Gaming on a budget?

Diggs

Diggs

Well-Known Member
Reaction score
3,560
Location
Wisconsin
I've drifted from being an avid gamer (server admin and ref on world tournaments) to just the occasional blizzard/rainy day player. A client would not buy her son a new computer to game on but asked if I could make an old small-form Dell Inspiron (early i5) a gaming machine for him. Her son in mid-teens knew gaming machines and was not for the idea (and neither was I). I dropped the new MSI Nvida GTX 1050 Ti ($155) small form video adapter in hoping for the best and BAM! Wowee! Unbelievable frame rates on games set to max everything at 1920 x 1080. This card needs no aux power and seems to be running comfortably on a 250 watt power supply even after abusive Prime95 and gaming. Again - Wowee! - Wish I had this when I used to game heavily. The standard profile non-Ti version is hitting the streets for around $100. Big bang for the buck.
 
Last edited:
Diggs said:
I've drifted from being an avid gamer (server admin and ref on world tournaments) to just the occasional blizzard/rainy day player. A client would not buy her son a new computer to game on but asked if I could make an old small-form Dell Inspiron (early i5) a gaming machine for him. Her son in mid-teens knew gaming machines and was not for the idea (and neither was I). I dropped the new MSI Nvida GTX 1050 Ti ($155) small form video adapter in hoping for the best and BAM! Wowee! Unbelievable frame rates on games set to max everything at 1920 x 1050. This card needs no aux power and seems to be running comfortably on a 250 watt power supply even after abusive Prime95 and gaming. Again - Wowee! - Wish I had this when I used to game heavily. The standard profile non-Ti version is hitting the streets for around $100. Big bang for the buck.
Click to expand...

I'm still using a 2550k but its overclocked along with a gtx 1080 and I can still play all the new games at highest settings at 1440p.

250watt power supply is cutting it uncomfortably close though. Did you furmark it?
 
ComputerRepairTech said:
250watt power supply is cutting it uncomfortably close though. Did you furmark it?
Click to expand...

Agreed! Way too close. ...and nope on furmark. Ran as said above with no issues. Told the customer I'd stand behind it for 90 days. Not much invested and I'd gladly take the card back to use on other projects.

It's running in a PCIe-1 slot so it's not even working up a sweat. They say when it hits 3 monitors maxed res on a PCIe-3 bus it starts to work hard.
 
When I was younger I was into pc gaming. Mainly early on it was Descent/Descent2 (think pentium 120 and direct dial with 56k modem! haha!) and later on, Counter-strike/source and some UT games. I haven't had in-home internet since I moved back in 2007. I mainly just use my phone hotspot or a public access point if I need to look something up. So needless to say I haven't been doing much online gaming since then. My current rig is still my i5-2500K with some old AMD radeon...cant even recall what it is. Plays decently but far from current. Just havent had time to keep up with it because work and life take up most of my time now but starting to get back into it as a way to take my mind off of work.... Stress reliever I suppose.
Im looking to upgrade it soon though and get some Internets! Fiber is dirt cheap where I am at. Holding out to see what AMD is going to do with Ryzen. If benchmarks look good closer to release then it might be my next build. Nice job on the upgrade though. I tend to stay away from doing that to OEM machines because I have found that lots of times their PCIE slots are only rated for certain wattage of video cards or other components are too under-powered for it.
 
If I had to go gaming on a budget, I'd probaly get something like this.

http://www.microcenter.com/product/472530/6200_Pro_Desktop_Computer_Off_Lease_Refurbished

http://www.microcenter.com/product/...0_Ti_SuperClocked_GAMING_4GB_GDDR5_Video_Card

Would be a good idea to get a better PSU. If the budget was extremely tight, I guess you could take chances with this system instead.

http://www.microcenter.com/product/470735/OptiPlex_390_Desktop_Computer_Refurbished

They had some boxes for 169, but if you have to spend 40-50 for a ram upgrade, most of your savings are gone.
 
You'll likely see the system come back in 1-3 months because the power supply blew. Good luck explaining that one. Even if the PSU doesn't blow the board and everything else when it goes, you won't be able to find a good enough one for gaming that will fit that case. I've done things like this, but I make it clear that I do NOT recommend it and that I take NO responsibility for the longevity of the system and make them sign a disclaimer.
 
Altster said:
What a nice website. Gonna keep that in my bookmarks. Great find!
Click to expand...

I used to see its original incarnation floating around - as a GIF image, originated from 4chan of all places and called the Falcon Guide. I went looking for it a year or two later and eventually found out that it'd been turned into an actual website. I hope the folks who pulled it together that way are making some money from it - I think it's mostly affiliate links, so it's probably doing pretty well for them.

This looks like some history of it and a 2012 example: http://4changboard.wikia.com/wiki/Falcon_Guide

Edit: pasted the wrong link
 
sapphirescales said:
You'll likely see the system come back in 1-3 months because the power supply blew. Good luck explaining that one. Even if the PSU doesn't blow the board and everything else when it goes, you won't be able to find a good enough one for gaming that will fit that case. I've done things like this, but I make it clear that I do NOT recommend it and that I take NO responsibility for the longevity of the system and make them sign a disclaimer.
Click to expand...

Definitely a good point to make. Sometimes those dell power supplies surprise you though. I found this on amazon. Maybe it would suffice? Not sure, don't know that I've used that brand. But it's advertised as 400 watt vs most seem to be 235-275.

https://www.amazon.com/Power-Supply-Upgrade-Optiplex-7GC81/dp/B017YN37RS
 
ohio_grad_06 said:
Definitely a good point to make. Sometimes those dell power supplies surprise you though. I found this on amazon. Maybe it would suffice? Not sure, don't know that I've used that brand. But it's advertised as 400 watt vs most seem to be 235-275.

https://www.amazon.com/Power-Supply-Upgrade-Optiplex-7GC81/dp/B017YN37RS
Click to expand...
Before you ever drop a single cent on any of these power supplies, make ABSOLUTELY SURE that it is EXACTLY what you want. I had in the past, ordered power supplies like this one and once it showed up, found out it was not as advertised - would not properly fit in the case even though the dimensions were correct - due to an indentation in the bottom of the psu (tab on chassis.) I think that I just "modified" the chassis to make it fit - but I don't like to do that - under any circumstances!
 
Don't blame you. I usually get all my parts from a local microcenter. Very good return policy. Case in point, I decided to upgrade wifi in my house, and had a router that was a year old or so, but I'd bought their 2 year replacement on it. So I returned it, got a new cheap one that looked ok, didn't like that took it back. Case in point, I'm on router #4 which I'm happy with. For our townhome, I finally ended up with this one.

https://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-AC1200-External-Antennas-R6220-100NAS/dp/B00QGOQ2BA

I have it mounted behind our tv on the wall, with the antennas sticking up just above the set. Wish it got better range, but you should see the amount of signals around, so I'm sure we probably get a little interference. Not a bad deal though, I've got charter 100mbps for 40 a month, and using the new direct tv now for 35 a month to stream our tv. Local stations on a flat antenna on the wall upstairs. Not too bad.

A friend of mine had a card he'd bought that replacement plan on, 2 weeks before it expired, card starts artifacting. He took it back this past week, and was given 250+ toward a new card because of the plan, so walked with a new r9 480 8gb card in hand, think he spent 30 bucks for the warranty on the new card, but not bad.

However those power supplies can be iffy. I'd be willing to take a chance on that because it's 400 watt and something I probably can't get at microcenter. I was looking, and I can get a 320 watt I think in an off brand. Think I'd definitely spring for the 2 year replacement on that one, and the card, for when the power supply goes boom and possibly takes the card with it.

If it blows up, tell the mom time for a new board, case, psu and fresh copy of windows and rebuild the system in a bigger case with a beefy power supply.
 
I just posted in another thread but second gen and even original core i5 / i7
processors just continue to deliver. They may start to struggle with the newest
games on the highest settings, and they might bottleneck the newest top tier
cards. But in the budget market, they still continue to deliver bank time and time
again. Couple that with Nvidia's 1050 / 1060 performance for the dollar spent
and you have yourself quite a capable little gaming rig that comes in very light
on the wallet.

First computer I ever built, IIRC, I spent 2 grand on back in 2005. The second
computer I built I spent about $1200 in July of 2010. I've been exploring my
options for rebuilding / replacing again and I almost popped on a system for
$375 that featured 8GB of ram, a 4770 i7, and 256GB SSD and some low/mid
tier GPU. Each time the cost drops a lot and what you get stays proportionally
the same or gets better in my experience. To be fair, the $375 PC would be used.
If I were to build it, I'd probably come in right around $600 if I skimped on the GPU
or about $800 if I went moderate performance in a new card. Keeps the trend
each "rebuild" being roughly half the cost of the last one.

I will also say this, while the dell PSU in the build described in the OP's post...
any card that draws all it's juice from the PCI-E slot can't be very thirsty. Sub
300W PSU's always make me a bit nervious, I'm quite comfortable around
the 400W range for most builds personally, unless there are a lot of GPU's
or something.
 
To your point too, one thing making it nice now, I've been telling people for a while, like if they are on the fence about getting a refurbished system or a new one and want to save money(I just buy them straight from my supplier, a local Microcenter store), but I tell folks that look, processor technology hasn't advanced that far in the last few years, not like it used to back in the old days. Now with each generation you may see a little jump, but not a lot always. Once I explain that to them, even if they opt for something like a sandy bridge era i5 with say 8gb of ram, they usually seem to feel like it's plenty, especially if all they are doing is browsing the web.

I equate it to them this way as well. You can go out to walmart etc, and spend 300 or so, and get a system with probably a celeron or a pentium, on the other hand, if you go to a refurbished system with say an i3 or an i5, it will run circles around the new system.
 
@update-

Stopped by this client the other day. The "gaming computer" has almost 800 hours on it. The kid and his sister tag team on it. He said he just finished playing Battlefield 1 and Titanfall 2 (both last year's game of the year winners) with video on "High" or "Ultra" with no issues. I've seen a few more articles pop up on the GTX 1050TI praising the bang-for-the-buck.
 
brandonkick said:
I just posted in another thread but second gen and even original core i5 / i7
processors just continue to deliver. They may start to struggle with the newest
games on the highest settings, and they might bottleneck the newest top tier
cards. But in the budget market, they still continue to deliver bank time and time
again. Couple that with Nvidia's 1050 / 1060 performance for the dollar spent
and you have yourself quite a capable little gaming rig that comes in very light
on the wallet.

First computer I ever built, IIRC, I spent 2 grand on back in 2005. The second
computer I built I spent about $1200 in July of 2010. I've been exploring my
options for rebuilding / replacing again and I almost popped on a system for
$375 that featured 8GB of ram, a 4770 i7, and 256GB SSD and some low/mid
tier GPU. Each time the cost drops a lot and what you get stays proportionally
the same or gets better in my experience. To be fair, the $375 PC would be used.
If I were to build it, I'd probably come in right around $600 if I skimped on the GPU
or about $800 if I went moderate performance in a new card. Keeps the trend
each "rebuild" being roughly half the cost of the last one.

I will also say this, while the dell PSU in the build described in the OP's post...
any card that draws all it's juice from the PCI-E slot can't be very thirsty. Sub
300W PSU's always make me a bit nervious, I'm quite comfortable around
the 400W range for most builds personally, unless there are a lot of GPU's
or something.
Click to expand...
I found my last time looking at a new build costing more but I will say I had moved slightly away from PC gaming before now I am gravitating back a bit but I still look for a system that also doubles as a bit of a home server so I tend to add cost but my last build spec for such a system was ~$1200 I could probably look at it again and shave off some cost now. What I am more interested in for now is a small PC to work as a media receiver and to play some of my older games on that mostly don't support or look proper in HD/Widescreen resolutions.
 
The RYzen R5 quad and 6 core systems are beginning to make their presence known...

I personally went with the 7700K build about 2 days before the R7 released, but, despite it's price ($349 plus $85 for Noctua DH15), I feel it will give me the 3-5 years I stubbornly like to get out of desktop builds

The GTX1060 is a solid mid-range card....; could not be happier with it's performance in Doom, Quake Champions demo, or Battlefield 1.... (I rationalized that I could get 2 years from this card, then get another xx60 card and still be ahead of the game vs. a 'spend $650 and get a 1080Ti now' strategy...
 
MDD1963 said:
The GTX1060 is a solid mid-range card....; could not be happier with it's performance.... (I rationalized that I could get 2 years from this card, then get another xx60 card and still be ahead of the game vs. a 'spend $650 and get a 1080Ti now' strategy...
Click to expand...

Built one with that card for my gamer sis. I got me the 1050TI as it's a bargain under $160
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top