Poor man wants to play good games.

[Dan Hunter]

So here I am.

I have about 600$ spending limit, and i want a good gaming computer.

See, im not a very techie kinda guy, so i usually just come here.

Well, here's what i want:

Looks good- Not a necessity but certainly a perk

Windows 7 or 8- A necessity.

Can play games like: skyrim, arma 2 or 3, planet side 2 etc on Normal or High settings with good fps.

If any of you guys can find me a computer like this, or have a computer like this. Please let me know.


u guise r my heroes

 

[Simon]

What is your current machine? Can we salvage anything from that?

 

[Dan Hunter]

------------------
System Information
------------------
Time of this report: 1/22/2013, 19:13:03
Machine name: CRAWFORD-HP
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (6.1, Build 7601) Service Pack 1 (7601.win7sp1_gdr.120830-0333)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Hewlett-Packard
System Model: p7-1054
BIOS: BIOS Date: 05/04/11 10:20:28 Ver: 6.07
Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) II X4 645 Processor (4 CPUs), ~3.1GHz
Memory: 6144MB RAM
Available OS Memory: 5888MB RAM
Page File: 3205MB used, 8566MB available
Windows Dir: C:\Windows
DirectX Version: DirectX 11
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
User DPI Setting: Using System DPI
System DPI Setting: 96 DPI (100 percent)
DWM DPI Scaling: Disabled
DxDiag Version: 6.01.7601.17514 32bit Unicode

---------------
Display Devices
---------------
Card name: ATI Radeon HD 4200
Manufacturer: ATI Technologies Inc.
Chip type: ATI display adapter (0x9710)
DAC type: Internal DAC(400MHz)
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_9710&SUBSYS_2AB1103C&REV_00
Display Memory: 2940 MB
Dedicated Memory: 252 MB
Shared Memory: 2687 MB
Current Mode: 1280 x 1024 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor Name: Generic PnP Monitor
Monitor Model: SyncMaster
Monitor Id: SAM0193
Native Mode: 1280 x 1024(p) (60.020Hz)
Output Type: HD15
Driver Name:

 

[Dan Hunter]

i have to play cs:s on low settings


also, seriously looking at this machine.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883229361

 

[_Sushi]

i have to play cs:s on low settings


also, seriously looking at this machine.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883229361

I would avoid buying a computer such as this. Assembling your own computer can be much more redeeming and it would likely give you a better value.

 

[Trippey]

Build your own pc, you can get more performance for your money. Besides, building a computer nowadays is fairly simple.

 

[TheYonderGod]

------------------
System Information
------------------
Time of this report: 1/22/2013, 19:13:03
Machine name: CRAWFORD-HP
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (6.1, Build 7601) Service Pack 1 (7601.win7sp1_gdr.120830-0333)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: Hewlett-Packard
System Model: p7-1054
BIOS: BIOS Date: 05/04/11 10:20:28 Ver: 6.07
Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) II X4 645 Processor (4 CPUs), ~3.1GHz
Memory: 6144MB RAM
Available OS Memory: 5888MB RAM
Page File: 3205MB used, 8566MB available
Windows Dir: C:Windows
DirectX Version: DirectX 11
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
User DPI Setting: Using System DPI
System DPI Setting: 96 DPI (100 percent)
DWM DPI Scaling: Disabled
DxDiag Version: 6.01.7601.17514 32bit Unicode

---------------
Display Devices
---------------
Card name: ATI Radeon HD 4200
Manufacturer: ATI Technologies Inc.
Chip type: ATI display adapter (0x9710)
DAC type: Internal DAC(400MHz)
Device Key: EnumPCIVEN_1002&DEV_9710&SUBSYS_2AB1103C&REV_00
Display Memory: 2940 MB
Dedicated Memory: 252 MB
Shared Memory: 2687 MB
Current Mode: 1280 x 1024 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Monitor Name: Generic PnP Monitor
Monitor Model: SyncMaster
Monitor Id: SAM0193
Native Mode: 1280 x 1024(p) (60.020Hz)
Output Type: HD15
Driver Name:

That's not TOO terrible, it's at least a quad core, your biggest problem is the horrible integrated GPU. If you want to save as much money as possible you could just get a new GPU and PSU and it would be alright. If you go this route I would suggest a 7850 and a Corsair CX500, it will come out to less than $250. You could get a much more powerful GPU if you want on your budget but it's not worth it (imo) at 1280x1024 resolution and with that CPU. (though you could always upgrade those too)

If you do want a whole new computer you could re-use your hard drive and RAM and get:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-8320 3.5GHz 8-Core Processor ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($99.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7850 1GB Video Card ($154.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.94 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $594.88
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-06-03 00:46 EDT-0400)




OR another option could be to get the 7850 and PSU now and then see if you want to upgrade more. That could allow you to split the money up over time to make it easier on your wallet or save up more money for even better upgrades.

 

[Dan Hunter]

Thank you for taking the time to look all that up, i really appreciate it.


So here is the other thing, if the upgrades are more than 150-250$ its not worth it because the computer i am using right now is a family computer.

So if its more than 250$ i just might as well buy myself a computer that i can take to college.

 

[5starGeneralAlphaSnake]

build your own, and use the rainbow.

 

[Dan Hunter]

SB Audigy 2 Speaker w/ Sub
Syncmaster 170n Military 19" Flatscreen Monitor
USB headset for making and recieving calls
Lynksys Wireless router for wireless or hardwired connections

Windows 7 Home Premium 32 Bit / Capable of 64 Bit
1150 GB or Roughly 1 TB of HardDrive Space
3GB RAM with 8 GB ReadyBoost for extra speed
intel Celeron CPU 3.33 GHz
DVD-RW Rom
Broadcom 802.11 Wireless PCI Adaptor
NVidia Geforece 512 MB DDR3 Video Card / Overclockable

this is for 500$ sound good?

 

[runo]

Not at all. Three gigs of memory, a Celeron CPU and a 512MB DDR3 GPU (the CPU and GPU combo just scream that this is really old tech) are not going to play Skyrim/Planetside 2/ARMA 3 very well at all. That's a massive waste of five hundred dollars.

If you want something that'll play games great and you can take it to school, look into laptops around the $800-$1000 range and Google up coupons that'll knock them down to $500-$750ish, or whatever's in your price range. If you can't afford something good now, save up so that you can, otherwise I feel that you're going to disappoint yourself when you either can't run the games you want to play or you need to upgrade in less than a year.

 

[Wizekraker]

Not at all. Three gigs of memory, a Celeron CPU and a 512MB DDR3 GPU (the CPU and GPU combo just scream that this is really old tech) are not going to play Skyrim/Planetside 2/ARMA 3 very well at all. That's a massive waste of five hundred dollars.

If you want something that'll play games great and you can take it to school, look into laptops around the $800-$1000 range and Google up coupons that'll knock them down to $500-$750ish, or whatever's in your price range. If you can't afford something good now, save up so that you can, otherwise I feel that you're going to disappoint yourself when you either can't run the games you want to play or you need to upgrade in less than a year.

yup like this guys said, save money untill you have like $1000
that way you can have the computer for good 4-6 years maybe even more..

 

[Dan Hunter]

Well you guys convinced me to build my own pc, so here is what i have.

Now see i have no idea what im doing, i was just pressing the lowest price button, and clicking on ones that looked cool.

Is this good? is there cheaper but better parts i am missing?
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/12Kec
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/12Kec
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/12Kec

 

[Oberst]

If you are going to build a PC, you need quality components. Buying all good parts and then say a bad power supply can cause many issues down the road. I personally would not recommend getting a Biostar motherboard. As they mentioned, if you wanted to take a computer with you to college you may find a laptop to be much more suitable for your needs, and you won't have to build anything either. Lenovo has a laptop for $750 that has an i7, 8GB of RAM and a 2GB Nvidia Geforce 750m gpu. Just my 2 cents, but if you take the PC route you will really want to invest in quality parts over cheap ones if you want your PC to have a long life.