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Is this a good cheap gaming computer?

S

Shawnb0325

Junior Member
Hi, I've never played any PC games except Minecraft, but that was a while ago. I've really been wanting to get into PC gaming for a couple of week, but I'm only 15 and I don't work yet.. So money is limited.. I really want to build a good enough computer to play things like CS:GO, Battlefield, Skyrim, COD, things that aren't too graphically demanding for $300 or less. I need to know of this computer that I built from PCpartpicker is good enough (or better) to play these type of games. Please help🙂

PCPartPicker part list: [UPDATE] - Added a GPU to my former PC. http://pcpartpicker.com/p/dJdgcf
 
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Buy a used Workstation with a Xeon X5xxx series CPU (or W3xxx), make sure it has 4 cores and 4 or 8 threads and some kind of Quadro card. You can upgrade the GPU but purchasing a machine with a Quadro ensures that it will at least take an upgrade. Check the passmark ratings on the Quadro, some of them are actually somewhat decent. Mine is a 8800GTS equivalent, so that tells me right off the bat that it can handle a GTX970 with no trouble.

For example, check out this beast:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA68F21X0212

$269 for very respectable performance.
 
sm625 said:
Buy a used Workstation with a Xeon X5xxx series CPU (or W3xxx), make sure it has 4 cores and 4 or 8 threads and some kind of Quadro card. You can upgrade the GPU but purchasing a machine with a Quadro ensures that it will at least take an upgrade. Check the passmark ratings on the Quadro, some of them are actually somewhat decent. Mine is a 8800GTS equivalent, so that tells me right off the bat that it can handle a GTX970 with no trouble.

For example, check out this beast:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA68F21X0212

$269 for very respectable performance.
Click to expand...

Ok cool.. Ill look into it.
 
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Ps6mhM
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Ps6mhM/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Pentium G3250 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($55.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H81M-S2H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($39.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Kingston 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($46.89 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.75 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R7 250X 1GB Video Card ($61.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Raidmax ATX-402WB ATX Mid Tower Case ($36.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $310.57
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-18 18:18 EDT-0400

If you're local to microcenter or frys you can get a g3258 and hard drive for cheaper.
 
Shawnb0325 said:
Could I add a GPU to my system without changing the APU to a regular processor?
Click to expand...

Yes, you just disable the CPU graphics in lieu of a separate GPU when you get one.

FWIW, I ran my i5's iGPU for a few months, playing Modern Warfare 1/2 and while it was playable, it was not necessarily enjoyable at times.

MelloYellow's build is pretty darned good for ~$300, but it's missing the OS which pumps it up to around $400.
 
Shawnb0325 said:
Could I add a GPU to my system without changing the APU to a regular processor?
Click to expand...

You could, but at that point you'd be wasting the extra money that was put into the GPU part of the APU.

Regarding your build:

- CPU: The Phenom II is very long in the tooth at this point, it's equivalent to a high-clocked Core 2 Duo from 2007. You'd be better off with a CPU built on a more modern architecture like the G3250 that MelloYellow linked
- GPU: A GT 610 is very close to the integrated graphics on an Intel CPU, and far lower than an APU.
- PSU: Stay far away from CoolMax, their units are junk. Luckily, Corsair CX series units are much better and are frequently on sale.

MellowYellow's build is quite good for a machine that has all new parts. However, sm625's idea of buying used can really stretch your dollar given your fairly low budget.
 
Charlie98 said:
MelloYellow's build is pretty darned good for ~$300, but it's missing the OS which pumps it up to around $400.
Click to expand...
OP's original build didn't have OS either. I just took that build and swapped out cpu, mobo, ram, gpu, and psu. Not sure if OP doesn't need OS or just forgot to include it. $300 including OS would force you to go used or maybe find a good deal on a prebuilt haswell but with integrated graphics.
 
melloyellow said:
OP's original build didn't have OS either. I just took that build and swapped out cpu, mobo, ram, gpu, and psu. Not sure if OP doesn't need OS or just forgot to include it. $300 including OS would force you to go used or maybe find a good deal on a prebuilt haswell but with integrated graphics.
Click to expand...

Indeed... but that was also my way of pointing out that the OP will need an OS, even considering his limited budget, unless he has some sort of alternative.
 
monkeydelmagico said:
For a brand new budget gaming build look here: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2389797
Click to expand...

Actually, that's my $400+-without-OS budget build. I recently did [thread=2433415]a ~$300 budget build[/thread]. And it's even cheaper right now:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($64.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85M-DS3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($55.75 @ OutletPC)
Memory: *Team Elite Plus 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: *Western Digital Caviar Blue 320GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($24.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: *PowerColor Radeon R7 260X 2GB Video Card ($79.90 @ Newegg)
Case: *Thermaltake VL80001W2Z ATX Mid Tower Case ($22.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: *Corsair Builder 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $292.51
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-19 11:20 EDT-0400
 
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