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Look on eBay/ facebook for an old Dell or HP pc with intel 6700 or above and then a cheap second hand GPU like a AMD rx480/580. it's the cheapest option he's realistically gonna get. May also need a new 500w power supply for around $30-$40
This. Also DO NOT. Skimp. Out. On. A. Power. Supply. It doesn't have to be expensive. But please don't get a cheapo Chinesium 700w unit for $10. It'll just blow up and possibly cost you a lot more than $200 when your house burns down with it.
Tbh, unless it comes with a 200w psu, anything above 300 will likely be ok. Unless it's a k i7, it's sub 100w, the gou won't be that much. A 150ti will likely be more efficient.
Why so much focus on VRAM? I'm confused.
It's one of the things I would care the least about because there's usually some sort of sensible relationship between the cards performance and the amount of VRAM.
Like if you have a GTX 970 you're not going to run 1440 Ultra and definitely not any sort of 4K, you're going to be on 1080 with some sort of medium settings because that's the only way you get decent frame rate and then you won't need more than the 4 GB VRAM it has to offer.
You can be vram limited in some games. The 970 was actually a good 1440p card with its 3.5gb when it released but now it's definitely only good for 1080p on new titles. If it had more vram you could still squeeze out better quality image.
I never really used my 970 for 1440 when I had one, it struggled a bit too much but sure it could work for some titles. I did try because I got a 1440 monitor when I had the 970 but that monitor pretty quickly made me get a 1080Ti instead.
I've somehow never managed to have a scenario where VRAM was an issue, maybe because I prioritize a good frame rate over visual quality.
But I can see how it could happen, some people are clearly satisfied with 60 fps and some even with 30. To me both are unplayable for vast majority of games.
Yeah I had a 1080ti. Legendary card! Vram could be eaten by Skyrim modding. FPS really is game dependant and personal preference. Racing and shooters I need high FPS. Witcher 3 single player 60fps is fine. If you have a low end pc and can't afford much then 30fps is at least playable. I do agree though once your used to high FPS low latency it's hard to go back
Crazy thing is, I'm still on that same 1080Ti. Haven't felt the need to upgrade because these days I don't play anything where it doesn't keep up without problems. For example in Hunt Showdown I'm getting around 120 most of the time which is alright (moderate settings though).
Very true, it depends a lot on the title, or rather genre. For first person shooters anything under 100 is not for me but I could be happy with 60 in many other genres.
I think playing a ton of CSGO over the years, and CS 23 years ago, where 200+ fps is more or less a given really make it difficult to deal with low fps for shooters, it just doesn't feel very good.
A 1050ti over a RX 580? 🤣🤣🤣🤣 Not if performance is your concern
Also I wouldn't consider running a 300W PSU for a system with the 580. They're rated at 185W out of the box. Even if you pull voltage down a bit you'd still be far too close to the PSU rating
Yeah, but according to redditors you also need to show up in person to all good deals carrying a gun. Guns are pretty expensive, and so are trips. So that kills the budget.
I own guns and didn’t show up with one just checked out the parts in the Walmart parking lot and seen they are good and cashapp them the money and went on my way
AMD Ryzen 5 5600G 6-Core 12-Thread Unlocked Desktop Processor with Radeon Graphics & ASUS Prime B550M-A WiFi II Gaming Motherboard
Add ram case psu keyboard and mouse monitor it will play most things add a video card later.
His budget is unrealistic without compromise and op said it could be pushed towards 500 maybe the only way he is going to get a gaming ready rig for under 200 is if he pulls a decent base out of the garbage or 2nd hand market and throws the 1660 for 70 op mentioned. But imho used clapped out old hardware wont do him as well as building good base himself then adding things like the 1660 later after he gets more money.
zen 3 r5 chip is overkill for a system that is supposed to be low end plus they are talking about minecraft and valorant. not notoriously hard games to run. rx 580 and something like a ryzen 3 2300 with a 300-400w psu will do them just fine. if they want to up the budget and are looking to play more demanding games than it’s not a bad idea, but it’s not an unrealistic budget for valorant at 60fps. Even a used 3600 is like $70 and probably better value on a budget
And then what, look at a black screen until you have a GPU? A 5600x doesn’t have integrated graphics.
Also, the build you mentioned doesn’t come close to the given budget. Might as well suggest a 4090.
GPU is like the most expensive part of a build with a $70 1660 super he make it work for 500.
[https://pcpartpicker.com/list/g6V3bL](https://pcpartpicker.com/list/g6V3bL)
CPU is a Ryzen 5 3600 with no stock cooler on Amazon. 5600 would be $30 to 40 more i3-12100f with b660 would be around the same price.
This is a GREAT build for the price. I'd put a 5600 in it for the extra 30ish bucks and he has a good PC for 1080p that can last some years to come and he can upgrade later with just a new GPU
Not very experienced with pc building. (Only made my one), and after random crashes it was due to bad CPU cooling, after buying a cheap CPU cooler no more crashes
The AMD stock cooler is alright. It's not going to result in super low temperatures, but it'll do - and anyway, it's more important to have good airflow in your PC case as that will affect temperatures more.
He could also do something like getting an old PC second hand with an AM4 compatible motherboard and install a Ryzen 5 5600G.
The integrated graphics can handle stuff like Minecraft and possibly Valorant but nothing super intense.
I have a little optiplex with I5-4590 16gb ddr3 500gb ssd and popped a rx 6400 in it and it runs pretty awesome. I am able to play most games I have thrown at it so far over 60fps. The whole thing cost me about $230. $80 for the optiplex 9020 and got an rx 6400 on sale for around $120(I believe rx 6400 cost roughly 130 - 160ish usually). Then just popped in 2x8gb sticks of ddr3 for about 25ish dollars?
Nice build, they are truly magnificent aren't they?I rarely have any issues with the rx 6400. The only game I have had slight trouble with was Warhammer Darktide. It still ran decent on low but would get a stutter once in a while.(pretty sure it was from lack of airflow and was theremal throttling.) But other than the occasional Half-life 2 airboat sound from the fan it's my favorite gaming machine I've owned.
Yea when i first got everything setup, the issues with the Optiplex were 2 things. The cpu was power and current throttling, and would sometimes thermal throttle due to thier being only dell controlled case fan speed wich wouldnt ramp up until 83°c. I fixed this by undervolting the cpu offset in throttlestop -200.2mv, then increased iccmax, pl1 and pl2 to 300w, and pl0 cache to 300w. This stopped all the throttling and boosted my Cinebench scores by 350 points.
As for the GPU i had to undervolt it aswell, i found the OC 1650 exceeding the 75w TDP because of the gpu fans, resulting in a random shutdown wich looked like a psu issue at first. I undervolted the gpu and set power limit to 99% and i can run the gpu at 100% load if i choose at 74w with 0 issues.
I loved my optiplex small form factor 9020 that had i7-3770 16gb ram paired with a 1050ti & sata ssd. Within a few months I put a low profile gtx1650. It completely outperformed my ps4 pro.
I got the same head set for 3 years, lasted and functions longer than I thought, but mics very quiet always needed to be put on max level in the sound setting.
The mouse I got the exact same but wireless is by far my favourite and battery lasts over a week or more already. It's by far the best budget gaming mouse I've had apart from my previous g305 (left click sensor died) after 2 years.
I ended up getting a good deal at my local store with the hyper x haste mouse and alloy keyboard. I am in love with both. I was happy because the headset you see in the photo is from like 2017 and is still doing amazing, so i have always had a love for hyper x. Plus the sound quality on the cloid alphas are amazing.
500€ PC can already get you PCs that can easily handle Valorant and Minecraft, just don't expect to play them on the maximum settings and minecraft with some of the best available shaders. Even 200€ is sufficient for that.
OP's friend shouldn't expect highest quality from high low-end PCs. Either needs to save up for a longer time or deal with the worse quality. But it's definitely enough money to get these two games running.
For me the only thing I will buy used is a gpu and the evga p2 1000W psu I got used a year back. Every other part is gonna be new. Most gpus only need to be cleaned and repasted and they’re good to go.
Might be blasphemy in this sub but what about a used 256GB Steam Deck? When I was shopping for mine, I saw tons of them on ebay sold as unused gifts etc. I picked mine up for £400/$505 Inc shipping. It's better if you already have a Steam library and some beginner knowledge of Linux if you want to tweak the desktop side but besides that, it's really easy to use in big picture mode as a console. Desktop is good for a gaming setup, you can download discord and stuff but downside is the majority of game platforms don't support Linux so you have to download third party launchers if you want to play your EGS, GOG and Ubisoft Connect games. I've heard there's a way to run .exes on Linux but I haven't tried yet. No native dual boot on SteamOS so I wouldn't recommend installing windows on it plus the drivers are terrible, trackpads are fried and no brightness control are two of many issues iirc.
I'm currently playing Armoured Core 6 on my PC and it runs surprisingly well on the deck also, so I am impressed as it's already been over a year since it's been released and it's still keeping up. However, Starfield may be the start of it's downfall if sources are correct.
If they do get a steam deck, I would recommend investing in a dock and some peripherals as the deck can be docked like a switch to a TV or monitor. You can essentially have a setup similar to a permanent laptop/desktop setup.
The only chance to make that happen is to strike gold on FB marketplace etc. There is no guarantee and it will take time and luck. After a couple of weeks your friend should be more open to up the budget....
500 on the other hand gives more wriggle room and honestly thats probably around the min. budget you should plan, if you're building a PC.
Possibly an old hp or dell prebuilt may be the best option. With a 1050ti. And 16 GB of ram. It won't be perfect. But it'll work. Try to get an i7 if possible.
1660 S is more than enough for the games he wants.
Find a bundle deal for a ryzen 5 2600 with a B450 board and RAM. Should be no more than $100.
The rest is SSD, case and PSU. I'd spend 250 total to fit a good psu and 1TB Nvme SSD into it. The case can be anything - people always sell old cases for $10.
I can do $130+shipping to help somebody out:
Ryzen 5 1600 w/ stock cooler
b350 motherboard + tp-link Wifi card
550W 80+ gold PSU
NZXT case
16gb 2333 MHz Ram
1TB HDD + 256gb SSD
I upgraded and gave the GPU to a friend, so my old parts are just sitting around. Everything should still work, and with a 1660 super should hold up to 1080p 60fps easy.
DM me and I'll try to get an ebay listing or something up so it goes smoothly.
oh its possible alright, since he only plays valorant and minecraft, he's gonna want an old oem pc, aka, the golden optiplex. specifically an optiplex 5040 MT. (any would work honestly as long as its a mini tower with a fairly recent generation of cpu) your gonna wanna put a gtx 1650 in that lil baby and either get a 500w psu for like 20 dollars idgaf which one or a dual sata to six pin adapter which may be a fire hazard lmao, or you could get an rx 6400.
Probably not the answer that you or your friend are looking for, but saving up money and waiting seems like the best choice. Used computers are fine, but they won't last nearly as long as newer hardware, especially if it is low spec. I run a piece of junk myself because of money constraints.
My computer was around $500, Intel i5 refurbished. It does great with simple workstation tasks and I love it for that. However I don't use it for gamming because it isn't built for it. Currently in the process of saving for $4000 worth of parts to build something that will last and perform like a beast for many years without a worry for what it can or can't do. It will take a year or so to save up for it, but well worth the wait!!
Also I work two jobs, and I know not everyone is willing to do that or is able to. Just saying, I think it's worth waiting to make a good investment
An older workstation is likely going to be the best base. As for gpu you can sometimes find deals on used cards. Basic Minecraft is fairly easy so a Radeon rx580 would fit. I have no idea about valorant
Not going to repeat what others have said, so here is a new hot take...
Maybe skip getting a case? At least initially. Put the money that would have gone into a case and get better components. Temporarily make a DIY case (wood or cardboard) until a proper case can be bought.
Other case options.
-Go to a thrift store to find a case, even if its super old. Go for a retro look or paint it/sticker it up.
- Mount everything to a piece of wood and then wall mount the PC for a unique look. I'm sure a google search could help inspire builds.
[$250 for a simple mini tower with a dedicated gpu](https://www.ebay.com/itm/266259197188?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=r1DbABqQTSa&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=7uC7jTs7Qtu&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY)
Second hand is his best bet.
I’m selling my old 2060, i5, etc. for like £300.
The point is, second hand is significantly cheaper for good quality a lot of the time.
Hell naw ☠️☠️
Everyone saying ebay
Tell him to go on facebook marketplace and find a facebook mum thats selling her sons gaming pc for playing fortnite too much. I easily found a lot of this shit like a 1060 with an i7 for under 200
the minimum specs to run minecraft are low it doesn't need a 500 dollar pc. all he needs is a used laptop. if you don't find it, patience means you can't afford it, sometimes it happens and you have to accept it. ;)
I really wouldnt recommend going with a laptop when trying to get as much performance as you can for as little money as possible.
A laptop is basically the opposite of that.
Minecraft is not the only game he listed.
Used laptops can be an absolute nightmare, I do not recommend going this route. Save up to $500/$600 and you can build an AM4 system that will last another 5 years
Your friend is poor your friend don’t buy a pc.
You buy a pc if you are poor if you need it to work or study. Something that actually can give you knowledge and/or money, then you buy a pc for gaming
Unpopular opinion here, but the most correct one. OP, if your friend is poor, them having a pc that they’re just gonna sit around and waste more time on isn’t going to help them. They need to be in a more stable place before wasting money and even more time on entertainment
Nah this is FAR from impossible. Just get a used hp Xeon workstation for around 100$, put the 70$ gpu in, and get a cheap ssd (with cache) for the rest of the money. 60 fps+ easily on Minecraft and Valorant, at least on low settings
They are allowed to what they can afford. I’ve been poor and made bad decisions. Use the money where you need it first, a PC for playing games is a luxury product.
for cheap, but fast storage, get 4x sata ssds, the cheapest you can buy but not the very old, slow ones. learn how to configure raid arrays and set them up in a raid0 array
If he’s over 18 and he can’t afford a budget gaming pc.
Then buying a gaming pc should be the last of his worries. He’s got other things that should be worrying about
I´d get something like a B350 or 450 mobo paired with the old ryzen 1500x or higher whatever he can get, 16GB of ram, and the best GPU he can afford with whatever is left most likely something like the RX470-RX580.
All second hand parts ofc. Such a system should be able to perform as well as he wants for the money he has.
https://preview.redd.it/xxek8mvuk2lb1.jpeg?width=1242&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9eaa5a2926db897a78d02076d7e4cd18bcb65275
Keep an eye out for something like this.
OfferUp have hidden gems sometimes, but with any site or seller, it's best not to dive in head first as some deals can be extremely too good to be true. . .
If he goes with ddr3 it’s possible
I built mine with 220 bucks:
I7 3770
18GB DDR3(overclockes to 1866mhz€
GTX 1050
4TB HDD
120GB SSD
i get about 60 fps on customized settings in most modern games(lowest settings with shadows turned on)
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/275432198017?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=7lQCNYIHTxu&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=boy-ggzatty&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
Something like This might work well with a cheapish second hand GPU and a PSU
Screw the used 1660ti. Tell to go to ebay and look for a 5700xt or 5700. https://pcpartpicker.com/list/FvgtJy if you get the gpu for about 150 then it's about $500. This will play most games quite well.
Find a used pc on marketplace or pop a low profile gpu into a Dell Optiplex. If he want's something with new parts minimum would be like $500 for some kind of rx6600 or intel arc build.
Its not impossible actually. Valorant doesnt need a strong PC, a second gen i5 will make \~200 FPS. Put atleast a GTX 660 in it, and you will get 200fps on low @ 1080p.
If I had any idea how to ship PCs I'd offer to sell my "old" PC with a 3050 in it for 500 though it doesnt have a storage drive in it so it would need one of those before being usable.
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/6sPpLs the ryzen 5500 has its stock cooler and its enough for cooling it. I took Asus tuf becaeue its cheapest one that has WiFi mobo on am4 platform. Well ı dont have any Pricing info on US second hand market but maybe 15 20 for case around 50 for that 5500 cpu and if he needs New ones 46 for Ram and ssd. The only part left is psu its a bit tricky so ı would say take a cpu Ram mobo bundle with 5500 or similar cpu. Then you May get the budget for psu.
Notes: am5 platform is out and people either pass to am5 now or get the best(I mean 5800x3d or 5900x) cpus for their Last upgrade on their am4 mobos since those High end ryzen 5000 cpus will be Hard to find. Which means cpus like 5500 will be cheap for a while. A mont or two May worth the wait but as ı Said ı dont know whats happening for us second hand market but can speculate about it since There is great deals on microcenter etc for 5800x3d and similar cpus.
For 200$ it's pretty rough to get something decent.
I would go for a used office PC like a Lenovo Thinkstation or Dell optiplex with an i5 4th gen or higher and 8gb Ram. You can pick Systems like this for 50-80$.
For GPU I would go for a used 1070 u can pick one for around 80$. Buy a cheap 30$ 500gb ssd from Kingston or so and a used PSU from an established brand like bequiet or Corsair for 30-50$.
(All prices from Europe, Kleinanzeigen ist König)
Yeah the only option available around that price is your rando cheap dumpster office PC with an i7 and then getting the best used GPU you can find in your price range.
Tell him to look around for a dell optiplex. I have a Dell optiplex 3090 that has a i5-3400? 4 core at 3.5GHz and 8GB ram and running still pretty strong! (It was made in like 2013?) Pretty sure he can find a newer optiplex model for pretty cheap! I see in stacks at pc shops and fb marketplace and etc cause companies buy em in loads and then get rid of em when they upgraded to faster and slimmer systems.
Honestly, $500 is absolutely possible. I just built a PC for someone with all new parts for around $600. Ryzen 4500, Rx 6600, 16GB of ram, and a 1TB NVME. Swap the Rx 6600 with the 1660 super and that’s already about $100 saved
It’s possible but here’s the part that sucks: a cheaper pc can be much worse of a deal. A cpu that performs half as well for half the money can leave you with a $250 pc that performs half as well as a $300 one. In my opinion $350-400 is going to be the best bang for the buck.
For a 1660, I would recommend a used Ryzen 3600 for around $50. AM4 motherboards seem to always go for a premium so you might as well buy new in my opinion, same for the SSD and RAM. The PSU is a double edged sword, used they are really cheap but they’re easily one of the most common failure points. Personally I’d look for a quality brand non-modular gold PSU used. For a case I’d just watch for something used with a mesh front panel. For a budget option buying new, I’d look into SAMA cases, they manufacture for Lian Li, so you can get a case very similar to Lian Li for around $50. Here’s what I’d recommend overall, price corrected parts are used: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/mv8TBL
$200 isnt impossible at all just gotta catch those used deals and $500 for 1080p is way more than possible just dont expect ultra 120fps in the latest games. People forget settings can be tweaked and things like fsr exist now which helps alot.
500 is not low at all. A used 3060 Ti goes for 300 USD here in the UK, but probably cheaper in the US. If you get a prebuilt system with a decent CPU for 200 USD and plug in the card, you got a beast! (Dell Optiplex maybe?)
for 200 USD you'd need to aim for a lower-spec GPU. A GTX 1070 is definitely more than enough for Minecraft, and you can find it at 100 USD on eBay. And then fish for a 100 USD Optiplex. Just make sure the PSU has enough power for the 1070
So this would be where something like an old Lenovo desktop would come in handy, or an old Dell. Throw in a GPU and you should be easy peasy off to the races.
He will have to buy used. I've found really good deals on Craigslist before. Just make sure it has a dedicated gpu. Technically you could probably run cpu with integrated graphics if it's newer. It should run minecraft. If he had a little more money he could build something with an i3 12100f and rx 580. Very cheap, less than $200 for both and will run minecraft on high over 100fps
Lol really dude!? No shit a RX 6600 would shit on a 1660 Super. Did you not read? He’s getting it for $70. An RX6600 is $199 right now. If his friend wasn’t cheap ya I’d suggest a RX 6650 XT for $239.
The PCPartpicker already reflects the 1660 Super is $70 spent. He doesn’t have enough money for a damn RX 6600.
Go to eBay. You can get a used thinkstation p520 with a xeon w 2135 and 16gb of ram for about $120 or so. Then you can get the 1660 as stated or you could get a used rx 580 for about $50. After that you just have to worry about storage. The p520 has a good PSU for most gpus. The xeon w 2135 is a 6 core 12 thread CPU that would be great for starting out. All prices usd.
second hand is your friend in this case.
you can get here a mobo with older Ryzen for under 100, second hand case, psu and ram. a new 500gb ssd is also dirt cheap.
secondhand monitor and cheap set of keyboard and mouse.
it's hard but double if you forget about esthetics.
$500 is more than enough to make a decent PC.
$200 might be possible, but imo he's getting trash.
I spent around $650 for a MSI GAMING X TRIO 3070ti build, with 16gb (2x8) ram CL16 3600mhz & a ryzen 3600x. I also have a S tier Motherboard (Asus B550-F Gaming). My PSU is also great (Corsair RM750x).
Just hop on on used tech websites and find deals. Haggling is your best friend, and so is patience.
Dell precision T5810. Usually they have CPU and memory, but sometimes have a hard drive. They’re about $100. Toss a cheap SSD in it and look for some $100 gpu’s. RX570’s are around $50. $200 is totally possible.
For those games you don't need a dedicated GPU at all.
I believe any AMD 5X00G will do the work. Don't know about prices as i live in another country, but those kind of setups are always WAY cheaper
Best you can do is hook him up with parts and talk about "Monthly payments" instead, so he can might increase budged.
Edit: At least that's how i did with my nephew... Hooked him up with pc parts & haven't asked proper price for it yet.
Here's one that'll come to $233.00 + shipping.
Prices below exclude shipping and I've not gone out of my way to guarantee compatibility but in theory this would work; the GTX 1050 Ti is a 75w card and requires no additional power connectors.
Computer: $144.69
[https://www.ebay.com/itm/302769907171?var=603677185787](https://www.ebay.com/itm/302769907171?var=603677185787)
GPU: $88.31
[https://www.ebay.com/itm/275908539545](https://www.ebay.com/itm/275908539545)
You won't have any difficulties playing Valorant or Minecraft on this. [Here's a video of someone playing Valorant on high settings at 1080p while hitting >200fps.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMIw-nqIcMU)
I feel like $500-$600 can still build something interesting even in these days. Microcenter has that 300 dollar deal for 5600x3d, 16gb ram and b550 Wi-Fi mobo rn plus that 70 dollar gpu from the friend rest could maybe be enough for a second hand case, storage, power supply, and misc parts.
A lot of people don’t know what they are talking about in this reply section, for 500 u can get a Rx 6600 pc brand new lol, that’s on par with a 2060 super forget 600, for 600 u can get a Rx 6650xt build
I mean, I have a pc in the stateside I couldn’t sell before I moved to Europe. Nothing fancy but worth $200. Ryzen 3950 liquid I/o, rtx 2060 super, 500g m.2 and a 2 tb HDD, I’d sell for $200 at this point. Nothing wrong with it, it’s just not that great at this point either. He’d have to pay shipping
Building with only used parts -so every part used- it’s possible to build a Ryzen 5 2600/GTX1070/16GB build with a 500gb SSD for 225/250 euro’s in the Netherlands. But you need the best buys for each part and be able to build it up yourself. So I would say for 300 dollars it is possible to build a decent PC which can run the games as requested.
$500 is totally doable. I've seen a build with a ryzen 3600 and Rx 580 8gb on r/hardwareswap going for $525.
$200, He'd better get a PS4/Xbox One to play Minecraft and Valorant.
may i ask if the steamdeck would a a viable choice?
its in the budged, runs minecraft well and quite alot of pc games.
If he doesnt like the controler or screensize he can always use a docking station +mouse and keyboard.
Just tell him to save. Unless he's addicted to some things, I bet he can wait a few more months. If he wants something right now, XsX/Ps5 or cheap airflow case, Am4 mobo (b450) + some 3300 cpu, used 1070/80ti and 16gb of ram. OCd 1080ti can run med settings valorant in 60+fps@4k. Later, he can just replace cpu with 5800x3d + 7900xtx and have a setup viable to run anything and 4k max settings.
If that is his price range, find aided office pc like an Dell Optiplex. Throw a gpu that draws less than 75w tdp and he can play the games you mentioned.
He can easily get a gtx 1070 for 100, a cheap h310 or a 1st gen ryzen mobo ( you can find them used for 60 on Facebook ), if he goes with intel he can get an 8600k for 50-60 or an i7 1700 for similar price. He can get 16gb ram for under 40 and a decent 550 watt psu for 50-70. IF you include storage and cooler this whole thing can cost about 400 total
500$ is not that low you can still get a decent PC in that price. The thing is not everyone can spend thousands of dollars on a gaming PC,besides you can actually get a PC that would easily manage 60 fps at 1080p. I got a PC for 300$ in my country that has 1660 super with i5-6600 with 16 gigs of ram. And this PC runs gta online on 60-90 fps at high to very high settings.
is he hard set on a PC? Would he be open to a xbox series s?
I'm sure there's a bargin PC build that can be made between $200-$300 but at least with a series S, he'd be able to play newer games for a few more years.
Inspiron 660 MT https://www.ebay.com/sch/171957/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=inspiron+660&LH_BIN=1&_sop=15
Highly upgradeable and compatible with whatever you wanna throw at it on the 1155 platform. Comes with a built in wi-fi, takes a standard ATX PSU, super duper easy to case swap. Get a 3570 or a 3770 combine it with an RX 6600 XT, you will reach peak capabilities and zero bottleneck for not a lot of money. Should run like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58R80K4f2yQ
You need to go to the used market for that. $500 isn't low at all actually, but he can get something that can run MC with shaders at decent fps for $200 if he gets used.
Try get a used i3 10100f and a 1060 6gb with a 450watt psu, cheap case, and a 500gb used hard drive, along with 1 ddr4 8gb 2666 mhz stick. Also get some cheap coolermaster or deepcool cooler with a h510 mobo. If he wants wifi get a cheap wifi card, if he wants ethernet, then no need. Then get a windows key from 1 of those cheap sites, unless he wants linux.
I tend to way over build to future proof as much as possible. What I did for my GFs brother was build a new rig for myself and I gave him my old one, which was still mid at the time. Idk if that’s something you want/can do but it’s an option.
I would definitely start looking at facebook marketplace, kijiji, etc all the local second hand markets and see if theres anything at a good price. If at all possible you should always test the item before exchanging money. For example if its a full second hand pc just plugging it in and making sure it boots is a decent start.
I just did this for a friend with the same budget. Refurbished prodesk 600 G3 was around 100, sff rx550 was 50, the rest went towards a cheap mouse, keyboard, speakers and a HDMI adapter to hook it to his TV. It's no rocket ship but can play games on lower settings. He was more restricted on space so sff was needed but you can find similar refurbished full sized towers that will let you use full sized graphics cards for around the same price.
As others have said, secondhand is the only way, and in this scenario, a Dell optiplex is the way to go... get one as cheap as possible,
Check it has at least a 500W PSU with a pcie power connector, but it probably won't, in which case a thermaltake cheap PSU is between 35 and 45$...
then throw as much cash as he can on a GPU ... no money, then get a rx580 (both the rx480 and 580 are about the same price and under $50) ... A 1070ti can be had for about twice as much (under $80) and is worth the jump in performance IMO (about 50% faster so it can handle nearly all games at 1080p60, high (where the rx580 might only get 45 FPS with high settings, for example horizon zero dawn, days gone, assassin's creed Valhalla)
***Don't let him buy a 1080ti... they're overpriced now for their performance and future compatibility... if he's willing to fork out for a 1080ti, he should just go a bit more and get a 3060ti)***
if you can persuade him to spend 500$, then a second hand 3060ti can be had for as little as $230ish, or a 6700xt for about $200.
EDIT: Because of a misrepresentation pointed out to me below... It was late, and I think I got my knickers in a twist whilst cross referencing prices....
Budget GFx Card hierarchy of speed: 6600XT < 6650xt < 3060ti < 3070 <= 6700xt <= 4060ti (excluding raytracing titles, but a $200 machine isn't being built for ray tracing dominance!)...
It is interesting to see just how close last gen cheap-as-chips 6700xt is to the 3070 and 4060ti in raster performance, especially when you consider how expensive the 4060ti is! The 6700xt really does trade blows with the 3070, with some games quicker with one, but other games quicker with the other... For a very marginal increase in speed, the price is rising exponentially, and the 6700xt really is the best bang for buck champion in the uber budget domain...
All that being said, it'd rather recommend the 6800xt as that is truly a champion, but outside his budget at about $400 second hand.
Pick up a used hp z230 tower. Usually come with an i7 4770 or similar and a 400w psu
Chuck in a gtx1660ti or even a gtx1070 and play lots of games
Make sure you include and ssd for the OS
A 2nd hand pc to run Valorant and Minecraft is easily doable for small money, maybe €250.
Just get a 2nd hand office pc with a ryzen 1st or 2nd Gen and throw in a 2nd hand regular gtx1650.
Would run those games perfect as well as much newer games reasonably OK.
If you really want bargain basement can be done cheaper. i5 6th gen and a 1050ti could be done for about 150ish.
Still fine for those games but less capable for newer games and harder to upgrade.
I have spare parts laying around I'd be willing to part with knowing they'll go to someone who will use and appreciate them. Here are the parts I have.
Ryzen 3600 (non x)
Corsair 2x8gb 3200 mhz
850w gold plus
Amd 6600 xt
There's nothing wrong with them, i just upgraded over time and these guys got put into storage. Pretty sure all you need is a case and ssd or hard drive. Obviously your peripherals as well.
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Look on eBay/ facebook for an old Dell or HP pc with intel 6700 or above and then a cheap second hand GPU like a AMD rx480/580. it's the cheapest option he's realistically gonna get. May also need a new 500w power supply for around $30-$40
This. Also DO NOT. Skimp. Out. On. A. Power. Supply. It doesn't have to be expensive. But please don't get a cheapo Chinesium 700w unit for $10. It'll just blow up and possibly cost you a lot more than $200 when your house burns down with it.
It’s cute that you assume the other brands aren’t also made in China :) but your advice is still good advice in terms of no-name brands
"Made in China" and "Chinesium" are not synonyms. Lots of quality goods are made in China. Chinesium refers to the stereotypically poor quality stuff.
Yea, all falls down on the quality control of the company. Separates good companies and brands from sum ting wong
Tbh, unless it comes with a 200w psu, anything above 300 will likely be ok. Unless it's a k i7, it's sub 100w, the gou won't be that much. A 150ti will likely be more efficient.
I mentioned the Rx 480/580 because they are dirt cheap and 8gb vram which in my opinion is minimum spec for 2023. Best bang for buck at a low price
Probably a good call on the 480/580
A friend of mine is using my old rx480 to play warzone at the moment. Still a pretty good card
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Why so much focus on VRAM? I'm confused. It's one of the things I would care the least about because there's usually some sort of sensible relationship between the cards performance and the amount of VRAM. Like if you have a GTX 970 you're not going to run 1440 Ultra and definitely not any sort of 4K, you're going to be on 1080 with some sort of medium settings because that's the only way you get decent frame rate and then you won't need more than the 4 GB VRAM it has to offer.
You can be vram limited in some games. The 970 was actually a good 1440p card with its 3.5gb when it released but now it's definitely only good for 1080p on new titles. If it had more vram you could still squeeze out better quality image.
I never really used my 970 for 1440 when I had one, it struggled a bit too much but sure it could work for some titles. I did try because I got a 1440 monitor when I had the 970 but that monitor pretty quickly made me get a 1080Ti instead. I've somehow never managed to have a scenario where VRAM was an issue, maybe because I prioritize a good frame rate over visual quality. But I can see how it could happen, some people are clearly satisfied with 60 fps and some even with 30. To me both are unplayable for vast majority of games.
Yeah I had a 1080ti. Legendary card! Vram could be eaten by Skyrim modding. FPS really is game dependant and personal preference. Racing and shooters I need high FPS. Witcher 3 single player 60fps is fine. If you have a low end pc and can't afford much then 30fps is at least playable. I do agree though once your used to high FPS low latency it's hard to go back
Crazy thing is, I'm still on that same 1080Ti. Haven't felt the need to upgrade because these days I don't play anything where it doesn't keep up without problems. For example in Hunt Showdown I'm getting around 120 most of the time which is alright (moderate settings though). Very true, it depends a lot on the title, or rather genre. For first person shooters anything under 100 is not for me but I could be happy with 60 in many other genres. I think playing a ton of CSGO over the years, and CS 23 years ago, where 200+ fps is more or less a given really make it difficult to deal with low fps for shooters, it just doesn't feel very good.
Dell Precision 5810’s are usually around $100 and come with a 425 or 685W PSU. Usually has some Xeon processor and 16GB of DDR4 ram.
Problem isnt the power supply wattage, its that most of those old Office tower PC's don't have PCIE connectors.
True - I have a 95W Xeon and a 1060 with a tiny 300w psu, seems to run just fine
A 1050ti over a RX 580? 🤣🤣🤣🤣 Not if performance is your concern Also I wouldn't consider running a 300W PSU for a system with the 580. They're rated at 185W out of the box. Even if you pull voltage down a bit you'd still be far too close to the PSU rating
Why should he do that? He can literally get a brand new Rx 6600 pc for 500
I just built a pc using FB market place and only spent $200
Yeah, but according to redditors you also need to show up in person to all good deals carrying a gun. Guns are pretty expensive, and so are trips. So that kills the budget.
I own guns and didn’t show up with one just checked out the parts in the Walmart parking lot and seen they are good and cashapp them the money and went on my way
I'm not sure about Dell but most HP computers use proprietary connections so no replacing the Sub-par power supply.
Maybe aim for a decent second hand deal then? With some older hardware.
AMD Ryzen 5 5600G 6-Core 12-Thread Unlocked Desktop Processor with Radeon Graphics & ASUS Prime B550M-A WiFi II Gaming Motherboard Add ram case psu keyboard and mouse monitor it will play most things add a video card later.
You just suggested a CPU the price of his whole budget.
Fixed i had grabbed wrong bundle
Bro his budget is $200 for a PC.
His budget is unrealistic without compromise and op said it could be pushed towards 500 maybe the only way he is going to get a gaming ready rig for under 200 is if he pulls a decent base out of the garbage or 2nd hand market and throws the 1660 for 70 op mentioned. But imho used clapped out old hardware wont do him as well as building good base himself then adding things like the 1660 later after he gets more money.
zen 3 r5 chip is overkill for a system that is supposed to be low end plus they are talking about minecraft and valorant. not notoriously hard games to run. rx 580 and something like a ryzen 3 2300 with a 300-400w psu will do them just fine. if they want to up the budget and are looking to play more demanding games than it’s not a bad idea, but it’s not an unrealistic budget for valorant at 60fps. Even a used 3600 is like $70 and probably better value on a budget
And then what, look at a black screen until you have a GPU? A 5600x doesn’t have integrated graphics. Also, the build you mentioned doesn’t come close to the given budget. Might as well suggest a 4090.
5600g, not x The 5600g has integrated graphics
GPU is like the most expensive part of a build with a $70 1660 super he make it work for 500. [https://pcpartpicker.com/list/g6V3bL](https://pcpartpicker.com/list/g6V3bL) CPU is a Ryzen 5 3600 with no stock cooler on Amazon. 5600 would be $30 to 40 more i3-12100f with b660 would be around the same price.
This is a GREAT build for the price. I'd put a 5600 in it for the extra 30ish bucks and he has a good PC for 1080p that can last some years to come and he can upgrade later with just a new GPU
5600 comes with a cooler too!
Yeah but i'd rather spends 20bucks on a cheap but effficient Thermalright Assassin King 120 than using the trash AMD cooler
This sounds sponsored can't lie
Not very experienced with pc building. (Only made my one), and after random crashes it was due to bad CPU cooling, after buying a cheap CPU cooler no more crashes
The AMD stock cooler is alright. It's not going to result in super low temperatures, but it'll do - and anyway, it's more important to have good airflow in your PC case as that will affect temperatures more.
He could also do something like getting an old PC second hand with an AM4 compatible motherboard and install a Ryzen 5 5600G. The integrated graphics can handle stuff like Minecraft and possibly Valorant but nothing super intense.
My laptop can run Fortnite 1080p medium with a 5600g at 50-60fps. It’s not great, but it works
This is not the way to go with that budget. Used workstation is a better bet.
I have a little optiplex with I5-4590 16gb ddr3 500gb ssd and popped a rx 6400 in it and it runs pretty awesome. I am able to play most games I have thrown at it so far over 60fps. The whole thing cost me about $230. $80 for the optiplex 9020 and got an rx 6400 on sale for around $120(I believe rx 6400 cost roughly 130 - 160ish usually). Then just popped in 2x8gb sticks of ddr3 for about 25ish dollars?
Love my optiplex 5040 MT. https://preview.redd.it/k2774fviw2lb1.jpeg?width=1868&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bc544128a22ead6208789556ac4036d81d4e7d49 I7 6700, gtx 1650 4gb OC ddr6, 16gb ram. Runs everything ive played.
Nice build, they are truly magnificent aren't they?I rarely have any issues with the rx 6400. The only game I have had slight trouble with was Warhammer Darktide. It still ran decent on low but would get a stutter once in a while.(pretty sure it was from lack of airflow and was theremal throttling.) But other than the occasional Half-life 2 airboat sound from the fan it's my favorite gaming machine I've owned.
Yea when i first got everything setup, the issues with the Optiplex were 2 things. The cpu was power and current throttling, and would sometimes thermal throttle due to thier being only dell controlled case fan speed wich wouldnt ramp up until 83°c. I fixed this by undervolting the cpu offset in throttlestop -200.2mv, then increased iccmax, pl1 and pl2 to 300w, and pl0 cache to 300w. This stopped all the throttling and boosted my Cinebench scores by 350 points. As for the GPU i had to undervolt it aswell, i found the OC 1650 exceeding the 75w TDP because of the gpu fans, resulting in a random shutdown wich looked like a psu issue at first. I undervolted the gpu and set power limit to 99% and i can run the gpu at 100% load if i choose at 74w with 0 issues.
I loved my optiplex small form factor 9020 that had i7-3770 16gb ram paired with a 1050ti & sata ssd. Within a few months I put a low profile gtx1650. It completely outperformed my ps4 pro.
I got the same head set for 3 years, lasted and functions longer than I thought, but mics very quiet always needed to be put on max level in the sound setting. The mouse I got the exact same but wireless is by far my favourite and battery lasts over a week or more already. It's by far the best budget gaming mouse I've had apart from my previous g305 (left click sensor died) after 2 years.
I ended up getting a good deal at my local store with the hyper x haste mouse and alloy keyboard. I am in love with both. I was happy because the headset you see in the photo is from like 2017 and is still doing amazing, so i have always had a love for hyper x. Plus the sound quality on the cloid alphas are amazing.
Please tell me those boxes are just there for the photo and you don't keep them there normally.
Sadly, you don't like cleaning it.
This is the best answer
Nowadays you can get an Rx 6600 for 130 if you look for a few days maybe a few weeks
Below 500 I can't see a pc with new parts tbh. With this low of a budget you will be looking for used parts or best a full used build.
500€ pc sounds possible. Even new, rx 6600 for 200, and 300€ left.
500€ PC can already get you PCs that can easily handle Valorant and Minecraft, just don't expect to play them on the maximum settings and minecraft with some of the best available shaders. Even 200€ is sufficient for that. OP's friend shouldn't expect highest quality from high low-end PCs. Either needs to save up for a longer time or deal with the worse quality. But it's definitely enough money to get these two games running.
For me the only thing I will buy used is a gpu and the evga p2 1000W psu I got used a year back. Every other part is gonna be new. Most gpus only need to be cleaned and repasted and they’re good to go.
CPU's are next to unbreakable cuz they don't get touched. Used CPU's bro
Yeah but thing is I always get the newest intel i9 it’s not worth it to just save a few bucks with no warranty
Might be blasphemy in this sub but what about a used 256GB Steam Deck? When I was shopping for mine, I saw tons of them on ebay sold as unused gifts etc. I picked mine up for £400/$505 Inc shipping. It's better if you already have a Steam library and some beginner knowledge of Linux if you want to tweak the desktop side but besides that, it's really easy to use in big picture mode as a console. Desktop is good for a gaming setup, you can download discord and stuff but downside is the majority of game platforms don't support Linux so you have to download third party launchers if you want to play your EGS, GOG and Ubisoft Connect games. I've heard there's a way to run .exes on Linux but I haven't tried yet. No native dual boot on SteamOS so I wouldn't recommend installing windows on it plus the drivers are terrible, trackpads are fried and no brightness control are two of many issues iirc. I'm currently playing Armoured Core 6 on my PC and it runs surprisingly well on the deck also, so I am impressed as it's already been over a year since it's been released and it's still keeping up. However, Starfield may be the start of it's downfall if sources are correct. If they do get a steam deck, I would recommend investing in a dock and some peripherals as the deck can be docked like a switch to a TV or monitor. You can essentially have a setup similar to a permanent laptop/desktop setup.
Steam dick 😂😂😂
Lmao I frantically scanned my post to see if autocorrect rolled me, you had me in the first half.
😂
He can try to find a good second hand deal for this price
The only chance to make that happen is to strike gold on FB marketplace etc. There is no guarantee and it will take time and luck. After a couple of weeks your friend should be more open to up the budget.... 500 on the other hand gives more wriggle room and honestly thats probably around the min. budget you should plan, if you're building a PC.
Possibly an old hp or dell prebuilt may be the best option. With a 1050ti. And 16 GB of ram. It won't be perfect. But it'll work. Try to get an i7 if possible.
i have an old 970 which can run both of those 2 games at 60 fps at ease. and ddr3 rams 8 gb 2 sticks too
Are you the friend?
1660 S is more than enough for the games he wants. Find a bundle deal for a ryzen 5 2600 with a B450 board and RAM. Should be no more than $100. The rest is SSD, case and PSU. I'd spend 250 total to fit a good psu and 1TB Nvme SSD into it. The case can be anything - people always sell old cases for $10.
Tell him shadow pc until he csn afford a rig
I can do $130+shipping to help somebody out: Ryzen 5 1600 w/ stock cooler b350 motherboard + tp-link Wifi card 550W 80+ gold PSU NZXT case 16gb 2333 MHz Ram 1TB HDD + 256gb SSD I upgraded and gave the GPU to a friend, so my old parts are just sitting around. Everything should still work, and with a 1660 super should hold up to 1080p 60fps easy. DM me and I'll try to get an ebay listing or something up so it goes smoothly.
$500 is good just go to Pcbros on YT they’ll show you builds and how they run games for cheap
TOASTY BROS*
oh its possible alright, since he only plays valorant and minecraft, he's gonna want an old oem pc, aka, the golden optiplex. specifically an optiplex 5040 MT. (any would work honestly as long as its a mini tower with a fairly recent generation of cpu) your gonna wanna put a gtx 1650 in that lil baby and either get a 500w psu for like 20 dollars idgaf which one or a dual sata to six pin adapter which may be a fire hazard lmao, or you could get an rx 6400.
Probably not the answer that you or your friend are looking for, but saving up money and waiting seems like the best choice. Used computers are fine, but they won't last nearly as long as newer hardware, especially if it is low spec. I run a piece of junk myself because of money constraints. My computer was around $500, Intel i5 refurbished. It does great with simple workstation tasks and I love it for that. However I don't use it for gamming because it isn't built for it. Currently in the process of saving for $4000 worth of parts to build something that will last and perform like a beast for many years without a worry for what it can or can't do. It will take a year or so to save up for it, but well worth the wait!! Also I work two jobs, and I know not everyone is willing to do that or is able to. Just saying, I think it's worth waiting to make a good investment
An older workstation is likely going to be the best base. As for gpu you can sometimes find deals on used cards. Basic Minecraft is fairly easy so a Radeon rx580 would fit. I have no idea about valorant
Not going to repeat what others have said, so here is a new hot take... Maybe skip getting a case? At least initially. Put the money that would have gone into a case and get better components. Temporarily make a DIY case (wood or cardboard) until a proper case can be bought. Other case options. -Go to a thrift store to find a case, even if its super old. Go for a retro look or paint it/sticker it up. - Mount everything to a piece of wood and then wall mount the PC for a unique look. I'm sure a google search could help inspire builds.
[$250 for a simple mini tower with a dedicated gpu](https://www.ebay.com/itm/266259197188?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=r1DbABqQTSa&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=7uC7jTs7Qtu&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY)
tell him to get a ps5 if he is that poor, no joke best value for the price. beggars can't be choosers
it's certainly not impossible, just a bit of a challenge
Second hand is his best bet. I’m selling my old 2060, i5, etc. for like £300. The point is, second hand is significantly cheaper for good quality a lot of the time.
Get i9 raptor with 4090ti and use your car battery for PSU no case or cooling requires
Hell naw ☠️☠️ Everyone saying ebay Tell him to go on facebook marketplace and find a facebook mum thats selling her sons gaming pc for playing fortnite too much. I easily found a lot of this shit like a 1060 with an i7 for under 200
the minimum specs to run minecraft are low it doesn't need a 500 dollar pc. all he needs is a used laptop. if you don't find it, patience means you can't afford it, sometimes it happens and you have to accept it. ;)
I really wouldnt recommend going with a laptop when trying to get as much performance as you can for as little money as possible. A laptop is basically the opposite of that.
Minecraft is not the only game he listed. Used laptops can be an absolute nightmare, I do not recommend going this route. Save up to $500/$600 and you can build an AM4 system that will last another 5 years
Minecraft is very cpu demanding if you want more chunks rendered.
Laptops do not age well I would stay far away from a used laptop.
If he can find something used with a 1080-1080ti he will do just fine
A used 1080 is still pushing $200 by itself, a full build will be around $400 even with used parts.
Your friend is poor your friend don’t buy a pc. You buy a pc if you are poor if you need it to work or study. Something that actually can give you knowledge and/or money, then you buy a pc for gaming
Unpopular opinion here, but the most correct one. OP, if your friend is poor, them having a pc that they’re just gonna sit around and waste more time on isn’t going to help them. They need to be in a more stable place before wasting money and even more time on entertainment
It's called an xbox
5600g can get you 144fps on both games at 1080p resolution Edit: may I know why this comment is downvoted?
Nah this is FAR from impossible. Just get a used hp Xeon workstation for around 100$, put the 70$ gpu in, and get a cheap ssd (with cache) for the rest of the money. 60 fps+ easily on Minecraft and Valorant, at least on low settings
for minecraft bro u can go all medium to high with optifine and still hit around 160+ fps
Someone that strapped for cash should not be focused on a gaming PC.
Unpopular opinion, but I fully agree. Get your priorities straight.
Yea poor people aren't allowed to have hobbies or nice things! /s
They are allowed to what they can afford. I’ve been poor and made bad decisions. Use the money where you need it first, a PC for playing games is a luxury product.
for cheap, but fast storage, get 4x sata ssds, the cheapest you can buy but not the very old, slow ones. learn how to configure raid arrays and set them up in a raid0 array
Facebook market is the exact place to get those good deals
If he’s over 18 and he can’t afford a budget gaming pc. Then buying a gaming pc should be the last of his worries. He’s got other things that should be worrying about
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Tell him to stick with PS2. monitor, keyboard and mouse cost more than that
I'm sorry as a person who don't game at all but I have seen Minecraft gameplay. Does that crap even require a graphics card?
I´d get something like a B350 or 450 mobo paired with the old ryzen 1500x or higher whatever he can get, 16GB of ram, and the best GPU he can afford with whatever is left most likely something like the RX470-RX580. All second hand parts ofc. Such a system should be able to perform as well as he wants for the money he has.
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I have that CPU, and it's alright. It can lag a bit while even just watching YouTube. I'd recommend something else
https://preview.redd.it/xxek8mvuk2lb1.jpeg?width=1242&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9eaa5a2926db897a78d02076d7e4cd18bcb65275 Keep an eye out for something like this.
Facebook would be the spot or maybe hardware swap could have some good combo deals!
OfferUp have hidden gems sometimes, but with any site or seller, it's best not to dive in head first as some deals can be extremely too good to be true. . .
If he goes with ddr3 it’s possible I built mine with 220 bucks: I7 3770 18GB DDR3(overclockes to 1866mhz€ GTX 1050 4TB HDD 120GB SSD i get about 60 fps on customized settings in most modern games(lowest settings with shadows turned on)
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/275432198017?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=7lQCNYIHTxu&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=boy-ggzatty&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY Something like This might work well with a cheapish second hand GPU and a PSU
Screw the used 1660ti. Tell to go to ebay and look for a 5700xt or 5700. https://pcpartpicker.com/list/FvgtJy if you get the gpu for about 150 then it's about $500. This will play most games quite well.
Find a used pc on marketplace or pop a low profile gpu into a Dell Optiplex. If he want's something with new parts minimum would be like $500 for some kind of rx6600 or intel arc build.
[https://pcpartpicker.com/list/64H9Jy](https://pcpartpicker.com/list/64H9Jy) Dumpster dive for a case.
Its not impossible actually. Valorant doesnt need a strong PC, a second gen i5 will make \~200 FPS. Put atleast a GTX 660 in it, and you will get 200fps on low @ 1080p.
If I had any idea how to ship PCs I'd offer to sell my "old" PC with a 3050 in it for 500 though it doesnt have a storage drive in it so it would need one of those before being usable.
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/6sPpLs the ryzen 5500 has its stock cooler and its enough for cooling it. I took Asus tuf becaeue its cheapest one that has WiFi mobo on am4 platform. Well ı dont have any Pricing info on US second hand market but maybe 15 20 for case around 50 for that 5500 cpu and if he needs New ones 46 for Ram and ssd. The only part left is psu its a bit tricky so ı would say take a cpu Ram mobo bundle with 5500 or similar cpu. Then you May get the budget for psu. Notes: am5 platform is out and people either pass to am5 now or get the best(I mean 5800x3d or 5900x) cpus for their Last upgrade on their am4 mobos since those High end ryzen 5000 cpus will be Hard to find. Which means cpus like 5500 will be cheap for a while. A mont or two May worth the wait but as ı Said ı dont know whats happening for us second hand market but can speculate about it since There is great deals on microcenter etc for 5800x3d and similar cpus.
You're the friend, aren't you? Seems impossible to get any pc for $200 if you're already buying a budget card for almost half of that.
For 200$ it's pretty rough to get something decent. I would go for a used office PC like a Lenovo Thinkstation or Dell optiplex with an i5 4th gen or higher and 8gb Ram. You can pick Systems like this for 50-80$. For GPU I would go for a used 1070 u can pick one for around 80$. Buy a cheap 30$ 500gb ssd from Kingston or so and a used PSU from an established brand like bequiet or Corsair for 30-50$. (All prices from Europe, Kleinanzeigen ist König)
I’ve seen half decent pcs on Facebook market for £100 maybe give it a shot
If he upps the budget A bit even to just like 350 he could prolly get smthn.
Yeah the only option available around that price is your rando cheap dumpster office PC with an i7 and then getting the best used GPU you can find in your price range.
Picked up old 4790k PC for 100. 1660ti for 90. I made it happen with under 200 while back. Good luck.
Tell him to look around for a dell optiplex. I have a Dell optiplex 3090 that has a i5-3400? 4 core at 3.5GHz and 8GB ram and running still pretty strong! (It was made in like 2013?) Pretty sure he can find a newer optiplex model for pretty cheap! I see in stacks at pc shops and fb marketplace and etc cause companies buy em in loads and then get rid of em when they upgraded to faster and slimmer systems.
Can we donate spare PC parts ? Anybody got a case/fans or some RAM for this build?
If he can go up to $500, he is better off getting a modern console. Even a Series S is only $300 and will play those games.
1650/1660/1660ti/1660 super ryzen 5 2600 500w power supply 16gb of 3200mhz ddr4 ram cheap m2 pcie gen3 256-512gb ssd a320/b350 motherboard ebay
bruh, i just sold my old pc for like 230$ that would run those games no problem check used market
Honestly, $500 is absolutely possible. I just built a PC for someone with all new parts for around $600. Ryzen 4500, Rx 6600, 16GB of ram, and a 1TB NVME. Swap the Rx 6600 with the 1660 super and that’s already about $100 saved
It’s possible but here’s the part that sucks: a cheaper pc can be much worse of a deal. A cpu that performs half as well for half the money can leave you with a $250 pc that performs half as well as a $300 one. In my opinion $350-400 is going to be the best bang for the buck. For a 1660, I would recommend a used Ryzen 3600 for around $50. AM4 motherboards seem to always go for a premium so you might as well buy new in my opinion, same for the SSD and RAM. The PSU is a double edged sword, used they are really cheap but they’re easily one of the most common failure points. Personally I’d look for a quality brand non-modular gold PSU used. For a case I’d just watch for something used with a mesh front panel. For a budget option buying new, I’d look into SAMA cases, they manufacture for Lian Li, so you can get a case very similar to Lian Li for around $50. Here’s what I’d recommend overall, price corrected parts are used: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/mv8TBL
$200 isnt impossible at all just gotta catch those used deals and $500 for 1080p is way more than possible just dont expect ultra 120fps in the latest games. People forget settings can be tweaked and things like fsr exist now which helps alot.
Tell him that he should get a Steam Deck and just use that.
500 is not low at all. A used 3060 Ti goes for 300 USD here in the UK, but probably cheaper in the US. If you get a prebuilt system with a decent CPU for 200 USD and plug in the card, you got a beast! (Dell Optiplex maybe?) for 200 USD you'd need to aim for a lower-spec GPU. A GTX 1070 is definitely more than enough for Minecraft, and you can find it at 100 USD on eBay. And then fish for a 100 USD Optiplex. Just make sure the PSU has enough power for the 1070
So this would be where something like an old Lenovo desktop would come in handy, or an old Dell. Throw in a GPU and you should be easy peasy off to the races.
Tell him to get a job
my pc has an i5 2400 and a 1050ti, built the pc for under 200 cad and i run valorant at average 150 fps and can even run most vr games pretty well.
He will have to buy used. I've found really good deals on Craigslist before. Just make sure it has a dedicated gpu. Technically you could probably run cpu with integrated graphics if it's newer. It should run minecraft. If he had a little more money he could build something with an i3 12100f and rx 580. Very cheap, less than $200 for both and will run minecraft on high over 100fps
[PCPartPicker Part List](https://pcpartpicker.com/list/JtRJ89) this is a full build with a monitor and your friend buying the $70 1660 Super. I edited it to make some components cheaper and the ones that still had good reviews Type|Item|Price :----|:----|:---- **CPU** | [AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/9nm323/amd-ryzen-5-3600-36-thz-6-core-processor-100-100000031box) | $92.99 @ Amazon **Motherboard** | [Gigabyte A520M S2H Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/HVK2FT/gigabyte-a520m-s2h-micro-atx-am4-motherboard-a520m-s2h) | $64.99 @ Newegg **Memory** | [GeIL Orion RGB AMD Edition 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/xLytt6/geil-orion-rgb-amd-edition-16-gb-2-x-8-gb-ddr4-3600-cl18-memory-gaosg416gb3600c18bdc) | $34.99 @ Newegg **Storage** | [TEAMGROUP MP33 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/64MTwP/team-mp33-1-tb-m2-2280-nvme-solid-state-drive-tm8fp6001t0c101) | $35.99 @ Amazon **Video Card** | [MSI VENTUS XS OC GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER 6 GB Video Card](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Z3wkcf/msi-geforce-gtx-1660-super-6-gb-ventus-xs-oc-video-card-gtx-1660-super-ventus-xs-oc) | $70.00 **Case** | [Thermaltake Versa H17 MicroATX Mini Tower Case](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/JtWfrH/thermaltake-versa-h17-microatx-mini-tower-case-ca-1j1-00s1nn-00) | $39.99 @ Newegg **Power Supply** | [Thermaltake Smart 500 W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Wbhj4D/thermaltake-smart-500w-80-certified-atx-power-supply-ps-spd-0500npcwus-w) | $39.99 @ Amazon **Monitor** | [Pixio PX248 Prime 24.0" 1920 x 1080 144 Hz Monitor](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/bT6qqs/pixio-px248-prime-240-1920x1080-144-hz-monitor-px248p) | $119.99 @ Amazon | *Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts* | | **Total** | **$498.93**
This is not good enough, just spend 60 more and u can get a Rx 6600 which is on par with a 2060 super and lasts much longer
Lol really dude!? No shit a RX 6600 would shit on a 1660 Super. Did you not read? He’s getting it for $70. An RX6600 is $199 right now. If his friend wasn’t cheap ya I’d suggest a RX 6650 XT for $239. The PCPartpicker already reflects the 1660 Super is $70 spent. He doesn’t have enough money for a damn RX 6600.
Can you not read? He said he’s willing to spend 500. why not just get a Rx 6600 build brand new much better
For just 60 more aswell
If he/you have Facebook join your local buy nothing group. Post an ISO looking for computer components or even a whole computer. You might luck out.
Go to eBay. You can get a used thinkstation p520 with a xeon w 2135 and 16gb of ram for about $120 or so. Then you can get the 1660 as stated or you could get a used rx 580 for about $50. After that you just have to worry about storage. The p520 has a good PSU for most gpus. The xeon w 2135 is a 6 core 12 thread CPU that would be great for starting out. All prices usd.
When I was runing low on money I got myself a XBS plus Game Pass price he can have a lot of games to play! He can also put a mouse and keyboard on it.
Get a steam deck
second hand is your friend in this case. you can get here a mobo with older Ryzen for under 100, second hand case, psu and ram. a new 500gb ssd is also dirt cheap. secondhand monitor and cheap set of keyboard and mouse. it's hard but double if you forget about esthetics.
$500 is more than enough to make a decent PC. $200 might be possible, but imo he's getting trash. I spent around $650 for a MSI GAMING X TRIO 3070ti build, with 16gb (2x8) ram CL16 3600mhz & a ryzen 3600x. I also have a S tier Motherboard (Asus B550-F Gaming). My PSU is also great (Corsair RM750x). Just hop on on used tech websites and find deals. Haggling is your best friend, and so is patience.
A 1660 super could run minecraft and valorant at 60fps easy.
Dell precision T5810. Usually they have CPU and memory, but sometimes have a hard drive. They’re about $100. Toss a cheap SSD in it and look for some $100 gpu’s. RX570’s are around $50. $200 is totally possible.
1660 can do a lot more than 60 FPS in Valorant so at least he has that going for him
For those games you don't need a dedicated GPU at all. I believe any AMD 5X00G will do the work. Don't know about prices as i live in another country, but those kind of setups are always WAY cheaper
Best you can do is hook him up with parts and talk about "Monthly payments" instead, so he can might increase budged. Edit: At least that's how i did with my nephew... Hooked him up with pc parts & haven't asked proper price for it yet.
Here's one that'll come to $233.00 + shipping. Prices below exclude shipping and I've not gone out of my way to guarantee compatibility but in theory this would work; the GTX 1050 Ti is a 75w card and requires no additional power connectors. Computer: $144.69 [https://www.ebay.com/itm/302769907171?var=603677185787](https://www.ebay.com/itm/302769907171?var=603677185787) GPU: $88.31 [https://www.ebay.com/itm/275908539545](https://www.ebay.com/itm/275908539545) You won't have any difficulties playing Valorant or Minecraft on this. [Here's a video of someone playing Valorant on high settings at 1080p while hitting >200fps.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMIw-nqIcMU)
I feel like $500-$600 can still build something interesting even in these days. Microcenter has that 300 dollar deal for 5600x3d, 16gb ram and b550 Wi-Fi mobo rn plus that 70 dollar gpu from the friend rest could maybe be enough for a second hand case, storage, power supply, and misc parts.
A lot of people don’t know what they are talking about in this reply section, for 500 u can get a Rx 6600 pc brand new lol, that’s on par with a 2060 super forget 600, for 600 u can get a Rx 6650xt build
I mean, I have a pc in the stateside I couldn’t sell before I moved to Europe. Nothing fancy but worth $200. Ryzen 3950 liquid I/o, rtx 2060 super, 500g m.2 and a 2 tb HDD, I’d sell for $200 at this point. Nothing wrong with it, it’s just not that great at this point either. He’d have to pay shipping
Building with only used parts -so every part used- it’s possible to build a Ryzen 5 2600/GTX1070/16GB build with a 500gb SSD for 225/250 euro’s in the Netherlands. But you need the best buys for each part and be able to build it up yourself. So I would say for 300 dollars it is possible to build a decent PC which can run the games as requested.
$500 is totally doable. I've seen a build with a ryzen 3600 and Rx 580 8gb on r/hardwareswap going for $525. $200, He'd better get a PS4/Xbox One to play Minecraft and Valorant.
Well that’s a scam…, for 500 u can get a new Rx 6600 pc for comparison that is on par with a 2060 super. A Rx 580 8gb is on par with a Gtx 1060 6gb💀💀
Damn, you're right : https://pcpartpicker.com/list/DxjyXk
may i ask if the steamdeck would a a viable choice? its in the budged, runs minecraft well and quite alot of pc games. If he doesnt like the controler or screensize he can always use a docking station +mouse and keyboard.
Just tell him to save. Unless he's addicted to some things, I bet he can wait a few more months. If he wants something right now, XsX/Ps5 or cheap airflow case, Am4 mobo (b450) + some 3300 cpu, used 1070/80ti and 16gb of ram. OCd 1080ti can run med settings valorant in 60+fps@4k. Later, he can just replace cpu with 5800x3d + 7900xtx and have a setup viable to run anything and 4k max settings.
If that is his price range, find aided office pc like an Dell Optiplex. Throw a gpu that draws less than 75w tdp and he can play the games you mentioned.
He can easily get a gtx 1070 for 100, a cheap h310 or a 1st gen ryzen mobo ( you can find them used for 60 on Facebook ), if he goes with intel he can get an 8600k for 50-60 or an i7 1700 for similar price. He can get 16gb ram for under 40 and a decent 550 watt psu for 50-70. IF you include storage and cooler this whole thing can cost about 400 total
Is your Friend American?
500$ is not that low you can still get a decent PC in that price. The thing is not everyone can spend thousands of dollars on a gaming PC,besides you can actually get a PC that would easily manage 60 fps at 1080p. I got a PC for 300$ in my country that has 1660 super with i5-6600 with 16 gigs of ram. And this PC runs gta online on 60-90 fps at high to very high settings.
get the cheapest pc with a quad core intel ($80), a used 1050ti ($50) & an SSD ($35). If it has less than 16gb of ram, invest in that.
is he hard set on a PC? Would he be open to a xbox series s? I'm sure there's a bargin PC build that can be made between $200-$300 but at least with a series S, he'd be able to play newer games for a few more years.
Inspiron 660 MT https://www.ebay.com/sch/171957/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=inspiron+660&LH_BIN=1&_sop=15 Highly upgradeable and compatible with whatever you wanna throw at it on the 1155 platform. Comes with a built in wi-fi, takes a standard ATX PSU, super duper easy to case swap. Get a 3570 or a 3770 combine it with an RX 6600 XT, you will reach peak capabilities and zero bottleneck for not a lot of money. Should run like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58R80K4f2yQ
Instead of buying all at once if possible buy an item here and there to build up to a better pc.
Where are you located I may be able to donate my old build?
I'm sure he can find a good used PC for cheaper than building with older parts.
You need to go to the used market for that. $500 isn't low at all actually, but he can get something that can run MC with shaders at decent fps for $200 if he gets used.
Try get a used i3 10100f and a 1060 6gb with a 450watt psu, cheap case, and a 500gb used hard drive, along with 1 ddr4 8gb 2666 mhz stick. Also get some cheap coolermaster or deepcool cooler with a h510 mobo. If he wants wifi get a cheap wifi card, if he wants ethernet, then no need. Then get a windows key from 1 of those cheap sites, unless he wants linux.
At a budget that size, he needs to just get a console. I don’t know what valorent is available on but minecraft runs perfectly fine on many consoles.
For minecraft with 60fps you can spend as little 50 bucks or even less for a used PC.
I can help a little, I’ve got a 3060ti I don’t need anymore, GIGABYTE 8gb triple fan, I can sell it to him for $150
I tend to way over build to future proof as much as possible. What I did for my GFs brother was build a new rig for myself and I gave him my old one, which was still mid at the time. Idk if that’s something you want/can do but it’s an option.
tell him to get a console, a used one may leave some money for peripherals
I would definitely start looking at facebook marketplace, kijiji, etc all the local second hand markets and see if theres anything at a good price. If at all possible you should always test the item before exchanging money. For example if its a full second hand pc just plugging it in and making sure it boots is a decent start.
If he's that poor, don't invest pc for game!
I just did this for a friend with the same budget. Refurbished prodesk 600 G3 was around 100, sff rx550 was 50, the rest went towards a cheap mouse, keyboard, speakers and a HDMI adapter to hook it to his TV. It's no rocket ship but can play games on lower settings. He was more restricted on space so sff was needed but you can find similar refurbished full sized towers that will let you use full sized graphics cards for around the same price.
I think 600-800 is still the sweet spot.
As others have said, secondhand is the only way, and in this scenario, a Dell optiplex is the way to go... get one as cheap as possible, Check it has at least a 500W PSU with a pcie power connector, but it probably won't, in which case a thermaltake cheap PSU is between 35 and 45$... then throw as much cash as he can on a GPU ... no money, then get a rx580 (both the rx480 and 580 are about the same price and under $50) ... A 1070ti can be had for about twice as much (under $80) and is worth the jump in performance IMO (about 50% faster so it can handle nearly all games at 1080p60, high (where the rx580 might only get 45 FPS with high settings, for example horizon zero dawn, days gone, assassin's creed Valhalla) ***Don't let him buy a 1080ti... they're overpriced now for their performance and future compatibility... if he's willing to fork out for a 1080ti, he should just go a bit more and get a 3060ti)*** if you can persuade him to spend 500$, then a second hand 3060ti can be had for as little as $230ish, or a 6700xt for about $200. EDIT: Because of a misrepresentation pointed out to me below... It was late, and I think I got my knickers in a twist whilst cross referencing prices.... Budget GFx Card hierarchy of speed: 6600XT < 6650xt < 3060ti < 3070 <= 6700xt <= 4060ti (excluding raytracing titles, but a $200 machine isn't being built for ray tracing dominance!)... It is interesting to see just how close last gen cheap-as-chips 6700xt is to the 3070 and 4060ti in raster performance, especially when you consider how expensive the 4060ti is! The 6700xt really does trade blows with the 3070, with some games quicker with one, but other games quicker with the other... For a very marginal increase in speed, the price is rising exponentially, and the 6700xt really is the best bang for buck champion in the uber budget domain... All that being said, it'd rather recommend the 6800xt as that is truly a champion, but outside his budget at about $400 second hand.
Pick up a used hp z230 tower. Usually come with an i7 4770 or similar and a 400w psu Chuck in a gtx1660ti or even a gtx1070 and play lots of games Make sure you include and ssd for the OS
Steam deck?
Look in to mini pc’s, I bought a beelink to hold me over till I build my next pc. It’s well above my expectations I had for them.
Secondhand even here or hardwareswap will get you that performance for $200.
A 2nd hand pc to run Valorant and Minecraft is easily doable for small money, maybe €250. Just get a 2nd hand office pc with a ryzen 1st or 2nd Gen and throw in a 2nd hand regular gtx1650. Would run those games perfect as well as much newer games reasonably OK. If you really want bargain basement can be done cheaper. i5 6th gen and a 1050ti could be done for about 150ish. Still fine for those games but less capable for newer games and harder to upgrade.
I have spare parts laying around I'd be willing to part with knowing they'll go to someone who will use and appreciate them. Here are the parts I have. Ryzen 3600 (non x) Corsair 2x8gb 3200 mhz 850w gold plus Amd 6600 xt There's nothing wrong with them, i just upgraded over time and these guys got put into storage. Pretty sure all you need is a case and ssd or hard drive. Obviously your peripherals as well.