Cheapest possible gaming PC?

[Guest]

I am extremely desperate for a gaming PC, not just for gaming, but for doing productive things like hobbiest animation, video, audio and photo editing. I also really want to assemble it myself. I am 16 years old and I live in ON Canada. The problem is, I hardly have any money. I don't know how much money I can manage to save up, but surely it will be much less than $500. The operating system is already another hundred. I am literally looking at something like $250 without the OS. And as you might have guessed, I can't order online, but I can buy from the many local stores around me, probably from this store:

http://www.canadacomputers.com/

I don't have the slightest bit of support from my parents, so I can't manage extra money.

I want to know what is the cheapest possible gaming configuration. And also, whether buying something used like this would be viable:

http://stcatharines.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-sell-computers-quad-core-gaming-PC-250-Sherbourne-station-W0QQAdIdZ393807855

http://stcatharines.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-sell-computers-Q6600-Core-2-Quad-3-6-ghz-HD-5770-4GB-ram-Haf-912-case-W0QQAdIdZ401114684?
Yes, I know they are ancient, but are they viable/

Is it worth trying?

 

[ScrewySqrl]

both of those are rather old (2008 was when they were new)

this laptop will b a better lightweight gamer for $500

http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=710_577_369&item_id=040741

 

[getochkn]

The cheapest from CC I could do would be a A6-3500 Triple core with integrated graphics. Not the best but it does play a few games, I built one for my roommate. Asrock Motherboard, coolmaster case, 4GB Kingston Ram, 500GB WD Blue Harddrive, $306 with tax. You can add a better video card later.

 

[Kamen_BG]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Celeron G540 2.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($44.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI H61M-P31 (G3) Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($21.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital RE2 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($53.78 @ Compuvest)
Video Card: Asus Radeon HD 6770 1GB Video Card ($79.98 @ NCIX US)
Case: Zalman Z9 ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.96 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: Antec 450W ATX12V Power Supply ($32.30 @ Microcenter)
Optical Drive: Sony AD-7280S-0B DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $324.98
(Prices include shipping and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-08-06 15:13 EDT-0400)

This is the cheapest TRUE gaming configuration i can build for you.It will play every game at... well good enough settings.
It's much better at gaming than AMD's APU's and intel's "HD" graphics.

 

[ScrewySqrl]

he's stuck paying cash only at Canada Computer's Brick & Mortar near him.

an APU build (3870K) + 6670 in Dual Channel will be a decent enough gamer at 1600x900 or less

 

[Guest]

Thanks a lot for the suggestions, keep the configuration ideas coming. Now I'll just wait a while and see how much money I can actually save up.

 

[getochkn]

Figure out how much money you get first, lots of prices can change from now and say 3 months if it takes you long or not.

Kamen, read the post first, he's in Canada, like I am, so most newegg/amazon prices don't apply and don't ship here. CC is a decent store though and usually has some of the cheapest prices around for us anyways.

 

[nekulturny]

Trinity would definitely be a good option. They're already out in laptops, as Squirrel showed, but we'll have to wait a bit longer for them to hit the desktop market.

 

[Guest]

Keep this thread active because in about 2 weeks, I will know how much money I will have so keep it alive. If I don't have a viable amount money, then I will save up trinity comes out. It seems promising.

 

[ScrewySqrl]

mn: just start a new thread with your funding amount.

do you specifically want a desktop, or will somthing like that laptop with video card work as well?

 

[Guest]

mn: just start a new thread with your funding amount.

do you specifically want a desktop, or will somthing like that laptop with video card work as well?

No, it has to be a desktop. I guess I can start a new thread with my funding amount later.
Regardless, I got some good ideas from this one.