Saudi Arabia: Budget gaming build

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
F

Forde

Member
Apr 16, 2012
36
0
0
I currently have an ancient 10 year old desktop, which works absolutely fine for me and my basic office and internet needs, except it can't do any gaming at all. Pentium 4 Prescott 3.2Ghz, Micro-ATX board with no PCI-e or even AGP, 768 MB DDR RAM, CRT monitor etc.

I'm going to college soon and my dad wants to keep the desktop for himself. I plan on building a new one. I don't want a laptop, because price/performance they are over-priced compared to similar desktops and I hate small screens.

I have an open budget which I'm limiting to $800. I don't care about high-end gaming or anything, I just want to be able to at least run today's games. See below for my planned build.

1. PC use: Racing simulators, gaming, basic office tasks, college assignments etc

2. Budget: $800

3. Country: Saudi Arabia

4. Brand preference: Intel, AMD is more expensive here.

5. DON'T intend on using any current parts

7. DON'T intend to overclock

8. Resolution doesn't matter to me. Don't care about 1080p or even 720p.

9. WHEN do you plan to build it? June 2012

Thoughts: (Saudi prices)
1) Pentium G620 $63
2) H61 Micro-ATX board $60 (All Z68 start at $180)
3) Radeon 5770 $80 (Used from friend, all new GPUs nearly double US prices)
4) 4GB RAM DDR3 $24
5) 500GB 7200 rpm WD $90
6) 550W PSU $60
7) Gigabyte Mid-tower case $40
8) Monitor, anything at all.

Take this build as the baseline, please suggest if there are any worthy upgrades or if this is fine to at least get games up and running. Remember, I am trying to keep the build as cheap as possible and I don't care about game detail settings. My current desktop is ancient, so I'm assuming even the cheapest modern build will outrun it in every way.

Most importantly, I want to be able to run my racing simulators: Rfactor, Iracing, FIA GTR2 and Live For Speed
 
Last edited by a moderator:
M

mfenn

Elite Member
Jan 17, 2010
22,400
5
71
www.mfenn.com
So you're at around $400 now without monitor. Also, what brand and model PSU do you have in mind?

As it stands, your build is pretty well balanced. Worthy upgrades would include:
- i3 2100 for the extra clock speed
- 8GB of DDR3 1333/1600
- 6870 if you can swing it
 
Knavish

Knavish

Senior member
May 17, 2002
910
3
81
You don't like laptops because of the small screen, so if you've got the desk space at college, why not get a 24" LCD? Even writing a research paper in MS Word can be a more pleasant experience when you've got enough screen space for Word and a web browser / PDF at the same time. How much does the Dell 2412 run on your side of the planet? :)
 
F

Forde

Member
Apr 16, 2012
36
0
0
Hi mate. Sorry, I didn't realise it was so early over there.

1) PSU brands here are only Gigabyte and generic stuff. There a few Gigabyte 550W so I plan to go with that.Thermaltake and CoolerMaster are available, but only 1000+W and twice US prices.

2) Available GPUs here and their mad prices:
6950: $400
6870: $250
6850: $215
GTX 560 Ti: $300
GTX 560: $215
GTX 550 Ti: $160

That's why I'm just opting for the Radeon 5770 my friend offered me (roughly same performance as GTX 550 Ti). I don't see that throwing in an extra $135 for the next GPU step-up is worth it, seeing as they're really over-priced. Anandtech's benchmarks show an average of 15 - 20 FPS increase from 5770 to GTX 560. What's your opinion on this?
 
M

mfenn

Elite Member
Jan 17, 2010
22,400
5
71
www.mfenn.com
Forde said:
1) PSU brands here are only Gigabyte and generic stuff. There a few Gigabyte 550W so I plan to go with that.Thermaltake and CoolerMaster are available, but only 1000+W and twice US prices.
Click to expand...

Do you have a listing of what exactly is available? Most of that stuff sounds like utter crap that will fry your machine. There may be a diamond in the rough, however.

Forde said:
2) Available GPUs here and their mad prices:
6950: $400
6870: $250
6850: $215
GTX 560 Ti: $300
GTX 560: $215
GTX 550 Ti: $160

That's why I'm just opting for the Radeon 5770 my friend offered me (roughly same performance as GTX 550 Ti). I don't see that throwing in an extra $135 for the next GPU step-up is worth it, seeing as they're really over-priced. Anandtech's benchmarks show an average of 15 - 20 FPS increase from 5770 to GTX 560. What's your opinion on this?
Click to expand...

The important factor is that those 20 FPS represent essentially doubling the frame rate. If you are OK with turning the graphics settings down, then a 5770 is fine. Anything more intense and you will be disappointed.
 
F

Forde

Member
Apr 16, 2012
36
0
0
mfenn said:
Do you have a listing of what exactly is available? Most of that stuff sounds like utter crap that will fry your machine. There may be a diamond in the rough, however.



The important factor is that those 20 FPS represent essentially doubling the frame rate. If you are OK with turning the graphics settings down, then a 5770 is fine. Anything more intense and you will be disappointed.
Click to expand...

I don't have a list of exactly what's available. But definitely Thermaltake, CoolerMaster and Gigabyte are the only available brands. Thermaltake and CoolerMaster, definitely nothing below 1000W. Only option left is Gigabyte at 720W, 550W and 420W.

There are no online stores here, I went everywhere in Jeddah to see what's available. More or less, all shops have the same parts since they all have only 1 or 2 suppliers in common: PC Time and ICC Distribution.

I'm not into any GPU intensive games like Battlefield 3 or Modern Warfare 3. I'm only interested in sim-racing. Here are the specifications for Rfactor 2, which is the most GPU intensive sim-racing has ever gone so far. Still, recommended system requirements doesn't tell me much about how my gameplay experience will be like... is the 5770 adequate?

http://www.virtualr.net/rfactor-2-system-requirements-revealed
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Ken g6

Ken g6

Programming Moderator, Elite Member
Moderator
Dec 11, 1999
16,598
4,506
75
Forde said:
Anandtech's benchmarks show an average of 15 - 20 FPS increase from 5770 to GTX 560. What's your opinion on this?
Click to expand...
This makes me wonder: Can you find a used GTX 460 (1GB)? A 460 is like an underclocked 560. (Though that's not to say that all 460s can be overclocked to 560 levels.) Although you say you're not into overclocking, some 460s are factory-overclocked, some up to as high as a 560. There are also some cheaper 460s on the market (or were recently) with 192-bit memory buses, which will still beat a 5770.
 
F

Forde

Member
Apr 16, 2012
36
0
0
Ken g6 said:
This makes me wonder: Can you find a used GTX 460 (1GB)? A 460 is like an underclocked 560. (Though that's not to say that all 460s can be overclocked to 560 levels.) Although you say you're not into overclocking, some 460s are factory-overclocked, some up to as high as a 560. There are also some cheaper 460s on the market (or were recently) with 192-bit memory buses, which will still beat a 5770.
Click to expand...

Wish I could get my hands on a used GTX 460, I hear they're great things. I've looked everywhere in Jeddah but found no used cards at all, just the same severely overpriced new ones. I just got lucky my friend offered me his 5770 for no more than $80. For the performance, its an offer I can't refuse.
 
F

Forde

Member
Apr 16, 2012
36
0
0
mfenn said:
As it stands, your build is pretty well balanced. Worthy upgrades would include:
- i3 2100 for the extra clock speed
- 8GB of DDR3 1333/1600
- 6870 if you can swing it
Click to expand...

I know the i3 2100 has about 300 - 400 MHz extra clock speed, and 1333Mhz on the RAM instead of 1066MHz with the G620... but if that will have no improvement in my gaming FPS, I don't want it. I'm currently working fine with the ancient single core Pentium 4, I'm not concerned about general performance issues with the G620. Correct me if I'm wrong.
 
F

Forde

Member
Apr 16, 2012
36
0
0
Just a small clarification I'm looking for guys. I've been researching CPU bottle-necks. If I understand correctly, the whole idea is that if a CPU is not powerful enough, it won't allow the GPU to perform to its full potential.

This seems to be a significant concern when considering dual graphics solutions: dual GPUs are more prone to CPU bottle-necking than single GPUs.

So:

1) I completely rule out dual graphics solutions

2) How low can I go on the CPU before bottle-necking starts to become a problem? Consider the following GPUs and name the minimum you would go on the CPU to run it to its full potential (considering nothing else in the build is changed).

i) Radeon 5770 (I'm thinking Pentium G620 is enough, correct me if I'm wrong!!!)
ii) GTX 560 and Radeon 6850

Please note that I'm only concerned about graphics performance here. My current 10 year old Pentium 4 3.2 Ghz Prescott does everything else I want just fine and I'm perfectly happy with it... I'm assuming the modern G620 is better than it in every way.

Thinking ahead I do realise quad cores are becoming more prevalent in games. I'm thinking of going with an inexpensive AMD quad core that won't bottleneck my gaming with Radeon 5770 (Athlon II X4 / Phenom II X4) and keep me future-proof with the 4 cores versus 2 on both G620 and i3 2100.
 
Ken g6

Ken g6

Programming Moderator, Elite Member
Moderator
Dec 11, 1999
16,598
4,506
75
About bottlenecks, the idea is that a gaming computer is only as fast as its slowest component. This 5770 you're going with isn't all that fast these days. Meaning it will be hard to find a CPU slow enough to bottleneck it.

As for looking at quad cores, realize that:
1. Most games, particularly older games, aren't designed to do much with more than two cores.
2. The i3-2100 is "virtually" a quad-core by virtue of its hyper-threading. It compares quite favorably against even the fastest Phenom II x4 at stock. If you're not overclocking, there's very little reason to get a Phenom II.

Edit: If you want to compare to a Pentium 4 use that link and pick your processor. (I selected a G620.)
 
Last edited:
M

mfenn

Elite Member
Jan 17, 2010
22,400
5
71
www.mfenn.com
Forde said:
I don't have a list of exactly what's available. But definitely Thermaltake, CoolerMaster and Gigabyte are the only available brands. Thermaltake and CoolerMaster, definitely nothing below 1000W. Only option left is Gigabyte at 720W, 550W and 420W.

There are no online stores here, I went everywhere in Jeddah to see what's available. More or less, all shops have the same parts since they all have only 1 or 2 suppliers in common: PC Time and ICC Distribution.

I'm not into any GPU intensive games like Battlefield 3 or Modern Warfare 3. I'm only interested in sim-racing. Here are the specifications for Rfactor 2, which is the most GPU intensive sim-racing has ever gone so far. Still, recommended system requirements doesn't tell me much about how my gameplay experience will be like... is the 5770 adequate?

http://www.virtualr.net/rfactor-2-system-requirements-revealed
Click to expand...

For the power supply, Gigabyte isn't exactly a well-respected name in that arena, so I'd say to get at least the 550W to have some cushion against overrating. Your system will really only draw like 300W, but you never know if a cheap power supply can really output what it says it will.

For the GPU, It all depends on the game as to whether or not a 5770 is adequate. I looked up some Rfactor 2 benchmarks and it seems like a 5770 will get you between 30-40 FPS at high details.
 
M

mfenn

Elite Member
Jan 17, 2010
22,400
5
71
www.mfenn.com
Forde said:
Just a small clarification I'm looking for guys. I've been researching CPU bottle-necks. If I understand correctly, the whole idea is that if a CPU is not powerful enough, it won't allow the GPU to perform to its full potential.

This seems to be a significant concern when considering dual graphics solutions: dual GPUs are more prone to CPU bottle-necking than single GPUs.

So:

1) I completely rule out dual graphics solutions

2) How low can I go on the CPU before bottle-necking starts to become a problem? Consider the following GPUs and name the minimum you would go on the CPU to run it to its full potential (considering nothing else in the build is changed).

i) Radeon 5770 (I'm thinking Pentium G620 is enough, correct me if I'm wrong!!!)
ii) GTX 560 and Radeon 6850

Please note that I'm only concerned about graphics performance here. My current 10 year old Pentium 4 3.2 Ghz Prescott does everything else I want just fine and I'm perfectly happy with it... I'm assuming the modern G620 is better than it in every way.

Thinking ahead I do realise quad cores are becoming more prevalent in games. I'm thinking of going with an inexpensive AMD quad core that won't bottleneck my gaming with Radeon 5770 (Athlon II X4 / Phenom II X4) and keep me future-proof with the 4 cores versus 2 on both G620 and i3 2100.
Click to expand...

Bottlenecking applies at all levels, not just Crossfire/SLI solutions. We can't give you a blanket statement of what CPU won't bottleneck a given GPU because it completely depends on the game. In general though, if your choice is between a fast dual-core or a slower quad-core, games will work better with the faster dual.
 
R

r4sh1d

Member
Feb 21, 2012
137
31
101
I don't know man, I live in Jeddah- Saudi Arabia and the stores have tons of good stuff here. But for higher prices though!

Check Madinah's center on Madinah Road infront of Msadiyah center , and check 2nd floor in Baroom center (between King Abdulaziz Road & Hail Road, Andalus), you'll find good stuff over there. Or there's a small shop in Salamah Dist. that sells OK parts, they have a website as well for online ordering, it's in Arabic though
http://www.gltsa.com/shop/

You can buy online at any online store in the US and ship the goods to aramix, they'll charge you for shipping to Saudia and it'll be a lot cheaper this way, but you have to visit their store, sign up for the service (pay 150SR I think, one time fee). Amazon ships to Saudia as well directly. They use aramix/DHL to ship the stuff directly to you if you don't want to sign up for aramix service yourself. Just make sure to pick parts that's sold by amazon, not any other resellers; although some resellers do ship internationally. You can buy from e-bay, you can find sellers who ship to Saudia for good prices! The list of online stores that ship internationally is growing, visit http://www.resellerratings.com, pick stores from the top list, check their website if they offer international shipping by adding an item to your cart and see if they do ship internationally. Or just read their FAQ's

You can find good deals on used/new items in Saudi forums such as adslgate.com or websites like mstaml.com

I bought my ipad 3 from a guy in adslgate.com, for a very good price a week ago.
 
Last edited:
F

Forde

Member
Apr 16, 2012
36
0
0
r4sh1d said:
I don't know man, I live in Jeddah- Saudi Arabia and the stores have tons of good stuff here. But for higher prices though!

Check Madinah's center on Madinah Road infront of Msadiyah center , and check 2nd floor in Baroom center (between King Abdulaziz Road & Hail Road, Andalus), you'll find good stuff over there. Or there's a small shop in Salamah Dist. that sells OK parts, they have a website as well for online ordering, it's in Arabic though
http://www.gltsa.com/shop/

You can buy online at any online store in the US and ship the goods to aramix, they'll charge you for shipping to Saudia and it'll be a lot cheaper this way, but you have to visit their store, sign up for the service (pay 150SR I think, one time fee). Amazon ships to Saudia as well directly. They use aramix/DHL to ship the stuff directly to you if you don't want to sign up for aramix service yourself. Just make sure to pick parts that's sold by amazon, not any other resellers; although some resellers do ship internationally. You can buy from e-bay, you can find sellers who ship to Saudia for good prices! The list of online stores that ship internationally is growing, visit http://www.resellerratings.com, pick stores from the top list, check their website if they offer international shipping by adding an item to your cart and see if they do ship internationally. Or just read their FAQ's

You can find good deals on used/new items in Saudi forums such as adslgate.com or websites like mstaml.com

I bought my ipad 3 from a guy in adslgate.com, for a very good price a week ago.
Click to expand...

Hala Rashid, thank you for posting this, especially the website for the shop in Salamah district. There is a variety of stuff to choose from, but more or less every shop has the same stuff and sells them all for the same high prices. I'm trying to find stuff that are close to US prices, but can't find any.

The trend I have found here in Saudi: You can either buy very high-end computer and pay a very high price for them, or you have to settle for cheapo stuff. There isn't something in between, which is exactly what I want.

I checked out gltsa.com, they have a good variety of high end and expensive stuff only. Still, I'll check out the place to see what they have.

Rashid, the problem with buying online is importing through the Saudi customs, they are very strict on what comes in. There's a good chance I'll never see my parts.

Even if I order and get it shipped safely through Aramex, DHL etc, the price of shipping will add up and make the total price higher than just buying the parts here.

I've already found the parts I need along with prices (riyals)

i3 2100: 435
H61 board: 235
Radeon 5770: 300
4 GB RAM Kingston: 90
500 GB WD 7200rpm: 300
Case Gigabyte Setto II: 139
LG 21" 1080p: 500

Please let me know if I can get similar parts for cheaper.

The only thing I'm missing is the power supply. Currently, I can only find 750W Gigabyte for SR320 and 800W Thermaltake, Coolermaster and Corsair each over SR600. All of these have too much power which I don't need, foloos 3al faadee. Everything else is generic, which I want to avoid at all costs.

I've managed to find this 550W Coolmax for SR139. I don't know about Coolmax, but at least its better than generic power supplies.

http://www.gltsa.com/shop/index.php?route=product/product&path=58&product_id=375

NOTE: Is there anywhere where I can find used parts here in Jeddah? Mst3ml.com is useless, nothing different from what's in shops here and same prices.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
R

r4sh1d

Member
Feb 21, 2012
137
31
101
Forde said:
Rashid, the problem with buying online is importing through the Saudi customs, they are very strict on what comes in. There's a good chance I'll never see my parts.

Not true, unless you're buying adult toys, alcohol..etc you shouldn't have a problem. I remember chatting with amazon rep a while ago about buying kitchen knives and whether they'll be a problem with Saudi customs since I heard that it's illegal to import. I was told IF such a thing happened I'll be getting my money back. Their rep said that as long as it's stated on amazon's website that an item qualifies for international shipping; I shouldn't have a problem. The shipping charges wouldn't cost more than $30-50 tops, pretty fast too for computer hardware. As long as you're buying computer hardware except monitor & pc cases; you shouldn't be worried about shipping charges since you'll save tons of $$ at the end. Warranty claim is another story, but it's a risk you'll have to decide wether it's worth it or not.

I have never had a problem with Saudi customs before, I bought wedding dresses for the wife, kitchen stuff, so many items and never had a problem. I bought a 58" 3d samsung 8000 series tv last year, and it was shipped from nyc ( B&H video ) and I never had a problem. Amazon will charge you for import & handling fees upfront, few dollars.

Even if I order and get it shipped safely through Aramex, DHL etc, the price of shipping will add up and make the total price higher than just buying the parts here.

I've already found the parts I need along with prices (riyals)

i3 2100: 435
H61 board: 235
Radeon 5770: 300
4 GB RAM Kingston: 90
500 GB WD 7200rpm: 300
Case Gigabyte Setto II: 139
LG 21" 1080p: 500


For mid range stuff, it's almost not worth the hassle to buy from online retailers since the $$ you'll save is not as much as buying higher end stuff. You'll find used hardware for cheap if you speak Arabic on forums such as www.adslgate.com, www.arabhardware.net to name a few. Just search popular Arabic speaking forums in their for sale/trade sections. Again, ebay is a good option too! some sellers offer cheap shipping as well; will take longer to deliver though (3-5 weeks usually, sometimes less)




..................
Click to expand...
 
A

aaksheytalwar

Diamond Member
Feb 17, 2012
3,389
0
76
M

mfenn

Elite Member
Jan 17, 2010
22,400
5
71
www.mfenn.com
F

Forde

Member
Apr 16, 2012
36
0
0
aaksheytalwar said:
Easily. Though do remember a gtx 560 or radeon 6870 is like twice the performance or even faster and radeon 6850 comes close to 6870
Click to expand...

Here's the problem mate: I'm getting the 5770 for $80. The GTX 560 costs $210, the Radeon 6850 $225 and 6870 $240. That's at least $130 I have to pay over the 5770. Is the performance gain worth $130?
 
A

aaksheytalwar

Diamond Member
Feb 17, 2012
3,389
0
76
Forde said:
Here's the problem mate: I'm getting the 5770 for $80. The GTX 560 costs $210, the Radeon 6850 $225 and 6870 $240. That's at least $130 I have to pay over the 5770. Is the performance gain worth $130?
Click to expand...

Yes, the difference is worth the price. Get a 560 and oc it. 5770 is way too outdated
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom