I am planning to build a budget gaming pc this June. Not worth more than $600.
Here's the configuration: http://www.flipkart.com/wishlist/navking.venkat7-7098

[$215] CPU: Intel i5 3470 3.2 GHz
[$78] GPU: ZOTAC NVidia GEforce GT630 Synergy edition (2GB)
[$86] HDD: Seagate Barracuda 1TB
[$89] Mobo: Gigabyte GA-B75M-D3H
[$92] RAM: Corsair Vengeance 4GB x 2 (8GB total)
[$20] ODD: Samsung SH-224BB DVD Burner Internal Optical Drive
[$63] PSU: Corsair VS550 550 watt
[$39]Cab: Cooler Master Elite 310 (blue)

Q1. Will each component be compatible with the others?

Q2. I saw that i5 has technologies like vPro technology but the motherboard does not have. Will that be a liability for me or will those technologies work?

Q3. Would there be any bottleneck issues in this configuration?

Q4. The above configuration is coming out to be $680!!! I want to reduce the cost to like $600 as I need to buy a monitor too which itself will be around $100. Where should I cut the cost?

Q5. Will this configuration be future proof, for like, 5 years - until I graduate from college?

Q6. Is AMD better than Intel for gaming? Is ATI Radeon better than Nvidia for gaming?

Thanks to everyone in advance!

Recommended Answers

All 8 Replies

This would be a good configuration, and a 5-6 year life-span is not unreasonable. However, I would change the Seagate 1TB disc for a Western-Digital or Samsung drive. My experience with the Seagate Barracuda drives in the 1TB and higher capacity range is that they run hot, and hence have reliability problems. I used to get them exclusively, but have switched over the past couple of years because of this.

I had my son build me a game computer about a year ago when Diablo III was released, it cost about twice what you posted. One of the components was a Gigabyte motherboard, it lasted about 6 months before components started going out. Eventually I replaced it with a Asus motherboard.

Where did you get the prices for those components? Newegg seems to be reasonable

Actually I live in India. I got it from flipkart.com, the leading online shopper website in India I should say. If I buy it from newegg, I'll have those shipping costs and duties too, right? Also, I won't have the cash on delivery and EMI option just in case I run out of budget. And servicing problems etc. So I'll buy it from here. But the main point is, what configuration would suit best?

I recommend the 'i5 2500k' instead of your processor. It offers more power than yours.

OK. going away from intel, I see that AMD FX6100 seems to be more efficient at that budget. If I combine AMD FX6100 with ZOTAC Geforce GT630 synergy edition 2GB graphics card, HOW will that be?

I am currently running the AMD FX 6100 and ATI 7770, it will run far cry 3(Highest settings), dishonored(Highest settings), assassins creed 3(Medium settings) without a problem. Im not sure about nvidea cards to be honest.

I was thinking to go with AMD again (budget issue). Will GDDR5 gfx card run on this mobo MSI MSI 970A-G46 ?

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.