What does a budget build look like these days?

Title says it all.

I've done 2 builds with the help of this forum and the advice is usually pretty good.... save for a really bad case/motherboard combination on my first build.

I'm in the market for a new computer. I'm thinking about maybe an HTPC because I want something kind of smaller since it's for my girlfriends place and she doesn't want a huge full size tower in her small place.

The reason I'm thinking an HTPC, is I'm not sure I need a dedicated card. The games which I currently play are Dota 2, StarCraft 2, Diablo 3. I don't think any of these games are very graphically demanding. I like to play on higher settings, but I'd be very willing to turn down the graphics if it means I don't need a dedicated graphics card.

I'm looking for a budget build. I have windows, monitor, keyboard, mouse. What's the best way to be able to play the above games. If getting a mid size case with a dedicated card will work much better then I'll do that. However, a small HTPC would be much more fun to build since I haven't done it before.

$1,000 would be way over budget. Which CPU these days has good integrated graphics....or should I just opt for a GPU? What do you guy think?

Save yourself the headache and get a mid tower case and get a dedicated card. Onboard video really isn't meant for any type of gaming unless you are talking about kid games online. Go an AMD system and you can do a system for about $500-600 depending on what video card you get.

What's the actual budget you have to work with?

Something like an APU build sounds like it would suit but they generally aren't as upgradeable as investing a little bit more into an Intel build.

If you live near a Microcenter they have 7850k APUs and a motherboard for ~$110.

Budget build
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($49.99 @ Micro Center)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M-ITX/AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($65.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2400 Memory ($51.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($67.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.75 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card ($102.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Silverstone RVZ01B Mini ITX Desktop Case ($79.99 @ Directron)
Power Supply: Silverstone 450W 80+ Bronze Certified SFX Power Supply ($59.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: LG GS40N DVD/CD Writer ($31.91 @ Mwave)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 OEM (64-bit) ($87.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $647.54
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-11 05:23 EDT-0400


Optical drive & SSD are optional.
If you want optical drive, you need to Slimline SATA to SATA adaptor/ cable.
Motherboard could upgrade to more expensive Z97 chipset if you want.

Thanks for the input guys.

I still haven't done my own research on the subject of APU vs CPU +GPU. This is a built I'll probably do in September, so I have some time to think about it.

The budget here is probably around $600-800. I'll need the optical drive.

If I was going to go the HTPC route, which AMD or Intel chips would work within my budget and also give me that bit of gaming performance I need to run my games at 1080p but with reduced settings? Any recommendations?

I'm having a hard time finding benchmarks of the 7850k for Dota

millz said:

Thanks for the input guys.

I still haven't done my own research on the subject of APU vs CPU +GPU. This is a built I'll probably do in September, so I have some time to think about it.

The budget here is probably around $600-800. I'll need the optical drive.

If I was going to go the HTPC route, which AMD or Intel chips would work within my budget and also give me that bit of gaming performance I need to run my games at 1080p but with reduced settings? Any recommendations?

I'm having a hard time finding benchmarks of the 7850k for Dota

Click to expand...

Dota is incredibly CPU reliant as are all source games so keep that in mind. There are two things you should keep in mind for this.

Source 2 will be fully implemented by Sept so all benchmarks you read now are COMPLETELY ignore-able as it will be on an entirely different engine. Source 2 is apparently MUCH more easy to run on integrated graphics.

With a 7850k you can always crossfire it with a r7 250(?) if it doesn't give you the performance you need. This doesn't mean the 7850k is necessarily the best purchase for this but it's always a good option to have.

My friend has this build I made for him and I know for a fact it can run Dota at over 60fps with most settings on max currently.
x4 840
GTX 650 Ti

Hope this information helped, if you have any questions about what I said I'll try to watch this thread for a day or two.

Cisco001 said:

Budget build
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($49.99 @ Micro Center)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M-ITX/AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($65.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2400 Memory ($51.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($67.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.75 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card ($102.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Silverstone RVZ01B Mini ITX Desktop Case ($79.99 @ Directron)
Power Supply: Silverstone 450W 80+ Bronze Certified SFX Power Supply ($59.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: LG GS40N DVD/CD Writer ($31.91 @ Mwave)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 OEM (64-bit) ($87.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $647.54
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-11 05:23 EDT-0400


Optical drive & SSD are optional.
If you want optical drive, you need to Slimline SATA to SATA adaptor/ cable.
Motherboard could upgrade to more expensive Z97 chipset if you want.

Click to expand...

You know. I really like this build however it looks like I severely underestimated these pieces would be up in Canada. Anyone know of any good sales or price drops in the next few months?

I like that build too however drop the Optical Drive (not needed for most people) and get a Corsair 500W and save yourself $57 and get a better motherboard that will allow for overclocking that Pentium.
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-motherboard-z87pro

Okedokey said:

I like that build too however drop the Optical Drive (not needed for most people) and get a Corsair 500W and save yourself $57 and get a better motherboard that will allow for overclocking that Pentium.
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-motherboard-z87pro

Click to expand...

There's an issue here. The build you suggested is over budget because some of those parts are much more expensive up here in Canada. It would be cheaper for me to buy it from the US newegg and ship it to Canada probably and pay the exchange than just buy it from Canadian Newegg.



How about this video card.... is it a steal? Also... Do prices come down at all for back to school or afterwards on parts that I should know about?
http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=569_43_1200_557_559&item_id=061635

Here's the build Canadian Part Picker

http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/p/TX2NHx

I didn't suggest the build, but the relative prices would be the same. Just drop the SSD What is your budget?