• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

New $600 mATX build

Jon55

2[H]4U
Joined
Jul 7, 2008
Messages
2,349
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
This build is for a friend, he's buying some parts from me (listed below). He'll be gaming primarily, plus the usual internet/office work

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$410 preferred, but willing to do $460 max if it's worth it

3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.

California

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
CPU (and possible cooler), RAM, GPU

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Friend will be buying my case (SilverStone TJ08B-E), mobo (ASUS P8Z77-M) and PSU (SeaSonic 620 watt) all for $190 from me (I'm throwing in on of my older 120GB Samsung 840s at no cost to sweeten the deal). Parts he'll be reusing: older WD 500GB storage drive, DVD burner

6) Will you be overclocking?
CPU = yes if it possibly fits within the budget (if not, that's okay). GPU = definitely

7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
One 1080p monitor

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
ASAP

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc.
N/A (motherboard already purchased)

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Yes, Windows 7 64-bit


Just to clarify, his total max budget is $700 ($600 preferred), but he'll be buying my mATX case + Z77 mobo + PSU for $190 (and again I'm giving him my old 120GB Samsung 840s for free as part of the deal). So essentially he has $410 ($460 max) to spend on the rest of the parts.
 
Last edited:
$185 - Intel Core i5-4430 CPU
$73 - Corsair CMX8GX3M1A1333C9 8GB DDR3 1333 RAM
$170 - MSI R7870-2GD5T/OC Radeon HD 7850 2GB PCI-E Video Card
$75 - Seasonic G Series SSR-40RM 550W Modular PSU
---
Total: $503 shipped plus tax.

Unfortunately limited overclock capability. Your budget wasn't enough to fit in the Core i5 4670K. RAM wise, went with 8GB of RAM since that should keep your friend set for a year or so. I highly recommend a modular PSU considering that this is a mATX build.
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
Awesome! Thank you! He bought the parts and we will be building shortly
 
I'm really hoping you didnt buy an i5-4430 haswell to use in a z77 motherboard. You need z87 to use a socket 1150 cpu.
 
I'm really hoping you didnt buy an i5-4430 haswell to use in a z77 motherboard. You need z87 to use a socket 1150 cpu.

Cancel (or return) the processor and buy the following instead:

$180 - Intel Core i5-3550P LGA1155 quad-core processor
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
Whew! He didn't order the parts yet.

No worries though, in the end it would have been my fault for not double-checking it.
 
Hey guys. Sorry to bump an old thread but my friend was unable to build until now. I'm sure things have changed so I'll need an updated parts list if you would be so kind. Only thing that's changed is that I'm also giving him my SeaSonic 620w PSU for $40 (I've updated the original post to reflect this). Thanks!
 
Here's what I recommend:
$165 - Intel Core i5-3350P CPU
$70 - Kingston HyperX Blu KHX1600C10D3B1/8G 8GB DDR3 1600 RAM
$184 - Gigabyte GV-R927OC-2GD Radeon R9 270 2GB PCI-E Video Card
---
Total: $419 shipped plus tax.
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
Here's what I recommend:
$165 - Intel Core i5-3350P CPU
$70 - Kingston HyperX Blu KHX1600C10D3B1/8G 8GB DDR3 1600 RAM
$184 - Gigabyte GV-R927OC-2GD Radeon R9 270 2GB PCI-E Video Card
---
Total: $419 shipped plus tax.

Very cool, thanks! Forgive my ignorance on the matter, but I've heard rumors that AMD cards are currently running at a higher price than their Nvidia equivalents due to a recently bitcoin-related buying surge? I am a big AMD fan, but have no problem going with Nvidia if it'll shave off a decent amount to get a better card.
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
Most of the cards that got jacked were 79x0 series or R9 280/290 series cards. The 78x0 and R9 270/270x didn't jump much.
 
Most of the cards that got jacked were 79x0 series or R9 280/290 series cards. The 78x0 and R9 270/270x didn't jump much.

Yeah, the de facto mining cards are the 7950/R9 280 series, with the R9 290/290X behind it. Those jumped up in price because of the cryptocurrency mining craze.

The 7800/R9 270/270X series are safe for now. The 7870 GHz edition is around $185 to $200, with the R9 270X about $10 to $40 above that.
 
Yeah, the de facto mining cards are the 7950/R9 280 series, with the R9 290/290X behind it. Those jumped up in price because of the cryptocurrency mining craze.

The 7800/R9 270/270X series are safe for now. The 7870 GHz edition is around $185 to $200, with the R9 270X about $10 to $40 above that.


Would there be any benefit to going the R9 270X route over a 7870 GHz Edition?
 
Would there be any benefit to going the R9 270X route over a 7870 GHz Edition?

They're practically the same silicon if I understood the naming convention correctly.

R9 280X = 7970
R9 280 = 7950 [GHz Edition?]

R9 270X = 7870 GHz Edition
R9 270 = 7850 GHz Edition

I don't believe there are any significant differences between them other than the name, and possibly faster memory (?) depending on the AIB partner.
 
Would there be any benefit to going the R9 270X route over a 7870 GHz Edition?
Possibly better Mantle support. If you can find th HD 7870 GHz Edition for cheaper than the R9 270X, then go ahead and grab it.
 
Back
Top