Budget build

[MatteAMG]

I was able to convince a friend to join me in PC gaming and he has tasked me with the job of making him a build. My first and only rig was finished not too long ago and I am happy to say it is working beautifully, but with the budget my friend gave me I am going to need help.

Details:
Price Range:400-500USD (Before rebates)
General Uses: Gaming and Netflix
Preferences: We need this rig to be capable of playing games at Med to High settings at 720p resolution. The games will mostly be Minecraft and some MMOs, my only concern is that he wants it to be able to run DayZ Standalone.
Peripherals: Not needed we have a monitor, mice, and keyboard.
OS: Possibly WIN8 OEM

I have two builds in mind, but if anyone knows something better or cheaper please let me know. I appreciate any and all information, but please I need very informative and professional opinions do not just tell me get an FX series. Please provide me with detailed explanations. Thank you.

Build 1:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor ($117.12 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus M5A78L-M/USB3 Micro ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($54.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($59.99 @ Microcenter)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($32.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($15.99 @ Microcenter)
Total: $551.03
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-19 15:09 EST-0500)

Build 2:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($159.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: ASRock H87M Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($83.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($59.99 @ Microcenter)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($32.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $586.90
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-19 15:09 EST-0500)

 

[barnsley]

seeing as DayZ is on the list it has to be the intel build. No competition. Might want to get a faster hard drive for it though.

 

[Wraith]

I agree with Barnsley Intel is the better choice for DayZ Intel has the processing edge on that game.

Both look pretty good as budget builds but I'd strongly suggest getting a more powerful PSU 430w is way to low I'd say 550w minimum for the builds you have suggested.

 

[iBeInspire]

Both of them are decent builds but be carful, the 750 ti is a fair bit slower than a 7870... Also agree with above, maybe the 750ti might be fine on a 430w, but the 7870 definitely won't be...

 

[barnsley]

Both of them are decent builds but be carful, the 750 ti is a fair bit slower than a 7870... Also agree with above, maybe the 750ti might be fine on a 430w, but the 7870 definitely won't be...

In dayZ the 6300 build will be on par/very slightly faster than the intel build. Everything else the 6300 will be faster with. DayZ is that bad for AMD cpus.

 

[iBeInspire]

In dayZ the 6300 build will be on par/very slightly faster than the intel build. Everything else the 6300 will be faster with. DayZ is that bad for AMD cpus.

In that case why are you guys telling him to go intel within that budget?

 

[barnsley]

In that case why are you guys telling him to go intel within that budget?

Better upgradability/the cpu is better. Also the 6300's motherboard would need replacing if his friend wanted to OC/upgrade. if it was an atx build I'd say the AMD one was a better option as he'd get a decent motherboard for less.
Oh, and XFX is junk. The 7870 would be overkill for 720p in terms of the games they play. If it turns out that his friend doesn't have an OS it'll be back to square one.

Speaking of which, what does the op mean by "possibly". You can't really transfer OEM oses from one machine to another.

 

[iBeInspire]

Call me an AMD fanboy but the AMD build will be
- Cheaper
- Better/equal for DayZ
- Better for almost anything else

Maybe because op will need a 550w psu minimum the prices may even out but even then I can't bring myself to suggest a 750ti for this budget... I'll have a look at the US website and see what's what but I seriously think the AMD build is better bang/bunk

/EDIT : Found a 7850 for $5 more than the 750ti, maybe that might make the Intel build make sense :/

 

[barnsley]

Call me an AMD fanboy but the AMD build will be
- Cheaper
- Better/equal for DayZ
- Better for almost anything else

Except its slower for rendering, any cpu intensive tasks,RTS games and any game that isn't well done in the cpu department will also struggle. An example would be Arma.
Theres a reason why AMD builds are few and far between bud, don't get me wrong I'm happy with my 8320 90% of the time but there are certain things (admittedly not really AMD's fault) in which FX cpus are crap and that can ruin the experience/value for money. I've done builds on a budget with either AMD cpus or Intel cpus and I can say that if its an ATX build under a certain price then AMD is the slightly better option for a gaming pc. Otherwise intel is the better option. Super budget (~£450 or less) AMD is dominant. I'd almost say the OP might want to look at the Athlon x4 750k, which imo is the best AMD cpu for the money at the moment.

You're right the 7850 would make more sense with the intel build as the gpu in it currently is a bit slow however this is 720p we're talking about.

 

[NeverBackDown]

Even at 720p it is always nice to have more than enough to be able to upgrade the res in the future and not have to spend more on the gpu.

 

[barnsley]

Even at 720p it is always nice to have more than enough to be able to upgrade the res in the future and not have to spend more on the gpu.

when you upgrade the res you can't help but upgrade the GPU ^_^. when I went from 720p to 1080p I ended up going from a gt210 (I used to only play minecraft) to a gts450 (well several if you count the RMAs) to my 7870 6 months later.

-edit- if it was atx I'd go for something like this:

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 750K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($79.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI FM2-A85XA-G43 ATX FM2 Motherboard ($71.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($70.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($33.39 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ Microcenter)
Total: $526.32
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-19 16:39 EST-0500)
Obvs if he went the 6300 route it'd be around the same price. As I don't live in the US its a bit harder for me to make something

 

[MatteAMG]

I apologize for the late respond I was at work, but this is excellent news for me. So we can agree that the Intel build would be better and possibly upgrading the CX400M maybe to a CX600M only 10-20USD more. What do you think about the motherboard? Also should I stick with the 750Ti or consider something else? I appreciate all responses Thank you.

when you upgrade the res you can't help but upgrade the GPU ^_^. when I went from 720p to 1080p I ended up going from a gt210 (I used to only play minecraft) to a gts450 (well several if you count the RMAs) to my 7870 6 months later.

-edit- if it was atx I'd go for something like this:

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 750K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($79.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI FM2-A85XA-G43 ATX FM2 Motherboard ($71.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($70.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($33.39 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ Microcenter)
Total: $526.32
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-19 16:39 EST-0500)
Obvs if he went the 6300 route it'd be around the same price. As I don't live in the US its a bit harder for me to make something

I had actually originally started off with an Athlon, but was not sure how effective it would be.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 760K 3.8GHz Quad-Core Processor ($88.93 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI FM2-A75MA-E35 Micro ATX FM2 Motherboard ($57.78 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($59.99 @ Microcenter)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus Radeon HD 7770 2GB Video Card ($125.91 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($54.99 @ Microcenter)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer ($15.99 @ Microcenter)
Total: $503.56
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-19 20:57 EST-0500)

 

[Wraith]

The new Athlon X4's are nice CPUs I've been tempted myself.

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 750K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($79.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI FM2-A85XA-G43 ATX FM2 Motherboard ($71.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($70.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7870 2GB Video Card ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($33.39 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ Microcenter)
Total: $526.32
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-19 16:39 EST-0500)
Obvs if he went the 6300 route it'd be around the same price. As I don't live in the US its a bit harder for me to make something

As Barnsley stated above this is a better build by far.

 

[Squidlorock]

*if* you were interested in battlefield 4, then a fx 6300 or the 8320 would be a good bet (and actually pretty close to the cost of the 760k build). With being about mmo's, dayz etc intel would have the advantage. If you didn't want to oc at all the 4570 would be a good bet, albeit quite pricy. I do like the fm2+ builds&was considering one myself, but the benchmarks (before mantle) for bf4 made me think i'd leave it for now, but for £60 that is a great cpu for price/cost.

With any fx though you are limited if you are not on atx, gigabytes ga-78lmt-usb3 rev 5.0 did look ok if it was with a 6300, not sure on the 8320. Regardless, for a matx build the 760k or 4570 would be good for size. The intel would most probably out perform the athlon in most games (both being quads) but there is ofc a price difference. A 270 would pair with either very nicely imho.

Dayz etc, is quite poorly coded so suffers on amd, even some intels have problems aswell coping with that mod.

Anyways, i hope it helps.

 

[NeverBackDown]

If you are still only playing at 720p then really any of the mentioned CPUs won't really struggle nor will any of the mentioned GPUs as well; however, if you ever want to increase the Resolution of your monitor and games, I recommend spending that little bit more for the future(always buy the best you can afford at the time of buying). Its all up to what you are willing to spend.

 

[barnsley]

I have both a 750k and an 8320. IMO the 750k is more than adequate, mainly because very few games make use of the 8320s cores. Apart from Battlefield I'm pretty sure not many AAA+ games do, come to think of it.

Regardless of the resolution/settings amd cpus don't work well with DayZ. The same with strategy games.

 

[Squidlorock]

Yeah, those rts games eat up cpu's bad! I was checking out the benchmarks on rome2 the other day/week, like seriously... even on i7's they were on their knee's

The 750/760 k are great builds, for £60 is fantastic. The i5 is around £140, so over double really on that front. Yea, bf4 has made the 6300 a great budget cpu for that game, i think (if i remember) the new thief game and possibly* watchdogs (not 100% sure) had like recommended specs as i7/amd 8 cores :blink: though who knows really with optimizing the game more, i'm sure below would be fine too!

Yea, very few games use up 6/8 cores though it does seem to be changing a bit. For the price the 750/60 are fantastic price/perf and being nicely overclockable aswell on a £60 chip is awesome! With that r9 270, a sweet build ^_^

 

[barnsley]

I'm expecting planetside to make good use of 8 core cpus soon considering that they're making it for consoles as well now. They've really come on in leaps and bounds with the optimization with that game.

 

[Squidlorock]

I'm expecting planetside to make good use of 8 core cpus soon considering that they're making it for consoles as well now. They've really come on in leaps and bounds with the optimization with that game.

That would be great tbh, i've yet to play it&with pretty much going amd i was fearing trying that game with my build. It's really good to hear, game looks pretty sweet.

 

[NeverBackDown]

Yeah, those rts games eat up cpu's bad! I was checking out the benchmarks on rome2 the other day/week, like seriously... even on i7's they were on their knee's

The 750/760 k are great builds, for £60 is fantastic. The i5 is around £140, so over double really on that front. Yea, bf4 has made the 6300 a great budget cpu for that game, i think (if i remember) the new thief game and possibly* watchdogs (not 100% sure) had like recommended specs as i7/amd 8 cores :blink: though who knows really with optimizing the game more, i'm sure below would be fine too!

Yea, very few games use up 6/8 cores though it does seem to be changing a bit. For the price the 750/60 are fantastic price/perf and being nicely overclockable aswell on a £60 chip is awesome! With that r9 270, a sweet build ^_^

RTS games really eat up CPUs which is why Mantle will help that genre quite noticeably. Though in Rome 2 the optimization all around is quite bad.. Coming from 215hrs of gametime experience... Any CPU struggles that game