So this is my passage into the realm of PC gaming, I am so invested in this move that I am actually selling my Xbox 360 in order to help pay for the build itself. I've researched everything for a couple of months and have it down right now to these two pcpartpicker lists. I've neglected to include peripherals because I have them at home, and a Windows OS since I will try to procure a free copy or a cheaper one at that from a reliable source.
So I'm stuck at the age old AMD vs Intel debate: As you guys will see, I've basically kept the builds the same except for the different CPUs and MoBos. I think I've found a great GPU in the GTX 750 and will definitely buy that combo ASAP. But here's what my expectations are in case you guys need more details
What I want to do with this PC:
1. Game with my friends, we play a very limited number of games i.e. League of Legends and Battlefield. I expect the 750 to be able to handle both easily, and to be able to handle a couple Battlefields down the road too.
2. I expect to do just regular computer stuff too, but expect that quick crispness that trumps a store bought PC from Best Buy.
3. I want this build to last me at least 2-3 years without becoming irrelevant before I have to upgrade. I'm currently in high school and will not be shelling out cash like this every year or so until I reach college.
4. To be honest, I'm not a 5-6 hours or more gamer a day. I'm what you would say a casual gamer, that wants things to work when I'm up to using them, that means for about 1-2 hours a day, the PC should kick butt at League or Battlefield and then for the other 2-3 hours, it should be this super quick and crisp work station. I would also like to do a little bit of amateur video editing but do not know which Windows program I'm gonna use since I only have experience with iMovie.
Both of those builds are kinda meh tbh. Your budget is incredibly restrictive and you neglected to include a hard drive with either.
1) The 750 is kinda crappy and at 1080p in BF with anything above low settings it is gonna struggle and games down the road it is gonna have even more trouble. The 750 Ti is more reasonable or a R7 265 or R9 270 but they are gonna be more.
3) 2-3 years for any of those rigs is gonna be difficult.
4) This isn't going to be an extreme rig or a super crisp workstation. You only included 4GB of RAM which really isn't enough especially for video editing. As for software Adobe Premier Pro is very good as is Sony Vegas and Lightworks. All are fairly intensive.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/YsHH8d
I went with the AMD. The i3 is a bit faster but it isn't worth the extra money on such an already tight budget.
Changed the RAM. You really need 8GBs.
Added a HDD. You forgot one.
Went with a 750 Ti. It is more but much much faster.
I ditched the optical drive. You don't need one.
To save money I'd ditch the WiFI adapter too. A wired connection is always better.
TBH you'd be much happier if you saved up a little more money. If you could come up with a bit more money ($550) you'd have a much faster system. You could get an Fx-6300 and an R9 270 as well as a nicer case.
Hi DerKrieger, thanks for the reply! I actually forgot to mention that my friend was going to give me an HDD of 500 GB and that's why I didn't include it. I'll look to try to bump up to the 750 Ti or the 270. I'm just being really economical, but have some room to play with. I think I can only afford 4 GB of RAM right now though.
If you really want to go with an I3 (which definitely IS enough for BF - got one myself), go with the 4130 ... the 4150 does not really justify the additional cost in any way.
Also, you should get at least 8gb of ram ... and for my i3 build I went with ballisitx sport .... plainly works, without any flaw (get the CL9 ones).
also an SSD would be great to get that "oooooomph"-feeling with your new rig and 120 gb should be more than enough, for what you're doing - also you can add up any storage over time.
The Graphics Card is very personal ..... I personally tinkered around with my GTX 650 and it's just freaking awesome (at least until it dies and burns down - Overclocked it to the extreme and I just expect it to work until I get an 290 for myself XD).
But for everyone that just wants to play on stock .... just go with the AMD's that were mentioned .... the 260x and the 265 are destroying everything in this price range that nvidia puts up - true story.
For AMD:
I'd just dump the Athlon Idea .... especially the FM2+ socket as a whole and rather go with a fx 6300 if you're on a tight budget ....
The FM2+'s are especially for people that want to go without a graphics card or get HSA for high end computing or run the iGPU in crossfire with some other budget graphics card ..... but I don't think that these chips are made for any serious gaming.
Also the Athlon is just way too weak in my opinion.
Don't get me wrong, I love the idea AMD has put up with their A 7X- Products but ... they just arent made for what you want to do in my opinion.
Well ... not everything 100% correct, but it's my opinion and experience with the A10-6/7x-chips.