Cheap Gaming Build With Used Parts

Silmefaron · Sep 25, 2017

Hey guys, I was hoping to get some input on a couple of builds I was thinking about for my brother. He currently games on a laptop and I on a desktop, and I want to teach him about computer hardware and build a good entry to mid-level gaming PC for him. I have priced out a couple of different builds mostly comprised of used parts, as I know they will work but will be cheaper.

#1 - $474
Intel i5 2500k 3.3GHz up to 3.7GHz - $73
Coolermaster Hyper 212 EVO - $0.00 (already own)
Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3 Motherboard - $31
G.SKILL Ripjaws 2 x 8GB DDR3 1333MHz Blue - $110
SSD Boot/Primary (not sure on brand and new/used yet) - $80
GTX 960 or 970 (if I'm really lucky a used 980 or 980 ti, though I've missed a few) - $150
Corsair CX750M 750w PSU - $30

OPTIONAL
VIVO ATX Mid Tower Case w/ 4 Blue LED fans - +++$70

#2 - $630
Intel i5 4670k 3.4GHz up to 3.8GHz - $150
Coolermaster Hyper 212 EVO - $0.00 (already own)
ASUS Z87 Pro Motherboard - $100
CORSAIR Vengeance 2 x 8GB DDR3 1600MHz Black $120
SSD Boot/Primary (not sure on brand and new/used yet) - $80
GTX 960 or 970 (if I'm really lucky a used 980 or 980 ti, though I've missed a few) - $150
Corsair CX750M 750w PSU - $30

OPTIONAL
VIVO ATX Mid Tower Case w/ 4 Blue LED fans - +++$70

I'm still working on putting together other potential used parts gaming builds, but any help or suggestions would be appreciated, and I am open to suggestions, however I am buying this all for him as a present and so $630 is about max, even a little too much for my liking. And I am going to buy 90% used due to that pricing conundrum as well.

thanks!!

smashjohn · Sep 25, 2017

You are a really cool brother! I'd definitely recommend going with the 4670K; it will perform well for much longer than the 2500k. It's worth the 75 bucks.

Karadjgne · Sep 25, 2017

Check ebay prices.
This was me.
I7-3770K. $50
Frsctal Design R5 Window Black. $20
Msi mpower z77. $50
Nzxt Kraken x61. $60
Samsung 840 Pro 120Gb $30
16Gb Patriot Intel Extreme Masters 1866MHz. $24
Only thing I bought new (3+ yrs ago?) was gtx970 $280, Evga 550w G2 $80.

Grand total came out to $594. Paying $120 for ddr3 1600 now, is a rip and with prices, a gtx1050ti is far cheaper than either a 960 or a 970.

Silmefaron · Sep 25, 2017

Karadjgne :

Sounds like a pretty lucky find for a build

so I'll stick with a 1050 or a 1050 ti then, I can get a pretty good discount on those at work, but the problem, smashjohn, is that it won't just be $75 more for the processor, it will also be like $70 more for the ASUS motherboard, because the ASUS has the 1150 chip that the 4670k needs, but the gigabyte board has a 1155 socket :/. I could always drop the SSD for now to help a bit with that price. I can also get the ASUS board and the 4670k from the same guy, maybe as a combo for a bit less. I'm thinking I could get him to knock $25 off and I'll knock the SSD off of my build.

That leaves me with:

$555

Intel i5 4670k 3.4GHz up to 3.8GHz - $125
Coolermaster Hyper 212 EVO - $0.00 (already own)
ASUS Z87 Pro Motherboard - $100
CORSAIR Vengeance 2 x 8GB DDR3 1600MHz Black $120
MSI GeForce GTX 1050 TI GAMING X 4G $180 (is it worth swapping this with my 960, putting the 1050 ti in mine, and giving him my 960? I have an MSI motherboard so...

)
Corsair CX750M 750w PSU - $30
And some random case that fits xD hopefully for $0.00

Karadjgne · Sep 25, 2017

At $120, I'd not buy 16Gb of ddr3 from anyone. You can find that on eBay for $20-$30 all day long.
At 4Gb, yes the 1050ti is worth it, it falls roughly right about in the middle between a 960 and a 970 in performance, but that 2Gb on the 960 will hurt in any of the higher graphics games. It'll be the difference between medium and very high settings for the same fps.

And yes, I did get lucky with some of those buys, the cpu was actually mis-labled on the page title as an i7 3370k, so no one was watching it, and the case was scratch n dent sale, it had 1 small dent in the offside panel, which took all of 30 seconds with a hard rubber mallet and a chunk of 2x4 to fix. But for $20 for that particular $100+ case, I could have lived with the dent.

Silmefaron · Sep 27, 2017

Karadjgne :

Nice, my 960 however is a Gigabyte GTX 960 Windforce 4GB so I do have 4GB as opposed to two. Is it still worth swapping out? I have a possible Gigabyte GTX 970 4GB (the 3-fan card) lined up for $175, is that better and should I take it? Or should I just get a 1050 ti because of the newer architecture? My other option is, save about $100 and purchase an MSI GTX 960 4GB OC and just run a 960 in both of the builds and replace it a ways down the road when they actually CAN'T run most games (with 4GB I've never had an issue running any games including TW3 and SoM).

So the current build I have lined up is this AND IT HAS CHANGED

SUCH AS IT IS BUYING USED, with all parts in perfect condition and already guaranteed to me:

Intel i5 6600k 3.5GHz up to 3.9GHz - $125
Coolermaster Hyper 212 EVO - $10.00 (might not need)
ASUS Z170 Pro Gaming Motherboard - $100
CORSAIR Vengeance LPX 2x4GB 3200MHz - $65 NOT BOUGHT YET/AVAILABLE TO BID ON
Sandisk 480GB SSD - $0.00 (free)
EVGA SuperNova 750w G2 - $50
Corsair 200r w/ 2 Fans $40

Total: $390 and a few various small shipping charges, so like $400 with no GPU

So I am currently just trying to figure out the GPU and what I want to budget on that still. Ideas are welcome

Karadjgne · Sep 27, 2017

That looks pretty good, there's some really nice parts in there.
If you stick with the 960, then 8Gb of system ram is fine, you'll not be able to really push that gpu hard enough to make much of a difference, even in ram heavy games. The 1050ti is basically a newer, cooler running, more efficient version of the 960, it's within 2-3fps depending on the game, so 8Gb is good there too. The gtx970 is capable of trading blows with a 1060, slightly better than the 3Gb version, not quite as good as the 6Gb version. But thats only by a few fps in general, about 5 or so either way. Not something anyone can really tell, other than benchmarks. It's easily the most powerful of that bunch and works well with 1080p,even triple monitors if you don't play games on all 3 simultaneously. So can use most, if not all of 8Gb, sometimes over, but that's rare, my 970 usually only shows 5-7Gb total used.

Silmefaron · Sep 27, 2017

Karadjgne :

Ah awesome thanks for all the info, its always the comparison I have trouble with. I understand each part but not how they're different and userbenchmarks only helps a little.

I have a quick question regarding the cpu and motherboard. I am supposed to get it for $225 from a guy that I've talked to a bit, I've sent him 4 texts since he last responded this time 2 days ago. He hasn't responded to any of them but his last text was basically "sure, sounds good and I do have the ability to ship it to you". Do you think at this point since its been two days and I'm texting not emailing, I should be thinking that he won't actually sell it to me? Can't find help for this anywhere else xD

Karadjgne · Sep 27, 2017

It's a used setup, being sold by someone other than me, so I can't even guess at what his motives are or may be. Most times ppl are honest enough, if it's for sale, they'll sell. There's always the con artist, always a possibility you'll get jacked, but that's the risk you take with 2nd hand sales. It's usually called 'buyer Beware'

Silmefaron · Sep 27, 2017

Karadjgne :

True, I suppose it can't hurt to wait a couple more days for a reply. I just don't want to waste time. It all seems 100% honest working and legit, I just don't want to sit around and twiddle my thumbs for days on end when the majority of my system is based around the CPU and Board I pick. Seems like a waste of time, and if he has decided not to sell I wish he would just tell me but in case he is busy I don't want to be rude because I still need the parts from him.

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