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Low budget light gaming rig. Advice welcomed !

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    Low budget light gaming rig. Advice welcomed !

    I'm putting together a rig for a family friend who just watched me playing Company of Heroes, and he is hooked. He wants something cheap, and I wasn't in a piece-it-together-and-find-the-cheapest-price-on-everything mood, so I had gotten a CompGeeks email with the following specs:

    http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?inv...2002RS&cat=SYS

    I'm planning on adding the following vid card:

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161196

    and another 512mb RAM stick to go with it, so does this look like enough rig to run Company of Heroes ? The recommended specs are:

    System: 3.0GHz Intel Pentium or equivalent
    RAM: 1024 MB
    Video Memory: 6800 256 MB

    Going by that, I don't quite get to where I need to be, but I haven't found anything for under $250 that fits the bill like the above links. Does the 1650 compare favorably to the 6800 ?
    Oh if a man tried to take his time on Earth and prove before he died what one man's life could be worth, well I wonder what would happen to this world ? - Harry Chapin

    #2
    I would think that the 6800 would be better, and definately go with 1GB of RAM.
    We work in the dark, to serve the light. We are Assassins.

    Nothing is true. Everything is permitted.

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      #3
      1 GB Memory is a must-have!
      Please like Pocket Radio Player on Facebook to support this little Freeware app.

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        #4
        Here's the budget problem ... with what I have:

        HP refurb PC - $170

        Windows XP Home - $70

        ATI 1650Pro - $50

        Thats the $300 budget that I need to stick to, so then adding a 17" LCD jumps me all the way up to $450. So thats my dilemma, I can't even add any more to the build to stay at that figure. Mannn, budget gamer rigs are just impossible to do !!
        Oh if a man tried to take his time on Earth and prove before he died what one man's life could be worth, well I wonder what would happen to this world ? - Harry Chapin

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          #5
          Are you paying for this, or is someone else? Otherwise, definately upgrade the RAM to 1GB, and try to find a 6800 card.
          We work in the dark, to serve the light. We are Assassins.

          Nothing is true. Everything is permitted.

          Comment


            #6
            when somebody wants a really really budget gaming rig, they get a lecture from me on how far just another $100 will go, and that they are buying something that is already inadequate. They don't need a screaming fast $1500+ uber rig, but I would just talk to them about how far a few extra dollars on the various parts will go.
            [img]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b400/__alpha__/ut3-4.png[/img]

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              #7
              I think what killed me right from the get-go was having him watch a few minutes of me playing Company of Heroes on my rig.

              On a side note, they are friends of ours that are soon adopting from Guatemala, so I know money will be an issue, hence the low budget restraints. I am keeping it as low as possible, knowing that money is never just lying around after you adopt.

              They are still on dialup, and I checked and found they can even get Verizon FIOS (!!!), but plan on having them purchase the low $15/monthly plan as it suits their needs much better.
              Oh if a man tried to take his time on Earth and prove before he died what one man's life could be worth, well I wonder what would happen to this world ? - Harry Chapin

              Comment


                #8
                are you sure you cant extend the price limit a weee bit more? you can get much more for a bit more...

                edit* well my fault for not reading the post in the middle!
                be sure to try Ebay for XP home, i got mine for $50 off there!

                Comment


                  #10
                  What resolution and kind of settings are they wanting to play this at? I played the demo quite a bit and my 7800GT struggled slightly at times. I played at 1680x1050 with medium settings.

                  I'm just wondering if a 6800 or 1650 will be enough.

                  Comment


                    #11
                    Resolution is 1280x1024, as if I can't find a Good deal on a 17" LCD, they will justuse their existing 17" CRT. I may even bump it down to 1024x768, so I think the 1650 will be playable. Keep in mind the age of their existing PC (we are talking a P3-600 here) so ANYTHING will be a huge upgrade, but the dialup is their main bottleneck right now.
                    Oh if a man tried to take his time on Earth and prove before he died what one man's life could be worth, well I wonder what would happen to this world ? - Harry Chapin

                    Comment


                      #12
                      Originally posted by WalkinTarget
                      Resolution is 1280x1024, as if I can't find a Good deal on a 17" LCD, they will justuse their existing 17" CRT. I may even bump it down to 1024x768, so I think the 1650 will be playable. Keep in mind the age of their existing PC (we are talking a P3-600 here) so ANYTHING will be a huge upgrade, but the dialup is their main bottleneck right now.
                      That CRT might be the best way to go. It's probably not a good idea to put native resolutions into the mix, especially if they find a new game they like somewhere down the line.

                      Comment


                        #13
                        imlittlev, nice work on the parts list !! You and I think alike on many of those items. Did you get a total on the parts to compare to the CompGeeks rig ?
                        I'm getting burned out on assembling rigs, so I was hoping for an easy build for a change, as I am assembling yet another rig for another customer, and this pre-built PC cut my build time down to nothing.

                        The good news is, I am almost out of spare parts lying around my work bench, so with the cupboards nearly bare, WT can take a break and deal with software only issues for a bit.

                        I'd guesstimate that I've built around 10 PCs since October, and thats from scratch as well, not just upgrading a part here and there.
                        Oh if a man tried to take his time on Earth and prove before he died what one man's life could be worth, well I wonder what would happen to this world ? - Harry Chapin

                        Comment


                          #14
                          Originally posted by WalkinTarget
                          imlittlev, nice work on the parts list !! You and I think alike on many of those items. Did you get a total on the parts to compare to the CompGeeks rig ?
                          I'm getting burned out on assembling rigs, so I was hoping for an easy build for a change, as I am assembling yet another rig for another customer, and this pre-built PC cut my build time down to nothing.

                          The good news is, I am almost out of spare parts lying around my work bench, so with the cupboards nearly bare, WT can take a break and deal with software only issues for a bit.

                          I'd guesstimate that I've built around 10 PCs since October, and thats from scratch as well, not just upgrading a part here and there.
                          I've got new parts coming soon. Want to build mine? i'm sick and tired of doing it on a daily basis.

                          Comment


                            #15
                            Originally posted by WalkinTarget
                            imlittlev, nice work on the parts list !! You and I think alike on many of those items. Did you get a total on the parts to compare to the CompGeeks rig ?
                            I'm getting burned out on assembling rigs, so I was hoping for an easy build for a change, as I am assembling yet another rig for another customer, and this pre-built PC cut my build time down to nothing.

                            The good news is, I am almost out of spare parts lying around my work bench, so with the cupboards nearly bare, WT can take a break and deal with software only issues for a bit.

                            I'd guesstimate that I've built around 10 PCs since October, and thats from scratch as well, not just upgrading a part here and there.
                            yes, i decided to at least assemble a rig for the heck of it as

                            A: its fun to see how cheap you can get
                            B: the other choice is HP "ohnoes!"
                            C: why not?
                            D:what about the monitor? at almost $150 thats a nice 19in WS

                            Comment

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