Build ideas for under $2500?

Hey guys, I'm looking to build a new PC—just the tower itself—and I need a solid setup for around $833, though if I could find something a bit cheaper closer to 🙂

I've been eyeing out some specific parts, but now I'm wondering how good they actually are, if everything will play nice together, and where the best spot would be to grab it all at once from a single shop...

So, here’s what I was thinking of putting together:
1 x ASUS H81M-E 1150, Intel H81, DDR3, 2 slots, 1333/1600 MHz, PCIe x16 1, PCIe x1 2, SATA II 2, SATA3 2, 6-channel audio, 1x 10/100/1000 Ethernet

1 x Pentium G3420, LGA 1150, 3200 MHz clock speed, 3 MB L3 cache, Haswell core, includes cooler and integrated graphics

1 x Kingston DDR3 1600MHz 4GB HyperX Blu, KHX1600C9D3B1/4G

1 x Toshiba DT01ACA050 HDD (3.5", 500GB, 32MB, SATA III-600)

1 x AMD Radeon R7 250 x 1G GDDR5 PCI-E HDMI / DVI-I / DP, 950MHz / 1125MHz, 128-bit, 2 slot active, LITE

or maybe this GPU (Sapphire R7 260 x, 1GB GDDR5, DVI, DP, HDMI)

Is the first one decent enough, or is the second one way better...

Also, I was hoping you guys could suggest a case and a power supply... nothing fancy needed, just a basic case to hold everything together and a PSU that can actually handle the load...

The total would be about $2,200 to $2,300 excluding the case and power supply. Does anyone know a place where I can get this cheaper, or maybe some similar quality components that won't break the bank so much...

Thanks.

So, what's the end game here? Are you planning on gaming a ton, and if so, what kind of titles are we talking about?

Here you go:

AMD Athlon II x4 740
ASUS FM2+ A55BM-E
KINGSTON 4GB 1600 MHZ
SEAGATE 3.5" BARR. 500 GB
SAPPHIRE R7 250 1GB DDR5 BOOST
LG GH24NS95 SATA
Chicony HPA 350W ACTIVE
MS PHOENIX MIDI USB 2.0 ATX

= $840 including shipping and assembly.

If you don't really need a DVD/CD drive, I'd suggest swapping in a beefier ASUS HD 7770 GHz ED. or maybe an even stronger XFX 450W power supply.

Actually, that recommended Chicony unit should be plenty for now—it'll even handle future upgrades since CPU/GPU power draw just keeps dropping year after year.

From what I can see, you're going for a multimedia build with a decent emphasis on the graphics card—so if you're planning on gaming, a quad-core is definitely the way to go, especially given how demanding games are getting lately.

The rest fits right into your budget and honestly, I don't think you're making any bad calls here—the motherboard supports newer FM2+ Kaveri processors, and even though it's low-end, it's an ASUS, so you won't deal with the headaches you might get with something like MSI or ASROCK... plus, it gives you everything else you need.

The case isn't cheap junk either—I actually built a rig in one recently and can vouch that the build quality is pretty solid for the price. It's got room for an SSD, two 3.5" bays, three 5.25" bays, and support for 120/90mm fans that you can add later to help with airflow and keep temps down.

For gaming:

Transcend DDR3 4GB 1333MHz, JM1333KLH-4G, bulk
Samsung Barracuda HD502HJ desktop (3.5", 500GB, 16MB, SATA II-300) ST500DM005
MS PHOENIX case, no PSU included
ASUS H81M-K motherboard
Intel Celeron G1820 processor
Sapphire Radeon R7 260 x OC graphics card, 1GB GDDR5, DVI, DP, HDMI 11222-05-20G
Fortron 400W power supply, Hexa, 80+, active, 12 cm

Total: $795 + $27 shipping via FedEx

The only issue is I'm not sure where the power supply fits in this case. It probably needs to go at the top, because otherwise the cable might be too short to reach the CPU.

@graniteharbor85: i'm just wondering if i swap in this beefier graphics card will it actually run on my current 350W power supply or should i be looking at something more heavy duty... and what does "more powerful" even really mean in this context? Like, would stepping up to a 400W unit be enough...

@crimsonstag84: This CPU feels pretty weak, or at least that's my take on it... I'm wondering what kind of processor would give me a bit more of a boost if I scaled back the GPU just a touch, since I'm not really looking to crank everything up to ultra settings on the newest AAA titles right now... Something where I could get a $33 beefier processor by opting for a much weaker graphics card...

ASUS H81M-K 335,88

Samsung Barracuda HD502HJ desktop (3.5", 500GB, 16MB, SATA II-300) ST500DM005 330,75

MS PHOENIX case without PSU 94,26
Remove
Fortron power supply 400W, Hexa, 80+, active, 12 cm 279,79

Kingston DDR3 1600MHz, CL11, SR, 4GB, KVR16N11S8/4 256,61

AMD Athlon II x4 740 501,77

SAPPHIRE AMD Radeon HD7770 1G GDDR5 PCI-E HDMI / DVI-I / DP, 950MHz / 1125MHz, 128-bit, 2 slot ac 721,77

2,520.83

So basically this is the build I'm eyeing and I was thinking about just grabbing it all from Best Buy... does anyone have any thoughts on this or if everything actually works together properly...

That processor isn't going to fit on that motherboard; you'll need an FM2 or FM2+ board instead:

This is basically the same HD 7770, just a bit cheaper:

Maybe spend a few extra bucks to get double the storage space:

http://www.amazon.com/details/product/0-1tb-3-5.aspx

Samsung Barracuda HD502HJ desktop (3.5", 500GB, 16MB, SATA II-300) ST500DM005 330,75

MS PHOENIX case without PSU 94,26

Fortron 400W PSU, Hexa, 80+, active, 12 cm 279,79

Kingston DDR3 1600MHz, CL11, SR, 4GB, KVR16N11S8/4 256,61

AMD Athlon II x4 740 501,77

MSI A88XM-E35 motherboard (FM2+, DDR3, SATA III, RAID, GLAN, USB2.0, USB3.0, VGA, HDMI, DVI) mATX Box 383,28

SAPPHIRE AMD Radeon R7 250 x 1G GDDR5 PCI-E HDMI / DVI-I / DP, 950MHz / 1125MHz, 128-bit, 2 slot ac 706,97

2,553.43

So does this all work together and is the power supply beefy enough to actually run the whole setup... I was wondering if there's anywhere else I could trim the cost by maybe twenty bucks or so since I'm really tight on cash right now...

Sorry if I'm hitting you guys up with questions that probably could've been a quick Google search, it's just easier talking to real people about 🙂
...

If you go with the Corsair RM350 power supply, even though the Hex unit is noticeably better, the Corsair should probably hold up fine since the build pulls less than 200W.

I noticed this motherboard actually has USB 3.0, but my case doesn't even have the ports for it, so I was honestly just thinking about grabbing a cheaper, lower-end CPU instead... I mean, where can I find a board that doesn't support 3.0 anyway, since I don't have any 3.0 devices right now and who knows when I'll actually get around to having them 🙂

I'm actually really digging this processor...

Does anyone know which motherboard would actually work with it...

I don't know, what you're saying doesn't really make sense to me xD

A USB 2.0 device works fine in a 3.0 port, it's just that it won't actually hit those 3.0 speeds; it'll basically perform like it's plugged into a USB 2.0 port.

And honestly, I'd forget about that processor—you might want to check out the suggested one instead.

An MSI motherboard makes sense, sure, but if you’re looking to step up and get a better power supply, you really can't pass up that EVGA deal on sale with the 5-year warranty. Also—just a heads up—that Hex unit comes with super short cables, so everything feels kind of cramped. If you ever decide to upgrade to a nicer case down the road, you'll probably end up having to buy extension cables just to make it work.

Regarding the EVGA GeForce GTX 770, it's also worth stretching your budget a bit since you get an extra year of warranty out of it.

Honestly? I'd rather just spend a little more upfront and go with what was suggested—trying to save pennies when you're working with a tight budget usually ends up costing you way more in the long run.

Head over to Best Buy and look for this:

http://zasike.com/files/r7e63zlhzv3fi5a5ocd.jpg

If you’re looking to spend $10 a bit more, you should probably grab this card instead:
http://www.bestbuy.com/details/product-link-2-slot-ac.aspx

Honestly, don't sweat the USB 3.0 stuff, at least not with the budget you're working with. You mentioned yourself that you don't even have USB 3.0 ports right now, so you probably won't be needing them anytime soon anyway.

Anyway, you didn't really say what you actually plan on doing or playing on this PC?

It’s nothing too crazy, really... The PC is mostly gonna be for browsing the web and maybe grabbing some racing games, plus my brother is big into Agriculture Simulator 2013 which doesn't need anything heavy to run smoothly... and maybe some Age of Empires III... they're all pretty old-school titles anyway...

Based on the specs, that PC should absolutely fly.
If you’re willing to push your budget all the way up to $2,500, you should definitely start looking at... GTX 750 TiXThat’s just your EVGA GeForce GTX 770 being rebranded.

Look, just take this deal. There is honestly no point in looking at anything weaker than this. Grab the 1TB hard drive because the price gap between that and the 500GB version is only about $17, which means for just $17 extra, you’re essentially getting a second 500GB drive for free. You will be so glad you did that later on, especially since the price difference is practically nothing—just like the jump between an Athlon x4 740-750 and a 760!

ASUS Prime A88X Motherboard (SFM2+, DDR3, SATA III, RAID, GLAN, USB2.0, USB3.0, VGA, HDMI, DVI) mATX Box
Intel Core i3-4130 Processor
NVIDIA GeForce GT 730 Graphics Card, 1GB GDGD5 11215-00-20G
Memory Device KINGSTON ValueRAM DDR3 SDRAM Non-ECC (4GB, 1600MHz(PC3-12800), Single Rank, Unbuffered) C
Seagate BarraCuda 1TB 3.5''
Chicony Active 350W ATX PSU, CHI-HPA-350W
PC Case without power supply, SiriusXM total

Total: $2,441.55
Best Buy