1st Build, Meant for Medium Gaming ~$500

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PrussianFury 46 months ago

Hey All, This is my first build, and I'm looking for advice on optimizing my performance for gaming while keeping the price around $500 USD, including OS and miscellaneous gear. I'm not looking to do incredibly heavy gaming, but my current system overheats playing Diablo III @ 15FPS and can't even handle Starcraft 2. So I'm looking to build something that can handle those games with ease while allowing me to explore and experience some newer PC fare as well/be slightly future resistant (I hesitate to use the phrase 'Future-Proof' for $500).

Below is a part list I've pulled together http://pcpartpicker.com/p/j6R2NG

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor $96.95

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-78LMT-USB3 Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard $45.98

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory $52.99

Storage: Sandisk Solid State Drive 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive $47.99 (I have a 1TB external drive for Music/Movies)

Video Card : Gigabyte GeForce GTX 750 2GB Video Card $99.99

Case: Enermax ECA3212-BL ATX Mid Tower Case $15.50

Power Supply: Rosewill Stallion 500W ATX Power Supply $44.98

Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer $17.98

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (32/64-bit) $101.49

Wireless Network Adapter: Encore ENEWI-1XN45 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter $7.89
Total: $520.74 (including rebates/combo deals) *I already own a mouse, keyboard, and Monitor that will work.

Any advice on what to ditch/keep/substitutions would be appreciated. Thanks!

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vagabond139 5 Builds 1 point 46 months ago

Terrible psu and gpu, the GTX 750 and the 750 Ti have a awful price to performance ratio. You also would want a 1TB hDD, with that SSD you couldn't even install GTA V and 120GB will get used up fast.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Athlon X4 860K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor	$71.89 @ OutletPC
Motherboard	Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard	$63.98 @ Newegg
Memory	G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory	$52.99 @ Newegg
Storage	Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive	$48.59 @ OutletPC
Video Card	HIS Radeon R9 270 2GB IceQ X² Video Card	$126.98 @ Newegg
Case	Enermax ECA3212-BL ATX Mid Tower Case	$15.50 @ Newegg
Power Supply	XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply	$44.99 @ NCIX US
Optical Drive	*Samsung SH-224DB/RSBS DVD/CD Writer	$13.99 @ Amazon
Operating System	Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)	$86.98 @ OutletPC
Wireless Network Adapter	*Encore ENEWI-1XN45 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter	$7.89 @ OutletPC
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total (before mail-in rebates)	$589.78
	Mail-in rebates	-$70.00
	Total	$519.78
	*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-28 19:21 EDT-0400

The R9 270 decimates the GTX 750 and the GTX 750 Ti. I got a 1TB HDD and a much, much better psu, its the one part you should never cheap out on.

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PrussianFury submitter 1 point 46 months ago

65GB to install GTA V!?!?!?!! Holy cow! Yes, I will definitely need a 1TB hard drive. I didn't realize how large game installs had gotten. Is it worth getting a small SSD for the operating system? I've heard/read that it improves performance.

Why the processor and motherboard change?

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vagabond139 5 Builds 1 point 46 months ago

You need at least 130GB of room to install it and then after you install it in goes down to 65GB. Imo its not worth getting some small 6G0GB SSD with sub par speeds.

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