Reddit mentions of Gigabyte R7 260X GDDR5-1GB 2xDVI/HDMI/DP OC Graphics Card (GV-R726XOC-1GD)

Here's a solid Intel option for this budget— basic motherboard, excellent CPU for current-gen games. It will have trouble if you start stacking too many intensive Minecraft mods, but otherwise it'll tear through the games you're asking about. The next card up from the R7 260X that people like to suggest is the GTX 750 Ti. It won't show much benefit— you'd really have to go all the way to a GTX 660 before it makes sense.

jbe1114's Entry Build

| part | link | | price |
|:-|:-|:-|:-|
|cpu|Intel Core i3-4130 3.4 3 FCLGA 1150 Processor BX80646I34130|amazon|$123.41|
|video card|Gigabyte R7 260X GDDR5-1GB 2xDVI/HDMI/DP OC Graphics Card (GV-R726XOC-1GD)|amazon|$119.99|
|ram|G.SKILL NS Series 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Desktop Memory Model F3-1333C9S-4GNS|newegg|$38.49|
|motherboard|MSI H81M-P33 LGA 1150 Intel H81 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard|newegg|$48.99|
|power supply|CORSAIR CX series CX430 430W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply|newegg|$44.99|
|case|GIGABYTE GZ-F5HEB Black SECC Steel / ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case|newegg|$29.99|
|hard drive|Western Digital WD10EZEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive, Blue - OEM|newegg|$59.99|
|disc drive|Lite-On Super AllWrite 24X SATA DVD+/-RW Dual Layer Drive - Bulk - IHAS124-04 (Black)|amazon|$20.60|
|operating system|Windows 8.1 System Builder OEM DVD 64-Bit|amazon|$99.28|
|||||
| |See current build price with shipping and tax| total | $585.73|
(Learn more and customize this build on KittenBoxes.com)


You can hop in there and play around with what some sensible upgrade/downgrade options are— I'd start with more RAM, which you could always do at any point down the line. Speaking of upgrades, this base can technically support upgrades all the way up to an i7 CPU and GTX 770 video card, though you'd be wise to upgrade the PSU as well at that point.

If you have any questions or feedback, I'll be around.

Do not waste your money on that GT 740. If it's a gaming PC your graphics card should be your main priority.

[Here's a R7 260x for the same price + better performance] (http://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-GDDR5-1GB-2xDVI-Graphics-GV-R726XOC-1GD/dp/B00H707TI2/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1405354905&sr=1-2&keywords=260x)

Hell I'd maybe even drop the optical drive and try and look for a R7 270

Also, yeah prices are definitely gonna vary if you live in sweden

See this is what I really like the Tom's Hardware Graphics Card Performance Hierarchy Chart for. According to their November numbers, you can get a AMD Radeon HD 7770 for $100 (the best at $100) or a AMD Radeon R7 260X for $120. Both cards are 3 tiers or above better than your current card which would make them viable replacements. A quick search on amazon shows this MSI AMD Radeon HD 7770 and this Gigabyte R7 260X.

Honestly, I would just buy the card you plan on using for your new build now. Yes I'm sure you would be bottle necked by other things, but come time to buy for the rest of the system, you will all ready have bought the card you are going to use.

Get the 260X because it'll be much better. It's only $20 more, and much less if you buy used. I'd recommend you get this one.

without getting a new motherboard:

CPU

Upgrade to A-10 Series: $150.00

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113359

This will be a ton better than what you have. However, it's worth mentioning, that this CPU is 1 tier slower than any modern intel i3 series CPU - and those run between 30-50 dollars cheaper than this, but you will need a new motherboard.

If you want a better AMD CPU than this, you'll have to upgrade your motherboard anyways, and with the dominance that intel has had in the last 5 years in CPU's, you are way better off going with a cheap i3 haswell, or even better, an i5 which is a monster for gaming.

i5 intel CPU. $180.00

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117302&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-na-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10446076&PID=6146996&SID=i6wj8kelid0035wt00053

Here's a very cheap, yet excellent motherboard that would go with the i5. $70.00

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157547

GPU

Lower end upgrades:

$120 r7 260

http://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-GDDR5-1GB-2xDVI-Graphics-GV-R726XOC-1GD/dp/B00H707TI2/?&tag=bom-tomshardware-20&ascsubtag=[site|thaus[cat|[art|[pid|B00H707TI2[tid|14255830839495497[bbc|LEPRIX

$140 Nvidia 750 ti

http://www.amazon.com/Zotac-NVIDIA-GeForce-PCI-Express-ZT-70601-10M/dp/B00IFZ547Q/?&tag=bom-tomshardware-20&ascsubtag=[site|thaus[cat|[art|[pid|B00IFZ547Q[tid|14255830864215193[bbc|LEPRIX

With either one of these, you could probably mod skyrim at 1020x600 to 1400x800 resolutions with 512k and 1k textures on low/medium settings.

Midrange Upgrades

ATI r9 280x $250.00

http://www.amazon.com/XFX-RADEON-1000MHz-Graphics-R9-280X-TDFD/dp/B00FSC5N66?SubscriptionId=AKIAIEF7KZG4SSIJ7QQA&tag=toms_shopping_rev-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B00FSC5N66&ascsubtag=[site|thaus[cat|[art|[pid|B00FSC5N66[tid|14255832819923788[bbc|LEPRIX

With this card (and a cpu upgrade) you could mod up skyrim with an ENB at 1440 x 800 to 1920 x 1080 resolutions, on middle to high settings, with 1k textures, potentially some 2k textures.

upper range upgrades

Nvidia 970 $340.00

Ati r9 290x $340.00

http://www.amazon.com/Zotac-GeForce-DisplayPort-Graphics-ZT-90101-10P/dp/B00NNXVPS2/?&tag=bom-tomshardware-20&ascsubtag=[site|thaus[cat|[art|[pid|B00NNXVPS2[tid|1425583462529244[bbc|LEPRIX

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HJOXUKC/?tag=bom_tomshardware-20&ascsubtag=[site|thaus[cat|[art|[pid|B00HJOXUKC[tid|14255834657447771[bbc|LEPRIX

With either of these, you can run and mod skyrim at 1920 x1080 and sometimes above resolutions, with enb and 2k and 4k textures, at ultra settings (you of course need a cpu upgrade, probably requiring a i5 intel cpu).

Would a 260x do it? all i really want is medium and over 60 fps, i dont play any more graphically heavy games like bf4. Wildstar, LoL and FIFA it is.

www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-GDDR5-1GB-2xDVI-Graphics-GV-R726XOC-1GD/dp/B00H707TI2?


http://gpuboss.com/gpus/Radeon-HD-6670-vs-GIGABYTE-Radeon-R7-260X

will a gigabyte r7 260x link fit into the bitfenix prodigy m case? link

Thank you for this! Not ignoring you at all and I've actually had about 3 other people suggest I switch to the R9 270. Only thing is my budget is very tight and right at $600. I may have to go with the 260x. You linked to a 250 from amazon. Did you mean this?