I have recently decided NOT to waste my money on clothes or yet another pair of Jordans and instead to build a budget gaming PC. My budget is a mere $380 (estimated) and I need an OS (that might be covered). I primarily play CS:GO and also occasionally play Minecraft, CS 1.6, Half-Life 1, and Team Fortress 2.
These are not demanding games (I know) but for now it is the bulk of my gaming on PC, as I still play console.
I am planning on using the Athlon X4 860K, but I am unsure which GPU to pair it with. Right now on Newegg a PowerColor R9 270 is a mere $100, but PowerColor as I hear isn't very reputable. On the other hand an XFX R7 250X is going for around $120 (IIRC) and a GTX 750 Ti runs me $130.
Which is the best deal, or is there something better? I plan on gaming at 1080p and I'm trying to do all of my shopping on Newegg. I don't think the cards above $100 will be affordable, but they definitely could be.
If you go Linux that saves you a hudred bucks of the bat. CSGO HL2 are on Linux. I did install Minecreaft on Mint so it can be done. I have all amd in my house but for my Linux build I am going with an Invdea card, Scored a gtx 770 for 135. It is a refurb reference card that is open box to boot but I am hoping the stock 8320e cpu cooler fan will drown out the noise from the card:) Sometimes Best buy has great deals, Got an XFX R7 250 ddr3 for 69 free shipping from Best Buy with free shipping, Month later Amazon had it for 59:). I have two A10 systems, hence the 250 ddr3. On AMD cpu/mb combos I have yet to see anyone beat Microcenter. No 860k combos but my 8320e/970 pro3 cost 125 with a 15 buck mail in rebate(hate those). Newegg usually beats them on video cards and PSU's. Oh and the MC combos are instore only:(. One guy said he showed Best Buy the MC website and they pprice matched it. 380 you can have a kick ass system. 130 is a good price on the TI. I know my 770 is a total GAMBLE but what the heck. Dude they literally handed me an old box with just the card and NOTHING else. Whoever returned it must have been such a jerk they just wanted him outta there! The cases you can get for 20 to 30 bucks are light years ahead of what we had 20 years ago. Hope this helps. I told my wife this is an HTPC cause the Roku is dying:) Also by no means discount an intel cpu IMHO. With Haswell I 3's and their ddr3 MB's are seeing some great discounts thanks to skylake and their single core IPC advantage will greatly benefit the games you listed and may be the better choice.
I am personally building a mini ITX system for the LanSyndicate event with the Athlon x4 860K. I decided not to get the A10-7870K because I will be using an old leftover GTX 670. If I was in your situation I might use that APU and slap a card in there when you get some more money.