Need some build advice

Hey guys, could you take a look at this build and let me know if I'm on the right track?

Intel Celeron G1840
Kingston DDR3 1600MHz, CL11, SR, 4GB, KVR16N11S8/4
XFX AMD Radeon R7 260 x Graphic card 2GB DDR5 bulk
Zalman 400 w pas LX Series Retail, ZAL-ZM400-LX
MSI H81M-P33, 1150, D3, S3, USB 3.0, DVI, VGA, Micro ATX
Zalman micro tower case black, ZAL-ZM-T1 PLUS
Toshiba P300 1TB, 64MB

I'm planning to pick everything up at Best Buy using a credit card. It's mainly going to be for some gaming.

Look, I’m no tech expert or anything, but I wouldn't call this a solid build when you're dropping nearly as much on the case as you are on the processor...

😁😁😁😁 It might sound a bit silly, but from what I can tell, that processor should be able to handle The Witcher 3 and GTA 5 just fine, which is plenty for me. I ended up grabbing this case because those other cheap ones are honestly total garbage.

What kind of budget are we working with here? Honestly, the build looks alright, though I think you might get better airflow if you went with an MS Conqueror case paired with two MS PC Cool 12cm fans—one in the front and one in the back. That might bump the price up by about $6.75.

Also, it’d probably be a smart move to grab 8GB of RAM, or maybe even $30 more:

https://www.amazon.com/ADATA-Memory-Desktop-Computer-8GB/dp/B07V6S2C2N

Daniel Miller3 said:😁😁😁😁 It might sound stupid, but from what I can tell, that CPU should handle The Witcher 3 and GTA 5 well enough for me. As for the case, I just grabbed it because those cheap ones are basically garbage.

Not really, though. GTA 5 doesn't play too nice with dual-core processors...

It's possible...



With an XFX AMD Radeon R7 260 x Graphic card 2, you'll probably need to dial the settings down to Medium / high.

crimsonstag84 said:What kind of budget are we looking at? Honestly, the build looks solid, but you might get better airflow if you swapped to an MS Conqueror case paired with two MS PC Cool 12cm fans (one front, one rear). It might bump the price up by about $6.75.

Also, I’d definitely recommend bumping it up to 8GB of RAM, $30 or even more:

https://www.amazon.com/memory-adata...11-b-bulk.aspx

Are you suggesting the MS Conqueror just because of the extra fans, or is there something wrong with this Zalman one? If it's just about the airflow, I'll probably just toss in one intake fan instead.

My main worry is skipping the Skylake processor. In about four years, will I actually be able to find an LGA 1150 CPU to upgrade this thing later on?

The budget isn't set in stone, but I'm definitely trying to keep the total cost as low as possible.

Dual-core processors suffer from poor minimum FPS in Grand Theft Auto V, which leads to annoying stuttering, according to this guy, a point further proven by this tester's results. He also suggests upgrading to a better Intel Pentium G3258.

Timothy Kim60 said:Basically, dual cores have terrible minimum FPS in Grand Theft Auto V, which causes all those annoying stutters. That’s what this guy is saying, and you can clearly see it in that guy's benchmark too. He’s also suggesting an Intel Pentium G3258 would be a better bet.

I don't know, man. Honestly, upgrading to a decent quad-core feels way too expensive right now. The world isn't gonna end if I can't play Grand Theft Auto V perfectly. :P

Daniel Miller3 said:I dunno, honestly... feels way too pricey to just drop money on a decent quad core right now. The world won't stop spinning if I can't play Grand Theft Auto V :P

You could always just hang tight for a bit until you can grab a quad... or upgrade later, though that's probably not the best move for your wallet

Hey everyone!
I don't want to start an entirely new thread if I can just get some advice here first.
I'm currently putting together a PC build—just the tower itself, nothing else, I don't need any peripherals.
I'm looking for recommendations on all the other components. Ideally, I want to keep this as budget-friendly as humanly possible... we're talking absolute bottom-dollar pricing, but it still needs to be compatible with what I've already picked out:
My current plan is to go with an Intel Core i5-6400 and an AMD Radeon R9 380x 4GB OC. I think 8GB of RAM should be plenty—maybe a 2x4GB kit to take advantage of dual channel. Now, I'd love to hear your suggestions for everything else. Thanks!

Daniel Miller3 said:I guess I don't know, feels way too pricey to just slap in a decent quad core. It's not like the world's gonna end without Grand Theft Auto V anyway. :P

Maybe an Intel Core i5-4460 at least, paired with a cheap motherboard. You could also $33 strip some stuff off the case, and honestly, adding another 4GB of RAM would probably be a good move. Unless you aren't planning on upgrading that CPU anytime soon, then you might be okay with the current setup.

rustytrucker37 said:Hey everyone!
Not to hijack the thread, but can anyone give me some advice?
I'm building a PC—just the tower, no peripherals.
I need recommendations for everything else, keeping it as budget-friendly as possible. Like, maximum savings, but still needs to work well with what I've got:
I'm looking at an i5 6400 and an AMD Radeon R9 380x 4gb OC. 8GB of RAM should be enough, maybe a 2x4GB kit for dual channel. Let me know what else you'd suggest. Thanks!

Might be better to just start your own thread and give us a budget. No point trying to build both a budget rig and a high-end one in the same conversation.

My Intel Core i5-4460 build:

ADATA 8GB 1600MHz, CL11, 1.35V ADDU1600W8G11-B
GIGABYTE mATX Motherboard, AMD A68 (SFM2+, DDR3, DVI/VGA, USB 3.0/2.0, SATA III, RAID, LAN) A68HM-DS2
Seagate Barracuda 1TB, 64MB, 7200rpm Western Digital Blue
MS VOYAGER 2 case (no PSU included)
EVGA 400 W1 PSU, ZAL-ZM400-LX
Intel Core i5-4460 Processor
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB DDR5, XFX-R7-260X-CNFB

Total: $851 Centro

Well, I'll let the final budget dictate things at the end, provided we keep the cost of the other components to an absolute minimum while still ensuring there's enough breathing room to reliably power the CPU and GPU. Whatever the total comes out to, I'm fine with it. If it proves easier, I'll just start a fresh thread. Thanks!

Someone should just grab an Intel Core i5-4460 and call it a day.

rustytrucker37 said:Look, I'll just set a price ceiling at the end. The goal is to keep everything else cheap while making sure the CPU and GPU run without any issues. Whatever the final number ends up being, it is what it is. If this gets too complicated, I'll start a new thread. Thanks!

There’s honestly no point in trying to pin anything down without a budget. Aside from a junk power supply, pretty much any component will "ensure the CPU and GPU run fine." Everything will work. It’s about what you actually want out of them, rather than just making sure they turn on.

That Celeron will actually handle Grand Theft Auto V just fine. It’s on the s1150 socket, so you can always swap in a better processor later—either by scaling up what you have or picking up something new once you've saved up enough cash. As for the GTX 750 Ti, it's a solid card. It’ll run pretty much anything, provided you aren't expecting to crank everything up to high settings. It's a decent piece of hardware.

mellowtiger83 said:That Celeron will actually handle Grand Theft Auto V. It’s an LGA 1150 socket, so you can easily swap in a better CPU later once you have some cash. That GTX 750 Ti is decent too—it'll run most things, just don't expect to crank everything to High settings. It's a solid card.

Check out the link Kimberly Gomez34 posted.
Even an Intel Pentium G3258 can only push that AMD Radeon R9 270 to about 80% utilization on LOW settings. Once you bump it up toward High, the FPS barely moves, which means you've got a massive CPU bottleneck right there. So, we're talking about LOW settings here, and that's with a processor much stronger than a Celeron. Sure, it stays playable above 30fps, but you're still going to deal with freezes and frame drops.

P.S.
Yeah, upgrading from a Celeron on an 1150 board is a great path, but you have to budget for a new CPU. And honestly, you'd probably want a new GPU too, because that GTX 750 Ti is going to struggle against any decent i5.
Bottom line: you'd get way more bang for your buck if you picked something slightly more powerful on the CPU side right now, assuming you aren't planning to overhaul the whole rig (which would be a much better move anyway—grab a used i5 and a newer or refurbished GPU, and you'll get way more performance for the money in a few months).

wiredotter14 said:Check out that link Kimberly Gomez34 posted.
The Intel Pentium G3258 manages to push the AMD Radeon R9 270 to about 80% utilization on LOW settings. When you bump it up to High, the FPS doesn't really drop much, which means you've got a massive CPU bottleneck there. So yeah, those are basically the LOW settings, and even then, it's a decent step up from a Celeron. It’s still somewhat playable at >30fps, but you're definitely going to deal with freezes and stutters.

P.S.
Sure, jumping from a Celeron to an 1150 socket setup is a great upgrade path, but you have to factor in needing a new CPU. Honestly, you'd probably want a new graphics card too, since that 260X is going to struggle to keep up with an i5.
Basically, you'd get way more bang for your buck if you picked something slightly more powerful on the CPU side right now—unless you're planning to swap both the PC and the GPU (which would be a killer upgrade, maybe grab a used i5 and a new or used card that'll be much better value in a few months).

What about The Witcher 3, though? Can the Intel Pentium G1840 actually handle that?

It would probably run somehow. I once ordered a build from a guy featuring a G1820 paired with a GTX 1050 Ti, and he claimed it worked perfectly fine—though I highly doubt he’s actually tracking his FPS. He mentioned experiencing some minor stuttering during fast travel sequences or something similar, but that's about it. If there is any silver lining to using that socket, it’s the ability to upgrade to noticeably more powerful processors later on. However, if you aren't planning on upgrading, you're much better off sticking with the setup Smartic put together for you.