Gaming Builds $300 through $800

ninjabubbles3

Active Member
Gaming Builds $300 through $1100

Hey guys, I decided to make a new guide out of this, as the old one is very old and outdated.

Please note that these builds are for gaming builds, and I would recommend different parts for workstation or general use builds.

I will leave the case and the OS out of the budget, as those can change according to user's preferences.

Also note that some components will be the same between systems, and that prices will have at most $20 of difference.

Let's get on with it then!


$300 dollar build:

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/HcRrWZ

CPU-AMD 5350 2.05Ghz Quad-Core Processor-$64.99
Motherboard-MSI AM1 Mini ITX AM1 Motherboard-$29.99
Memory-G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory-$79.99
Storage-Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive-$54.99
Power Supply-Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply-$59.99

Starting off our first build, we have the AMD Athlon 5350 APU. An APU, or Advanced Processing Unit, is a CPU with a built-in graphics card. Of course its not as good as a dedicated one, but its fine for budget builds. Luckily, it is a quad-core, as most games nowadays can utilize four or more cores. 8 GBs of speedy DDR3 2133 MHz allows the APU to run faster, as an APU uses system memory to run its graphics. WD Blue drives are great budget drives, with 1 TB of storage capacity. A Corsair CX430M covers the PSU.Corsair makes good, reliable PSUs , and the CX series is the standard go-to for most builds. Additionally, a miniITX motherboard allows for super small cases perfect for small, out of the way builds. This motherboard has the socket AM1.

$400 build

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/HVL8XL

CPU-AMD A10-6800K 4.1GHz Quad-Core Processor-$129.99
Motherboard-Gigabyte GA-G1.Sniper A88X ATX FM2+ Motherboard-$96.99
Memory-G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory-$79.99
Storage-Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive-$54.99
Power Supply-Corsair Builder 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply-$49.99

This build also features an APU. However, this one is almoat twice as fast, with also better built-in graphics. We kept the speedy ram and a 1 TB drive as well. However, this CPU has a different socket than the previous one, the FM2/FM2+ socket. There is also a higher wattage PSU for the option of adding a dedicated graphics card,such as a GTX 750 TI or R9 270X

$500 build

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/yKRsP6

CPU-AMD Athlon X4 760K 3.8GHz Quad-Core Processor-$73.88
Motherboard-Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard-$69.95
Memory-G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory-$79.98
Storage-Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive-$56.85
Video Card-Asus Radeon R7 260X 2GB DirectCU II Video Card-$118.66
Power Supply-Corsair Builder 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply-$54.99

This build is still on the FM2+ socket, but the CPU is not an APU. It only contains a CPU. For this reason we add an R7 260X. This is a great budget graphics card, coming in under $150 as well. The CPU does have an unlocked multiplier, and with a nice cooler, you should be able to OC this CPU up to at least 4.3.

$500 build (alternate)

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2y7Y8d

CPU-Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor-$64.98
Motherboard-Gigabyte GA-Z97-D3H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard-$114.99
Memory-G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory-$78.98
Storage-Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive-$56.85
Video Card-Asus Radeon R7 260X 2GB DirectCU II Video Card-$118.66
Power Supply-Corsair Builder 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply-$54.99

This is the second build i would recommend. It is a dual core, so it is not as good as a quad core, but what makes this little CPU shine is that it is easily overclockable. Also, it is very easy to upgrade to a better CPU later on, such as an i5 or i7 on the LGA 1150 socket. The R9 260X is a great budget graphics card, able to play most games at medium settings. The same 1 TB drive and PSU round off the selections. I did add a Z97 chipset motherboard from Gigabyte for better overclocking results, but if you are not interested in that, but you want the upgradability, an H97 board is good too.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/pentium-g3258-overclocking-performance,3849.html

$600 build

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/vzC7ZL

CPU-AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor-$109.99
Motherboard-Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard-$124.99
Memory-G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory-$79.99
Storage-Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive-$54.99
Video Card-MSI Radeon R9 270X 2GB TWIN FROZR Video Card-$179.99
Power Supply-Corsair CX 500W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply-$59.99

Now we switch to the AM3+ socket. This CPU has 6 cores, clocked at 3.5 Ghz each, along with 990FX motherboard. Allows us to overclock pretty well. For the grsphics side of things , we add a R9 270X. All together, this build should be able to run most games at medium to high settings.

$700 build

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/QP6RMp

CPU-AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor-$169.99
Motherboard-ASRock 970 EXTREME4 ATX AM3+ Motherboard-$94.49
Memory-G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory-$79.99
Storage-Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive-$52.99
Video Card-Asus Radeon R9 280X 3GB DirectCU II Video Card-$249.99
Power Supply-Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply-$74.99

Still using the AM3+ socket, we now move to the FX 8350. With 8 cores, clocked at 4 GHz each, this is quite a processor. It does have a 970 board, so it is not as good for overclocking as the previous build. For graphics, we have the R9 280X. This card should max out most any game, except for some like Battlefield. To accommodate a more powerful card, we also have to up the voltage on the PSU. We now use a Corsair CX600M.

$800 build

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/FC94GX

CPU-Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor
Motherboard-MSI Z97-G45 Gaming ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
Memory-G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory
Storage-Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Video Card-Asus Radeon R9 280X 3GB DirectCU II Video Card
Power Supply-Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply

Finally, an Intel build. AMD pretty much has the budget side of things locked up, but the truth is that the best AMD processors only compare to around an i5

$900 build

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/N77cmG

CPU-Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor
Motherboard-MSI Z97-G45 Gaming ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
Memory-G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory
Storage-Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Video Card-MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card Buy
Power Supply-Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply

Its a tight fit, but with another $100, we can add a GTX 970, an amazing card. It'll max out pretty much any game, including hardware intensive games like Metro: Last Light, or Arma 3

$1000 build

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/vV8WP6

CPU-Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor
Motherboard-MSI Z97-G45 Gaming ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
Memory-G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory
Storage-Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Storage-Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Video Card-MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card
Power Supply-Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply

Same as the above build, but allows us to add an 240 GB SSD. This should be enough storage for OS and games. No difference performance-wise, but you will notice a huge difference in startup times

$1100

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/NxvzWZ

CPU-Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor
Motherboard-MSI Z97-G45 Gaming ATX LGA1150 Motherboard
Memory-G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory
Storage-Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Storage-Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Video Card-MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card
Power Supply-Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply

Yay, an i7! The advantage of this over an i5, is that it has hyper threading. This allows it to put two threads in one core, making it effectively an 8 core. Great for stuff like rendering, and editing too. Multitasking is a breeze.
 
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G80FTW

Active Member
The only question i have is why use the Intel Pentium for the $500 build as opposed to the AMD used in the $300 build? I havent used the newer "pentium"s but i havent heard anything good about them. I would think the AMD quad core would be a much better option.
 

C4C

Well-Known Member
The only question i have is why use the Intel Pentium for the $500 build as opposed to the AMD used in the $300 build? I havent used the newer "pentium"s but i havent heard anything good about them. I would think the AMD quad core would be a much better option.

Very true point, and you'd probably like a response from Ninja, but in my opinion the quad core AMD in the $300 build isn't worth it.. The range for having build quality is more or less $350-400+
 

ninjabubbles3

Active Member
Very true point, and you'd probably like a response from Ninja, but in my opinion the quad core AMD in the $300 build isn't worth it.. The range for having build quality is more or less $350-400+

Meh, its an option

I agree with you though, you need at least $400 for a quality build
 

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
I would highly recommend putting more into it. Instead of posting link to pcpartpicker, just list parts in your post as it will look more professional. And technically, any guides should be approved by a mod first before being posted. There are other things that need to be included as well but will post again tonight when I get home from work as I'm on my phone at the moment.
 

ninjabubbles3

Active Member
I would highly recommend putting more into it. Instead of posting link to pcpartpicker, just list parts in your post as it will look more professional. And technically, any guides should be approved by a mod first before being posted. There are other things that need to be included as well but will post again tonight when I get home from work as I'm on my phone at the moment.

Sorry, I was on my phone too. I will post more later today, I will have my computer then
 

G80FTW

Active Member
My gods, that Pentium is a BEAST. Its unlocked, for only 70 bucks. People have OCed it up to 4.7 on air alone. Super powerful, read this article for more
http://techreport.com/review/26735/overclocking-intel-pentium-g3258-anniversary-edition-processor/3

Yea, i did some research on it and it seems to be great in single thread performance. But i still think a quad core is a must these days :/ .

What confused me, is i was looking at some desktop at walmart and it said Intel Pentium on it. So i looked that one up, forget the exact model number, but i remember reading that it was basically junk. But i guess this Pentium is pretty much an i3.
 

ninjabubbles3

Active Member
Yea, i did some research on it and it seems to be great in single thread performance. But i still think a quad core is a must these days :/ .

What confused me, is i was looking at some desktop at walmart and it said Intel Pentium on it. So i looked that one up, forget the exact model number, but i remember reading that it was basically junk. But i guess this Pentium is pretty much an i3.

I agree, but with that pentium, you can upgrade to an i5 or i7. With an AMD processor, the best processor is about equal to an i5. It doesnt do the best job, but it works, and can be OCed easily.
 

Darren

Moderator
Staff member
I think you should account for upgrade options but not overclocking as a lot of people won't make use of that. Maybe have a build in each bracket that would be overclock friendly, and one that's not.

Also on the AMD builds ditch the 990 boards and just get 970 boards to save some money, especially with the 6300. For the 8350 build make sure you don't put my motherboard on there (or the G46) as they can't handle full power draw of the 8320/8350. I speak from experience on that.
 
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C4C

Well-Known Member
I think you should account for upgrade options but not overclocking as a lot of people won't make use of that. Maybe have a build in each bracket that would be overclock friendly, and one that's not.

^^^

How about this... an AMD guide, and an Intel guide with various build prices...?

Ninja seems to be a fan of Intel and know his way with those types of builds, compared to me who would just throw an i5-____K or i7____K into a parts list lol...
 

ninjabubbles3

Active Member
^^^

How about this... an AMD guide, and an Intel guide with various build prices...?

Ninja seems to be a fan of Intel and know his way with those types of builds, compared to me who would just throw an i5-____K or i7____K into a parts list lol...

Lol, with intel, the only good options are the Pentium for budget, i5 4440 maybe for midrange, i5 4690K for mid high, an i7 4790K for high end

Also, at any budget over 800 bucks, I just cant recommend AMD, Intel just outperforms all AMD processors, the best AMD processors just about match an i5 4690K.

An AMD build and an Intel guide is a good idea, though below 500, its hard to fit an Intel into your budget
 

C4C

Well-Known Member
Lol, with intel, the only good options are the Pentium for budget, i5 4440 maybe for midrange, i5 4690K for mid high, an i7 4790K for high end

Also, at any budget over 800 bucks, I just cant recommend AMD, Intel just outperforms all AMD processors, the best AMD processors just about match an i5 4690K.

An AMD build and an Intel guide is a good idea, though below 500, its hard to fit an Intel into your budget

I beg to differ and that's why I'm writing up a guide for AMD machines hahahah :D

There's many factors that come into play and yes Intel builds are better then AMD machines in most cases but it comes down to price, compatibility, and sustainability. Another factor is performance to price. AMD machines are better everywhere except single core performance.
 

Darren

Moderator
Staff member
I'd go into a bit more depth as to why you chose what components you did for the price point your at. People like to hear reasoning behind expensive purchases that potentially just look like a bunch of numbers on a screen handed to them by somebody they don't know.
 

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
You need to list a price for each item so that it will show current price. If someone clicks on that pcpartpicker link months from now and it comes up with a huge price difference they will wonder why.
 

ninjabubbles3

Active Member
You need to list a price for each item so that it will show current price. If someone clicks on that pcpartpicker link months from now and it comes up with a huge price difference they will wonder why.

Well, I plan on updating the builds as price changes and stuff.

I don't know what else to write.... I just picked the best specs at the best prices. If anyone could help me out, I would really appreciate it.
 
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