Is this a decent low-end gaming rig?

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
56,229
9,990
126
Intel Pentium G3258 @ 3.6-3.8 ($90 in combo with mobo)
2x4GB GSkill Sniper DDR3-1600 ($40 back when DDR3 was cheap)
Gigabyte GA-H81M-DS2V
HIS 7950 3GB GDDR5 (800/1250, not overclocked) ($130 new, firesale at Newegg)
Crucial M500 240GB SATA6G SSD ($80)
Rosewill PCI-E N150 wifi (Atheros) ($9)
PT-8812AU AC1200 Realtek USB3.0 wifi ($17)
Logitech wireless keyboard / mouse ($20?)
Edit: Forgot case / PSU, sorry.
EVGA 500 B PSU ($45)
RaidMax Cobra Titanium case ($40)

Want to get ECS Z97-PK motherboards for these rigs to replace the Gigabyte H81 mobos, in the hope that I'll be able to get 4.3-4.4 out of these CPUs, along with PCI-E 3.0 and DDR3-1600 speeds.

I think it's around $435 worth of parts so far.

The two wifi cards, are because the Atheros Wifi is recognized without drivers in both Linux Mint and Win 7 64-bit. I have to use that card to download and install the drivers for the AC1200, in Linux. I then disable the Atheros when I get the drivers for the AC1200 loaded.

Edit: To be clear, this is my current PC. I was wondering more about upgrades, that would be cheap. Not really interested in "hardcore" gaming, no BF4 MP, so no need for an i5 / i7.
 
Last edited:

Smoblikat

Diamond Member
Nov 19, 2011
5,184
107
106
Looks fine for a low end gaming rig. Maybe get a samsung SSD instead. Which PSU are you using? Also, why do you have 2 wifi cards?
 

sm625

Diamond Member
May 6, 2011
8,172
137
106
You're going to run into problems if you try running anything alongside your game. As long as you're ok with not having anything running in the background while playing, you'll be ok as long as the game doesnt specifically require more than 2 threads.

Also, you're not seriously buying two wifi cards just to install drivers? Why not just use a thumb drive to get the drivers?
 

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
56,229
9,990
126
It's about FPS/$. Drop the SSD and get an i3 instead.

Would I be better off investing in an 3.6Ghz Haswell i3, or a new Z97 mobo?

My current mobo limits RAM speed to DDR3-1400, no PCI-E 3.0, only two SATA6G ports and two SATAII ports, no front USB3.0, only two DIMM slots, no Crossfire. A Z97-PK would solve all of those issues, and, hopefully, get me to a 4.4Ghz OC, if ECS's "one-click OC settings" can be believed.

So then, if I can get that OC, which is faster in terms of gaming FPS, a 4.4Ghz G3258, or a 3.6Ghz i3?

The i3 CPU would be around twice the price of the motherboard, and I would still be stuck in H81 land, with no front USB3.0. (My case has one front USB3.0, that I would like to use, and all of my rear USB ports are full, the Z97-PK has two more USB2.0 ports on the back as compared to my H81 board.)
 

Essence_of_War

Platinum Member
Feb 21, 2013
2,650
4
81
Is this a decent low-end gaming rig
What games are you trying to play and at what resolutions? My experience with the 7870 XT has been that's been great at 1920x1200 and the 7950 should be very solid too, but you may run into CPU bottlenecks with the pentium. I think there may even be some modern titles that refuse to start with it...FC4 may have had this issue at launch, I think?
 
Feb 25, 2011
16,777
1,466
126
Would I be better off investing in an 3.6Ghz Haswell i3, or a new Z97 mobo?

My current mobo limits RAM speed to DDR3-1400, no PCI-E 3.0, only two SATA6G ports and two SATAII ports, no front USB3.0, only two DIMM slots, no Crossfire. A Z97-PK would solve all of those issues, and, hopefully, get me to a 4.4Ghz OC, if ECS's "one-click OC settings" can be believed.

DDR3-1400 won't be a big limit to gaming if you're not using an IGP. PCI-E 2.0 is not a bottleneck for gaming, really, either. 2 SATA-3 ports is enough for two SSDs. SATA-2 is faster than any HD or CD/DVD. How many of those do you need?

So then, if I can get that OC, which is faster in terms of gaming FPS, a 4.4Ghz G3258, or a 3.6Ghz i3?
http://www.anandtech.com/show/8232/...ary-edition-review-the-intel-pentium-g3258-ae

V2ViOzZ.png


It's close, but the i3 will win as many as it loses, and will still win in heavily threaded games, if such a thing exists. (Also doesn't take into account GPU overclocking, which may make an appreciable difference.)

Also, never spend money assuming that you will definitely be able to overclock to X speed.

The i3 CPU would be around twice the price of the motherboard, and I would still be stuck in H81 land, with no front USB3.0. (My case has one front USB3.0, that I would like to use, and all of my rear USB ports are full, the Z97-PK has two more USB2.0 ports on the back as compared to my H81 board.)
USB3.0 doesn't make more FPS either. External USB HDDs are for chumps, USB2 is fast enough for pretty much anything else. (Faster than the Flash in most USB3 thumb drives anyway.) USB2 is also plenty fast for WiFi. (Why do you have 2 Wifi cards/controllers on that thing? Run a copper wire if you actually care about performance.)

And USB hubs are cheap.

Seems like you're doing a lot of "what if" planning for a system build without addressing priority #1. (Gaming, judging by the thread title.)

Also, however the hell your LAN is configured... I want nothing to do with it.
 

sm625

Diamond Member
May 6, 2011
8,172
137
106
My current mobo limits RAM speed to DDR3-1400, no PCI-E 3.0, only two SATA6G ports and two SATAII ports, no front USB3.0, only two DIMM slots, no Crossfire. A Z97-PK would solve all of those issues, and, hopefully, get me to a 4.4Ghz OC, if ECS's "one-click OC settings" can be believed.

So then, if I can get that OC, which is faster in terms of gaming FPS, a 4.4Ghz G3258, or a 3.6Ghz i3?

The i3 would provide a better overall experience. The pentium would run games faster, right up until you play one that stutters on two cores. You dont need DDR3 speed. And you can always run a USB cable to the front.
 
Feb 25, 2011
16,777
1,466
126
Every "budget" system I've ever had has been the most CPU I could afford attached to the cheapest motherboard I could get away with.

Glass cannons are awesome.
 

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
56,229
9,990
126
DDR3-1400 won't be a big limit to gaming if you're not using an IGP. PCI-E 2.0 is not a bottleneck for gaming, really, either. 2 SATA-3 ports is enough for two SSDs. SATA-2 is faster than any HD or CD/DVD. How many of those do you need?
I guess, not many. I have one SATA6G SSD and one SATAII SSD right now, no optical, no internal HDD.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/8232/...ary-edition-review-the-intel-pentium-g3258-ae

V2ViOzZ.png


It's close, but the i3 will win as many as it loses, and will still win in heavily threaded games, if such a thing exists. (Also doesn't take into account GPU overclocking, which may make an appreciable difference.)

Also, never spend money assuming that you will definitely be able to overclock to X speed.
Thanks for the comparison benchmarks, and point taken, that I might not even get 4.4Ghz.

USB3.0 doesn't make more FPS either. External USB HDDs are for chumps, USB2 is fast enough for pretty much anything else. (Faster than the Flash in most USB3 thumb drives anyway.) USB2 is also plenty fast for WiFi. (Why do you have 2 Wifi cards/controllers on that thing? Run a copper wire if you actually care about performance.)
I don't really do much online gaming, but if the wifi is a problem, then I'll have to run a wire.
And I disagree that external USB HDDs are for chumps, I have some sweet USB3.0 dual-drive docking bays that I use.

I have a pretty standard AC1200 wifi LAN, not sure why you're adverse to wifi. I live in an apt, I can't rip open the walls. Not sure if I would even want to.
 
Feb 25, 2011
16,777
1,466
126
And I disagree that external USB HDDs are for chumps, I have some sweet USB3.0 dual-drive docking bays that I use.

For gaming? :p

For cloning HDs or something, I could see it, but how often do you do that where USB2 isn't fast enough?

Now, if you're doing your computer-guy business, maybe cloning an HD is something you do every couple days, then I'd concede that USB3 is a lot more important. But if you're trying to build a machine for both work and play, it's probably worth splurging a bit to get the i3 AND the newer motherboard, not either/or.

I have a pretty standard AC1200 wifi LAN, not sure why you're adverse to wifi. I live in an apt, I can't rip open the walls. Not sure if I would even want to.
AC1200 WiFi is still a fraction of the speed of wired GbE in real world use, and I've had bad luck with WiFi in weird cases that require beer to discuss.

But that's neither here nor there - the build in OP has a USB WiFi adapter and a WiFi PCI-E card. I'm trying to figure out why you need two. (Dropping the PCI-E one would give you room for a USB-3 card.)

Rosewill PCI-E N150 wifi (Atheros)
PT-8812AU AC1200 Realtek USB3.0 wifi
 
Last edited:

Cerb

Elite Member
Aug 26, 2000
17,484
33
86
Here's some more:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/pentium-g3258-b81-cheap-overclocking,3888-3.html

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2014/06/24/intel-pentium-g3258-review/5

The results vary quite a bit. Averages are fine, but 2 threads just doesn't cut it, oftentimes, for minimums. Every day desktop use is also palpably snappier on an i3 v. a Pentium.

I'm not sure it's worth the cost and trouble. But, I also don't get where the total of $435 is coming from. If these are not yet bought, then don't, and instead get at least an i3. The 4150 is $105fs at NCIX.
 

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
56,229
9,990
126
For gaming? :p

For cloning HDs or something, I could see it, but how often do you do that where USB2 isn't fast enough?

Now, if you're doing your computer-guy business, maybe cloning an HD is something you do every couple days, then I'd concede that USB3 is a lot more important.
I thought that removing the 3TB HDD from the internal SATA, and putting it in the external USB3.0 dual-drive HDD dock would be more flexible. I use them for bulk storage and backups.

Now that you mention it, I wonder how well or how badly a Steam drive would run over USB3.0. I get 180MB/sec transfers writing to the drive.

But if you're trying to build a machine for both work and play, it's probably worth splurging a bit to get the i3 AND the newer motherboard, not either/or.
That would be nice. I buy things in bits and pieces sometimes. If I were doing both, then I would be tempted to try to get an i5 at least, and a Z97.

But perhaps I should just wait for Skylake, if I were going to spend on both a mobo and CPU replacement? These G3258 / GA-H81M-DS2V combos were only $90 from Newegg some time ago. Pretty decent deal. Spending another $120 on a CPU, and another $70+ on a mobo, makes the proposition seem a bit unattractive. Again, I'm not a hardcore gamer, I only play Skyrim on 1080P. The only reason I have two 7950 cards, is that they were on firesale for $130 ea. Same price I paid for my 7790 1GB GDDR5 card a year or two ago.

AC1200 WiFi is still a fraction of the speed of wired GbE in real world use, and I've had bad luck with WiFi in weird cases that require beer to discuss.

But that's neither here nor there - the build in OP has a USB WiFi adapter and a WiFi PCI-E card. I'm trying to figure out why you need two. (Dropping the PCI-E one would give you room for a USB-3 card.)
Well, to install the Linux drivers for the AC1200 USB wifi, you have to be online already, to do a "git clone" operation to get the source code to compile for that device driver.

And I wouldn't waste my money or slots on a USB3.0 card, just for one front-panel USB3.0 port. I would spend it instead on a replacement mobo, with front-panel USB3.0, as well as the other discussed features.
 

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
56,229
9,990
126
Well, I was out of USB ports, no place to plug in a flash drive or a USB DVD writer.

I already had a few USB2.0 and 3.0 hubs that I had purchased for my tablets.

I plugged one in (StarTech USB3.0), and the cord was so short, I couldn't even think of running it from my desktop down into the computer cubby portion of my desk. (Yes, it was only like 2-2.5ft long). So I unplugged my PT-8812AU from the 5ft USB3.0 extension cable, and plugged the USB3.0 hub into that, on top of my desk, and plugged the PT-8812AU into the HUB directly.

Interestingly, Task Manager, Network, link speed on the AC1200 wifi is reporting 867Mb/sec, before it was like 560Mbit/sec.

And now I have a few extra USB3.0 ports. Hooray!

Edit: Maybe, not so fast. When I plugged the USB3.0 hub in, it installed a "USB 2.0 Hub" and a "USB 3.0 Hub" device. Then, I plugged my PT-8812AU USB3.0 wifi adapter in. I also then plugged in my LG USB2.0 DVD+-RW. I went to Device Manager, View Devices By Connection, and lo and behold, both devices are showing as connected to the "USB 2.0 Hub" device. The "USB 3.0 Hub" is showing nothing connected to it.

I wonder if this USB3.0 hub is defective, or I have a cabling problem?

Edit: Darn it, I plugged in a USB3.0 flash drive, and got a little message from Windows, "This USB Mass Storage Device can perform better, if plugged into a SuperSpeed USB3.0 port". So my nice USB3.0 hub, is acting like a USB2.0 hub.

It's a StarTech, and it cost $50.

Edit: I removed the USB3.0 flash drive, unplugged the USB2.0 DVD-RW, and then plugged the USB 3.0 flash drive back in, and now it's showing up as connected to the USB 3.0 Hub device. Weird.

The PT-8812AU USB3.0 wifi, is still showing an 867Mb/sec connection link rate, but it always shows as connected to the USB 2.0 Hub device, it won't connect to the USB 3.0 Hub. If I had the full driver package installed, it puts in two programs, and does a "check and switch" whenever you connect, supposedly that selects USB2.0 or 3.0, but it has severe memory leaks, so I'm running the drivers only.
 
Last edited:

escrow4

Diamond Member
Feb 4, 2013
3,339
122
106
$90 for those 2 isn't a decent as the Pentium is already obsolete for AAA gaming and is barely enough for decent multitasking. You want a high clocked i5 (4690) at least for either. Cheapo ECSs are frisbees.
 

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
56,229
9,990
126
Looking to get some ECS Z97M-PK boards to play with, if they're still available. I saw some the last few weeks, and I didn't jump on them.
 

whm1974

Diamond Member
Jul 24, 2016
9,460
1,570
96
This thread is a year and half old, just build a i3-6100 based gaming system for crying out loud.
 

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
56,229
9,990
126
Well, ECS has claimed in the past, that their "-PK" line of boards ("Pentium K", aka Anniv. Edition Pentium), have a "one-click overclock" setting to get 4.4Ghz out of them. Most of my G3258 chips, I've only been able to get 4.0Ghz out of them fully DC stable, and one 4.2Ghz. So I'm really kind of insanely curious, if I get some of those boards, if they will be able to clock them higher for me.
 
Feb 25, 2011
16,777
1,466
126
Well, ECS has claimed in the past, that their "-PK" line of boards ("Pentium K", aka Anniv. Edition Pentium), have a "one-click overclock" setting to get 4.4Ghz out of them. Most of my G3258 chips, I've only been able to get 4.0Ghz out of them fully DC stable, and one 4.2Ghz. So I'm really kind of insanely curious, if I get some of those boards, if they will be able to clock them higher for me.

Why would a different board from a known-crappy manufacturer be able to automagically OC your chip higher than you can manually?

Ultimately has the same hard limits (the chip itself, cooling, and the VRMs, which are probably crappy anyway.)

There are things to be curious about, and things not to bother with.
 
  • Like
Reactions: whm1974

whm1974

Diamond Member
Jul 24, 2016
9,460
1,570
96
Why would a different board from a known-crappy manufacturer be able to automagically OC your chip higher than you can manually?

Ultimately has the same hard limits (the chip itself, cooling, and the VRMs, which are probably crappy anyway.)

There are things to be curious about, and things not to bother with.
Indeed. Larry would be be better off just building a decent mid range system that will last him for years instead of all these cheap ass boxes he has been putting together.
 
Feb 25, 2011
16,777
1,466
126
Meh, we know he builds 'em to give 'em away. But if he's going to spend money, he needs a better excuse than "this will probably end badly, but I want to buy four of them just to find out."
 

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
56,229
9,990
126
Indeed. Larry would be be better off just building a decent mid range system that will last him for years instead of all these cheap ass boxes he has been putting together.

OCed G3258 @ 4.0Ghz+ is not "mid-range" anymore? It used to be, "quad-core" was "high-end". Am I just living in the past, where dual-cores still have a purpose and a place in rigs? :(
 

daveybrat

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Jan 31, 2000
5,725
943
126
I have to agree, i'd rather have an i3-6100 3.7GHz with Hyperthreading than a Pentium dual-core at any clock speed. Today's games are requiring more threads, and a dual-core without HT just isn't cutting it, regardless of the clockspeed. I'd rather see you get an i3-6100 and an H110 motherboard than a cheaper cpu with a more expensive motherboard.
 

daveybrat

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Jan 31, 2000
5,725
943
126
OCed G3258 @ 4.0Ghz+ is not "mid-range" anymore? It used to be, "quad-core" was "high-end". Am I just living in the past, where dual-cores still have a purpose and a place in rigs? :(

Dual-Cores still have a purpose.....albeit for web browsing and everyday tasks. NOT for gaming or anything that requires heavy multi-tasking. I sell a lot of G4400 cpu's in my systems, but for people who mostly browse the web, some word docs, and facebook. All my entry level gaming pc's start with an i3-6100 and higher.