A Real Challenge - Basic Gaming, Low cost PC

[Hunt3rForce]

Hello,

 

I want to preface this by saying this build is in fact for a friend, He has an old computer sporting windows xp, and its starting to kick the bucket on him. Initially he was looking to upgrade his existing computer, however I advised he would be better off getting a new one, and in the interest in of saving money building it. The major challenge has been trying to find parts within a budget while taking into account that he will need a new OS. He's looking to spend around $300 with a little wiggle room, but heres the lifesaver, he has a case, adequate power supply(---), and a GPU (because he got a new one due to the old one dying, details below).

His goal is to play basic games on it with 40+ FPS at decent quality      example: counter strike global offensive

 

In an attempt to help him I've been trying to develop a build within his budget, however I am not the most knowledgeable with PC building, not completely new but not battle hardened, so to speak. Therefore, one of my primary concerns would be, A seeing an improvement over his current system, and B ensuring he doesn't have any unnecessary bottle necks where he's wasting money.

 

His Current setup (addresses issue A)

nvidia 7050m motherboard

GTX 650 GPU

AMD Athlon x2 4800+ 2.5Ghz Duo-core

2GB of 800mhz DDR2 memory

Antec 900Black

 

Below is what I have so far  (keep in mind he will be keeping the current GPU,Case, & PSU)

PC PartPicker Link

------------------------------------------------------

MSI H81M-P33 motherboard

Intel Pentium G3220 3GHZ Duo-Core

Patriot Viper 3 LP 2x4GB 1600mhz DDR3 memory

Seagate HDD 1TB 7200rpm

Cooler Master Hyper 212plus HS

 

The build here totals around $275, however it lacks a very important part.....the OS
I am well aware that there are free OS options like linux, however I do not know enough about these to say if they're worth it.

Does this build look decent? are there better options? Could money be efficiently saved by removing the Hyper212?

Does this build contain any bottlenecks at the GPU,CPU, or elsewhere?

Most Importantly, am I forgetting anything?

 

Thanks for the help/advice,

Hunt3rForce

[Clyne]

(IMO)no point of getting a cpu cooler if your cpu has a locked multiplier unless you want lower temps or a more quieter cpu cooler

here is what i would do

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 740 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($74.99 @ Amazon) 

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A55M-S1 Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard  ($34.69 @ Newegg) 

Memory: Team Elite Plus 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($64.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($53.98 @ OutletPC) 

Total: $228.65

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-02 22:12 EDT-0400

[NoctHorn]

Do not get the hyper 212.  At this price, you could probably just accept stock cooling and put the $30 elsewhere.

[LemonSpice]

Hello,

 

I want to preface this by saying this build is in fact for a friend, He has an old computer sporting windows xp, and its starting to kick the bucket on him. Initially he was looking to upgrade his existing computer, however I advised he would be better off getting a new one, and in the interest in of saving money building it. The major challenge has been trying to find parts within a budget while taking into account that he will need a new OS. He's looking to spend around $300 with a little wiggle room, but heres the lifesaver, he has a case, adequate power supply(---), and a GPU (because he got a new one due to the old one dying, details below).

His goal is to play basic games on it with 40+ FPS at decent quality      example: counter strike global offensive

 

In an attempt to help him I've been trying to develop a build within his budget, however I am not the most knowledgeable with PC building, not completely new but not battle hardened, so to speak. Therefore, one of my primary concerns would be, A seeing an improvement over his current system, and B ensuring he doesn't have any unnecessary bottle necks where he's wasting money.

 

His Current setup (addresses issue A)

nvidia 7050m motherboard

GTX 650 GPU

AMD Athlon x2 4800+ 2.5Ghz Duo-core

2GB of 800mhz DDR2 memory

Antec 900Black

 

Below is what I have so far  (keep in mind he will be keeping the current GPU,Case, & PSU)

PC PartPicker Link

------------------------------------------------------

MSI H81M-P33 motherboard

Intel Pentium G3220 3GHZ Duo-Core

Patriot Viper 3 LP 2x4GB 1600mhz DDR3 memory

Seagate HDD 1TB 7200rpm

Cooler Master Hyper 212plus HS

 

The build here totals around $275, however it lacks a very important part.....the OS

I am well aware that there are free OS options like linux, however I do not know enough about these to say if they're worth it.

Does this build look decent? are there better options? Could money be efficiently saved by removing the Hyper212?

Does this build contain any bottlenecks at the GPU,CPU, or elsewhere?

Most Importantly, am I forgetting anything?

 

Thanks for the help/advice,

Hunt3rForce

reuse the os and wait as windows 10 might be free for old windows users and here it is slightly ugraded

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/NyHvsY

Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/NyHvsY/by_merchant/

 

CPU: Intel Pentium G3420 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($69.98 @ Newegg) 

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($19.99 @ Newegg) 

Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($44.99 @ Newegg) 

Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($72.00 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Hitachi Ultrastar 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($48.00 @ Amazon) 

Total: $254.96

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-02 22:16 EDT-0400

[LemonSpice]

actually with no cooler PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/QNY623

Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/QNY623/by_merchant/

 

CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($109.99 @ Newegg) 

Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($44.99 @ Newegg) 

Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($72.00 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Hitachi Ultrastar 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($48.00 @ Amazon) 

Total: $274.98

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-02 22:20 EDT-0400