cRPG
Off Topic => General Off Topic => Topic started by: Jona on February 06, 2014, 08:55:52 am
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Hey tech savvy crpgers,
While I have been building my own PCs for several years now, I have never exactly shopped on an extremely tight budget, since I have generally upgraded what I previously had, buying just a couple parts at a time. Well, my friend's computer crapped out on him a while ago, and ever since he has been lost to our crpg community and I need help reeling him back in!
He is on a 300-400 dollar budget, and needs everything for a PC other than a monitor and hard drive. Only requirement is that it can run warband+crpg pretty well, in addition to any older games... preferably civ 5 as well (civ 5 is the newest game he owns). I want to help him a lot, and while I can assist him in building it, I frankly don't really know what would be the best of the best in terms of budget parts. Not really sure what would be a good deal and all that.
The challenge:
Build a budget PC that can run civ5 and older games, and is able to be easily upgraded when the time comes, for under $400.
The reward:
If your PC suggestion ends up being the one (or closest to the one) we pick, I will reward you with 50k crpg gold. Other rewards may be given out for inspiration and such.
Thanks to any who can help!
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http://www.logicalincrements.com/ (http://www.logicalincrements.com/)
That should help a bit. I won't be able to help out too much beyond that since its late. Plus there are more knowledgeable people that can confirm what works at what prices. Not needing a monitor will help with the cost though. But he has to know he's not getting a powerhouse at that kind of budget.
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Never knew about that site before, will certainly help me at least (I have a feeling I will be doing 95-100% of the research).
Thanks babe!
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Ok so this is the best I came up with..
NZXT GAMMA Classic Series GAMA-001BK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146061)
ASRock 960GM/U3S3 FX AM3+ AMD 760G SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157323)
Rosewill Stallion Series RD400-2-SB 400W ATX 12V v2.2 Power Supply (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182074)
CORSAIR Vengeance 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145346)
AMD Athlon X4 750K Trinity 3.4GHz Socket FM2 100W Quad-Core Desktop Processor (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113328)
ASUS HD7770-2GD5 Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition 2GB 128-bit GDDR5 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121642)
$385
Can run Warband, no issue, I'd advise overclocking the CPU if you're really looking for performance but, if you're looking for performance you would drop more than 400 on a PC so.. good luck with it hope it works out. :)
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400$ is tight if you want to be open for upgrades. This is the best I can do:
109.98 $ Case + PSU Combo:
- http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1535328
72.99 $ AMD Socket FM2 with 4 RAM slots Motherboard:
- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131880
79.99 $ AMD Athlon X4 750K CPU:
- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113328
74.99 $ RAM 2x4GB
- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231655
79.99 $ AMD Radeon R7 240
- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125482
Total 417.94 $
You might be able to save ~30$ by only buying 2x2GB RAM or save a couple of $ by buying a cheaper case + psu. It is pretty upgradeable with current AMD socket and 4 RAM slots. If you put in a better CPU and Videocard, you should be able to play newest titles on high settings. If you go with 2x2GB, you will have to put in 2x2 or 2x4 GB more later to play demanding titles.
Please note that case + psu at this price point is pretty much a gamble. You might get good stuff, but it can also be crap. I just selected the combo with lowest price I could find that still made somewhat sense.
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Quality suggestions zagibu, thanks. I think I will look for a different case + psu though, since the last rosewill case I had literally fell apart just sitting there, while a case I got for much less literally survived a bed falling on it. :lol:
Never again will I buy newegg's brand.
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Bump - Edited my post, good luck with your build. :)
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Never skimp out on RAM, one of the best things to buy IMO. I used to have a PC with shitty RAM but as soon as i upgraded to 8GB everything runs so so so much smoother
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How much did you have before the upgrade?
Also, Smithy's case suggestion looks pretty good. Now you just need to find a good and cheap PSU.
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How much did you have before the upgrade?
Also, Smithy's case suggestion looks pretty good. Now you just need to find a good and cheap PSU.
It was 4
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I agree with the not skimping on RAM but I mean.. Come on we're talking about Warband here, lol. 4g will work.. Still have some wiggle room though, could get 8g if you absolutely wanted.. Its not all that much more. :)
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I currently run with 8 gigs of RAM in my computer... I opted for higher quality (clock speed and lower latency) over quantity. For the price I got my 8 gigs at I could have gotten at least 16 gigs running at slower speeds. But then it turns out that despite what it says on the box, my mobo couldn't run RAM at that clock speed... :/
You got some good suggestions there Smithy, but I am thinking I will look for a different psu... I still don't trust newegg's "generic" brand too much. Knowing their stuff, it will catch on fire in a couple weeks time. :P
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Oh yeah I personally would not purchase what I suggested to you.. Its just a plausible under $400 option. My honest advice is wait (I know, wait for cRPG?! Blasphemy) and spend $800 on an acceptable, upgradeable, budget gaming platform. However, I'll have more time tomorrow to check it out, and I'll post my findings. (no internet of my own, and was in a rush today when I was at my usual chill spot :? )
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Ok so this is the best I came up with..
ASRock 960GM/U3S3 FX AM3+ AMD 760G SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157323)
AMD Athlon X4 750K Trinity 3.4GHz Socket FM2100W Quad-Core Desktop Processor (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113328)
Derp. :P
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800$ is no longer budget. It's already good. You can play newest games on highest settings in a reasonable resolution on an 800$ rig.
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Derp. :P
:oops:
You may refer to my previous post. I'm innocent! :(
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Never knew about that site before, will certainly help me at least (I have a feeling I will be doing 95-100% of the research).
Thanks babe!
No problem hon.
Seems smithy and zagibu came up with decent stuff.
What are you going with here?
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Alright. Took a little more time with this setup.. I'm no PC building master but, for the price this seems quite good to me. I may actually be upgrading my PC with a similar GPU soon.
Case Can't beat the price.
NZXT GAMMA Classic Series GAMA-001BK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146061)
MOBO Can't beat the price, and will work fine for your application.
ASRock 960GM/U3S3 FX AM3+ AMD 760G SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157323)
RAM 4gb is fine for Warband and most oldish games unless you plan on hosting servers.
CORSAIR Vengeance 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145346)
PSU Great reviews, great price.
APEX AL-A400ATX 400W ATX12V Power Supply (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817154013)
CPU Great reviews, great price, I personally have this CPU and no issues, runs great.
AMD FX-4130 Zambezi 3.8GHz Socket AM3+ Quad-Core Desktop Processor (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113291)
GPU Good price, good reviews, compact size. I have had MSI cards in the past, no issues.
MSI R7770-PMD1GD5 Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition 1GB 128-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127687)
Optic Drive Even squeezed in a DVD burner. :)
LG Internal Super Multi Drive (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136270)
Total
$391.93 !!
Good luck :)
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Bumping - Just in case you're still looking for PC advice, Jona. :)
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Thanks man, that looks like a promising last suggestion you have there... gonna have to rethink what we were going to currently go with perhaps. I've been trying to reach my pal who I am looking at this for... we almost decided on a final build a couple nights ago, left it at that... been unable to reach him since, lol.
I think that we've got plenty of good suggestions to look at for now, no need to continue looking. And don't worry, I won't forget about your prize, should you be deemed worthy. :P
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Yeah man its no issue, hope you get it sorted out and are able to build something you're both satisfied with. Good luck, and let me know how it turns out once whatever you've decided on is all together and running. :)
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Will do man, appreciate the assistance. The tricky part is finding a date when I can get together with him to build, I'm thinking he's going to be needing my help. Unfortunately he lives a good 2.5-3 hours away. :(