Throwing together a "basic" Intel-based gaming rig, need cpu recommendations...

[Meghan54]

OK, trying to help out a family who needs a decently powerful computer---it's going to be a do-all rig for the entire family--a gaming rig for the kids along with a homework machine, etc., etc. So I've dug through my old parts and assembled the rig listed below, but need advice on the cpu. So far, this is what I've got:

Motherboard: Asus Max. V Gene (Socket 1155)

Memory: 2 x 4GB AData DDR3-1600 Gaming series

Case: Lian-Li PC-A04 mATX case

Power supply: Corsair HX620

GPU: Gigabyte 7770 Ghz Ed.

SSD : Samsung 830 128GB

HD : WD Blue 1TB

Optical: Some LG 24X DVD-RW


And now for the cpu. All I have laying around is an i3-2100 but am worried about it not having enough "grunt" for decent gaming, or am I really wrong about that? And if I'm really correct, what S1155 cpu would y'all recommend? Trying to stay under $100 or so for the cpu.


Yes, I know this isn't a "basic" rig by most people's yardsticks, but the parts listed are all I have, esp. with the motherboard and gpu. The family is kinda splitting the cost of the rig with me (sending over one of the boys to do yard work for me), so it's not going to be an entirely "free"/handout type of thing.

 

[Charlie98]

It depends on what games they are playing... Chess or BF4?

 

[RaistlinZ]

Yeah, what kind of games will they be playing, and at what resolution? That 7770 is no speed demon. Even the 650Ti Boost is vastly faster.

 

[Meghan54]

Assume BF3/4 and the like, etc. Resolution is an unknown because no monitor right now. And I realize a 650 Ti Boost beats a 7770, but also would entail having to buy one while I have the 7770 sitting in a box in my junk room.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I would think that an i3-2100 would be fine. Especially if this is a charity or semi-charity PC. If they want to play BF4, let them pay for a CPU and GPU upgrade!

Edit: And has anyone heard of a charity PC with a 128GB SSD?

 

[Charlie98]

Assume BF3/4 and the like, etc. Resolution is an unknown because no monitor right now. And I realize a 650 Ti Boost beats a 7770, but also would entail having to buy one while I have the 7770 sitting in a box in my junk room.

Meh... beggars can't be choosers. Give them something to put on their Christmas list for next year.

I wonder, rolling with the 7770, would the i3 be enough as it is?

 

[VirtualLarry]

I wonder, rolling with the 7770, would the i3 be enough as it is?

For the vast majority of games, an i3 is just fine, and about equal to an overclocked FX-6300. Except for BF4, which really requires a true quad-core as a minimum. Hex/octo-core preferred.

 

[Meghan54]

I would think that an i3-2100 would be fine. Especially if this is a charity or semi-charity PC. If they want to play BF4, let them pay for a CPU and GPU upgrade!

Edit: And has anyone heard of a charity PC with a 128GB SSD?

It's semi-"charity", but the family (four kids with a recently single mom, who is working full time + part time to pay mortgage, keep kids fed/in school/etc.) isn't exactly rolling in dough nor is it a slug family.

The SSD is one of two I've got just sitting, collecting dust, like the rest of the parts I listed in the op. The 830's aren't doing any good just sitting on a bookcase shelf and I'm not going to use them anytime soon as every computer in my house already has an SSD of greater capacity. So why not?

And really, how many empty cases can one have until it reaches the point of ridiculousness? 5? That's how many I've got sitting around....an Antec something tower, a Corsair 650D, the Lain-Li PC-A04, a Silverstone Sigo SG-02, and a PC Design Lab Qmicra V2 (probably the one I'll never part with--unless the price is right).

I've got the same thing with power supplies....an Antec NeoEco 620W, Corsair HX620 (an oldie but goodie with a crap ton of Rubycon caps inside), HX650--gold cert'd, and an AX750.

Same with the rest of the parts...memory--I've still got sealed/unopened packs/sticks of that "miracle" 30nm Samsung DDR3-1600. The AData stuff is backup of backup memory and again, gathering dust.

Video--6670, 7770, GTX 650 Ti (NOT Boost), and a couple of others. My rig has a GTX 780 and wife's has 6950.

So what do I do with those "lesser" gpus? Or any of the other components I've got? Sell them? Who wants to pay for shipping for a heavy assed power supply? How much would I really hope to get for that Asus Maximus V Gene motherboard anyway? $50? Not really even worth trying to box and ship for that money. So why not use some of the parts to try to do something nice for someone?

For the vast majority of games, an i3 is just fine, and about equal to an overclocked FX-6300. Except for BF4, which really requires a true quad-core as a minimum. Hex/octo-core preferred.

That's sort of what I figured. The cpu should be "good enough" for the vast majority of games, and completely fine for Office, web browsing, etc.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

That spare parts rig will certainly bring joy. It will play most titles at medium settings for a price that can't be beat. An i3 is no slouch, anything sandy/ivy is usually a big step up.

 

[Charlie98]

The SSD is one of two I've got just sitting, collecting dust, like the rest of the parts I listed in the op. The 830's aren't doing any good just sitting on a bookcase shelf and I'm not going to use them anytime soon as every computer in my house already has an SSD of greater capacity. So why not?

It's funny... not just 2 or 3 years ago SSD's were such a novelty, at least in consumer circles... and now we have them 'laying around.' I had a 840Pro (refurb) laying around... so I stuck it in my daughter's old laptop just to give it something to do... a $200 drive in a 6 year old laptop.

 

[hackerballs]

Tell the "kids" that this is not a gaming PC but that they might fire up some games till they EARN enough money to upgrade the GPU

 

[Torn Mind]

Older games should run fine on an i3-2100. Screen resolution is a factor in whether the GPU is enough.

 

[VirtualLarry]

BestBuy has an Insignia-branded 24" LED LCD PC monitor, with HDMI, DVI-D (HDCP), and VGA, for $79.99 today, as the deal of the day.

Can't beat that price, for a brand-new (1 year warranty) 24" LCD (LED!) monitor.

Something to consider, if they don't already have a monitor.

PS. Resolution is 1920x1080 HD.

 

[mfenn]

I think that the i3-2100 is a good choice for two reasons:

1. It's a pretty good match for the 7770 in terms of overall balance.

2. You'd have a hard time getting a faster CPU for $100. Used i5 2300's are going for $130 on Ebay.

 

[jacktesterson]

i3-2100 is a good choice for a 7770

Go with it.

You will be surprised how well a dual core can still game. I recently built a G2120 System with a 7750 for somebody to game at 1600x900 and it handles games quite well.

We're not talking an enthusiast system here.

 

[hackerballs]

In benchmarks it was discovered that the difference between dual core and quad core in gaming is miniscule. the games did not break down till they used single core. We are talking a 2 to 3 FPS drop only.

I3 is fine

 

[Ken g6]

That mobo you've got is really overpriced for the kind of thing you're building here. Have you considered selling it and picking up a cheaper board instead? Used boards seem to get good prices at Amazon.