Cheap basic gamer rig

tusk · 13-12-2018 4:35pm #1

Hey Guys,

My sister-in-law was hoping to get a PC for her kid for Christmas, however what I'm seeing available is pure garbage. I have a spare monitor and a 760 which I could contribute.

The kid games mostly on Xbox, so I don't expect that to change, so this doesn't need to be great, just something that he can play around on.

It won't need an SSD, but will need Windows. Disk Drives is not a necessity.

Basically just need something that will run games at any level for within the budget of around 300.

Any help very welcome!

13-12-2018 4:39pm

Cheap Gaming CPU: i5, 7300 / 8500 etc

Graphics: a 4GB Nvidia Graphics: Avoid 3GB 1060

Go for 8GB DDR4 at least, see if you can get 16 GB ram

completely agree with your opinion OP about Bricks & Mortar offering they're just that.

now go "window shopping" online

TerrorFirmer · 13-12-2018 5:46pm

That's pretty vague advice.

An i5-7400 and an i5-8500 are yards apart and not even in the same class. Plus an i5-8500 is not cheap at all.

A 3GB GTX1060 is miles better than a 4GB GTX1050ti for example.

Get something 2nd hand on adverts with an i7-3770 or whatever, 300 will be plenty. 8GB DDR3 will be fine but make sure it's in 2x4GB rather than a single stick if possible.

Where are you based. We can help you pick out something on adverts. With that budget an i7-3770 or i7-4770 would be ideal.

tusk · 13-12-2018 6:16pm

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

That's pretty vague advice.

Where are you based. We can help you pick out something on adverts. With that budget an i7-3770 or i7-4770 would be ideal.

Cheers! I was hoping for some hand holding to be honest. Been years since I built my machine.

I'm based in South Dublin.

Forgot to mention - will also need a mouse and keyboard in that budget. But a basic set is also fine.

K.O.Kiki · 13-12-2018 6:31pm

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 3 1200 3.1 GHz Quad-Core Processor (£70.50 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: ASRock - AB350M Pro4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard (£65.55 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Crucial - Ballistix Sport LT 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-2400 Memory (£60.01 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 760 2 GB Video Card (Purchased For £0.00)
Case: RAIJINTEK - ARCADIA ATX Mid Tower Case (£29.99 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: Corsair - CXM (2015) 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (£47.99 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £274.04
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-12-13 17:30 GMT+0000

€300 is tough for new.

Microsoft allow you to install Windows 10 & use without activation.

TerrorFirmer · 13-12-2018 7:09pm

Quick look shows it's a bit limited at the moment unfortunately. You could definitely get an i7-4770 or 3770 based machine well below your budget on Ebay (around 200-250 with 8GB ram) but it may not arrive in time for Xmas.

Kiki's build above is as good as it gets new, though the 1200 is slower than either i7. If he's a Fortnite/Overwatch/COD type player though it will be plenty for now.

Are you willing to travel?

tusk · 13-12-2018 7:27pm

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

Quick look shows it's a bit limited at the moment unfortunately. You could definitely get an i7-4770 or 3770 based machine well below your budget on Ebay (around 200-250 with 8GB ram) but it may not arrive in time for Xmas.

Kiki's build above is as good as it gets new, though the 1200 is slower than either i7. If he's a Fortnite/Overwatch/COD type player though it will be plenty for now.

Are you willing to travel?

Cheers - yeah we definitely need something by xmas. Travel could be an option if necessary.

fordyjames · 13-12-2018 9:23pm

https://www.adverts.ie/desktops/dell-optiplex-7020-i5-4590-3-3ghz-8gb-ram-250gb-ssd-amd-rx570-4gb-windows-10-pro-gaming-pc/16649987

tusk · 13-12-2018 10:28pm

fordyjames wrote: »

https://www.adverts.ie/desktops/dell-optiplex-7020-i5-4590-3-3ghz-8gb-ram-250gb-ssd-amd-rx570-4gb-windows-10-pro-gaming-pc/16649987

Cheers fordyjames. Have passed this on to her.

Any other recommendations lads and ladies?

*would prefer to leave the graphics card out (as I've one spare) and potentially put that cash into a hdd or better processor.

tusk · 14-12-2018 1:29pm

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 3 1200 3.1 GHz Quad-Core Processor (£70.50 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: ASRock - AB350M Pro4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard (£65.55 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Crucial - Ballistix Sport LT 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-2400 Memory (£60.01 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 760 2 GB Video Card (Purchased For £0.00)
Case: RAIJINTEK - ARCADIA ATX Mid Tower Case (£29.99 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: Corsair - CXM (2015) 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (£47.99 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £274.04
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-12-13 17:30 GMT+0000

€300 is tough for new.

Microsoft allow you to install Windows 10 & use without activation.

Thanks for this. Just going through it on amazon now. Unfortunately, the MB is not expected til after christmas. Any other suggestions instead?

Also I have a mate willing to give 8GB DDR3. Would this build need to change with that?

Thanks!

K.O.Kiki · 14-12-2018 2:18pm

tusk wrote: »

Thanks for this. Just going through it on amazon now. Unfortunately, the MB is not expected til after christmas. Any other suggestions instead?

Also I have a mate willing to give 8GB DDR3. Would this build need to change with that?

Thanks!

DDR3 won't work on Ryzen systems, or machines newer than Intel 4000 series.

An i5-4590 system would be grand.
The only loss is that it's a so-called dead socket, so would need a total overhaul in a few years.

However the free DDR3 RAM really frees up the budget, allowing you to get a quality power supply in there.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i5-4590 3.3 GHz Quad-Core Processor (£54.00)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG - M9i 48.4 CFM CPU Cooler (£20.81 @ CCL Computers)
Motherboard: Asus - H81-PLUS ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£61.24 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Patriot - Signature 8 GB (1 x 8 GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (Purchased For £0.00)
Video Card: Asus - GeForce GTX 760 2 GB DirectCU II Video Card (Purchased For £0.00)
Case: Fractal Design - Focus G (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case (£47.38 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: be quiet! - Pure Power 10 500 W 80+ Silver Certified ATX Power Supply (£59.22 @ CCL Computers)
Other: CPU @ CEX
Total: £242.65
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-12-14 13:18 GMT+0000

tusk · 14-12-2018 2:31pm

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

DDR3 won't work on Ryzen systems, or machines newer than Intel 4000 series.

An i5-4590 system would be grand.
The only loss is that it's a so-called dead socket, so would need a total overhaul in a few years.

However the free DDR3 RAM really frees up the budget, allowing you to get a quality power supply in there.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i5-4590 3.3 GHz Quad-Core Processor (£54.00)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG - M9i 48.4 CFM CPU Cooler (£20.81 @ CCL Computers)
Motherboard: Asus - H81-PLUS ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£61.24 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Patriot - Signature 8 GB (1 x 8 GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (Purchased For £0.00)
Video Card: Asus - GeForce GTX 760 2 GB DirectCU II Video Card (Purchased For £0.00)
Case: Fractal Design - Focus G (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case (£47.38 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: be quiet! - Pure Power 10 500 W 80+ Silver Certified ATX Power Supply (£59.22 @ CCL Computers)
Other: CPU @ CEX
Total: £242.65
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-12-14 13:18 GMT+0000

Legend! Thanks so much for taking the time to help. Will run through Amazon for this

Fingers crossed!

TitianGerm · 14-12-2018 2:33pm

tusk wrote: »

Legend! Thanks so much for taking the time to help. Will run through Amazon for this Fingers crossed!

Long delays with Amazon and An Post at the minute so you might not have everything in time?

tusk · 14-12-2018 2:46pm

Yeah just making sure everything I order is on track for delivery on time.

@k.o.kiki just noticed there's a potential incompatibility issue flagged on the part picker about BIOS and Haswell chips. Any ideas there?

K.O.Kiki · 14-12-2018 3:10pm

tusk wrote: »

Yeah just making sure everything I order is on track for delivery on time.

@k.o.kiki just noticed there's a potential incompatibility issue flagged on the part picker about BIOS and Haswell chips. Any ideas there?

Considering the age of them, I'd hazard a guess that the motherboard will have latest BIOS & everything runs fine.

If not, a Celeron G1820/G1830/G1840 can be got on Adverts/eBay for under €25 and will allow you to upgrade BIOS.

tusk · 14-12-2018 3:23pm

Ok so here's where I'm at after trying to find everything on amazon and making sure delivery will be in time.

There's a few warnings there though

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/j3VYzY

*mouse and keyboard aren't those, I just have 40 quid set aside for the set.

K.O.Kiki · 14-12-2018 4:21pm

tusk wrote: »

Ok so here's where I'm at after trying to find everything on amazon and making sure delivery will be in time.

There's a few warnings there though

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/j3VYzY

*mouse and keyboard aren't those, I just have 40 quid set aside for the set.

450W on older hardware might be pushing it. I'd put a few more quid into the PSU and get the aforementioned be quiet 500, or this Seasonic S12II-620W.

Cheap basic gamer rig

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