I want to build a £115 gaming pc.

[Skylanders Unite]

I really want to build a pc that costs around £115 pc that can run fortnite medium settings at 60fps.

 

[Skylanders Unite]

ps. I would like to use a dell pc case, not a dell pc and upgrade it just wanna use the case.

[Guest]

You're gonna need a lot more than that to build a PC probably 400 pounds minimum. Your best bet is to find something used.

[Moonzy]

2 minutes ago, Skylanders Unite said:

not a dell pc and upgrade it

that's probably your best bet though, given the budget

[Skylanders Unite]

4 minutes ago, BlueScope819 said:

Ain't gonna get that done on the new market. Follow something similar to this:

 

Would I be able to upgrade that pc to an i5 when I get enough cash? I don’t want to be stuck with an i2.

[Helpful Tech Witch]

6 minutes ago, Skylanders Unite said:

I really want to build a pc that costs around £115 pc that can run fortnite medium settings at 60fps.

 

Just get a used xbox when series x comes out lol.

[Skylanders Unite]

1 minute ago, TheTechWizardThatNeedsHelp said:

Just get a used xbox when series x comes out lol.

Already have an Xbox One and PlayStation 4, just want a computer now.

[Electronics Wizardy]

2 minutes ago, Skylanders Unite said:

Would I be able to upgrade that pc to an i5 when I get enough cash? I don’t want to be stuck with an i2.

not without changing the board. But that would need a new cse. With that budget upgradeability gets very limited.

[Helpful Tech Witch]

Just now, Skylanders Unite said:

Already have an Xbox One and PlayStation 4, just want a computer now.

Ummm... IDK, a PC for 115 will be a bit..... not great. EVERYTHING will hsve to be used.

[Skylanders Unite]

1 minute ago, TheTechWizardThatNeedsHelp said:

Ummm... IDK, a PC for 115 will be a bit..... not great. EVERYTHING will hsve to be used.

Yeah, I’m aware. 
 

[Skylanders Unite]

3 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

not without changing the board. But that would need a new cse. With that budget upgradeability gets very limited.

That’s the only thing really, I don’t want to upgrade the case down the line of owning the pc because of upgrading the cpu. Could I do anything else? 

[Electronics Wizardy]

Just now, Skylanders Unite said:

That’s the only thing really, I don’t want to upgrade the case down the line of owning the pc because of upgrading the cpu. Could I do anything else? 

With those core 2 duo systems, you relly can't upgrade the performance much, your stuck with a 13 year old platform

 

Id really try to get a second gen i5 system if you can(I think 3010,7010 in dell terms). THere a good amount faster, and should be cheap now.

[aisle9]

41 minutes ago, Skylanders Unite said:

ps. I would like to use a dell pc case, not a dell pc and upgrade it just wanna use the case.

Ok, well, first off, no. To get your hands on an Optiplex 380 case, you're going to have to buy an Optiplex 380. If you buy an Optiplex 380, you might as well use the existing guts, because you're not getting anything better for whatever you get with what's left of your 115 GBP.

 

My suggestion would be to call local businesses or computer shops. If you go the eBay route, you're likely to get an i3 with a 250GB hard drive, 4 GB of RAM, a case that's beat to hell and only 40 Euros or so left over for a GPU--not enough for anything worthwhile. If you call local businesses, you might find someone that has an old Opti sitting around and would be interested in getting 20 Euros out of it rather than watching it collect dust. Sort of a long shot, but worth a try. A computer shop might have a boatload of them after a local business closed, but this approach will cost you almost eBay prices. An even longer shot, but one that might be worth it, is CeX. I went to the Edinburgh store while I was over there a couple years back, and while their systems were all way above 115 Euros, their low-end GPUs, low-end CPUs and RAM were all cheap enough that they might be of use to you--if you can find one stocking LGA775-era parts to begin with. Their website might be a better place to look.

 

The best approach for you with a 115 Euro budget and your goal is to save up another 185 Euros. The second best approach would be a Core 2 Quad and a GTX 750 Ti, which could probably handle Fortnite at 720p medium settings, maybe 1080p but no guarantees. Hell, the C2Q makes it a no guarantees proposition no matter what, and you're badly limited in terms of upgrade potential. Almost every Dell with an LGA 775 board, including the Optiplexes, used a BTX form factor board. If you want to use a Dell case, you're looking at Vostro 200s (which did look damn slick back in the day) and Inspirons (which looked less slick). You should be able to get one of those dirt cheap, drop in a C2Q, take it to 8GB of RAM then install a 750 Ti and go.

 

Side note that I learned the hard way: if you go this route, make damn sure your motherboard is a G33M03. The G33M02 does not support quad core CPUs. Something to do with the way the power phases are laid out.

 

You're going to have shit for airflow in a Vostro case, but the case itself is standard mATX, and I'm fairly sure it uses standard connectors with no proprietary nonsense. Also, have I mentioned that the glossy black Vostro 200 case was beautiful? HP and Lenovo SFF cases all used BTX. HP's bigger cases used either BTX or ATX, but even the ATX ones had some wonky proprietary stuff going on. I'm not sure if Lenovo had transitioned their bigger cases over to mATX yet.

 

Big takeaways: if you want a Dell, look for a Vostro 200 or an Inspiron from the same generation, depending on whether black cases or white cases are your thing. They're identical otherwise. Don't spend more than 40 Euros, and that's if it's a system with a Q6600, a 500GB hard drive, 8GB of RAM and damn near mint condition. Make sure the system already has a Q6600, or get confirmation from the seller that the board is a G33M03 before buying. Make sure you leave enough room in your budget for a GTX 750 Ti, GTX 1050 or GTX 1050 Ti...although at your budget, it's entirely possible that all of those are out of reach and you end up with a GT 730...which can't play Fortnite at all. Also, take it to 8GB of RAM. You'll need four 2GB sticks of DDR2. My personal preference with older Dells is to stay the f away from modern AMD cards because of compatibility nightmares, but if you want to try something like an RX 460 or 560 given what good value they are right now, go for it. Roll with it like that and make small improvements over time, like adding an SSD or a better PSU, or modding the case for better airflow from the front. Adding a front fan is usually enough to do this, but you have to get creative. Once you have the mATX motherboard, RAM and CPU ready for your dream build, you're good to convert the case.