Building new rig on a severe budget

[March Hare]

It's the age old problem. It's time for a new gaming rig, but I am strapped for cash. I have decided to build my first computer in over ten years to save money. I like the most recent build suggestions in the Set-up of the Month post.

I have a budget of $500 dollars to spend, but i have some parts in my current computer that I think can save me some money.

My idea was to use the Dolphin build, but use my new 1TB HD and use my NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550Ti graphics card that I already have to save money. I understand that the GTX 550 Ti is an older card, but I think I can use it for now to allow me the better processor and 8GB of RAM that the Dolphin build suggests.

Here is what I am running now:

Windows 7 64Bit
Intel 2.40GHX x 2 at 6600
4GB RAM
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550Ti

I could probably salvage the case and power supply, but I would rather purchase new ones.

I play WoW and RIFT. Mostly MMO's with some RPG's like Skyrim and Fallout.
When I play WoW in a 25-man raid I see a huge framerate drop if I have anything else running on my system. RIFT can only be played at low to medium graphics levels.

I live in the US, and I have a great peripherals. No need for those.

With a $500 limited budget, any thoughts on what I am trying to do? Thanks for your time.

[Toffie]

What games are you planning to play may I ask?
If you mainly play WoW then CPU>GPU.
Mainly new franchise games (Tomb Raider, Battlefield 3/4, Metro Last Light GPU>CPU.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.98 @ Outlet PC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z75 Pro3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($84.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Pareema 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($63.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Tempest 410 ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling Silencer MK III 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($48.00 @ Newegg)
Total: $506.94
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-07-08 17:57 EDT-0400)

If you can drop by microcenter you can save about 70 $ with the CPU/MB combo they offer.

- PSU has 20 $ rebate, I can find you another without relying on rebate If you don't bother.
- You will need to overclock your CPU to find a great minimum/average frames in Rift / WoW.
- If you come by 150 $, the 650 Ti Boost is a very decent upgrade.

Overclocking your CPU guide : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CHs5_TdpXE

[March Hare]

Hi Toffie. I edited my OP to reflect what the forum sticky suggested.

I am an MMO player at heart. WoW, RIFT, Star Wars.

I have been playing some Skyrim and Fallout.

I am thinking I can "get by" with the old card for now and save up for a great card by October or November. I was wondering if the "Unicorn" build is pretty solid otherwise. I think the quad processor and double RAM alone will be a huge difference.

Thanks for the reply.

[Killora]

What PSU is it? Model? Brand? Output? There should be a sticker on the PSU itself with all this information

Also, can you salvage your harddrive? Is it any good?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-3220 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI B75A-G43 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($62.13 @ TigerDirect)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($84.98 @ Outlet PC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost 2GB Video Card ($168.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $511.07
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-07-08 18:08 EDT-0400)

With new Harddrive

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($193.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: MSI B85M-G43 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($62.13 @ TigerDirect)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost 2GB Video Card ($168.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $505.09
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-07-08 18:07 EDT-0400)

With your current harddrive (recommended)

Honestly you're not going to get that great of a computer if you don't salvage your case/psu. Salvaging your harddrive would net you a solid CPU. But i'd wait until you provide specs for your PSU/harddrive before jumping on either of these builds.

[Klutzington]

Something along the lines of this is fine. I don't know if you want to go with the latest CPUs (4th gen) and latest motherboards, but I'll leave that up to the other users here to determine as I haven't experienced 4th gen, and I hear they run very hot.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H77M Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($75.66 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Tempest 210 ATX Mid Tower Case ($47.06 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($49.99 @ Microcenter)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $444.68
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-07-08 18:09 EDT-0400)

You can always save for a GTX 650 Ti Boost later, but if you must have it now and can salvage (and want to) your case/PSU, the above recommendation is good, too.

[potis]

Hi Toffie. I edited my OP to reflect what the forum sticky suggested.

I am an MMO player at heart. WoW, RIFT, Star Wars.

I have been playing some Skyrim and Fallout.

I am thinking I can "get by" with the old card for now and save up for a great card by October or November. I was wondering if the "Unicorn" build is pretty solid otherwise. I think the quad processor and double RAM alone will be a huge difference.

Thanks for the reply.

Keep the 550 Ti, change to something else after August/September, AMD will be releasing the new stuff around then according to rumors, therefor price drops or even better newer and hopefully better stuff.

Nothing else to suggest, the build is straight forward.

i5 3570K-->Any Z77-->Any case with USB 3.0 Frontal->Any PSU 80 plus Bronze-->Check for as low CAS Latency RAM.

Same with I5 4670K-->Any Z87-->Rest same as above.

[Killora]

I spose if you can save up for a new GPU not long from now then it'd be best to get a good CPU now and get a better GPU later.

[Toffie]

The suggested build with a slight overclock is a HUGE upgrade over what your current old tech.
"Unicorn" build is solid but is way over your budget, is it not? 4770k vs 3570k there is not much difference in performance(10%), the 4770k is more oriented towards 3D work, video rendering.

I would ask again once again at October/November where new cards will get released

[Godspeed]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U12P SE2 54.4 CFM CPU Cooler ($62.18 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock 990FX Extreme3 ATX AM3+/AM3 Motherboard ($104.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Pareema 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Pareema 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Tempest 210 ATX Mid Tower Case ($47.06 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling Silencer MK III 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($48.00 @ Newegg)
Total: $502.20
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-07-08 18:51 EDT-0400)

[chazus]

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0GHz 8-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U12P SE2 54.4 CFM CPU Cooler ($62.18 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock 990FX Extreme3 ATX AM3+/AM3 Motherboard ($104.99 @ Newegg)

A 3570K combo would both cheaper, and better than this.

[Godspeed]

A 3570K combo would both cheaper, and better than this.

Well, post the build, I just made something fast for what I thought would be a good deal for money.

- - - Updated - - -

Here's an Intel build:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U12P SE2 54.4 CFM CPU Cooler ($62.18 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Pro3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($94.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Pareema 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Pareema 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Tempest 210 ATX Mid Tower Case ($47.06 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling Silencer MK III 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($48.00 @ Newegg)
Total: $502.20
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-07-08 19:12 EDT-0400)

Just scavenge HDD, DVD-RW (or whatever you have there) and GPU from the old one and you are set to go with this build. It will run WoW like a charm.

[March Hare]

Thanks for the input.

The whole rig was made by Velocity Micro computers about four years ago. That is my main concern with the PSU, it's age.

The PSU was unlabeled as far as brand, but has a peak 550w rating. Not sure if that helps you.

My HD isn't as great as I thought. Seagate Barracuda 7200 - 500 GB.

I still think I can salvage the video card (for now) and the HD.

Thanks again for your time.

[Killora]

Thanks for the input.

The whole rig was made by Velocity Micro computers about four years ago. That is my main concern with the PSU, it's age.

The PSU was unlabeled as far as brand, but has a peak 550w rating. Not sure if that helps you.

My HD isn't as great as I thought. Seagate Barracuda 7200 - 500 GB.

I still think I can salvage the video card (for now) and the HD.

Thanks again for your time.

Harddrive is fine, can be salvaged, unless you need more space.

The PSU should probably be replaced, as unbranded PSU's scare me

I'd also salvage the case just cause theres no real reason to buy a new one other than for cosmetic effect.

[March Hare]

A 3570K combo would both cheaper, and better than this.

If you have a better suggestion for a CPU/Mobo combo I would love to hear it.

Thanks

[chazus]

The stuff that's already been suggested is good. Personally I would go with the 3570K and wait on the GPU since you have a moderately decent one so far. Just.. don't go with AMD, for mmos

[March Hare]

Last question, thoughts on this bundle from NewEgg.....

Intel Core i5-3570K Quad-Core Processor
ASUS P8Z77-V LK Z77 Motherboard
G.Skill DDR3 16GB Memory
Seagate 2TB HDD
Apex ATX Mid-Tower Case
Apex 500W PSU SuperCombo

They are asking $615. I have the DvD drive and the GPU so.... this looks interesting.

[Toffie]

No CPU cooler?
Also the PSU is out of the question, it's bad compared to the one suggested earlier.
16 GB memory is useless, you wont ever use more than 8 in gaming.

Honestly just add a HDD to the suggested build

[March Hare]

No CPU cooler?
Also the PSU is out of the question, it's bad compared to the one suggested earlier.
16 GB memory is useless, you wont ever use more than 8 in gaming.

Honestly just add a HDD to the suggested build

Thanks again Toffie. So much to take in having not built a rig in years.