Motherboard, CPU, and HDD combo under $225?

Hey there,

I was wondering if anyone could help me out with some recommendations. I'm looking to pick up a motherboard, a processor, and a 500 GB hard drive, ideally staying under $500, though I could stretch it to $667 if necessary. I already have most of the other parts—some 4 GB DDR2 RAM and a 400 W power supply. My current GPU is an AMD Radeon R7 250 OC with 1GB of DDR5 via PCIe.

The build will mostly be used for gaming.

Thanks!

Jonathan Bennett46 said:Hey there,

Does anyone have recommendations for a motherboard, processor, and a 500GB hard drive? I'm looking to spend around $500, maybe up to $667 max. I already have some other parts: 4GB of DDR2 RAM and a 400W power supply. My current graphics card is an AMD Radeon R7 250 OC with 1GB DDR5, PCIe.

The PC will be mainly for gaming.

Thanks.

The issue is that DDR2 RAM. It's going to be tough to find a new motherboard that actually supports DDR2. Here’s a potential combo including the RAM:

1 x ASUS Prime, AM3+, AMD 970 SB950, 4x DDR3 2000(O.C.)/1866
1 x AMD FX 6300 Processor, 3.5GHz, 14MB, 95W, AM3+, FD6300WMHK
1 x DDR3 4GB (1x4GB) Kingston, 1600MHz, CL11, Value
1 x TOSHIBA 500GB, 7200rpm, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB, DT01ACA050

$665admin.us

Just keep in mind that a 1TB HDD—which is twice the capacity—is only about $5 more. 500GB is $117 while 1TB is $133, so my advice would be to sell that old RAM and stretch your budget to $683 so you can grab the 1TB drive too. If you really don't need that extra 500GB, then the setup above is actually more than enough for you.

Also, what exactly is your power supply model? If it's some cheap generic brand, that could be a problem too. Pop the case open and check what it actually says on the label.

Adam Moore3..

I've got a Corsair 400W power supply in there, so it should handle everything without breaking a sweat.

I'm planning on throwing in an old hard drive too—I think it's around 350 GB—but honestly, common sense tells me I should just $17 pay the extra bit for a 1 TB drive instead.

Thanks for all the advice, everyone. My main goal is just to build something where I won't have to spend a dime on upgrades for the next 5 or 6 years, unless something just decides to die on me.

Jonathan Bennett46 said:Adam Moore3..

My power supply is a 400W Corsair, so it should handle everything without any issues.

I’m also going to toss in an old hard drive, maybe 350 GB, but common sense tells me it's worth paying $17 more for a 1 TB drive.

Thanks for the advice; my main goal is to build this so I don't have to sink any more money into it for the next 5 or 6 years, unless something actually breaks.

Which specific Corsair model? If it's 400W, I'm guessing it's a CX, but you really need to double-check. As long as it isn't the VS series, you're fine—though even if it is a VS, it'll work, just don't expect high quality.

As for the hard drive, that's your call. $17 More capacity means double the space, so decide if you want that. One other thing: if you're looking for future-proofing, you might want to consider stretching your budget just a little bit more.😬

So, look, the processor I suggested costs $300, and that's a six-core chip. However, the eight-core AMD FX 8300 is only $33 more, which is basically $333 extra. That's a significant jump for not much cash. Honestly, if you can swing it, it would be pretty smart to stretch a bit further; with the FX 8300, you won't be thinking about an upgrade for a very long time. After all, the CPU isn't something you swap out every couple of years. Here is how it looks:

1 x ASUS Prime, AM3+, AMD 970 SB950, 4x DDR3 2000(O.C.)/1866
1 x AMD FX 8300 3.3GHz Processor, 16MB, 125W, AM3+, FD8300WMHK
1 x DDR3 4GB (1x4GB) Kingston, 1600MHz, CL11, Value
1 x TOSHIBA 1TB, 7200rpm, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB, DT01ACA100

$720 tech forum

That would be the sweet spot. That FX 6300 used to be the better deal, but now that the FX 8300 is only $333 and the 6300 jumped up to 900, the 6300 isn't such a great value anymore. If you want to save some cash, you could go with the 500 GB hard drive instead, which brings the total down to 2100. Anyway, that's my two cents.🙂

Adam Moore3 said:Which Corsair model specifically? If it’s 400W, I’m guessing it’s a CX, but just make sure it isn't from the VS series—double check that to be safe. Technically, a VS would probably hold up, but the quality isn't exactly great.

It's definitely not the VS series; those come in 350W, 450W, 550W, and 650W models. A 400W Corsair unit has to be a CX 😉

crimsonstag84 said:It isn't the VS series; they offer 350W, 450W, 550W, and 650W versions. If it's a 400W Corsair unit, it has to be a CX 😉

I know, that's exactly why I figured it was a CX. People often say 400W when it's actually a 450W—just being careless or whatever. You can never be 100% sure when you're dealing with power supplies...🍿

Adam Moore3 said:Yeah, I figured that might be the case. People often say "400W" when they actually mean it's a 450W unit—just a bit of careless labeling or whatever. You can never really be 100% certain when you're dealing with power supplies. 🍿

I finally got a chance to double-check just now, and turns out it really is a Corsair 450 w VS series. Honestly, being a total amateur like I am, I figure 450W should be plenty to keep all the components running smoothly enough.

Yeah, you'll just need to pick up a relatively low-power graphics card if you're planning on upgrading that AMD Radeon R7 250 down the road 😉

1 x Intel Core i3-4170 Processor (3.70GHz, 512KB, 3MB, 54 W, 1150) Box
1 x 8GB DDR3 (1x8GB) Corsair, 1600MHz, CL11, Value, CMV8GX3M1A160C11
1 x TOSHIBA 500GB, 7200rpm, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB, DT01ACA050
1 x Asrock H81M-VG4 R2.0, Intel 1150 Socket H81
$669

Ryan Hayes82 said:1 x Intel Core i3-4170 Processor (3.70GHz,512KB,3MB,54 W,1150) Box
1 x DDR3 8GB (1x8GB) Corsair, 1600MHz, CL11,Value, CMV8GX3M1A160C11
1 x TOSHIBA 500GB, 7200rpm, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB, DT01ACA050
1 x Asrock H81M-VG4 R2.0, Intel 1150 Socket H81
$669

I'm just passing along these suggestions to see what happens, though I don't think they're quite right for me.
Just for comparison, this dual-core Intel chip actually seems to perform a bit better than that eight-core AMD one, which I guess makes sense if you're looking at gaming performance.

It might perform better in scenarios where games are CPU-bound and rely heavily on the speed of just one or two cores.

That being said, I still think the i3 is your best bet since you can easily fit 8GB of RAM in there, whereas finding an aftermarket cooler for those FX chips is a total headache.

crimsonstag84 said:It isn't just the VS series; they offer 350W, 450W, 550W, and 650W models. If you have a 400W Corsair PSU, it would have to be a 😉CX

Jonathan Bennett46 said:I finally had a chance to check, and it turns out the power supply actually is a Corsair 450W VS series. Honestly, as a layman, I think 450W should handle all the components just fine.

😍

Taking that into account, you're better off going with the i3 in this situation. The power supply is just okay, and an aftermarket cooler is almost a necessity. An i3 will also serve you very well. 🙂

Look, that VS isn't exactly total garbage, I guess. It just doesn't make much sense if you're buying it brand new alongside other power supplies...

Thanks, everyone!

Timothy Kim60 said:It might actually come out on top if you're playing titles that are heavy on the CPU or rely heavily on single-core speed.

Even with that, I still lean toward the i3 for you. It'll handle an 8GB RAM upgrade much more easily, whereas finding a decent aftermarket cooler for those FX chips can be a bit of a headache.

Do you even really need a dedicated cooler for that AMD FX 8300, assuming you aren't planning on overclocking it at all?

It’s necessary. Not just to manage the heat, but because of the noise levels too.
If you aren't planning on overclocking, you might as well just go with Intel.