Craiglist vs Building my own PC

DBC___

Commendable
Jan 16, 2017
41
0
1,530
Hello Friends,

I am really in a serious dilemma and would request you to advise me on the situation.

The PC that I have now is pretty outdated but I can run games like AC Syndicate and Gta 5 with adjusted settings.

Now the thing is really want to get a new CPU to be able to play/Stream games like AC Origins, and CoD WW2. I have the budget to buy a $1200 CPU. But the problem is I will graduate from college around May 2018 and might have to move to another city (I currently live in Baltimore).

I have been debating the idea as to whether I should buy a decent used PC on Craiglist for about $600-$750 so I can play the games in the meanwhile for 5-7 months and then sell it before I move to another city or should I go ahead and build a brand new PC for $1000-$1200 right now.

I have never really travelled a lot so I am not sure how easy it is to move between states with a PC in your luggage. I am an international student and all my belongings apart from PC and books would fit in 2 suitcases.

Please advise me as to what would be the best thing to do.

Thanks.

 

Lutfij

Titan
Moderator
The usual problem with system's on craiglists is that if you're careful then you get to deal with dodgy parts/system's and they are more hassle than they are worth. The new system's route would be a safe investment since you can count on product warranties and RMA's albeit some time lost.

That being said, you seem to be the right candidate for a compact/minimal mitx build.
 

ZRace

Commendable
May 12, 2017
521
1
1,360
I second the thought of building a new PC in the small mini-ITX form factor. The budget allows for it (even more so if you sell the old PC parts afterwards), and you'll get a decently powerful gaming machine that isn't so large that it will cause you headaches when moving.
 

hdmark

Distinguished
Feb 16, 2015
1,367
0
19,660
i third the thought of buliding a new small computer.

there are plenty of single fan, high power GPU's. you dont need a massive cooler if you went for lets say a non k 8700, or 8600. grab like a 500gb SSD and you dont even need a HDD. could probably get by without a dvd drive (i ripped mine out a few years ago).

with the right size case, you could probably pack your entire computer plus a 23-25" monitor into a suitcase. going from 2 to 3 suitcases doesnt seem too bad to me
 
^yeah what he said

something like

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1600 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor ($189.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock - AB350 Gaming-ITX/ac Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard ($106.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($199.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Crucial - MX300 275GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($92.88 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Hitachi - Travelstar 1TB 2.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($53.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6GB GAMING Video Card ($259.99 @ B&H)
Case: Silverstone - RVZ03B Mini ITX Desktop Case ($104.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair - CXM (2015) 450W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1033.59
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-12-05 08:47 EST-0500
 
Solution

DBC___

Commendable
Jan 16, 2017
41
0
1,530
@madmatt30 That was the exact specs I had finalized except for the case and I'd go with a 1600x.
Yeah, I guess I can make a couple of hundred bucks selling the old PC and put it towards the new one. Take the CPU with me and then buy a new Monitor in the new city.
 
The Silverstone deserves serious consideration mate.

While its been gazumped on size by the fractal node 202 & the phanteks shift cases neither of those take the full height spire cooler , a full atx psu or 4 x 2.5 inch drives.

Its the pinnacle of cases that will take those kind of components & (at a push) still fit in hand luggage