Best gaming / home PC hybrid for less than $1,200

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d2veteran

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Wannabe Geek

#202046 15-Sep-2016 08:07

My beloved ProBook 4520s gets too hot and crashes daily now and I need to start a new relationship with something else.

Whilst im not a gamer, I love having a crack once or twice a week on CS and a few other blizzard related games... but mainly need something that'll do the more usual day-to-day stuff.

Question to the forum: If you were me, what PC would you buy for under $1,200 and why? Share a link if its easier.

Thanks in advance :)

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#1630621 15-Sep-2016 08:15

So do you want to move to a desktop system? I'd build one myself, because it's pretty easy to do with a little research, you'll save yourself a fair bit doing it that way and you ensure you get quality components with no corners cut. Though with that budget I'd probably look at some second hand components...

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d2veteran

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Wannabe Geek

#1630623 15-Sep-2016 08:18

Yes, I want to move to desktop - done my dash with laptop's for a while.

Interesting, I'm open to building once myself - and not completely retarded when it comes to hardware, though I wouldn't be able to make a decisions on what parts to buy (and where).

Is that something you could advise on?

reven

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#1630625 15-Sep-2016 08:28

Graphics card I would aim for a GTX960

CPU, best i5 you can afford

Motherboard, good brand one, but you can save on this, most of my MBs are no more than $120.

RAM: decent RAM, but can save on this and just buy a single 8GB stick, then another 8GB at a later date

SSD: decent 240-250ish GB one, theyre pretty cheap these days

HDD: depending on your mileage, you mightnt need one, or 1TB might do it

CASE/PSU: If you want to save, buy one second hand off TM

OS: windows 10, lots of ways to buy this, with computer parts will get you the OEM price, but you might already own a copy

Place to buy, make a list in pricespy.co.nz and see if MightyApe/PBTech/Computer Lounge (or your local) will price match those components.

$1200 should be enough for a decent computer

sidefx

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#1630626 15-Sep-2016 08:29

Been a while since I built mine. I'd probably look at getting components from Computer Lounge, Playtech, PB Tech or PC Force in roughly that order. Maybe jump on pricespy and see what you can find.

http://pricespy.co.nz/

Their system builder is pretty handy and you can limit your searchs to specific stores. Might be worth doing a bit of reading and choosing what platform you want then putting up some WTBs on here and on GP Forums BST if you're active there and have enough posts.

"I was born not knowing and have had only a little time to change that here and there." | Octopus Energy | Sharesies
- Richard Feynman

sidefx

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#1630644 15-Sep-2016 08:54

reven:

Graphics card I would aim for a GTX960

CPU, best i5 you can afford

Motherboard, good brand one, but you can save on this, most of my MBs are no more than $120.

RAM: decent RAM, but can save on this and just buy a single 8GB stick, then another 8GB at a later date

SSD: decent 240-250ish GB one, theyre pretty cheap these days

HDD: depending on your mileage, you mightnt need one, or 1TB might do it

CASE/PSU: If you want to save, buy one second hand off TM

OS: windows 10, lots of ways to buy this, with computer parts will get you the OEM price, but you might already own a copy

Place to buy, make a list in pricespy.co.nz and see if MightyApe/PBTech/Computer Lounge (or your local) will price match those components.

$1200 should be enough for a decent computer

All good advice, just not sure it'll fit in his budget? Don't forget he's gonna need a decent keyboard, mouse and monitor too. Must admit though have not kept up with prices of late, so maybe it'll be cool.

And aren't the new AMD GPUs pretty decent for lower end systems?

"I was born not knowing and have had only a little time to change that here and there." | Octopus Energy | Sharesies
- Richard Feynman

reven

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#1630656 15-Sep-2016 09:13

sidefx:

All good advice, just not sure it'll fit in his budget? Don't forget he's gonna need a decent keyboard, mouse and monitor too. Must admit though have not kept up with prices of late, so maybe it'll be cool.

And aren't the new AMD GPUs pretty decent for lower end systems?

true, KB/M can get pretty cheap, monitor if you don't have one, get one second hand. These things I often forget because I have oodles of them laying around :P

AMD GPUs might be pretty good, not sure, always been a intel/nvidia user myself (nvidia gamestreaming is pretty cool on a raspberrypi etc)

sxz

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Ultimate Geek

#1630679 15-Sep-2016 09:33

I like laptops. So if I were you, I'd raise your budget by $300 and buy this:

http://www.dragonpc.co.nz/index.php?route=product/product&path=264&product_id=320246

Cheapest laptop I could see that had:

1. 1080p screen

2. SSD

3. Recent graphics card (GTX950M)

4. 6th gen I7

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Move to New Zealand's best fibre broadband service (affiliate link). Note that to use Quic Broadband you must be comfortable with configuring your own router.

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#1630686 15-Sep-2016 09:35

Yeah the new RX series of AMD cards is proving quite popular for performance - cost.

The system in my signature was $800 couple years ago - but already had monitor, drives, kb etc. (Originally bought a newer vid card inc in the $800 but had issues with it so swapped for a friends older but more powerful 6950)

CS:GO (anything Source based really) runs perfectly fine, Overwatch @50-60fps, Witcher 3 even runs damn well for a game that min. req is quad core system ;) If you are wanting to play newer games though, the i5 route is a good move.

Take a look at gpuboss.com and cpuboss.com to compare cards/cpus.

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

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d2veteran

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Wannabe Geek

#1630696 15-Sep-2016 09:46

Thanks for the advice guys - plenty to think about here.

Does it change anyones mind if I want dual monitors going - one streaming media, one for general work?

reven

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#1630700 15-Sep-2016 09:48

d2veteran:

Thanks for the advice guys - plenty to think about here.

Does it change anyones mind if I want dual monitors going - one streaming media, one for general work?

nah a decent gfx card can handle that easy. GTX960 wont have an issue, a GTX 750 wont either (thats a pretty old card now)

d2veteran

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Wannabe Geek

#1630808 15-Sep-2016 11:47

What about things like a network adapter etc? Are they built in already, or need to be purchased separately?

sxz

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Ultimate Geek

#1630813 15-Sep-2016 12:02

d2veteran:

What about things like a network adapter etc? Are they built in already, or need to be purchased separately?

Ethernet is usually built in to the Motherboard. Some motherboards have Wireless built in, some need an internal or external adapter.

venomio

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Master Geek

#1630826 15-Sep-2016 12:13

I would build something like this for your budget (and I assume you won't be going near trying to overclock so I've added locked CPUs). This is a very very rough and quickly put-together list. Good thing is that you can always upgrade/downgrade any component as you see fit. But I suggest sticking with the PSU and SSD.

The most flexible (cost-wise) would be the GPU/Mobo/CPU.

Smix

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#1631164 15-Sep-2016 18:03

venomio:

I would build something like this for your budget (and I assume you won't be going near trying to overclock so I've added locked CPUs). This is a very very rough and quickly put-together list. Good thing is that you can always upgrade/downgrade any component as you see fit. But I suggest sticking with the PSU and SSD.

The most flexible (cost-wise) would be the GPU/Mobo/CPU.

Sounds like a pretty decent build but I'd make the following changes:

Drop the SSD and grab a 1TB WD Blue...you can always get an SSD later but if you start loading games and the like onto the SSD, 256GB disappears real quick https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/HDDWD1923/WD-1TB-Blue-Edition-3.5-SATA3-Internal-HDD-7200RPM
Don't need a cooler for the 6500. I've got the same CPU and she's fine with the stock cooler.

With the above changes you're pretty much bang on $1200. Be aware that if you're installing Windows 7 on a Skylake build, you may run into issues.

venomio

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Master Geek

#1631225 15-Sep-2016 19:07

Smix:

Sounds like a pretty decent build but I'd make the following changes:

Drop the SSD and grab a 1TB WD Blue...you can always get an SSD later but if you start loading games and the like onto the SSD, 256GB disappears real quick https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/HDDWD1923/WD-1TB-Blue-Edition-3.5-SATA3-Internal-HDD-7200RPM
Don't need a cooler for the 6500. I've got the same CPU and she's fine with the stock cooler.
With the above changes you're pretty much bang on $1200. Be aware that if you're installing Windows 7 on a Skylake build, you may run into issues.

I support your comment for a heavy capacity HDD, but IMO the SSD is almost an essential part for day-to-day computing for the amount of performance it gains you, I suppose it's personal preference. OP suggested he is a very casual gamer (1-2 games) so I made assumptions. But then again OP: since it is personal preferences, you can do whatever you'd like with that build (or something different altogether) and the picture is only a very rough guide :)

However, I didn't know the 6500 came with a stock cooler, thanks for that! Definitely stick with stock if it comes with one. Since my 6600K didn't come with one, I also presumed wrongly that the 6500 didn't.

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