I need help selecting parts for a low budget build- a gift for a friend.

Grim_5 · Apr 23, 2017

I already have a 750ti and a 500w thermaltake psu. I have an extra keyboard and mouse as well.

I need a cheap case with a few fans, a decent mobo/cpu/cooler combo, a cheap Hdd and dvd drive, and 8gb ram.

Cost is an issue here, and my budget would be as cheap as I can get it without gifting him a steaming pile of dogcrap.

Medium settings in game is fine. 45-50 fps is fine. 1080p preferred.

He has had a tumultuous life and has never been able to afford nicer things.
I went to visit him and his computer was a dinosaur running Windowa XP.

He saved for several months to buy a xbox1. He only has a few games for itn but he vastly enjoys then and he is clearly into gaming.

When i get him the PC he will have to plug it into his TV in his living room since he dies not have a desk or a monitor, but he can use his xbox1 controller and it should be ok.

I was planning on helping him get signed up for steam and gifting him a few games also when I give the PC to him.

Any help selecting low-cost-but-still-relevant component would be greatly apprecciated, as well and any general thoughts, advice or ideals concerning giving the the PC that I have overlooked or haven't thought of yet would be greatly appreciated

Thank you in advance for your help.

Grim_5 · Apr 23, 2017

Also I have basic things covered like hdmi cable and I can get windows 10 key for like $20 off kingwin.

All things considered, I will probably spend more than I intended too on this PC build for him. But he is a great guy and he takes care of people. It would be nice to show him some kindness even if it puts a dent in my wallet I will be able to recover from it down the road a little way. Thanks again.

LowlySkeleton · Apr 23, 2017

For a relevant yet cost efficient budget build, something like this might fit the bill:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G4560 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($84.25 @ Vuugo)
Motherboard: ASRock B250M-HDV Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($74.50 @ Vuugo)
Memory: Crucial 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($74.50 @ Vuugo)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($58.83 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card (Purchased For $0.00)
Case: Thermaltake V3 Black ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Memory Express)
Power Supply: Thermaltake TR2 500W ATX Power Supply (Purchased For $0.00)
Total: $322.07
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-04-23 16:40 EDT-0400

The Pentium G4560 is basically a i3 7100 that is clocked a bit lower, while being MUCH cheaper. For the case, you could try looking for something second hand. I usually buy my cases second hand, for ~20-30$, and these are nice ones that have a side panel window and good cable management holes. If your budget still allows it, you can also add in an SSD:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($69.97 @ NCIX)
Total: $69.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-04-23 16:42 EDT-0400

Grim_5 · Apr 23, 2017

I was hoping the pc could run some modern games on medium.

Particularly Tom clany wildlands. Is the dual-core cpu you suggested up to the task? Because in skeptical about it.

Thanks.

LowlySkeleton · Apr 23, 2017

It is a dual core, but it is hyperthreaded like an i3.

The recommended specs for Tom Clancy Ghost Recon Wildlands is i7- 3770, 8GB ram, GTX 970, and preferable 4GB of vram from gpu. Its already a given that with the GTX750Ti and a small budget, your friend would end up running some lower settings in-game. However, it shouldn't be too bad and should still fit the bill just right.

Here is a video of someone running a G4560 and a GTX750Ti and he does it at different settings/resolutions to demonstrate the expected FPS : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5LgwwoLyHs

Grim_5 · Apr 23, 2017

I did not see a DVD drive or a CPU Cooler in that build, so I'm assuming that would be extra cost.

Thank you for the link to that video it was incredibly helpful. I will say, that I am a little bit disappointed that the performance was not quite what I had hoped for.

What small tweaks can we make to the build, while keeping budget in mind that would get closer to the desired results?

Is that CPU overclockable? If so, would buying a better cooler and overclocking via viable option to increase performance?

That motherboard can support 2400 ram, could that possibly represent a small cost increase for a measurable performance increase, would I be correct in assuming that faster memory clock speed of the memory would compensate for the slower CPU?

I forgot to mention the 750ti I have is an EVGA 750 Ti SSC so I should be able to overclock it.

I might be able to ask another friend if he can contribute to the cost of this endeavor. I know this is a budget build for a gift but there still minimum expectations for my part in all this.

I know I have already said so, but I greatly do appreciate your help. I am somewhat knowledgeable, but I have not been keeping up with technology the last few years so I need someone who has been paying attention to bring me up to speed and help me so I don't make any mistakes selecting the direct components for the intended purpose. Thank you.

Grim_5 · Apr 23, 2017

and I also just remember that I will probably need to check that PSU the power rails provide enough current for the 750ti.

What happens when you plug in a gpu that requires 21a and the rail only provides 18a? Will the gpu explode? Will the psu melt? Does nothing happen and the fpu will merely scale down its performance?
Is this more of an acceptable but not ideal configuration or more of an avoid-at-all-costs situation?

LowlySkeleton · Apr 23, 2017

The EVGA 750 Ti SSC would only require an additional 6-pin power connector, which your PSU would likely have at least 1 of. If you are worried that the PSU might be insufficient, you can always buy a nicer one. This is a link to a guide/list that someone made on our forums about good and bad PSUs to buy or not buy: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html

Faster ram will have SOME impact on performance, but it will be vary marginal at ~0-10fps gains at best. Ram speed would not the bottleneck to this build. The lack of an SSD and a the HT'ed 2-core cpu would be biggest bottleneck (with the gpu and ram being the stronger parts of the system).

From the intel side, you will only ever need an aftermarket cooler if it is an unlocked K cpu (like i5-7600K or i7-7700K); the G4560 will do just fine with its provided stock heatsink. Unfortunately, the G4560 is not overclockable and neither is the motherboard that I listed. If you want a bit more performance, the next step up is a Ryzen 5, as they similar price as a locked i5 but are also able to overclock quite nicely.

This would be a one of the cheapest Ryzen 5 setup for you to consider prices:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 1400 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($217.38 @ Amazon Canada)
Motherboard: MSI B350M GAMING PRO Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($99.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($67.00 @ Amazon Canada)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($58.83 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Superclocked Video Card (Purchased For $0.00)
Case: Thermaltake V3 Black ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Memory Express)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($53.20 @ shopRBC)
Total: $526.39
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-04-23 18:05 EDT-0400

I did not include a heatsink in this one either as the AMD wraith cooler is still able to handle overclocking, albeit with higher temps. You can see a video review/guide on Ryzen 5 overclocking and temps with stock coolers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbK0n5FjvhI

Grim_5 · Apr 23, 2017

I can see that I am clearly going to have to get some help from other friends to be able to afford this project. This is certainly beyond the budget I had originally intended. If I can't find anyone to help share the cost, I'll have to scrap the project entirely.

Thank you. I will let you know what I decide, but for now I need some time to think it over and weigh my options.

Grim_5 · Apr 24, 2017

What about amd FX6300 cpu is it any good? Mt friend said he can donate that chip and a compatible mobi towords the cause but can put any money down.

LowlySkeleton · Apr 28, 2017

The FX6300 is a 95W TDP 6 core cpu. Comparing the G4560 and FX6300, the G4560 would still do a bit better than the FX6300 in Tom Clancy Ghost Recon Wildlands, as the FX6300 is a bit slower in single threaded performance. However, your friend donating the chip and mb would mean saving ~160$ on the build, even if it is a little weaker in single threaded performance.

I would recommend building around that and maybe looking for at least 8GB of secondhand DDR3 ram in that case, as this could save you quite a bit.

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