$900 PC Build Ideas

Is there a good soul out there who can help me out? I’ve got a budget of about $600 (give or take $67) and I usually shop at Best Buy or maybe check Amazon or Newegg if the prices look better there.

An Intel Core processor, minimum, or whatever the AMD equivalent is.
A solid graphics card that won't be obsolete by next Tuesday.
A 250 GB SSD.
I don't need a monitor.
I'll leave the rest of the components to the experts.

graniteotter94 said:Is there a good soul out there who can help me out? I’ve got a budget of about $600 (give or take $67) and I usually shop at Best Buy or maybe check Amazon or Newegg if the prices look better there.

An Intel Core processor, minimum, or whatever the AMD equivalent is.
A solid graphics card that won't be obsolete by next Tuesday.
A 250 GB SSD.
I don't need a monitor.
I'll leave the rest of the components to the experts.

Links is honestly one of the worst deals out there. Most of their prices are just ridiculous, and the selection is pretty mediocre at best. Just look at what you can find over on gov.us—plus they offer free assembly and shipping anywhere in the US:

1 x Intel Core i5-4460 Processor (3.20GHz, 1MB, 6MB, 84 W, 1150) Boxed
1 x ASROCK B85M Pro3, s1150, Intel B85, M-ATX, dual Channel 2
1 x 8GB Corsair DDR3 RAM, 1600MHz, CL11, Value Series (CMV8GX3M1A160C11)
1 x TOSHIBA 1TB, 7200rpm, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB, DT01ACA100
1 x OCZ SSD ARC 100 240GB, featuring the OCZ Barefoot 3 M10 controller.
1 x Fortron 500W Hyper Power Supply, PPA5005003, featuring a 12cm fan.
Zalman Z1 mid tower case. 199(W)x432(H)x457(D)mm. Standard motherboard support.
One XFX R9-280X-TDFD featuring a Radeon R9 280X with a 1000M Boost clock and 3GB of DDR5 memory.

$2027 gov.us

You've got everything you asked for. 🙂

Adam Moore3 said:Links is honestly one of the worst deals out there. Most of their prices are just ridiculous, and the selection is pretty mediocre at best. Just look at what you can find over on gov.us—plus they offer free assembly and shipping anywhere in the US:

1 x Intel Core i5-4460 Processor (3.20GHz, 1MB, 6MB, 84 W, 1150) Boxed
1 x ASROCK B85M Pro3, s1150, Intel B85, M-ATX, dual Channel 2
1 x 8GB Corsair DDR3 RAM, 1600MHz, CL11, Value Series (CMV8GX3M1A160C11)
1 x TOSHIBA 1TB, 7200rpm, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB, DT01ACA100
1 x OCZ SSD ARC 100 240GB, featuring the OCZ Barefoot 3 M10 controller.
1 x Fortron 500W Hyper Power Supply, PPA5005003, featuring a 12cm fan.
Zalman Z1 mid tower case. 199(W)x432(H)x457(D)mm. Standard motherboard support.
One XFX R9-280X-TDFD featuring a Radeon R9 280X with a 1000M Boost clock and 3GB of DDR5 memory.

$2027 gov.us

You've got everything you asked for. 🙂

Thanks.👍
Links is my go-to if I can put the card on a credit plan instead of paying cash upfront (which might be an option), so that's why I wanted someone to check their inventory.

graniteotter94 said:Thanks.👍
Links is my go-to if I can put the card on a credit plan instead of paying cash upfront (which might be an option), so that's why I wanted someone to check their inventory.

So, just let me know once you've nailed down how you're paying and exactly how much cash you've got to work with. 👍

Robert Rodriguez2 said:So, just let me know once you've nailed down how you're paying and exactly how much cash you've got to work with. 👍

👍 Honestly, what's been suggested works for me. No matter how I slice it, I can stick to this plan. It’s probably not like there's some massive difference either way.

graniteotter94 said:👍 Honestly, what's been suggested works for me. No matter how I slice it, I can stick to this plan. It’s probably not like there's some massive difference either way.

Yeah, but just keep in mind that getting that exact same setup from Links is going to cost you a lot more. That's why I'd suggest skipping Links unless you're planning on paying cash—they’re actually pretty decent if you want the price to stay the same regardless of how you pay.

One more thing I'd suggest: since we're talking about a gaming rig, maybe hold off on the SSD for now. Instead of an SSD, you could fit a GTX 970 in there, which is significantly more powerful than a 280X or basically any other card in that tier. It represents the first real leap forward for those kinds of $667 graphics.

graniteotter94 said:Is there a good soul out there who can help me out? I’ve got a budget of about $600 (give or take $67) and I usually shop at Best Buy or maybe check Amazon or Newegg if the prices look better there.

An Intel Core processor, minimum, or whatever the AMD equivalent is.
A solid graphics card that won't be obsolete by next Tuesday.
A 250 GB SSD.
I don't need a monitor.
I'll leave the rest of the components to the experts.

No roaster needed (unnecessary).

Kimberly Gomez34 said:

No roaster needed (unnecessary).

Honestly, looking at my budget, if I play this smart and use a payment plan, I won't even feel the sting. My "greed" might have gotten the better of me, so I listed what I'm thinking:
SSD 240.0 GB Kingston HyperX Fury, SHFS37A/240G, SATA3, 2.5'', MLC-Chip, max up to 500/500 MB/s
Power supply 450W, ANTEC VP450P EC, ATX v2.3, 120mm fan
Graphics card PCI-E GAINWARD GeForce GTX 970, 4GB DDR5, DVI, HDMI, miniDP
Motherboard ASROCK B85M Pro3, Intel B85, DDR3, audio, G-LAN, S-ATA, PCI-E 3.0, USB 3.0, D-SUB, DVI, HDMI, mATX, socket 1150
Memory PC-12800, 8 GB, CORSAIR CMZ8GX3M1A1600C9 Vengeance, DDR3 1600MHz
Processor Intel Core i5-4460 BOX, socket 1150, 3.2GHz, 6MB cache, GPU, quad Core
DVD±RW LG GH24NSD1, 24x, SATA, dual Layer, black, bulk
Case CHIEFTEC libar Series LG-01B, MIDI, black, no PSU
$2275

Well... because of that GPU, I guess I won't be hitting the gym for a few months.🤦
Do I really need to swap out the power supply, case, or motherboard just for this card?

graniteotter94 said:Honestly, looking at my budget, if I play this smart and use a payment plan, I won't even feel the sting. My "greed" might have gotten the better of me, so I listed what I'm thinking:
SSD 240.0 GB Kingston HyperX Fury, SHFS37A/240G, SATA3, 2.5'', MLC-Chip, max up to 500/500 MB/s
Power supply 450W, ANTEC VP450P EC, ATX v2.3, 120mm fan
Graphics card PCI-E GAINWARD GeForce GTX 970, 4GB DDR5, DVI, HDMI, miniDP
Motherboard ASROCK B85M Pro3, Intel B85, DDR3, audio, G-LAN, S-ATA, PCI-E 3.0, USB 3.0, D-SUB, DVI, HDMI, mATX, socket 1150
Memory PC-12800, 8 GB, CORSAIR CMZ8GX3M1A1600C9 Vengeance, DDR3 1600MHz
Processor Intel Core i5-4460 BOX, socket 1150, 3.2GHz, 6MB cache, GPU, quad Core
DVD±RW LG GH24NSD1, 24x, SATA, dual Layer, black, bulk
Case CHIEFTEC libar Series LG-01B, MIDI, black, no PSU
$2275

Well... because of that GPU, I guess I won't be hitting the gym for a few months.🤦
Do I really need to swap out the power supply, case, or motherboard just for this card?

Nah 👍
But if it were me, I’d grab a beefier power supply just for peace of mind. They lose efficiency over time anyway.
I’d probably downsize the SSD instead since you're basically just installing Windows on it. Also, ditch the stock cooler—that card comes with a basic heatsink and might get loud. Better to pick one with an aftermarket cooler.

Exactly

Also, keep in mind that the price you see online is the cash price; the other one is for financing. If you're placing an order through the website, just select the cash option, and then you can work out a monthly payment plan once you get to the store. The alternative online option is strictly for credit card transactions.