Budget general use/light gaming PC

plaguis · Apr 25, 2013

Hey all, finally decided it was time to upgrade my ancient computer as it has recently started having some stability issues, and I've also taken a large interest in the MMO World of Warcraft. I've been playing at 2-5 fps during empty questing areas, followed by hard drive failures. This thing is too old

Anyways, I've been looking around for a cheap cheap prebuilt computer, as it seems I'd have to spend just as much to build what I'm looking for myself (please show me if not!), and this is what I've come up with for specs so far:

AMD A55 Chipset
Processor: AMD A4-3420 Dual Core @ 2.8 GHZ, 1 MB L2 cache
RAM: 6 GB DDR3 @ 1600 MHZ
HDD: 500 GB 7200 RPM SATA (unknown brand)
Graphics: ATI Radeon 6410D (integrated APU chip)
PSU: 300w (unknown brand, I believe it's a standard ATX size)

Link

Now my first question is, would this be good enough to run some not so modern games like WoW at decent (~30) framerates in raids/battlegrounds/groups? I'd be playing at low resolution (1024x768 SD) and low graphical settings don't bother me in the least.

My second question is if the first answer is no, it's not powerful enough

I believe I can fit a different PSU in this box, although I'm not 110% if it has a 6 pin connector or what inside...any clues there? And if not would I be safe throwing an ATI Radeon 7750 in it? I know that only draws power from the PCI-E 16x slot, but I'd feel much safer doing that if I could throw a 350w+ PSU in it. Any input?

Thank you everyone for your time!

Edit: Forgot to add, I'd really like to keep the budget under $350 if at all possible. Thanks again!

n1ghtr4v3n · Apr 25, 2013

here is a ~400$ pc in here... its a good value gaming rig and for like 50-60$ more you can "actually" play games with it, it will worth what you pay for. At least you wont throw that 300$ on the street for that pre-made one

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-3220 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor ($113.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: MSI B75MA-E33 Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($56.98 @ Outlet PC)
Memory: Kingston Value 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1066 Memory ($29.98 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($57.10 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7750 2GB Video Card ($88.48 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Apex PC-375 ATX Mid Tower Case w/300W Power Supply ($39.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $414.50
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-25 02:28 EDT-0400)

l89 · Apr 25, 2013

n1ghtr4v3n :

this is a pretty good build for the budget but u may consider a fx 6300 as some games now recommend a quad core and i3 is ultimately a dual core
8gb of ram will also be better cause windows need about 1-2gb of ram
and hd 7750 will be good for ur budget but if u want any future proofing look at the hd 7770

n1ghtr4v3n · Apr 25, 2013

l89 :

n1ghtr4v3n :

this is a pretty good build for the budget but u may consider a fx 6300 as some games now recommend a quad core and i3 is ultimately a dual core
8gb of ram will also be better cause windows need about 1-2gb of ram
and hd 7750 will be good for ur budget but if u want any future proofing look at the hd 7770

yea i checked also the parts you mentioned but the budget will be raised like 50-60$

so this is where i downgraded a bit...

plaguis · Apr 25, 2013

Thanks for the answers guys, I'd love to spring for an i3 and real graphics card, which is why I was asking about throwing a 7750 into the rig I listed. So would I not get playable FPS in WoW with the current one? I was really trying to keep the budget a good bit below $400 is all...

l89 · Apr 25, 2013

plaguis :

some where down the line u might wana play games that ur pc might not be able to play dual core won't be a very good choice when u r building from the scratch

n1ghtr4v3n · Apr 25, 2013

plaguis :

well about premade computers... they always seem to me as a dead bargain

it will be probably better than your current system but why would you want to spend money on a system which will have the same faith as your current one in close future

hold on and save a bit more (like 50$ i bet you can do that) then get a custom one

plaguis · Apr 25, 2013

I would love to get a more expensive box guys, but I can only save a few dollars a week (it's taken me many years to save up to this point, I've been interested in playing WoW since 2005 or so...) I don't much care for future games, as I've kept myself entertained on older games since I was born. I haven't even had a computer powerful enough to run Half Life 2 smoothly, let alone anything beyond that

I have plenty to catch up on. Can I not do that with the box I listed, with or without the added 7750 graphics card, or a comparable new computer from scratch?

n1ghtr4v3n · Apr 25, 2013

plaguis :

here is an alternative for ~380$, its an amd system also will make you happy

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($94.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock 760GM-GS3 Micro ATX AM3 Motherboard ($44.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston Value 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1066 Memory ($29.98 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($57.10 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7750 2GB Video Card ($88.48 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Apex PC-375 ATX Mid Tower Case w/300W Power Supply ($39.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $383.50
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-25 04:05 EDT-0400)

plaguis · Apr 25, 2013

Now that is a lot closer to what I'm looking for, thank you very much

Are you saying I need a quad core and a 2 GB video card for Half Life 2 and World of Warcraft and other 2003/2004 era games though? I didn't realize I was THAT far behind...

n1ghtr4v3n · Apr 25, 2013

plaguis :

you dont need quad at all... but the amd i just linked is a quad luckily

plaguis · Apr 25, 2013

n1ghtr4v3n :

So if I don't need the quad, what would be the difference between the PC you've listed for me and the dual core (with a 7750 added after if needed) I was looking at? Like I said, I can't afford to pay for anything I don't need. I'm not looking to future proof, I'm not looking to play new games at 720p+ resolutions, and I'm not looking for anything that's overkill unless it's the same price as what I've listed ($299). I just want something powerful enough to run Half Life 2 and World of Warcraft and Oblivion on low/default graphical settings and 1028x768 or 800x600 res. That's all I need. I'm finding it hard to believe I need a fancy new Phenom or i3 for that.

ksham · Apr 25, 2013

Depends on the clock speed and the program. Let's assume that both the dual core and the quad core have the same clock speed. If a program only uses two cores, then there's no difference between either of the CPUs. If however, the same program can use four cores, then the quad core will be faster.

n1ghtr4v3n · Apr 26, 2013

plaguis :

so to be honest, even the newest games these days are not even effected from more than 2 cores (well other than Crysis3) since they dont use the rest of the cores its barely effecting the quality of your gaming. So if i were you i would choose the one cheapest. The reason whey the dual core intel is more expensive than the quad amd is that the intel is newer chip and has more features but lacking the number of cores. but also having more cores doesnt really mean that its better performance. its just specifically that amd i offerend is a good option according to price. its superior to the cpu's in that price range.

and yea WoW is a cpu intensive game along with gpu. the more cpu juice you have the more fluid it gets.

i hope it helps

z1kjeff · Mar 30, 2014

Your initial build was the same APU I went with on my son's first computer and had trouble playing Star Wars The Old Republic MMO, not sure if WoW would be more or less the same. If I was to do it over for around $400 budget would do the following:
PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3iVus
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3iVus/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3iVus/benchmarks/

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 750K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($79.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus A55BM-E Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($49.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($39.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Toshiba Product Series

T01ACA 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R7 260X 2GB Video Card ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 431 Plus (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $408.90
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-30 03:42 EDT-0400)

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