Low-budget rig for some gaming

[Mokmo418]

So i have had this 2nd-gen i3 laptop for 4 years now. It does little gaming, has no problem playing 720p video (and 1080p when everything's shut down).

It's old and i'm not in need of a mobile machine anymore.

My main game nowadays is Kerbal Space Program. It has this thing: it's not a multithreaded program. So i'm looking for a CPU that has decent single-core performance. I have heard of Intel's G2358 that could ofer some decent performance with some overclocking. I'm not into big FPS games,

Here is the usual questionnaire:

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. Some gaming, lots of stream watching. Gaming defined in intro

2. What YOUR budget is. 500$ CDN before taxes

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from. Canada

4. IF you're buying parts OUTSIDE the US, please post a link to the vendor you'll be buying from. I like NCIX and they dont charge me provincial taxes as i'm not where their places of business are. Also fast shipping with that Ontario warehouse.

5. IF YOU have a brand preference. Not really.

6. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
I have an old Antec case, SLK-3700 BQE, that can be gutted down to its metal, i still have all the hardware that came with it. Not using the included PSU, though.

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds. I am open to overclocking, not extreme one.

8. What resolution, not monitor size, will you be using? Monitor i have plugged on the laptop is 1600 x 900.

9. WHEN do you plan to build it? within a month

X. Do you need to purchase any software to go with the system, such as Windows or Blu Ray playback software? At least Windows, i don't mind going into 8 or 8.1 .

 

[Ken g6]

Well, that was harder than I expected. I started with my $500 Pentium build in the stickied thread and...it's $650 in Canada! Everything in Canada is too expensive, particularly PSUs and GPUs.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($74.47 @ DirectCanada)
Motherboard: ASRock B85 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($59.50 @ Vuugo)
Memory: *Crucial Ballistix 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($39.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: *Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($58.95 @ Vuugo)
Video Card: *Asus Radeon R7 260X 2GB DirectCU II Video Card ($129.50 @ Vuugo)
Power Supply: *EVGA 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($37.98 @ Newegg Canada)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($98.98 @ DirectCanada)
Total: $499.37
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-02 15:15 EST-0500

 

[DesiPower]

That's a good build Ken g6, I didn't think it would be possible...

 

[Mokmo418]

Yeah a lot of things are more expensive, canadian law is in process of changing so that people can request the cnadian competition bureau to look into large price differences between american and canadian prices.

The build makes sense, I'm not a fan of only 4GB of ram so i'll upgrade it a bit. Thanks a lot

(And pcpartspicker is awesome!)

 

[DesiPower]

Yeah a lot of things are more expensive, canadian law is in process of changing so that people can request the cnadian competition bureau to look into large price differences between american and canadian prices.

The build makes sense, I'm not a fan of only 4GB of ram so i'll upgrade it a bit. Thanks a lot

(And pcpartspicker is awesome!)

IMHO, for what you are trying to do, 4 GB should be enough, Windows 8 is also light on resources. you can start with 2 and upgrade later if needed

 

[escrow4]

I wouldn't drop lower than an i3 if you want a longer lasting box.

 

[DesiPower]

I wouldn't drop lower than an i3 if you want a longer lasting box.

One can always upgrade later, right now its gonna dump up the cost by 12 - 15%

 

[jamesaam]

Thank you for sharing the guidance. It's very helpful.

 

[frozentundra123456]

One can always upgrade later, right now its gonna dump up the cost by 12 - 15%

Even so, worth it IMO. Some newer console ports wont even start on a two thread cpu. I think it is lazy porting for sure, but that is the way it is.

I also think it is false economy to skimp on the cpu in the initial build. If you are gpu limited, you can compensate by turning down the settings, but there is not much you can do if your cpu is not adequate.

 

[mfenn]

Even so, worth it IMO. Some newer console ports wont even start on a two thread cpu. I think it is lazy porting for sure, but that is the way it is.

I also think it is false economy to skimp on the cpu in the initial build. If you are gpu limited, you can compensate by turning down the settings, but there is not much you can do if your cpu is not adequate.

Here's the thing: the OP has a limited budget and only wants to play a single game: KSP. KSP is a Unity game with horrible multithreading, so picking up a cheap, overclockable dual-core makes perfect sense for his use case.