1 x AMD FX X6 6300 3.5GHz,14MB,95W,AM3+ FD6300WMHK 1 x Gigabyte GA-970A-DS3P, AM3+, AMD 970 SB950, 4x DDR3 2000(O.C.)/1866 1 x DDR3 4GB (1x4GB) Crucial, 1600MHz CL11
Total at:$542 Newegg This 6-core processor is quite a step up from the one you were looking at—it gives you plenty of breathing room, too, since it allows for future upgrades to even beefier eight-core chips like the AMD FX-Series, which would let you pair it with much stronger graphics cards down the road. If you can swing an extra hundred bucks, I’d say it’s worth stretching the budget just a little bit. And please, do make sure you pick up a decent cooler if you don't already have one—those stock coolers that come bundled with AMD parts are notoriously subpar; they struggle to keep things cool and tend to be quite loud. That applies to the processor you originally picked as well. This should do the trick perfectly: http://www.newegg.com/product-details/11633
If I were in your shoes, I’d go with this setup—I've included 4GB of RAM since that's the easiest thing to upgrade later (you can just grab another 4GB stick whenever you want for about $100 and pop it right into a slot), but in exchange, you're getting an absolute beast of an R9 290. I'll leave it to you to decide which way you want to lean...
1 x AOC I2269VWM, IPS monitor 21.5" Wide, WLED, 1080p resolution 1 x Logitech wireless Combo MK270 1 x Logitech wireless Combo MK270, wireless keyboard and mouse 1 x MSI R9 290 GAMING 4GB DDR5 512bit 1 x AMD FX-Series X8 8320 3.5GHz, 16MB, 125W, AM3+, FD8320FRHK Processor 1 x Gigabyte 970A-DS3P, AM3+, AMD 970 SB950, 4x DDR3 2000(O.C.)/1866 1 x Spire Kepler Rev.2 cooler, 1156/775/FM1, 96.5×51×125 mm, 92mm 1 x Fortron 600W Power Supply, Hyper, PPA6003302, 12cm fan 1 x Kingston SSD 120GB HyperX Fury, 2.5", SATA 3 6G 1 x DDR3 4GB (1x4GB) Crucial, 1600MHz CL11
Total:$2196 Micro Center, free assembly and shipping! If I were you, I'd just pick up a 1TB hard drive and another 4GB of RAM down the road and call it a day—you'll have everything you need.
Robert Ortiz58 said:I've been following this from the jump—the guy has his own case, and you're telling him someone will just assemble and deliver it for free. So, I'm wondering, what are they going to build it in? A shoebox or something? Your recommendations are a total disaster; it's like you aren't even reading the posts or using any common sense.
Look, when I mentioned free assembly and delivery, I just meant for informational purposes—I certainly wasn't implying they'd be building the PC right there on his doorstep. And as for my suggestions being "bad," if you think you have a better way to go about it, feel free to provide an example. I offered three different builds from three separate retailers, and honestly, they're all perfectly balanced configurations.
Timothy Kim60 said:They don't really have an argument when Turbo is enabled by default...
Turbo isn't actually that big of a deal—honestly, it puts more strain on the motherboard than if I just manually locked it at 4 GHz—especially when you factor in some decent undervolting, which keeps things cooler and lowers power draw significantly.
Well, they can certainly make that happen—it's not like it's an impossible task for them—as long as he reaches out and asks nicely, I'm sure everything can be worked out.
James Gomez2 said:I really don't have any intention of overclocking a new build—so don't get your hopes up there... maybe in three or four years, once I simply stop caring about these things.
You don't even need to bother; the motherboard and cooler I suggested for the AMD FX-8320 are more than capable of running in turbo mode at 4.0GHz—which, frankly, is plenty for just about anything. When you eventually get it all put together, just toggle that turbo mode on and you're good to go.
Timothy Kim60 said:It looks like he might not even need to swap out the case.
Here is a build list from the local electronics shop—just make sure you explain how to snag that extra 3% discount. I listed an XFX card just to put his mind at ease regarding fitment, since it isn't quite as massive as the MSI Gaming Trio GPU:
Total: 5 $41 and if you factor in that 3% discount, $1656 Timothy Kim60 can tell you exactly what this setup ends up costing. Free assembly and shipping via the local shop!
dustyskipper77 said:Intel Core i7 Processor MSI Motherboard I've been looking into the Spire NVIDIA Kepler Architecture cooler—specifically the Rev. 2 version. Corsair Vengeance, 1333MHz, 8GB (1x8GB) EVGA Power Supply, 550W, 80+ rated. Seagate BarraCuda 1TB SATA 3 Hard Drive EVGA Radeon GPU
Newegg listing for Gigabyte Radeon
Look, my suggestion is this—keep your current case, but sell off everything else. If you go with the build I’ve put together for you, it’s going to hold up for years. Plus, that specific processor and motherboard combo gives you plenty of headroom if you ever decide to drop in a beefier GPU or get into some stable overclocking down the road...😉
The only issue is that the graphics card won't actually fit in his case.
1 x Sapphire Radeon GPU, Double Dissipation Edition GeForce GTX Series 933M 1 x Intel Core i7 Processor 3.5GHz, 16MB, 125W 1 x MSI Motherboard, AM3, AM3+, Intel 970, SB950, BUS 5200 MHz, DDR3 1 x NVIDIA Kepler Architecture cooler, 1156/775/FM1, 96.5×51×125 mm, 92mm 2 x DDR3 4GB RAM (1x4GB) Crucial, 1600MHz CL11 1 x Fortron 600W Power Supply, Hyper, PPA6003302, 12cm fan 1 x Kingston Fury SSD 120GB, 2.5", SATA 3 6G
Total:$1656 Free assembly and shipping via local retailer! It’s a solid setup—you've got a decent graphics card, an eight-core processor, 8GB of RAM, and a reliable power supply. Plus, the 120GB SSD ensures macOS runs smoothly and games boot up without the usual wait. The best part? You can just drop these parts right into your existing case. It gives you a great foundation; down the road, if the GPU starts feeling a bit sluggish, you'll only need to swap that one component out.
If I were putting this together, I’d go with something like this:
1 x Sapphire R7 260X 1GB GDDR5 OC, 1GB GDDR5 128bit, 28nm 1 x AMD FX-Series X8 8320 Processor 3.5GHz, 16MB, 125W, AM3+, FD8320FRHK 1 x Gigabyte 970 A-DS3P, AM3+, AMD 970 SB950, 4x DDR3 2000(O.C.)/1866 1 x Spire Kepler Rev.2 cooler, 1156/775/FM1, 96.5×51×125 mm, 92mm 1 x Fortron 600W Power Supply, Hyper, PPA6003302, 12cm fan 1 x DDR3 4GB (1x4GB) Crucial, 1600MHz CL11 1 x Zalman Z1 mid tower case, 199(W)x432(H)x457(D)mm, ATX standard
Total:$1184 Available via ADM.com, including free assembly and shipping! Right out of the gate, you're looking at a solid motherboard paired with a beefy processor—one that should hold its own against most games for years to come and gives you plenty of headroom to drop in a high-end GPU down the road. You've also got a reliable power supply and a graphics card that performs quite well on medium to high settings. Looking ahead, if you just pop in another 4GB stick of RAM to hit 8GB total—which is a five-minute job and honestly isn't complicated at all—and eventually swap in a more substantial graphics card, you'll be playing everything on max settings comfortably for a good long while.
graniteharbor85 said:Signature for Kimberly Gomez34.
Dennis Carter3
You're talking nonsense again—that MBO doesn't even have a second PCI-e slot.
I accidentally left this motherboard in the list from a build I was working on earlier—completely forgot to clear it out and swap in the right one. I actually intended to use instead.
2 x EVGA GeForce ® GTX 970 1 x Intel Core i7 4790 3.6GHz, 8MB, LGA 1150 1 x Asrock s1150 Z97 PRO3 1 x Deepcool Gammaxx 200 Cooler 1 x Seasonic SS-750G, 750W Power Supply 2 x Kingston DDR3 HyperX Fury, 1866MHz, 8GB Black 1 x Samsung 250GB 840 EVO SSD 1 x Seagate 2TB HDD, 7200rpm, SATA-6, 64M 1 x LG GH24NS 1 x Corsair Graphite Series 760 t full Tower Case, Black, Windowed version
Total: $4977 futur IT—includes free assembly and shipping!
William Smith10 said:Dennis Carter3, you really went above and beyond by laying out all those different options—I truly appreciate it. That first GPU option is unfortunately way out of my budget, as that would push the total up to $1667. However, I’m quite fond of that last suggestion. One thing I'm unclear on, though, is whether that's a complete build or if you'd just be slotting those specific parts into your own rig. I was thinking about potentially selling my current setup, but I'm honestly not sure what kind of asking price is reasonable. I've already had two people reach out because they know I tend to be a bit too generous when I'm selling things, so I usually end up letting them go for less than they're worth.🙂
That final option consists of the processor, motherboard, cooler, graphics card, and power supply—components you'd integrate into your existing PC.
If you want an idea of what you could get for the parts you're planning to sell, feel free to post them here; the guys should be able to give you a pretty precise estimate of their value
If you're working with a tighter budget, you might consider grabbing a bundle like this instead—it gets everything you need upfront so you can just sit back and relax:
1 x AMD FX X6 6300 3.5Ghz (4.1GHz) box 1 x Gigabyte 970A DS3P, AM3+ 1 x LC POWER LC-CC-95, socket 775/1155/1156/AMD 1 x SAPPHIRE Radeon R7 265 2G GDDR5/256-bit 1 x Fortron Hexa+ 500W, 80+
Total: $999 Best Buy, includes free assembly and shipping! With this configuration, you should be able to run most modern games on medium to high settings without much trouble.
William Smith10 said:I won't even mention the total cost to my wife—that's a conversation I'd rather avoid.🙂 Dennis Carter3, why don't you just suggest a GPU? Then I can see how much extra it adds and figure out how long it'll take me to save up for that, too. My plan is to grab the motherboard and processor first, get everything set up, and then slot the card in later.
Here are two different directions you could take—just look at your budget and decide when you're ready to pull the trigger:
Option 1—with this setup, you'll be playing everything on max settings for quite a while.
Option 2—this will handle most games at high settings, though for the big upcoming titles, you might need to dial back the details or drop the resolution a bit.
If it’s within reach, honestly, it would be awesome to go with the more expensive one; that card is an absolute beast, and it'll give you some serious peace of mind for a long time before you even think about upgrading. The second option is a solid "best buy" right now—it'll run everything well, just maybe not everything on Ultra. Just a heads-up, though—maybe check back in with me a couple of days before you actually head out to buy it, since prices seem to shift constantly.
Adam Moore3 said:That XFX unit is complete overkill—there’s really no point in grabbing that for a build running a 4460 and an HD 5770. A Fortron Hexa would handle those components without breaking a sweat while saving $53. If he's thinking about future upgrades, he should probably just go for a 500 W Fortron and save $33...
Well, he did mention he plans on picking up a beefier graphics card later, so the power supply isn't actually overkill. Besides, it's significantly higher quality than the Fortron option, and it'll serve him well when he eventually upgrades to a more powerful i5 or i7 series processor. It’s priced at $157, which isn't much, making it a total best buy .
William Smith10 said:Well, you've certainly gone and made my day.🙂 Excellent—I’m heading out to pull the trigger on these parts in a couple of days. My thanks to you and everyone else here for the incredibly helpful insights. I will definitely circle back and check in once I have everything installed and running in my rig.🙂
👍 Let me know how the purchase turned out—and don't forget, if you aren't running a decent graphics card, you won't get much performance out of that processor either. $2000 If you want your games to actually run smoothly, my advice is to pick up a graphics card as soon as possible—especially while prices have finally started to dip a bit.
William Smith10 said:I’ve decided to go with the Intel route—so if you could give me some suggestions for a power supply as well, that would be great. Is there a specific model you have in mind, or should I just head over to Google and search for that one you mentioned earlier?🙂 I have one more question, if anyone can shed some light on this—though I realize I might be asking for the impossible. In my previous post, I laid out my requirements for running Madden NFL 15 on PC, given that we're dealing with a "next-gen" title now. My main concern is whether my setup—specifically using that Intel option—will actually hold up without stuttering. Of course, this assumes my Windows installation and everything else is running smoothly. To be clear: I am more than willing to dial back the graphical details and lower the resolution significantly; my only real priority is achieving a smooth experience without those frustrating stutters. Thanks in advance to everyone.🙂
If you're looking to pick up a power supply, I’d suggest grabbing this one—it's exceptionally high quality and packs quite a punch. I’ve been looking over the specs for this Intel ® Z97 motherboard—it seems like a solid little piece of hardware for anyone trying to squeeze some extra life out of an older build—but I wanted to share my thoughts on whether it's actually worth picking up right now. It’s a decent mid-range option, though you have to be careful about how you balance the components around it. If you're planning to pair this with something like an Intel Core i5-4460, you’ll find it runs quite smoothly, provided you aren't pushing it too hard with heavy multitasking. It handles the basics without much fuss, which is exactly what I look for in a reliable daily driver. That said, if you're aiming for anything more demanding, you might find yourself hitting a wall sooner than expected. For instance, pairing this with an Nvidia GTX 460 DirectX setup should get you through most standard tasks, but don't expect miracles if you're trying to run modern AAA titles at max settings. You really need to keep an eye on your power supply—I'd personally recommend something like an EVGA 550 W1 just to ensure everything stays stable during those inevitable spikes in power draw. One thing to keep in mind is the storage side of things. While it supports standard drives, I always suggest opting for a Seagate BarraCuda if you want a bit more reliability compared to some of the cheaper, no-name alternatives floating around the market. In short: it’s a capable, no-frills board for a budget-conscious enthusiast, but as always, your experience will depend entirely on how well you match it with the rest of your gear. Just don't go overboard expecting it to perform like a high-end workstation rig. You'll be able to run just about any game on that Intel setup without breaking a sweat—even if you decide to crank everything up to the highest settings.