Building a gaming desktop (less than 1k)

[MrExile]

Hi all,

I wanna build a decent gaming pc, able to play civ 5, total war Rome II, watchdogs etc without any reasonable crashes or lag.

However I have a budget constraint and would not like to spend more than 1k excluding the monitor.

Thinking of going down to simlim to build one. It would be my first time building a desktop so please give me your valuable advices, thank you

 

[Alternative X]

CPU+ Mobo: ASROCK H81M-HDS + i5 4460 (312)
RAM: CRUCIAL PC 12800/1600MHZ DDR3 VALUE RAM (8GB) (101)
GPU: POWER COLOR R9 270 2GB TURBODUO (259)
HDD: TOSHIBA 1TB 7200RPM (69)
DVD-RW: LG 24X DVD-RW SATA OEM (25)
PSU: THERMALTAKE SMART SE 530W (75)
Case: CM 311 ATX CASE (50)
OS: WINDOWS 7 HOME PREM (120)

Total cost: $1011

Buy at PC Themes, #04-15, and ask for discounts. DIY yourself. If you can't into DIY, go to PC Care & Solution at #02-32 and ask Nigel to help you assemble for a fee.

Notes:

1) This rig is highly likely to be only capable of playing your games at medium-high settings.

2) KB and mice not included.

3) Any parts from your old computer that can be reused into this rig to cut costs?

 

[royfrosty]

1k or below

ASRock h81m hds + i5-4460 ~ $299
Crucial 8gb 1600mhz value ram ~ $100
Plextor m6s 128gb ~ 104
Powercolor r9 270 2gb + FSP Hexa 500w 80+ ~ $298 (bundle deal)
Xigmatek recon ~ $45
LG DVD drive ~ $21
Windows 7 home premium 64bit oem ~ $115

Total $982. Buy at tradepac. Diy

Note no hdd but an ssd is used instead to reduce load time of maps. And flawless transitions civ 5 during map loading and also less lag.

 

[Alternative X]

1k or below

ASRock h81m hds + i5-4460 ~ $299
Crucial 8gb 1600mhz value ram ~ $100
Plextor m6s 128gb ~ 104
Powercolor r9 270 2gb + FSP Hexa 500w 80+ ~ $298 (bundle deal)
Xigmatek recon ~ $45
LG DVD drive ~ $21
Windows 7 home premium 64bit oem ~ $115

Total $982. Buy at tradepac. Diy

Note no hdd but an ssd is used instead to reduce load time of maps. And flawless transitions civ 5 during map loading and also less lag.

He got enough space for games meh? TS wants to play so many games and games nowadays eat up so much space, I scared 128GB not enough.

 

[Felfirez]

He got enough space for games meh? TS wants to play so many games and games nowadays eat up so much space, I scared 128GB not enough.

According to his request, ssd will meet his requirements. Just need to install one or two games at a time.

 

[royfrosty]

Honestly 128gb may not be enough if user keep installing games and not removing it once completed.

There are games nowadays either by steam, ubisoft or origin all save files also stored in cloud. Uninstalling should not be an issue as if there is really a need to playback, any time he can choose to download back and re play again with save files all intact.

Of cause 256gb and above would be a sweet spot.

 

[Peach Tea]

Ssd and mobo best is firm up and decide before commit.
Else next time want to change ish really mafan.

Rest of parts can slowly upgrade once budget allow

 

[JustAnotherTroll]

i suggest get 1tb hdd instead of 128gb ssd. really too small size for comfort.

 

[MrExile]

i suggest get 1tb hdd instead of 128gb ssd. really too small size for comfort.

Is there a huge noticeable difference between the Hdd and ssd? Sorry, it noob here

 

[royfrosty]

Is there a huge noticeable difference between the Hdd and ssd? Sorry, it noob here

Yes there is.

For overall responsive of OS.

Boot up time for SSD can range from as fast as 2secs (Win 8.1) to 10secs.

Civ 5 load time reduces drastically. Unlike HDD still loading even after loaded into map.

Some MMORPG SSD load maps instant. Unlike HDD will take time to load and at times may be sluggish. Some games like Diablo 3 can mean life or death especially spawning at Waypoints.

Some FPS games loading do not need to wait for all players. Once loaded, you can pick your weapon and move out. Unlike HDD players you may need to wait and MAY feel sluggish once loaded into game play. Like BF4. Take a amour vehicle and roll out. HDD probably being a poor sluggish foot soldier.

Some games may not benefit, such as StarCraft 2 and Dota 2. Or generally any games that may need to wait for opponents. Most likely strategy games.

 

[Alternative X]

Is there a huge noticeable difference between the Hdd and ssd? Sorry, it noob here

SSDs offers very fast boot up speeds and allows you to load your games very quickly. Unfortunately, SSDs are relatively expensive and under your budget, you can afford at most a 128GB SSD which places a servere restriction on your storage space.

By the way, do you have any old computers in your house?

 

[Yureak]

Is there a huge noticeable difference between the Hdd and ssd? Sorry, it noob here

Why not stretch just that slight bit to get a hdd + your 128 ssd. The diff is heaven and earth

 

[BryanWu]

From roy's recommendation, just top up $48 to a 256GB SSD

ASRock h81m hds + i5-4460 ~ $299
Crucial 8gb 1600mhz value ram ~ $100
Crucial MX100 256GB ~ $155
Powercolor r9 270 2gb + FSP Hexa 500w 80+ ~ $298 (bundle deal)
Xigmatek recon ~ $45
LG DVD drive ~ $21
Windows 7 home premium 64bit oem ~ $115

Total: $1033

there's enough space to hold the games you're playing.
uninstall them after you're done to free up space for new games.
You can always add additional HDDs in the future if you need to store more data.

 

[MrExile]

SSDs offers very fast boot up speeds and allows you to load your games very quickly. Unfortunately, SSDs are relatively expensive and under your budget, you can afford at most a 128GB SSD which places a servere restriction on your storage space.

By the way, do you have any old computers in your house?

Nope, I only have a lot of laptops in my house, the last desktop we had was thrown away awhile back, why?

 

[MrExile]

From roy's recommendation, just top up $48 to a 256GB SSD



Total: $1033

there's enough space to hold the games you're playing.
uninstall them after you're done to free up space for new games.
You can always add additional HDDs in the future if you need to store more data.

I think I'll go with this and stretch a bit more to put in a Hdd too, how much more would it cost to add an extra Hdd?

 

[Taveren]

I think I'll go with this and stretch a bit more to put in a Hdd too, how much more would it cost to add an extra Hdd?

Around 80-100 for a WD 1TB

 

[royfrosty]

I think I'll go with this and stretch a bit more to put in a Hdd too, how much more would it cost to add an extra Hdd?

$67 for WD Blue 1tb

 

[shadow84]

$67 for wd blue. If u buy full rig, u can get it cheaper...

Damn, roy faster den me... haha...

 

[Alternative X]

Nope, I only have a lot of laptops in my house, the last desktop we had was thrown away awhile back, why?

I was hoping that you can take out the old HDDs from the old laptops and reuse the HDDs in your new rig to give you more storage space as you have a very tight budget.

 

[shadow84]

I was hoping that you can take out the old HDDs from the old laptops and reuse the HDDs in your new rig to give you more storage space as you have a very tight budget.

Not that recommended as laptop is old, hdd wear and tear till jialat le... if for temp use, den its ok. But will b mafan if need to transfer over. Better to top up budget and get new.

Besides laptop hdd is around 320-500gb, may nt be enough.