Question What's the cheapest processor that won't bottleneck a 1050 ti?

Jul 30, 2021
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So my friend recently got gifted a 1050 ti for his birthday. He never owned a computer and usually would play games in PC cafes. He mostly plays fps games, he recently got hooked on Apex Legends and would like his PC to do the same. The problems comes from his desire to keep the PC as cheap as possible. As long as the PC runs Apex Legends at a stable 60fps at 1080p (even on low settings, he doesn't mind it), the PC is gold. I recommended him to get a fourth gen i5, but he wants to know if there's other cheaper options.
 

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So my friend recently got gifted a 1050 ti for his birthday. He never owned a computer and usually would play games in PC cafes. He mostly plays fps games, he recently got hooked on Apex Legends and would like his PC to do the same. The problems comes from his desire to keep the PC as cheap as possible. As long as the PC runs Apex Legends at a stable 60fps at 1080p (even on low settings, he doesn't mind it), the PC is gold. I recommended him to get a fourth gen i5, but he wants to know if there's other cheaper options.
He needs the whole rest of the system, not just the CPU.

Suggest starting here, and posting in the Systems Forum:
 
Jul 30, 2021
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What motherboard is he going to put it on?

The thing is, if he doesn't have motherboard/memory/drives/PSU, etc, etc. then he'll have to get those too.

He doesn't have anything yet, he only has the GPU. He wanted to start by knowing what processor he can get, then he'll follow up with the appropriate mobo and ram. He's gonna go with an ADATA SU635 for his storage drive and an EVGA 450BR for his PSU. The only thing stopping him from building is he's clueless when it comes to the CPU.
 
Jul 30, 2021
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He needs the whole rest of the system, not just the CPU.

Suggest starting here, and posting in the Systems Forum:

Alright, I'll try there
 
He doesn't have anything yet, he only has the GPU. He wanted to start by knowing what processor he can get, then he'll follow up with the appropriate mobo and ram. He's gonna go with an ADATA SU635 for his storage drive and an EVGA 450BR for his PSU. The only thing stopping him from building is he's clueless when it comes to the CPU.

I'd re-think the PSU, if not bought yet. That one may be adequate for extreme low-end but it will quickly become an under-powered problem if he wants to upgrade in the future.

Don't look at just CPU but look at CPU and motherboard combo's to compare on cost. Also, beware going too far low end on motherboard as, again, one can quickly become a problem if he wants to upgrade in the future.
 
Jul 30, 2021
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I'd re-think the PSU, if not bought yet. That one may be adequate for extreme low-end but it will quickly become an under-powered problem if he wants to upgrade in the future.

Don't look at just CPU but look at CPU and motherboard combo's to compare on cost. Also, beware going too far low end on motherboard as, again, one can quickly become a problem if he wants to upgrade in the future.

Alright, let's say he's willing to put 120 dollars for the mobo and CPU. What can he get with that money?

He hasn't bought the PSU yet, do you have a better one at similar price point? The 450BR is around 45 dollars here.
 
Nov 30, 2021
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So my friend recently got gifted a 1050 ti for his birthday. He never owned a computer and usually would play games in PC cafes. He mostly plays fps games, he recently got hooked on Apex Legends and would like his PC to do the same. The problems comes from his desire to keep the PC as cheap as possible. As long as the PC runs Apex Legends at a stable 60fps at 1080p (even on low settings, he doesn't mind it), the PC is gold. I recommended him to get a fourth gen i5, but he wants to know if there's other cheaper options.
You could get a P55 mobo for ~$60 on Aliexpress, maybe less, as well as a Xeon X3440 (4C/8T) for $10 on eBay or Aliexpress. You'll want to buy a cheap aftermarket cooler for the CPU if you don't already have one so you can overclock the CPU to 4.0GHz. You'll also want 16GB of at least 1333Mhz DDR3 if you don't already have some. You can also get a $65 650W bronze rated Semi-Modular EVGA power supply and a $40 120mm AIO both from EVGA's B-Stock on their website. EDIT: They also have a 750W non-modular for $50 with no 80+ rating, but a 2 Year Warranty