PC build on a $350 budget possible?

Daniel Dukai

Daniel Dukai

Member
My current desktop is an i3-2100 with a pretty basic ASUS motherboard, 8 gigs of RAM, and a Radeon graphics card (can't remember exactly which one). I bought it approximately 4 years ago. It cost me $350 and I was mostly happy with it. The only thing that didn't really work out was the Realtek soundcard, and the front ports for the sound and USB malfunctioned very soon. So it was a mixed bag.

Now, I realize that 2 cores don't really cut it anymore, so I am looking to buy a 4 core build, but not from the 7th generation. Maybe from the 5th or 4th. Granted, I have no experience or knowledge of the hardware available and I have been out of the loop for a long time. So I could use some advice.

What I want to do with the rig:
- Possibly play DOOM without any lag (not on the highest settings)
- Have the option to play modern games (2013 and later)

I am not sure if I can fit this into such a small budget though. I already have a monitor, keyboard, etc. I just need the tower.

So the starting point:
- Intel i5 series processor (4th/5th/6th generation)
- Matching motherboard to house 4 to 8 gigs of RAM (maybe transferred over from the old rig, I will post details later), and a graphics card
- Graphics card that is still relevant
- HDD 1,000GB+ to install software. I store my media on a portable drive.
- Do you buy sound cards or just use the integrated sound? (Realtek is really bad for me, having a lot of problems, like crackles and pops, and stuttering)

Thanks for reading, and I am listening. :)
 
Calin

Calin

Well-Known Member
If you want a decent graphics card in that budget, you can't really fit an i5 in there. I made this partlist. I went with a Haswell i3 so that you can reuse your old DDR3 RAM, a decent RX 460, a 1Tb HDD as you requested and a PSU since I'm pretty sure the one you have right now is pretty bad. And I personally don't recommend soundcards, especially for budget builds. I always used the motherboard onboard sound
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4160 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor ($108.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-E33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($44.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.33 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon RX 460 2GB Red Dragon Video Card ($93.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($43.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $341.18
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-02-08 05:25 EST-0500
 
johnb35

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
Don't get an I3 if you want 4 cores. I3's are only dual core but with 4 threads. You could just find a used 2500k cpu and throw it in there. What exact motherboard do you have?
 
D

Deadpool

Active Member
Very few 4 core builds around that budget, considering you throw all away your old stuff. This is the cheapest thing I can think of (you still need to add a card, consider another $150-250):

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 845 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($67.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock FM2A88X PRO3+ ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($60.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: *Mushkin ECO2 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($45.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: *Hitachi Ultrastar 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($37.77 @ Amazon)
Case: *Xion XON-350_BK ATX Mid Tower Case ($28.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($35.49 @ OutletPC)
Total: $277.19
 
Daniel Dukai

Daniel Dukai

Member
johnb35 said:
What exact motherboard do you have?
Click to expand...

I would have replied sooner, but I had to look this up, since I rarely look at my specs. What I know for sure:
CPU - Intel i3-2100 3.10Ghz
MB - Asus P8H61-MX
RAM - 8GB (DDR3)
Graph card - I think it was an AMD Radeon card...Sapphire perhaps (but I haven't seen this name actually anywhere) can't remember much else about it. I don't have this PC with me. I am using a laptop.

Deadpool said:
Very few 4 core builds around that budget, considering you throw all away your old stuff. This is the cheapest thing I can think of (you still need to add a card, consider another $150-250):

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 845 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($67.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock FM2A88X PRO3+ ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($60.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: *Mushkin ECO2 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($45.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: *Hitachi Ultrastar 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($37.77 @ Amazon)
Case: *Xion XON-350_BK ATX Mid Tower Case ($28.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($35.49 @ OutletPC)
Total: $277.19
Click to expand...

I have been advised before to stay away from AMD processors because they are just worse. Also, my brother and I have a long tradition of using only Intel computers. :D Can't remember having AMD... maybe once. Maybe... It's been more than 20 years.

Well, if you think that I should increase my budget. What should it be? Is $600 a better budget for at least an i5 build with a decent GPU?
 
D

Deadpool

Active Member
Daniel Dukai said:
I would have replied sooner, but I had to look this up, since I rarely look at my specs. What I know for sure:
CPU - Intel i3-2100 3.10Ghz
MB - Asus P8H61-MX
RAM - 8GB (DDR3)
Graph card - I think it was an AMD Radeon card...Sapphire perhaps (but I haven't seen this name actually anywhere) can't remember much else about it. I don't have this PC with me. I am using a laptop.



I have been advised before to stay away from AMD processors because they are just worse. Also, my brother and I have a long tradition of using only Intel computers. :D Can't remember having AMD... maybe once. Maybe... It's been more than 20 years.

Well, if you think that I should increase my budget. What should it be? Is $600 a better budget for at least an i5 build with a decent GPU?
Click to expand...

AMD is a poor choice when you have a big budget. They are not bad just because they are AMD. It's just outdated now. At least the FX series. An I5 setup would require $700-1000.
 
Daniel Dukai

Daniel Dukai

Member
Then I have another question regarding the long term use of my PC:
- Should I go for a later generation i3 build or an earlier generation i5 build? (As in, what should be best if I don't plan on buying another PC for at least 5 years)

EDIT:
You could just find a used 2500k cpu and throw it in there.
Click to expand...
Well, I haven't thought about that actually. Is it a good idea if I want to squeeze some more use out of my build? Is the hardware still good?
 
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D

Deadpool

Active Member
Daniel Dukai said:
Then I have another question regarding the long term use of my PC:
- Should I go for a later generation i3 build or an earlier generation i5 build? (As in, what should be best if I don't plan on buying another PC for at least 5 years)

EDIT:

Well, I haven't thought about that actually. Is it a good idea if I want to squeeze some more use out of my build? Is the hardware still good?
Click to expand...

Don´t think that because you are getting older generations you are gonna pay less. Buying new units of old CPUs can even be more expensive. Latest generations always come with perks, such as newer RAM (DDR4 vs DDR3) and lower power consumptions.

This is what a good I5 build would look like:

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/Krtyyf
 
johnb35

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
Daniel Dukai said:
Well, I haven't thought about that actually. Is it a good idea if I want to squeeze some more use out of my build? Is the hardware still good?
Click to expand...
Really all depends on how much money you want to spend. You'll see a huge difference if you were to just swap in a 2500k or 2600k cpu. Buy on ebay for $70. http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/162386039675?lpid=82&chn=ps&ul_noapp=true

Then just tell us what exact video card you have and we could tell you what to upgrade to.
 
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Daniel Dukai

Daniel Dukai

Member
I will consider Deadpool's last advice. Should I change the motherboard too? Will something bottleneck the performance?
 
D

Deadpool

Active Member
Daniel Dukai said:
I will consider Deadpool's last advice. Should I change the motherboard too? Will something bottleneck the performance?
Click to expand...

Not at all. The 2600K is still a very good CPU. The 2500K is almost the same when it comes to performance, only it doesn't have HT. So I'd say you get whichever you find cheaper. I wouldn't change the motherboard. If you really don't want to overclock I'd get the 2600. Although It's a little bit worse without OC.

Maybe just look at the prices you find and write back? We may be able to help you with it. By the way, did you find out your motherboard's model?
 
johnb35

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
Gonna cheap no matter what now because they aren't sold in stores anymore. Just saying. Hopefully he can find something since he is overseas in Europe.
 
D

Deadpool

Active Member
johnb35 said:
Gonna cheap no matter what now because they aren't sold in stores anymore. Just saying. Hopefully he can find something since he is overseas in Europe.
Click to expand...

Yeah. I meant getting one cheap from a friend or something. Whatever he gets is gonna be a major improvement over that I3.
 
beers

beers

Moderator
Staff member
You can snag a i5-3330 or maybe 3470 pretty easily off of the ebays for under $50.

What specific GPU do you have ? 'still relevant' could very likely be a misnomer.
 
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