$500(aud) gaming PC -- need help!

[HairyRichard]

Hey guys,
Sadly our family lost a member recently and my little cousin(12 years old) is left without a father.
I've been having him over at my place often on weekends and gaming with him.
I'd like to build him a computer for him to use when he's around at my place.

I know $500 wont get much but its what I can afford at the moment. I already have an old PSU (610w), tower, and monitor from my old build which I'll use.
Mouse and keyboard don't need to be too fly at all, would like to keep price low on those or not even include them just yet.

FYI, I'm in Australia.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[Archaic59]

This can do normal windows tasks well and some light gaming.
I have to assume your PSU, tower and monitor is in good order and not too old.
You didn't mention if you have a Windows disc which is another $130.00 AUD.
If you need a dvd drive they run about $20.00 AUD

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4160 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor ($152.00 @ CPL Online)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($99.00 @ CPL Online)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($47.98 @ Mwave Australia)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.00 @ Centre Com)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 1GB Superclocked Video Card ($149.00 @ CPL Online)
Total: $516.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-16 17:10 AEST+1000

 

[yeskay]

Hey guys,
Sadly our family lost a member recently and my little cousin(12 years old) is left without a father.
I've been having him over at my place often on weekends and gaming with him.
I'd like to build him a computer for him to use when he's around at my place.

I know $500 wont get much but its what I can afford at the moment. I already have an old PSU (610w), tower, and monitor from my old build which I'll use.
Mouse and keyboard don't need to be too fly at all, would like to keep price low on those or not even include them just yet.

FYI, I'm in Australia.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

Hello Hairy Richard,

Sorry to hear that. My deepest condolences for your family's loss. Just hold, I'll be back with solid config.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($89.00 @ Centre Com)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($109.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($82.00 @ Umart)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.00 @ Centre Com)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 270 2GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($179.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Keyboard: Gigabyte GK-KM6150 Wired Standard Keyboard w/Optical Mouse ($12.00 @ CPL Online)
Total: $540.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-16 18:38 AEST+1000

Notes:

- The Intel G3258 processor is a budget gaming beast. It can be easily overclock anywhere between 3.8-4.0Ghz, after updating the motherboard BIOS. The default CPU cooler that comes with Intel G3258 will do a fine job, even after the overclock.

- The Asrock H97M Pro4 is a good option that makes future upgrades to any Haswell/Haswell Refresh/Broardwell i3/i5/i7 Processors, possible. This board also has better on-board audio solution, offering six audio I/O ports on the rear.

- You can use the following video as a overclock guide and try to replicate the settings on the Asrock H97M Pro4 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CK_UTnNu9JA

- This PC config with stellar mid-range MSI R9 270 2GB 256-bit graphics card can play all modern games with high graphical fidelity @1080p with good playable frames.

- Please note that this config is without OS.
================================

If you need a config with OS, consider this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($89.00 @ Centre Com)
Motherboard: ASRock H81M-DGS R2.0 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($62.00 @ Umart)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($78.00 @ IJK)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.00 @ Centre Com)
Video Card: Asus Radeon R7 250X 1GB Video Card ($95.00 @ CPL Online)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 OEM (64-bit) ($129.00 @ Mwave Australia)
Keyboard: Gigabyte GK-KM6150 Wired Standard Keyboard w/Optical Mouse ($12.00 @ CPL Online)
Total: $534.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-16 19:21 AEST+1000

Notes:

- This H81 chipset based Asrock may require a BIOS update in order for it to recognize the Intel G3258 processor.
- You can very well use the same overclock video guide listed above, which discusses how to overclock on H81 chipset based motherboard.
- The R7 250X is a pretty capable entry-level graphics card that can play all modern games with medium/high graphical fidelity @720 with decent playable frames.
- This build still allows you to upgrade to any i3/i5/i7 Haswell/Haswell Refresh processors. Broadwell processors are not supported by H81/87 chipset based motherboards.

Cheers!

 

[HairyRichard]

Hey guys,
Sadly our family lost a member recently and my little cousin(12 years old) is left without a father.
I've been having him over at my place often on weekends and gaming with him.
I'd like to build him a computer for him to use when he's around at my place.

I know $500 wont get much but its what I can afford at the moment. I already have an old PSU (610w), tower, and monitor from my old build which I'll use.
Mouse and keyboard don't need to be too fly at all, would like to keep price low on those or not even include them just yet.

FYI, I'm in Australia.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

Hello Hairy Richard,

Sorry to hear that. My deepest condolences for your family's loss. Just hold, I'll be back with solid config.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($89.00 @ Centre Com)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M PRO4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($109.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($82.00 @ Umart)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.00 @ Centre Com)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 270 2GB TWIN FROZR Video Card ($179.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Keyboard: Gigabyte GK-KM6150 Wired Standard Keyboard w/Optical Mouse ($12.00 @ CPL Online)
Total: $540.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-16 18:38 AEST+1000

Notes:

- The Intel G3258 processor is a budget gaming beast. It can be easily overclock anywhere between 3.8-4.0Ghz, after updating the motherboard BIOS. The default CPU cooler that comes with Intel G3258 will do a fine job, even after the overclock.

- The Asrock H97M Pro4 is a good option that makes future upgrades to any Haswell/Haswell Refresh/Broardwell i3/i5/i7 Processors, possible. This board also has better on-board audio solution, offering six audio I/O ports on the rear.

- You can use the following video as a overclock guide and try to replicate the settings on the Asrock H97M Pro4 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CK_UTnNu9JA

- This PC config with stellar mid-range MSI R9 270 2GB 256-bit graphics card can play all modern games with high graphical fidelity @1080p with good playable frames.

- Please note that this config is without OS.

Cheers!

Looks great, thank you so much!