Newbie Builder

Hello. This is my first post so I hope I dont screw up. Building my first CPU and OC for the 1st time. Just bought the combo deal from M-Center a couple days ago. Now need the rest of the parts. Haha Not sure what type of GPU I should get

1) What are your system specifications? Give us full specs:

CPU = Intel G328
Motherboard = MSI Z97 PC Mate Socket LGA 1150 ATX Intel Motherboard
RAM = None yet (If there are suggestions for this it'd be much obliged)
PSU = None yet (If there are suggestions for this it'd be much obliged)
Current Video Card = None yet
Storage: Samsung EVO SSD
OS: Win 8.1

2) What is your budget? $130-140 is my max
3) For how long are you planning to have this new card? Forever hopefully?
4) What will the new Video Card be used for? Moderate gaming. Watch blu-ray, HD vids. I really just want to play Battlefield in ultra settings. Looks amazing every time I watch youtube videos.

Thanks

PSU wise, for price there's rarely anything better than a Corsair builder series CX 430w. It's not a fantastic PSU, but it's good enough.

If you want high quality/efficiency the Seasonic G series units are very good.

GPU wise, used is going to be your best bet at the $140 range I think.
Battlefield wise, I don't think Ultra is going to happen on your budget unless you're playing very low res. I'm not positive on that as I don't know which battlefield and I've only used/messed with BF3.

RAM wise, get something 1600 or 1833, I would get at least 8GB if you can afford it. 4GB will work, but modern stuff flies past that regularly for me (my firefox alone is eating 1.2GB right now, I'm using 5GB total).

I'm hoping that the $140 is just for the GPU, if that's for GPU/PSU/RAM it's going to be an awfully slow GPU.

Bobnova said:

PSU wise, for price there's rarely anything better than a Corsair builder series CX 430w. It's not a fantastic PSU, but it's good enough.

If you want high quality/efficiency the Seasonic G series units are very good.

GPU wise, used is going to be your best bet at the $140 range I think.
Battlefield wise, I don't think Ultra is going to happen on your budget unless you're playing very low res. I'm not positive on that as I don't know which battlefield and I've only used/messed with BF3.

RAM wise, get something 1600 or 1833, I would get at least 8GB if you can afford it. 4GB will work, but modern stuff flies past that regularly for me (my firefox alone is eating 1.2GB right now, I'm using 5GB total).

I'm hoping that the $140 is just for the GPU, if that's for GPU/PSU/RAM it's going to be an awfully slow GPU.

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Can you even get a new decent current gen GPU if it's $140 total? A CX430 is ~$50 but frequently drops to $30-$40, 4GB RAM is $40-$50 (and I agree, a CX430, while not a great PSU, tends to be my go-to cheap low wattage supply). Best case you spend $70 on PSU and RAM, leaving $70 for GPU. That pretty much limits you to an R7 240 if you want to keep it new and current gen, and there's no way a 240 is going to play Battlefield on Ultra unless you mean one of the older BF games.

Even if it's $140 just for the graphics card, it'll be hard to find one that can do Battlefield at higher settings unless you're playing at a really low resolution (such as 720p).

Sorry for the confusion. I meant $140 for a GPU alone. But it seems that isn't enough these days. What about the 180-200 range if I wanted to play in high settings?

I may hold off on the GPU for the time being until I find a slickdeal on one. Any ideas on what I should keep on eye on?

Picked up a ram and case the other say. Updated my sig.

Still not sure how big I should go with a PSU though. Would the Seasonic G-Series 550w be enough if I wanted to OC and get a solid GPU?

Thanks for the help

What screen resolutions do you plan on playing at?

Still not sure how big I should go with a PSU though. Would the Seasonic G-Series 550w be enough if I wanted to OC and get a solid GPU?

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Yes.

It also depends upon your screen resolution. $140-200 card can easily play any game at playable settings at 720p.

Battlefield at Ultra will be a stretch for anything less than a GTX 770 or an R9 280X.

That said, for your budget, look at a 750Ti. It should run 60FPS on High at 1080p in BF4.

ATMINSIDE said:

Battlefield at Ultra will be a stretch for anything less than a GTX 770 or an R9 280X.

That said, for your budget, look at a 750Ti. It should run 60FPS on High at 1080p in BF4.

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Thanks for the input. Is the EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti Gaming Graphics Card - 2GB GDDR5, Superclocked - 02G-P4-3753-KR a solid one? Or should I just wait until a 760 goes on sale? I was thinking about just waiting until Black Friday or Cyber Monday deals pop up...

I plan on playing games on 1080p

Thanks again

I was thinking about just waiting until Black Friday or Cyber Monday deals pop up...

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If you're willing to wait you should be able to find some deals.

I honestly doubt you'll see a GTX 760 in your price range until at least Q2'15.

The 750Ti is an awesome card, it'll do what you need