My friend is planning on building his computer, and his budget is around $600. I came up with this, but I'm wondering if anyone can offer advice on how to improve it.
My friend is planning on building his computer, and his budget is around $600. I came up with this, but I'm wondering if anyone can offer advice on how to improve it.
Looks good. However 550w would be overkill for a rig like that, this 350w one should be plenty. You may be able to find a cheaper HDD, additionally a cheaper case like the Bitfenix Merc Alpha or a NZXT Gamma may also be worth considering.
EDIT: Ninjad, CentrallyProcessed's build looks good. However that doesn't seem to have a power supply...
Probably the only cheaper hdd that would be worth it is this, but it's not much cheaper and about 1/3 as big. Also, it's only 2.5 inches.
The processor is still current-gen.
Also, a $500 build is a little optimistic. $600 is more realistic. So here's a $600 build: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/6tNI
eftj's has a more powerful card, but mine is a little more balanced. Pairing a G840 with essentially a 6950? Not sure about that.
What has gotten into you CentrallyProcessed? Do you not like PSU's?
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
I'm back from my eternal slumber of 2 or 3 months. A long-ass time.
Oh boy, visual basic. I can barely contain my excitement.Not.
Looks good. However 550w would be overkill for a rig like that, this 350w one should be plenty. You may be able to find a cheaper HDD, additionally a cheaper case like the Bitfenix Merc Alpha or a NZXT Gamma may also be worth considering.
EDIT: Ninjad, CentrallyProcessed's build looks good. However that doesn't seem to have a power supply...
Speaking of psus, would this also be good? Antec's supposed to be a reliable brand, but it's only $30, so I'm skeptical.
I was actually talking about something along the lines of this. Not that different, but wit that and the PSU change you may be able to stretch for a HD6790.
Isn't that more expensive than the one I already have?
Using the cheaper psu and the 160gb hdd, I manage to fit in a 6870. http://pcpartpicker.com/p/6ue8
As for the build, as you sure he only needs a 160GB HDD? The price/capacity is generally lower with such low-capacity drives, it may be better to stick with a slightly larger one.
That'd probably be a good idea, if he can stretch his budget about $15.
Also, are you sure we're talking about the same hdd?
That's odd, PCPartpicker was showing me the prices at newegg, which was $85. In that case it would be a better choice.
Maybe you had settings to not show amazon?
Also, final build here.
My (other) friend thinks the cpu might bottleneck the gpu, but on the other hand, he tried to put 16gb of ram in this build, so he might not be the best person for this. However, I still want to make sure that they're well balanced for gaming.
MS Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit | AMD Athlon II X4 635 | 4.00 GB Dual-Channel DDR3 | BIOSTAR Group A880GU3 | ASUS VH238 | 1024MB GeForce GTX 550 Ti (Gigabyte) | 313GB Western Digital WDC WD3200AAJB-00J3A0 | TSSTcorp CDW/DVD TS-H492A | Realtek High Definition Audio
Although, I'm wondering, would an apu with a discrete graphics card running in hybrid crossfire with the IGP or whatever it's called be a better option? If so, could someone find me that combo, I don't really know AMD processors.
Edit: Benchmarks show the pentium g630 being more powerful in singlethreaded applications than the a8 3870k, so getting an APU would sacrifice power per core, but would it yield higher graphics when combined with a discrete gpu?
I don't see much you can do to improve this.
You forgot a psu
Probably the only cheaper hdd that would be worth it is this, but it's not much cheaper and about 1/3 as big. Also, it's only 2.5 inches.
That's the second time today.
What has gotten into you CentrallyProcessed? Do you not like PSU's?
2 or 3 months.A long-ass time.Oh boy, visual basic. I can barely contain my excitement. Not.
Speaking of psus, would this also be good? Antec's supposed to be a reliable brand, but it's only $30, so I'm skeptical.
Isn't that more expensive than the one I already have?
Using the cheaper psu and the 160gb hdd, I manage to fit in a 6870.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/6ue8
That'd probably be a good idea, if he can stretch his budget about $15.
Also, are you sure we're talking about the same hdd?
Maybe you had settings to not show amazon?
Also, final build here.
My (other) friend thinks the cpu might bottleneck the gpu, but on the other hand, he tried to put 16gb of ram in this build, so he might not be the best person for this. However, I still want to make sure that they're well balanced for gaming.
I don't think .2ghz is worth $15.
Although, I'm wondering, would an apu with a discrete graphics card running in hybrid crossfire with the IGP or whatever it's called be a better option? If so, could someone find me that combo, I don't really know AMD processors.
Edit: Benchmarks show the pentium g630 being more powerful in singlethreaded applications than the a8 3870k, so getting an APU would sacrifice power per core, but would it yield higher graphics when combined with a discrete gpu?