700$-810$ Gaming PC.

[Rain08]

Sometime ago, I saw a post by Seagate about building a PC for Battlefield 4 for only 750$. I looked at the specs (see link below), I was contented but I want to change some components to a better one (if possible). I'll build it soon, but not more than December. My max budget is $810, but I can extended for 20$~30$ or more. The prices of the hardware here in the Philippines is cheaper, for example, I saw a GTX 650 on a shop for $116; I went to Newegg and compared the price, most of the cards there are around at $120~$180. I don't really need an SSD, but if it will fit in my budget, then just add one. Also (optional), I want a Core i7 (not necessarily to be a 4th gen) CPU, or if it's gonna be more than my budget, a Core i5 4th generation. For the GFX card (optional to), I want it to be an Nvidia card. What comes in to my mind is the GTX 660 or the GTX 650 Ti Boost because I heard that this card is a good bang for the buck. And like I said about the CPU, if it's gonna be more than my budget, I'll be fine with it. One more thing, I might salvage some parts in my current PC (check my specs), like the hard drive for extra storage (not planning to setup a RAID). Also I'll just use Windows 7 64-bit as an OS because I'm afraid that some of my games (most are old) might not run on W8.

Gaming PC specs by Forbes: Build A Powerful 'Battlefield 4' Gaming PC For $750 -- SSD And Windows 8 Included - Forbes

Edit: Forgot to write this yesterday. Also, since I'll change to another CPU, it'll mean that I will need to get a new MoBo. Different brands/models, different sockets. The keyboard, mouse, speakers won't be a problem, I'll use my current stuff for the new one but I'll buy one soon after a few weeks or months from the build. Same with the monitor, the connectors on my current monitor is a VGA and a DVI-Single link. Thanks for reading and helping me.

 

[ascomputers]

gaming rigs run 30% processor and 70% GPU.

why don't you look at the AMD options if you are on a tight budget?

I certainly wouldn't look at installing windows 8 for gaming. although this is a personal preference and may not be the same with other members.

windows 7 is still the best as far as I am concerned.

 

[Boozad]

gaming rigs run 30% processor and 70% GPU.

why don't you look at the AMD options if you are on a tight budget?

Agreed. I wouldn't be looking at an i5 or an i7 in an $800 rig. An FX CPU would be the best bet (maybe a 6350) and then invest as much into the GPU as possible. An ASUS M5A97 motherboard would be a decent buy and don't cheap out on the PSU. 4GB of 1600MHz RAM should see you through until you can afford to add another 4GB later down the line.
And forget the SSD, it's more of a luxury than a necessity in a gaming rig.

 

[ascomputers]

yeah.. missed that one.. Boozad right on the PSU (power supply).

I have seem some serious issues caused by cheap PSUs.

I purchased a Corsair CX600 series the other week. Great product at £60 and will cover you should you wish to upgrade in the future.

 

[Boozad]

Corsair are indeed good power supplies and that looks like a very good pickup at £60. While I prefer modular PSUs I think the OPs budget wouldn't stretch to one, but it would definitely be a good idea to set aside a decent part of the budget for at least a Bronze rated PSU.

 

[boogieboy]

For now it seems that you already have a PC so a new LED Monitor, Keyboard and Mouse won't be necessary and I would suggest the following components so you could game nicely!

- Intel Core i5 4670 non-K or 4670K (If you're into Overclocking) otherwise a 4670 would be sufficient and the stock Heat Sink Fan that comes in the box is more than good enough for cooling.

- Intel H87 Chipset Motherboard or ASRock Fatal1ty H87 Performance Motherboard (If you're into Overclocking) or get H87 from MSI or ASUS according to the availability in you're region.

- 8GB DDR3 1600 (2 x 4GB Kit) by Corsair or G.Skill or Kingston.

- 2TB WD Caviar Green or 500GB WD Caviar Blue (if it would save you money and you can add another HDD later for more storage).

- GeForce GTX 760 2GB GDDR5 by ASUS, Gigabyte, Zotac, MSI, EVGA etc. (this card is real Bang for Buck).

- 550w (80Plus) PSU by Corsair, Thermaltake, XFX, Cooler Master, Seasonic (these are few brands which are known for making Quality Power Supplies and yes never compromise on Power Supply Quality as low quality PSU can really damage PC components).

- Mid-Tower Case by Cooler Master, Xigmatek, Corsair, Thermaltake, Bitfenix, Gigabyte.

All of the Components mentioned above should cost you somewhere around $800 but remember that you have to choose the right Case and PSU with the right price that suites you the best! if you save some money in-case (as you mentioned that the prices in your country are reasonable) so get a 64GB SSD drive by Intel or Samsung or Crucial. Hope it helps!

 

[Rain08]

So judging from the replies so far, I should stick on what the link mostly says. I made my decision on using W7 Ultimate x64 (not really planning on a W8) and a HDD. Since the SSD and W8 is removed from the list, I can place it on others. I'm not worrying much about the case, what's important for me is that I have something to place the parts into. I/the link didn't mention about the cooling; I'll be only doing an air-cooled rig, any suggestions on what fans to use? The parts to get (according to the replies):
CPU: AMD FX-6300/FX-6350
RAM: 4GB 1600 MHz RAM. 2x2 or 4x1? (unknown for now)
MoBo: ASUS M5A97
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200 RPM Hard Drive (might upgrade this one)
PSU: Corsair CX500M or CX600
OS: W7 Ultimate 64-bit
Case: Corsair Carbide 200R

I'm a bit confused, Boozad said that I should get a 4GB 1600 MHz RAM, but the one on the link is a 8GB Kingston HyperX Blu (2 x 4GB), it's at 1600 MHz too. I got confused because why recommend only a 4GB when I can get an 8GB with the same speed? Maybe because it's not yet necessary?

 

[Boozad]

I only suggested 4GB RAM due to your budget constraints. 4GB is enough for gaming at the moment and is easily upgradeable when you can afford to. If you can afford 8GB then by all means go for it, but on a new build it's always best to get a good PSU, solid motherboard and the best GPU you can afford. A decent case is a must too as cheap cases do not offer good airflow for cooling.

After taking all of that into account, if you can afford 8GB RAM then more power to you. And why Windows Ultimate? Do you really need the extra features it offers over Home Premium or even Professional? You could save a lot of money right there.

 

[boogieboy]

I only suggested 4GB RAM due to your budget constraints. 4GB is enough for gaming at the moment and is easily upgradeable when you can afford to. If you can afford 8GB then by all means go for it, but on a new build it's always best to get a good PSU, solid motherboard and the best GPU you can afford. A decent case is a must too as cheap cases do not offer good airflow for cooling.

After taking all of that into account, if you can afford 8GB RAM then more power to you. And why Windows Ultimate? Do you really need the extra features it offers over Home Premium or even Professional? You could save a lot of money right there.

couldn't agree more

 

[Rain08]

I came up with this after I followed boogieboy's post. It's way more than the budget but it's temporary. There's no case and cooling yet.

Edit: I used pcpartspicker to find those stuff.

 

[linnemeyerhere]

I priced out a killer rig complete less, monitor. keyboard and mouse and a wicked AMD, ASUS, SEAGATE, G SKILL, SEASONIC, ASUS, NZXT rig was pricing at just under 1,000.00 usd. I was a discounted top flight gaming rig with 7950 GPU.

 

[Boozad]

That's a great spec there for the price.

 

[ascomputers]

Hi Rain08. looks like a good rig but any reason for opting on Haswell? also are you looking to overclock the rig? if not then no need to spend the extra on a K series processor.​

maybe you could get yourself a better deal if running an ivybridge processor with a 1155 socket motherboard.

also windows 7 ultimate is probably overkill for your needs. are you looking to backup your computer using a network? if not then home premium will do just fine for now.​

just a thought. ​

linnemeyerhere option of the AMD would be a good option where cost is concerned.​

 

[Rain08]

Well linnemeyerhere's option is actually good, but the only problem is that it's more than my budget and the CPU and GPU is almost similar to the one on Forbes. I may use his specs because as time passes by and the last time I checked, the Peso to Dollar exchange rate is getting lower. It means that less Peso is used to make a dollar; less used is equal to getting a Dollar quick. Anyways here's the specs (I edited it) on the link if you haven't seen it.

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5FGHz 6-Core Processor | Currently $109 at Amazon

Motherboard: MSI 970A-G53 | Currently $59.99 at Newegg

System Memory: 8GB Kingston HyperX Blu (2 x 4GB) | over at Amazon for $68.74.

Storage #1: Sandisk ReadyCache 32GB SSD | It’s available for $48.99 at Newegg. However, if you have an extra $40 to put toward this system, I’d strongly recommend a full-blown 120GB SSD, specifically the Kingston SSDNow V300, which can be snagged for a very reasonable $87.31 on Amazon.

Storage #2: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200 RPM Hard Drive | pick this up for $68.06 at Amazon.
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7950 3GB | $199 after mail-in-rebate. (newegg)

Case: Corsair Carbide 200R ATX Mid-Tower Chassis | for $49.99 at Newegg with mail-in rebate.

Power Supply: Corsair CX500M 500W Modular PSU 80 PLUS Bronze Certified | at NewEgg for about $55.99.

OS: Windows 8 64-bit | currently available for $86.99 at Amazon.

Optionally, you can buy a 600W or higher power supply, since the motherboard we’re using is CrossFire compatible. Add a 2nd Radeon HD 7950 down the road, alongside some additional case fans, and you have an absolute beast on your hands.

The total is $788*; it's good to me but I want to squeeze every penny on my budget to upgrade the parts to a better one.

*I included the 120GB SSD and rounded-off the numbers with decimals to a whole number.

 

[ascomputers]

all looks good but again... windows 7 for me not windows 8.

although the choice is yours.

 

[Boozad]

Drop the SSD. I'll say again that an SSD really is a luxury and if you're on a budget it's definitely not essential. Use the extra cash to upgrade your other components.

 

[Rain08]

Thanks again for giving a help. I'll drop the SSD and W8; I'm thinking of putting the extra money on an external HDD (1st) and the rest is for the cooling (2nd) and keyboard/mouse (3rd). Any suggestions (please put those that can still fit, if not, then leave it)?

 

[Boozad]

Don't buy an external HDD out of your initial budget, save up for one after you've bought your rig.

Cooling? As long as you have a decent case with front intake and rear exhaust fans you should be fine. The only additional cooling you'll need is for the CPU, and if you don't intend to overclock then you can pick up a decent triple copper heatpipe air cooler for around $30 or so.

Keyboard and mouse, Microsoft Sidewinder X4 and a Gigabyte M6900. Cheap but more than adequate for gaming, may knock you back $70 or so for both.

 

[linnemeyerhere]

I think with some careful shopping and maybe backing down some on the GPU you could be in budget or real close? I can always spend other peoples money.....sorry ! lol

 

[DreadStarX]

Look at my specs. My rig is barely passable as a gaming rig. I find that most games, don't even use 30% of the CPU. It's all about the Graphics card, and the RAM. My buddy spent $7,500 on his rig. Needless to say, it performed only 20% better than mine did.


I would have to say, listen to linne when it comes to building a pc on a budget. He's suggested to me different ways to maximize performance. He's also the guy who suggested I wait for computer parts, and you know what? I listened, and I love my new system.

=0)