[SOLVED] Which computer best for gaming (low budget build)

[Yurimio]

Hello all,
Hope ya'll staying safe and healthy - as always.
I just wanted the expertise and opinion of this forum. I have the chance to build a budget gaming PC and wanted to see which system would be the best for gaming overall. Below are my choices.

Dell
Optiplex 9010 Tower
Intel I5 3rd Gen @ 3.40GHz
8GB
500GB Hard Drive

Dell
Optiplex 7010 Tower
Intel I5 3rd Gen @ 3.20GHz
8GB
500GB Hard Drive

Levovo
ThinkStation E30
Intel I5 2nd Gen @ 3.30GHz
8GB
500GB Hard Drive

HP
Z800 WorkStation
Xeon E5645 @2.40GHz
8GB
500 GB Hard Drive

HP
Z200 WorkStation
Intel I7 1st Gen @ 2.93GHz
Ram: 8GB
Storage: 500GB Hard Drive
OS: Windows 10 or Zorin (Linux)

Brand: HP
Model: Z230 WorkStation
Processor: Intel I5 4th Gen @ 3.20GHz
Ram: 8GB
Storage: 500GB Hard Drive

They are all pretty much the same price. Thanks for your help!! 😀

 

[jwcrellin]

OP, if you are buying a new motherboard and cpu, you should consider the B550 ones from AMD and the new 3300X cpu. Reviews released yesterday show that combo beating the i7 7700k a lot of the time for half the price.

 

[Karadjgne]

Use a B450 mobo, they'll be cheaper than the B550 for quite a while. The only real advantage the B550 has is its limited pcie4.0 on storage and gpu, but unless you plan on next gen nvidia or a 5700xt, and a double the price NVMe 4, there's no advantage at all. Not for anything 3rd gen.

 

[jwcrellin]

B450 is the end of the road. Dead chipset just like Z270. B550 you can at least install 4000 series cpu's later on.

 

[Karadjgne]

No need. At best the difference might be like any difference between a 2600 and a 3600, which overall performance is minimal. After the 4000 series, and will be into a new platform, so you can consider the B550 and X570 as dead ends too. B550 will have a life span of @ 2 years ± and 1 generation of chips. The B450/550 will handle the biggest chips, barely, but if you are spending $400+ on a cpu, might as well spend the extra on an X570 anyway.

 

[Phaaze88]

Decisions, decisions...
🤔

 

[Karadjgne]

Tell me about it. I'm $2400 into a build with 1 component left to buy. The motherboard. Do I go $150 for the B450, $250 for the X570 or wait for the B550 which I expect to be in the $200 range. Either way I have to wait because there's 0 stock anywhere except eBay, whose prices are higher than most anyone except Amazon, who wants $599 for the only 3 new X570 s to be found.

 

[Phaaze88]

I saw that thread. That sucks - just missing 1 piece...
I'd wait for the B550 if it were me, because the X570s just seem to be too expensive for what they offer.