Need Help Building a Budget PC

[Jona]

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!

[Taser]

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.

[Jona]

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!

[Smithy]

Ok so this is the best I came up with..

NZXT GAMMA Classic Series GAMA-001BK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

ASRock 960GM/U3S3 FX AM3+ AMD 760G SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard

Rosewill Stallion Series RD400-2-SB 400W ATX 12V v2.2 Power Supply

CORSAIR Vengeance 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM

AMD Athlon X4 750K Trinity 3.4GHz Socket FM2 100W Quad-Core Desktop Processor

ASUS HD7770-2GD5 Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition 2GB 128-bit GDDR5

$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.   

[zagibu]

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.

[Jona]

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. 

Never again will I buy newegg's brand.

[Smithy]

Bump - Edited my post, good luck with your build.   

[SirCymro_Crusader]

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

[zagibu]

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.

[SirCymro_Crusader]

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

[Smithy]

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. 

[Jona]

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.

[Smithy]

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  )

[Jona]

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

AMD Athlon X4 750K Trinity 3.4GHz Socket FM2100W Quad-Core Desktop Processor

Derp.

[zagibu]

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.