Trying to buy/build a cheap pc for gaming on low settings

[bordakius]

Hello,
im on a budget of around 2-300$
my current pc is dell dimension e521
amd athlon 64 3200 2.0 ~ghz

someone said i could add these parts to it and they would fit/work fine im just lookin for a second opinion:

ram:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220557

hard drive:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148767

processor:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113280

motherboard:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131931

so i can either go with that or possibly craigslist one: http://newjersey.craigslist.org/sys/3582019835.html

which would be the better c hoice / value and could either rig possibly run a game like skyrim on the lowest possible settings?

 

[kiezz]

with the parts from newegg you could run skyrim at 1920x1080 and get around 30fps on medium ish settings, I had an a10 5800k and that mobo and its a good budget pc

 

[bordakius]

cool bro thanks very much!!! do you happen to know if those parts would fit with my dell dimension E521? its from like 2003 xD... also... do i NEED the new hard drive? xD

any help or anything from any1 is greatly appreciated!!! i really dont want to waste money if i can help it! xD

 

[kiezz]

I don't know about the case but the hdd you have should more than likely be ok but you would have to do a clean install of windows

 

[darkspartenwarrior]

That guy on Craigslist has *** cable management LOL, also if you go that route it's likely he'll make you pay for insurance if not shipping as well.

also some OEM use mATX(your mobo), some use ITX and some use ATX, it's a gamble, plus you can get better RAM for cheaper, dual 2x4 Vengeance sticks are only 40 bucks and are better.

 

[bordakius]

sweet so ill just probably order the 3 parts and not get the hard drive untill i need it... also yeah thanks for input on the craigslist... always felt sketchy bout that site lol

 

[smokeybravo]

Get at least 1866MHz RAM if your motherboard will support it. The integrated GPU needs fast system RAM since it doesn't have much of its own. With 1333MHz RAM, your FPS will be kinda low.

 

[bordakius]

so its come down to:

http://newjersey.craigslist.org/syd/3611225938.html

or

http://newjersey.craigslist.org/sys/3582019835.html

or the parts idea:

ram:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820220557

processor:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819113280

motherboard:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131931

the parts will cost me 240... and im not confident in my abilities to put it together into my current pc.... and each of the craigslist pcs are under 170$.... so... do i take the chance with the parts? or gamble on the easyer cheaper solution and buy the already put-together rig's...

and will either of those pcs from craigslist even run skyrim on lowest settings!?!?

this is such a frustrating buy for me so ur guy's past and future help is GREATLY appreciated

 

[langley8]

i had a dell xps 420 and dell used there own motherboard design in that which meant no other motherboard would fit into it so i would just make sure that it is not dell owns motherboard in your current case otherwise u might not be able to use this same case

 

[bordakius]

THANK U ALL FOR YOUR REPLIES! its helped me alot ive flip-flopped my ideas from building a rig to buying one back and forth and back and forth... assuming this craigslist seller will meet with me and show me the pc will turn on/ doesnt have any mashed usb ports in the back (advice my friend gave me before i buy it)

http://newjersey.craigslist.org/sys/3568513427.html

any1 think that might be too good to be true^?

 

[smokeybravo]

You should build your own. Getting a computer from craigslist is really sketchy it seems like. With that HP, you'll have to replace the video card anyway. If you can, save your money to get a brand new one.

 

[lazyboy947]

THANK U ALL FOR YOUR REPLIES! its helped me alot ive flip-flopped my ideas from building a rig to buying one back and forth and back and forth... assuming this craigslist seller will meet with me and show me the pc will turn on/ doesnt have any mashed usb ports in the back (advice my friend gave me before i buy it)

http://newjersey.craigslist.org/sys/3568513427.html

any1 think that might be too good to be true^?

Sounds like a terrible deal lol, theres no gpu and its a hp lol I recently sold a old custom build pc with a phenom i x4 9650, a 9800gt, 4gb of ddr2 800, a cool aftermarket case, and cpu cooler, a decent psu again better than prebuilt lol. Sold it with a 80gb hdd, and win 7 for $225

 

[BuddiLuva]

Go with your custom build, you won't have much trouble building it.

Just watch a few how to build videos on youtube, 2-3 hours and you will know exactly what you are doing.

 

[bordakius]

thank u all for your replies, i ended up getting a dell vostro 220s from a friend for free! xD, now im getting some new ram and a video card for THAT (lol go figure) and im good to go!!! (haha my faithful dell e521 met its match and died shortly after posting this thread! xD)