300 PC for Civ IV and Torchlight 2?

[bimbs]

Hi guys! I'm trying to build a comp for my spouse to play these games with me. Is it possible to make one for 300-ish? I have an extra hard drive lying around but that's about it. Also, I have a Windows XP key but it would be nice to get Windows 8 or I could use Ubuntu and try to emulate Windows.

Any insight would be awesome!

Thanks.

 

[Cerb]

Torchlight 2 will run fine on about anything. Civ IV...it depends on how smooth you want it, for long games. It doesn't really hinder mdoern CPUs, but can get a bit sluggish with slow cores. Avoid Bay Trail, Kabini, etc..

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor ($108.97 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($66.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Team Dark Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($57.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Silverstone PS08B (Black) MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($33.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($18.75 @ OutletPC)
Total: $316.68
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-20 18:53 EST-0500

No OS, no HDD, 1 MIR. A video card would be a nice add-on, but the IGP should handle both games alright. Windows 8, cheap, basically requires getting a prebuilt.

So, with that in mind...

http://outlet.lenovo.com/outlet_us/itemdetails/90B80010US/445

Not amazing, and will only take low profile cards, but includes 8.1, the IGP is faster, and it can take video cards, at least.

 

[Ken g6]

I found a refurb AMD system on Newegg for exactly $300. Probably not as good as Cerb's Lenovo, but close.

 

[futurefields]

Torchlight 2 will run fine on about anything. Civ IV...it depends on how smooth you want it, for long games. It doesn't really hinder mdoern CPUs, but can get a bit sluggish with slow cores. Avoid Bay Trail, Kabini, etc..

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor ($108.97 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($66.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Team Dark Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($57.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Silverstone PS08B (Black) MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($33.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($18.75 @ OutletPC)
Total: $316.68
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-20 18:53 EST-0500

No OS, no HDD, 1 MIR. A video card would be a nice add-on, but the IGP should handle both games alright. Windows 8, cheap, basically requires getting a prebuilt.

So, with that in mind...

http://outlet.lenovo.com/outlet_us/itemdetails/90B80010US/445

Not amazing, and will only take low profile cards, but includes 8.1, the IGP is faster, and it can take video cards, at least.

i'd replace the cpu with this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819117374 and save $50

 

[Ken g6]

The Pentium is not a bad CPU. But I wouldn't recommend its IGP for gaming.

 

[Cerb]

The Pentium is not a bad CPU. But I wouldn't recommend its IGP for gaming.

That, and the A8-7600 only being around $10-15 cheaper, once all was chosen, were precisely why I went with the i3. I don't think the Pentium's CPU performance would be a problem at all, the savings just aren't enough for a video card that is a good value.

But, it was the wrong i3. I think I did the export on the wrong tab, while seeing about non-refresh Haswell deals .

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($66.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Team Dark Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($57.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Silverstone PS08B (Black) MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($33.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $303.94
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-20 20:49 EST-0500

 

[bimbs]

Thanks guys! Do you know how this would compare to a surface pro FIRST generation?

 

[bimbs]

Also! I forgot to add that I live right next to a Micro Center, so I can check their deals as well. So am I looking for an i3?

 

[nsafreak]

In your budget yes you're looking at an i3. I took a look at the prices for my local Microcenter and for you budget you're going to be better off purchasing online. Microcenter is great when you're doing builds than include an i5 or an i7 as their prices for the CPU & a motherboard are typically much lower than what you can find online. That's not the case right now unfortunately when it comes to i3s. They've had some Pentium bundles as well for $99.99 but nothing on those as of late either.

 

[piasabird]

I kind of wonder if prices on old gear will drop at all if motherboards with DDR4 slots become available. It seems like Intel never drops their prices because they have absolutely no real competition. Not even Dell sells many computers around $300 and if they did they would be weak under-performing Celerons. I have been kind of wondering when Microsoft 10 will come out. I wonder if they will offer some deal where you can download it at a discount or something like that.

http://www.techradar.com/news/softw...l-the-future-of-windows-10-in-january-1276709

There's been a lot of speculation about Windows 10, but all will be revealed on January 21, 2015, Microsoft has promised.

It is interesting how Microsoft is holding off on announcements about Windows 10 till after the Holiday season.

 

[Cerb]

http://www.microcenter.com/site/products/amd_bundles.aspx

Consider the A10-6800K bundles, especially the $105 ASRock one, if they have it. Pair with with 2x2GB or 2x4GB 1866-2133MHz RAM, for the IGP's sake. It is slower than the i3 CPUs, but cheaper, and the IGP is a bit faster than the HD 4600 found in most i5 and i7 CPUs, which is a bit faster than the HD 4400 in the i3s.

RAM like this:
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/patriot-memory-pvl38g213c1kr

http://www.guru3d.com/articles-pages/amd-a10-6800k-review-apu,10.html
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/amd_a10_6800k_review_apu,11.html

You can see there how that works in its favor, though it's slower as a CPU alone.

 

[mfenn]

In your budget yes you're looking at an i3. I took a look at the prices for my local Microcenter and for you budget you're going to be better off purchasing online. Microcenter is great when you're doing builds than include an i5 or an i7 as their prices for the CPU & a motherboard are typically much lower than what you can find online. That's not the case right now unfortunately when it comes to i3s. They've had some Pentium bundles as well for $99.99 but nothing on those as of late either.

They actually are offering their combo with the i3 4370 right now. You can get the i3 4370 + the ASrock H97M Pro4 for $180. That works out to more than Cerb's i3 build, but does come with a faster CPU (w/ better IGP) and a nicer mobo.

That being said, I think the AMD APU combo that Cerb pointed out is better for this use case, assuming that there are no plans to add a GPU. Adding a discrete GPU down the line shifts the balance to the i3.