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need help
im on a limited budget and i had picked out the parts to build my own but i cant really afford it so im wondering if anyone here can help me with a decent gaming desktop but something that i can upgrade maybe along the way but not have to worry til then about being limited to what games i can play like i am now. thanks in advance for your time should you choose to wanna help a fellow gamer like myself.
Comments
What's your budget? And are you in the US?
$600 for everything except a mouse isn't going to get you much in the way of gaming.
Check out this thread, where they are trying to put together a system for around $500.
http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/339323/Help-me-cut-to-meet-the-budget.html
You will need an OS, keyboard, and monitor on top of this, and the OS is about $100 alone. The build above would be fully upgradeable, but you will hit some overlapping upgrades because of the need to cut the budget so much; such as, needing to upgrade the power supply if you upgrade the graphics, needing to upgrade the CPU sooner than later, etc.
Even that $500 build makes me cringe a bit, they are going below my comfort zone for what I would recommend for gaming on a PC. The performance is just going to be severely compromised in a lot of key areas, and for just a bit more money ($700 for the computer, plus another $100 for monitor (that you can re-use between computers) you could have a lot better experience.
Now that is a good bit more money, especially if your on "Student Income", but it's the difference between a computer that plays everything well on medium settings, and something you scream at calling a POS while you get face rolled in PVP waiting on screen lag.
If your that seriously constrained, my advice is to save your money and wait. If you can't get at least a 6770 with a Phenom II X4 or FX4100 with 4G RAM and a decent 400-450W power supply (which is about a $700 build, with an OS, without the monitor, which is about another $100). Now waiting is boring, but when you start cutting under these specs, I think it's worth it to save up the extra capitol.
Now all those people gaming on 6550's (roughly Llano) or 520GT or any sort of integrated graphics may disagree with me - and your tastes may be that your perfectly willing to drop that low. I just can't recommend it personally, it's your money and you will be the one gaming on it. I just see the price vs performance curve as a U-shape, the optimal gaming area sits somewhere between a $700 and $1200 build, below that the performance drops rapidly for the price you pay, and above that the performance stalls as the price skyrockets.
$600 including peripherals? Oh my, that's awfully tight. Well, let's see how low of a budget I can go. All prices including shipping:
Motherboard/APU combo deal: $135
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.807848
That's your motherboard, processor, and graphics. Yes, it's integrated, but that's all you can afford. You can add a discrete card some other time.
Memory: $25
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820161474
1600 MHz because Llano needs the bandwidth to feed the graphics.
Hard drive/optical drive combo: $81
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136075
The hard drive is small and slow, but it's cheap. Which means you can afford it.
Case: $34
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146075
Note the promo code. One fan is enough for a low power system, and there's room to add more if you upgrade it later.
Power supply: $37, before a $20 rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026
More or less all right, and suitable for a low power system. Do note the promo code.
Operating system: $100
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986
Because you need an OS.
That comes to $408 without periperhals.
Monitor: $90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009314
Small, but 21.5" and 900 vertical pixels isn't really that bad. And it's cheap.
Keyboard: $13
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823126219
Cheap and it will work.
Surge protector: $15
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812220019
Because you need one.
Speakers: $17
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16836121013
This is actually what I have. And it's cheap.
Total: $543 including shipping and before rebates.
Not enough space left in the budget to fit much of a discrete video card. I guess you could get a faster APU in there, which will get you a decent processor and better integrated graphics.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.807849
The processor has an unlocked multiplier, so you could probably overclock it some so long as you reduce the voltage a bit to compensate. And then later you could add a discrete video card if you need more GPU performance.
guys why does the monitor have to be new ?
My first system i bought an old 25$ crt monitor, it was 24inch if i recall right.
The Kb, mouse, speakers, and monitor are small details. Almost evry city has some used pc marketplace, where you can get old monitors for like 20$ mouse for 5 $ etc etc .
It prob wont be very nice and take lots of room but you then can use that for a 6 months or untill you can get something nice.
The old crap 25$ crt monitor i bought lasted me for 1 and a half years lol
Like Ridelynn says the kb mouse speakers and monitor you can keep throught the systems so just reuse your old ones, if you cant for w/e reasons don't gimp your system just to include new cheap ones just get used cheap ones and replace them later.
It will be more effective than "upgrading" the power supply and gpu etc etc.
I mean comon for under 100 bucks you can get a monitor, speakers, mouse and kb easy if you go used. I even bet you could get away from paying taxes too lol
heh if you must use the 600$ for the systems and then just get used junk till you can afford better.
Brenics ~ Just to point out I do believe Chris Roberts is going down as the man who cheated backers and took down crowdfunding for gaming.
I tend to agree with you, but there are a couple of reasons that I don't go out and source used hardware
1) Warranty, and with this goes condition - a used hard drive, for instance, could have thousands of hours on it, and be billed as "new just out of the box" - that makes a big difference in the usability of that item. LCD backlights don't tend to last much past 4-5 years. Stuff like that you can't really see on a visible inspection, you have to take the Seller's word for it.
2) Supply - I can link to Craigslist or Ebay or anything else, but those are typically 1 person selling 1 item - it's not like linking to Newegg where they will have dozens in stock. And while I haven't had too many absolutely terrible experiences with either Craigslist or Ebay or any other site, they are not listed, reputable resellers. They are just places that anyone can go to try to sell stuff, and there is no guarantee that you won't get ripped off.
I have nothing against using used parts - silicon generally isn't going to wear out in it's useful lifetime, but there are other mechanical systems (Fans, hard drives), and non-silicon systems (capacitors, solder joints, etc) that are susceptible to age.
It's like buying a car: buying used is a great way to save a lot of money. But if you don't know what your looking for, or have a mechanic able to look it over, you can get burned big time as well.
Cool and agree with what you said but im not talking about the parts inside the pc but about the "screen,mouse,kb and speakers."
I mean if the mouse last 2 months so what chuck it n buy another it only cost 5 buck and was temporary till you can buy something really nice, same goes for screen and the rest. Also i dont mean buying from craiglist.
Most every city has a smallish place that sells new used stuff like this place here http://www.lazone.biz/ btw this site is just an example.
What it doesn't show on the site is that they have older junk they dont bother putting on the page, like older crt screens. Most places are like this, they have stuff outback or hidden away for the "poor kids" that just can't afford it all at once.
Just saying instead of getting a 100$ screen that is meh he could take that 100 $ and get all, screen kb mouse and speakers . and invest more into his pc rig and replace these junky items as he then accumulates more spending cashover the next few months.
I just think many poeple dont seem to be aware that most any city has a place you can buy these kind of used items, cant blame them as they dont usaully advertise, its more word of mouth.
Only thing i would add is that you DO NOT buy a complete system from them because you will get a junk "ace" power supply that will fry out when you add a more demanding video card etc etc.
They usaully just good for the used junk when your in a hurry.
Brenics ~ Just to point out I do believe Chris Roberts is going down as the man who cheated backers and took down crowdfunding for gaming.