Any way to shave money off this Skyrim-ready PC with monitor? (~

By xKratosx
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Grand Master

Arceles

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I play Skyrim almost at max settings in my laptop at 1080p, it looks great and it's also easier on the processors because it's a DX9 title, see my specs on my signature, I really recomend to go AMD APU route for a very cheap but good gaming machine (I even play Crysis 3 on medium settings, but that's due my dedicated 6750m) with the APU you can even later add a dedicated graphics card if you wish.

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Grand Master

Astra.Xtreme

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Let's look at this at a different angle. The 7850 gets roughly twice the performance of the 7750, so that's a huge incentive to go with the 7850.

An i5 will get a little bit more performance than an i3, but it's not that huge of a jump. I'd say get the i3 now, and he can always upgrade in the future. He can probably get an i5-2500k on Ebay pretty cheap.

Also, I'd recommend getting a different SSD. The one you picked isn't a good brand and is only SATA II.

It would be worth the little extra to get this one:

http://www.ebuyer.co...tx3-25sat3-120g

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xKratosx

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Thanks all! Lots of great information here, I think the i5 is out (which is a shame since that is the only component he said he wants!) but in this context an i3 or even the AMD should be fine.

I guess I could go the second hand route? He's REALLY not fussy about things like that as far as I know, for example hates buying new books etc... so maybe a used machine would mean more bang for the buck?

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Grand Master

Astra.Xtreme

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Thanks all! Lots of great information here, I think the i5 is out (which is a shame since that is the only component he said he wants!) but in this context an i3 or even the AMD should be fine.

I guess I could go the second hand route? He's REALLY not fussy about things like that as far as I know, for example hates buying new books etc... so maybe a used machine would mean more bang for the buck?

Buying parts used will be a ton cheaper. PC parts are basically worthless as soon as they are used, haha.

The trade-off is obviously you're trusting the parts weren't abused, and you probably won't have warranty support.

It might be worth browsing around on Craigslist to see if there any complete PCs for sale locally. Otherwise, buying the motherboard, CPU, GPU, maybe monitor, and SSD used will save quite a bit of money. The other parts are probably worth buying new since they don't cost much anyway.

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xKratosx

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Thanks Astra :) I think I'll definitely consider going the used route for the graphics card, SSD etc (mine were used and still functioning fine 3 years on) but maybe just get a new case, probably a new motherboard too...

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Grand Master

Astra.Xtreme

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Thanks Astra :) I think I'll definitely consider going the used route for the graphics card, SSD etc (mine were used and still functioning fine 3 years on) but maybe just get a new case, probably a new motherboard too...

Good plan. :) I buy some of my parts used, and I've never had any issues either. I recently bought a basically brand new GTX 680 for almost half price. There's some pretty wicked deals out there to be found.

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xKratosx

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Thank you! Where do you usually buy from? I'm tempted by Ebay but unsure how reliable they'd be for used PC parts (ie, I can imagine lots of people selling semi faulty products on there)

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Grand Master

Astra.Xtreme

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Thank you! Where do you usually buy from? I'm tempted by Ebay but unsure how reliable they'd be for used PC parts (ie, I can imagine lots of people selling semi faulty products on there)

I tend to impulsively buy stuff from people on Craigslist if the price is right. People that sell through there are usually honest since you actually do the transaction face to face.

Ebay could be hit-or-miss, but you do have buyer protection via Paypal, so if somebody screws you over, you can easily get your money back.

Personally I've never had any issues. Buying something on Ebay can sometimes be a little more expensive since there are millions of people browsing around, but you can find anything in existence on there. Depending on how populated of an area you're in, the selection of stuff on Craigslist could be slim. I'd say check both and see what you can find. :)

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threetonesun

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Ebay could be hit-or-miss, but you do have buyer protection via Paypal, so if somebody screws you over, you can easily get your money back.

FWIW, buyer protection through Paypal is a crock of ****. If you use a credit card through Paypal, you can have your CC company cancel the charges. Paypal? They'll open an "investigation" then tell you all your money is gone.

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Grand Master

Astra.Xtreme

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FWIW, buyer protection through Paypal is a crock of ****. If you use a credit card through Paypal, you can have your CC company cancel the charges. Paypal? They'll open an "investigation" then tell you all your money is gone.

I've had to use it once when somebody sold me fake concert tickets, and it was a piece of cake to get my money back. There was a short investigation for a couple weeks and then they credited back my money.

The only thing I've heard is that the seller can sometimes get screwed since Paypal will almost always side with the buyer.

So for instance if some idiot buyer bids on something that's clearly marked as non-working and didn't read the listing, they could force their way to a refund, and the seller has to deal with the hassle.

I suppose a seller could close the account linked to their Paypal, which would probably restrict the refund from being sent, but I can't imagine that happens very often. If the seller has good feedback, you can be pretty certain they won't pull any BS.

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ka-la

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I'll give you a three examples of what I'd do on a budget (tried to keep it very low but went a bit over 500}

1. Intel i3 + HD770 + 22" Display:

1.png

2. AMD APU A10 5800K + 8GB DDR3 1600 + HD6670 (for hybrid crossfire with 7660D) + 22" Display

2.png

3. AMD Setup without HD6670, but with 24" Display. The integrated HD7660D is pretty powerful for baisc gaming and hybrid crossfire can be added later on

3.png

Items were choosen from http://www.overclock...co.uk/index.php because it seemed to have a good stock (since im not from UK I dont know much shops there and Ebuyer did not seem to have what I wanted)

Should also be noted that FM2 should live for one more generation while Intel will not.

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xKratosx

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Thank you so much for the builds ka-la! I've just managed to source an old (but good!) i5-750 which he will hopefully be really happy with... already got the 8GB RAM too (though it's only 1333mhz)

Really like the PSU (modular ftw), case and SSD drives you've picked out though (the OCZ one is very tempting!) so many thanks for putting together a spec that falls nicely in line with the budget :) Love those Samsung monitors too, will hopefully be able to stretch to a 24" but I'm sure he'd be happy with the 22" also

Any recommendations for a cheap motherboard with 4xRAM slots that supports the i5-750 btw?

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Grand Master

Chicane-UK Veteran

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eBay is fine - just buy from people with extensive positive feedback who've been members for a long time. Easiest way to be sure you'll deal with someone who knows how to treat their customers well.

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xKratosx

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Thank you Chicane :) I'll keep an eye on Ebay then too!

Also can I just say a HUGE thank you to Anaron for helping me massively with something via PM, you're a star :)

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Grand Master

cacoe

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Also, curious as to what people's thoughts are on geting an older card? ie the 5870?

http://www.hwcompare...radeon-hd-7850/

http://www.anandtech...duct/549?vs=511

fwiw there is zero chance it will be overclocked

Thank you :)

Can get a 5870 for ?65 delivered... worth it?

The 5xxx series used a lot of juice and got pretty damn hot (and noisy). You're better to start at the 6xxx series but with the cost of the 7xxx series being so low, you might as well start there

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Grand Master

tsupersonic

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Thanks nekkid! That's a cracking site :D

Am I right in thinking that any LGA1156 motherboard will support the i5-750, and DDR 1333mhz RAM?

Yes, the LGA1156 socket will support i5 750. This is the first gen Core i series.

Found this, but it says 2nd generation i processors? http://www.amazon.co...62747128&sr=8-5

2nd generation Core i series have 4 digits - and usually start with a i(3,5,7) 2xxx[k]. The third generation Core i series have 4 digits - starts with a Core i(3,5,7) 3xxx[k]. The first gen Core i series had 3 digits (ex: Core i5 750, Core i7 860, etc.). It gets more complicated, but you can pair up the processor and the motherboard easily. Just ask here or google.
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xKratosx

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Ah, thank you! I think I've made a huge mistake with the i5-750 CPU - it's almost impossible to find a new motherboard for it for less than ?200, argh! They're very hard to come by used as well...!

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