Budget Gaming Build under $500

James Gomez2 said:Hey everyone—I could use some advice for a friend who's looking to put together a rig with a budget of around $1500. He’s planning to buy everything from a single site, including all the storage components. I’ve cobbled this list together myself—it might be a total mess, honestly—so please, let me know what you think. I'd really appreciate any pointers. 😉

(The build is strictly for gaming)

http://postimg.org/image/yqi7hrgu1/

Thanks!

You didn't actually include a hard drive in this list. Just hang tight—I'm going to draft up a complete configuration that includes everything.

Without the burner:



With the sapphire GTX 750 Ti, you're looking at just over $650

If you go with the AMD FX X6 6300, the GIGABYTE GA-970A-DS3P, the cheapest GTX 750 Ti, and 4GB of RAM (keeping everything else constant), it’ll run about $550 plus tax. That setup would leave room to upgrade to 4+2GB of RAM later on.
If you aren't planning on jumping straight into those heavy titles from yesterday—for 99% of games, 4GB of RAM is perfectly fine. You can always just pick up another 4GB down the road.

Honestly, you aren't getting much value for your money at Links. If you're willing to pay cash, there are plenty of much cheaper local shops that will assemble everything for you and deliver it straight to your door for free—you just pay upon arrival. I actually put together a build for myself without a GPU; you’d be better off checking Craigslist, because for $700-$267, browsing through Links isn't really worth your time—you can find some seriously decent used cards for that kind of money.

Here is how that setup would look:

Graphics card http://www.craigslist.org/category/electronics/video-graphics-cards...listing-12385442

-AMD FX X6 6300 box, Socket AM3+, 3.5GHz, 14MB cache, Six Core
-GIGABYTE GA-970A-DS3P motherboard, AMD970/SB950, DDR3, audio, G-LAN, S-ATA, RAID, PCI-E, CrossFireX, USB 3.0, ATX, Socket AM3 / AM3+
-LC POWER LC-CC-95 cooler, socket 775/1155/1156/1150/AM2/AM3
-PC-12800 memory, 8 GB, G.SKILL Ripjaws X series, F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL, DDR3 1600MHz, 2x4GB kit
-550W power supply, ANTEC VP550F EC, ATX v2.31, 120mm fan
-1000.0 GB SEAGATE ST1000DM003 hard drive, SATA3, 64MB cache, 7200 RPM, desktop
-LC POWER Gaming 975B Air Wing case, MIDI, black, USB 3.0, hot-swap bay, no PSU included

total:$1268 Links
It’s better to grab a used graphics card so you can put more of your budget into a higher-quality platform—meaning a solid 6-core CPU, a reliable motherboard, and 8GB of RAM.

Hey everyone, I’m looking to put together a build with a budget of about $0.83. I'm planning on skipping the GPU for now and just picking one up down the road. The main goal here is gaming, though I don't mind if we go slightly over the $0.83 mark if it makes sense. Thanks!

1 x GIGABYTE GA-970A-DS3P, AM3+
1 x LC POWER LC-CC-97 cooler, compatible with socket 775/1155/1156/AMD
1 x Sharkoon VS3-V Chrome Tower, no PSU included, black, USB3.0
1 x Crucial 4GB DDR3 1600 MT/s (PC3-12800) CL11
1 x AMD FX X6 6300 3.5Ghz (4.1GHz) box
1 x Toshiba DT01ACA050 HDD (3.5", 500GB, 32MB, SATA III-600)
1 x Fortron Hexa+ 400W, 80+, active, 12 cm

Total: $886 Best Buy

crimsonstag84 said:1 x GIGABYTE GA-970A-DS3P, AM3+
1 x LC POWER LC-CC-97 cooler, compatible with socket 775/1155/1156/AMD
1 x Sharkoon VS3-V Chrome Tower, no PSU included, black, USB3.0
1 x Crucial 4GB DDR3 1600 MT/s (PC3-12800) CL11
1 x AMD FX X6 6300 3.5Ghz (4.1GHz) box
1 x Toshiba DT01ACA050 HDD (3.5", 500GB, 32MB, SATA III-600)
1 x Fortron Hexa+ 400W, 80+, active, 12 cm

Total price: $886 Best Buy

Thanks a lot! If anyone else has some ideas, feel free to throw them my way. 👍

Do you actually have a dedicated GPU? If not, I guess this AMD build isn't really going to be worth much at all.

Ryan Hayes82 said:Are you running a GPU? Because if not, this AMD build isn't going to cut it.

I actually have an HD6850, but I’m planning on offloading it along with my old rig. Why wouldn't it work? I'll just be riding the integrated graphics for a bit until I can scrape together enough cash for a new card...

AMD doesn't have integrated graphics here

1 x Asrock H81M-HDS, s1150, Intel H81, M-ATX, dual Channel 2
1 x DDR3 4GB (1x4GB) Crucial, 1600MHz CL11
1 x FORTRON 400W Power Supply, HEXA 400, 12cm fan, Active PFC 1 x
1 x Zalman Z1 mid tower case. 199(W)x432(H)x457(D)mm. Standard MB size
1 x Toshiba DT01ACA050, 7200rpm, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB
1 x Intel Pentium G3258 (3.20GHz,512KB,3MB,54 W,1150) Box
1 x Intel 120GB SSD 520, 2.5", SATA III-600, R/W:550/520MB/s

$880
AMD

swiftfalcon89 said:I've got an HD6850, but I’m planning to sell it along with my old rig. Why wouldn't it work? I'll just run on integrated graphics for a bit until I save up for a new card...

There's no integrated graphics in this build 🙂

Ryan Hayes82 said:AMD doesn't have integrated graphics

1 x Asrock H81M-HDS, s1150, Intel H81, M-ATX, dual Channel 2xDDR3
1 x DDR3 4GB (1x4GB) Crucial, 1600MHz CL11
1 x Fortron 400W Power Supply, HEXA 400, 12cm fan, Active PFC 1 x
1 x Zalman Z1 mid tower case. 199(W)x432(H)x457(D)mm. MB standard
1 x TOSHIBA 1TB, 7200rpm, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB, DT01ACA100
1 x Intel Pentium G3258 (3.20GHz,512KB,3MB,54 W,1150) Box
1 x Intel 120GB SSD 520, 2.5", SATA III-600, R/W:550/520MB/s

$880
adm

I’d honestly rather grab a better processor, ditch the SSD, and swap out that 1TB HDD for a 500GB one instead.

Just one Intel Core i3-4160 (3.60GHz, 512KB, 3MB, 54W, 1150) Box processor.
Just one stick of 4GB DDR3 Crucial RAM, running at 1600MHz with CL11 timings.
I've got one Zalman Z1 mid tower case available. It measures 199mm wide, 432mm high, and 457mm deep, and it follows standard MB specs.
Just one Toshiba 500GB hard drive—7200rpm, SATA 6 Gb/s, with 32MB cache (DT01ACA050).
1 x Fortron 500W Hyper power supply, PPA5005003, with a 12cm fan
1 x Asrock B85M-HDS - Intel 1150 Socket B85 chipset M-ATX mb $460

$865

I'm not entirely sure if upgrading to the i3 is actually worth it, especially since I can just overclock this G3258 up to 4.3 or 4.4GHz using the Spira Kepler. Since you can't overclock the i3, it might not be much of an improvement.

crimsonstag84 said:1 x Intel Core i3-4160 (3.60GHz,512KB,3MB,54 W,1150) Box
1 x DDR3 4GB (1x4GB) Crucial, 1600MHz CL11
1 x Zalman Z1 mid tower case. 199(W)x432(H)x457(D)mm. MB standard
1 x TOSHIBA 500GB, 7200rpm, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB, DT01ACA050
1 x Fortron 500W Power Supply, Hyper, PPA5005003, 12cm fan
1 x Asrock B85M-HDS - Intel 1150 Socket B85 Chipset M-ATX MB

$865

I'm not sure how much sense the i3 makes when I can just overclock this G3258 to 4.3-4.4GHz using a Spira Kepler. You can't overclock the i3...

Not worth it 🙂 G3258 all the way 🎉

crimsonstag84 said:1 x Intel Core i3-4160 (3.60GHz,512KB,3MB,54 W,1150) Box
1 x DDR3 4GB (1x4GB) Crucial, 1600MHz CL11
1 x Zalman Z1 mid tower case. 199(W)x432(H)x457(D)mm. MB standard
1 x TOSHIBA 500GB, 7200rpm, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB, DT01ACA050
1 x Fortron 500W Power Supply, Hyper, PPA5005003, 12cm fan
1 x Asrock B85M-HDS - Intel 1150 Socket B85 Chipset M-ATX MB

$865

I'm on the fence about whether the i3 is actually worth it. I could just take this G3258 and crank it up to 4.3 or 4.4GHz paired with a Spira Kepler. You can't overclock the i3, after all...

Is there any way I could swap in an FX X6 6300 along with a compatible motherboard that has integrated graphics?

swiftfalcon89 said:Is there any way I could swap in an FX X6 6300 along with a compatible motherboard that has integrated graphics?

Not really. In this price range, that specific board is honestly your only worthwhile option. Besides, none of the AM3+ motherboards out there currently worth buying actually feature integrated graphics, at least not from what I've seen. 🙂 Just hang onto your current GPU for a little longer and swap it later; it’s actually a decent card.

EDIT: Actually, I'm assuming that money is going toward a completely new build anyway...

The AM3+ socket has these integrated graphics included - but don't expect to actually game on them; they're barely enough to boot Windows or maybe play some retro titles from the 90s.

By the way, regarding the Intel Core i3 - it is a truly fantastic CPU for single-player gaming, especially if you overclock it. According to all tests, it outperforms the 750K, 760K, and 860K models (though keep in mind these tests weren't conducted during multiplayer sessions). It is likely the best budget CPU released so far, BUT I avoid recommending it whenever possible simply because it is still just a dual-core. Apparently, the new Dragon Age: Inquisition won't run on dual-core processors (and the developers have explicitly stated they won't support them). Most modern AAA titles require at least a quad-core to avoid lag, and it was only a matter of time before we saw the first game that refuses to run on dual-cores entirely. It's just the natural progression of technology; it was expected. On the flip side, these dual-cores with Hyper-Threading might actually pull through—much like seeing an i5 in a laptop or an i3 in a desktop—because Windows sees them as having 4 logical cores (4 threads). Furthermore, newer titles like Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare and Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor utilize Hyper-Threading very effectively, which essentially "saves" an i3.

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare scaled incredibly well on our hexa-core. In order to find out whether this title can be played with constant 60fps on a variety of PC systems, we simulated a dual-core, a tri-core and a quad-core system. All of the aforementioned systems were able to push constant 60fps. However, we do have to note that on our simulated dual-core system there was noticeable stuttering issues that went away as soon as we enabled Hyper-Threading. Owners of really Old dual-core CPUs may be able to overcome those stuttering issues by overclocking their CPUs.

Source

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is a open-world game, meaning that it should normally be a CPU-bound title. Well, it appears that Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is the exception to that rule. Even though Monolith Productions’ game scales well on six cores, it runs amazingly well even on dual-cores (with HT enabled). We did notice some minor drops to 45fps in some scenes with our simulated dual-core system but for the most part, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor ran with constant 60fps. A quad-core, on the other hand, was behaving exactly the same with our hexa-core (it didn’t matter whether HT was enabled or not). Ironically enough, Monolith suggests an i7 3770; a far better CPU than our simulated one. So rest assured i3 owners, you will be able to run Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor without issues unless you are GPU limited.

Source

Look at how well that i3 handles it (though clearly, the game isn't CPU-bound—it runs fine on pure dual-cores too).





Far Cry 4

While it looks like a Pentium can handle Far Cry 4, we really need to see if it actually performs better than an Athlon—it’s entirely possible it won't. Besides, other videos show people running it on weaker dual-core CPUs, though it's likely a stuttery mess and they might run into the occasional BSOD.