Need a new PC, any suggestions? ($400)

[SGT.MARCO]

Well due to a recent computer death, RIP, I am in now in pocession of a working

• Mouse
• headset
• keyboard
• video card (GTS 450)
• $400

I am in need of a new RIG, I know nothing about PC's so i am going to the experts...the PR community. all i have is a less than $400 price range.

i am in need of a computer that can...

1. Run BF2 R well
2. Run Arma: PR

I dont wont to run myself broke, so if you have a PC or a built Rig that worked for cheap, please help me.

I also have $75 to best buy, but i will most likely buy from NewEgg

[Shovel]

Amazon.com: Acer AS7551G-6477 17.3-Inch Laptop (Mesh Black): Computer & Accessories
^Just bought this one for $500, but the price changes like crazy, as of now it's $700, but watch it for about a month and it will go down. Also, it runs PR Maxed out and can run Arma 2 well too.

[SGT.MARCO]

looks nice, hopefully it will go down in price

[killonsight95]

build one.... seriously with $400 you can build a pretty good PC, mine cost me around 500 and can run crysis 2 max, PR max, pretty much msot modern game max except for ArmA 2.

[Snazz]

What specific parts do you need?

You've already mentioned you have a graphics card but what about:
- Case
- PSU
- Motherboard
- CPU
- RAM
- Optical drive
- Hard drive

If you've only lost a few parts from the PC "dieing" it makes sense to find out exactly which parts and replace them yourself, rather than buying a whole new prebuilt system. Particularly as you already have desktop peripherals and a decent discrete graphics card to use.

Laptops are convenient for their mobility but expensive to fix and have very limited upgrade options, they're also inherently poor for gaming because of the heat, power consumption and size of decent hardware. I had a laptop that could run BF2 when it came out and the graphics chip ended up frying from prolonged gaming use, it would of cost $600 to fix and by that time the technology was significantly outdated anyway.

[RikiRude]

instead of making a new thread, does anyone know how laptops that can run BF2, TF2, L4D, company of heroes, at low/mid settings for under $300? i have a PC that is great, but I'm looking into getting a laptop to DJ with until I get enough 45s to DJ with and I figure I might as well get a laptop that can run some of my favorite games when I'm out and about.

[MoosPalangDawgz]

YouTube - computer that can run crysis for $400

check description

[Jigsaw]

Moved to the correct forum section.

[rushn]

build one a lot cheaper and more reliable

Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, HDTV, Electronics and Cameras!

if you are not sure about the parts i can try and find you some intel right now is ahead with their core i3 and core i7 chips
( AMD is also viable as it is cheaper and more price per buck)
and for gpu i would go ATI 5 or 6 series( Nvidia is alright too but they will be a little bit more expensive)

[Snazz]

and for gpu i would go ATI 5 or 6 series( Nvidia is alright too but they will be a little bit more expensive)

He said he already has a GTS 450, an Nvidia GPU that only costs around $100, is more than enough for PR and should run ArmAII sufficiently provided his CPU and HDD are decent.

[Pedz]

So what he needs is:

Motherboard
PSU (Power supply)
CPU (Central processing unit)
RAM (possibly use the old stuff? dependent on what type, DDR2 or DDR3)

He has:
GPU
Optical Drives (If he doesn't I would be majorly suprised how he did anything on his old one..)
HDD's (Same as the above...)
Fans
Case (these last two will save the extra money and let it be spent on the important hardware).


My suggestions:

PSU (Power supply): Newegg.com - Antec EarthWatts EA650 650W Continuous Power ATX12V Ver.2.2 / EPS12V version 2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC "compatible with Core i7/Core i5" Power Supply $74.99
CPU (Central processing unit): Newegg.com - Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K $224.99
Motherboard + RAM : Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, LED LCD TV, Digital Cameras and more! $200.98

OK I am $100 over budget I know, but it depends if your PSU is re-usable and or ram.

[SGT.MARCO]

So what he needs is:

Motherboard
PSU (Power supply)
CPU (Central processing unit)
RAM (possibly use the old stuff? dependent on what type, DDR2 or DDR3)

He has:
GPU
Optical Drives (If he doesn't I would be majorly suprised how he did anything on his old one..)
HDD's (Same as the above...)
Fans
Case (these last two will save the extra money and let it be spent on the important hardware).


My suggestions:

PSU (Power supply): Newegg.com - Antec EarthWatts EA650 650W Continuous Power ATX12V Ver.2.2 / EPS12V version 2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC "compatible with Core i7/Core i5" Power Supply $74.99
CPU (Central processing unit): Newegg.com - Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K $224.99
Motherboard + RAM : Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, LED LCD TV, Digital Cameras and more! $200.98

OK I am $100 over budget I know, but it depends if your PSU is re-usable and or ram.

I had an HP pavilion A6112n, all parts beside the hard drive should be reusableHP Pavilion a6112n Desktop PC Product Specifications HP Pavilion a6112n Desktop PC - HP Customer Care (United States - English)

[Pedz]

Ok personally I wouldn't reuse any but the PSU which should be good to go for another run as long as it is not proprietary. However use my selection as a base point, shop around possibly go for the cheaper i5-2400 intel processor as its cheaper (wont be able to overclock it, hence why I chose the 2500k, the k denoting it is overclockable). As you can see im from GB so i dont know any of the good sites to buy from in the US amazingly , so that parts up to you.

[SGT.MARCO]

Well I have been searching and i have found this computer here:Newegg.com - HP Pavilion s5710f (BV627AA#ABA) Athlon II X2 260(3.2GHz) 3GB DDR3 640GB HDD Capacity ATI Radeon HD 3000 Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit and i noticed the 3.2GHz which is suppose to be good right, i am wondering why it is soo cheap. if i hook more RAM and my GTS 450 to it. will that do the trick to run arma 2 medium maybe?

[Pedz]

Short answer: it will just, but it is overpriced already...

Long answer: That processor is a Dual core (hence the x2) and to play arma 2 on med-high you want a quad core and thats expensive for a dual core machine with no GPU.. The best thing to do would be to buy parts, and it is not hard to put a pc together as long as you get the right bits...

[Incognito84]

You can get decent motherboard/CPU/RAM for $400. I got a i5-2500k Sandybridge, an P67 Pro 3 motherboard and 4GB of RIPJAWS DDR3 RAM for around $400, however you need a PSU as well which is going to set you back an additional $200 or so.

I'd recommend waiting for a few paycheques before buying a new rig. If you want something that can run PR: Arma 2 well added on to what you have already, you're going to need around $600 or so, I think.

One thing you should consider is going on Craigslist and searching for used gaming towers or used parts.

[SGT.MARCO]

Short answer: it will just, but it is overpriced already...

Long answer: That processor is a Dual core (hence the x2) and to play arma 2 on med-high you want a quad core and thats expensive for a dual core machine with no GPU.. The best thing to do would be to buy parts, and it is not hard to put a pc together as long as you get the right bits...

well i found that i could actually get the same PC for around $100 CHEAPER, BUT ONLY UNTIL SATURDAY. HP Pavilion Slimline s5710f Desktop PC | Staples? it as a 3.2GHz which i heard was good, I thought that dual vs. quad was just the amount of cooling required. well im willing to go Low-med because of the deal and so i was wondering whether it would be worthy to get now, and attach another gig of ram to make it 4 GB. I need to know quickly. as long as I can get a good constant FPS on Arma 2 R or ACE, my old system was around 2.1 ghz and it ran alright but not so online. hopefully the extra 1.1GHz will actually help me play online smoother.

so what do u say?

[Pedz]

dual vs quad is much more than cooling, your getting twice the processors... however buying components at such a small price is not my ground as I am more inclined towards the higher specs and higher prices in order to keep it for longer.

[SGT.MARCO]

dual vs quad is much more than cooling, your getting twice the processors... however buying components at such a small price is not my ground as I am more inclined towards the higher specs and higher prices in order to keep it for longer.

I know quad core may be better but about $100 more. I am not worried about having the most high tech PC, just something to where i can comfortably play online in Arma 2. doesn't have to be TOP QUALITY. I just want to know weather the PC i showed you would be a comfortable experience and not extreme LAG.

EDIT: i actually found a Quad-core processor and i want to know if this Newegg.com - AMD Athlon II X4 640 Propus 3.0GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor ADX640WFGMBOX processor will fit the computer
HP Pavilion Slimline s5710f Desktop PC | Staples?

that should solve the processor problem, i can save up to buy it after this PC

[Pedz]

I know quad core may be better but about $100 more. I am not worried about having the most high tech PC, just something to where i can comfortably play online in Arma 2. doesn't have to be TOP QUALITY. I just want to know weather the PC i showed you would be a comfortable experience and not extreme LAG.

EDIT: i actually found a Quad-core processor and i want to know if this Newegg.com - AMD Athlon II X4 640 Propus 3.0GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor ADX640WFGMBOX processor will fit the computer
HP Pavilion Slimline s5710f Desktop PC | Staples?

that should solve the processor problem, i can save up to buy it after this PC

I cant view the second link as it requires a zip code, of which I don't have =] As long as the processor for that computer has AM3 in there somewhere, it will fit.

Also I have to say I am not 100% in this area as I stated before, I will never be able to recommend a pc that will barely play arma 2 or any such similar game as I have not tried and tested it myself(as I normally save up a few years, get a ?1000 pc and let it run till it dies, around 4-5 years)