PC Build Help

So, I'm thinking about putting this build together: an NVIDIA GTX 750 Ti, an Intel Core i5-3470, a 230W power supply, an MSI MAG B550, and 8GB of RAM. I guess I'm wondering if this is actually a decent setup... like, will I be able to run pretty much anything? Specifically looking at stuff like Call of Duty: Battlefield or Ghosts.🙂

The GPU is definitely your bottleneck here. I’m not saying you won't be able to launch those games, but don't expect to crank up the settings at high resolutions—you'll end up with a pretty rough frame rate, especially when you're playing Call of Duty: Battlefield... You really want to look for a card that comes with DDR5 memory..

So, I'm currently rocking an HD6670 with 1GB of DDR5, and honestly, I can pretty much run most stuff on High at 1280x1024... it’s definitely not breaking any speed records, but hey, it gets the job done! I've been thinking though, maybe it's time to grab a slightly beefier processor, you know, something starting with a 6

Zachary Smith2 said:So, I'm thinking about putting this build together: an NVIDIA GTX 750 Ti, an Intel Core i5-3470, a 230W power supply, an MSI MAG B550, and 8GB of RAM. I guess I'm wondering if this is actually a decent setup... like, will I be able to run pretty much anything? Specifically looking at stuff like Call of Duty: Battlefield or Ghosts.🙂

So, to get us moving in the right direction—could you give me a rough idea of the budget you’re working with? I don't need a line-by-line breakdown just yet, but having a ballpark figure helps immensely when I'm trying to balance performance against cost.

If you’re planning on just heading down to Best Buy and picking up everything brand new, you can definitely aim higher than that—honestly, you deserve better! Based on what I saw over at CNN, the parts you listed would set you back somewhere around $2,000. $33 You can actually squeeze a much better performance boost out of your gaming setup if you decide to pick up an NVIDIA GTX 750 Ti and swap out that current processor for a decent Ryzen model—it really makes a world of difference. Honestly, if you’re just sticking to lower resolutions, you’ll be perfectly fine and won't have to worry about any major hiccups, which should give you some peace of mind. But—and this is a big "but"—once we start talking about playing at 1080p, you might run into some real trouble, and I suspect the experience won't be nearly as smooth as you'd like it to be.

P.S. — Just so I'm clear on the logistics here—do you already have the case, the power supply, and the hard drive on hand, or are we looking to add those to the list?

I've already got a case and a power supply, but I guess I could swap them out for something actually decent if needed. Right now, I'm running this 500GB Toshiba hard drive. I did a little digging online, and apparently, an HD 6670 is supposed to be the sweet spot for performance with this CPU. I’d probably drop most of my cash $1333 on that. Also, is this hard drive kind of a joke just because it was the cheapest one they had?

Zachary Smith2 said:I've already got a case and a power supply, but I guess I could swap them out for something actually decent if needed. Right now, I'm running this 500GB Toshiba hard drive. I did a little digging online, and apparently, an HD 6670 is supposed to be the sweet spot for performance with this CPU. I’d probably drop most of my cash $1333 on that. Also, is this hard drive kind of a joke just because it was the cheapest one they had?

It's not trash. What kind of power supply are you running? Open the case and read the label on it.

If it's some cheap junk, just swap that out too.

That setup isn't worth it, honestly. What kind of power supply are you running—brand and model? Also, how are you planning to pay for this, cash or financing? And what's the main use case for the PC? I guess the HDD isn't actually that bad, so we can just reuse it, and you could probably keep the case or swap it out (though it'd be helpful to know if it's a micro or midi tower).

Power supply is only 230W, though I don't really know the brand... case is an MS model, and it’s one of those big towers, not a small desktop.

Check the brand first. If it says 230W, you definitely need a replacement, but if it's 230V, you might be fine 😁 volts and watts are two totally different things

1 x MSI MAG B550, AM4, chipset, BUS 5200 MHz, DDR4
1 x Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz, 3MB, 54W, LGA1150
1 x Sapphire R9 270X 2GB, OC Boost, 2GB GDDR5 256bit, 28nm, 2xDVI
1 x ASUS DRW-24F1ST/BLK/B/AS SATA, DVD-R 24x, DVD-RW 6x, DVD+R 24x
2 x DDR3 4GB (1x4GB) Kingston, 1600MHz, CL11, Value
1 x ZALMAN CNPS 5X, socket 775/1155/1156/AM2/AM2/AM3
1 x EVGA Black Edition 450W PSU - EasyRail technology

$1320

www.newegg.com

just list your case and storage 🙂

Zachary Smith2 said:I've already got a case and a power supply, but I guess I could swap them out for something actually decent if needed. Right now, I'm running this 500GB Toshiba hard drive. I did a little digging online, and apparently, an HD 6670 is supposed to be the sweet spot for performance with this CPU. I’d probably drop most of my cash $1333 on that. Also, is this hard drive kind of a joke just because it was the cheapest one they had?

I'm guessing they're talking about SLI/Crossfire, you know, like when you run the 6670 alongside the integrated graphics at the same time?

Just wanted to drop a quick note to say I finally put this rig together. Here's what I've got under the hood:
1. MSI MAG B550
2. 500GB Toshiba HDD
3. 2x4GB 1600mhz
4. NVIDIA GTX 750 Ti
5. Intel Core i5-3470 3.60GHZ X4
6. Standard Power Supply

I just finished getting Windows 10 Pro set up and I'm sitting at the desktop right now. I'm gonna try installing Call of Duty: Battlefield later on... hopefully this thing can actually handle it. I'll let you guys know how the graphics look on max settings once I get it running.

Also, could someone maybe explain how SLI/Crossfire works? I'm a bit lost there.

You made a total mistake, but hey, at least you bought what you wanted 👍

So, this is my first actual PC since $1267, so I was kind of rushing to see what it’s actually like to own a gaming rig. It’s running okay for me right now, though I might grab a 1TB WD Black hard drive later on. Honestly, I don't really get why people say this setup isn't any good... I mean, it's got a 4-core processor and the GPU has 2GB of VRAM.

Also, I've got this one issue where the fans get super loud whenever I'm playing a game, but then they quiet right back down once I close it out. Is that actually a problem? Like, should I be worried about it catching fire or something?

That setup doesn't really make sense if you're looking to get serious about gaming. For instance, you could have gone with a CPU that doesn't have integrated graphics and put that extra cash toward a much beefier GPU. Honestly, Flatron put together a significantly more powerful PC for the same price point.

fadedorca66 made a great point there—you really shouldn't have rushed into this, especially if this is your first serious step up into a real gaming rig. It’s one of those things where you really need to sit down and plan it all out properly beforehand...

Just because you see four cores on a processor or 2GB of VRAM on a graphics card doesn't mean those components are actually going to deliver top-tier performance when you're mid-game. You can't just take what's written on the spec sheet at face value; you really need to dig into actual benchmarks to see how they hold up. There's an old saying that's still true today: "You get what you pay for."

P.S. I'm not sure exactly which game is giving you trouble, but try dropping your settings down to Medium or even Low to see if that stabilizes things. It sounds like you might be trying to run something a bit too demanding for your current setup—your GPU probably just doesn't have enough horsepower to keep up with the demand.🙂

I’m on the same page as Kimberly Gomez34 and fadedorca66... honestly, the chip itself is just too weak and doesn't have enough cores to actually handle serious gaming. The amount of VRAM on the card pretty much doesn't matter unless you're trying to run multiple displays.

If you go with $1267 an Intel Core i5-3470 paired with an R9 270X and overclock it, that GPU is going to be about 4 or 5 times more powerful than what you've got.

EDIT: Even an Intel Core i3-4130 would fit into that equation; I didn't even bother looking at the higher-end builds. 😉

Zachary Smith2 said:So, this is my first actual PC since $1267, so I was kind of rushing to see what it’s actually like to own a gaming rig. It’s running okay for me right now, though I might grab a 1TB WD Black hard drive later on. Honestly, I don't really get why people say this setup isn't any good... I mean, it's got a 4-core processor and the GPU has 2GB of VRAM.

Also, I've got this one issue where the fans get super loud whenever I'm playing a game, but then they quiet right back down once I close it out. Is that actually a problem? Like, should I be worried about it catching fire or something?

Like everyone else told you, numbers aren't everything. Your GPU uses slow DDR3 memory, which drags down your performance quite a bit. Plus, that card isn't even powerful enough to actually utilize 2GB of VRAM. And honestly, it's just an old card at this point. If I were you, I'd check if you can return it or swap it; it shouldn't cost you anything extra.

And maybe try not to buy stuff blindly when you literally came to a forum for advice. What's the plan with that WD Black anyway?

Yeah, I've still got the box and the receipt, so I can probably swap it out. What's your take on this GeForce GTX Titan Black?

Zachary Smith2 said:Yeah, I've still got the box and the receipt, so I can probably swap it out. What's your take on this GeForce GTX Titan Black?

I honestly don't get why you're trolling right now—if you aren't interested in getting some actual help from us, feel free to just go elsewhere...