Hey guys!
I have a friend who is deciding between going console for newer releases or upgrading his PC and continuing from there. He's leaning console-side because he doesn't think he can afford the required upgrades at a $400 USD budget, but I think he can upgrade his aging parts to be able to play much more than just Andromeda at Low for around that price.
His specs are:
- i5 3470 w/ Hyper 212 EVO
- 8GB DDR3
- Biostar TZ77A (I don't know WHY he has this board with a locked i5 but hey, it's what he has)
- R7 370 4GB
- Corsair 750M
- Also has a HDD & SSD, and an ATX case.
This is as low as I would personally go for upgrades if I were in his shoes and wanted to play Andromeda and other new games for the next few years without HAVING to set everything to low @ 1080p:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel Core i5-7500 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.89 @ B&H)
Motherboard: MSI B250 PC MATE ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($89.99 @ B&H)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($58.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon RX 480 4GB NITRO D5 OC Video Card ($177.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $526.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-03-12 20:34 EDT-0400
Here's Andromeda's requirements:
He won't be playing on Ultra but he's happy with that. He also plays quite a bit of Overwatch and he hasn't complained about performance there, I think he plays on low for the great FPS. Thank God it's not demanding. Obviously my list has gone beyond his $400 budget, but I don't see a way for him to spend any less without then having to spend way more in a couple years. With my parts list he'd have an upgrade path for his RAM, for his CPU, and even the potential of Crossfire. He could slowly add to his rig and coast along for a long time at medium in brand new titles. If you think you can make it happen for $400, please let me know what parts should be swapped. Maybe his CPU is fine and it's the video card that needs to go?Mass Effect: Andromeda Minimum System Requirements For 1280x720
CPU: Intel Core i5-3570 or AMD FX 6350
GPU: GeForce GTX 660
RAM: 8GB
OS: Windows 7, Windows 8.1 or Windows 10 (64-bit versions)
HDD: 55GB free space
DirectX: Version 11
Mass Effect: Andromeda Recommended System Requirements For 1920x1080
CPU: Intel Core i7-4790 or AMD FX 8350
GPU: GeForce GTX 1060 3GB, or GeForce GTX 970
RAM: 16GB
OS: Windows 7, Windows 8.1 or Windows 10 (64-bit versions)
HDD: 55GB free space
DirectX: Version 11
I'd really appreciate any recommendations!