08-19-2014, 06:33 PM
Good game-playin' for cheap:
Find a used quad-core Sandy Bridge CPU cheap on eBay or craigslist. The Core i5 2400 is a good one. Try to avoid the ones with the "K" at the end because they're overclock-capable, and used OC chips on eBay might be something extreme overclockers have cooked out and are trying to foist off on some unsuspecting rube. So stick to the non-OC variants; you'll have a good chance of getting 10+ years of use out of. You can find them cheap, usually winning auctions around $80-100. Maybe a little higher. Be frugal!
Find a used GTX 570. Again, these are a few generations old so you'll find them on eBay/craigslist for under 100 bucks or maybe a little more. A lot of gamers will be trying to trade up for something newer; take advantage of that. Pretty much any brand is okay, just make sure the card looks to be in good shape.
Jump on Amazon and find an LGA 1155 microATX mobo. Something from MSI, Asus, Gigabyte, all these are usually good. Aim for something in the 75 dollar range; it'll be good enough for what you're doing. I don't like buying used motherboards because they're a mite more delicate than CPU and GPU.
Again from Amazon, pick up 8GB of DDR3-1600 RAM in a pair of 4GB modules. Should only run you about 75-80.
If your used CPU didn't come with the stock Intel cooler, find a new cooler on Amazon. Don't bother with crazy-expensive OC setups; just get a $20 one. It'll probably be better than the stock one, anyway.
Get a 500W power supply from Amazon. This is something else you definitely don't want to buy used. You can get a decent enough non-modular one from Corsair or Sentey for $35-50. Sure won't be as good as a SeaSonic, but it also won't cost $150+.
Time to pick out a case! Rosewill makes good cases cheap. Look for a microATX mini-tower, sans power supply. Rosewill has a nice-looking mini tower for about $37. Also pick up a 1TB Western Digital Caviar Blue HDD. They're cheap ($60-ish), reliable and decently fast.
Next up is a monitor. eBay once again is your friend. You can easily find a 24/25" 1920x1080 LCD on eBay for $70-100. It might be a bit scratched and dinged up but who cares if it works and has no dead pixels? Craigslist, too--check it. The GTX 570 should be able to run basically anything at native resolution with most of the shinies enabled. If you aren't thrilled about the prospect of a used monitor (maybe fear of dead pixels) you can get an okay-ish full HD LCD (but it'll probably be 21/22") from Amazon for $130-150.
Keyboard should be easy enough. On a budget but still want something fantastic for gaming and will last longer than you will? Check eBay for a used mechanical switch keyboard with Cherry MX Browns or Blacks. Browns are more utilitarian (they have a soft tactile click, two-stage) and Blacks are best for pure gaming (they bottom straight out, single-stage, no tactile click). If you don't fancy spending money on a keyboard, just get a generic dome keyboard for $10-15.
Mouse? Sentey Nebulus on Amazon for $24. It's a good gaming mouse and a great deal for the price. Adjustable weight, bifurcated front with separate L and R buttons (so holding one down won't impede the function of the other), some extra buttons for added functionality, looks nice not too blingy like a lot of gaming mice. It's USB and corded so no need to worry about batteries.
For sound? Speakers are lame, good ones are super-pricey. Go for a pair of headphones, and the ones I'd suggest are the JVC HA-RX700. They're $30-40 on Amazon and they sound like $200 Audio-Technica ATH-A900s. Seriously. Build quality is so-so, but I had a pair last three and a half years of intense use and abuse before the physical structure failed. Fantastic gaming headphones with nice boomy bass for explosions, good mids and highs for watching movies and listening to music. Super budget cans! Grab a Zalman clip-on mic for $12 to go with it and attach it to the headphone cable. Boom, you have a fantastic headset for under $50!
You'll need an operating system, too, and since this is a starving-student gaming rig, you have to go with Windows. No Linux for you, QQ. Pick up a Windows 7 Home Premium x64 OEM copy from Amazon for $100. Sometimes you can find extra sealed/unopened OEM copies on eBay or Craigslist for less than that, so keep an eye out if you need to shave some extra dollars off the total cost.
There you go, a fantastic(ally cheap) gaming rig that'll rip through FFXIV and pretty much anything else you throw at it for a price far under a grand.
Find a used quad-core Sandy Bridge CPU cheap on eBay or craigslist. The Core i5 2400 is a good one. Try to avoid the ones with the "K" at the end because they're overclock-capable, and used OC chips on eBay might be something extreme overclockers have cooked out and are trying to foist off on some unsuspecting rube. So stick to the non-OC variants; you'll have a good chance of getting 10+ years of use out of. You can find them cheap, usually winning auctions around $80-100. Maybe a little higher. Be frugal!
Find a used GTX 570. Again, these are a few generations old so you'll find them on eBay/craigslist for under 100 bucks or maybe a little more. A lot of gamers will be trying to trade up for something newer; take advantage of that. Pretty much any brand is okay, just make sure the card looks to be in good shape.
Jump on Amazon and find an LGA 1155 microATX mobo. Something from MSI, Asus, Gigabyte, all these are usually good. Aim for something in the 75 dollar range; it'll be good enough for what you're doing. I don't like buying used motherboards because they're a mite more delicate than CPU and GPU.
Again from Amazon, pick up 8GB of DDR3-1600 RAM in a pair of 4GB modules. Should only run you about 75-80.
If your used CPU didn't come with the stock Intel cooler, find a new cooler on Amazon. Don't bother with crazy-expensive OC setups; just get a $20 one. It'll probably be better than the stock one, anyway.
Get a 500W power supply from Amazon. This is something else you definitely don't want to buy used. You can get a decent enough non-modular one from Corsair or Sentey for $35-50. Sure won't be as good as a SeaSonic, but it also won't cost $150+.
Time to pick out a case! Rosewill makes good cases cheap. Look for a microATX mini-tower, sans power supply. Rosewill has a nice-looking mini tower for about $37. Also pick up a 1TB Western Digital Caviar Blue HDD. They're cheap ($60-ish), reliable and decently fast.
Next up is a monitor. eBay once again is your friend. You can easily find a 24/25" 1920x1080 LCD on eBay for $70-100. It might be a bit scratched and dinged up but who cares if it works and has no dead pixels? Craigslist, too--check it. The GTX 570 should be able to run basically anything at native resolution with most of the shinies enabled. If you aren't thrilled about the prospect of a used monitor (maybe fear of dead pixels) you can get an okay-ish full HD LCD (but it'll probably be 21/22") from Amazon for $130-150.
Keyboard should be easy enough. On a budget but still want something fantastic for gaming and will last longer than you will? Check eBay for a used mechanical switch keyboard with Cherry MX Browns or Blacks. Browns are more utilitarian (they have a soft tactile click, two-stage) and Blacks are best for pure gaming (they bottom straight out, single-stage, no tactile click). If you don't fancy spending money on a keyboard, just get a generic dome keyboard for $10-15.
Mouse? Sentey Nebulus on Amazon for $24. It's a good gaming mouse and a great deal for the price. Adjustable weight, bifurcated front with separate L and R buttons (so holding one down won't impede the function of the other), some extra buttons for added functionality, looks nice not too blingy like a lot of gaming mice. It's USB and corded so no need to worry about batteries.
For sound? Speakers are lame, good ones are super-pricey. Go for a pair of headphones, and the ones I'd suggest are the JVC HA-RX700. They're $30-40 on Amazon and they sound like $200 Audio-Technica ATH-A900s. Seriously. Build quality is so-so, but I had a pair last three and a half years of intense use and abuse before the physical structure failed. Fantastic gaming headphones with nice boomy bass for explosions, good mids and highs for watching movies and listening to music. Super budget cans! Grab a Zalman clip-on mic for $12 to go with it and attach it to the headphone cable. Boom, you have a fantastic headset for under $50!
You'll need an operating system, too, and since this is a starving-student gaming rig, you have to go with Windows. No Linux for you, QQ. Pick up a Windows 7 Home Premium x64 OEM copy from Amazon for $100. Sometimes you can find extra sealed/unopened OEM copies on eBay or Craigslist for less than that, so keep an eye out if you need to shave some extra dollars off the total cost.
There you go, a fantastic(ally cheap) gaming rig that'll rip through FFXIV and pretty much anything else you throw at it for a price far under a grand.
![[Image: 14784.jpg]](http://cdn01.wallconvert.com/_media/wp_400x250/1/2/14784.jpg)