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Budget Gaming Build

C

clark45

Limp Gawd
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Joined
Jan 22, 2005
Messages
148
I currently game on a laptop that has 6gis of RAM, mobile i7 ("quad" core) and a Nvidia NVS 4200m (512megs ram).
I can play the below games, but all at medium/low settings and sometimes with dips that are just frustrating.
I figured the i3 is roughly the same as the mobile i7 and what I am really lacking is the GPU. I plan on reusing an older amd 5770 and upgrading it later as it should give me somewhat better performance than the NVS 4200m.
Plan is to get a MiniITX case as the wife will enjoy that sitting out more. Only challenge is getting the parts to fit into that, but I think what I am looking at will work.

I assume an i3 is better than AMD at this time as my games while they do use more than one Thread dont need tons of threads (BF4 for example)?

I do run a VM from time to time, but it just has my development/coding tools installed in it so I am either gaming or developing.

Is there anything special I need to do when using an SSD? (settings in Windows or anything I need to set?)

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming (diablo3, starcraft2, counter strike GO, dota2, maybe eventually newer games though no current plans) and other minor tasks (web browsing/word/etc)
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$450 to 500. Ideally with tax and shipping but it is flexible
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
US, Minnesota. Not near Microcenter or anything like that.
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
$50 Case (mini ITX)- Cooler Master Elite 130 though I am open to suggestions if this one has any drawbacks. Was just a cheap one that looks to support ATX PSU and full length GPU.
~$50 Motherboard - just looking at the cheapest ones off of newegg unless there is one that someone recommends.
~$75 RAM - some single 8gb stick. May upgrade to 16gb later if needed, unless going dual channel now makes more sense. (2x4gb)
~$125 to $160 CPU - thinking of just getting the i3-4130 as the slightly faster i3s dont seem that much better?
~$50 PSU - whatever seems to be recommended
SSD - I think I can get by with 120gigs but if the budget allows maybe 240. I currently have 240gigs (NOT SSD) in laptop and have used ~170gigs but some of that can be moved to my extra 160HD.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Harddrive - older 160gig sata which will store pictures and run a VM from. Likely will add a 1 to 2 TB later once the wife decides if she likes PLEX.
GPU (amd 5770). Will upgrade GPU end of this year/next year.
Monitor and other peripherals
6) Will you be overclocking?
I can, but dont need to as that will cost more.
7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
22in 1680x1050. I will likely run dual displays, but only game on the 22in
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Middle of March. I know I am planning too early, but just seeing if my idea seems reasonable or is really flawed. I do have the money to buy now, but the GPU and HD wont be available until middle of march. Though those should both be easy to add in later when they come if there are good deals now I should take advantage of, but I am fine waiting too.
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc.
Nothing really. USB3 would be nice as I have a USB3 external backup, but I think most motherboards have at least 1 usb3. Also HDMI on the motherboard as if in a year I decide to just build a new gaming rig or stop gaming (2nd child on the way), then I can just use this hooked up to the TV for HTPC.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Yes, Windows 8.1 64bit. Will install from a USB flash drive.


thank you all for your help.
 
clark45 said:
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Middle of March. I know I am planning too early, but just seeing if my idea seems reasonable or is really flawed. I do have the money to buy now, but the GPU and HD wont be available until middle of march. Though those should both be easy to add in later when they come if there are good deals now I should take advantage of, but I am fine waiting too.
Click to expand...
What do you mean mean by "the GPU and HDD won't be available till Middle of March"? As for feasibility, if you were buying right now, it's semi-feasible without the video card and HDD. You'll be closer to $500 though since the cheapest decent LGA 1150 mITX mobo is around $80 or so. In addition, RAM pricing may be higher by then too. Compared to January, RAM prices are about $5 to $8 higher in February. Might be the same increase in March.

Though more than likely that 160GB drive is an extremely old drive. So I really wouldn't trust that with any valuable data that hasn't been backed up somewhere. So you may have to increase your budget a tad to include a new 1TB hard drive. Yes 1TB as the cost difference right now between a 500GB and 1TB hard drive is $5. It's a no brainer at that point.

Yes for a gaming setup, stick with Intel.
 
I'll be getting the GPU and HDD from my brother but he wont be coming over to visit until the middle of march.

The HDD is older, but I have a couple external harddrives the data is backed up to. I figured I would get some newer/bigger harddrives once we determine if we want our DVDs to be accessed without using the DVD player.

I am fine buying it now if there isnt anything good to wait for in the next month (which I assume with a budget build there isnt any new tech I would care about).

As for the motherboard it would be nice if it has a usb3 header to use for the front usb ports, but isnt a deal breaker by any means.

thanks
 
Reusing that 160GB hard drive is a bad idea. In addition to the reliability concerns due to its age, that old hard drive will be much slower performance-wise than the newer 500GB and 1TB hard drives available today.

The best "deal" in SSDs right now is the 240GB Crucial M500. I believe that it's better for you to buy the 240GB-256GB SSD now (assuming you can afford it) and get a new hard drive at your first available opportunity.

How important is your VM work? That alone may "require" you to consider an AMD-based setup instead of Intel. You can grab an AMD quad-core for around the same price as an Intel Core i3 dual-core, if not less. And the onboard GPUs integrated into AMD processors are much better than Intel's IGPs, which may allow you to omit the HD5770 for the time being. (That said, Intel processors are better in gaming when paired with a separate video card.)
 
I am fine getting the 240/256 SSD as I assume that will only push me a bit over 500.

The VM work is not important. I just have my development IDE setup in it so whenever I format I dont have to do that again. It is not serious at all, I currently have it running from my laptop with 1 "cpu" dedicated to it and 2 gigs of ram. It just runs in VMWare Player.

I can still game on my laptop until I get the 5770. Which is why I am fine getting all the part now and getting Windows installed and everything and just popping in the 5770 when it comes. Though I am also fine waiting until the middle of march too. Whatever you guys think is a better idea.

thanks for your help so far guys :)
 
clark45 said:
I am fine getting the 240/256 SSD as I assume that will only push me a bit over 500.

The VM work is not important. I just have my development IDE setup in it so whenever I format I dont have to do that again. It is not serious at all, I currently have it running from my laptop with 1 "cpu" dedicated to it and 2 gigs of ram. It just runs in VMWare Player.

I can still game on my laptop until I get the 5770. Which is why I am fine getting all the part now and getting Windows installed and everything and just popping in the 5770 when it comes. Though I am also fine waiting until the middle of march too. Whatever you guys think is a better idea.

thanks for your help so far guys :)
Click to expand...
Both are good ideas actually. Though if you will need a new system regardless of whether or not your bro comes through with the GPU and HDD, go ahead and build now. If you do, let us know and we can setup a build list for you.

Also, what GPU and HDD is your bro giving you?
 
The harddrive is just some older WD1600JS. (160 gig sata) It wont be storing anything critical on it, I will likely just use it so the IO for the VM can be separate from the Host as that kills my VM now at times.

The GPU is a XFX 5770. I am guessing it is a double wide card, but dont know 100%.

They are just in my bros older system so he is happy to give them to me, just wont be here for a month, but I am fine building now. I would like a new system as I am in the D3 expansion and my laptop struggles a bit with that at times (releases middle/end of march).

Here is what I was thinking of so far (though I am welcome to suggestions as it has been years). Newegg links, but I am fine buying from Amazon too. (or wherever). Just familiar with Newegg so I do my research there.


CPU - i3-4130
PSU - looking for recommendations. Modular would be nice, but dont need it if it adds to the cost too much.
Case - Cooler Master Elite 120 Advanced - switched this from my OP as it is cheaper but still does a full ATX and full GPU it looks like
RAM - whatever 70ish stick is the cheapest (1x8gig). Not sure if I need low profile or not
Motherboard - looking at the 50-60 boards they seem to have all the features I need, but I am fine stepping up to an 80 board like you said if it will offer better stability/life/etc
SSD - Samsung 840 EVO

I did look at amazon a bit and some of those parts seem cheaper there so I can order some from Newegg and some from Amazon if that makes sense.

Long term plan may be to drop in a used i7 in a couple years, but I assume any motherboard I get can support that. (though it may never happen as tech may change too much by then)

I am also fine downgrading to 120gigs for the SSD but I am guessing long term 250 gigs is the better bet.

Just doing some quick math this looks to be a bit over $500 which isnt a deal breaker if it is worth. (ie i can pony up the extra 20 or whatever it takes for the 250gig SSD as it seems smarter in the long haul)

thank you all again for the help
 
I recommend this setup instead:
$115 - Intel Core i3-4130 CPU
$80 - ASRock B85M-ITX Intel B85 mIX Motherboard
$75 - Corsair CMV8GX3M1A1600C11 8GB DDR3 1600 RAM
$146 - Samsung 840 Evo Series 250GB SSD
$55 - Seasonic G Series SSR-360GP 360W PSU
$50 - Coolermaster Elite 130 mITX Case
----------
Total: $521 plus tax and shipping.

As noted earlier, none of the sub $80 mITX LGA 1150 mobos are ones I would recommend due to reliability and pricing issues. That AsRock seems to be solid enough,

As for the case, the Elite 130 has better cooling than the Elite 120 due to the open mesh front.

PSU wise, yes that PSU is more than enough for your planned power needs.

The onboard video should suffice until your upcoming GPU upgrade. Speaking of upgrades, I recommended a single stick of 8GB of RAM since that'll allow you to upgrade to 16GB of RAM later on without having to replace any RAM.
 
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Just have one question.

Is that PSU sufficient if I were to drop in a new GPU later on (say within 6months to a year)?

It would likely be a middle of the range GPU

I am fine going to a not modular PSU as well, just figure modular would make cable management easier in a smaller case was all, but dont need to pay a premium for it if it cant support a new card later this year.

thank you for the build :)
 
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Sorry your link seems to be broken.

Yeah I realize the 5770 is old in today's standards.Probably something in the $100 to $200 dollar range. A quick look at newegg shows something like this PNY GTX 750, but I havent done much research on a new GPU since I knew it was out of my price range until later. Though I think AMD has lower power cards so I would ideally like to aim for that I think, but they are ridiculously priced atm. (hopefully that settles down later this year)

I am perfectly fine going non-modular so I can get a bit bigger PSU so I wont need to upgrade it later.

Sorry for not being clearer on that.

thank you
 
Thank you all for your help.

Ordered it here (with the bigger PSU) for a total of ~$545

I appreciate all the help :)
 
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