My $300 gaming build

J

Jmsully

New Member
Here OS a gaming build I just purchased. Let me know what you guys think.


Mobo: Biostar LGA 1155 Intel H67 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard $59.99 w/ MIR

CPU: Intel Core i3-2100 Sandy Bridge 3.1GHz LGA 1155 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 2000 $109.99

GPU: ASUS GeForce GTX 550 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 SLI Support Video Card $99.99 w/ MIR. It also came with a free Asus tee shirt

PSU: LOGISYS Computer PS575XBK 575W ATX12V SLI Ready Power Supply $27.99. It also came with a free card reader.

RAM: Patriot Signature 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Free (My father bought me this for my b-day)

Case: Free (I am using my old ATX mid-tower case)

HDD: Free (I am using my old 500gb SATA drive)

OS: Windows 7 Free (My father gave me a copy)

Disk Drive: Free (I am using my old DVD Drive)

Total: $303.94

I also bought a LCD full HD monitor for $89.99 and I still spent less than $400

So how is my build? Is it good for the money I spent? Please let me know!
 
The PSU you chose is garbage. You gotta spend at least $60 to get a good PSU.
 
Logisys is a crap brand = magic smoke. Get something good like CoolerMaster, Corsair, or Antec.
 
What PSU did you choose?

I personally wouldn't game with a Micro ATX board, and idk about the i3 - I use AMD.
 
What's wrong with the Mobo? I chose this for a PSU. And from all the reading I did, sandy bridge is very strong and it is concidered one of the best gaming CPUs for the money.
 
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That's a pretty good build for the budget. Means if you get a bit more cash further down the line, you can swap your cpu for a 2500k or similar. Then you will have a very decent machine.
 
Was my choice of memory or my choice of motherboard bad? Are the rip jaws any better? And are micro ATX motherboards less powerful or anything like that?
 
I mean in many games, the difference between an i3 and an i5 is not measurable in terms of FPS. BF3 for example is very much limited to what GPU you have. A more powerful CPU in most cases won't make any difference.
 
I would have went AMD due to the low budget to get more bang for the buck. Look at the below build, you should have gone with something like this:

CPU: AMD Phenom II x4 955 BE - 104.99
GPU (Option #1): HIS Radeon HD 6850 + Dirt 3 (Free Bonus) - 149.99
GPU (Option #2): HIS Radeon HD 6790 + Dirt 3 (Free Bonus) - 129.99
GPU (Option #3): ASUS GTX 550 TI + Bonus ASUS Tee Shirt - 99.99
MOBO: BioStar A870U3 AM3 USB3.0 SATA III 6Gb - 69.99
PSU: Corsair E Series 650W ATX12V - 79.99

Grand Total (Option #1): 404.96 - Bests for gaming.
Grand Total (Option #2): 384.96 - Seeing as Dirt 3 is 39.99 it's cheaper than the GTX 550 TI by 10.00
Grand Total (Option #3): 354.96 - Not to shabby :)
 
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