Optimal/low budget PC config, help

[TNickxx]

Hello community.

I have a 8 yo PC. Still serves me good but I need an upgrade. I haven't built a PC before and that's what I want to do, to be sure it fits me. My budget is very low, 600$ for a PC excluding HDD, optical drive, monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers. So I'm asking if you could help me by writing down a few good, optimal configs or just mention what specs should I be looking for.

It doesn't have to be able to play the latest games, as I got an Xbox 360, but some of the older titles would be nice, made 2-3 years back. Good graphics are a plus, so it can handle movies and videos. Processor should handle some multitasking, nothing too much. I have 4 more family members doing lots of things; gaming to consuming media and browsing the internet so it should be a little of everything.


I've tried putting together a config myself (I went with AMD as it is what I currently have and it did serve me 8 years with minor problems):

Video card PCI-E XFX AMD RADEON HD 6670, 1GB DDR3, D-SUB, DVI, HDMI
Processor AMD Athlon II X3 450 BOX, s. AM3, 3.2GHz, 1.5MB cache, Triple Core
Mo'bo ASUS M5A78L LE, AMD 760G/SB710, DDR3, sound, PCI-E, G-LAN, ATX, AM3 / AM3+
Memory PC-10600, 4 GB CORSAIR CMV4GX3M1A1333C9, DDR3 1333MHz
Case COOLERMASTER Elite 330, RC-330K-KWN1-GP, MIDI, plexi, black, without PSU
PSU 460W, COOLERMASTER Elite Power RS460-PSAPJ3-EU, ATX V2.3, 120mm vent, PFC

Post your recommendations and I will replay back after considering and re-configuring the build. Thanks.
Edit: some of the games my brother plays on PC: League of Legends, Minecraft, Call of Duty 4
He would like to play: Crysis, AC2s - these two are not a must as he should be happy with what he's got now!! (I'm an older brother and I had 10 times less games then what we've got now)

 

[BonezOz]

OK, easy enough, well it should be. Question: Where in the world do you live? Technically, if you're in the US, you should look at Newegg.com for parts, from what I've seen they're the lowest priced.

Smart move going AMD, it's good bang for buck, but I'd look more at a 4, 6 or really an 8 core CPU. Also, you need a higher wattage PSU, a Coolermaster Elite 550w shouldn't be too much more than the 460. Save some cash by recycling your old case as well, a case is a case and you can always upgrade it later, I've only just upgraded my case and I did it with AU$20 (second hand).

Now memory. Minimum today, I'd recommend no less than 4GB, 8 if you can afford it.

Lastly, try to see if you can get a 7670 graphics card, even here in Australia they are only $10 to $20 more than the 6670's.

Once I know which country you live in I'll see what I can do about actually pricing and putting together a system for you.

On a bit of a different/similar note, I'm currently running an AMD system that I first put together 5 years ago. In that time I've only upgraded the memory, PSU, case and GPU.

AMD Phenom 9750 quad
8GB DDR2 1066Mhz
Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DS5 (AM2+)
Powercolor Radeon HD 6850 1GB DDR5
Antec Sonata II case
Theremaltake XT875 (875w) PSU
Too many HDD's to count
TP-Link wireless N PCI-E NIC

When I upgrade, which will be within the next couple of months, I'll be keeping my GPU, PSU, case, HDD's, and NIC. For me the upgrade to an 8 core AMD, top end motherboard, and 16GB DDR3 RAM will be less than AU$600. The RAM will eventually be doubled as well as the GPU (warranting that I can find another 6850 either new or second hand). I actually have been planning the upgrade for a while now and part of the pre-upgrade plan was the purchase of the new GPU, PSU, and NIC, this planning actually saves me in the long run as it's giving me time to save up for the other parts and keeps the aging components running smoothly (for the most part) until then.

Once my upgrade is completed, all I'll need to worry about is the age of the HDD's, but I've ensured that I have backups ready to go in the event that I loose one.

Don't know if my pre-planning/upgrade helps you, but it should at least give you an idea as to what you should do in the future when planning on an upgrade.

 

[seanpr92]

Hello community.

I have a 8 yo PC. Still serves me good but I need an upgrade. I haven't built a PC before and that's what I want to do, to be sure it fits me. My budget is very low, 600$ for a PC excluding HDD, optical drive, monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers. So I'm asking if you could help me by writing down a few good, optimal configs or just mention what specs should I be looking for.

It doesn't have to be able to play the latest games, as I got an Xbox 360, but some of the older titles would be nice, made 2-3 years back. Good graphics are a plus, so it can handle movies and videos. Processor should handle some multitasking, nothing too much. I have 4 more family members doing lots of things; gaming to consuming media and browsing the internet so it should be a little of everything.


I've tried putting together a config myself (I went with AMD as it is what I currently have and it did serve me 8 years with minor problems):

Video card PCI-E XFX AMD RADEON HD 6670, 1GB DDR3, D-SUB, DVI, HDMI
Processor AMD Athlon II X3 450 BOX, s. AM3, 3.2GHz, 1.5MB cache, Triple Core
Mo'bo ASUS M5A78L LE, AMD 760G/SB710, DDR3, sound, PCI-E, G-LAN, ATX, AM3 / AM3+
Memory PC-10600, 4 GB CORSAIR CMV4GX3M1A1333C9, DDR3 1333MHz
Case COOLERMASTER Elite 330, RC-330K-KWN1-GP, MIDI, plexi, black, without PSU
PSU 460W, COOLERMASTER Elite Power RS460-PSAPJ3-EU, ATX V2.3, 120mm vent, PFC

Post your recommendations and I will replay back after considering and re-configuring the build. Thanks.
Edit: some of the games my brother plays on PC: League of Legends, Minecraft, Call of Duty 4
He would like to play: Crysis, AC2s - these two are not a must as he should be happy with what he's got now!! (I'm an older brother and I had 10 times less games then what we've got now)

if you can try getting the MSI radeon hd 6670 im playing AC3 everything on high apart from anti-aliasing and getting 30-40 fps

 

[Michael_T]

This is the Low Budget PC I bought a couple of days ago :
http://www.computerland.nl/a/desktop_pc_s/80009055/ap_neo_mini_x3_450_4gb_500gb_hd3000/details.aspx

 

[TNickxx]

Thanks guys. I'm currently looking at a radeon hd 66700 and I'll probably match it with a quad coreathlon 2 and 4 gigs of ram. The first suggestion is a bit too enthusiasts for me . No moneyz.

The 3rd post is smoething I'm aiming at.

 

[z3ddrocksz]

Here's my build that I made a few months ago. A couple of the parts are out of stock, but you can use it as a base. Newegg.com - Once You Know, You Newegg

 

[Michael_T]

Here are my low budget pc specs as i game on the 360 & PS3 anyway.

 

[TNickxx]

This is what I got in the end:


Sapphire video card HD 6670, 1GB GDDR5, HDMI, DVI, VGA
CPU Intel Pentium G860
Mo'bo Asus P8B75-M LX
Spire Maverick gaming case, no PSU
RAM Kingston DDR3 1600MHz, CL11, 4GB
Fortron PSU 400W, Hexa, 80+,active,12 cm
Optical drive Asus DRW-24B5ST/BLK/B/AS SATA Bulk Black
HDD WD Caviar Blue 500GB SATA 3 WD5000AAKX

It is a very nice rig. I'm currently playing Crysis 3 Beta multiplayer. It looks really nice but I'm am experiencing slight lag problems. Prolly because of the usual 150 ms latency :/. Other games; Far Cry 3, AC3 look awesome. I do not play those in high settings though but they still look awesome. I'm gonna get myself another 4 gigs of RAM and, not-very-near-in-the-future, I'll upgrade my CPU.