So after some help from talgaby and bytebyster I figured out my PC has a problem that I realized (dying PSU) and one I didn't (dying mobo). So it's time to move on from this AMD Athlon 64 X2 7750 Kuma 2.7GHz and buy a new PC...yay? I'm building it myself since buying pre-built is for the womenfolk (that's a joke people!). Since I haven't built myself one since 2009 and haven't even helped out with one for a couple years I could use a hand. For some reason we don't have a general build a PC topic here which surprises me, there's a really wide variety of users here, from PC dummies to geniuses and everyone in between which I think would result in a wide variety of opinions. So let's make this a build a PC topic, you know...after we get me one. Or maybe we'll get me set up and I'm create a new topic, stick some of the general bits we all agree on in it and use that as the Official Unofficial SG Build a PC Topic.

So budget is $600 or so, I'd prefer less (of course) but I can stretch to more. I want something I can upgrade a here and there for the next couple years. I'd prefer to buy from Best Buy (have the credit there), Newegg (I have Newegg premier (free for 3 months)) or Amazon. I hate the idea of buying from a bunch of different sites, but I'm open to it. And no Microcenter close (over 2 hour and a half hour drive :( No Fry's either (even further :(

So here's where I am, I NEED a new PC now. From now until May my work keeps my gaming pretty limited. I'll hit a little TF2 for stress relief and that's about it. So right now I don't see putting much money into a video card when it will just be collecting dust for at least four months (I mean TF2 can run on anything, so I don't need much). So I'll use the GeForce GT 430 (bought new for $14.50 when my previous card died a year or two ago). No interest in most recent AAA games, just Arkham Knight and I may want Mafia III, but nothing else interests me. So I don't need some powerhouse 4k setup. What I need is a processor, proc cooler, motherboard, ram, PSU and case. I should decide between AMD and Intel first. I'm leaning towards AMD now, lower price and acceptable performance. I'll have to decide the mobo after I settle on a CPU but I'm leaning towards an AM3+ socket. For the PSU I'll get a good 600 to 750 watt one (possibly CORSAIR AX series AX760). I was going to get the Corsair Vengeance Series C70 case but the Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO I want might not fit in there. So I'll have to rethink either the case or the cooler. Last time I bought a PC the fan was parallel to the motherboard! Things have really changed...I can get a motherboard with a dehumidifier? I thought that was a joke, like a Keurig in a GE Refrigerator (yep, that's a thing too).

I guess that is kind of a collection of ideas and a bit scattershot. Any help would be appreciated, I'm the kind of person that does tons of research before a purchase and I don't have time to do that...frankly it's making me kind of nervous. AND whoever gets closest to what I actually buy gets a Blockstorm key (or something else if you already have/don't want it). Since you took the time to read this I'll direct you to my Stargazer and Gunpoint giveaways, maybe you'll win. You can check out my Birthday/Noir topic maybe we can get some Noir discussion going, or at least I can tell you about some great Noir movies/games/comics...I may be behind on PCs but Noir I'm always up on :D Now I'm off to bed, because I just realized it's 11:30 and I gotta be up and out the door in 5 hours. I expect all you lovely guys and gals to have a few ideas ready for me by the time I get up! :D !

8 years ago*

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Check out Logical Increments for a quick build guide on a given budget.

8 years ago
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Not a bad site, I'll have to give it a better look over, thanks!

8 years ago
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I'm not too good in building a PC since I had to ask my friend's help for it as well but this thread deserves a bump. Hopefully someone with more experience will be able to help you ^^

8 years ago
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Thanks for the bump!

8 years ago
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Hi, i am from a euro zone, so it's hard to get something togetherin dollars, other then newegg and amazon i don't know any other hardware stores from the US. I see youallso added BestBuy..

One thing of advice i can give you is that you don't invest too much in a GFX card right away. AMD and Nvidia are switching from 28 nm to 14 nm this will give a big performance increase on card released in the 2nd quarter of this year. They have been producting cards on 28 nm since 2011 and there hasn't been a huge performance jump yet.

Corsair PSU's are great.

Hopefully other people will reply aswell.

8 years ago
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That's good to know. I figured waiting would be better just budget wise, but since new cards are coming out it's actually a good idea to wait...thanks for the info!

I was hoping Corsairs were still quality, the PSU I have now is a 650w Corsair and it lasted five years!

8 years ago
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Since DX12 cards are out of the question, you may try, based on brand preference, an AMD FX 8150, Intel Core i5 4460, and NVidia GTX 750 Ti 2 GB or an AMD R9 380 4 GB. Get a 500 W PSU with active PFC if you choose AMD, 450 W if NVidia. For nice budget mobos, MSI and ASRock has decent options.

If you think you can have more money on a PC later, you may also consider the absolute budget build: an ASRock N3700-ITX mobo with NVidia GTX 650 or 750 and a cheap case. Or an AMD A8 or A10 APU with some cheap mobo. It can be in the 380-450 USD range and play some games in lowest setting at 720p (or better, as your mentioned TF2 isn't really demanding and a newer-generation Intel HD chip can play it nice and smooth).

8 years ago
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I was thinking the AMD FX-8320 Vishera (seems to be the same price as the 8150) but now I'm leaning more towards an Intel, the 4460 looks like a good choice. But I might go with a 6400, it has a slower clock speed but it's a Skylake. So I have to decide if I want the newer chipset. The motherboards just seem more...modern I'd say is the word. I think getting an Intel gives me more room to upgrade in the future.

I'll keep my GeForce GT 430 for now and grab one when the next bunch comes out. That leaves me in a pretty good place with $600 for a cpu, cooler, mobo, ram, case and psu. I'd say spending less jsut puts me with an old PC, and if I'm upgrading I should be going for at least recent.

8 years ago
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