need advice on a build

[Holly Nuckols]

i want to build a gaming rig , but money is very tight. i have a build list . i also have a dell 660s (slim) that i was thinking about using .

 

[Jeff Baffalo]

The Dell has an i5 correct? Well if it does than you could use that. it is clocked a bit low but it should work. You could also reuse the RAM and hard drive.

 

[logainofhades]

Problem with the slim towers is power supply is typically not much for wattage, and your graphics card options are worse. What are the specs of that Dell, and what is your budget?

 

[boosted1g]

The 660s motherboard will support up to a 3rd generation core i5. This will be more then adequate for a budget gaming rig.

Now as logain stated, the tower is going to horrifically hold you back in upgrades.

You can reuse the motherboard, your hard drive, cd drive, windows OS, and possibly even your memory (if you have 6-8gb already)

You will need an i5 3xxx processor, a new case, a new power supply, possibly new memory, and your video card.

If you can tell us a budget then we can put together something for you.

 

[Holly Nuckols]

im looking for something to basically support the games that i have on the computer until i can truly afford the proper rig. the dell i have has the following a duo cpu with 2.90ghz, 4gb ram, no card , 1 tb , and 220w.. i would like to upgrade the cpu,psu, ram and add a card , i am a bit tempted to gut it and replace everything but the sound and hard drive. i have sims 3 and diablo on the pc both with low settings. at the very least i would like to add another 4 gb ram and a card . ( dont mind low end cards ) my budget at the moment is no more than 200 that is all i can afford at the moment . i know that probably wont amount to anything , but i would at least like to make the computer stable.

 

[Holly Nuckols]

actually the build i would like to make is
amd fx 4300 3.8ghz
8gb ram
1 tb
750 ti 1.20 ghz ( core clock)
430 - 500 w
windows 8
the total wattage is 264 , and it would have a mid tower case. i wouldnt mind over looking the slim for this one but the price is base total is 591.67
plus the 86.98 i had to add for windows 8.1 . let me know if yall want the build list of parts that i have.

 

[boosted1g]

The 4300 is excessively low end, and the cost of the 4300 AND a AMD motherboard would be as much as upgrading your motherboard to an i5 (but way less performance then the i5).

 

[boosted1g]

Go to control panel, system and security, system, and then tell us what processor you currently have.


The $200 budget is just not quite enough, $250 should do it though.
Your slim form PSU will not support the voltage from even a 750 ti so you need a bigger PSU. To stick with your small form factor the PSU and the GPU will cost you almost as much as a inexpensive case, so it would be pointless to pay the same amount to stay in a slim case that will only hold you back from future upgrades for the same price.

 

[Holly Nuckols]

im well aware that the 4300 is low end and if i make a totaly new build im going with amd fx 4300 to 6300 . and as for my slims cpu its intel pentium G645 2.90ghz , 2.90ghz
you know i was asking if it was possible to upgrade the slim , and im well aware of everything you said i was asking could i . and i will not go with intel if i build a rig because of the price.

 

[Holly Nuckols]

im not trying to be assy or anything i just wanted some advice , im well aware of what is low end and what is high end . but im going by what i can afford .

 

[boosted1g]

With your current budget of around $200 I would start with this, all of these can be reused with any future build. The power supply is very nice can support all the way up to a GTX 970. Do note that price is after $30 in mail in rebates

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB FTW ACX Video Card ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair SPEC-01 RED ATX Mid Tower Case ($38.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $203.96
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-20 13:40 EDT-0400

 

[boosted1g]

im not trying to be assy or anything i just wanted some advice , im well aware of what is low end and what is high end . but im going by what i can afford .

I can understand and am glad you are not wanting to waste our time with a dream build you would never begin to afford.

My point though is that you can use your existing motherboard and a better intel CPU and get BETTER performance for the same cost as switching to AMD. A ivy bridge I3 for just over $100 will be better then a 4300 by a mile, and be a little ahead of a 6300.

The other factor you likely not aware of is that when you get a different motherboard, your Dell license of windows will not work with the new board and you will have to buy a new copy of windows. Thus adding another $80-100 in cost.

 

[Holly Nuckols]

i'll figure it out, i went to pcpartpicker.com and put together a intel core i5 pc and that came to 809.00 . this is my first time making a rig and i was going to start out small with what i could afford then take and upgrade certain things , and i know that if i do it just right it will only be three things. or i could buy the computer i was looking at and upgrade two things from it.

 

[ScrewySqrl]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($174.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M Anniversary Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($67.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Apotop 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($41.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Hitachi Ultrastar 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($43.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 285 2GB TurboDuo Video Card ($178.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($22.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Rosewill 550W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($48.00 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHDS118-04 DVD/CD Drive ($13.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $591.83
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-20 14:01 EDT-0400

now this doesn't include windows or a monitor

 

[logainofhades]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($174.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-E34 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($53.95 @ B&H)
Memory: Mushkin Stealth 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Hitachi Ultrastar 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($43.00 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($22.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($55.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHDS118-04 DVD/CD Drive ($13.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Other: EVGA GTX 950 ($159.99)
Total: $599.89
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-20 15:15 EDT-0400