Cheap PC for light gaming

[GfYGrizzly]

Hey guys,

 

So my Laptop just died on me and i really can't afford to spend more than 400-500 bucks.

All i need is a PC that can run CS:GO at 60 FPS and deal with simple browser tasks like YT vids and Twitch streaming.

I don't mind to buy used parts if that saves me a few dollars but since i'm german shipping would propably cost more than said parts.

 

So TL;DR i need the cheapest PC possible that can run Counterstrike at 60 FPS.

 

I hope that someone can help me out here.

Thank you so much.!

 

-Alex

[BigDay]

so, your budget is 500 dollars usd? give us the budget in euros. you're from germany right?

[Inception9269]

Hey guys,

 

So my Laptop just died on me and i really can't afford to spend more than 400-500 bucks.

All i need is a PC that can run CS:GO at 60 FPS and deal with simple browser tasks like YT vids and Twitch streaming.

I don't mind to buy used parts if that saves me a few dollars but since i'm german shipping would propably cost more than said parts.

 

So TL;DR i need the cheapest PC possible that can run Counterstrike at 60 FPS.

 

I hope that someone can help me out here.

Thank you so much.!

 

-Alex

 

This is the cheapest, functional, build i could come up with.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor  (€71.90 @ Caseking)

Motherboard: MSI Z87I AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  (€104.21 @ Amazon Deutschland)

Memory: Kingston Beast 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  (€53.89 @ Amazon Deutschland)

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  (€55.12 @ Amazon Deutschland)

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Superclocked Video Card  (€148.90 @ Amazon Deutschland)

Case: Cooler Master Elite 110 Mini ITX Tower Case  (€43.48 @ Amazon Deutschland)

Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 450W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  (€52.25 @ Amazon Deutschland)

Total: €529.75

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-02 04:13 CEST+0200

 

The cpu is pretty alright. I ended up going with an ITX build since I saw that as the cheaper route since the mobo also includes a wifi router so you don't have to spend money on one.

Some will recommend an AMD card, but I don't know a whole lot of cheap but good AMD gpus. A 750ti should be good and more for what you need.

[GfYGrizzly]

@BigDay My budget is 500 usd which totals to about 455 EUR.
@Inception9269 Thank you.! Maybe i'll find a 750ti used somewhere.. If so i will go for this build.! (:
 

[jimakos234]

Here is what i would recommend

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4160 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor  (€122.89 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Motherboard: ASRock H81M-HDS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  (€54.25 @ Home of Hardware DE)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  (€52.49 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  (€55.12 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R7 370 2GB Video Card  (€158.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Case: BitFenix Neos White ATX Mid Tower Case  (€36.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  (€66.89 @ Home of Hardware DE)
Total: €547.62
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-02 15:38 CEST+0200

Also keep in mind, that you can find a used R9 280 for 150 euros

which would be a better choice than a 750ti or a R7 370

[BigDay]

-snip- look below

[Prysin]

This is the cheapest, functional, build i could come up with.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor  (€71.90 @ Caseking)

Motherboard: MSI Z87I AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  (€104.21 @ Amazon Deutschland)

Memory: Kingston Beast 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  (€53.89 @ Amazon Deutschland)

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  (€55.12 @ Amazon Deutschland)

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Superclocked Video Card  (€148.90 @ Amazon Deutschland)

Case: Cooler Master Elite 110 Mini ITX Tower Case  (€43.48 @ Amazon Deutschland)

Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 450W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  (€52.25 @ Amazon Deutschland)

Total: €529.75

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-02 04:13 CEST+0200

 

The cpu is pretty alright. I ended up going with an ITX build since I saw that as the cheaper route since the mobo also includes a wifi router so you don't have to spend money on one.

Some will recommend an AMD card, but I don't know a whole lot of cheap but good AMD gpus. A 750ti should be good and more for what you need.

 

That build is wasteful. The G3258 is a TOY, not a CPU.

You shouldnt suggest anything lower then Athlon 860k or Intel i3 4130. Newer games require 4 threads/cores, and if OP ever want to try one out, he cannot do so with a pentium. Not to mention that the Pentium will just be an added expense later on over getting a i3 right away.

 

500 USD/Euro and below, best combo is usually Athlon 860k (quad core with close to i3 performance, but costs same as pentium. can be OCd to reach almost same perf as i3 4130, just almost).

 

The 750TI is good, but a R9 270 or 270X will run circles around it without even trying.

[Nena Trinity]

If he is not gonna upgrade for a while I think the Athlon X4 860K + GTX 960, R9 280, R9 280X or R9 380 is a great option!

[GfYGrizzly]

Thanks guys.! @Nena360 @Prysin  I really don't plan on upgrading anytime soon since i don't have that much time to game i just want it to be able to run CS:GO at stable 60 FPS and i will go as low as i possibly can because yeah.. The moneys.. ._.

[Crowes]

A graphics card? This is CS:GO we're talking about, rignt?

 

 

APU APU APU APU APU

[TheGeeker]

@BigDay My budget is 500 usd which totals to about 455 EUR.

@Inception9269 Thank you.! Maybe i'll find a 750ti used somewhere.. If so i will go for this build.! (:

 

you should extend to 600 usd. You can get much better bang for buck. Worth the exrta 100

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($166.95 @ SuperBiiz) 

Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($40.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($41.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Storage: Sandisk SSD PLUS 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($44.99 @ Micro Center) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($43.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 280X 3GB Video Card  ($189.99 @ Newegg) 

Case: Thermaltake VL80001W2Z ATX Mid Tower Case  ($22.99 @ Micro Center) 

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($49.99 @ Newegg) 

Optical Drive: LG GH24NSC0B DVD/CD Writer  ($11.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Total: $613.87

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-08 20:57 EDT-0400

[Inception9269]

That build is wasteful. The G3258 is a TOY, not a CPU.

You shouldnt suggest anything lower then Athlon 860k or Intel i3 4130. Newer games require 4 threads/cores, and if OP ever want to try one out, he cannot do so with a pentium. Not to mention that the Pentium will just be an added expense later on over getting a i3 right away.

 

500 USD/Euro and below, best combo is usually Athlon 860k (quad core with close to i3 performance, but costs same as pentium. can be OCd to reach almost same perf as i3 4130, just almost).

 

The 750TI is good, but a R9 270 or 270X will run circles around it without even trying.

 

I'm not familiar with his currency, and from what I've seen parts typically cost much more with his. Was fitting the best i could think of in a 500 euro budget

[Prysin]

I'm not familiar with his currency, and from what I've seen parts typically cost much more with his. Was fitting the best i could think of in a 500 euro budget

its not that it wont work, its that the G3258 + a z87 board is well, not going to give you a good experience.

In newer games (and future ones), four cores are needed. Even a handful of todays games requires 4 cores, or just run that much better on them

 

Looking at price to performance, you got the AMD Athlon X4 860k. It has no real upgrade path, is overclockable, costs same as a Pentium G3258, but it is a real four core CPU.

Then there is the best budget performance which is the Intel i3 4160. Fantastic little piece of kit, it has a upgrade path, and runs a little bit better then the Athlon. Now, the 10-15% better gaming performance of the i3 is not what makes the 40 USD investment worth it, that is the upgrade path to an i5 later on.

 

However, and i stand by this. If you are not going to upgrade within 6-12 months, the Athlon X4 860k is more worth it, as it will cost you less initially, but you must add in the price of a new mobo when getting the i5 later on. BUT it performs just as well as the i3 in GAMING.

Intel do have a few advantages in office and productivity settings where their higher IPC really comes into play, but for gaming, the Athlon X4 860k and Intel i3 4160/4330 is so close, that is really is a toss-up between them.

 

This is why i say its wasteful, not because the Pentium wont work, but because for the same price, there is something simply better.

 

NOW, there is a exception.

If you play OLD games, or purely high level competitive MMOs or MOBAs, you would want the Pentium or i3, mainly due to their higher IPC, thus better performance in MMO and MOBAs which generally ONLY use one or two cores (they can sometimes use more, they just dont get any benefit from them)

 

 

watch that video. Then look at intel i3 and intel i5 vs Athlon 860k

The athlon is rock bottom most of the time, however, notice the gap in FPS (and if the FPS is over 60 all the time). Then think, is it worth throwing lots and lots of money at something if all you get is frames you wont see?

[mattonfire]

its not that it wont work, its that the G3258 + a z87 board is well, not going to give you a good experience.

In newer games (and future ones), four cores are needed. Even a handful of todays games requires 4 cores, or just run that much better on them

 

Looking at price to performance, you got the AMD Athlon X4 860k. It has no real upgrade path, is overclockable, costs same as a Pentium G3258, but it is a real four core CPU.

Then there is the best budget performance which is the Intel i3 4160. Fantastic little piece of kit, it has a upgrade path, and runs a little bit better then the Athlon. Now, the 10-15% better gaming performance of the i3 is not what makes the 40 USD investment worth it, that is the upgrade path to an i5 later on.

 

-snip-

Even though this was kinda rude, I have to agree.

[BigDay]

Even though this was kinda rude, I have to agree.

 

you can overclock the g3258 on the following h81 board: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard

[Prysin]

you can overclock the g3258 on the following h81 board: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard

Still does not change the fact that it is a dual core, without hyperthreading. So even if you can OC it, it will still stutter and freeze in newer games.

 

I do not say it is terrible, cuz for certain things it is fine, like playing mostly older games. But the i3 and Athlon is simply better due to their ability to multi task better. Some games, the G3258 when OCd will rival a stock i7 4790. When the game can use more then, or requires more then 2 cores, it is left in the dust.

 

FPS isnt everything, We often see benchmarks where a low end CPU scores massive FPS, but we never see the frame timing, AKA the smoothness of the game.

I wish we would see more tests with CPU impact on frame timing. It would probably make people realize a thing or two

[Guest trucker2]

I personelly went with an a10-7850k with MSI a68h MB combo for 110 at microcenter. 60 bucks or so for 2133 ram and an old PSU and less old HD and I have me a gaming rig for under 200 bucks.

IF you dont have these parts then a cheap  case 25 bucks and 40 bucks for HD and 30 to 40 for a good PSU(make sure it has 8 pin gpu attachment) if you go with a r9 380.

Or get a 10 buck cheap PSU and see if you get the performance you want, Then later if you want more speed you have 250 or so for a dGPU and you can shope around for that while still gaming.

DX12 I would condier a must for an AMD APU.

Don't know about CS GO since I prefer single player games. If I want to play with someone I can tickle my wife.

Just an option to consider....7850/7870k has a ton of reviews and benchmarks avail online

Also saw a vid comparing the 860k to the fx-6300 with high end dgpu's up to the r9 295

Oh and mine with a cheap 15 buck T2 cooler got to 4.5 on autotune where it froze....i am happy with that.

Stay away from EVGA overclocking DRAM

Hope this helps some

[BigDay]

@GfYGrizzly

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4160 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($107.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($40.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Kingston 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($33.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Sandisk SSD PLUS 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($44.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($43.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R7 370 2GB WINDFORCE 2X Video Card  ($144.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($22.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($46.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $486.92
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-10 00:25 EDT-0400

[JoshB2084]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 860K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: MSI A78M-E35 Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard  ($57.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($75.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Western Digital BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($69.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R7 360 2GB Video Card  ($103.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case  ($59.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA GS 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($83.26 @ Mwave)
Total: $521.06
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-10 02:24 EDT-0400