Super cheap "gaming" rig?

[Beev]

I put gaming in quotations because it's just for World of Warcraft, which is not a very demanding game. Anyway, to pull the guidelines from the sticky:

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.

Pretty much just for playing WoW. Maybe some light internet browsing too. My roommate just wants to play Warcraft and that's it.

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread

I haven't built a rig in a long time, so I'm not sure what prices are these days. I'd really like this to be as cheap as possible. A few hundred dollars, if that is feasible.

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.

USA

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc.

Whatever is the cheapest without being a terrible value.

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.

None. I might be able to get a monitor, but if there are some good deals I'm not against buying one.

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.

Briefly. I didn't see anything exactly like what I'm looking for.

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.

No preference. Again, whatever is cheapest .

8. What resolution YOU plan on gaming with.

I think the minimum should be 1024x768.

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?

ASAP

10. Don't ask for a build configuration critique or rating if you are thin skinned.

I am not.

Thanks for any recommendations. I basically just need to get her a computer of any kind as fast as possible as cheap as possible. Maybe I should have her look on Craigslist? What about those little $200 laptops from Wal-Mart?

Edit: We're in the Kansas City area if anyone wants to poke around Craigslist . I'm just really ignorant about computer hardware these days...

 

[hulkhelton]

im sure you could find a pentium d, with a geforce 8200,8800 for a couple hundred on craigslist.
at least here in cincinnati i see them all the time.

 

[Axon]

WoW is far beefier now, so "not demanding" is no longer accurate. What's your budget? If you want advice on specific posts or offers, post some links. However, speaking generally, you're going to have to go around $400 deep to play WoW on anything but > 30 FPS on low.

 

[hulkhelton]

WoW is far beefier now, so "not demanding" is no longer accurate.

was there a graphics upgrade? i havent played since wotlk first came out.

 

[Axon]

Cataclysm is more demanding. I was not able to play it with a 4670 ($50 GPU) on anything above all low settings. Granted, at 1920 resolution. I would think at 1280 you might get fair settings between 30-45 FPS...but forget it in a crowded capital city. My primary rig can't do more than 45 FPS in Ogrimmar when it's crowded.

 

[BoomerD]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboB...t=Combo.569889

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboB...t=Combo.569892

Both of those would give you a good start...

 

[DaveSimmons]

Here's a performance guide, but it's more for 16x10 and above.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/world-of-warcraft-cataclysm-directx-11-performance,2793.html

At 12x10 or 10x7 a low end graphics card and cheap AMD CPU should be fine. The $200 Atom netbooks and $350 laptops with integrated graphics won't work.

 

[darkewaffle]

athlon ii x4 640 ~100
5770 ~110
4gb ripjaws ~60
500gb caviar blue ~40 w/ code EMCZNZR47 @ egg
corsair 430cx psu ~24 AR (or 650tx for ~60 AR)
msi 870-g45 mobo ~55
rosewill r218p-bk case ~25
optical drive ~20

$434 all off Newegg

Looks like you'll need a keyboard/mouse/OS as well, and that that resolution you can get by with a lot less than a 5770 to trim it down more to make room. GT240s can be had for something like $40 and would probably be adequate, or a 56xx, or a used 8800/9800/gts250. Be mindful of the PSU (if you go with the 430cx, no issue with the 650TX) with some of those but any card in that performance band would be good enough.

Another option is if you live near a microcenter you can get that same processor and a decent asus/msi/biostar mobo bundle for ~100-105 which would save another ~40-50.

 

[Davidh373]

rosewill r218p-bk case ~25

I would not recommend a $25 case... otherwise that is a pretty good build.

 

[darkewaffle]

I would not recommend a $25 case... otherwise that is a pretty good build.

Neither would I, but when you're talking super budget, case has to get a pretty small slice of the pie. Plus, provided you build it once and don't move it, it really isn't a big issue.

 

[Davidh373]

Neither would I, but when you're talking super budget, case has to get a pretty small slice of the pie. Plus, provided you build it once and don't move it, it really isn't a big issue.

I suppose, but if he can do an Antec 300, that would be best.

 

[Refreshment]

I´ll use this thread as well to fetch some recomendations.

My case is a bit different, my build has a 780g mother board, Phenom 2 x3 705e and a 5850. As you know this board only accepts DDR2 memory.

What motivates me to do a little upgrade is the current DDR3 prices. So im looking for a mother board and DDR3 memory. My budget is below U.S. 190, trying to stick as close as 150 as humanly posible. My prefered brands are MSI and Corsair. But the memory has to be Corsair.
I could stretch a bit if the performance gain is too substantial to ignore. But im sticking with the cpu because i really wan´t planing an upgrade.

So any recomendations in that budget?

 

[darkewaffle]

150 could get you a mobo and 4GB of DDR3, but probably not Corsair, and I don't know think you'd see any substantial performance difference with it.

 

[Davidh373]

I´ll use this thread as well to fetch some recomendations.

My case is a bit different, my build has a 780g mother board, Phenom 2 x3 705e and a 5850. As you know this board only accepts DDR2 memory.

What motivates me to do a little upgrade is the current DDR3 prices. So im looking for a mother board and DDR3 memory. My budget is below U.S. 190, trying to stick as close as 150 as humanly posible. My prefered brands are MSI and Corsair. But the memory has to be Corsair.
I could stretch a bit if the performance gain is too substantial to ignore. But im sticking with the cpu because i really wan´t planing an upgrade.

So any recomendations in that budget?

DDR2 -> DDR3 is not worth a whole lot, especially not $150. I'd say it is about 3% of the performance of any build.

 

[Refreshment]

Thanks for the advice

150 could get you a mobo and 4GB of DDR3, but probably not Corsair, and I don't know think you'd see any substantial performance difference with it.

Well, saw 3 Corsair 1600 MHZ sticks for like 90 more or less.

DDR2 -> DDR3 is not worth a whole lot, especially not $150. I'd say it is about 3% of the performance of any build.

So you guys agree. It blows my mind that going from two DDR2 800 MHZ sticks to DDR3 at 1333 or 1600 just ups the performance so little. Of course there are other factors to consider like timings but interesting to hear anyways.

So far im happy with the current build but like i said the DDR3 prices got me thinking. Plus i don´t know exactly when AMD will introduce new MB chipsets. Heard the new CPU will land in 2011 but don´t know when. Originally thats when i was considering do any upgrades.

 

[Davidh373]

So far im happy with the current build but like i said the DDR3 prices got me thinking. Plus i don´t know exactly when AMD will introduce new MB chipsets. Heard the new CPU will land in 2011 but don´t know when. Originally thats when i was considering do any upgrades.

"Bulldozer", last time I checked, was Q3 next year, while intel's "Sandy Bridge" is Q1. It does increase perfomance, but not significantly enough to be worth buying a new mobo for. Good practice is buying a new motherboard for a processor.

 

[Refreshment]

Q3 next year? Ouch... The reason im not picking a CPU is because the TDPs, since i dont like going over 65w (550w PSU here). It seems AMD will be in the 45nm process until Q3 then. I´ll could totally bite on a Phenom II quad core (over 3 GHZ) if it wasn´t for the thermals.

Too bad i can´t get any OC stable beyond 3 GHZ with this cpu.

 

[Davidh373]

Q3 next year? Ouch... The reason im not peaking a CPU is because the TDPs, since i dont like going over 65w (550w PSU here). It seems AMD will be in the 45nm until Q3 then. I´ll could totally bite on a Phenom II quad core (over 3 GHZ) if it wasn´t for the thermals.

Too bad i can´t get any OC stable beyond 3 GHZ with this cpu.

550W is plenty for even a i7 9xx system. Unless it is a cheapo one or it's over 5 years old you should be ok with a 95W. Also, keep in mind it will only run at full TDP under full load. I am going to be running an i5 with a 460 with a 430W, because it calculated out to 384W recommended, and 324 minimum. Your system uses just over 330 as well, so you have no need for a 550W, even if you were to throw a 130W processor in there.

EDIT: BTW, Sandy Bridge will have i5s at 45W out sometime in the beginning of next year. Of course you are going to pay the same price for a few hundred MHz less speed.

 

[Refreshment]

Hmmnnnn... To go Intel? The thing that gets me about them is those prices, specially the MB ones. One can get premium AMD MBs for close to a 100 or good stuff for 80/90. Plus the compatibility stuff, im sure that after Bulldozer hits, the zockets will remain compatible for several years. The only reason to upgrade the MB after Bulldozer might be if DDR4 lands but i don´t have even the slightest idea when that will happen. I mean AMD boards are already coming with USB3 and SATA 6GBS.

 

[Davidh373]

Well, the i5 performs better than the 1075T in games and they are within $10 of one another, and with Sandy Bridge the new, better i5 is going to cost $20 less than the current one. So the "premium" prices aren't that much... They are in line with performance. You can also get a P55 motherboard for under $100 from any reputable company (Gigabyte, ASUS). You can get a "really nice" one for around $120. I think where you are getting these ideas from is the i7 9xx and the X58 chipset, which are more for the prosumer market, but even they are in line with AMD on Price/ Performance.

 

[Refreshment]

Well Davidh373, i hope im not abusing your good will by answering so much questions. But could you make a quick sketch for an intel combo (MB, CPU, RAM)?

Or how much time one would need to hold on for a significant value/performance upgrade from what intel offers today?

 

[Davidh373]

nah, I don't mind.

I can actually do a pretty close comparison.

Here is a reputable benchmark (i5 760 vs. 1075T) for both ~$200 CPUs

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/191?vs=185

Games are at the bottom

-Intel-

i5 760 - $204.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-067-_-Product

P55 Motherboard with SATA 3 and USB 3.0 - $119.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-425-_-Product

DDR3 1333MHz - $43.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-253-_-Product

$368.97

-AMD-

1075T - $200
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-858-_-Product

AM3 Motherboard w/ SATA 3 and USB 3.0 - $84.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-266-_-Product

DDR3 1333Mhz - $43.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-253-_-Product

Total: $328.97

So yes, you are correct in that you can get AMD for cheaper, but also, I compared the 1100T($275) to the i5 760 and still came to the same conclusion

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/191?vs=203

So really, intel has better price/ performance with the i5 than AMD can get close to touching with anything else. It's only going to get better in the next few months as well.

These are both builds I recommend to gamers. Lately, I've been leaning more toward Intel for Quad core builds. If you want to go super cheap, you can go with an Athlon II X4 build. That way you can save about $100.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-871-_-Product

Comparing Athlon II X4 to Phenom II X6
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/122?vs=147

Comparing Athlon II X4 to i5 760
http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/122?vs=191

As you can see, the i5 nearly doubles the performance of the Athlon II X4 including platform for ~$120 more, and is much better than then any of AMD's quad or six core processors at the same price range.

 

[Refreshment]

Thanks for going way beyond the call of duty!

I´ll be cheking this for the next few days to familiarize myself a bit more with the Intel side of things.

Makes me hopeful that you say that in the next months things will get better. AMD lately is just making small 100 MHZ increments to their CPUs. But good stuff on the graphics side, can´t deny them credit there.

 

[Davidh373]

Thanks for going way beyond the call of duty!

I´ll be cheking this for the next few days to familiarize myself a bit more with the Intel side of things.

Makes me hopeful that you say that in the next months things will get better. AMD lately is just making small 100 MHZ increments to their CPUs. But good stuff on the graphics side, can´t deny them credit there.

Not at all. AMD's graphics with the 68xx has remarkable TDP, performance has been beat by NVidia's 5xx though. We'll see what the 69xx holds in the next few weeks I suppose.

 

[mfenn]

athlon ii x4 640 ~100
5770 ~110
4gb ripjaws ~60
500gb caviar blue ~40 w/ code EMCZNZR47 @ egg
corsair 430cx psu ~24 AR (or 650tx for ~60 AR)
msi 870-g45 mobo ~55
rosewill r218p-bk case ~25
optical drive ~20

$434 all off Newegg

Looks like you'll need a keyboard/mouse/OS as well, and that that resolution you can get by with a lot less than a 5770 to trim it down more to make room. GT240s can be had for something like $40 and would probably be adequate, or a 56xx, or a used 8800/9800/gts250. Be mindful of the PSU (if you go with the 430cx, no issue with the 650TX) with some of those but any card in that performance band would be good enough.

Another option is if you live near a microcenter you can get that same processor and a decent asus/msi/biostar mobo bundle for ~100-105 which would save another ~40-50.

:thumbsup: to this!

If the OP's roommate doesn't need much HDD space, then the Samsung F4 320GB will be faster for around the same price.