Emily Wilson92 said:👍 I love how Bryan Taylor6 treats me like I know nothing and simplifies everything for me.
crimsonstag84 clearly put together a solid build, speakers don't matter here, and $167 there are very good reasons for those price gaps...
I was just wondering if this fits my needs—I'm a super basic user—and decided it does, so I'm going to order it from Best Buy...
And why are people saying that power supply is too big for that case??? 🤔 My main priority is that the computer stays quiet—silent, even. I'm open to more expensive suggestions if they actually work.
Also... Best Buy suggested a pre-built Intel Core i3 setup that would cost me about $100 more than crimsonstag84's build. Since I'm swiping my credit card anyway, I could swing it... though I assume crimsonstag84's build is just as good, if not better?
Here’s their pitch: "We recommend a pre-configured computer from our selection. It offers great upgrade potential in every aspect. Here is the machine:"
The weird part for someone clueless like me is the 3+2 thing; if one part fails, I have to call them just to figure out what went wrong...🙂
Forget those pre-built setups. They're a disaster. The only thing you actually know for sure is the processor.
You have no clue what brand of RAM they're using, or the motherboard, and that power supply is probably some cheap junk that only hits 420W on paper. Don't hold your breath.
Adam Moore3 said:I get the same average FPS on my laptop with an i5 4200m and 8750M using those settings. 🙂 It’s weird you can even run it, though—everyone on the Electronic Arts forums is complaining they can't get it working on triple-core setups. Did you install that "fix" for dual cores or what?
Adam Moore3 said:Forget the G3258; there's nothing else to ask for besides an Athlon. Having just two physical cores and two threads makes certain games unplayable. You can overclock that thing to the moon, but yeah: Dragon Age: Inquisition won't even launch. And that's a game from just a year ago—just the first one in the series.
My trusty Athlon x3 450 with three cores and a GTX 450 handled DA: Inquisition just fine on medium at 40-45fps.👍
Anthony Hall4 said:It’s useless. I can only use that card if I shop at their specific store, and I live way too far from the local Best Buy. How are the prices over at Micro Center?
They dropped some prices, but their stock selection is a total disaster.😬 Let me check if you can even get through to them.😁 Honestly, based on what I've seen, Micro Center is pretty much your only option left.😁
But their site is completely trashed right now; I can't even get the page to load.
Anthony Hall4 said:It’s mostly about the money for me. I'm looking at financing this, but I haven't really done much online shopping before, so I'm not sure how the whole process works.
Fine, if you think there's a better deal out there for less, go ahead and teach me. 😉
What kind of card are you planning to use? And how many monthly payments are we talking about?😁?
So, I need a rig mostly for gaming and surfing the web. I just want to be able to run games on medium settings without stuttering and have room to upgrade later when I have the cash.
I was thinking about picking up the parts at http://www.bestbuy.com/ since they have a store nearby, which makes things easier if I run into any issues.
If you guys could put together a gaming build for me, I'd really appreciate it.
Thanks in advance!
Doesn't matter where you buy from—if there's an issue, you're waiting a few days regardless of how close the shop is. You're better off building it at a reputable place with decent prices; honestly, Best Buy doesn't look like the best deal for this.
Just like Larry Ortiz5 said, you need to give us some basic details first. a) Are you just looking for the tower, or do you need peripherals too? b) How are you paying—cash or financing? c) Do you want us to build the rig for you, or are you doing it yourself? Also, do you need delivery, or are you picking it up?
Harold Garcia60 said:Thanks a ton. I did some digging and ran the math. Let's try ditching the speakers, mouse, and keyboard, and shrinking the hard drive since I don't actually need 1 TB. Could I squeeze in a better GPU or upgrade something else that way?
Maybe if you cut the peripherals. But $17 there isn't much of a difference between 500GB and 1TB
1 x LG 23 M47HQ-P IPS 23" Wide LED, IPS panel, 1920x1080 resolution 1 x DDR3 8GB (1x8GB) Kingston DDR3 HyperX Fury, 1866MHz, CL10 1 x HDD Seagate 1TB, Serial ATA III, 7200 rpm, ST1000DM003 1 x Fortron 500W Hyper Power Supply, PPA5005003, 12cm fan 1 x XFX R9-280X-TDFD, Radeon R9 280X 1000M Boost 3GB DDR5 1 x desktop FX-Series X8 8300 Processor, 3.3GHz, 16MB, 125W, AM3+, FD8300WMHK 1 x Gigabyte AMD 970 a-DS3P v2.0, AM3+, AMD 970 SB950, 4x DDR3 2000(O.C.) 1 x LC Power Cosmo Cool, 92 mm, Hydraulic bearing, 800-2200 rpm 1 x Raider sa Silver gaming case, no PSU 1 x Logitech Desktop MK120, Keyboard + Mouse, USB 2 x Thermaltake Pure 12 case fan, 12 cm diameter, 1000 rpm, 19.5 dB 1 x Genius SW-S2.1 200 speakers, 6W RMS, 2 x 1.5 W per satellite $2232
I went with some cheaper parts. Financing the rest at 7% interest eats up the budget too fast if I don't keep the upfront cost down.
Nathan Moore6 said:I’m not making generalizations here. I actually own way more AMD gear than Intel stuff, and half my room is basically a hardware showroom, so I know what I'm talking about. In my experience, NVIDIA drivers are always more polished, and their cards handle serious gaming much better, which is why they win for gamers.
Intel just has better engineers overall. AMD is fine if you're on a tight budget, but when you want something actually decent, you go with Intel.
Now you're just talking nonsense. You don't even realize how wrong you are, right? What, are those AMD workstation cards just useless junk? Come on, give me one actual example...
Both AMD and NVIDIA cards have specific strengths, so...
Kimberly Gomez34 said:To make matters even worse, there was someone else who used to aggressively argue that the 280X was superior to the GTX 960 (specifically the 4GB version)—claiming it was basically on par with an R9 380 but with more VRAM since it's more powerful. Now, apparently, that's considered the "wrong" choice just because it doesn't have an Intel chip inside. He used to preach about getting the best performance at any cost, even if it meant building a slightly bulkier rig.
🤣 🤣
He's just a leaf in the wind. His opinions shift whenever the mood strikes, like someone riding a hormonal rollercoaster. One minute he's saying one thing, the next he's totally flipped. 🤣
Alexander Moore67 said:I was thinking along those same lines—you end up paying for a pricier motherboard and a beefy cooler, and then that thing is pulling 125W even before you start overclocking. You'll fry a cheap board instantly unless you jump to a high-end chipset, which is even more expensive. It’s just not a great value for the money.😵
If you actually knew what you were talking about, you'd know the FX 8300 has a 95W TDP. Besides, even with Intel, you wouldn't dream of pairing a chip like that with a bottom-tier motherboard. $167If you ask me... a solid motherboard is the backbone of any decent build. You can't build something reliable on cheap junk. $100Look, even if you go with an old i5... those are bottom-tier boards. I wouldn't put anything on them above a Celeron or a Pentium, let alone a decent GPU. Besides, the FX series undervolts like a dream and still hits high clock speeds even when you drop the voltage. So yeah, your theory still doesn't hold water.
Edit: Kimberly Gomez34 beat me to it. I was just about to suggest the exact same thing. 👍So, I guess we're looking at spending another $150 just to get a decent cooler? Great.$67 It’s cheaper than Intel. Here we go again with the fanboying. Look, I’m not hating on Intel, but if you're building a rig strictly for gaming, pairing an FX 8300 with a beefier GPU is the way to go. Sure, Intel wins on single-core performance, but when you're working with a tight budget... $1667Paying a 50% markup just because it says Intel on the box? I don't know about that... sounds like a bad deal to me.
Alexander Moore67 said:My take is that the best gaming CPU right now is the Intel Core i5-4460 with its 4 strong cores. Honestly, with an FX-8300, there isn't much else you need for most modern games. To save us all from a pointless debate, I actually built both machines, and when people jump into multiplayer, the i5 absolutely eats the FX alive.
Sure, but that same i5 costs 50% more than the FX. That means you end up settling for a weaker GPU or cutting corners elsewhere just to make the budget work.
The graphics card is the heart of any gaming rig. The FX isn't actually as bad as everyone makes it out to be, but hey, at the end of the day, you get what you pay for.😁
