Rate my gaming rig

I would appreciate some feedback from the experts here regarding these builds. If possible, I’d also love some recommendations on whether I could find something of higher quality for a similar price range.

I plan on buying online, and the setup is intended primarily for gaming.

Look, you've put two different setups on the table where the price gap is basically nothing—like, what, twenty bucks?
Just pick your max budget, decide how you're actually going to pay for it, and then people can give you a much better recommendation.

So, my budget is somewhere between $5,000 and $6,000 max, and I'll be paying in cash. Just to clarify, I don't need a mouse, keyboard, speakers, or a monitor—I'm really just looking for the tower itself.

feralangler3 said:I would appreciate some feedback from the experts here regarding these builds. If possible, I’d also love some recommendations on whether I could find something of higher quality for a similar price range.

I plan on buying online, and the setup is intended primarily for gaming.

Honestly, neither of these is worth the price tag—you can definitely do much better than this...

than $2000 (it went a little over budget, but oh boy, what a headache)

Dell Inspiron Desktop
MSI B85M G45
Kingston 2X4GB 1600Mhz Grey
MSI GTX 770 2GB
WD 1TB Caviar Black
FSP 650W 80+
Logic A32

$2067 Amazon.com

Just wanted to mention what kind of games I'll be running. I'm looking at older titles like wow, some slightly older ones like Guild Wars 2, and also modern stuff like the new Battlefield series and things along those lines. I'd also really prefer a configuration that stays relevant for as long as possible; since I live on an island, upgrading components can be quite a headache. 😁 Honestly, my only real interaction with hardware is blowing out the dust,
because hauling everything back to the mainland just to swap parts is pretty expensive.

1 x XFX R9-280X-TDFD, DD Radeon R9 280X 1000M Boost 3GB DDR5
1 x Intel Core i5-4440 (3.10GHz,1MB,6MB,84 W,1150) Box
1 x DDR3 8GB (1x8GB) Kingston, HyperX Blue, 1600MHz, CL10
1 x HDD WD 1TB, Caviar Blue 10EZEX, 1000 GB, SATA3,64 MB, 3,5", 24mj
1 x Samsung SH-224DB sat Bulk Black, SATA
1 x Corsair 500 w CX Series 80 + Bronze, ATX12V v2.3
1 x Zalman ZM-T4 micro tower case. 189(W) x 427,5(H) x 364(D)mm. MB
1 x MSI H87M-P33, Socket : 1150, Intel ® H87, 2xDDR3 1333/1600

$2013

1 x Gigabyte 990 XA-UD3, AM3+, AMD 990 x SB950, 4x DDR3
1 x AMD FX-Series X8 8320 3.5GHz, 16MB, 125W, AM3+, FD8320FRHK
1 x WD 1TB Caviar Blue HDD, 1000 GB, SATA3, 64 MB, 3.5", 24mo warranty
1 x SILVERSTONE Strider 500W, Essential ST50F-ES AC 90-264V, 47/63Hz
1 x Zalman Z1 mid tower case. 199(W)x432(H)x457(D)mm. Standard ATX
1 x ZALMAN CNPS 5X cooler, compatible with 775/1155/1156/AM2/AM2/AM3
1 x ASUS DRW-24F1ST/BLK/B/AS SATA, DVD-R 24x, DVD-RW 6x, DVD+R 24x
1 x Kingston HyperX Blue DDR3 8GB (1x8GB), 1600MHz, CL10
1 x MSI GTX 760 Gaming 2GB GDDR5, N760 TF 2GD5/OC, Dual-link DVI

$1977
AMD build
1 x WD 1TB Caviar Blue HDD, 1000 GB, SATA3, 64 MB, 3.5", 24mo warranty
1 x SILVERSTONE Strider 500W, Essential ST50F-ES AC 90-264V, 47/63Hz
1 x Zalman Z1 mid tower case. 199(W)x432(H)x457(D)mm. Standard ATX
1 x ASUS DRW-24F1ST/BLK/B/AS SATA, DVD-R 24x, DVD-RW 6x, DVD+R 24x
1 x Kingston HyperX Blue DDR3 8GB (1x8GB), 1600MHz, CL10
1 x Gigabyte GA-B85M-DS3H, Socket : 1150, Intel ® B85
1 x Intel Core i5-4440 (3.10GHz, 1MB, 6MB, 84 W, 1150) Box
1 x MSI GTX 760 Gaming 2GB GDDR5, N760 TF 2GD5/OC, Dual-link DVI

$1911
intel

I should have mentioned that the budget could go up to $6,000, provided it includes Windows 7 or Windows 8.

If you ask me, you should probably just swap out the graphics card for this one and then go ahead and install Windows 8.1 on top of everything else.

Here’s a solid, well-balanced build for you:

i5 3350P
AS ROCK B75 PRO3
2X TRANSCEND 4GB 1600 MHZ (8GB)
SEAGATE 3,5 1TB SATA 3 SSHD
MSI R9 270 2GB TF IV GAMING OC
LG GH24NS95 SATA
XFX 450W 80+ BRONZE
ZALMAN Z3 PLUS

Windows 8.1 64 BIT

$2005 - Local PC shop (free assembly and shipping)

feralangler3 said:I should have mentioned that the budget could go up to $6,000, provided it includes Windows 7 or Windows 8.

🤣🤣😂😂

Are you actually kidding me right now? You're really going to drop that much cash just to get an original copy of Windows—and sacrifice your actual hardware components in the process? 🙂

If you do that, you better be ready to go out and swap out your graphics card in just a couple of years. ☕

best regards!

If you aren't setting this PC up for a business environment, there's really no point in wasting your cash on an original copy of Windows. Just find someone to set up a cracked version for your home use instead.

My laptop came with an original version of Windows 7 pre-installed when I first bought it, though all I really have on hand is a DVD backup of the OS. I’ve never run into a single issue with it. It's a bit of a contrast to my old desktops, where I used to rely on cracked versions of Windows downloaded from various sites; I always seemed to deal with constant glitches and system crashes with those.

feralangler3 said:My laptop came with an original version of Windows 7 pre-installed when I first bought it, though all I really have on hand is a DVD backup of the OS. I’ve never run into a single issue with it. It's a bit of a contrast to my old desktops, where I used to rely on cracked versions of Windows downloaded from various sites; I always seemed to deal with constant glitches and system crashes with those.

That has absolutely nothing to do with it.

What exactly do you mean when you say, "That has nothing to do with it"?

It definitely matters—especially when you're messing around with pirated versions of Windows 8.1, and let's be real, if you aren't super deep into OS optimization, things can get messy fast.

You’ve got a solid enough budget and a decent setup, so honestly, just buying a legitimate copy of Windows isn't going to break the bank for you.

graniteharbor85 said:It definitely matters—especially when you're messing around with pirated versions of Windows 8.1, and let's be real, if you aren't super deep into OS optimization, things can get messy fast.

You’ve got a solid enough budget and a decent setup, so honestly, just buying a legitimate copy of Windows isn't going to break the bank for you.

Someone was complaining about having a legal copy of Windows 7 versus not having one installed at all, claiming there's absolutely no difference between the two.

What guy? He isn't even complaining about using legal software.

I'm talking about Windows 8, which is what's actually being recommended here—Windows 7 is a whole different story since it’s been around for so long now. Once he makes up his mind, it’s all good; he’s already seen suggestions for both options, so there's really no issue.

feralangler3 said:My laptop came with an original version of Windows 7 pre-installed when I first bought it, though all I really have on hand is a DVD backup of the OS. I’ve never run into a single issue with it. It's a bit of a contrast to my old desktops, where I used to rely on cracked versions of Windows downloaded from various sites; I always seemed to deal with constant glitches and system crashes with those.

Speaking from my own experience, whether Windows 7 is legitimate or pirated doesn't change much, except for when you're trying to run update 971033.

feralangler3 said:My laptop came with an original version of Windows 7 pre-installed when I first bought it, though all I really have on hand is a DVD backup of the OS. I’ve never run into a single issue with it. It's a bit of a contrast to my old desktops, where I used to rely on cracked versions of Windows downloaded from various sites; I always seemed to deal with constant glitches and system crashes with those.

Look, it really just depends on your luck—you might stumble upon a particularly buggy, cracked version of Windows, or you might find that people are right when they say there isn't actually any difference and the stability issues don't even exist. If the idea of using a pirated version makes you nervous, then go ahead and get the legitimate one—even if it means sacrificing a few extra bucks for components—but personally, I'm just not a huge fan of that whole approach.🤷