Good Gaming PC? New to computers here.

T

TitanFury

New Member
Ok, I used to play a lot of PC games (Warcraft, shooters, etc..) However, I know very little about computers. I am looking to get back into gaming on PC and I was going to ask you all if you thought this below was a good starter to run some games until i can upgrade some parts like the GPU and RAM. What do you all think? Can it handle it?

System: AMD A4-5300 3.40GHz Dual-Core
AMD A55 Chipset
8GB DDR3
1TB HDD
Genuine Windows 8 64-bit
Graphics: Radeon HD 7480D GPU
24X DVD±RW Dual-Layer Drive | Audio: 8 Channel | Gigabit LAN
Expansion Bays/Slots Total(Free): 4(3) Ext. 5.25" | 6(5) Int. 3.5" / 2.5" | 1(0) PCI | 1(1) PCI-E x1 | 1(1) PCI-E x16 | 2(1) DIMM 240P
Connectivity: 1ea. PS/2 Mouse/Keyboard | 6x USB 2.0 | 1x RJ-45 Network Ethernet 10/100/1000 | 802.11b/g/n Wireless | Audio | 1x VGA | 1x HDMI
Chassis: Aerocool Strike-X One Gaming Mid-Tower w/400 Watt Power Supply
 
Windows 7/8.1: $100
AMD A10-7850K Kaveri 3.7GHz: $185
Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H: $65
G.SKILL Ares 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3-2400: $77
Seagate SSHD 1TB: $97
Coolermaster N200: $30 (down from 50)
Corsair CX430M: $30 (down from $60)
Silverstone FN121-P 120mm: $7

Total: $591
And it's way better than the $606+$32 shipping PC you were looking at.

You won't be able to overclock the APU much, but you can take full advantage of the 2400MHz RAM, which will benefit your GPU performance by a lot.
PSU and case are on excellent deals. Added fan for better airflow, by setting low fan speed on all fans. The system will be quiet.
I use 2x120GB SSDs in RAID0 on a daily basis, but I've recently built to PCs with the SSHD and it's actually very fast. Very good middle ground between an actual SSD and HDD.
The PSU can also handle a dedicated GPU in the future. And the PC supports Mantle and HSA, which will have big impacts on gaming performance in the long future :)
 
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Here's an APU build my friend and I built.. Surprisingly it's almost just like Jiniix's..

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2Q6pw

A10-5800k @3.8GHz • $109.99 (Step down from the 7850, the better one)
ASRock FM2A88X Extreme4+ • $89.99 (Max RAM of 2600MHz @64GB)
G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2x4GB) of 2400MHz • $76.99 (This'll help the APU a lot)
Western Digital RE3 1TB HDD • $51.40
NZXT Source 210 (Black) • $29.99 (Not bad for a sleek looking case)
Corsair CX430 • $29.99 (On $20 rebate, plenty of power, semi modular)
LG Optical Drive (GH24NSB0) • $15.99 (Cheap, gets the job done)
(4) Masscool 52.0CFM quiet fans (Red) • $3.40 each

PLUS:
Rosewill RK-8100 Gaming Keyboard • $14.99
V7 Mobile Blue Trace Gaming Mouse (laser) • $11.49
WINDOWS 8 (64-BIT) • $97.98


Total cost came out to about $510 for us (with coupons).
PC Part Picker: $537.40 :D
 
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Ok, just to let you all know, I got this on sale for 480.00. I was just curious to know if it was a decent starter gaming PC that could run gamers. What do you all think for the price?
 
You will want a dedicated video card to play any type of shooter games. I wouldn't go any lower than say a 7870.
 
Again, I dont know much about computer. That being said, if you look above at the specs, what would be a good graphics card. I was looking at the Sapphire Radeon 7970. if I buy this later down the road, what else would I have to replace? Motherboard, power supply, etc..?
 
Those power supplies that come bundled with the case are crap. You are better off buying a separate unit. If you are thinking of getting the 7970 then you would need to get something like one of these.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256071

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438014

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139028

If wanting to go a modular unit then something like this.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139048

It would also help to get a case that has cable management features. Not sure if yours does or not.
 
If you wanted to put a 7970 in there, it would behoove you to not only replace the PSU but also the CPU/APU. That APU is a pretty cut down single-module/dual-core variant that will likely bottleneck that card to a large degree. Things like BF4 multiplayer will tank your framerate by not having enough CPU resources.

Being an A55 the fastest CPU you could likely put in there would be a 6800k, so it may be worthwhile to do a motherboard/CPU upgrade onto another platform as well.
 
TitanFury said:
Again, I dont know much about computer. That being said, if you look above at the specs, what would be a good graphics card. I was looking at the Sapphire Radeon 7970. if I buy this later down the road, what else would I have to replace? Motherboard, power supply, etc..?
Click to expand...

What is your budget?
If you looking at ~$600, you won't be able to get 7970, unless you are looking at second hand
 
$600? You can find the Radeon 7970's on Amazon all day long for between 400 and 500. That's where I buy almost everything.
 
A 7970 is a terrible GPU for the price ATM. Bitcoin mining has shot AMD way up, and nVidia is the way to go for non miners for the time being. A 770 will be as good, if not better, then a 7970 for $150 less. On a $600 budget, a 6800K, CX600M, and 770 will be your best option. I would recommend overclocking but your board is a low end A55. What is your motherboard model? Might not support a 6800K.
 
I thought about that as well. I am going to be purchasing a new motherboard, cpu and gpu. What would be a great combo of the 3 for a budget of $600?
 
TBH a 6800K and 770 will be a better idea.

But if you really want to, a Gigabyte Z87X UD3H, 4670K, CX600M, and 270X will be your best option.
 
PCunicorn said:
TBH a 6800K and 770 will be a better idea.

But if you really want to, a Gigabyte Z87X UD3H, 4670K, CX600M, and 270X will be your best option.
Click to expand...



Im sorry to sound like a complete noob, haha, but what is the TBH and the 6800k? And im assuming that 770 is a nVidia?
 
TitanFury said:
$600? You can find the Radeon 7970's on Amazon all day long for between 400 and 500. That's where I buy almost everything.
Click to expand...

What I mean was, your original link of PC is around ~$600, I don't think you can squeeze a 7970 within the bill with budget for $600 for whole setup.
 
Cisco001 said:
What I mean was, your original link of PC is around ~$600, I don't think you can squeeze a 7970 within the bill with budget for $600 for whole setup.
Click to expand...

Oh ok, I understand what you mean now. I actually already bought the PC. I got it on sale for 450. I will have enough money in a few months to buy the new GPU and CPU.
 
TitanFury said:
Oh ok, I understand what you mean now. I actually already bought the PC. I got it on sale for 450. I will have enough money in a few months to buy the new GPU and CPU.
Click to expand...

OK.

CPU - I suggest you consider Athlon 760K. It is like A10 without integrated GPU. Since you are going to get Video card, I don't see the point spending extra on APU.

Also, I don't really suggest you change to intel. With changing mobo, it is likely that you need to purchase another copy of Windows
 
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