Options for a cheap-as-chips low-end gaming rig?

Outerarm

Outerarm

Well-known member
My kids are starting to get into Minecraft and the Lego games and I'm toying with the idea of getting them a cheap and cheerful rig. I'm looking for something that could push out around 60 fps at 1280x1024 with high settings on Minecraft, Lego and other lower-end games. I'd need an OS (and preferably home office), and would like a DVD drive and around 500GB disk space. No need for wireless and a built-in sound controller would be fine, though some options for upgrading would be nice. I already have a monitor, keyboard and mouse.

Bearing all that in mind... what suggestions do you have for a spec?

Thanks in advance,
Ian
 
GeorgeHillier

GeorgeHillier

Prolific Poster
Outerarm said:
My kids are starting to get into Minecraft and the Lego games and I'm toying with the idea of getting them a cheap and cheerful rig. I'm looking for something that could push out around 60 fps at 1280x1024 with high settings on Minecraft, Lego and other lower-end games. I'd need an OS (and preferably home office), and would like a DVD drive and around 500GB disk space. No need for wireless and a built-in sound controller would be fine, though some options for upgrading would be nice. I already have a monitor, keyboard and mouse.

Bearing all that in mind... what suggestions do you have for a spec?

Thanks in advance,
Ian
Click to expand...

What's your budget?
 
Outerarm

Outerarm

Well-known member
DeadEyeDuk said:
Well my local take away does chips for £1.50, so I assume around that sort of level...

:D
Click to expand...

Yup, pretty much that!!!

For the budget I'm probably in the £300 to £400 range, but could go slightly higher if there is a significant improvement in the spec.
 
GeorgeHillier

GeorgeHillier

Prolific Poster
Outerarm said:
Yup, pretty much that!!!

For the budget I'm probably in the £300 to £400 range, but could go slightly higher if there is a significant improvement in the spec.
Click to expand...

For that price you won't be able to run those games on high, you'd be able to run them, just not on high settings.
 
GeorgeHillier

GeorgeHillier

Prolific Poster
Here's a build that will be able to run minecraft and lego games with ease on around medium settings, it does cost £516 so if you wanted to get it back into your budget then you'd have to get rid of some stuff, but I would advise against it:
Case InWIN G7 BRUSHED EFFECT DARK GREY CASE
Processor (CPU) AMD A10-7700K Quad Core APU (3.8GHz) & Radeon™ R7 Series Graphics
Motherboard ASUS® A88XM-PLUS: (M-ATX, DDR3, USB 3.0, 6Gb/s)
Memory (RAM) 8GB KINGSTON DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 8GB)
Graphics Card Integrated AMD Radeon HD 8000 Series Graphics
2nd Graphics Card NONE
1st Hard Disk 500GB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 16MB CACHE
2nd Hard Disk NONE
3rd Hard Disk NONE
4th Hard Disk NONE
RAID NONE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive 24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
2nd DVD/BLU-RAY Drive NONE
Memory Card Reader NONE
Power Supply CORSAIR 350W VS SERIES™ VS-350 POWER SUPPLY
Processor Cooling Super Quiet 22dBA Triple Copper Heatpipe AMD CPU Cooler
Extra Case Fans NONE
Sound Card ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
Wireless Router/HomePlugs NONE
USB Options 6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Modem NONE, I WILL BE USING BROADBAND
Firewire NONE
TV Card NONE
Power Cable 1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Operating System Genuine Windows 8.1 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence
DVD Recovery Media Windows 8.1 (64-bit) DVD with paper sleeve
Office Software FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365
Anti-Virus BULLGUARD INTERNET SECURITY - FREE 90 DAY TRIAL
Monitor NONE
2nd Monitor NONE
3rd Monitor NONE
4th Monitor NONE
DVI-D & HDMI Monitor Cables NONE
Eyefinity / GeForce 3D Vision NONE
Keyboard & Mouse NONE
Mouse NONE
Gaming Mouse Pad NONE
Speakers NONE
Webcam NONE
Headsets NONE
Surge Protection NONE
Printer NONE
External Hard Drive NONE
Warranty 3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Home Installation NONE
Data Recovery NONE
Delivery STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time Standard Build - Approximately 11 to 13 working days
Pricing Information
Price (excluding VAT) £430.00
Price £516.00
 
keynes

keynes

Multiverse Poster
Case
STYLISH PIANO BLACK ENIGMA CASE + 2 FRONT USB
Processor (CPU)
AMD A10-7700K Quad Core APU (3.8GHz) & Radeon™ R7 Series Graphics
Motherboard
ASUS® A55BM-E FM2+ (M-ATX, DDR3, USB 2.0, 3Gb/s)
Memory (RAM)
4GB KINGSTON DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
Integrated AMD Radeon HD 8000 Series Graphics
1st Hard Disk
500GB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 16MB CACHE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 350W VS SERIES™ VS-350 POWER SUPPLY
Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Operating System
Genuine Windows 8.1 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 11 to 13 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £429.00 including VAT and delivery.

Unique URL to re-configure: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/quotes/amd-fm2-richland/e_WNFw3Bgx/
 
Outerarm

Outerarm

Well-known member
Thanks for the suggestions -- good starts to work from.

Taking keynes spec, I could swap the GFX card to a 2GB GEFORCE GTX 750 Ti and up the PSU to a 450w -- gets to £540. More cash than anticipated but I think that may give the performance I'm looking for... Thoughts?
 
Boozad

Boozad

Prolific Poster
Don't get an APU if you're getting a dedicated GPU. The 750ti is a good shout, pair it up with a Bulldozer CPU.
 
Outerarm

Outerarm

Well-known member
Cheers mate! So for £509:

Case
STYLISH PIANO BLACK ENIGMA CASE + 2 FRONT USB

Processor (CPU)
AMD FX-4300 Quad Core CPU (3.80GHz/4MB CACHE/AM3+)

Motherboard
ASUS® M5A97 LE R2.0 (DDR3, USB3.0, 6Gb/s)

Memory (RAM)
4GB KINGSTON DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 4GB)

Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 750 Ti - DVI, mHDMI, VGA - 3D Vision Ready

1st Hard Disk
500GB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 16MB CACHE

1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM

Power Supply
CORSAIR 350W VS SERIES™ VS-350 POWER SUPPLY

Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER
 
Outerarm

Outerarm

Well-known member
Thanks again!

Right, looks like we may have two options, one AMD, one Intel:

AMD £515
Processor (CPU) AMD FX-4300 Quad Core CPU (3.80GHz/4MB CACHE/AM3+)
Motherboard ASUS® M5A97 LE R2.0 (DDR3, USB3.0, 6Gb/s)

Intel £520
Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™i3 Dual Core Processor i3-4330 (3.50GHz) 4MB Cache
Motherboard ASUS® H81M-PLUS: Micro-ATX, LG1150, USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs

The AMD option has capacity for more additional drives and GPUs than the Intel spec (albeit with improved PSU), but the Intel config draws less max wattage (264 vs 312). Checking reviews the Intel chip comes out on top with generally better performance in all cases (for example http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/351/AMD_FX-Series_FX-4300_vs_Intel_Core_i3_i3-4330.html).

Based on this I'm edging towards the Intel option, but again, thoughts would be welcome on this!

The rest of the spec:

Case
COOLERMASTER ELITE 311 BLUE CASE
Memory (RAM)
4GB KINGSTON DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 750 Ti - DVI, mHDMI, VGA - 3D Vision Ready
1st Hard Disk
500GB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 16MB CACHE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 350W VS SERIES™ VS-350 POWER SUPPLY
Processor Cooling
INTEL STANDARD CPU COOLER
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
Operating System
Genuine Windows 8.1 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence
DVD Recovery Media
Windows 8.1 (64-bit) DVD with paper sleeve
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
 
Outerarm

Outerarm

Well-known member
Thanks again guys, +rep all round.

With the updated CPU (and an upgraded PSU as the checker tool now things the GPU needs it!), we have the following for £540:

Case
COOLERMASTER ELITE 311 BLUE CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD FX-6300 Six Core CPU (3.50GHz/8MB CACHE/AM3+)
Motherboard
ASUS® M5A97 LE R2.0 (DDR3, USB3.0, 6Gb/s)
Memory (RAM)
4GB KINGSTON DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 750 Ti - DVI, mHDMI, VGA - 3D Vision Ready
1st Hard Disk
500GB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 16MB CACHE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 450W VS SERIES™ VS-450 POWER SUPPLY
Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Operating System
Genuine Windows 8.1 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence

I will likely add Office Home & Student to this, but otherwise I think that may be it. Any further thoughts while I mull it over with SWMBO?
 
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