Budget but flexible PC

domrush

Hi,

I’m looking to get a PC up and running for as low a budget as possible and then upgrade it in the future as needs be. Reason I specify low budget is I’d be using it for some financial and statistical modelling (excel, VBA, R) and just some older games (Starcraft 2 the only one tbh). Therefore my performance needs aren’t heavy now hence I don’t see much point in going top of the line regarding processors/gpus when they’ll never be used to capacity. I would need 8 GB of ram for excel however (lot of rows).

Have an old dell e521 I could canniblise for parts, would I be better off just buying a commercial model. I just want a low performance PC which has the flexibility for future upgrades as required (assume motherboard would be the main spend).

1. What is your budget? Low as possible, 400??

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? Older RTSs (Starcraft, dawn of war), excel.

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? Yes

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? have a DVD drive and hard drive (320GB) from an old dell dimension E521

5. Do you need a monitor? No

5a. If yes, what size do you need. [19'/20'/22'/24'/etc.]

5b. If no, what resolution is your current monitor and do you plan to upgrade in the future. Not sure of resolution , it’s a 20inch model from Dell from 2007 or so. Probably needs an upgrade

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? No

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? No

8. How can you pay? Flexible

9. When are you purchasing? 1/2 months

10. If you need help building it, where are you based? Dublin.

TerrorFirmer

Dawn of War! What a game. Can't believe it first came out about 15 years ago, still play Winter Assault myself.



Seriously, though, I would suggest you look at a build with a Ryzen 2200G, A320M mobo, 8GB 2400Mhz, 240GB SSD, and a basic case/PSU. Can upgrade to a dedicated GPU if needed, though stuff like DOW/DOW2/Starcraft 2 will run superbly on the 2200G integrated graphics.

K.O.Kiki

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 3 2200G 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (£86.39 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: MSI - B450-A PRO ATX AM4 Motherboard (£88.99 @ CCL Computers)
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory (£63.00)
Storage: Kingston - A400 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£36.99 @ Amazon UK)
Case: RIOTORO - CR488 ATX Mid Tower Case (£39.00 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: be quiet! - Pure Power 10 400W 80+ Silver Certified ATX Power Supply (£42.97 @ Amazon UK)
Other: RAM @ adverts (Purchased)
Total: £357.34
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-09-18 16:15 BST+0100

DDR4 prices are still through the roof so look on Adverts.ie - can find a 2x4Gb kit for €70.

domrush

Thanks for that K.K.Kiki. Would that motherboard be good for a few years yet? Would it also be better to go for a single 8GB stick so that I could just add another in the future instead of buying 2 sticks?

K.O.Kiki

domrush wrote: »

Thanks for that K.K.Kiki. Would that motherboard be good for a few years yet? Would it also be better to go for a single 8GB stick so that I could just add another in the future instead of buying 2 sticks?

That motherboard definitely good for a few years yet; AMD plan to support socket AM4 until 2020 & that MSI board has good reviews regarding its VRM layout.

Since you'll be relying on the 2200G's onboard GPU, it is imperative to get 2 sticks of RAM and install them in dual-channel mode. Single DIMM vs Dual DIMM difference is 40-50%

Also that motherboard has 4x RAM slots.

domrush

Cheers! Looking online, is Windows really 120+ these days???

Skerries

that monitor is 1680 x 1050 at 60 Hz

you can download W10 and install for free, it will just have a watermark saying it is unactivated

K.O.Kiki

Skerries wrote: »

that monitor is 1680 x 1050 at 60 Hz

you can download W10 and install for free, it will just have a watermark saying it is unactivated

Also the watermark randomly disappears :pac: