In that case, I’d just go with the Intel Core i5-4460 and an R9 280X... honestly, the 4690K feels like overkill. You probably won't see much of a difference from a moderate overclock in 99% of games since the GPU is going to be the bottleneck anyway.
First, I’d go with more RAM and an SSD. That’ll give you a noticeable boost, though you really need to install a fresh macOS on the SSD for it to matter. Maybe even grab some used 2GB DDR2 sticks on eBay for $27 just to get by; you can probably flip them for the same price once you upgrade the whole rig. Local pickup is usually best, depending on where you're located.
1 x DDR3 8GB (1x8GB) Corsair, 1600MHz, CL11, Value, CMV8GX3M1A160C11 1 x Asrock B85M Pro3, LGA 1150, supports 4th Gen Intel Core i7 / Intel Core i5 1 x Intel Core i3-4170 Processor (3.70GHz, 512KB, 3MB, 54 W, 1150) Box 1 x Kingston SSD 120GB HyperX Fury, 2.5", SATA 3 6G 1 x FORTRON Power Supply 400W, HEXA plus 400, 12cm fan
$861 ADM
You could probably just use your old drive for extra storage, then put Windows and all your main programs on the SSD. As for graphics, you're looking at integrated on the CPU—unless you happen to have a decent dedicated card lying around, though if that thing is eight years old, I guess it might not be much to look at anyway. 😁 You can likely hang onto the case too, assuming it isn't in terrible shape.
It really depends on what they're looking to spend. 😛 The first build feels like a bit of an overkill, while the second one is pretty much the bare minimum.
AMD A8 x4 7600 GIGABYTE Main board desktop AMD A68 GIGABYTE Main Board Desktop AMD A68 (A68HM-DS2) Non-ECC CL10 DIMM HyperX Fury red Series, EAN: 740617230611 NaviaTec MATX PC Case, NO PSU, NVT-603 Patriot SSD Blast R560/W425, 120GB, 7mm, 2.5" Corsair VS series VS350, 350W LC Power CPU Hladnjak LC-CC-95 - 90mm
Total: $716 $
NaviaTec MATX PC Case, NO PSU, NVT-603 Patriot SSD Blast R560/W425, 120GB, 7mm, 2.5" Corsair VS series VS350, 350W Intel Celeron G1820 Asus B85M-K Crucial RAM Crucial RAM 4GB DDR3 1600 MT/s (PC3-12800) CL11
1 x Zalman Z1 mid tower case. 199(W)x432(H)x457(D)mm. MB standard 1 x HDD Seagate ST1000DM010, Serial ATA III, 7200 rpm, ST1000DM003 1 x AMD FX-Series X8 8300 3.3GHz,16MB,125W,AM3+, FD8300WMHK 1 x LC Power Cosmo Cool, 92 mm, Hydraulic bearing, 800-2200 rpm, 1 x DDR3 8GB (1x8GB) Corsair, 1600MHz, CL11,Value, CMV8GX3M1A160C11 1 x XFX ATI R9 280 3 GB DDR5 Black edition 1 x 1 x Gigabyte 970A-DS3P, AM3+, AMD 970 SB950, 4x DDR3 2000(O.C.)/1866 1 x Fortron 600W Hyper Power, PPA6003302, 12cm fan
The integrated graphics might be a bit weaker than that R7 240, but everything would be brand new. You could probably claw back some of the cost by selling your old gear.
1 x Zalman CNPS10X OPTIMA CPU cooler with a 120mm fan spinning at 1000rpm 2 x 2GB DDR RAM Kingston Value, 1600MHz 1 x XFX R9-280X-TDFD, NVIDIA GeForce R9 280X 1000M Boost 3GB DDR5 1 x Intel Core i7 Series X8 8300 3.3GHz, 16MB, 95W, AM3+ FD8300WMHK
$1162 Intel
Are you running 2x2GB of RAM or just a single 4GB stick? If it's 2x2GB, I'd go this route; otherwise, maybe just grab a single 4GB stick from Corsair instead.
The graphics card here is significantly more powerful, and I included a dedicated CPU cooler—the stock Intel one probably won't handle an Intel Core i7 properly.
I guess you could actually overclock that processor to 4GHz in the BIOS, since it's basically the same chip as an Intel Core i7 but just clocked a bit lower.
Maybe the Intel Celeron G1820 could work, I guess. The MSI H81M-E33 motherboard. Crucial RAM 4GB DDR3 1600 MT/s (PC3-12800) CL11 Unbuffered UDIMM 240pin Single Ranked CT51264BA160BJ NaviaTec ATX Tower PC Case, No PSU, NVT-921G The Corsair VS350 is a 350W ATX unit featuring EPS 12V support and a PS/2 connector. It comes equipped with a 120mm fan and hits up to 85% efficiency. This particular model is the USA version. Maybe someone’s looking at an OCZ SSD ARC 100 240GB? I guess it's worth a look. The LG GH24NSD1 sat Bulk Black 24 x optical drive.
All in all: $635 I guess I'm just looking for some clarity on Centro.
The power supply should handle it just fine; this card pulls about 70W.
Since you've got a pretty solid platform, maybe you could consider a GTX 950 (if you can squeeze in another $83 or so). It's definitely faster, and I guess your CPU would be a perfect match for it:
You can probably bump the processor up to about 3GHz in the BIOS with just a few clicks. The power supply is pretty low-end, but I guess it has enough juice for these parts. Since you're using an AM3+ motherboard, you've got the option to upgrade to an FX 8xxx series processor later on; otherwise, all AM3 chips should work too.😉
The GTX 660 is definitely faster than an HD 7770, and it doesn't pull too much power—probably under 150W... though I guess you’d really need to specify which power supply model you're using.
Honestly, anything integrated right into the processor should be plenty. I'd suggest putting that money toward an SSD instead, maybe something like an OCZ ARC 100 120GB.