will pull higher FPS on an Intel chip due to superior IPC; seeing a Pentium or an i3 outperform an FX 8350 isn't exactly a shocker. Honestly, I don't find those specific benchmarks all that relevant. For instance, older titles like StarCraft II are still going to run beautifully on an FX processor. On the flip side, an i3 3 xxx simply can't keep up with even a mid-range card like a GTX 650 Ti when you're playing Battlefield 3 multiplayer.
It’s much smarter to look toward the future. We're heading into an era where next-gen titles will become the standard, whereas right now, those kinds of demanding games are really just the exception to the rule. That's exactly why the i5 K comes out on top in most of our testing. Most people stick with the same PC for several years at a time. You've got heavy hitters like Watch Dogs, the new Witcher, The Division, or a new Dragon Age coming to Xbox... we aren't exactly talking about playing Tetris here.
If you already know you’re going to be grinding that specific game and running its dedicated software around the clock, then investing in specialized hardware is absolutely the way to go. It's all about efficiency. For something like Guild Wars, though, an FX 83xx is definitely overkill.
If you're planning to use this PC for more than just gaming—say, if you're diving into heavy rendering tasks or if you're the type of user who streams while playing and multitasking all at once—then the fx83xx is actually a solid choice.
Keep in mind that back then, those games weren't even fully utilizing all of the FX cores yet. There’s a chance performance could actually improve down the road if developers finally figure out how to optimize properly for that many cores. To me, this whole situation feels exactly like the old battle between the Q6600 and the E8400. You had that dual-core chip performing better in the games of its era, but then the next generation of software arrived and completely blew everything out of the water. Now, all of that is just my own speculation...
And now we reach the most critical metric of all: the price-to-performance ratio. At the end of the day, people just need to get the best bang for their buck, and your budget dictates everything. Let's talk about the first serious motherboards actually built for overclocking—roughly in this same class of performance and feature sets.
An FX 8320 paired with a Gigabyte 990 XA-UD3 or an M5A97 EVO R2.0, cooled by a Hyper 212—that setup will run under 2. $67 With an i7-3770K, an Extreme3 motherboard, and a Hyper cooler, you can pull the whole setup together for under $2,800. 4670K + extreme 3/asus K + hyper = 2 900/2 950
Basically, you have $600$283 left over for the rest of the build. Since everyone eventually asks how a specific game will run, you really want that extra cash going toward a beefier GPU to build a true gaming powerhouse. Of course, if you're sitting on a massive budget and building a PC strictly for gaming, an i5 K is a fine choice. However, in my opinion, the 8320 is hands-down the best-buy CPU on the market right now. It’s a total all-rounder—great for work and serious gaming—and incredibly affordable considering how much future-proofing it offers.
Most games are GPU-bound anyway, so a Piledriver FX 8xxx series chip isn't lagging far behind any i7 (and it's half the price!). It’s incredible value, plus it's overclockable. With FX, all CPUs are unlocked by default; you just need to invest in a solid motherboard and an aftermarket cooler, then it's entirely up to the user if they want to push the clocks. I should also mention again that the FX8320 is essentially the same CPU as the FX8350, just clocked higher out of the box. The latter costs a few hundred more, which makes it a pretty poor value compared to this one...
1 x XFX R9-270A, R9-270A-CDFC, double Dissipation edition 925 m boost 1 x Intel Core i5-4440 (3.10GHz,1MB,6MB,84 W,1150) Box 1 x MSI H87M-E33, Socket : 1150, Intel H87, 2xDDR3 1333/1600 1 x DDR3 8GB (1x8GB) Crucial, 1600MHz CL11 1 x HDD WD 1TB, Caviar Blue 10EZEX, 1000 GB, SATA3,64 MB, 3,5", 24mj 1 x XFX Core edition 80 450W PSU - EasyRail technology 1 x Zalman ZM-T1 PLUS micro tower case. 189(W) x 427,5(H) x 364(D)mm 1 x LG GH24NS, DVD±RW, 24x DVD±R ,8x DL , 40x CD-R
$1508eBay might eventually list some overpriced junk. Forget about upgrading to a K-series CPU or overclocking—you're stuck with non-K here. Your first priority down the road should definitely be adding an SSD.
Anthony Jackson2 said:Here is the picture so you can judge for yourself. There isn't any branding listed, which usually means it's just some off-brand unit.
Now that I'm looking closer, I noticed the max output is only 375W, whereas the Dell OptiPlex P4 model specifies 400W.
I also found out the previous owner had an x800 GTO inside, if that helps anyone.
Honestly, I'm leaning more toward grabbing a low-power Core 2 Duo and that GTS 250 instead of hunting for newer, pricier cards that might actually perform worse. Getting a better CPU and a better GPU for basically the same price is a win.🤷
Whatever it is, it won't cut it even with a low-wattage CPU and the GTS 250. You really have to check those tiny power consumption specs—what matters most is how much current it puts out on the +12V rail. That old x800 GTO pulled less than 50W. If you're shopping around New York City, this is a killer deal, provided this is still available.
Chris Robinson25 said:On the XFX page under the recommended specs for this card, they suggest using a beefy XFX 750W power supply. 😬 Now it's your turn to step into Chris Robinson25's shoes. 😁
You’re already the second person today asking me this exact same question about the same graphics card.
Don't bother; whatever they write is just pure guesswork intended to cover their own backs. The term "750W" is completely relative. They have no way of knowing what kind of power supply you're actually running—whether it’s some bottom-tier junk, a decent mid-range unit, or a high-end powerhouse that might slightly undershoot its rated wattage just to squeeze out those Gold or Platinum efficiency certifications. They can't possibly know the actual draw of the rest of your configuration either. It’s common knowledge exactly how much power a specific configuration pulls, and just as important, exactly how much quality wattage a power supply can actually deliver.
Here’s the total power draw for the entire setup under a full load with that GPU. Click. And that includes pushing the i5 3570K up to 4.2 GHz.
Anthony Jackson2 said:And for the record, I didn't say I have a spare power supply—it's probably junk just like this one—but since we're talking, the model is a Dell OptiPlex. Maybe I should just sell both and put the money toward a decent unit? 😁
So, what's actually inside your rig right now? You just need to pop off the side panel to check. Who knows, you might actually be sitting on something decent; if there's an old Seasonic or EVGA unit in there, you're golden.
Anthony Jackson2 - honestly, it’s not worth your money (unless you're grabbing a GTX 440 for $67), because they just roll out new click models constantly—brand new, straight from the store, with a full 2-year warranty. Just keep in mind that a GT 630 is basically the same as a GTX 440 or an AMD HD6570
You can compare their performance here (assuming they have them listed). If you don't see what you need, just ask and someone will probably give you an estimate from memory
Starting from NVIDIA's 4X series, or the HD5xxx series from AMD, you get DX11 support, which is a nice perk (though not a dealbreaker if you find a great bargain on older tech). Plus, power consumption in this low-to-mid range tier is steadily dropping
EDIT
By the way, when it comes to these types of cards, the amount of memory (512MB vs 1GB vs 2GB) absolutely doesn't matter
Software won't give you a clear look at the power supply's health, so just stick with what you have. That GTX 750 should be more than enough to handle the load, especially since the CPU isn't built for anything high-end anyway.
A Samsung monitor is way too much given the RAM and that GPU; you should be finding those components for peanuts, maybe around 50-$23, or even 100-$40. You can probably even snag some 2GB DDR2 sticks for cheap, but at least you nailed the CPU and the power supply.
EDIT: I did a little digging on Craigslist:
WTF WTF? - This looks a little too good to be true. If I were living in Washington, D.C., I wouldn't touch this unless the guy actually shows me it works first.
Anthony Jackson2, you could also look into this or this if your power supply is decent (just check the label inside the case to see the model), or you could just grab that power supply Robert Rodriguez2 linked.
New stuff + you definitely want at least another 1GB of DDR2 (used should be around $50-$20). Just install Windows 7 or 8.1 32-bit and you're good to go.
Obviously, you could go for something more powerful used, but your power supply is the bottleneck here (I'm guessing it's a century-old Micro Center unit), so you need to look for low-power cards—something like an HD5670 or HD6670. They're hard to find at that price point, but they exist. Make sure to aim for DDR5 if possible since they outperform DDR3 significantly. Also, keep in mind that when buying from Craigslist, you might end up with a literal brick or something broken if you don't test it first.
In all honesty, anything much stronger than that isn't worth it for a PC like this; your power supply and processor would just throttle the performance anyway.
Nathan Castillo16 said:Hey guys! Can someone give me a quick rundown on whether it's better to run two graphics cards together? And do they need to be identical, or can I just use one? I'm looking at a Zotac GeForce GT 630 2GB DDR3 versus a Zotac GTX 560 Ti 1GB 256-bit GDDR5.
As long as your CPU can actually handle the load and your power supply can keep up, the GTX 560 Ti is absolutely crushing that GT 630 in terms of performance.
