PC Pleb needs your help

Mattels07

Mattels07

New Member
Trying to build a PC, and I need help from someone who knows something about computers. I found a deal on craigslist and the guy is selling:

- I5-3570K processor with stock cooler
- ASROCK H61M/US3S MicroATX Motherboard
- Corsair 8GB DDR3 RAM

He is asking 150 - but I talked him down to 120. Is this a good deal? I am just looking for something starting out that I could pair with a nice graphics card and have a mid-tier gaming PC.

Thanks!
 
johnb35

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
Thats a steal but I would be leary with craigslist ads. The cpu alone is still probably worth $150-175 bucks.
 
Mattels07

Mattels07

New Member
johnb35 said:
Thats a steal but I would be leary with craigslist ads. The cpu alone is still probably worth $150-175 bucks.
Click to expand...
Well looking past the chance that this guy will just gut me in the Wal-Mart parking lot when we meet - is this a good foundation for a decent PC for gaming?
 
Mattels07

Mattels07

New Member
Okay... So I met up with the guy, and he didn't plunge a steak knife into my heart and steal my car - so I am counting that as a win. I ended up making the deal with him, and now am the proud owner(pictures attached). What do I need to pair this with to make a "respectable" gaming PC? I appreciate the help so far!


image1.JPG IMG_5747.JPG image2.JPG
 
Laquer Head

Laquer Head

Well-Known Member
You need a few things, but testing that board/cpu to see if it posts would be a good start before spending to much on other things.

I wonder if he kept whatever cpu cooler he had on there, cause surely he wasn't using a K series with that stock fan!?!
 
Mattels07

Mattels07

New Member
Laquer Head said:
Fair enough, in any event I wouldn't be using a stocker with a K-series
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So should I get a new CPU cooler - would the stock fan be okay if I didn't overclock?

I am starting this build from scratch. The desktop I have is an all-in-one - and time has not been kind to her. So its time to get a PC that I can upgrade -instead of having to slowly watch it become inadequate with nothing I can do about it.

I bought a cheap case just to start out with, and a EVGA 500 B1 80+ Bronze PSU.. I plan on having an SSD to boot from and a standard hard drive for storage.

I am not trying to build a "cheap" computer, but rather a decent computer cheaply. I know that the I5 and my motherboard are a getting a little dated, but I think if i can pair it with a decent graphics card I wont have too many issues. I believe that the I5 can still hold its own - I am at least sure that it wont bottleneck any GPU I would put in it. I am basically 100% unfamiliar with graphics cards, so that is what I am looking for help with.

TL/DR - Looking for high quality "budget" GPU - ideas?


Thanks!
 
Mattels07

Mattels07

New Member
Intel_man said:
Those words don't generally go together that well...

Really depends on your definition of "budget". Some think $200-300 cards are expensive... and some don't.
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I am not really looking to have a card where I just sit at my computer whilst running benchmarks and touching myself to the results. Just something that when paired with my current setup I can achieve(or at least get close) to 60 FPS in decent quality for newer titles, and of course - the cheaper the better.

Thanks!
 
Mattels07

Mattels07

New Member
I have a guy offering me a deal on a AMD Radeon R9 270X 4GB for $80.

Firstly - good deal?
Secondly - decent GPU?
 
C4C

C4C

Well-Known Member
Mattels07 said:
I have a guy offering me a deal on a AMD Radeon R9 270X 4GB for $80.

Firstly - good deal?
Secondly - decent GPU?
Click to expand...

It's worth about that much. It'll play games mid-high but will be left behind with some of the upcoming titles.

The RX480, being newer, also pushes about twice the frames the R9 270X does in current titles.

The RX480 is a good choice, but is quite limited in stock since it just came out and offers great performance for the price.

What games were you looking to play? I had a R9 280X in my first rig and it played everything smoothly on high settings at 1080p. Not maxed out, but still beautiful.
 
Mattels07

Mattels07

New Member
C4C said:
It's worth about that much. It'll play games mid-high but will be left behind with some of the upcoming titles.

The RX480, being newer, also pushes about twice the frames the R9 270X does in current titles.

The RX480 is a good choice, but is quite limited in stock since it just came out and offers great performance for the price.

What games were you looking to play? I had a R9 280X in my first rig and it played everything smoothly on high settings at 1080p. Not maxed out, but still beautiful.
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I just really am looking to be able to play most new titles in 1080p with 30-60FPS in higher settings.. Anything lower than 30FPS I might as well just continue to play on my xbox 1.. As of right now I have less than $200 bucks in my CPU, MOBO, PSU, case, and SSD.. So I have plenty of room to "splurge" on a GPU.. Just don't want something that is "overkill" that my I5 might bottleneck, and I also dont want something that I will have to always play in medium to low setting to get a decent framerate.
 
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C4C

C4C

Well-Known Member
Mattels07 said:
I just really am looking to be able to play most new titles in 1080p with 30-60FPS in higher settings.. Anything lower than 30FPS I might as well just continue to play on my xbox 1.. As of right now I have less than $200 bucks in my CPU, MOBO, PSU, case, and SSD.. So I have plenty of room to "splurge" on a GPU.. Just don't want something that is "overkill" that my I5 might bottleneck, and I also dont want something that I will have to always play in medium to low setting to get a decent framerate.
Click to expand...

RX 480 or the GTX 1060 are for sure in your market. If you have no desire to wait around for items to be in stock, a GTX 1060 would work best.
https://www.amazon.com/ZOTAC-GeForc...=UTF8&qid=1469327343&sr=1-4&keywords=gtx+1060

The Sapphire Nitro+ RX 480 comes out this week unannounced. I've taken on the strategy of calling stores at opening and close to get updates, as I expect them to sell out quickly.
 
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