Budget Gaming Build - $450 Target

Hey everyone,
Does anyone have any suggestions for a solid gaming build within a budget of $1000 (just the tower itself)
? Ideally, I’d love to put this together using something like Micro Center
to make things easy. Thanks, best regards.

Just looking at the specs for this MSI H81M-P33—it’s a standard mATX board with Socket 1150, D3, S3, USB 3.0, DVI, and VGA. Seems pretty straightforward, I guess.
It’s an Intel BX80646I34150, specifically the Core i3 4150 CPU. It runs at 3.5 GHz on the Haswell architecture with 3MB cache and a 54W TDP, all using the Socket 1150. This one comes in the Intel Box.
It’s an MSI R7 260x OC with 1GB of GDDR5, featuring dual DVI ports, HDMI, and DisplayPort.
It’s an EVGA 400W with 80+ rating, active cooling, and a 12 cm fan. I guess.
I guess it's just a standard Seagate ST1000DM003—a 500GB, 3.5" SATA drive spinning at 7,200 rpm with 32 MB of cache. Nothing too flashy, really.
Maybe Patriot Sig. DDR3 1600MHz, 4GB? I guess that could work.
Corsair VS3-V Chrome Tower ATX case, black, no power supply included.

Total amount: $1003 I guess someone just dropped the name diskont24. Maybe they're looking for something?

Does it really have to be a discount bundle? They don't offer an FM2+ processor here, but you get a much better GPU in exchange. Looking at Best Buy, you can grab an overclockable quad-core CPU paired with a stronger graphics card. You could argue about the i3 4150 versus the Athlon 860 k, but honestly, you're going to see better overall gaming performance here because of that superior GPU. 🙂 Even if it doesn't leave you much room for future upgrades since the platform is pretty limited.

ASRock FM2A78M HD + motherboard, FM2
AMD Athlon II x4 860k processor
Patriot Sig. DDR3 1600MHz, 4GB, HS
Seagate ST1000DM003 500GB 3.5''
Zalman micro tower case black, Zalman ZM-T1 Plus
EVGA 400W power supply, 80+, active, 12 cm
NVIDIA Kepler Rev.2 cooler 115X/775/AM2-3/FM1-2
Sapphire Radeon R7 260x 1G GDDR5 graphics card

$2,993.89 + $13 shipping from Best Buy

Looks like that processor is out of stock... which was my main target anyway.

Also, I don't think the 260X model is worth the extra $67 difference (since the R7 260 is $217). 😉

Sapphire Radeon R7 260x OC, 1GB GDDR5, DVI, DP, HDMI

Intel Box Processor Intel Pentium G3258

Asrock H81M-HDS - Intel Socket 1150 H81M-HDS

Patriot Sig. DDR3 1600Mhz, 4GB, HS

Fortron Hexa Plus 400W, 80+, active, 12 cm

Seagate ST1000DM003, 1TB, 7200 rpm, 64MB, SATA 6Gb/s, Seagate Barracuda

Zalman ZM-T1 Plus micro tower case

Total: Price:$1017 Diskont24
Personally, I’d go this route—the CPU handles overclocking quite well, and more importantly, it leaves the door wide open for a much more substantial upgrade path toward i5 or i7 processors later on. It also allows for pairing with a significantly beefier graphics card; compared to an i3 setup, which honestly feels like a bit of a dead end, this offers much better long-term value.

Thanks, guys—I think I'm going to go with the build from crimsonstag84 since it doesn't look like anyone is planning on overclocking here anyway. 😉

Dennis Carter3 said:Sapphire Radeon R7 260x OC, 1GB GDDR5, DVI, DP, HDMI

Intel Box Processor Intel Pentium G3258

Asrock H81M-HDS - Intel Socket 1150 H81M-HDS

Patriot Sig. DDR3 1600Mhz, 4GB, HS

Fortron Hexa Plus 400W, 80+, active, 12 cm

Seagate ST1000DM003, 1TB, 7200 rpm, 64MB, SATA 6Gb/s, Seagate Barracuda

Zalman ZM-T1 Plus micro tower case

Total: Price:$1017 Diskont24
Personally, I’d go this route—the CPU handles overclocking quite well, and more importantly, it leaves the door wide open for a much more substantial upgrade path toward i5 or i7 processors later on. It also allows for pairing with a significantly beefier graphics card; compared to an i3 setup, which honestly feels like a bit of a dead end, this offers much better long-term value.

The G3258 is starting to fall behind—not because it lacks raw power, but because it’s just missing cores. Since the i3 offers four threads, it can still pass for a quad-core in games like Dragon Age: Inquisition, which... I can't. Run it on two cores. More and more titles are being released that operate this way, so if you're putting together a budget gaming build, you're better off going with an i3 and just compromising on the non-OC 260x.

crimsonstag84 said:Looks like that processor is out of stock... which was my main target anyway.

Also, I don't think the 260X model is worth the extra $67 difference (since the R7 260 is $217). 😉

If you went with an Athlon, there'd be plenty of room for the 260X, regardless of anything else... $67 It's pricier than the non-X 260, but honestly, it's just noticeably better. There isn't really a smarter way to spend the money here.

If that Athlon isn't available, then we're looking at a whole different situation... 😬 In that case, the i3 is definitely the way to go.

Exactly. If you're looking at next-gen gaming, you really need to be aiming for at least an AMD Athlon II x4 860k or an Intel i3. Those cheaper options should only be considered if your budget is extremely tight.

I’m on the hunt for a solid rig that can actually handle some heavy-duty gaming, you know, stuff like Democratic Party, Ford, NBA, NHL, NFL, Formula 1, rFactor, and all that good stuff.

What kind of beast can I actually put together without completely draining my bank account?

Maybe just grab a massive stack of Chipotle burritos instead?

Or should I just go out and buy a pre-built desktop?

Chipoteka’s selection is pretty weak when it comes to PC parts.

Just take it easy for now—maybe just grab some extra RAM later on and swap out the GPU whenever you feel like it.

FX 6300
N/A
ASUS M5A78L M LX3
CRUCIAL 4GB 1600 MHZ
SEAGATE 3.5 1TB SATA 3 BARR.
XFX R7 250X 1GB DDR5
FORTRON HEXA 400W 80+ ACTIVE
NAVIATEC MATX

~ $1067.

Honestly, only go the laptop route if you actually need to carry it around all the time. For that kind of money, it'll be tough to find anything decent, whereas a desktop is way more powerful and definitely the better long-term move.