Low Budget Gaming PC, around $300

[empeel]

Looking for really cheap build, requirements:

3 GHz processor
1 GB RAM
GeForce 8800 or equivalent video card (directX 9.0+, Shader version 2.0 capable)

Also need monitor and keyboard.
Have mouse, headphones.

Purchase planned asap, from inside the US.
I am planning to use this thing till May, I don't care if it breaks down afterwards as I will leave the country and can bring it with me.

I think the tricky thing is to meet the requirements (so I can play League of Legends) whilst staying as cheap as possible - everything that exceeds the recommanded system requirements will go to waste, I won't be doing anything else with the PC. Just install Windows (might even be XP) and LoL.

 

[Outlander_04]

I didnt think this was possible ,so naturally I tried

Heres what I have come up with

AMD Athlon II X3 440 Rana 3.0GHz $65
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103941

ASUS M5A78L-M LX AM3+ AMD 760G $60
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131728

Kingston 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 $17
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134788

SAPPHIRE 100289VGAL Radeon HD 5670 1GB $55 [ after rebate ]
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102930

Seagate Barracuda ST3160316AS 160GB 7200 RPM $35
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148698

Rosewill R102-P-BK 120mm Fan MicroATX Mid Tower $30
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147111

Antec Basiq BP350 350W ATX12V v2.01 Power Supply $20 [ after rebate ]
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371003

And dvd drive $20

Total is $302

Triple core processor , gfx card a fraction weaker than an 8800gt
and a power supply I personally wouldnt use , but it is at least a reputable brand and should actually run without exploding

If there was another $25 in the budget then this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371033

EDIt: replace gfx card with lower price unit

 

[ervinelim]

Lol this is impossible. He also needs monitor and keyboard. Add $150 and upgrade the Seagate to at least 500Gb. Buy a the smallest monitor or something.

 

[Outlander_04]

Lol this is impossible. He also needs monitor and keyboard. Add $150 and upgrade the Seagate to at least 500Gb. Buy a the smallest monitor or something.

You might be right

But just for gaming the 160 gig HDD would do

The monitor is a bit of a problem in the budget though ....... maybe borrow one ?

 

[ervinelim]

You might be right

But just for gaming the 160 gig HDD would do

The monitor is a bit of a problem in the budget though ....... maybe borrow one ?

Yeah, it would but personally i can never my stuff with just a 160gb hdd and with the prices of HDD right now but I guess you're right.

 

[008Rohit]

APU : AMD A8-3850 Llano 2.9GHz Socket FM1 100W Quad-Core Desktop APU - $140

MoBo : ASRock A75M-HVS FM1 AMD A75 (Hudson D3) SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard with UEFI BIOS - $70

RAM : Crucial 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Desktop Memory Model CT51264BA1339 - $20

HDD : Seagate Barracuda 500GB SATAIII - $40

PSU : Corsair CX430 - $25 (after mail in rebates)

Case : Cheapo one - $20

DVD : LG R/W - $20

Total : $315 after rebates

 

[empeel]

Both are looking good, way better than what I came up with. Thanks a lot.

I have two external harddrives, 1 TB and 2 TB, with me, so I really don't need the HD space.

So the main problem appears to be the monitor. My monitor at home is already pretty old, but working good so I didn't feel the need to replace it. I could, in fact, buy a good new monitor here in the US (should be cheaper than in Europe) and take it back home. Which means I need to find a good monitor and exclude it from the budget.

Could you be so friendly as to explain the differences between the first and the second build? I have no idea about hardware, so picking one is rather difficult.

Again, thank you for your help, I was getting quite desperate here, far from home, stranded with no PC. Oh, the agony!

 

[008Rohit]

The first build by Outlander consists of a Triple core processor and a discrete GPU where as my build includes the AMD A8 Llano, a CPU with an inbuilt powrful GPU.
Being a discrete card, the HD 5670 will give 7-8FPS more in games than my Llano build. But again, the processor (Athlon II X3, though being a triple core, isn't much powerful to run todays high end games properly)

The Llano on the other hand is a Quad Core APU.

So for now,

You'll be able to game better on Outlander's build and Normal apps (also mid end games) will run better on my build. You can later attach a cheap discrete GPU to my build and then it'll run games a lot better. (Hybrid Crossfire)

 

[ervinelim]

If you're just gonna play LOL. The first build is better but if you plan on doing some upgrading in the coming years. 008rohit's build is better because u can just add a video card and crossfire. But if i were you, I'd take the 008rohit's build and just buy a new video card when the need arises. It's only 8dollars diff but its in the long run

 

[008Rohit]

Ohh I just saw outlander's build has just 2GB of RAM. Then my build with 4GB of it will perform as good as the athlon build.

 

[Outlander_04]

Ohh I just saw outlander's build has just 2GB of RAM. Then my build with 4GB of it will perform as good as the athlon build.

I actually prefer your build with the A8 . I think its better value , and has potential to be upgraded with a graphics card

But even with an extra cpu core it wont game as well
http://www.techspot.com/review/418-amd-a8-3850-apu/page12.html

The reason for only 2 gig of RAM is the OP re-using Windows XP , which will be 32 bit

 

[008Rohit]

hmm.. The IG isn't that powerful. If the OP can live with it for a few months until he gets a discrete GPU and crossfires it with the IG, That'll boost the gaming performance of his PC.

 

[Darth_Kaar]

I would choose Llano based build as it is the latest AMD platform. Easy to upgrade and it's performance is rather good. I'ts integrated graphics should run League of Legends without problems.

 

[markc9]

I'd buy a 360 for that price and mod it if you miss playing games. What do you plan to run with an 8800 anyways? Morrowind?

 

[empeel]

Maybe I should clarify something, as people are taking future upgrades into account: I am an exchange student staying in the USA till May. As weight limitations apply to my luggage, I don't plan on taking anything back home other than the monitor. The only game I will play on this machine will be League of Legends, that's actually the sole reason why I need it in the first place, I have a netbook for everything else.

I only suggested Windows Xp because it requires less memory than W7, leaving more for the game.

Taking this into account, if I don't plan on ever buying anything else for this system, Outlanders build is better? Did I get that right?

 

[Outlander_04]

then get the build I suggested in the beginning . It games better .

I would use XP . LOL is DX9 anyway

 

[ervinelim]

Maybe I should clarify something, as people are taking future upgrades into account: I am an exchange student staying in the USA till May. As weight limitations apply to my luggage, I don't plan on taking anything back home other than the monitor. The only game I will play on this machine will be League of Legends, that's actually the sole reason why I need it in the first place, I have a netbook for everything else.

I only suggested Windows Xp because it requires less memory than W7, leaving more for the game.

Taking this into account, if I don't plan on ever buying anything else for this system, Outlanders build is better? Did I get that right?

Yep. Good luck.

 

[008Rohit]

If you won't upgrade it at all in the future then I've got something else for you.

Processor : AMD Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition Heka 2.8GHz Socket AM3 95W - $75
MoBo : ASRock 760GM-GS3 AM3 AMD 760G Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - $48
Graphics Card : Galaxy 50SGH8HX3QMZ GeForce GTS 450 (Fermi) GC Version 1GB 128-bit DDR5 - $79.99 (after mail in rebates)
Hard Disk : Seagate Barracuda 500GB SATAIII - $40
DVD R/W : LG - $20
RAM : Kingston Value 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1333 - $24
PSU : Corsair CX430 - $25
Case : Cheapo - $20

Total : $342 after rebates

This build will completely kill the other two builds in Gaming.

 

[Outlander_04]

If you won't upgrade it at all in the future then I've got something else for you.

Processor : AMD Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition Heka 2.8GHz Socket AM3 95W - $75
MoBo : ASRock 760GM-GS3 AM3 AMD 760G Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - $48
Graphics Card : Galaxy 50SGH8HX3QMZ GeForce GTS 450 (Fermi) GC Version 1GB 128-bit DDR5 - $79.99 (after mail in rebates)
Hard Disk : Seagate Barracuda 500GB SATAIII - $40
DVD R/W : LG - $20
RAM : Kingston Value 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1333 - $24
PSU : Corsair CX430 - $25
Case : Cheapo - $20

Total : $342 after rebates

This build will completely kill the other two builds in Gaming.

It will , but it also costs more than the budget

And it lacks a cpu cooler , so that would have to be added too

 

[008Rohit]

WTF AMD! We need to buy a HSF seperately? This is ridiculous. You better get a PII X4 940BE for about $20 more.

 

[Outlander_04]

WTF AMD! We need to buy a HSF seperately? This is ridiculous. You better get a PII X4 940BE for about $20 more.

Its an OEM chip . When intel sell chips to OEM's they dont supply a cooler either .
Its just unusual to find them in retail channels

Since the difference between athlon and Phenom is some cache , you'd also probably find that the 2.8 Ghz phenom is very similar performance to the 3 Ghz Athlon

 

[008Rohit]

Yah.. Athlon only lacks L3 cache.

Maybe a Athlon X4 6xx is better for him.

 

[markc9]

If you plan to game with it all year and then sell it, buy something closer to $500. Selling the parts after you'll come away with maybe $50 less than if you had bought/sold a $300 one. Definitely worth the price of admission if you plan to game enough on it.

I know you said you wanted $300 but to be honest, I think you're wasting your time. Even at minimum wage you can make up the difference in $$$ when you sell the computers in less than a day of work.

BTW, you don't want to play LoL with minimum requirements. Minimum is generally 20-30fps with all settings at the lowest. That's not exactly the most enjoyable or playable atmosphere but to each their own!

 

[empeel]

These are the recommanded settings for LoL, not the minimum.

Do you think I have a chance of selling the parts again? I don't know if there is a market for used hardware, and I don't want to spend the money and in a few months, I can't get rid of the system anymore.
Do people trust used hardware at all? I don't, that's why I am trying to build a new PC rather than buying a one on let's say eBay.

Alas, I am open to suggestions. Spending 500 now and selling it for 400 is better than spending 300 and not selling it at all.

 

[Outlander_04]

You wont spend $500 and then sell for $400 . But you might get 200 - 250 . which could make it worthwhile .

If you decide to go this way then the build I suggested first is still valid . Just add more RAM [ but not if using XP ]
a better quality PSU [ perhaps the corsair that 008rohit suggested ]
and a stronger graphics card

PowerColor AX6770 1GBD5-H Radeon HD 6770 1GB $110 [ $90 after rebate ]
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131434

OCZ ModXStream Pro 500W Modular $45 [ after rebate ]
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341016&cm_sp=Cat_Power_Supplies-_-Spotlight-_-17-341-016

The triple core athlon will be as good as a quad core in games , the upgraded graphics are a huge boost , and since the case is relatively small then the modular psu makes sense

The price goes up only $60

I would stick with win XP . It will run faster on 2 gig of RAM than vista or 7 will on 4 gig , and since the game is DX9 you wont lose any image quality .