Advice for buying a gaming PC!

I am planning to pick up a gaming rig by $1000. I spotted a few options at Best Buy and Accenture, but I would love to get your take on them! Mostly, I'll be playing titles like GTA 4, Far Cry 3, or Call of Duty: MW2 on medium to high settings.

Here is the first link:
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If you’ve got a budget of $1000, I can get my buddies over here to put together something much more solid for you. Just let me know—are you paying with a card or cash? And are you local to the Washington, D.C. area?

Don't even bother looking at pre-built configurations

1 x Asrock Intel LGA 1155 Socket A78 Chipset MB
1 x MSI GTX750 1GB DDR5, N750-1GD5
1 x HDD WD 1TB, Caviar Blue 10EZEX, 1000 GB, SATA3,64 MB, 3.5", 24mo warranty
1 x DDR3 4GB (1x4GB) Crucial, 1600MHz CL11
1 x MS PHOENIX case without PSU, Midi tower MBO: ATX, mATX
1 x FORTRON 400W Power Supply, HEXA 400, 12cm fan, Active Power Factor Correction
1 x Samsung DVD Writer, DVD±RW, 24x DVD±R ,8x DL , 40x CD-R
1 x Intel Core i3-2310T Processor 3.40GHz 4cores
1 x Spire Kepler Rev.2 cooler, 1156/775/FM1, 96.5×51×125 mm ,92mm

$1027 Amazon.com, free assembly and shipping

So, you're saying pre-built configurations are completely off the table?

Is there really not a single ready-made setup that works for us?

Roger Mitchell4 said:So pre-built setups are just totally off the table?

Are you saying there isn't a single decent pre-built out there?

And regarding what The New Guy suggested—if you ask those guys at Best Buy to put it together for you, they’ll hand you a finished machine. Most shops offer assembly for free (well, not all of them), so obsessing over a "pre-configured" build is just unnecessary. 😉

Roger Mitchell4 said:So, pre-built setups are totally off the table?

Is there seriously zero chance a pre-built actually works?

Not a single one.

With one option, you get a junk motherboard, a weak GPU, and a trash power supply.
The second option gives you a mediocre motherboard and graphics card.
And the third one? It’s just a total disaster. 😁

The MSI B350 case...
The EVGA 400W...
Intel Pentium DualCore 3.20...
ASRock H81 PRO BTC Intel LGA1150 mATX...
Western Digital Blue 500 GB 7200 rpm...
Western Digital Blue 4GB 1333MHz...
MSI R7 265 2GD5 OC 2GB
The Asus DRW-24F1ST SATA...

$981 Asus DRW-24F1ST at $425...
Free shipping to select post offices...

1 x Intel Core i3-4130 Processor (3.20GHz,512KB,3MB,54 W,1150) Box
1 x Gigabyte GTX750Ti OC 2048 GDDR5 128bit
1 x TOSHIBA 500GB, 7200rpm, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB, DT01ACA050
1 x DDR3 4GB (1x4GB) Crucial, 1600MHz CL11
1 x Fortron 300 W Power Supply, active PFC, 12 cm fan, bulk !
1 x MS PHOENIX case without PSU, Midi tower MBO: ATX, mATX
1 x Samsung DVD Writer, DVD±RW, 24x DVD±R ,8x DL , 40x CD-R
1 x ASUS H81M-E, 1150, Intel B85, DDR3, 2 Slots, 1333,1600 MHz

$1015
newegg.com

1 x Asrock FM2A78M-HD+ Motherboard, Socket FM2+ 95W / FM2 100W processors
1 x Intel Core i5-2500K Processor 3.40GHz 4cores
1 x TOSHIBA 500GB, 7200rpm, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB, DT01ACA050 Hard Drive
1 x MS PHOENIX Case (no PSU), Midi tower ATX/mATX
1 x Samsung DVD Writer, DVD±RW, 24x DVD±R ,8x DL , 40x CD-R
1 x Spire Kepler Rev.2 Cooler, 1156/775/FM1, 96.5×51×125 mm ,92mm
1 x Sapphire R7 260X 1GB GDDR5 OC, 1GB GDDR5 128bit, 28nm Graphics Card
1 x CORSAIR 430W Power Supply, CX Series 80+ Bronze, EPS12V v2.3, 80+
1 x DDR3 4GB (1x4GB) Crucial, 1600MHz CL11 RAM

$1035

boban1941

If you're really just trying to squeeze every bit of value out of your budget—basically wanting to set this thing up and forget about it so it can handle upcoming games without needing an immediate upgrade—this is how I’d play it:

X4 910E
ASUS M5A78L-M LX3
KINGSTON 8GB 1600 MHZ
TOSHIBA 3.5" 500 GB SATA 3
MSI R7 260X 2GB OC DDR5
FORTRON HEXA+ 400W 80+
MS PHOENIX + 80 MM FAN

= $1033 - Micro Center (includes assembly/shipping).

Robert Rodriguez2 said:1 x Asrock FM2A78M-HD+, Socket FM2+ 95W / FM2 100W processors
1 x Intel Core i5-2500K Processor 3.40GHz 4cores
1 x TOSHIBA 500GB, 7200rpm, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB, DT01ACA050
1 x MS PHOENIX case without PSU, Midi tower MBO: ATX, mATX
1 x Pioneer BD-RE DVD writer, DVD±RW, 24x DVD±R ,8x DL , 40x CD-R
1 x Spire Kepler Rev.2 cooler, 1156/775/FM1, 96.5×51×125 mm ,92mm
1 x Sapphire R7 260X 1GB GDDR5 OC, 1GB GDDR5 128bit, 28nm
1 x CORSAIR 430W Power Supply, CX Series 80+ Bronze, EPS12V v2.3, 80+
1 x DDR3 4GB (1x4GB) Crucial, 1600MHz CL11

$1035

This works fine if you don't mind $33 though. It's got a quad CPU and a 260X packed in there.

Honestly, there’s really no need to go over budget here. 😉

1 x ASRock FM2A78M-HD+, Socket FM2+ 95W / FM2 100W processors
1 x Intel Core i5-2500K Processor 3.40GHz 4cores
1 x DDR3 4GB (1x4GB) Crucial, 1600MHz CL11
1 x TOSHIBA 500GB, 7200rpm, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB, DT01ACA050
1 x FORTRON 400W Power Supply, HEXA 400, 12cm fan, Active PFC
1 x Pioneer BD-RE DVD writer, DVD±RW, 24x DVD±R ,8x DL , 40x CD-R
1 x MS Industrial Sirius case (no PSU included), Midi tower
1 x Sapphire R7 260X 1GB GDDR5 OC, 1GB GDGD5 128bit, 28nm
1 x Spire Kepler Rev.2 cooler, 1156/775/FM1, 96.5×51×125 mm ,92mm

$997 reddit.com 🙂

Do you really need that specific case? 😬

"Sirius Sam" 😂

It’s honestly smarter if he just moves up to a Phenom—it's basically in the same league as those FM2 Athlonciks—and grabs more RAM along with a better version of the 260x. If he gets the itch to upgrade again later, he can always drop an FX 6300 onto that board. Plus, with FM2+, he's pretty much set—that setup will easily outpace USB 3.0/SATA 3 once his gaming rig is dialed in.

crimsonstag84 said:Do you really need that specific case? 😬

I mean, come on, what are you going to do? Try to cram a level 10 gt into a 3cm build? 😬 It’s not like it matters if it's a Phoenix for $100 or a Sirius for $140 or whatever. They're spending extra on $67 for the Zalman, but then cutting corners on the GPU—it just doesn't make sense, right? 😉

graniteharbor85 said:"Sirius Sam" 😂

It makes more sense for him to jump up to the Phenom, which sits right alongside the FM2 Athlonac models, and grab more RAM along with a better 260x version. If he feels like upgrading again later, he can always throw an FX 6300 into that board. With FM2+, he's set—he'll easily max out USB 3.0/SATA 3 speeds once he has a solid gaming rig.

That Phenom is weaker than these Athlonacs; the clock speed is low, and even an Athlonac can be decent when you ocati it to get a little boost. I don't know, if he plans on putting more money into this build later, your way is probably better. But if he wants maximum performance right now, my option is stronger. 🙂

i3 Dell G-Series 😬

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 GDDR5, 1GB, HDMI, DVI, DX11
Intel Core i3 4130 3.4GHz, 3MB, LGA 1150
Samsung DVD±RW 24x black, bulk
Corsair Midi Tower, ATX
ATX ASUS H81M
EVGA 400W, 80+, active, 12 cm
Seagate BarraCuda 500 GB 3.5"
Patriot Signature DDR3 1600Mhz, 4GB

Total: $1020 Best Buy

Drew Sanchez82 said:If you have a budget of $1000, my buddies here can put together something much more solid for you. Just let me know—are you paying by card or cash? Are you based in Washington, D.C.?

I'll be using a card from Canada. I'm actually from Dalmatia, but I'll be traveling up north around Christmas, which is when I was planning to pick it up. That’s why I was really pushing for a pre-built PC.

Adam Moore3 said:I mean, come on! You really think a level 10 gt would fit into a tiny 3cm clearance? 😬 It doesn't even matter if it's a Phoenix at 100 or a Sirius at 140, or whatever. As long as it pushes over $67 to the Zalman, why bother saving pennies on the GPU? It makes zero sense, right? 😉

The Phenom is definitely weaker than these Athlonacs. The clock speed is just too low, whereas you can actually get a decent boost by overclocking an Athlonac. I'm not sure—if there's more investment coming for this rig later, go with your plan. But if you want peak performance right this second, my suggestion is the winner! 🙂

I'm not thinking about upgrades yet—maybe in two years... Right now, I'm just stuck deciding which one to pick since you guys gave me 10 different options! 😁..

Roger Mitchell4 said:I was using a card from Canada. I'm from the Southern United States, so I'll be heading up north around Christmas, which is when I planned on picking it up—that's why I was pushing for a pre-built PC.

Around Christmas 🤣

Maybe just notify me a few days before you buy it then... I guess there's no point in putting a build together right now since new graphics cards and the latest Intel processors are about to drop, so prices and availability will probably shift by then.

I honestly think they should include the purchase timing within the rules.

You give him a mountain of suggestions and lay out all the arguments, only for him to just steamroll through everything by making his purchase right around Christmas.😁