Build a 500 dollar pc capable of playing skyrim?

[vesseblah]

I find it hard to believe that the build wouldn't play wow on at least good-high settings to be honest. I played wow the other day on my sisters crappy 400 dollar laptop and played on a mix of low and fair settings. I got an average of like 38 fps. I am fine getting 40 fps in gw2 on low though.

Solo questing yes, but when you enter raid instance or battleground your FPS drops to 4, not 40.

If you want honest view of what crappy $400 laptop can do in a multiplayer environment create a character in high population realm and walk into Stormwind or Orgrimmar. Of course if you're happy playing it as single player game then the requirements are much lower.

Like i said the system only needs to last me until next year.

Is that good reason to drop $500 on something that cant be upgraded or sold in a year from now? That's really poor way to spend money when you ain't got any.

[Thes]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lv60r_cS8kw

[Vorkose]

If you're dead set on upgrading to an i5 later, get the following (that I posted in post 15)
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-3225 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor ($136.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z75 Pro3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($47.98 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Case: MSI TC- (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($19.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: Thermaltake TR2 500W ATX12V Power Supply ($27.99 @ Microcenter)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer ($15.98 @ Outlet PC)
Monitor: Acer G206HLBbd 60Hz 20.0" Monitor ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $473.90
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-25 11:25 EDT-0400)

This way you're not having to buy a MB and processor later, you're just buying the processor and can get a really good GPU later (like the 7870XT or a 660 Ti or even 670). No sense on throwing away $50 on a MB that will be useless later if you truly do want to go with Intel at a later date.

So if i went with amd hypothetically, all id have to do is buy an i5 and a new mobo, and all my other parts would work in the new mobo correct? I dont mind spending another 50-100 bucks extra later. I know you dont want me to go with the amd, but for now its the best i can do because the gpu in it is alot more powerful then the i3.

[vesseblah]

So if i went with amd hypothetically, all id have to do is buy an i5 and a new mobo, and all my other parts would work in the new mobo correct?

Yes, hypothetically. But you're forgetting few little things...

1) Motherboard $100 (easy bit)
2) Tearing the computer apart and putting it back together with new mobo+cpu (1-2 hours if you're fast)
3) Reinstalling Windows because old motherboard drivers dont work with the new one (2-3 hours work minimum)


If on the other hand you go with i3 + proper mobo and a case with CPU cutout in the backplate it'll be 15-60min job swapping the CPU with zero software work. That's why people are recommending you go that way if you're planning to do any upgrading later.

[Vorkose]

Yes, hypothetically. But you're forgetting few little things...

1) Motherboard $100 (easy bit)
2) Tearing the computer apart and putting it back together with new mobo+cpu (1-2 hours if you're fast)
3) Reinstalling Windows because old motherboard drivers dont work with the new one (2-3 hours work minimum)


If on the other hand you go with i3 + proper mobo and a case with CPU cutout in the backplate it'll be 15-60min job swapping the CPU with zero software work. That's why people are recommending you go that way if you're planning to do any upgrading later.

The soonest i would be upgrading is 2 months, so ... gosh this is a hard decision.

[Will]

I've bought cheap gaming PC's before. Always regretted it - unless room is left for upgrading. It really does pay to be patient, but if you're going to buy cheap with the plans to upgrade later down the line, make sure you buy a processor that you know you can replace easily - such as a socket 1155 by Intel. Socket 1155 has many of the latest top gaming processors but it also encompasses the cheaper range of i3s budget gamers will favour, meaning you can get an i3 soon and switch up to an i5 or i7 later. Bear in mind some of the older MSI (or was it Gigabyte?) motherboards may require a firmware update in order to recognize newer generation intel processors (ivy bridge)

You could go down the AMD route, but bear in mind pursuing a weaker processor in favor of better integrated graphics is not worth it assuming you have plans to save up for a graphics card in the near future. This is a good option. Gaming without a graphics card is going to make your game look like and run cabbage on all modern graphically demanding games as you'll have to lower the settings drastically to maintain a smooth experience.

[Vorkose]

I've bought cheap gaming PC's before. Always regretted it - unless room is left for upgrading. It really does pay to be patient, but if you're going to buy cheap with the plans to upgrade later down the line, make sure you buy a processor that you know you can replace easily - such as a socket 1155 by Intel. Socket 1155 has many of the latest top gaming processors but it also encompasses the cheaper range of i3s budget gamers will favour, meaning you can get an i3 soon and switch up to an i5 or i7 later. Bear in mind some of the older MSI (or was it Gigabyte?) motherboards may require a firmware update in order to recognize newer generation intel processors (ivy bridge)

You could go down the AMD route, but bear in mind pursuing a weaker processor in favor of better integrated graphics is not worth it assuming you have plans to save up for a graphics card in the near future. This is a good option. Gaming without a graphics card is going to make your game look like and run cabbage on all modern graphically demanding games as you'll have to lower the settings drastically to maintain a smooth experience.

My brothers pc has a quad core amd cpu and like a 5670 or something and he runs wow on high at 40-50 fps in raids. He told me that the amd10 was a worse cpu then what he had, but for most games adding 6670 would make my system better in most games and slightly worse in wow. I probably wont upgrade this system past getting a 6670 to put in it.Ill give it to my dad and build an entirely new system next year.

[Deleted]

This is what I personally would check and/or do if I were in your position(which I have been before).

1: Reuse any old computer parts you either have laying around or in your current desktop. Main focus would be HDD's, CD drive and case.

2: Anything you might have in your current PC that might be worth selling but not salvaging? Some people pay handsomely for old PSU's, CPU's and even cables.

3: Do you want new stuff or would you be fine using second-hand hardware? Visit a local flea market, check Ebay or ask friends.

Another thing that should be noted: PC centers and electronics warehouses. This could be a treasure trove but requires some balls.
These companies order and receive new and top of the line peripherals, hardware and electronics on almost a daily basis. Some of the products they receive is damaged but still working flawlessly. Slightest scratch,dent or malfunction hinders them from selling their products and they either throw it away or send it back.

Call or visit the manager or staff and ask if they have anything "damaged" to sell to you. I would only recommend doing this for peripherals (Mouse,keyboard, monitor etc), things you can directly test if working on site. I scored a brand spanking new monitor this way a few years back for half the retail price. What was wrong with it? The plastic in front of the power indication light was cracked xD


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What we want to accomplish with these 3 steps is to save as much money as possible on peripherals and "lesser" hardware parts. You want as much money as you can to spend on what's fun and matters ,GPU,CPU,MOBO,PSU etc. Once you've done all this or found enough parts to start your build come back here and one of the forum techies will throw together something real nice with all that money you just saved/earned(?).

[vesseblah]

My brothers pc has a quad core amd cpu and like a 5670 or something and he runs wow on high at 40-50 fps in raids. He told me that the amd10 was a worse cpu then what he had, but for most games adding 6670 would make my system better in most games and slightly worse in wow. I probably wont upgrade this system past getting a 6670 to put in it.Ill give it to my dad and build an entirely new system next year.

Speed of games depends on screen resolution which is something people always forget when doing comparisons like this. For example 1920x1080 resolution monitor has almost twice as many pixels as 1280x720 (which is close to 1366x678) meaning it will run at half speed with exact same hardware.

Radeon 6670 is bad purchase with the A10-5800k as the integrated GPU in it is only slightly worse than 6670. You'll see maybe 20% gain with dedicated card there.

[Vorkose]

Speed of games depends on screen resolution which is something people always forget when doing comparisons like this. For example 1920x1080 resolution monitor has almost twice as many pixels as 1280x720 (which is close to 1366x678) meaning it will run at half speed with exact same hardware.

Radeon 6670 is bad purchase with the A10-5800k as the integrated GPU in it is only slightly worse than 6670. You'll see maybe 20% gain with dedicated card there.

It supports crossfire.

[vesseblah]

It supports crossfire.

The lower you go with cards, the worse your frame lag and other crossfire problems get and the worse performance you get on the games that do not support CF at all. Planning to do CF on low end cards is a recipe for unhappiness.

[evergl]

Hello, i didn't want to start a new thread, i'm just gonna ask here. Setup is i3 3220, 8 gb ddr 3 1600 mhz and ati 6570. Now my question is can i get stable 25-30 fps on 25man raids with this setup? (my current 10 year old pc specs: p4 3.0 prescott, 2 gb ddr 400 mhz, ati 6570. i get 8-9 fps on 25 man raids with fair settings and sound effects disabled.)i know 6570 and i3 isn't designed for gaming but i can't afford anything more than i3 3220 and intel compatible motherboard and 8 gb ddr3 ram.

[Tahapenes]

Hello, i didn't want to start a new thread, i'm just gonna ask here. Setup is i3 3220, 8 gb ddr 3 1600 mhz and ati 6570. Now my question is can i get stable 25-30 fps on 25man raids with this setup? (my current 10 year old pc specs: p4 3.0 prescott, 2 gb ddr 400 mhz, ati 6570. i get 8-9 fps on 25 man raids with fair settings and sound effects disabled.)i know 6570 and i3 isn't designed for gaming but i can't afford anything more than i3 3220 and intel compatible motherboard and 8 gb ddr3 ram.

i3 would be alright, but the video card wouldn't. What's your budget? Do you have all the periphrials (mouse, keyboard, monitor) or will you need those? Do you have an OS you can transfer. Where do you live as well (see if you're near a MicroCenter or not)?

[evergl]

i have all periphrials. i'll install w7 64 bit if i upgrade, i can't afford anything more than i3 3220 and intel compatible motherboard and 8 gb ddr3 ram.

[Tahapenes]

well, if you're near a MicroCenter, you could probably pick up a i3 3225 + MB (in store) for about $180 to $200 (which is about what you'd spend going with the 3220 + MB, possibly more). This savings could allow you to pick up a better video card, but the 6570 is ment more for light work and HTPC type duties then gaming (unless you plan to run on low settings with a lowish resolution).

[evergl]

Well i'm not near a MicroCenter and i'm planning to run on fair settings, 1280*1024 resolution.

[Raeion]

I have a feeling you wont be satisfied with it , why not purchase a Xbox 360 or ps3 ( or w8 for the next generation) so you dont have to be worried about upgrading your computer every time with low budget

[Eldar45]

I have a feeling you wont be satisfied with it , why not purchase a Xbox 360 or ps3 ( or w8 for the next generation) so you dont have to be worried about upgrading your computer every time with low budget

Mods. Mods. Mods.

70% of the appeal of Skyrim is modding it. And I have the feeling that if your a fan of Skyrim then you are a fan of RPGs in general, which are mostly PC games.

I really dislike consoles, all they are is a way for the companies that make them to take a hold of big name titles so people will have to buy their product to play games like Halo and Zelda.

[Vorkose]

Okay so it just dawned on me that the laptop im playing wow on currently is a dual core amd A4 - 3300 apu. I can play on low/fair wow that is, and i get about 25-30 fps in 10 mans. Like i said earlier my brother is using amd as well and plays on high and never dips below 30 fps ever unless on a world boss. I think im going to go with the amd A10 cpu.

So i hear that faster ram makes the apu run faster.

I would like final build with a 20 inch monitor
at least 1600 ram i hear faster is even better
the mobo to support crossfire as i will be buying a 6670 at a later date.
Possible that the mobo would support an ssd for the future?

I know you all think going with amd is the wrong choice, but its the best choice for me right now. This isnt a long term pc, just a hold me over for a year pc so im okay with it.

[Biernot]

Okay so it just dawned on me that the laptop im playing wow on currently is a dual core amd A4 - 3300 apu. I can play on low/fair wow that is, and i get about 25-30 fps in 10 mans. Like i said earlier my brother is using amd as well and plays on high and never dips below 30 fps ever unless on a world boss. I think im going to go with the amd A10 cpu.

So i hear that faster ram makes the apu run faster.

I would like final build with a 20 inch monitor
at least 1600 ram i hear faster is even better
the mobo to support crossfire as i will be buying a 6670 at a later date.
Possible that the mobo would support an ssd for the future?

- I would at least suggest 1866MHz RAM. Up to a certain point, the gaming performance scales nearly linear with RAM speed. The cutoff point is somewhere around the 2133MHz range, so more than that will not bring you much. Just look at the prices and decide:
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gskill-...12800cl9d8gbxl
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gskill-...14900cl9d8gbxl
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/gskill-...7000cl11d8gbxl
- You don't need a mobo that supports "normal" crossfire (= 2 graphics cards in the slots). As far as i know all the FM2 boards support "hybrid" crossfire (where the internal gpu runs together with a card in the PCIe 16x slot). But don't expect too much of a gain. The performance of iGPU + 6670 won't be much higher than just running the 6670 in discrete mode. It also depends heavily on the games: Some will see no befenfit at all, but other will get a nice boost.
- You don't need anything special for an SSD, they hook onto the standard SATA ports. But current SSDs will gain a nice boost if you hook them in a SATA III (also called "SATA 6G") port. So maybe look for a mobo that has SATA III (but i think most if not all FM2 boards have that).

My opinion on hybrid crossfire:
If you can get a 6670 for very cheap (second hand maybe?), then do it. But if you would need to purchase one for the normal store price (~ $70), i don't think it warrants the cost. If you do not have access to one for a reduced price, i would suggest to spend a few $ more and get a 7750 / 7770. You can run any PCIe card with the a10, just not in hybrid crossfire mode.