Build a Gaming PC on Your Budget - Holiday Buyer's Guide 2014

Our second annual "Holiday Buyer's Guide" for systems at a variety of different price points is here!

[ProtoMario]

Alot of people may not like this, but if you are really strapped for cash and need to build a computer or even just get one, Ebay is a great place to look.

Buying some slightly used parts isn't bad at all, pending you know the seller is decent.

Just saying I got my second R9 270 MSI for 90 bucks on ebay, barely used.

[Bradeee]

"So guys I'm building a PC tell me if it's good.
CPU- i7 5960X
GPU- GTX 980 ti x2
Storage- WD Black 4tb x2
SSD- Samsung 850 EVO 2tb x2
Power Supply- Corsair RM1000
Case- Fractal design R5
Ram- 64gb DDR4"
I'm so tired of seeing comments like this.
IF YOU'RE BUILDING A PC, YOU SHOULD KNOW HOW GODLY THIS IS.

[haloshadowsnipe]

Substitute the R7 260X with a GTX 750 Ti and then I would agree with this. They are both around the same price, but the nvidia card is about 20% faster, uses less power, doesn't need a 6 pin (you can cheap out on your PSU), produces less heat, and overclocks MUCH further than the AMD card. Not to mention the superior driver support for games and exclusive features if you decide to use something like shadowplay, G-Sync, gamestream, automatic game settings, physx, etc.

[HQMatt]

By the way, I arrived at the 4690k two months ago by myself and am actually chuffed to bits that Linus picked the same CPU. Goes to show how much I appreciate the great advice LTT provides. 

[xxFortunadoxx]

Not really sure what you were thinking with the "game now" build. Drop 8GB of ram, switch to an i5 4690k, msi z97 gaming 3 motherboard, thermaltake commander case is cheaper and still meets your needs, cut the ssd down to 120gb, and cut the hdd down to 1tb.

Budget gaming pc's are all about pushing the most amount of money into the gpu, then the cpu. Why are you spending all this money on superfluous ram, case, and storage? The vital parts in your "game on" setup belong in your "game now" setup.

[TheGreatestGTAFanboy]

Just Game = Processor - Core i3 4150 Dual Core 3.5Ghz - $119
Case/PSU combo - Cooler Master Elite 350 with 500W PSU $45 (After 10$ Mail in rebate)
Motherboard - BIOSTAR H81MHV3 LGA 1150 - $39
RAM - Team Elite Plus 8GB 1600Mhz - $67
Graphics Card - Asus GTX 760 2GB - $189(After $20 Mail in rebate)
HDD - WD 1TB Blue - $55
Total - $517
In my opinion this is a much better option for a person who's on a budget. This is a much faster gaming rig with a better CPU and better GPU. The SSD doesn't really help in gaming.

[xxDrain]

You can actually buy two 970s for 660 USD?
Must feel good to be a US gamer. The price is about 35% higher where I live.

[offstagehotel]

Oh my, how the times have changed in the *Everything market* with computer hardware

[Eclipse]

Really looking forward to the 2015 update!

[unacomn]

16GB for the second setup is overkill.
And unless you use a really failbrowser, tabs won't eat up that much RAM.
Would have switched the RAM for an 8350.

Also, if 1 6TB cost more than twice a 3TB HDD, get 2x3TB HDDs. 

You don't seem to have a good grasp of "value". Then again, you have spent more on a camera setup than some people do on... cars. (Yes, I am jealous)

[jugobetrugo]

7years later - every 500$ pc can outrun the 2000$ version of 2014 xD

[Animurh]

The only thing I'll be buying this holiday will probably be an SSD and a mechanical keyboard if the price is right I'm waiting till the 390x drops which will be when I'll upgrade my GPU unless the 960 comes out before then. Bought a 1TB WD blue a month ago for $54 which performs like a typical HDD

[KainTheMoon]

It's interesting going back and looking at old buyers guides.

[HashtagPULSE]

GTX 970 on a 430Watt PSU? I have the 430M, 6300 and a 760, I'm upgrading to RM850 because the GPU performance is suffering and I believe it's due to the PSU. Even for the 760, it's recommended tho have at least 500Watt PSU

[Andarus]

Why are there Canadian Prices but not €? I bet here are way way more European viewers than Canadians...

[papayeezus]

Doesn't apply to Australia. they say sale, removes $4 off

[GTRDrifta]

My set up: MB=Asrock X79 Xtreme4, RAM=16 GB DDR3, CPU=Intek Core i7 4820k running baseclock with stock fan, GPU= Nvidia GeForce GTX780 by Galaxy running baseclock, PSU=not sure, Case is a Bitfenix Shonbi with window, Windows 8.1, SSD=Samsung (I believe) 120gb, Mass storage drive is a WD 3 TB hard drive, Peripherals=Logitech G510s keyboard, Logitech G700s mouse and Asus monitor (can't remember exact model)

[brumby]

That's a hell of a PC. The best bang for buck cpu possibly ever, the cheapest board that supports SLI thats still awesome, a blazing ssd, storage for decades, a tonne of ram, a slick case, fantastic powersupply, two of the greatest graphics cards, and a dvd burner because yolo.

[CarterDarter]

LINUS DONT RECOMMEND THE V300 SO MANY PEOPLE HAVE TOLD ME THAT KINGSTON HAVE STARTED USING VERY CHEAP COMPONENTS IN IT THAN BEFORE AND THE PERFORMANCE HAS HALVED.

[boktorinator]

Ah
The days where a GTX 750 cost $100 because it was new
Not because of a chip shortage and mining boom 8 years later.