$500 Challenge

[tooltiperror]

Well, yes, I'm poor.

I'd like to see a computer for ~500 dollars that could play Starcraft II on a low setting without major lag, plays Minecraft smoothly, and will last me for a few years.

I think it's impossible, but prove me wrong please. $500 is my aim, but I'd go as high as $580ish

My finds
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883108520
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883241037

Please include monitors with final price.

 

[Sevion]

If you're looking for monitors, knock off $100 or so from your budget. There's no way you're getting a decent monitor for less unless you have connections.

 

[sqrage]

Not at all possible with a monitor

 

[Sevion]

I whipped this up:

https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/MySavedWishDetail.aspx?ID=11667189

Had to really cut down on just about every part. Not even sure how well it'll fare.

 

[sqrage]

you have to make it public

 

[Sevion]

That's strange because I did :-/

Antec 300 Illusion Black Steel: 69.99
GIGABYTE GA-G41M 54.99
EVGA NVIDIA GeForce 9400 GT 59.99
Thermaltake TR2 Series TR-450P 450W PSU 69.99
AMD Athlon II X2 245 Regor 2.9GHz 49.99
G.SKILL 4GB DDR3 1333 10666 43.99
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F4 320GB 42.99
Acer S201HLbd 20" 109.99
LG DVD Burner 18.99

Subtotal: 520.91

 

[Exfiltrate]

That's strange because I did :-/

Antec 300 Illusion Black Steel: 69.99
GIGABYTE GA-G41M 54.99
EVGA NVIDIA GeForce 9400 GT 59.99
Thermaltake TR2 Series TR-450P 450W PSU 69.99
AMD Athlon II X2 245 Regor 2.9GHz 49.99
G.SKILL 4GB DDR3 1333 10666 43.99
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F4 320GB 42.99
Acer S201HLbd 20" 109.99
LG DVD Burner 18.99

Subtotal: 520.91

That motherboard is for Intel chips

Try this one, Asrock AM2

and this ram: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820178164

To tool, honestly, it's not really worth it to buy a computer with so little money.

Save up atleast $200 more.

 

[Exfiltrate]

Here, for $90 more than your max budget, you could have a computer that could play SC2 on Extreme, instead of Low. Wouldn't that be worth it?

Yes, building a computer for your outlandishly low budget is possibly, but like the computer you linked, it's going to be absolutely terrible. Don't be so cheap, save up a few more dollars and get something better. You won't regret it.

 

[Slapshot136]

I wouldn't recommend buying it now either.. save up to 600-700 or so to accommodate windows/monitor (and keyboard/mouse as well), skip the cd/dvd drive, and it's doable

 

[Sevion]

Oh

I originally had an E8400 and forgot to change the according parts >_<

If you skip the CD/DVD drive, how will you install Windows/Linux/Whathaveyou without another computer?

It's only $18 for a drive anyways.

 

[Slapshot136]

a 4gb flash drive works well for windows/linux, and I am assuming you have one on-hand/can borrow one, it's actually usually faster then the dvd drive

 

[seph ir oth]

My laptop that I bought last year for $500 can run Starcraft at medium with great FPS and has no problems with Minecraft.

I put $10 down on a cooling pad.

Shop around, I'm sure there's a desktop deal out there as well.

 

[emjlr3]

I built one last May for $380 minus a monitor that can run SC2 on max settings, and memory/storage has come down a lot in price since then

this is very easily do-able

in fact, here is a post from not long ago where I discussed the build

Athlon II X3 AM3 @ 3.0ghz (95W) - $75
MSI Mobo w/ SATA III and USB 3 compat. (for future use) - $60
WD Caviar Green 1TB 64mb Cache - $40
2x2GB DDR3 1333 RAM (RAM has gotten a lot cheaper since) - $85
Antec EarthWatts 380W 80 Plus Modular PSU - $30
Antec 300 Illusion Case (came with 4 case fans) - $35
Internal Card Reader and CD/DVD Burner - $25
ATI Radeon 5570 (very low power) - $50
W7 Ult. (free)
Monitor (free)
Mouse/Keyboard (recycled)

everything was purchased @ NewEgg, and combos were used where available - I added in prices above to give you an idea of what cost what (after rebates)

if you are not in a hurry, wait and buy things for the best price, because chances are everything won't be uber cheap at once, but you can slowly accumulate the parts over a few weeks and save $50 or so

A decent monitor can be had for $120.

 

[Slapshot136]

I dont see the ATI Radeon 5570 being anywhere near enough to run sc2 at max settings.. maybe on low

and the CPU will choke in larger maps/custom games

see this - I would say 30 FPS should be considered the minimum

also, not everyone can buy windows 7 ultimate for free, so add another $100 there, and you are at 600 - which is what I said as the minimum price earlier

 

[emjlr3]

I am evidence to the contrary , max res and max settings throughout the entire campaign

windows can be had at any local college for $30 or less, or torrent it like everyone else and have at it for free

If you want to keep things playable during epic battles, we recommend at least a 3 GHz dual-core or a 2.8 GHz triple-core processor.

QFT

very rarely experienced slow down with the aforementioned set points

not to say I was getting 60fps at all times - but it was certainly do-able (i'd say around 30fps), drop the settings and you are golden - but I wanted to play with everything all purty

plus you have to remember, we are talking a year old build - you could probably get $150 worth of better components for the same price as I paid nowadays

 

[Slapshot136]

QFT

they were talking about recent gen CPU's, phenom or core, not athlon or pentium

also, what resolution are you talking about, and by max settings you mean "extreme", correct?

 

[Sevion]

I just want to point out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3neCJe5bJYw

That was in Medium settings with a better processor, and slightly slower DDR3 RAM.

I would say, No. A 5570 cannot run StarCraft II at max resolution (mine is 1920x1080) and max (Extreme) settings.

Not everyone can get Windows for $30 or less. Keep that in mind. Not everyone wants an illegal copy of Windows.

He states that he's going to be buying a monitor as well. That means another $100 in there at least.

That makes your build the same price as everyone else's. It's also less powerful.

I agree with Exfiltrate.

Save up a few hundred more dollars and then buy one. You could probably save up enough within a month (given you spend no money and have a job paying minimum wage and you have ~30 hours a week) to buy an i3 with a better GPU and some more RAM.

 

[Exfiltrate]

I just want to point out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3neCJe5bJYw

That was in Medium settings with a better processor, and slightly slower DDR3 RAM.

I would say, No. A 5570 cannot run StarCraft II at max resolution (mine is 1920x1080) and max (Extreme) settings.

Not everyone can get Windows for $30 or less. Keep that in mind. Not everyone wants an illegal copy of Windows.

He states that he's going to be buying a monitor as well. That means another $100 in there at least.

That makes your build the same price as everyone else's. It's also less powerful.

I agree with Exfiltrate.

Save up a few hundred more dollars and then buy one. You could probably save up enough within a month (given you spend no money and have a job paying minimum wage and you have ~30 hours a week) to buy an i3 with a better GPU and some more RAM.

This. You should be able to make at least $200 more in less than a month.

 

[UndeadDragon]

I dont see the ATI Radeon 5570 being anywhere near enough to run sc2 at max settings.. maybe on low

My laptop can play it on High with max resolution with it.

 

[emjlr3]

my point was this - I built an energy efficient comp over a year ago, and managed SC2 at max settings (surprisingly, my monitors max resolution which is 1600x900 I think, I repeat it was not @ 60fps, but it was playable IMHO)

a $500 build is certainly do-able, given newer technology and generally cheaper prices for it - especially considering he only wants to play on low settings!!!

they were talking about recent gen CPU's, phenom or core, not athlon or pentium

I highly doubt a Phenom II running with 3 cores is that much faster then an X3 running at full capacity - the only difference being the added L3 cache (and the extra core doesn't really do anything for SC2 anywho, unfortunately) and FYI according to Toms, a Phenom II running @ 2 cores is much slower then an Athlon II X3 @ the same clock speed.

Not everyone can get Windows for $30 or less. Keep that in mind. Not everyone wants an illegal copy of Windows.

then they are being nieve, use the resources available to you, why spend $120 when you can spend $30. - hell I just saw it on sale @ NewEgg for like $70. If you can't, find someone who can. The goal is to be cheap, well then be cheap, and stop making excuses. I am not saying to go do something illegal, but make the most of what you have.

I would say, No

You can say what you like, but again, I am proof to the contrary. I played through the entire campaign with respectable fps, even with AA on.

Like I said before, buy it in pieces when the parts go on the biggest sale/the best combo deals, and you can save yourself a good deal of money.

The reason I got my HD and PSU so cheap is because I got them on a combo, and saved $30 off the lot. $30 of two items that are less then $100 together is a lot of savings!