Build Help $450

[FearTheScythe]

Hi I want to build a new pc and I have little experience. I want to get the most bang for buck price possible, so used is allowed (EBAY, CRAIGSLIST)! I live in San Jose, Ca, USA. It will be used for gaming, like Crysis and Battlefield, ultra, preferably 60 fps, with 1 monitor that's old (resolution is like 1280x720). No peripherals required, no operating system. Do you think it is possible, or will I have to stretch the budget?

[Comessy]

I think it could be done on 720p

[Goussy]

At your price point I would go with used parts.

[UnofficialPotato]

Hi I want to build a new pc and I have little experience. I want to get the most bang for buck price possible, so used is allowed (EBAY, CRAIGSLIST)! I live in San Jose, Ca, USA. It will be used for gaming, like Crysis and Battlefield, ultra, preferably 60 fps, with 1 monitor that's old (resolution is like 1280x720). No peripherals required, no operating system. Do you think it is possible, or will I have to stretch the budget?

I'm afraid you may have to stretch you're budget if you want to play crysis at ultra. Battlefield on the other hand is a far better optimised game so you could run it at a decent fps at that budget

[Delphi1662]

At your price point I would go with used parts.

Hence Ebay/Craigslist granted both of those sites may also carry brand new parts but majority of it at least has had its seal broken.

 

At 720 p this should be entirely doable ...

Just dont do what I do  Start with some reasonable priced part infront of me fail at head maths and wonder if I could do better finding higher tier parts at just a little more and by the time I realize it I'm looking at some retail shop online lol

[FearTheScythe]

At your price point I would go with used parts.

Thanks I was browsing ebay and a description of a graphics card says it was used to bitcoin mine for 45 days, what does that mean?

[UnofficialPotato]

Hi I want to build a new pc and I have little experience. I want to get the most bang for buck price possible, so used is allowed (EBAY, CRAIGSLIST)! I live in San Jose, Ca, USA. It will be used for gaming, like Crysis and Battlefield, ultra, preferably 60 fps, with 1 monitor that's old (resolution is like 1280x720). No peripherals required, no operating system. Do you think it is possible, or will I have to stretch the budget?

I'd go with this option if you're willing to spend that little extra,that is definetly worth it

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/q3nPNG

Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/q3nPNG/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($49.99 @ Micro Center)

Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($43.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.99 @ Newegg)

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($44.99 @ Amazon)

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Superclocked Video Card ($132.98 @ Newegg)

Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($37.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Power Supply: XFX XTR 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($61.98 @ Newegg)

Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WDN4800 802.11a/b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($34.80 @ Amazon)

Total: $461.71

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-06 20:00 EDT-0400

Do you think you might be able to stretch it a little bit more?

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/Bcr4hM

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor  ($93.95 @ SuperBiiz) 

Motherboard: MSI 970A-G43 ATX AM3+ Motherboard  ($64.89 @ OutletPC) 

Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($59.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($44.99 @ Amazon) 

Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case  ($49.99 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($39.99 @ Newegg) 

Total: $353.80

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-06 19:52 EDT-0400

 

The $350 is after rebates with all those parts new, but without a graphics card. If you get some of these parts second hand (used), it'll be cheaper. Then you can get something like an AMD 270x or 280 (maybe even 280x if you're lucky) used for $140 on Ebay. Should be around $450. If not I'll try making you another.

 

If you don't want a used GPU, it will probably be another $160 to $180.

 

And to that guy above me about Crysis, I think you'll be able to pull it off at 720p. You can look at benchmarks too if you want.

If this is porrosiblr though, go for this plan instead

[Goussy]

Thanks I was browsing ebay and a description of a graphics card says it was used to bitcoin mine for 45 days, what does that mean?

bitcoin mining Is using your cpu/gpu' resources to solve problems which in return makes you Bitcoin equaling money. But it isn't that profitable

[Goussy]

And it seems like it really wares down the GPU.

you would be correct.

[Nashman222]

Making a pc can get very expensive very fast, but I do have some experience with low budgets so let me give you some advice and some ideas for hardware

 

1. Your not going to be able to get the best of the best, while it may be obvious its something that gets my friends every time, you may have herd about those fancy gtx 970s and 980s that have come out recently while there really nice and shiny (can say for experience ive got 4 of my own) there not going to be what your looking for.

I stated this because you will want to go overboard on the graphics card but its not necessary, You stated that your going to be running at 1280x720 now in days getting a solid 60 fps at that is not to terribly hard so I would look at something in the GTX 650 - 750TI or the slightly cheaper AMD side going with anything from a R6750 - R9 270 range as those cards have great performance at a very decent price.

 

2. when picking out a motherboard go AMD simply stated your not going to be able to do an intel build staying under the 450 range. AM3+ is a great place to look at as it will provide some room to upgrade. make sure you get a motherboard that will have at least one pci lane for the gpu and you should be good. This is goign to be the area were you are going to blow a lot of your money. But trust me when i say this, don't just get the cheapest cpu and motherboard you can find as you will regret this to no end later.

 

3. Look into the motherboard first, this is going to be the bases to how much you will spend on this build look into one that's a AM3+ and has at least one pci lane, also look at the smaller form factors, don't go overboard and get a eATX board if your on a small budget.

 

4. Keep power consumption in mind, while going amd in the gpu section might save you some money, it can raise the requirement for the PSU you will need. while some people say you need a fancy rather expensive psu, set aside about 60-70$ for a psu and you should be good. also make sure to use a psu calculator to make sure you got all the power you need.

 

5. Hard drives and ram, you can get a hdd that's pretty big for a rather small price but make sure not to go overboard on this one, 500-750 gigs should be good for what your looking at. also go with only about 4 gigs of ram on your budget as that will get very expensive very fast.

 

6. The case, DO NOT PICK THIS OUT FIRST! I can not stress this enough a surefire way to blow budget is to get the case first, this should be picked out last while keeping in mind the parts you have picked out. keep in mind that  there is nothing stopping you from getting a new one you like more later but for now go with one you are ok with and will be good your build.  

7. Don't be afraid to save up a little longer to get the parts you would be more happy with, don't feel like you need to have one right now or that it will be the end of the world if you go a little passed your budget. parents can be a huge help if you just ask I cant tell you how many times my dad has been more than happy to chip in a little to help me finish a build (he loves making them with me) if not work a week or two more and get that fancy case you want or that extra terabyte on a hdd.

 

8. I don't recommend buying used parts. I know I know most of the time its fine but I wouldn't unless I personally knew them theirs just to many risk involved in it. you can easy blow $100-200 on a dead part that they wont take back or refund. instead look at sights like PC Part picker witch will insure you get the beast deals.

 

I'm sure your not the only one here who wants to or has built a budget pc and I can assure you it is entirely possible with what you want to do at your budget.

 

good luck and have fun!