• Build me a cheap ass gaming / media PC
    6 replies, posted
I need a PC for my room to be able to play some older, yet slightly demanding games HL2, GMOD, Minecraft (not old obviously), TES: Oblivion / Fallout3 (med graphics). I will be running Windows 7 Home Premium, and I will be using it a lot for playing online movies on a 720x1280 screen resolution size. I have a leftover HD4850, which got me by for quite a while until recently. I have a basic mid-tower case, but I'm also interested in those small, box cases. I suppose 4GB of RAM will do, preferably DDR3. I want it to run well and fluid, but I'm not into SSD's, nor could my budget afford one at their current price. I have an older intel Quad-Core CPU which was in a fried motherboard, I don't have the specs or socket type of that board though :( I don't know how to test or tell if the CPU is even good / alive. Though that would save me quite a chunk of cash. My budget is about $400. The less the better though, so if you can afford to make some cuts in certain areas please do so. Here's what I'll be needing: -CPU -RAM -Mobo -HDD -Case (optional)
[URL="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185&Tpk=spinpoint%20f3"]SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM [/URL]~$150 and for a limited time comes with a free case (Antec Two Hundred) [I][The cheapest hard drive I could recommend is a 500gb from Hitachi but it's still $80 and doesn't come with a case, so it'll still cost $130 combined with the HAF 912][/I] I[URL="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115078"]ntel Core i3-2100 Sandy Bridge 3.1GHz[/URL] ~$125 [10% off w/ promo code INTELCORE10, ends 12/31] (Processor) [URL="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157252&Tpk=ASRock%20Z68%20PRO3-M%20LGA%201155"]ASRock Z68 PRO3-M LGA 1155[/URL] ~$110 (Motherboard) [URL="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820313086"]Team Elite 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600)[/URL] ~$32 (RAM) or if you don't have 64 bit OS get [URL="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231180"]G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3[/URL] ~$30 Total of $417, you could find yourself a cheaper less reliable hard drive but then you'll have to add on the a case, and in that case (no pun intended) I would recommend the HAF 912 [URL="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233&Tpk=haf%20912"]COOLER MASTER HAF 912[/URL] ~$50 Edit:more info
You probably have a socket 775 CPU. That also needs DDR2 RAM. Now, Fallout and Oblivion will both run fine on that resolution, med-high. I have played them with my E5200 (Dual core) 4GB of ram and a HD4650 (Worse than a 4850) [editline]28th December 2011[/editline] Maybe you can take a look ON the CPU (The metal side) and there should be written what CPU it is. Just in case. [editline]28th December 2011[/editline] Look for a nice case: [url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100008308%204025%20600043624&IsNodeId=1&name=Micro%20ATX[/url] Mobo: [url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130555[/url] RAM: [url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148160[/url] PSU: [url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139027[/url]
[QUOTE=tratzzz;33937198]You probably have a socket 775 CPU. That also needs DDR2 RAM. Now, Fallout and Oblivion will both run fine on that resolution, med-high. I have played them with my E5200 (Dual core) 4GB of ram and a HD4650 (Worse than a 4850) [editline]28th December 2011[/editline] Maybe you can take a look ON the CPU (The metal side) and there should be written what CPU it is. Just in case. [editline]28th December 2011[/editline] Look for a nice case: [url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100008308%204025%20600043624&IsNodeId=1&name=Micro%20ATX[/url] Mobo: [url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130555[/url] RAM: [url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148160[/url] PSU: [url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139027[/url][/QUOTE] I actually had the E5200, but I gave that rig to my girlfriend :( what a bad idea. Anyways, cool. I'll probably just do a DDR2 / Socet 775 setup. It's all I need.
Here's what I've come up with. Seems hard to beat, $250 for everything Case: [url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147112[/url] PSU: [url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817152028[/url] Mobo: [url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157176[/url] CPU: [url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103871[/url] RAM: [url]http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211409[/url]
[QUOTE=Juice_Layer;33952810]Here's what I've come up with. Seems hard to beat, $250 for everything [/QUOTE] Terrible case, supposably IED power supplies aren't very reliable, get one that isn't IED Edit: Now you don't need an HDD?
[QUOTE=Kaarristu;33953249]Terrible case, supposably IED power supplies aren't very reliable, get one that isn't IED Edit: Now you don't need an HDD?[/QUOTE] I have some older SATA drives, 320GB should be good enough for a while. I'll look into another PSU and Case. The case doesn't need to be anything fancy. I have to go to work, so I'll look later.
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