Low budget semi-gaming pc

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System error

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Hi guys. The title says it all. I'm lookin to get a gaming pc but my budgets really low. [Like 2 to 3.5k] I'm willing to go 4k for the absolute maximum. I don't need something that can play everything in HD, just a system that can actually handle most games. I'm not really into graphics, more gameplay itself. I'm willing to go without the monitor since i have a 22" LCD, but it'd be cool if that was included.
 
System error said:
Hi guys. The title says it all. I'm lookin to get a gaming pc but my budgets really low. [Like 2 to 3.5k] I'm willing to go 4k for the absolute maximum. I don't need something that can play everything in HD, just a system that can actually handle most games. I'm not really into graphics, more gameplay itself. I'm willing to go without the monitor since i have a 22" LCD, but it'd be cool if that was included.
Click to expand...

AMD BUDGET GAMING COMPUTER
MI-2 ATX GAMING CASE WITH 500W PSU
2 GIG DDR2 MEMORY
AMD AM2 NFORCE MOTHERBOARD
AMD AM2 ATHLON X2 5000 2.2 GHZ CPU
GEFORCE 9400GT 512MB GRAPHICS CARD
SAMSUNG DVD WRITER 22X SATA
500 GIG SATA HARD DRIVE 7200RPM
22 INCH LCD MONITOR
PS2 KEYBOARD
PS2 OPTICAL MOUSE
SPEAKERS
http://vtechnologies.co.za/computerspecial.html

R4300 a bit out of your budget but not too bad either

EVETECH also have special

Entry-Level AMD Gamer
Standard Features Include:
AMD Athlon™ II X4 630 2.8GHz Quad Core CPU
AMD™ TA740G Chipset Motherboard
ATI Radeon HD 4650 1GB DDR2 Graphics Card
Standard Black Case
Seagate 250GB SATA 2 7200rpm Hard Drive
2GB (1 x 2GB) 800Mhz DDR2 RAM
Standard 400W Power Supply
22x Dual Layer DVD +/- Writer
2 Front and 4 Back USB Ports
Integrated 6.1 CH HD Sound Card
10/100 Integrated Ethernet (LAN) Card -Broadband Ready
OpenOffice & Nero
LCD and OS Optional
24 Months Return to base warranty
http://www.evetech.co.za/Computer-s...ri-core-custom-built-budget-gaming-pc-53.aspx
R3999.00 Only if you pay via EFT, otherwise price is R4199.00

Custom PC
AMD Athlon™ II X4 630 2.8GHz Quad Core CPU
AMD™ TA740G Chipset AM3 Motherboard
ATI Radeon™ HD3200 Share Up to 700MB onboard Graphics
2GB (1 x 2GB) 800Mhz DDR2 RAM
Seagate 250GB SATA 2 7200rpm Hard Drive
22x Dual Layer DVD +/- Writer
2 Front and 4 Back USB Ports
Integrated 6.1 Channel Sound Car
6 x Serial ATAII 3.0Gb/s devices
10/100 LAN - Broadband Ready
Nero 8 Essential
Black Case 400W Power Supply
PCI Express x16 Graphics Slot
LCD and OS Optional
24 Months Return to base warranty
http://www.evetech.co.za/Computer-systems/amd-quad-core-custom-built-desktop-computer-29.aspx
R 3,299.00 only via EFT otherwise pay R 3,463.95
 
Athlon II 630 as a processor. Should be a grand for a 2.8Ghz quad core.

An AthlonII 435 is also a good option and a couple hundred bucks cheaper.

A 785 board is under a grand.

A 5670 graphics card is also about a grand.

Get two gigs ram for now should be R400.

Get a 500gig HDD for 400.

Then maybe get a case with a built in power supply for the rest of the cash.

I'd strongly recommend getting a coolermaster 390watt or 460watt though.
 
Thnx for the replies ppl. I'm lovin that custom AMD from evetech. I was wondering, would it be worth it getting an upgrade bundle (cpu+ram+motherboard etc...) and adding a graphics card. If so, are there any places with decent deals on 'em?
 
System error said:
Thnx for the replies ppl. I'm lovin that custom AMD from evetech. I was wondering, would it be worth it getting an upgrade bundle (cpu+ram+motherboard etc...) and adding a graphics card. If so, are there any places with decent deals on 'em?
Click to expand...

EVETECH Athlon Bundle pack
Standard Features Include:
AMD Athlon™ II X2 250 3.0GHz (6.0 GHz) Dual Core 2MB Cache CPU
AMD™ TA740G Chipset AM3 Motherboard
ATI Radeon™ HD3200 Share Up to 700MB onboard Graphics
2GB (1 x 2GB) 800Mhz DDR2 RAM
1 x DVI Connector 1 x VGA Port (Supports Dual Monitors)
Integrated 6.1 Channel Sound Card
6 x Serial ATAII 3.0Gb/s devices
Gigabit LAN - Broadband Ready
12 Months Return to base warranty
Click to expand...
http://w.evetech.co.za/Computer-systems/evetech-amd-athlon-bundle-pack-38.aspx
Price: R1618.09 via EFT, cash R1699.00

Vision Technologies
AMD ATHLON X2 5000 2.2 GHZ CPU
AMD AM2 MOTHERBOARD NFORCE
1 GIG MEMORY DDR2
GEFORCE 7100GS 128MB PCI EXPRESS
NOW ONLY R1240.00 INC VAT
Click to expand...
AMD ATHLON X2 5000 2.2 GHZ CPU
AMD AM2 NFORCE MOTHERBOARD
1 GIG MEMORY DDR2
ONBOARD GEFORCE GRAPHICS
R999.00 INC VAT
Click to expand...
INTEL LGA775 2.8 GHZ CPU
INTEL P45 MOTHERBOARD
2 GIG MEMORY DDR2
GEFORCE 7100GS 128MB VGA CARD
R1299.00
Click to expand...
http://vtechnologies.co.za/generalspecial.html
 
Im building cheapo x3 440 system this week, pointless splurging with bulldozer here end of year;) Cpu mb and 2gb ram comes in a shade under R2000. Will post some scores and some others you could gauge the system by.

Ps tomshardware touts the 440 as a sub $100 (R750 before import?) that competes extremely well against and occasionally beating other cpus up to $130. They also have an article which attempts to pair an equivalently spec'd gpu to a cpu (either would be the bottleneck)
 
Hi guys,

As I am also in the market for a new PC, been reading through this thread and a few things caught my attention.

http://www.evetech.co.za/Professional-PCs.aspx shows the AMD Phenom™ II X3 Triple-Core Processor outperform the AMD Athlon™ II X4 Quad-Core Processor. Is that accurate? Would this be the best bet for say, Photoshop? How would it cope with gaming?

Thanks

Edit: Scratch that, I called them and confirmed - the performance indicators are relevant to the class each PC is in.
 
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Err sorry, I guess i should've mentioned earlier where i'm from. Well, rather late than never. I''m from CT, so anywhere that's based here would be fine. Also, i was seriously considering building up my own PC. I believe it'd be a bit more expensive, but wouldn't it make up for that with better performance? And what about the O/S? How many years do think XP has before games stop supporting it? Because i doubt that i'll be able to fork out the cash for 7. (don't want vista, too many bad stories about it). Once again, thanks for the feedback guys!
 
XP will still be with us for some time. Dunno about things like directx11 support though. You can always change the OS later though.
 
Since you have a monitor i'll suppose you have a pc at this moment. Will you be selling that one to cover costs? If not give their current details so we can see which parts can be cannibalised for a new system (this implies you may have to build it yourself, but it'd result in a much better pc end of day).

otherwise see Qwikslver's post if you want to future proof yourself (altho i'll bet my bottom dollar he's sitting with a supplier's pricelist so add 10%). Early next year's gonna be a bumper time for pc enthusiasts:D
If that's too expensive, news24's got your deal.

Feel free to ask any question in this forum if you opting to build your own pc.

PS check the classifieds section here, there might be something for you
 
I'd rather prefer not to sell my old pc at this time (i don't think i'd get much for it anyway). Everything besides maybe the psu is fairly old. Its specs are as follows: Intel celeron D 3.06 GHz cpu, 512mb ram, MSI Intel 865GV motherboard, MS windows XP pro OS, 500w psu and 160gig (2 x 80gb) hard drive.
 
Well then i suggest using parts of your current pc to build a new one. Granted some of your current components will gather dust somewhere in a dark lonely place, but such is the sacrifice of progress.
Use chassis, power supply and your hdds (hopefully sata, but if IDE just buy a mobo supporting IDE).

AMD: 2gb ram + (am3) mobo = R1300. Couple with either x2 250/x2 550/x3 440/x4 630 for a grand total of R2050/R2250/R2300/R2450
Intel: 2gb ram + lga1156 mobo = R1450 with G6950/i3-530 for grand total of R2350/R2700
prices are estimates for retailers, you may be able to source these cheaper, for instance www.prophecy.co.za

Since its gaming, gfx the major deal breaker. at least HD4850 at 1200(from above link) would be kinda fine at 1024x768 and 1280x1024 in most games(target 40+fps per game).

I'd go with x3 440 system with the 4850. Comes in at R3450 for 2gb ddr3 ram (futureproof) + mobo (futureproof kinda) + cpu + gpu. Im pretty sure you'll be happy with this system on your budget. If you can, go for a more powerful dx11 gpu, also futureproofing yourself.

for more info check prices on prophecy then compare here and here
 
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Just to comment on the 4850, i'm using to run a 1900 x 1200 screen and it handles all the newer games at 1600x1200 almost all max such at metro, GTA IV, but except crysis haha..
 
Well you do have a good overclocked cpu, chances are the 4850's overclocked too;)
 
haha on the contrary it's not.. just to lazy :D gunna be buying a 5850 soon
EDIT: Ok now i am lolz.. 700mhz core and 1050mhz ram
 
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I just want to know.. Why is everyone going for AMD? What about intel? Their i3, i5, i7?

(I did notice someone mentioning about the quad core.. :P)
 
I think the thing is if you want a quad core, your choices are either i5 750 @ R1900 (retail) or the core2quad @ R1400-R3200 or i7 @ >R2500... core2 quad is old tech so it's blah to most ppl as you cant upgrade cpu later on..
Where you have AMD's quads (phenom2 and athlones x4) from R1200- R2000 with an easy upgrade to hex core if needed. So so price and longevity prevails .


**BACK TO TOPIC**
I'd personally go with with the athlone x4 system like this: http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/4061/lowbudget.png little pricey at R4400 for your budget, quote from rebeltech but you can upgrade easy in the future...
went with am3 mobo, so ddr3 and athlone x4.. This way you can go hex in the future and get more ram if needed... should last you long.. Gf card might need replacing in 2years... you could even get a cheaper psu.. Doubt that will even need a 400+ wat. Could get away with a 300 i'm sure..
Could get most of the stuff cheaper if you bought direct from suppliers.. But not every one has those friends :)
 
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