PC builds on a budget, Builds in OP. "Autosaver's Deals Thread 2.0"

[Jolt_TH]

Hi guys, I know this is the PC thread, but i am looking to get myself a new Laptop, for things such as college work and stuff, but id also like to game on it ideally, do you guys know any laptops that arent too expensive that could run most games at a steady fps?

Or would it be cheaper to literally buy a cheap laptop for college and build a PC for gaming? (im not a huge PC gamer, but there are a few i'd like to play)

[Solkia]

Laptops not made for gaming don't have the kind of cooling required for it.

 

Honestly? I would never take a gaming PC to college with me, it's basically asking to get stolen.

[Jolt_TH]

Well I live at home and travel to college

Wasn't looking at anything too hefty to play (game wise) just the odd thing, like TF2 or Sims (both ran great on my old laptop before my daughter destroyed if )

[Solkia]

You could run TF2 on the shittiest hardware of modern times and it would run it flawlessly. HEll, the required specs for TF2 is Intel HD 3000.

 

Not sure about Sims.

 

give me a bit.

 

I'll just list the parts I used for my build, I'm more than sure it'll run Sims:

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113328

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130662

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202011

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139049

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136769

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811208052

 

 

That's the hardware, if you need a CD Drive it'll run you about $20 more.

Edited November 20, 2013 by Goomy

[Chris]

Hi guys, I know this is the PC thread, but i am looking to get myself a new Laptop, for things such as college work and stuff, but id also like to game on it ideally, do you guys know any laptops that arent too expensive that could run most games at a steady fps?

Or would it be cheaper to literally buy a cheap laptop for college and build a PC for gaming? (im not a huge PC gamer, but there are a few i'd like to play)

Cheaper to build one; easier to just buy a laptop. If you're not intending to play at full settings or with significant AA, this will do the trick for most current games:

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834233023

 

Smaller one with similar hardware specifications: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152453

[Solkia]

You can get a Chromebook for a 1/4th of that price though.

 

I don't have any firsthand experience with Chromebook, but Komodin could probably tell you if it's good.

[Jolt_TH]

Thanks guys I'll definitely look into your suggestions!

[Autosaver]

I just bought parts for a PC.

 

Corsair 600w PSU $45

Intel i5-4570 processor $170

Some MSI motherboard $85

Radeon HD 7750 (I'm reusing my old PC parts) $85

DDR3 8GB $50

Zalman Z11 Case $50

Windows 8.1 $15

Kingston V300 SATA III SSD 120GB $50

WD Black HDD 1TB $75 (Old PC Parts)

not bad

[Silencer226]

Not bad at all on that i5. Would upgrade my PC but... life.

[Solkia]

Where did you get 8.1 for $15? I couldn't find a copy of 7 for less than 60.

[Chaos Warp]

If I wanted to spend 500 dollars on a gaming PC, what kind of components would that consist of and would it be good at anything else such as video rendering/editing? My standard of good for video editing BTW isn't that high since I edit on a PC with 4 gigs DDR3 ram and a Nivida GeForce 150 graphics card. 

[Solkia]

uhhhhhh, video editing mostly relies on the processor. I can fit a tower under $600, but that's about it.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136259 DVD burner

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146075 Case

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148840 HDD

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128564 MOBO

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139049 PSU

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139049 RAM

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113286 CPU

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202023 GPU

 

 

I'd invest in warranties, and Autosaver can probably tell you where to get a cheap OS

[Chaos Warp]

uhhhhhh, video editing mostly relies on the processor. I can fit a tower under $600, but that's about it.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136259 DVD burner

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146075 Case

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148840 HDD

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128564 MOBO

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139049 PSU

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139049 RAM

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113286 CPU

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202023 GPU

 

 

I'd invest in warranties, and Autosaver can probably tell you where to get a cheap OS

Err, the PSU is linked under RAM's section.............

[Solkia]

Ugh, sorry, my laptop is being uncooprotive today.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277

[Chaos Warp]

In terms of running games, is a powerful graphics card more important then RAM?

[Solkia]

The GPU will almost always be the most important part, ocassionally the CPU.

 

While a 7770 probably won't run next gen titles, it runs Sonic Generations flawlessly, and runs Arkham Asylum at max, but those are the only games I've tested.

 

That said, the 4GB of RAM is merely to fit into the price range. I'd upgrade to 8GB when you can.

[Autosaver]

Where did you get 8.1 for $15? I couldn't find a copy of 7 for less than 60.

try looking harder

 

To be serious, I knew if I could find someone with a MSDN license I could get Windows 7/8 for cheap. There's a combo pack right now to get Microsoft Office 2013 + Windows 8.1 Pro for $19.99. Hell of a deal.

reddit.com/r/softwareswap

 

In terms of running games, is a powerful graphics card more important then RAM?

 

RAM is important (4GB minimum, 8GB is good) but you don't need high end RAM. The performance increase is pointless beyond the DDR3 1600 core speed. I got these ($49.99) but they're sold out. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231428

 

Radeon HD 7770 isn't the best card. I would honestly upgrade to something a little bit more powerful if you want a gaming PC. The only reason I'm using a 7750 is because I used to have a DELL PC that would only take low-profile cards and 7750 was the strongest card that fit this standard. I'll probably upgrade over the summer when I get a job.

 

Radeon HD 7850 - $109.99 after Rebate

 

Radeon HD 7870 - $129.99 after Rebate

 

Radeon HD 7790 - $60 after Visa.me + Rebate <--- Pretty good deal if you're cheap

 

I might actually buy that 7790 O.o.

[Shade Vortex]

So since this is kind of the general PC Build thread, I'll list what I bought for my new PC build and what I still intend to buy, as well.
Note: I didn't buy all the parts at once (despite the RMA thing) but I had ways to ensure I could test things out to avoid RMA issues.
I'll also list things I already owned that helped me keep costs down.
 
CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Haswell Quad-Core Processor  (Purchased For $289.99)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Pro3 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  (Purchased For $94.99)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory  (Purchased For $63.74)
Additional memory: Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory  ($59.99 @ Newegg right now, but who knows how much it'll be when I can buy it- and yes, I need 16 gigs of RAM)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  (Already had it, so didn't cost me a thing.)
Additional storage: Western Digital Scorpio 259 GB 3.5" (I forget the RPM, but it was probably also 7200RPM) Internal Hard Drive (Already had it, no additional cost)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 550 Ti 1GB Video Card (Got it from an RMA of a much older card that had a lifetime warranty, so didn't cost me anything. I plan to get a new GPU sometime though, but I'm waiting for GDDR6, probably would get a 4GB card when it's affordable.)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case  (Purchased For $49.99).
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) (Already owned, so no additional cost.)
Keyboard: Logitech G15 Wired Standard Keyboard (Already owned, no additional cost.)
Mouse: Logitech M310 Wireless Laser Mouse  (Already owned, but I remember that I purchased it for $12.99 when I got it.)
Headphones: Sennheiser HD 202 II Headphones  (Already owned, but I purchased it for $30.62)
For -now- I'm sticking with the stock cooler that comes with the i7, BUT when I can afford it, it'll be:
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($29.26 @ OutletPC right now, but that's after rebate. It's originally 34.26 right now.)
And also, when I can afford it, I'll be replacing the old power supply I have (it's an Antec Truepower Quatro Bronze 850 watt power supply) with probably this one:
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($89.99 @ NCIX US right now, but that's after rebate- before is 109.99)
SD card reader: USB 3.0 Five Slot Card Reader - CF/ SD/ MS/ xD/ microSD & M2 (11.92 @ Monoprice, doesn't include shipping cost.)
 
Note: I probably won't use the rated RAM speed. I got this RAM because it was GDDR3 and it was on sale, and I wanted 8GB. I'll get 8 more GB later, same model/kit, when I can afford it. By the time I can, it probably won't be on sale, so it'll cost more.
 
Justification for chosen parts (especially that much ram): I do videogame playthroughs with commentary, I record, edit and render them. And I'd also like to run the latest games at 60fps 1080p(fullscreen)/720p(windowed) while doing so. Also I have like 20+ tabs on Firefox at all times and multitask a lot. And I want this PC to last a while. Also gonna replace the PSU as the computer I'm using right now will need it to be able to work, but for the time being I'll abandon the usability of this PC for the new one until I can get one.

 

Also, for the record,

Base Total: $204.24  (Not Yet Purchased)

 

Mail-in Rebates:

-$25.00  

 

Total (Not Yet Purchased):

$179.24  

 

Total (Purchased):

$542.32  

 

Total:

$721.56  

That's with current sales, though. Also, that doesn't include the SD card reader (which will be for use with my Wii and 3DS SD cards).

Edited December 7, 2013 by Shade Vortex

[Solkia]

Hyper 212 isn't going to cool a 4770K. Hell, a closed-loop water cooler might not cool a 4770K.

 

I'll come back to explain why after I've taken my shower.

[Shade Vortex]

Well, it's the cooler my bro got for his PC, which also has a 4770k- he says it's like in the range of 45-50c at full load- and it's usually more around 30 when not under full load, so that seems good enough to me. But if you've got a better cooler, tell me which one to use/how much it'll run me.

[Solkia]

Really? Does he do any overclocking?

 

Regardless, if you can get it at safe temps, go for it.

 

But there are some things people here need to know about Haswell.

 

• The heat spreader is no longer soldered to the die, instead they started putting a layer of really cheap thermal paste in between the die and the heatspreader, which causes a lot of Haswell users to reach really bad temps.
• Haswell is supposedly overclocker unfriendly. There are reports of people not being able to push theirs past 4.0GHz without the voltage getting to unsafe levels.

They may have fixed this in current production lines (I doubt it), but people with earlier Haswells had to delid theirs and apply the cooler directly on the die to cool it properly.

 

If anyone here has used Haswells firsthand before, unlike me, feel free to pitch in.

 

 

 

 

By the way, there was no point to buying the K version if you aren't overclocking.

[Shade Vortex]

I know that. He isn't currently overclocking, so I dunno why he got one. I intend to do overclocking, however. I probably would want to go to 4GHz at minimum, so I definitely need a way to cool it well enough for that. From what I've read though, the Noctua NH-U14S (or other Noctua ones that are similar, like the NH-D14)

should be good enough, but I'm worried it'd be too big for my case/setup.

[Solkia]

I doubt that cooler would fit, let alone let you put in a video card.

 

Doesn't look like the 200R has gromets for external cooling, so I guess delidding isn't an option.

 

My advice is to see what temps you get at stock with your Hyper 212 using Prime95 and some sort of temp monitoring software (I use HWMonitor), if you get similar temps as your brother, I'd look for a 240mm radiator with good reviews before you overclock.

 

Radiators can leak, but usually only from user error, so be careful with it.

[Autosaver]

Keep in mind that Ivy motherboards use LGA 1155 while Haswell uses LGA 1150. Broadwell (Coming 2014/2015) supposedly uses the same LGA 1150 slot so going with an Ivy is probably a mistake (well not mistake per-say, but could make upgrading much more expensive). Haswell also has a 10% better performance.

 

Haswell is better and it's not that much more expensive. I got an i5-4570 for $169.99.

 

[Solkia]

Broadwell as far as I know are Notebook exclusive.