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Ideas for Office/Dads Upgrade

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Fr3@k3r

Fr3@k3r

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well dads computer in the office is finally needing an upgrade..

He plays some games (steam low quality games, no fps, no rts, no graphic intensive games) (games like peggle, candy crush, some top down shooters like alien swarm)

windows 8.1 compatible

does a lot of watching movies, and plays on facebook along with work stuff..

so my original idea was

4GB Ram
Either A4-5300 or G1840
mATX Motherboard
R7-240 2GB

.. looking to keep it under $200 shipped...

any other ideas?
 
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I would say that is the type of system you inflict on someone, more than you build it for them. :)

Honestly, it would be helpful if you could add to your budget. Maybe $400. Then we'd be talking.

Why don't you just get a good APU instead of a bad APU and a GPU? Your budget is definitely APU territory. Going discrete is a bad idea in this price range. Even if you had $400 I would still say get a good APU.
 
Theocnoob said:
I would say that is the type of system you inflict on someone, more than you build it for them. :)

Honestly, it would be helpful if you could add to your budget. Maybe $400. Then we'd be talking.

Why don't you just get a good APU instead of a bad APU and a GPU? Your budget is definitely APU territory. Going discrete is a bad idea in this price range. Even if you had $400 I would still say get a good APU.
Click to expand...

.. why would subject anyone to a APU instead? even a budget GPU is 10000x better than a APU

and $200 is the budget since its not a computer thats used constantly for gaming (peggle, candy crush, alien swarm... worms)
 
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Fr3@k3r said:
.. why would subject anyone to a APU instead? even a budget GPU is 10000x better than a APU

and $200 is the budget since its not a computer thats used constantly for gaming (peggle, candy crush, alien swarm... worms)
Click to expand...

budget GPU is not 10000X better than an APU. 2x better maybe. Not 10000.
 
You can really up the perf with a small increase in budget.
asus h81 mobo $56
g3258 (unlocked) cpu $75
2x2gb ddr3 $45
gt 750 $110

I see a link today that asus is allowing overclocks on h81 boards now. This would be closer to $300, but would be a great machine. Re-use or find some used ddr3 or wait to get the gpu to bring down cost a bit.
 
Are you really that against the onboard APU graphics? You have to realize, even though he won't be playing FB games, he's still playing games just a small step above them. The E-450/6320D in my HTPC is wimpier than a A4-5300/7480D, and it still pulls it's weight in games like Counter Strike Source (Gets a steady 40FPS at 1080P). You could easily drop the discrete GPU and get slightly faster ram, that could drop the price a little and still offer enough performance for demanding games like Candy Crush...

The most demanding game in your OP is probably Alien Swarm, and that's based off the Source engine, and in theory you could easily get better FPS than my HTPC does in CS, even without the added card.
 
I think you need to stick to APU graphics also. I've been really impressed by the onboard i3 I built for my dad last year. Is his monitor 1080P? Have to consider a smooth 35+ is all you need for those games. You can't even get bench numbers on those kinds of games really.

I would really try to squeeze in a small SSD as one of the bigger difference makers for a mostly windows usage build. Something like a Mushkin 120GB $65
 
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playing facebook games... intel HD graphics could handle that fine. all the games that were listed it could handle fine.

grab an I3 or pentium 4gb of ram psu/case/what ever else of you liking > $200 and perfectly fine.
 
Kaveri APU would probably outperform an r7-240. That card is a glorified paper weight, no idea why it exists.

Looking at benchmarks, the A10 7850k outperforms the r7 240 in fps.

edit: on 1080p, the A10 gets ~27fps on medium, where the r7 240 is getting ~17 stock, ~24 when overclocked.
 
$170 cpu for a $200 budget won't exactly work. I think he would be looking at something more along the lines of a A6-6400K with an HD 8470D. A R7 240 is definitely a little better but spending $70 for what is still a horrible card just seems unwise if you wanting the most performance for the buck.

A decent breakdown for hardware specs between the two and can check others here.

http://www.game-debate.com/gpu/inde...re=radeon-r7-240-2gb-gddr5-vs-radeon-hd-8470d
 
What is the current system he is using?
What is wrong with the current system that requires a full replacement?
How much of a performance increase are you/he looking for over the current system?
Personally I would look at more RAM, an SSD, upgrade CPU/GPU first vs. a completely new system. Heck, I still run 775,AM2 for the majority of my systems and just upgrade when they have reached their limit.

I dont see a NEED to have a completely new system every few years and certainly can't justify the cost over adding more RAM, upgrading the CPU or GPU or moving to a SSD...

If you are still set on a new system, don't outright refuse onboard video if it is fully capable of handling what he needs. If you can add a GPU separately great, but he doesnt need a beast GPU/CPU to stream Netflix and play one step over flash games.
 
Is there a possibility that if he had a beast system, he'd use it? There's a thread in the GAMES section right now where a gamer who is in his golden years has just discovered "serious" gaming (FPS, etc) and is having a great time. I think getting older people into serious games is a great way to expand their entertainment universe. You'd be surprised at the kinds of games older people will play if you just pick the right game and put them infront of it.

Maybe an Athlon X4 system with a 750Ti wouldn't be a bad choice.
 
xsuperbgx said:
You can really up the perf with a small increase in budget.
asus h81 mobo $56
g3258 (unlocked) cpu $75
2x2gb ddr3 $45
gt 750 $110

I see a link today that asus is allowing overclocks on h81 boards now. This would be closer to $300, but would be a great machine. Re-use or find some used ddr3 or wait to get the gpu to bring down cost a bit.
Click to expand...

Put that Pentium anniv. ed. on a Z97 board, go to a 750Ti (they're cheap in some cases $125 I've seen) and maybe double the RAM and you've got a great little gaming PC. You'll want a Hyper 212 cooler to push that Pentium to the moon. The performance really goes up as you OC. Check out LinusTechTips video of the 3258 VS 4790K. When you OC the Pentium it really cranks out the frames in gaming with a decent GPU.
 
why does this guy need a gpu? candy crush? such graphics intense wow.

rly though.

also why get an APU then end up getting discrete?

cheap pentium 4gb of ram and r4 or what ever... peronally i think intel HD would be fine.
 
So Im completely ignorant..

When I Upgraded to my new system I didnt realize my dad took my old system..

So instead of needing everything I just purchased a video card..

So his new system will be.. and completely 8.1 compatible

Now i easily could've upgraded to CPU and Memory.. but this should work out just fine if im not as stupid as I think I am..

Biostar LGA 1155
Celeron 530
4GB DDR3
Sapphire 260x DDR5 1GB (on sale for $70 after rebate)
 
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