Budget build for replaying older games

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fingersmcknee

Junior Member
Feb 7, 2009
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I sold my PC a few years back and plan to buy back in with a budget gaming-only system to play the 25+ games I would like to experience again.

Key goals: budget price (sub $400), newish titles with low-mid graphics (2012 and prior) and older titles looking shiny

Component list:

CPU: Intel G3220 @ 3.0Ghz ($64)
MB: Gigabyte GA-H81M-DS2V, LGA 1150, 2x240pin, DDR3 1600, PCI Express 2x16 ($56)
GPU: GT 630 @ 2GB ($70)
RAM: G.Skill F3-1600C9S-4GAB 1x4GB 240-pin DDR3 1600, 1.5V, 9-9-9-24 ($41)
HD : ADATA SP900 64GB SSD ($55)
Power: Antec VP-450, 450W ($38)
Case: Probably Coolermaster 430 on sale at Newegg until end of day today ($36)
Basic ethernet and keyboard ($25), already have mouse and TV

Total cost: $385

OS: will run XP [please refrain from arguing for 7 or 8. Have considered this to death and want 100% chance each game will run without jumping through hoops. I do not want to run through 7's XP compatibility mode]

I am not particularly concerned with upgrade path in this case. I expect to use the build for a few years and possibly make a new system at that time.

I think I covered all my bases for hardware interoperability and sufficient specs but if something is off it would be nice if someone flagged the problem before I buy.

Also, if you recommend other parts for better/same performance at lower price point that would be awesome.
 
toughtrasher

toughtrasher

Senior member
Mar 17, 2013
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That's a pretty nice set up right there, custom built is always stronger than already done computers so I say go for it.

If you could get cheaper, it's not by much, so I'd make the purchase.
 
B

bononos

Diamond Member
Aug 21, 2011
3,921
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fingersmcknee said:
I sold my PC a few years back and plan to buy back in with a budget gaming-only system to play the 25+ games I would like to experience again.

Key goals: budget price (sub $400), newish titles with low-mid graphics (2012 and prior) and older titles looking shiny

Component list:

CPU: Intel G3220 @ 3.0Ghz ($64)
MB: Gigabyte GA-H81M-DS2V, LGA 1150, 2x240pin, DDR3 1600, PCI Express 2x16 ($56)
GPU: GT 630 @ 2GB ($70)
RAM: G.Skill F3-1600C9S-4GAB 1x4GB 240-pin DDR3 1600, 1.5V, 9-9-9-24 ($41)
HD : ADATA SP900 64GB SSD ($55)
Power: Antec VP-450, 450W ($38)
Case: Probably Coolermaster 430 on sale at Newegg until end of day today ($36)
Basic ethernet and keyboard ($25), already have mouse and TV
.......
Click to expand...

A 630 is not going to be able to play 2012 titles decently even at low settings. Its about as fast as the 440 (with gddr5) as you can see from the benchmarks.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gt-640-review,3214-3.html
I'd get a better card like the 7750 or get an AMD APU.
 
dave_the_nerd

dave_the_nerd

Lifer
Feb 25, 2011
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DominionSeraph said:
Pick up a refurb C2D system for ~$120 and put a 7750 in it.
Click to expand...

Sherlock-Bless-This-Post.gif


Agree completely. You can get a reasonable C2D rig for like $100 easy.
 
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frozentundra123456

frozentundra123456

Lifer
Aug 11, 2008
10,451
642
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For older games, less well threaded, the pentium should work well. The other choice is an athlon X4 750k for the cpu. Pair either of those cpus with a HD7750 or 7770.

The Kaveri 7850k is overpriced (~180.00) at the moment, and you can get much better gaming performance with an 80.00 cpu like the pentium or athlon and a hundred dollar discrete card like the 7750. If you watch for sales carefully, you may be able to move up to a 7770 or 7790 for very nearly the 100.00 mark.
 
F

fingersmcknee

Junior Member
Feb 7, 2009
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Thanks for the great comments. I will look into some C2D package deals and the HD7750/7770. Would be nice to buy a second hand system and save some $$
 
southkrn

southkrn

Member
May 12, 2014
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Honestly though, even though you're going cheap, i still think you're going a little too cheap on the GPU. Opt for at least a GTX 650ti.
 
dave_the_nerd

dave_the_nerd

Lifer
Feb 25, 2011
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southkrn said:
Honestly though, even though you're going cheap, i still think you're going a little too cheap on the GPU. Opt for at least a GTX 650ti.
Click to expand...
You could follow this logic a ways. Problem is that PSU limitations are usually an issue with older prebuilts, and some require low-profile cards too.

The 7750 doesn't need an extra PCI-E power cable. The 650Ti does.
 
I

Insert_Nickname

Diamond Member
May 6, 2012
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dave_the_nerd said:
You could follow this logic a ways. Problem is that PSU limitations are usually an issue with older prebuilts, and some require low-profile cards too.

The 7750 doesn't need an extra PCI-E power cable. The 650Ti does.
Click to expand...

The 750(TI) is also an option, if you can find one cheaply. Both also exists as low-profile cards, in fact the 750TI is properly the most powerful low-profile card you're likely to find currently.

In fact, having got a 750TI, I decided to see how much it is capable of. It ran Skyrim at 1440p/8x AA/16x AF completely without issue. It's hellishly efficient running DX9... :D
 
sm625

sm625

Diamond Member
May 6, 2011
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It is getting to the point where you might not even be able to find XP drivers for a new chipset and stuff. You definitely want to buy used.
 
M

mfenn

Elite Member
Jan 17, 2010
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www.mfenn.com
I agree with the others here, pick up a used system and throw a GTX 750 Ti into it. Definitely avoid Haswell for XP because support is not good. I would also not connect the machine to the Internet (or at least don't browse on it) because XP has plenty of known flaws which will never be patched.

Here's a PC:
HP 8000 w/ Core 2 Duo E8500, 4GB RAM, 500GB HDD $240
EVGA GTX 750 Ti $150
Total: $390

The HP comes with Windows 7 on it, but you can install XP if you want. Though I would probably give 7 a test drive to see if it works for your games.
 
dave_the_nerd

dave_the_nerd

Lifer
Feb 25, 2011
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mfenn said:
I agree with the others here, pick up a used system and throw a GTX 750 Ti into it. Definitely avoid Haswell for XP because support is not good. I would also not connect the machine to the Internet (or at least don't browse on it) because XP has plenty of known flaws which will never be patched.

Here's a PC:
HP 8000 w/ Core 2 Duo E8500, 4GB RAM, 500GB HDD $240
EVGA GTX 750 Ti $150
Total: $390

The HP comes with Windows 7 on it, but you can install XP if you want. Though I would probably give 7 a test drive to see if it works for your games.
Click to expand...

Oh come on, you can do better than that. :awe:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16883280289

You'd need a low profile GPU of course.

What's the GPU driver support situation for XP? Is there any hardware that's "too new?"
 
I

Insert_Nickname

Diamond Member
May 6, 2012
4,971
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dave_the_nerd said:
What's the GPU driver support situation for XP? Is there any hardware that's "too new?"
Click to expand...

Graphics wise, the 750TI has XP drivers. I would not get my hopes up for anything that comes after.

There is supposed to be XP drivers for Haswell chipsets, but honestly I haven't tried. The Intel USB3 controller is definitely out. The drivers for it requires al least 7.
 
I

Insert_Nickname

Diamond Member
May 6, 2012
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mfenn said:
I specifically avoided low-profile cases due to bad cooling and headaches with trying to find low-profile GPUs.
Click to expand...

Finding low-profile cards isn't the problem. Finding low-profile cards with decent performance is.

Agree on the cooling though... :)
 
aigomorla

aigomorla

CPU, Cases&Cooling Mod PC Gaming Mod Elite Member
Super Moderator
Sep 28, 2005
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did u check on giggys website to see if they had all the drivers for your motherboard on XP?

seeing how the hardware u selected is quite new, id verify its supported by XP.
 
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M

mfenn

Elite Member
Jan 17, 2010
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gmaster456

gmaster456

Golden Member
Sep 7, 2011
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I would get an older Core 2 or first gen i3 system and slap in a video card. But that's just what I would do. Dells optiplex line is good, I would look at that and even though it's a dell, their business line typically has better parts than what you could put together yourself. At least on a budget.

Something like this and a used (or new. your choice) grahpics card would probably work well for retro gaming. It comes with windows 7 but I assume you have XP install media. Almost everyone does.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DELL-OPTIPL...1408588090?pt=Desktop_PCs&hash=item2a3ccb613a

Core 2 Duo 2.4Ghz
3gb RAM
160gb HDD
 
Last edited:
DominionSeraph

DominionSeraph

Diamond Member
Jul 22, 2009
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Um, I'm just saying, but those C2D systems you guys are putting out are getting pretty close to what you can buy a dual Xeon X5460 Proliant ML350 for.
 
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