# Looking to build a temporary low end gaming computer



## goodguys9 (May 9, 2012)

I want a low end gaming computer that will last me just this year or so until I buy a much stronger one. I only want to play low end games on this one too, like League of Legends and similar games. This is the best build I could get, cheap and would run what I want. I have absolutely no experience in this though. Do you have suggestions? Will this build work? Will it do what I want? Is there a better/cheaper build to do what I want? Thanks!

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

*CPU:* AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($109.99 @ NCIX US) 
*Motherboard:* Asus M5A97 ATX  AM3+ Motherboard  ($88.88 @ NCIX US) 
*Memory:* Crucial 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory  ($20.99 @ Amazon) 
*Hard Drive:* Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($100.98 @ Newegg) 
*Video Card:* EVGA GeForce GTX 550 Ti 1GB Video Card  ($122.61 @ NCIX US) 
*Case:* Cooler Master Elite 430 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($34.99 @ Newegg) 
*Power Supply:* Cooler Master 460W ATX12V Power Supply  ($21.98 @ Newegg) 
*Optical Drive:* Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer  ($17.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
*Total:* $518.41
_(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)_
_(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-05-08 21:56 EDT-0400)_


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## eidairaman1 (May 9, 2012)

why not save the money then instead of waste it because you will have diminishing returns on it.

If you were to build a machine id get the best money could buy now which would allow for CPU/Ram/Videocard Upgrades

also what Region do you live in


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## goodguys9 (May 9, 2012)

I don't want to save it because I REALLY want to play games now. My current computer is 10 years old. It can't play flash games! So yeah, I want at least a low end one now, and I have a pretty nice job and no real expenses so might as well. 

As for my region, I live in Canada.


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## eidairaman1 (May 9, 2012)

goodguys9 said:


> I don't want to save it because I REALLY want to play games now. My current computer is 10 years old. It can't play flash games! So yeah, I want at least a low end one now, and I have a pretty nice job and no real expenses so might as well.
> 
> As for my region, I live in Canada.



ok the money you said thats in CAD right?


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## goodguys9 (May 9, 2012)

No, that was american actually, woops. CAD is 16 cents more ($518.57). The conversion rate is essentially on par atm.


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## eidairaman1 (May 9, 2012)

goodguys9 said:


> No, that was american actually, woops. CAD is 16 cents more ($518.57). The conversion rate is essentially on par atm.



Now Do you overclock at all?


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## Yo_Wattup (May 9, 2012)

Get an i3 sandy bridge system. You can get an i3 2100 for about $80-$100 depending on where you are and its better for gaming than a Phenom 2.


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## eidairaman1 (May 9, 2012)

Yo_Wattup said:


> Get an i3 sandy bridge system. You can get an i3 2100 for about $80-$100 depending on where you are and its better for gaming than a Phenom 2.



he will be selling the system shortly and the Phenom 2 is power enough for gaming.


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## TRWOV (May 9, 2012)

Yo_Wattup said:


> Get an i3 sandy bridge system. You can get an i3 2100 for about $80-$100 depending on where you are and its better for gaming than a Phenom 2.



seconded


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## Yukikaze (May 9, 2012)

Isn't this one of the cases where a system be built around an AMD APU and just have a video card thrown in later when extra funds become available becomes a pretty viable alternative? Especially since the A8-3870K is just a tiny bit more expensive than that Phenom, avoids the need of a video card if the current gaming goal is low end and provides the same CPU performance?

APU:
AMD A8-3870K Unlocked Llano 3.0GHz Socket FM1 100W...


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## phanbuey (May 9, 2012)

the phenom is a waste of cash.  get the sandybridge.


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## theonedub (May 9, 2012)

I would take a 6850 over a 550ti, that 550ti is pretty weak and for that price you could get better (the 6850 has been on sale recently for the same price).


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## goodguys9 (May 9, 2012)

eidairaman1 said:


> Now Do you overclock at all?



No, I don't plan to because I don't know how. I could learn, but I assume you're asking because if I am I would need a CPU cooler. Since I'm going for price I don't want to get anything more expensive.



Yo_Wattup said:


> Get an i3 sandy bridge system. You can get an i3 2100 for about $80-$100 depending on where you are and its better for gaming than a Phenom 2.



An intel CPU wouldn't be compatible with my current build (I'm using a site to put the build together and when i went to change it/check it out, it said it wasn't compatible).



theonedub said:


> I would take a 6850 over a 550ti, that 550ti is pretty weak and for that price you could get better (the 6850 has been on sale recently for the same price).



From the reading I've done the 550ti is actually a slightly better option, and the 6850 is slightly more expensive. Why do you say the 6850 is better?


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## D007 (May 9, 2012)

I'd be scouring the buy/sell/trade forum, if I were you.


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## brandonwh64 (May 9, 2012)

Use newegg.ca

I3-2100/2120 with a Cheap H61 board and 2x2GB DDR3 1333mhz (around 200$ or so) then find a used 5770/5830/GTX 460 (all can be had under 100$ in some instances) Then pickup that Corsair 430W you listed in your OP

I say you may have around 350$-400$ in a stout build. I have a 2120 as a cruncher and it is quite powerful and beats AMD quads in gaming.


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## goodguys9 (May 9, 2012)

brandonwh64 said:


> Use newegg.ca
> 
> I3-2100/2120 with a Cheap H61 board and 2x2GB DDR3 1333mhz (around 200$ or so) then find a used 5770/5830/GTX 460 (all can be had under 100$ in some instances) Then pickup that Corsair 430W you listed in your OP
> 
> I say you may have around 350$-400$ in a stout build. I have a 2120 as a cruncher and it is quite powerful and beats AMD quads in gaming.




I can't use newegg , they only ship to the U.S. Also, you didn't include the HDD in your price (which would bump it another $100), The Case price (another $50) and an optical drive. I think your system would be more expensive than my current build in the end. Also, I've heard that generally going too cheap with the motherboard is a bad idea. 

Could you maybe explain the build a bit better/link to parts? I might just not be understanding what you mean.

EDIT: Woop, didn't realize there was a newegg.ca Sorry.


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## JrRacinFan (May 9, 2012)

brandonwh64 said:


> Use newegg.ca
> 
> I3-2100/2120 with a Cheap H61 board and 2x2GB DDR3 1333mhz (around 200$ or so) then find a used 5770/5830/GTX 460 (all can be had under 100$ in some instances) Then pickup that Corsair 430W you listed in your OP
> 
> I say you may have around 350$-400$ in a stout build. I have a 2120 as a cruncher and it is quite powerful and beats AMD quads in gaming.



2nd'd (is that a word?) It even beats out my old 655k @ 3.8Ghz by about a 15% margin, with 460 SLI.

One moment, will do a build.

Ram $23 AMIR
http://ncix.com/products/?sku=40072&vpn=TW3X4G1333C9A&manufacture=Corsair
CPU
http://ncix.com/products/?sku=59192&vpn=BX80623I32120&manufacture=Intel
Board 
http://ncix.com/products/?sku=66933&vpn=GA-H61M-DS2&manufacture=Gigabyte&promoid=1360
http://img.techpowerup.org/120509/Capture068.jpg $209 AMIR

HDD
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185
GPU
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121633
http://img.techpowerup.org/120509/Capture069.jpg $219

Case & PSU
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6430030&CatId=1509

Comes out to be about $475 & find an optical drive of your choice. Also, needed to add, you can't go by the pricing on PCPartPicker for your locale as they assume you are building in the States, which makes their prices null.

So as you can see if you look around and do some shopping you got a board that's ALOT better a CPU that can handle multi gpu. Also you may not have to do it AS A TEMPORARY SOLUTION!


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## Fourstaff (May 9, 2012)

Use i3 2100 or 2120, then you don't need to upgrade for the next 3-4 years if we are still playing console ports. 

Also, get 2x2gb ram, dual channel should be noticeably better.


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## brandonwh64 (May 9, 2012)

This may help

Total is actually 480$ with MIR


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## JrRacinFan (May 9, 2012)

Brandon, look at my build above. It has twice the board you have in yours.

EDIT:
DUH! I need to read. It's ADD for $199 not a COMBO for $199. In that case you got a better build, B.


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## brandonwh64 (May 9, 2012)

JrRacinFan said:


> Brandon, look at my build above. It has twice the board you have in yours.
> 
> EDIT:
> DUH! I need to read. It's ADD for $199 not a COMBO for $199. In that case you got a better build, B.



There is no PSU with that case and using two companys for the build my increase shipping prices?

Also how does the 7750 hold up to other GPUs? also the 2120 you posted is 20$ more than mine


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## cadaveca (May 9, 2012)

goodguys9 said:


> I can't use newegg , they only ship to the U.S.



Newegg.ca will ship up here, no problem, but you'll get dinged for taxes and duty when the stuff crosses the border.

Depending on what games you plan to play, an APU will be faster then that Phenom II 965. Most notibly in Codemasters titles, where the APUs are about 25% faster, thanks to the better memory bandwidth they offer.

You say you got a good job, and some money, don't waste time on the cheap-ass rig, just build a good one.  Budget $1500, and you'll get a killer rig that will last for several years, rather than getting one that is almost obsolete already.


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## JrRacinFan (May 9, 2012)

brandonwh64 said:


> There is no PSU with that case and using two companys for the build my increase shipping prices?
> 
> Also how does the 7750 hold up to other GPUs? also the 2120 you posted is 20$ more than mine



I really need to learn how to read today. Also, I thought I picked a 7770 .... 

EDIT:

I meant to link this one
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150598

As you can also see, 430W may even be doable for 7770 crossfire.
http://www.legitreviews.com/images/reviews/1854/power-consumption.jpg


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## theonedub (May 9, 2012)

goodguys9 said:


> From the reading I've done the 550ti is actually a slightly better option, and the 6850 is slightly more expensive. Why do you say the 6850 is better?



Where have you read the 550ti is better than the 6850? Just looking at the TPU Review the 500ti is 20% slower than the 6850 overall.


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## Vulpesveritas (May 9, 2012)

Yeah GPU wise you'd be better of with a 6850 or 7770.  In every review I've read the 6850 and 7770 are faster than the 550t by 10-25% in all but a couple of Nvidia branded titles.
And a Phenom II is fine, but get an AM3+ mobo for future CPU upgrades.


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## phanbuey (May 9, 2012)

brandonwh64 said:


> This may help
> 
> Total is actually 480$ with MIR
> 
> http://img.techpowerup.org/120509/Neweggsale.png



^^ that is a nice build.


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## T4C Fantasy (May 9, 2012)

i can find you a decent budget pc for 252 dollars includes a8-3870k 4gb ddr3 ram will be hybrid crossfire with hd6570 and asrock mobo

ASRock A55M-HVS FM1 AMD A55 (Hudson D2) HDMI Micro...
PowerColor AX6570 1GBK3-H Radeon HD 6570 1GB 128-b...
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3...
AMD A8-3870K Unlocked Llano 3.0GHz Socket FM1 100W...
Athena Power CA-1015CR40 Black / Red SECC Steel Mi...
LG DVD Burner 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 24X ...

this will play all your games fine for a year its small its cheap and its ugly, exacty what you are looking for


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## eidairaman1 (May 10, 2012)

+1 and Honestly he doesnt need the fastest machine to run the games, either which way he can always upgrade this one



T4C Fantasy said:


> i can find you a decent budget pc for 252 dollars includes a8-3870k 4gb ddr3 ram will be hybrid crossfire with hd6570 and asrock mobo
> 
> ASRock A55M-HVS FM1 AMD A55 (Hudson D2) HDMI Micro...
> PowerColor AX6570 1GBK3-H Radeon HD 6570 1GB 128-b...
> ...


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## Fourstaff (May 10, 2012)

eidairaman1 said:


> +1 and Honestly he doesnt need the fastest machine to run the games, either which way he can always upgrade this one



Why bother upgrading when you can get it right the first time round?


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## goodguys9 (May 11, 2012)

Okay, so I'm going with Brandons $500 build. I had some questions about it though:

Where can I get a good monitor with that?
Where can I get an operating system/what should I use?
Are Biostar motherboards and corsair good brands to buy from?
When it crashes where will I get IT help?
Will it have internet access?
Will I need to buy separate speakers too?

^those are all questions my dad asked me when I said i was building a computer. I didn't have an answer. And is building one from parts really that simple?


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## JrRacinFan (May 11, 2012)

1. http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986
2. If you don't wish to use your current one...
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236176
3. Yes.
4. Post a thread here. We can assist you.
5. Well.... that depends. Do you currently have net access?
6. Yes, if you don't wish to use your current ones.


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## eidairaman1 (May 11, 2012)

Fourstaff said:


> Why bother upgrading when you can get it right the first time round?



yup n waste abunch of money


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## T4C Fantasy (May 11, 2012)

eidairaman1 said:


> yup n waste abunch of money



when was last time you upgraded yours?


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## TSX420J (May 11, 2012)

goodguys9 said:


> I want a low end gaming computer that will last me just this year or so until I buy a much stronger one. I only want to play low end games on this one too, like League of Legends and similar games. This is the best build I could get, cheap and would run what I want. I have absolutely no experience in this though. Do you have suggestions? Will this build work? Will it do what I want? Is there a better/cheaper build to do what I want? Thanks!
> 
> PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks
> 
> ...




A little more $ than the one you configured, but this one will allow you to just upgrade the video card and cpu to the latest generation without having to upgrade the rest of your system.. You should be able to run all latest games with this rig at decent settings. Next year just add an IB 3770k and a GTX685 or GTX780 and you will have a monster!! Spend a little more and future proof your system. Yes, the SSD may seem expensive but its only 10 dollars more than a WD 160gb HDD. The whole build is about 180 dollars more, but its worth it.


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## _Zod_ (May 11, 2012)

iBUYPOWER Gamer Power 913i Desktop PC Intel Core i3 2120(3.30GHz) 8GB DDR3 500GB HDD Capacity Intel HD Graphics 2000 Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit

ZOTAC ZT-50401-10L-R GeForce GTX 550 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

Crappy mouse, Keyboard and OS included. The OS would run you $100, this saves the hassles of waiting for parts to ship, assembly etc, Also you get some tech support.


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## goodguys9 (May 11, 2012)

JrRacinFan said:


> 1. http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986
> 2. If you don't wish to use your current one...
> http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236176
> 3. Yes.
> ...



What do you mean if I don't want to use my current one? I would need to purchaise an OS for the new computer wouldn't I?

Also, yes, I have wifi currently. Will this computer be able to hook up and use that wifi or will i need a special part?


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## goodguys9 (May 11, 2012)

_Zod_ said:


> iBUYPOWER Gamer Power 913i Desktop PC Intel Core i3 2120(3.30GHz) 8GB DDR3 500GB HDD Capacity Intel HD Graphics 2000 Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit
> 
> ZOTAC ZT-50401-10L-R GeForce GTX 550 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
> 
> Crappy mouse, Keyboard and OS included. The OS would run you $100, this saves the hassles of waiting for parts to ship, assembly etc, Also you get some tech support.



If I modified it to add the video card wouldn't it void the warranty or any tech support they'd offer? Other than that, that looks like quite a good deal...


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## JrRacinFan (May 11, 2012)

goodguys9 said:


> What do you mean if I don't want to use my current one? I would need to purchaise an OS for the new computer wouldn't I?
> 
> Also, yes, I have wifi currently. Will this computer be able to hook up and use that wifi or will i need a special part?



Questions 1 & 2 are switched. Meant your current monitor. Rgarding wifi, didn't know you were using wifi or knew how you connected. What wifi adapter do you currently have?

EDIT
Regarding warranty, if you blow out the power supply with a new video card, they MAY NOT cover the expense of a new one. From what I am reading I beleive that is the extent. Also, first line of the warranty implies it is only valid within the US. http://www.ibuypower.com/Support/Warranty.aspx


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