# [SOLVED] PC building for moderate gaming



## Akshay Dwivedi (Sep 26, 2010)

I wanted to build a PC for gaming on moderate-low settings. It doesn't have to be at 1080p or anything. I've decided to go for the following CPU and Mobo:

1. Mobo: Buy MSI B85M-G43 Motherboard Online at Best Prices In India | Flipkart.com

Alternatively, I could go for this mobo: Buy Gigabyte GA-B85-D3H Motherboard Online at Best Prices In India | Flipkart.com because the previous one has only one PCI slot. 

2. CPU: Buy Intel 3 GHz LGA 1150 4430 i5 4th Generation Processor Online at Best Prices In India | Flipkart.com

I've heard that Intel HD Graphics 4600 are decent and should allow me to play modern games at low if not moderate settings. However, the above rig would only be temporary, and once I save enough I'll be buying a proper GPU.

I just need 3 more answers: 
1. Are there any anomalies or features that might cause problems in this mobo-CPU combination?
2. Which PSU should I go for? 
3. How much and which RAM should I get?


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## JMPC (Jan 15, 2011)

*Re: PC building for moderate gaming*

The motherboard and CPU will work fine together. 

The power supply will be dependent on the GPU you're planning on getting. Go for a high quality unit that is at least 600W and you can pretty much use any mid-range GPU.

4GB - 8GB of ram is recommended. For gaming I find 4GB is enough.


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

*Re: PC building for moderate gaming*

I'd recommend the Gigabyte board over the MSI unit.

Also have you check out our build guide? It's filled with many different builds all at different prices:

http://www.techsupportforum.com/forums/f255/tsf-hardware-teams-recommended-builds-2014-a-668661.html


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## Akshay Dwivedi (Sep 26, 2010)

*Re: PC building for moderate gaming*

Hi. Thanks for replying guys.

Another option has presented itself. Keeping in mind that I'll be buying a GPU at some point in the future, should I go for the CPU-Mobo combo I've mentioned above or an AMD A8-6600K processor and an FM2 socket motherboard? Like I said moderate gaming is the objective. Please let me know.


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

*Re: PC building for moderate gaming*

That combo will do fine for now until you have the funds for a GPU.


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## Akshay Dwivedi (Sep 26, 2010)

*Re: PC building for moderate gaming*

Thanks. I'll be going for the Intel-Gigabyte combo. Btw, is one PCI express slot enough or do I require more?


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

*Re: PC building for moderate gaming*

One should be more than enough. Unless you want to run expansion cards.


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## Akshay Dwivedi (Sep 26, 2010)

*Re: PC building for moderate gaming*

Hey. I was just comparing both CPUs

Intel Core i5 4430 vs AMD A8 6600K

and it seems that Intel i5 is the winner despite AMD being the better processor on paper. Can you confirm if these comparisons are valid and accurate?


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## Akshay Dwivedi (Sep 26, 2010)

*Re: PC building for moderate gaming*

I just spoke to my local computer shop and he's saying I don't need a PSU unless until I buy a GPU. He says that the processor and SMPS fan should suffice.


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

*Re: PC building for moderate gaming*



Akshay Dwivedi said:


> Hey. I was just comparing both CPUs
> 
> Intel Core i5 4430 vs AMD A8 6600K
> 
> and it seems that Intel i5 is the winner despite AMD being the better processor on paper. Can you confirm if these comparisons are valid and accurate?


It won't matter which PSU you go for. They will both provide you with enough power for your needs.



Akshay Dwivedi said:


> I just spoke to my local computer shop and he's saying I don't need a PSU unless until I buy a GPU. He says that the processor and SMPS fan should suffice.


Not sure why he said you would not need a PSU? How else would you get power to the PC? :grin:

You want a 600W Seasonic or XFX PSU since you have plans for a GPU.


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## Akshay Dwivedi (Sep 26, 2010)

*Re: PC building for moderate gaming*

Btw, I tried running Star Wars: The Old Republic on my current laptop and when I clicked 'Play' it said that it was incompatible.

I have Intel HD Graphics. Sadly, the game seems to only be taking the 'dedicated' memory into consideration and not the shared memory. Is there a way to force the game to take the shared memory into account as well?

My second question is, if I go for the Intel i5 4440 processor, it has Intel HD 4600 Graphics. How do I know if this is good enough to run the game? How do I find out how much dedicated memory the 4600 graphics has? I wouldn't want a repeat of this incident to occur once I've made the purchase.


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

*Re: PC building for moderate gaming*

The Intel HD Graphics unit is not designed for heavy gamers. You can certainly play games using the HD Graphics, but it won't be as good as a CPU + GPU combo.

I'm sure if you look online for a work around for your game, there is one.


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## Akshay Dwivedi (Sep 26, 2010)

*Re: PC building for moderate gaming*

But is there a way to determine the base dedicated memory of these internal graphics cards? For example, the Intel HD 4600 may be capable of providing moderate gaming experience but if its dedicated memory is stated as 128 MB, then it won't run because games will take only its dedicated memory into account and not the shared memory. So even if I have 8 GB of RAM, it wouldn't be of any use.

What makes it worse is that my BIOS does not allow me to make changes to the DMVT/dedicated memory values. Is there any other alternative? Thanks.


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

*Re: PC building for moderate gaming*

Over 4GB of memory in your system will allow the Intel Graphics unit to run at 1692 MB of video memory.


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## Akshay Dwivedi (Sep 26, 2010)

*Re: PC building for moderate gaming*

But if we apply that logic to my current laptop. Here's what my Dxdiag says:

Display memory: 1060 MB
Dedicated memory: 128 MB
Shared memory: 932 MB

Judging by the above values, me laptop *should* be able to play the game, correct? But instead, I get a C7 incompatibility error.

Here's another person having a similar issue: 
STAR WARS: The Old Republic - Intel (HD) Graphics Problems


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

*Re: PC building for moderate gaming*

That's an issue for a new thread.

Some games like Star Wars use a lot of physic applications, so what they really want is PhsX from a Nvidia card.


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## Akshay Dwivedi (Sep 26, 2010)

*Re: PC building for moderate gaming*

I have started a new thread here: http://www.techsupportforum.com/for...incompatibility-error-please-help-906898.html

But getting back to the topic:

I think I might as well go for a proper GPU. Thoughts on this rig?

Intel i3 4130
Gigabyte GA B85M-D3H
MSI GeForce GTX 750 TI
8 GB RAM
600W SMPS


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

*Re: PC building for moderate gaming*

Can you push your budget for the i5?

Stick with a XFX or Seasonic branded PSU at 550Ws. No reason for 600Ws with a 750 Ti.


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## Akshay Dwivedi (Sep 26, 2010)

*Re: PC building for moderate gaming*

Nope can't go for the i5. Thought my current 450W SMPS would do but looks like I'll be needing a 550W one...


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

*Re: PC building for moderate gaming*

Well, you should be fine on medium settings for gaming then with that build.


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## Akshay Dwivedi (Sep 26, 2010)

*Re: PC building for moderate gaming*

Alright. Thank you


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

*Re: PC building for moderate gaming*

Any time! :smile:


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## Akshay Dwivedi (Sep 26, 2010)

Haven't ordered this PC yet. Was just looking at this rig's compatibility and found on game-debate.com that it'll fail to run Assassin's Creed: Unity and Watch Dogs. Would you still recommend it?


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

Those websites are fairly basic in their replies, however, they are worried about the i3 you have chosen. The GTX 750 Ti isn't the most top of the line, but still good enough for medium gaming.

If you can push the budget to the i5, you'd be golden.


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## Akshay Dwivedi (Sep 26, 2010)

Which generation/models of i5 would you suggest?


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

Something like this would do:

Intel Core i5-4430 Haswell Quad-Core 3.0GHz LGA 1150 84W Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics BX80646I54430 - Newegg.com


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## Akshay Dwivedi (Sep 26, 2010)

Alright, I won't be able to buy that at the moment. But I take it this rig is open to upgrades in the future? It's not a dead end by any means, is it?

On a different note, I hope AC:Unity isn't as poorly optimized for PC as Watch Dogs was. I'm really looking forward to it.


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

Depends how far in the future, but it should be good for a while.

I haven't heard much about AC, you may want to wait for the release then read the forums to see if there are any complaints.


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## worldchamp (Oct 19, 2012)

Akshay bhai, are you still there?
Let me know if you're still interested in building a new moderate gaming pc.
I might help you.


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## Akshay Dwivedi (Sep 26, 2010)

Yes, worldchamp, I still am interested


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## worldchamp (Oct 19, 2012)

Ok. First of all, tell me what's your budget in INR.
Secondly, I believe you want just moderate gaming i.e., just want to run most of the titles not at ultra but at a pretty acceptable (actually good) quality. So, give me a list of few games that you surely want to run.


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## Akshay Dwivedi (Sep 26, 2010)

These specs are good enough to play most games but it won't be able to run AC: Unity.

Hardware:

Intel core i3-4150
Gigabyte GA-B85-D3H motherboard
MSI GTX GeForce 750 Ti
8 GB RAM
500 GB HDD

My budget is 30-32k INR


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## worldchamp (Oct 19, 2012)

Have you actually tried it? Because it's going to run perfectly on that rig.
I assume you must have checked it through some website but the thing is, such system requirements aren't hard-bound. In my opinion you should just go for it without any hesitation as, like me, you want good quality gameplay (I don't go for ultra high settings). There are a few simple things that can be done without hindering the performance, "beauty" and frame-rate like turning shadow quality to low or normal, changing resolution from 1440x900 or 1080p to a lesser one, turning AA filtering from x16 to x4. Such things are almost negligible and unnoticeable. I hope by the graphic card you mentioned you mean MSI GeForce GTX 750Ti 2 GB GDDR5 Graphics Card which is a great choice. Also check the compatibility of the motherboard if you haven't already, adn I mean every detail like how much maximum RAM clock speed it can support etc. Moreover, RAM is simply not about GB but also its clock speed. Try to go for a better brand and high clock speed RAM. You'll have to spend maybe around Rs.1500 more but it'd be worth it. Also a new PSU would be required if you haven't already included it.
If you need any further help let me know as I have recently spent almost the same amount for my new rig and it's working great.


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## Akshay Dwivedi (Sep 26, 2010)

What is your rig? Specifications?

EDIT: And to answer your other question, yes it is the MSI GTX 2 GB GDDR5 GPU. The reason I'm concerned about AC: Unity is that according to the minimum specs announced the Ubisoft, the game requires a quad-core processor but the i3-4150 has dual core. And Watch Dogs (also by Ubisoft) was pretty poorly optimized for PC too.


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## Akshay Dwivedi (Sep 26, 2010)

Hey I just took a look a your PC specs. Did AC: Unity work properly on your rig? If it does I'll go for it...


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## Akshay Dwivedi (Sep 26, 2010)

Well, I did read on Facebook that people were able to run the game fine on GTX 650 GPUs. 

@worldchamp, if you could tell me how the game worked on your rig, that would be very helpful.


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## Akshay Dwivedi (Sep 26, 2010)

Hey Masterchief... Just found this video on youtube: Assassin's Creed Unity on GTX 750 Ti - YouTube

And the guy who made it has an i3-2120 processor while I was planning to buy an i3-4150. The GPU is the same (GTX 750 Ti) and he has 6GB RAM while I'm planning to get 8GB RAM. 

So judging by his specs and the video, I *should *be able to run the game quite fine, right?


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## Masterchiefxx17 (Feb 27, 2010)

There's no doubt that the game will fun and be playable. 6GB is not recommended as you cannot achieve a perfect dual channel setup. Your 8GB will be better.

Just don't expect a perfect 60 FPS throughout the game. High to Medium settings will allow for a nice enjoyable game IMO. Plus, you could also choose to upgrade the CPU to an i5 later on.


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## worldchamp (Oct 19, 2012)

Well, you got the PM I suppose.
If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.
And as I said before, I hope the video convinced you, that you do not need a "supercomputer" in order to play games on an acceptable setting and resolution. You're good to go with the rig you mentioned. Btw, Ubisoft has gone into the ritual of making bad PC optimized games. AC: Unity has repeated the debacle (remember Watch Dogs).


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## Akshay Dwivedi (Sep 26, 2010)

At least Far Cry 4 wasn't that bad (as far as I've heard) haha


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## worldchamp (Oct 19, 2012)

Well, luckily, yes you're right. Finally a nicely optimized game by "UbiHard". Far Cry 4 seems to be working fine.
Btw, you'll be happy to know that you can even play Batman: Arkham Knight on this config. Let us know when you've finally bought the new rig. And yes, you may mention the RAM and PSU you want to buy or ask for suggestions here if you like.
All the best


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## worldchamp (Oct 19, 2012)

btw, any RAM or PSU in your mind right now?
try to go for corsair vengeance series RAM (or maybe even better).


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## Akshay Dwivedi (Sep 26, 2010)

I am being advised to wait for AC:U patches by my friends just like you but my argument is, when Ubisoft hasn't even patched WD properly, what is the guarantee that they'll patch AC:U properly?


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## worldchamp (Oct 19, 2012)

I don't know. Broken games are the new trend now.
Watch Dogs has now become a thing of the past. However, AC:U is a fresh one of the Ubisoft dept. and they're working continuously to fix the bugs (as mentioned in their official posts). They have released a patch and are now working on another one.


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