Building custom PC ($500 budget+Old PC)

synario · Jul 15, 2015

So two weeks from now roughly, I will get my paycheck and have around 500 dollars to spend.

I still have my old pc, an inspiron 620. i3 2100, 4gb ram, 1tb hard drive, windows 7 64 bit, 300w stock PSU.

I also have a GTX 560ti, and a Antec 550w 80 plus gold PSU which I used to upgrade my old PC. I hope to use these parts in my new computer in order to save money.

part of my plan was to sell my old pc but I don't think anybody will be interested if it doesn't come with a hard drive.

I'd like to know specifically which parts I can get with these much money, with the understanding I won't be buying a GPU since I'll be using my gtx 560ti till I can afford a better card.

blazorthon · Jul 15, 2015

The i3 and motherboard are still decent. The RAM could use replacing with a good 2x4GB kit I don't recommend trying to get a new 4GB module to make 8GB. I strongly recommend getting 8GB to continue playing modern games if that's your intent.

The Antec 550W is probably still good, assuming it isn't more than three or four years old.

Spending $500 though, lol, plenty of room to change there. You can upgrade to a used i5-2xxx series model, get a new graphics card like a GTX 960, and a new memory kit.

What exactly are you trying to do right now? You say you have a $500 budget to make changes, but then say you don't want to buy a graphics card. I don't know what else to really spend the $500 on. If you want a newer CPU and motherboard, then I recommend waiting for Skylake coming out from Intel in a month or two.

vrumor · Jul 15, 2015

How many times are you gonna ask this? This is at least the third time today.

synario · Jul 15, 2015

i have a crazy train of thought, dude.

I was really hyped about buying old parts off of craigslist but the idea of buying a used PC doesn't sit well with me anymore.

I was super impatient and didn't want to wait two weeks to get my paycheck.

Now I've decided I should wait to get my paycheck so i can get a better PC.

@blazor: Dell PC's are shit. The case is so OEM that it won't really allow you to put a new motherboard in even if you wanted to.

Also I've heard mATX motherboards (which is it what I use) don't allow full sized modern GPU's, like the gtx 960.

In conclusion, the dell motherboard and case I have are both trash as far as upgrade-ability and I'm better off starting from scratch.

I'm kinda bored of gaming and honestly I'm not super hyped about playing witcher 3 or any of these new triple A games.

I basically just really want a quad core cpu and 8gb of ram, but the best cpu my inspiron 620 can use is the i5 2320, which is freaking ancient. If I'm spending hundreds of dollars on brand new parts, I may as well get a new case and motherboard.

synario · Jul 15, 2015

Just pretend like I haven't said anything so far guys. Also ignore my other threads.

What should I buy with 500 dollars?

=D

blazorthon · Jul 15, 2015

synario :

Dell does often have non-standard cases and other things. Yes, the motherboard is probably not replaceable.

The motherboard is rarely an issue with graphics cards. It will still use a standard PCIe x16 slot even in a Dell. The issue that remains is whether or not the graphics card would fit in the case and that we can learn if you have some measuring tape. MicroATX does not have a problem with graphics cards in of it self, it's jsut the cases are smaller and very large cards are occasionally an issue For reference, there are some small GTX 960s that fit virtually any case. The GTX 960 isn't a very power hungry card.

The i5-2320, although kinda old, is actually not very far from a current i5 in performance. Something like an i5-4460, the current good model for an i5, is only around 25% faster than the 2320. Still, if you want to completely replace your computer, I will gladly help out. You might want to wait a month or two for Intel's ext generation of CPUs to come out first though.

blazorthon · Jul 15, 2015

synario :

Give me a few minutes, I'll have something for you if you are set on buying soon.

synario · Jul 15, 2015

thanks dude.

steven37 · Jul 15, 2015

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/RnKYK8 Here's something I threw together. It is a bit above $500 but if you really need to stay under $500 you can always get a cheaper case.

synario · Jul 15, 2015

no offense but damn the cpu cooler is 75 dollars it that actually necessary?

blazorthon · Jul 15, 2015

Keeping the 550W power supply and optical disk drive, you can do this for about $370:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/PCKYK8

There still isn't a graphics card in there. Save the $130 and save up a little more, you can get a GTX 960 like this for about $200:
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/evga-video-card-02gp42962kr

You could even try selling the GTX 560 Ti to make up the difference instead of saving up some more. I don't know if the rest of the components would sell. Maybe if you throw in a cheap hard drive like a second one from in the build, you can get some decent money for it, like $200 or so.

synario · Jul 15, 2015

also keep in mind I already have a 1TB hard drive.

blazorthon · Jul 15, 2015

Ah, my bad, that takes the price for the parts I listed down to about $320 and you can almost fit the GTX 960 in there under a $500 budget. Is $517 pushing your budget too much?

Or, would you rather still wait on the graphics card and spend all $500 or so on the rest of the system? You could get a better case and motherboard that way, but the performance won't change much unless you get an i5-4590K and overclock it.

synario · Jul 15, 2015

yeah, I'm not hugely sure whether the overclocking is overkill or not. It seems like an i5 in the 3.5ghz range, would be more than powerful for anything gaming wise, even without the ability to overclock?

I do kinda want to fit in the gtx 960, now that I know its possible.

So in conclusion, I'd be using the optical drive, the hard drive, and the power supply from old inspiron 620?

What about a dvd/cd writer, or is that necessary?

Or should I put off getting the gtx 960 and instead go for an i7? Why the heck do the i7's only use 4 cores? I thought the big deal was they were the 6 core cpu's.

synario · Jul 15, 2015

why is the fractal design case so popular in all your suggestions?

steven37 · Jul 15, 2015

synario :

For being one of the best air cooling fans out there, kind of but not really.
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/szRQsY

The way I am putting these together is I am assuming you will be using your old hard drive to install windows 7 on to and you already have a 560ti, psu, cd drive. I have chosen the items in your current computer that needs to be upgraded. and the computer is fully upgradable. So if you're wanting to get a better graphics card you can do so

blazorthon · Jul 15, 2015

synario :

There are some games, such as BF4 multiplayer, where overclocking can make a significant difference. Most don't care too much about it.

You'd be using the optical drive, the hard drive, and the 550W PSU that you mentioned buying as an upgrade previously. The optical drive is a CD/DVD reader, at the least. If it is not a writer, then if you think you'll ever be burning DVDs or CDs, you'll need to spend around $15 on a DVD/CD writer.

There are i7s with six cores, but they are different. They use larger sockets originally meant for server systems such as LGA 1366 and LGA 2011 instead of the consumer LGA 1150 socket a new i5 uses. LGA 1150 i7s are quad cores, separated by the i5s with Hyperthreading. Hyperthreading gives the CPU four "virtual" cores with the intent of more efficiently using the resources on the CPU. Basically, it can make a core do work on a program when the program it was originally working is waiting on something, like a RAM access. In software that can use eight threads, it offers up to a 30% performance improvement.

Most games do not take much advantage from Hyperthreading on the i7s, but a few (such as BF4) can and do in multiplayer.

steven37 · Jul 15, 2015

synario :

I mostly just like them for their Define series of cases. they're built for silence

synario · Jul 15, 2015

that cooler master one is like only 36 dollars, so I wouldn't regret not goign with the more expensive one eh?

blazorthon · Jul 15, 2015

Sorry, wrong post.

steven37 · Jul 15, 2015

synario :

Either one you get, the temps will be better than if you were to use the stock cooler.

blazorthon · Jul 15, 2015

If you're not overclocking, then a cheap aftermarket CPU cooler is really only good for reducing noise and getting temps more under control. There's no need for an expensive cooler.

synario · Jul 16, 2015

http://bestdealcomputers.com/product/basic-barebone-pc-intel-g3220-3-0ghz-dual-core-4gb-ram-1tb-hdd-dvdrw/#tab-description

I found a custom pc shop near me. I've been dying to find a place like this since the only computer stores are big names like Frys, and Best buy.

i5 4440, 8gb of ram, but...case only has one 90mm fan

steven37 · Jul 16, 2015

synario :

All the items in the list I gave you are superior than the ones in that computer. And it ends up being $20 less after the mail in rebates.

Building custom PC ($500 budget+Old PC)

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