Entry Level PC - Older Generation Parts

Confused11811 · 01-02-2021 4:52pm #1

Hi Folks, My son has expressed an interest in getting/building a gaming PC for some of titles he currently plays on the Xbox One S partnered with a rather old 720P TV.

I've a huge amount of older PC parts from my former days of building PC's , mainly HTPC's. From my limited research on the titles his interested and the minimal and recommended I think I could put together a rather decent 720p/1080P entry level PC with the addition of a GPU. I'd appreciate any input on suitable GPU or other tweaks I can make with minimum cost. His young enough and I'm not sure if his desire for a gaming PC is a passing interest of something that'll grow. Either way the building process should be a bit of fun.

The games titles he's currently interested in are Fortnite, Valorant, Call of Duty Black Ops - Cold War. Rainbow Six - Siege and Minecraft.

I'm planning of getting rid of the 720p TV and for the moment using a HP ProDisplay P222va monitor. While not a gaming monitor it should be a decent upgrade on the TV.

Parts wise I've the following
Motherboard - Asus H81I-PLUS
Ram - 8GB PC3-12800 (2 x 4GB)
CPU - i3-4340 with standard cooler ( Might be able to upgrade this to a i5-2500K ) I have lots of good quality coolers available
PC Case - Thermaltake Core V1 ITX no optical drive or Silverstone GD02 with BD drive. The GD02 case would require a standard intel cooler or a lower profile cooler because of the position of the optical drive
SSD - Crucial M500 240 GB
HD - Various Sata III 500GB to 2TB
GPU - ???? maybe this
PSU - Be Quiet 400w ( I think)

I'm aware that Black Ops is the most demanding of those games and the hardware does limit the performance but I think it'll be a good improvement on the current xbox setup. I'd appreciate any input on GPU/PSU and other tweaks I could make. I don't mind going second hand on the GPU

Homelander · 01-02-2021 6:31pm

You really need a full new system from scratch. The i3-4130 is hopeless, the i5-2500K is better but won't work in a H81M, and even if it did, it's way past its sell by date and performs poorly in games like the newest Call of Duty.

New GPU's are also almost double their normal prices right now due to major global shortages so it's a bad time to be buying.

You are also very over-estimating the PC performance. An i3-4130 with a GTX750Ti would run Black Ops way worse than an Xbox One S does. You would be talking low settings 720p at around 30fps.

Your best bet is to just find a 2nd hand PC somewhere like Adverts. But the market is in a bad way at the moment.

Confused11811 · 01-02-2021 7:16pm

Sorry I mix up Cpu's I've a few lying around . I meant to say i5-4590 and not the earlier generation 2500k. I've had a few i7 4790 pass through my hands in the last year so another may turn up.

Assuming the i5 or even i7 is installed would you have any recommendations on a GPU and appropriate PSU. I'm aware the new market for GPU's is mad atm but a recommendation would be appreciated.

I wasn't aware the xbox was as optimises as it seems to be.

AlmightyCushion · 01-02-2021 7:34pm

A 4th gen i5 or i7 is still OK for gaming these days. I wouldn't recommend any one goes out and buys one because there is not value in the components (a small increase in price gets you much better components) but if you already have the parts already then it'll do. Especially with the lack of stock and price increases of new components.

For the GPU, a GTX 1060 6GB, GTX 1650, GTX 1660 or RX580 would all be decent options. You might struggle to get new ones at a decent price so best bet is second hand.

By the way, if you ever get a spare 4th gen i7, give me a shout. I have a 4th gen i5 and I'm interested in upgrading to an i7 as a temp upgrade to hold me over for a while.

Confused11811 · 01-02-2021 8:34pm

Thanks for the GPU recommendation. If I get a 4th gen i7 going spare I'll give you a pm. Just a couple of questions I assume the GPU would require a decent 650w PSU and finally would the ram be enough ?

AlmightyCushion · 01-02-2021 8:59pm

Yeah 8GBs RAM is fine. I have 16GBs but the only reason I have that much is I got a second 8GB kit pretty cheap. You won't need a 650W, it's overkill for this.

Here (https://www.anandtech.com/show/15010/the-nvidia-geforce-gtx-1660-super-review-feat-evga/15) is a review of the 1660 Super from AnandTech. They test some of the GPUs I recommended above with a i9-9900K. The 9900K would use more power than the 4790. The 590 is the thirstiest GPU in that review and even it only uses 280W total while running FurMark. Of course you always want a bit of headroom but your 400W might be enough. If not a 450W or a 550W at the most would be all you need.

beauf · 01-02-2021 9:03pm

A 1650 will run on very little power, but it's the slowest of those cards. You'd only buy it if you have s system that has a low powered CPU. But it's a good step up from 1050. A 1060 and those other cards are much better.

Confused11811 · 08-02-2021 5:44pm

Hi all , I just wanted to update this thread. As is common place at the moment I've found GPU prices even 2nd hand to be crazy but I did eventually manage to get a very reasonable priced MSI Radeon RX 570 Armor OC 4GB GDDR5 and I'm going to pair it with a quad core Xeon E3-1226-V3. Waiting on the card to arrive before building.

The monitor I have is limited to 1080p 60fps and I think the GPU/CPU combination will be okay for the time being. I'll probably complete a new build from scratch in the future when supply issues and prices have returned to normal. At that point I'll use this pc as a replacement to my current 1080p HTPC. The RX570 should handle playback on 4K 10bit BD rips and will work well on my 4K TV.

The PSU I have is a 400 watt FSP 80+ , this one. I think it'll be fine too, I've a decent power consumption plug/monitor I can use when I'm running a few stress tests

Confused11811 · 18-02-2021 11:41pm

Just wanted to give another update on this :- I've completed the rx570, Xeon E3-1226-V3 build earlier in the week. It's running smoothly and seems very capable so far. I've game pass ultimate which has a nice selection PC games available.

I've also traded in a load of my older pc equipment and some old phones I'd laying around to CEX, I managed to get a 1TB m2 ssd and a ryzen 7 3700x from them with the value of the traded goods.

I've gotten a 1080ti from a trusted seller on adverts this week. I did paid over the odds but with no outlay on a CPU and 1TB ssd I could afford to do so. All the other part for this newer build arrived today from Amazon UK and DE. Will be building tomorrow. I'll throw up some photos both build and details of the ryzen build tomorrow.

I've not built a pc in a while but I found this forum to be a great resource. A big thanks to all the regular contributors on here.

Confused11811 · 19-02-2021 1:11pm

Ryzen build completed and up and running.

Case - Fractal Design Node 804

M/B - Asus Prime B450M-A II

Ram - Vengeance LPX DDR4 3600 MHz C18

PSU - be quiet! System Power 9 Cable Management 600W

Total cost including shipping = €330.27

CEX Trade in vouchers supplied the Ryzen 7 3700x and a Western Digital M.2 1TB SSD. These just happened to be in stock after I traded stuff in so I grabbed them as things like this move quickly from CEX.

Adverts for the GPU - An MSI GEFORCE GTX 1080 TI GAMING X 11G - A whopping €500 . But it was a trusted seller and I've seen these sell for more on both adverts and eBay.

Other items I'd a slot loading DVD and slim sata to Sata adapter already, I've a 3TB drive I'll be adding for storage, again
I already have this in my hoard of equipment. Overalll I'm happy , the GPU market is nuts but the CEX cpu and ssd which I got from old stuff laying around definitely helped with overall cost.

Confused11811 · 19-02-2021 2:49pm

The 4th generation Xeon build is complete a few days

In the end the only cost for this entry level pc was the RX570 which cost €135 shipped from France. It was absolutely spotless in as new condition. All other parts I had in my hoard of gear.

In the end the build was :-

Case - Thermaltake Core V1 Black
M/B - Asus H81I-PLUS
Ram - 8GB Skynix DDR3 12800
Cpu Cooler - Xigmatek SD128264
SSD - Kingston 240gb
HD - Seagate 2TB
CPU - Quad core Xeon E3-1226-V3
PSU - Antec 500watt BP500U
GPU - MSI RADEON RX 570 ARMOR 4G OC

It's a nice build, I need to work on cable management as it's not a modular PSU. I'll probably hang onto this as a secondary gaming or HTPC. I may upgrade the cpu to an i7 if one comes my way.

I've a tonne of other stuff manly HTPC's and small form ITX builds I'll either trade into CEX or throw up on adverts. I should easily recovery my costs on both builds after selling these.

Next on the agenda is a building a Media Storage/Mediaportal TV server to provide live TV and Media throughout the house to Kodi clients on amazon fire sticks. I'll probably use an existing low powered FM1 or FM2 motherboard/Cpu' for this server. I need to research this a bit more.

Pictures of the 4th gen build attached

beauf · 19-02-2021 3:00pm

Didn't seem to take too long to get the parts. Last time I checked before Xmas there was no stock of any budget or mid range AMD parts.

Confused11811 · 19-02-2021 3:48pm

It was just luck. I got over €500 vouchers from CEX and was considering doing an i9 build as they had/still have an i9 in stock. But the ryzen 7 3700x popped up so I grabbed it for €280. The WD 1TB M.2 was an after thought, I actually had a crucial one in my basket on amazon.de but checked cex before I hit the purchase button. It was €110 from CEX but it was all from the vouchers, so no cash outlay.

Cex prices aren't great but when trading in stuff there I usually get vouchers and buy from them. The 2 year warranty gives some security.

Last week amazon had the ryzen 5 3600 for about €220 , it's dropped a little bit since. The Fractal Design Node case price dropped to £64 (it was posted today in the bargain alert section), the matx board dropped too, it's no the most feature rich board but it's grand for me, I won't be over clocking . It's version 2 of that board which is 3rd gen ryzen ready so it worked out of the box with no messing around with bios updates. I don't need a fancy wifi board as I've upgraded my home wifi with a netgear orbi and bog standard usb wifi adapters are now max out with the signal. The orbi was the best home IT investment I've ever made.

I originally was going to get 32gb of ram but it sold out by the time I hit the purchase button, the matx board can take another 2 ram sticks so I can always add to it if really needed.

Free shipping from Amazon UK took 2 day (I have prime). Shipping from amazon.de took 3 days , I opted for the priority shipping for an extra €4, €8.54 was the cost of shipping. Amazon UK didn't have the Ram I wanted and the PSU selection wasn't great , the amazon de shipping was very reasonable.

I've not built in a long time, family and time constraints prevented me from doing so. I working from home now so decided to that advantage of it. I probably won't have the time in the near future , things just fell into place for this build.

beauf · 19-02-2021 4:16pm

I have one machine with a e3-1245 v3 and a 1050ti and 8GB of RAM. I have another Older Zeon with dual CPUs and again a 1050ti but 32gb. The main problem I have is these are OEM machines without the right PSU connections for enough 6/8pin power. Propriety PSU as well so not easy or worthwhile changing the PSU. I would like to change them for a smaller boxes but more up to date machines. I actually gave up looking and bought a Laptop with Ryzen and 2060.

Confused11811 · 19-02-2021 4:50pm

The Processor E3-1245 v3 is a nice cpu, basically a i7-4770. I assume you've got Dell or HP Xeon workstations ? The PSU is a problem with these. Nice machines all the same

I'm not promoting CEX but they do have some decent stuff pop up every now and again. If you're a bit of a hoarder like me you might get some value hassle free cash/vouchers from them if you traded in. The stores are closed but they've done a deal with anpost for a free pickup service or post office drop off service. I'd a 500 euro voucher within 3 hours of them receiving my package from anpost. I grabbed the ryzen 3700x then and there.

A ryzen 7 2700x is in stock with them at the moment for €175, things pop up all the time like that. I've seen GTX 1080ti's on there a couple of weeks ago, it went within 2 days. Buying from them cash doesn't represent great value but trading in for vouchers and buying from the using voucher usually works out better. It worked out well for me on this build. I got the heart of a decent build from them. If I'd more patience I probably could have traded more stuff in and waited for a GPU but I know I'll have time constraints in the near future.

Entry Level PC - Older Generation Parts

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