Cheap gaming build

Barron2110

Barron2110

Barron2110

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Joined
27 Mar 2014
Posts
213
Location
Newcastle Upon Tyne
Hi guys I'm trying to help my best mate build a new PC for gaming but on cheap as possible budget. But he has some specifics to follow and I know the AMD route would probably be best for his cash.

He is currently running 3 monitor display so needs a decent GFX card to run all 3 screens at a good resolution like 5040 x 1080. He has a HDD and Windows 7.1. So it would really just be Mobo, CPU, ram, GfX and a cooler. Possibly a SSD / water cooled depending on how you guys can work it. He's not overly fussed about overclocking the machine but if it's a viable option I think he'd give it a go. Oh and he also has a case to fit it all into.

I was looking at:
AMD FX 8350 epic bundle. Includes amd 8gb 2133mhz, Superflower 650w, gigabyte 990fxa - £372.91
MSI radeon r9 285 - £185.99
Raijintek Themis Direct contact CPU cooler - £19.99

Total - £588.49

I'm not to clued up on the whole amd sockets etc so I just went for a bundle to simplify things a little lol. Sorry for no basket link as I'm currently on the iPad at the minute.

But like I said. Cheap as possible, fast as possible, best proformance on 3 monitors as possible. Oh and if it's quiet that would be a bonus too lol.

Thanks guys
 
Was thinking about it lasting for him. And wasnt sure about the proformance difference between the 285 and the 290. Both of these will support 3 monitors with decent displays i would have thought?
 
280X is faster then the 285 across the board for games, the 280 is slightly slower or the same but a good amount cheaper, the 290 is the fastest of the bunch.

http://anandtech.com/bench/product/1041?vs=1333

http://anandtech.com/bench/product/1068?vs=1333

All these cards should run 3 monitors, but gaming on 3 monitors is hard for most GPUS, the 290 should be ok.

What is your friends budget, I think something like this should game on 3 monitors better, if he has a bit more money I would recommend a better motherboard, bigger PSU so he can grab a 2nd 290 down the line. Also what case does he have?

YOUR BASKET
1 x Asus Radeon R9 290 DirectCU II OC 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £229.99
1 x Intel Core i5-4690K 3.50GHz (Devil's Canyon) Socket LGA1150 Processor - OEM £185.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan GOLD 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-17100C11 2133MHz Dual Channel Kit (TLYED38G2133HC11ADC01) £65.99
1 x Gigabyte Z97P-D3 Intel Z97 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £61.99
1 x SuperFlower Golden Green HX 550W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black £59.99
1 x Raijintek Themis Black Heatpipe CPU Cooler PWM - 120mm £19.99
Total : £633.54 (includes shipping : £8.00).

 
Last edited:
Awesome for now he just wants to upgrade his gfx card and a cooler. But hes running a Coolmaster GX 650W PSU which has the relevent connectors for the 290 but only thing that worries me is it says requires a 600w psu or higher.

Will this put too much strain on his psu? If he was just to get gfx for now
 
The 600W rating is to accommodate weaker cheaper budget PSUs.

A solid 550W from a well respected manufacturer will be enough.
 
Fallen god said:
Thats great, if you drop the PSU from the price then its a decent amount.
Click to expand...

Yeah definitely the plan mate. He's got a decent PSU now and he's ordered a 290 gfx card and a new cooler which he was desperate for. Least now he can upgrade a little bit at a time.

He already has 16gb 1333mhz Cosair xms ram in but I'm not sure how good that would be in a newer build as that seems a low rate compared to say the 2400mhz ones. But if he could keep that in a new build he will literally only need a decent CPU and Mobo which means he could actually go the Intel route if he saves a little, having split the cost.
 
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