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Gaming computer with ~$400 budget?

M

MrHood22

Supreme [H]ardness
Joined
Aug 21, 2007
Messages
4,312
I'm looking to build a gaming computer around ~$400. That includes everything in the case minus the CD drive. It would need to be able to play Skyrim and ARMA II on a 24" monitor. Doesn't have to be Ultra but I also don't want it to be on low struggling to get 30fps. If it could be on medium and be smooth, I'd be happy.

I'm a little unsure of where to start at this low of a budget. In the past I had gotten Intel because I knew their increase in price was offset by their performance in games. However, is that the case at this price point?

Mobo:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128662

CPU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116950

GPU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130795

RAM:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277

PSU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438016

Hard Drive:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136941



This comes out to ~$400 shipped.

I'm building this for someone so I'm going to let them pick out the case.
 
the problem its not the 24" size.. its the screen resolution.. what i guess any decent 24" monitor are 1080P.. if thats right.. then no.. you are looking a Wrong CPU and GPU for that resolution.. with that GPU will not even be on medium settings smooth at 1080P. I would be looking at least to This GPU for that resolution or anything lower than 1920x1080. also that CPU its extremely weak for gaming.. specially for those games that are you mentioning both are CPU bound and will struggle seriously with that Pentium Dual Core..

what i will do to keep things in that budget?. i would be aiming for a AMD APU.. specifically the newest one, the AMD A10 7850K with any FM2+ Mobo of your like.. which certainly will offer a much better gameplay than a Pentium Dual Core + a weak GT 640.. and you will be saving money..
 
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Unfortunately that adds nearly ~$150. These parts as-is are already pushing the budget. With that being said, I'm not against spending $30 more for 25% performance increase but $150 is a lot in relation to the budget.
 
CPU: AMD APU A10 7850K= 185$
GPU: No Needed, because integrated APU its better than a 640 = 0$
MOBO: For example GIGABYTE GA-F2A75M-HD2 = 65$
RAM: Same picked 48$
HDD: Same picked 67$
PSU: Same Picked 45$

Total 410$: for a way better performance increase compared to the listed intel+nvidia chip i think it worth because its more than a 25% Performance increase specially in the CPU side.
 
Araxie said:
CPU: AMD APU A10 7850K= 185$
GPU: No Needed, because integrated APU its better than a 640 = 0$
MOBO: For example GIGABYTE GA-F2A75M-HD2 = 65$
RAM: Same picked 48$
HDD: Same picked 67$
PSU: Same Picked 45$

Total 410$: for a way better performance increase compared to the listed intel+nvidia chip i think it worth because its more than a 25% Performance increase specially in the CPU side.
Click to expand...

Ahh I had no idea the CPU graphics power had come so far. Apparently the A10 7850k is graphically equivalent to a 7750/7770. I'm also reading that you can pair a R7 250 (~$90) with it.

So should I get more RAM if I go this route? 4gb seems pretty low but on top of that the CPU will need some.
 
Not a fan of AMD but this setup might also work for a build I need to do soon. Thanks guys! :)
 
Yes more RAM and Faster RAM affect positively the Performance of the APU..
 
A10-7850K is $129.99 at Microcenter.

http://www.microcenter.com/product/427565/Kaveri_Black_Edition_4GHz

Use the savings to get 8GB of higher speed DRAM since APUs benefit from it.

Official Radeom 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 2400 can be had for $99 with free shipping and no tax (may vary by state):

http://www.radeonmemory.com/desktop_memory_consumer.php

Use the following promo code for $20 off: ASROCK20OFF

And, when you get a bonus buy a R9 290 which is the perfect match with or without Mantel:

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/amd_mantle_preview,1.html
 
Yes, he has 64bit Windows 7

I ended up going the APU route. Apparently it can play BF4 on low-medium settings. That will be sufficient for him. My final build was:

CPU - A10 7850k
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113359

Mobo - Gigabyte A88X
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FYKNFFS/ref=pe_385040_30332200_pe_309540_26725410_item

RAM - G Skill 2 x 4gb DDR3 2133
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231655

HD - WD Blue 1TB
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0088PUEPK/ref=pe_385040_30332200_pe_309540_26725410_item

PSU - EVGA 500w
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438016

Ended up being about $450 shipped
 
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