Looking for help on barebones build (400 euro max)

Bruno Batista

1. What is your budget? €400

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? Gaming. Skyrim, Fifa, Assassin's Creed...

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? No

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? Have HD, RAM and a graphics card already (planning to upgrade the graphics card too but that would be a separate thing)

5. Do you need a monitor? No, have it hooked up to a 32 inch Hanspree TV.
1920x1080. Yes, less than ideal, but it will do for now.

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? No peripherals needed.

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? Have no experience with it.

8. How can you pay? Credit Card / Paypal

9. When are you purchasing? In a week's time, more or less

10. If you need help building it, where are you based? Dublin City (live in city centre, work in Dundrum), would gladly pay reasonably for someone to assemble it.


Was recommended the following parts:
Processor - AMD FX 6300
Motherboard - Asus M5A99X
Case - Zaman Z11

Cheers for any help!

TerrorFirmer

Need more info - for example, unlikely the ram you have now is compatible with a new mobo. What is the graphics card you already have? I would say just scrap them, aside from the hard drive.

On such a small budget, it's hard to build a gaming PC but it is manageable.

For 400, I would get an i3 2120 or similar, a cheap mobo, 8GB of ram, a 7770 and a cheap but reliable PSU like the CX430 and a sub 50E case, maybe look at the Fractal Core or the Xigmatek Asgard line.

Very doable and you'd be able to run the likes of Skyrim, Fifa and Assassins Creed at very respectable visual levels at full HD, and wouldn't have to spend any more than your 400.

tuxy

Something like this

Item|Price
Intel Pentium G2120 Box, LGA1155|€81.99
ASRock H61M-S (B3), Sockel 1155, mATX|€40.02
8GB-Kit G.Skill PC3-10667U CL9|€33.50
Seagate Barracuda 7200 500GB SATA 6GB's|€52.49
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 450W|€42.35
BitFenix Merc Alpha|€32.04
HIS HD 7850 GDDR5 1024MB DVI/HDMI/2xMini DP|€157.49
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€458.87

I know its over budget but I wouldn't go for anything worse than a 7850 for playing new games at 1080p
let me know what you think

tuxy

If you really don't need a graphics card and hard drive in the build then get an i5 system it's faster in games than the AMD

Item|Price
8GB-Kit G.Skill PC3-10667U CL9|€33.50
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 450W|€42.35
BitFenix Merc Alpha|€32.04
ASRock B75 Pro3, Sockel 1155, ATX|€67.19
Intel Core i5-3570 Box, LGA1155|€186.56
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€380.63

Bruno Batista

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

Need more info - for example, unlikely the ram you have now is compatible with a new mobo. What is the graphics card you already have? I would say just scrap them, aside from the hard drive.

On such a small budget, it's hard to build a gaming PC but it is manageable.

For 400, I would get an i3 2120 or similar, a cheap mobo, 8GB of ram, a 7770 and a cheap but reliable PSU like the CX430 and a sub 50E case, maybe look at the Fractal Core or the Xigmatek Asgard line.

Very doable and you'd be able to run the likes of Skyrim, Fifa and Assassins Creed at very respectable visual levels at full HD, and wouldn't have to spend any more than your 400.

Ramwise, I have two 4gb dimms, DDR3.
Using a NVIDIA GeForce GT 230 but I am looking for alternatives, that's coming out from a different, separate budget.

My sistem is not THAT old, have an Asrock N68-VS3 FX motherboard and a AMD Phenom II X6 1035T processor.

Would that setup be ok for now if I just went for the graphics card upgrade instead?

Bruno Batista

tuxy wrote: »

If you really don't need a graphics card and hard drive in the build then get an i5 system it's faster in games than the AMD

Item|Price
8GB-Kit G.Skill PC3-10667U CL9|€33.50
Super-Flower Amazon 80Plus 450W|€42.35
BitFenix Merc Alpha|€32.04
ASRock B75 Pro3, Sockel 1155, ATX|€67.19
Intel Core i5-3570 Box, LGA1155|€186.56
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€380.63

Oooh, I like the looks of that. Been told to go for Intel over AMD anyway!

TerrorFirmer

Here's another example from Pixmania. Actually I agree that the G2120 isn't a bad idea, saves you about 30 euro on the i3 and probably only about 15% slower so nothing too crucial. No in stock on Pixmania though:p

The 7770 is pretty decent for new games at 1080p at high-ish settings, games like Fifa and Assassins Creed will run fine at high settings, Skyrim will also run at 1080p at high settings....not as good as 7850 naturally but keeping budget in mind, it's very respectable.

Another good mark goes to HWV for the fact that they'll assemble to PC for you if you pay them to....

CORSAIR CX430 80 PLUS Bronze PC Power supply - 430 W...

FRACTAL DESIGN Core 1000 PC Tower Case...

MSI H61M-P20 (G3) - 1155 Socket - H61 Chipset -...

PATRIOT 8 GB Single Channel DDR3-1333 PC3-10666 CL9...

MSI Radeon HD 7770 - 1 GB GDDR5 - PCI-Express 3.0...

INTEL Core i3 Ivy Bridge 3220 to 3.3 GHz - Cache L3...

€ 364,50 Inc. VAT

tuxy

The i5 is the best gaming cpu you can get right now. I would highly recommend it if you can afford it.
But there is also no point in getting an i5 system unless you can get a new graphics card soon. The GeForce GT 230 is not up to the task of any modern high end game.

TerrorFirmer

Bruno Batista wrote: »

Ramwise, I have two 4gb dimms, DDR3.
Using a NVIDIA GeForce GT 230 but I am looking for alternatives, that's coming out from a different, separate budget.

My sistem is not THAT old, have an Asrock N68-VS3 FX motherboard and a AMD Phenom II X6 1035T processor.

Would that setup be ok for now if I just went for the graphics card upgrade instead?

Yes!

I was assuming you'd have an ancient machine...it's an older CPU for sure, but by no means a write off, by all means just stick a decent card in there - a 2GB 7850 would be perfect - and you'll be doing OK, saves you a ton of hassle and money. You can also try getting a bit more juice out of it by overclocking, but it's not too bad a CPU. If I was you, I wouldn't be rushing out to get a new setup just yet - to be honest there's no point trying to build a better gaming machine from almost scratch with only a 400 euro budget.

New card now, overhaul down the line. The GT230 is a terrible gaming card, a 7850 would be 600% faster.

tuxy

I agree. You really want €600 to build a good gaming PC. It can be done for less but you have to cut corners.

Bruno Batista

Yeah, think that will be the best for now, try to get a nice graphics card!
Going for a GTX 570 at the moment, (second hand, let's not get carried away here!), and maybe in the summer a proper upgrade. Cheers for the help, guys, MUCH appreciated!

(feel free to comment on the card too :P)

tuxy

I have a gtx 570 matched with a i5 right now. I'm happy with it and no plans to change it for a while. It's a bit power hungry and gets very hot though. The 7850 is probably a better card and you can get one of them new for around the same price as a second hand 570

TerrorFirmer

I actually got a GTX570 myself recently, got it for 140 as end of line brand new stock - damn thing hasn't arrived yet though. Had been thinking of getting a 7870 but the price was too good to pass up. What price are you getting yours for? I wouldn't pay too much, not when you can get a 2GB 7870 for 182 from Pixmania, or a 2GB 7850 for 152. Believe me I know from scouring the 2nd hand market lately, the prices are pretty bad - people expect far too much for their parts. The average asking on cards like the 5850, GTX560, GTX570, 6870, etc are all way higher than what it actually costs to buy them new from retailers that still have them left in stock! Pixmania still have 6870's for 120 brand new, for example, but they crop up a bit 2nd hand going for about 130ish....

areyawell

Bruno Batista wrote: »

Ramwise, I have two 4gb dimms, DDR3.
Using a NVIDIA GeForce GT 230 but I am looking for alternatives, that's coming out from a different, separate budget.

My sistem is not THAT old, have an Asrock N68-VS3 FX motherboard and a AMD Phenom II X6 1035T processor.

Would that setup be ok for now if I just went for the graphics card upgrade instead?

That CPU is still perfect for gaming. A lot of the AMD's get overlooked but are perfect CPU's. An i5 is highend processor but that processor will be grand. Especially on a 400 budget no need to update CPU. Just get a graphics card now and maybe an extra 2 GB of ram. Would you list your full spec you currently have and I'll do up one for you? All you really need is a graphics card I think which can then be transferred to a new computer if you decide to build an i5 further down the line.

I have an x4 965 and a 7770 graphics card and am getting 40 fps on farcry 3 maxed out(well one or two settings switched from ultra to high). Games like skyrim and fifa are not graphically intensive and get 80 frames or more.

Bruno Batista

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

I actually got a GTX570 myself recently, got it for 140 as end of line brand new stock - damn thing hasn't arrived yet though. Had been thinking of getting a 7870 but the price was too good to pass up. What price are you getting yours for? I wouldn't pay too much, not when you can get a 2GB 7870 for 182 from Pixmania, or a 2GB 7850 for 152. Believe me I know from scouring the 2nd hand market lately, the prices are pretty bad - people expect far too much for their parts. The average asking on cards like the 5850, GTX560, GTX570, 6870, etc are all way higher than what it actually costs to buy them new from retailers that still have them left in stock! Pixmania still have 6870's for 120 brand new, for example, but they crop up a bit 2nd hand going for about 130ish....

Hum, trying for 170 at the moment.
The upside is I could just pick it from a boards.ie member this weekend (keeping the money in the local economy is important and all that).
But would you recommend a 7870 instead?
http://www.pixmania.ie/ie/uk/12638311/art/amd/radeon-hd-7870-oem-2-gb-g.html

Wouldn't the 570 be better?

(as you can see, I am almost clueless when it comes to hardware)

TerrorFirmer

If you're paying 170, forget it, the 7870 can be had for almost that price from Pixmania brand new - not sure with regards speed, the 570 is still a good card and faster than the 7850 but not sure how it stacks with the 7870, at worst they'd be on par but I'd expect the 7870 to edge it. But I'd still take the 7870 regardless - less power, cooler, better OC headroom, and so on.

Use code IEXMAS7 on Pix and get 7 euro off...making the 7870 192 delivered, which is an excellent price. Well worth it for the extra 20 euro, a brand new card with the advantages mentioned above.

Bruno Batista

areyawell wrote: »

I have an x4 965 and a 7770 graphics card and am getting 40 fps on farcry 3 maxed out(well one or two settings switched from ultra to high). Games like skyrim and fifa are not graphically intensive and get 80 frames or more.

Jeez, another card for me to look at :P

This hardware business is hard!
Back in the day you only had to worry if you had a soundblaster or a soundblaster pro.

Bruno Batista

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

If you're paying 170, forget it, the 7870 can be had for almost that price from Pixmania brand new - not sure with regards speed, the 570 is still a good card and faster than the 7850 but not sure how it stacks with the 7870, at worst they'd be on par but I'd expect the 7870 to edge it. But I'd still take the 7870 regardless - less power, cooler, better OC headroom, and so on.

Use code IEXMAS7 on Pix and get 7 euro off...making the 7870 192 delivered, which is an excellent price. Well worth it for the extra 20 euro, a brand new card with the advantages mentioned above.

Right, offer withdrawn on Adverts, and off to Pixmania.
Any difference between all these models, or are you just paying for the brand name?

TerrorFirmer

There are differences with coolers, clock speeds, warranties and what not, but personally I usually go for whatever is cheapest unless there's a known issue with the product in question. But 95% of the time I just go for the cheapest model of the card I'm interested in. Pixmania are selling it as OEM, but if you look at the reviews, someone said it's actually a Sapphire Ghz edition card.

tuxy

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

Use code IEXMAS7 on Pix and get 7 euro off...making the 7870 192 delivered, which is an excellent price. Well worth it for the extra 20 euro, a brand new card with the advantages mentioned above.

What country are you in? When pixmania see my delivery address as Ireland it adds more VAT to the price to bring it in line with the Irish rate of 23%.
With the code it would cost me € 213,68 to have the cheapest 7870 delivered.

TerrorFirmer

Are you sure the Zen thing isn't being automatically added to your basket? You have to manually remove it at the checkout.

Definitely coming up as 192 delivered for me.

tuxy

Ah you're right, damn I'm tired

Bruno Batista

Yep, €192.89 when the Zen thing is gone.

One last question before I press buy, is there much a difference between the 7850 and the 7870 if you're not a "proper" gamer?

(I'm more on the occasional side with the now and again bout of gaming insanity)

Or should I just spend the extra 30 quid and get the best I can?

areyawell

What games you normally play?

Bruno Batista

areyawell wrote: »

What games you normally play?

Recently it has been Skyrim, FIFA 13, Assassin's Creed 3, Saints Row 3 and, er, Duke Nukem 3d.

areyawell

For the sake of 30 euro I'd get it.

TerrorFirmer

The 7850 2GB will play any of those games at 1080p at max settings. If you plan having a few 64 man games of Battlefield 3, or Crysis 3 shortly at ultra settings, the 7870 might be a slightly better investment, but all in all, I think the 7850 will suit you perfectly and will last for a decent stretch of time playing most games at full HD res at good quality visual levels.

Bruno Batista

Cheers for all the help!

Ended up going for the 7870 since it was only a 25 quid difference after that code so screw it, you only buy graphics card once!*




*well, you know, more or less

tuxy

I just ordered a pny gtx 660 for a friend using that code, thanks for posting it Terror.

The 7870 is definitely better in that price range for gaming only but he will make use of the cuda cores as well as gaming.