Opinions Wanted - Family gaming PC

[heyitsheather]

Several family members have requested I replace our ancient desktop PC with something newer for various games they play or desire to play. The aging Athlon 64 x2 5600+, nForce 405 MB, 2GB RAM and Geforce 7900GS are well beyond their life for current games.

 

I'm looking at the following:

 

AMD FX-6300

Asus M5A97 MB

8GB RAM

Radeon 7770 HD 1GB

Hard drive will be 500GB of some sort, haven't finished that research yet.

I'll utilize my existing case with Antec 500watt PS

Existing DVD/RW SATA drive will be used.

 

OS will be Win 7 x64 and I'll utilize the existing 19" LCD, resolution fo 1280x1024.

 

My budget is $450 which will also cover the cost of RAM and HDD.

 

The games to be played regularly are:

 

Dragon Age 1, 2 and the upcoming 3

World of Tanks

World of Warplanes

Sims 3 and its insane amount of expansions

Sim City

Skyrim

Train Simulator 2014

 

Thanks!

 

 

 

 

[Mindovermaster Moderator]

Might want to bump up that PSU a little. At least a 650 or 750 if your are going to upgrade it in the future.

 

Why not an SSD?

[The Evil Overlord]

I agree with mind

also, if you are able, instead of one new 7770, might be worth looking to get 2 used and link them, (if applicable using crossfire)

I buy used regularly, mostly because it's cheaper and they're not at the end of their life (most of this pc I'm using right now, was built using used parts, it was build like 9 or 10 years ago, only real problem I had was a blown psu due to the fan seizing in it)

[spaceelf]

500w should be fine if hes not loading it with high end kit.

 

I'd recommend a Kaveri proc (releasing this month) instead.  Should help with Dragon Age 3 with Mantle incoming.

[snaphat (Myles Landwehr) Member]

Seconding the 500w, especially because he'll go out of budget if he gets 2 GPUs, an SSD, and a 650W power supply ;-)

[PsYcHoKiLLa]

You might want to look at bundle deals on some websites, you can usually save some money that way. Some companies will also do pre-overclocked bundles too. I agree about the PSU though, 500w is a bit on the lower side. Try this website, it'll tell you what rating of PSU you will need, always best to go above the number shown.

 

http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

[+Majesticmerc MVC]

Good choices overall, especially given the budget. Here is an alternative option if you're open to it:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU:  AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor  ($109.99 @ TigerDirect)
Motherboard:  Asus M5A97 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard  ($92.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory:  Corsair XMS 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Storage:  Hitachi Ultrastar 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($56.50 @ Amazon)
Video Card:  XFX Radeon HD 7850 1GB Video Card  ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $434.46
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-01-01 20:01 EST-0500)

 

The $434 is AFTER mail-in rebates, without the mail-in rebates it comes to just under $500. The motherboard is about $20 cheaper, but should certainly be sufficient, and I've given you a 1TB hard disk, which is about $5 more than a 500GB disk. I've also upgraded you to a HD7850 graphics card for a little bit more.

 

If you've got a Microcenter store nearby, you can upgrade your FX-6300 to an FX-8320 for pennies difference by buying the motherboard and processor together as a combo.

 

A 500W PSU should be fine. Rough calculations put the build listed above at about 400 watts when stressed, and much less than that at idle.

[+Mirumir Subscriber¹]

and I'll utilize the existing 19" LCD, resolution fo 1280x1024.

 

If I were in this situation, upgrading the monitor would be my main priority. Otherwise, I don't see a reason to upgrade because they're still going to be looking at the same old and narrow picture.

 

Even smartphones sport higher resolutions these days...It's a Family PC. So chances are more than one person will be using it. 

 

Here's a beautiful 23 inch IPS panel from Dell going for $190!

[GotBored]

The XFX Radeon HD 7850 suggested by Majesticmerc also has a HDMI out so you can connect it to a TV and play your PC games on the big screen also if a new monitor isn't an option.

[+PeterUK MVC]

Memory:  Corsair XMS 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($44.99 @ Newegg)

 

If you want to add 8GB a time better to go with a lower CAS.

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/crucial-memory-bls8g3d1609ds1s00

 

or just go 2x4GB.

[+Majesticmerc MVC]

 

If you want to add 8GB a time better to go with a lower CAS.

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/crucial-memory-bls8g3d1609ds1s00

 

or just go 2x4GB.

 

 

Good point, I failed to check the CAS latency of my suggestion, some PNY XLR8 will keep the OP within budget too. :)

[MorganX]

Hate to say it, since I'm all into the PC, sold my 360, and have a PS3 Slim w/SSD collecting dust, but at that price point for gaming, I'd consider Xbox One w/$50 annual Gold Subscription.

 

Can't believe I said that.

[heyitsheather]

Lots of great feedback, thanks everyone.

 

I hadn't even thought of used components, but that would certainly save a few dollars and allow for dual video cards.

 

I wasn't looking into an SSD primarily due to the cost. The users of the PC aren't as picky as I am, my primary is a laptop with an ssd.

 

A replacement display will happen eventually, just not at this point.

 

The 7850 is only a few dollars more than the 7770 I was looking at, both from New Egg, and for the minor price difference, the 1TB makes sense over the 500GB.

 

Great food for thought, time to re-evaluate my options.

[Jason S. Global Moderator]

the games listed arent exactly going to stress the system; however, i believe the 7770 is still a bit underpowered.

 

also, i'd go w/ 2x4GB instead of 1x8GB.