build help

[_BJE_]

im looking into building a very cheap pc for my bud birthday since his pc just broke and cant afford a new one the build is only going to play games i already have a radeon hd 6970 sitting around and dont know what other parts are going to be so yea thanks for you guys helping me out on this one.

[Bazilias]

im looking into building a very cheap pc for my bud birthday since his pc just broke and cant afford a new one the build is only going to play games i already have a radeon hd 6970 sitting around and dont know what other parts are going to be so yea thanks for you guys helping me out on this one.

 

What is your budget?

[OneMCGuy]

It kind of depends on how much his/your budget is.  If its really low, then I would recommend an Athlon 4x 860K or something, or an i5-6600K or similar if he does have a decent budget.

[OneMCGuy]

im looking into building a very cheap pc for my bud birthday since his pc just broke and cant afford a new one the build is only going to play games i already have a radeon hd 6970 sitting around and dont know what other parts are going to be so yea thanks for you guys helping me out on this one.

Also, don't forget to follow your topic.

[_BJE_]

What is your budget?

prefer as cheap as possible but of course no completely junk maybe 100-250 usd?

[petem]

prefer as cheap as possible but of course no completely junk maybe 100-250 usd?

 

You up for repairing it?

[petem]

If it had decent components, it might be better to fix what broke.

 

If not, 100-250 usd is pretty tight.

[_BJE_]

You up for repairing it?

what exactly do you mean repairing it

[_BJE_]

If it had decent components, it might be better to fix what broke.

 

If not, 100-250 usd is pretty tight.

well i have a few old stuff laying around dont know if it works tho maybe just go for like the core components 

[petem]

what exactly do you mean repairing it

 

depending on the age of their components, you might be able to salvage the better parts, and just replace the broken and/or obsolete ones

[petem]

What computer do they have, and what is the age/condition of it's components?

 

If you're new to this, you can approximate it by setting up a system parts list using https://pcpartpicker.com/, but that can be overkill for a basic system

[_BJE_]

depending on the age of their components, you might be able to salvage the better parts, and just replace the broken and/or obsolete ones

well my bud is rocking a laptop.... yeaaa

 

edit well i convince him to build a desktop because is cheaper and can fix stuff so basically its start from scratch 

[petem]

well my bud is rocking a laptop.... yeaaa

 

doh!  well so much for that idea, lol - ok back to square one

[Dobbsjr]

well my bud is rocking a laptop.... yeaaa

 

edit well i convince him to build a desktop because is cheaper and can fix stuff so basically its start from scratch 

 

This is $140 and can barely do anything.

[petem]

pcpartpicker will still give you a good idea of what you'll pay for different items, and if you get your parts used (or free, if you already own them), you can update the list with those prices.

 

It's pretty quick once you get the hang of it, and allows you to save your work and update it later.  I would highly recommend it for starters.

 

As for the $140 pc, yea that's not much better than a web browser, lol.

 

Hmmm - for under $250, your best bet is probably to get a used system with integrated graphics off ebay and install your 6970 in it.

 

It's a few generations old, but it was a beast back in the day, plus if you have cold winters, it makes a great space heater 

[petem]

Just make sure that whatever computer you buy is able to have a 6970 installed in it!

[petem]

Tomshardware has a good article on a typical budget gaming PC here: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/build-budget-gaming-pc,4065.html)

 

With a video card, it comes in at just under $700; without it you're still looking at around $500, so $250 is going to require some resourcefulness.

 

You might also consider asking people you know if they have old computers they don't mind parting with.  If they are not too old, most PC's will still have a useable case, power supply, and hard drive, and possibly a useable monitor, keyboard and mouse.  That would be ideal.

 

At that point, You should be able to get a decent motherboard, cpu and memory for under $250, add those to a used older computer + the 6970 and you're home free.