I am looking to build a pc for pretty much everything-video editing, music/photo storage, light gaming, exc. I only have $700 to spend on this, however. That includes a copy of windows. I would like to have an ssd to put the os on, but if needed, I can just stick with a hard drive and get the ssd in the future. I have always used intel/nvidia machines, but I would be willing to consider amd. I also would consider going amd for the graphics card, but my games work better with nvidia, so I prefer them. Also, I don't know if this could fit into the budget, but I am really digging the fractal r4 as the case. Any suggestions?
honestly at that price i would go with amd, processor at least, the benefits from getting the intel rig wont be enough that you would need to spend the extra $100-200 on the system, spend that money on better ram, better gpu. you'll be better off.
Here is what I'd consider for your budget and needs/wants:
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/12nTN
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/12nTN/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/12nTN/benchmarks/
CPU: AMD FX-6350 3.9GHz 6-Core Processor ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($95.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($63.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($58.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card ($179.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($90.91 @ Amazon)
Total: $699.84
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-02 22:54 EDT-0400)
* CPU best performance for the $
* Mobo supports front USB 3.0 ports for the case (which I've selected a case that supports this)
* RAM good and solid at 1.5v and 1600 mHz speed w/CAS 9 timings, also has LOW PROFILE heat spreaders, so you can add just about any aftermarket CPU HSF.
* GPU is the best Nvidia you can get for this budget.
* Case is one of the best built ones in this budget. It also has 2 x front USB 3.0 ports.
* PSU is good and solid w/80 PLUS Bronze Certification.
That looks great, however I have one question. How hard will the cable management be with a non-modular psu like the one listed?
you can buy the modular vershon of that psu for a extra $10 (Corsair CX500M)
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-power-supply-cx500m Its a little bit more with the rebates you get with the non-modular one
Thats because the cx500 is on sale (normal is $59) cx500m useualy $10 more
I know, I was just pointing that out
[url=http://pcpartpicker.com/p/12IEC]PCPartPicker part list[/url] / [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/p/12IEC/by_merchant/]Price breakdown by merchant[/url] / [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/p/12IEC/benchmarks/]Benchmarks[/url]
[b]CPU:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/amd-cpu-fd6350frhkbox]AMD FX-6350 3.9GHz 6-Core Processor[/url] ($129.99 @ Newegg)
[b]Motherboard:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asrock-motherboard-970extreme4]ASRock 970 EXTREME4 ATX AM3+ Motherboard[/url] ($99.99 @ Amazon)
[b]Memory:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-memory-cml8gx3m2a1600c9b]Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory[/url] ($63.99 @ NCIX US)
[b]Storage:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/western-digital-internal-hard-drive-wd10ezex]Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive[/url] ($58.99 @ NCIX US)
[b]Video Card:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-video-card-02gp42660kr]EVGA GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card[/url] ($179.99 @ NCIX US)
[b]Case:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-case-200r]Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case[/url] ($49.99 @ Newegg)
[b]Power Supply:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-power-supply-cx500]Corsair Builder 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply[/url] ($29.99 @ Newegg)
[b]Operating System:[/b] [url=http://pcpartpicker.com/part/microsoft-os-gfc02050]Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit)[/url] ($89.94 @ Outlet PC)
[b]Total:[/b] $702.87
[i](Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)[/i]
[i](Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-03 22:12 EDT-0400)[/i]
Here, I spend a few dollars to get a board that can support the 2-way SLI the 660 supports. Is this fine?
Yeah the build looks good. I'll post it below so others can see it a bit better (I'm still getting used to this type of forum format myself):
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/12IEC
- CPU: AMD FX-6350 3.9GHz 6-Core Processor ($129.99 @ Newegg)
- Motherboard: ASRock 970 EXTREME4 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($99.99 @ Amazon)
- Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($63.99 @ NCIX US)
- Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($58.99 @ NCIX US)
- Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card ($179.99 @ NCIX US)
- Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
- Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($29.99 @ Newegg)
- Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($90.91 @ Amazon)
- Total: $703.84
I see what I did. I'm used to the format of toms hardware, so I figured it worked the same here.
I had the same issues, since I have posted on Tom's for over 6-7 years, maybe longer IDK anymore :)
would 500W be enough power? just wondering, I am basing a build off some of these parts and wanted to make sure i didnt have to upgrade to 600W.
500w is just fine for a GTX 660, you could use the 430w Corsair CX PSU if you like, but you wouldn't have much upgrade path or OC'ing would be out of the options. A quality 500-550w PSU would be plenty for this build, so I wouldn't worry about too much.
thanks man, just one more question though. Would it be better if i used an amd graphics card considering the cpu is amd?
You can use either GPU that you want. The AMD GPU's are generally cheaper for the performance that you get. It just depends on the day, because of the deals that are always changing.