CPL Budget Gaming PC - New i3, 8G RAM, 120G SSD, R7 260X, No OS for Only $595 @ CPL Online

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  WorkAround on 11/06/2014 - 11:51

  +4

  $135 CPU: Intel Core i3 4150
  $95 MB: Asus B85M-E
  $85 RAM: 8GB Kingston 1600MHz (1x8GB)
  $75 HDD: 120G Kingston SSD (It's the V300)
  $155 Graphics: MSI 2GB R7 260X OC
  $18 ODD: Samsung SH224
  $78 Case & PSU : Thermaltake H21 Black Case (500W PSU Incl)

  Total: $641 parts + $70 assembly = $711 all up (prices from MSY). Add extra for OS.

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  Mainsail on 11/06/2014 - 12:04

  I'm tempted. Any opinions?

  Edit: At least I was until I saw postage was about $100 with insurance.

  • 

    morpheu on 11/06/2014 - 13:23

    to where? i just checked, post to Sydney 2000 $35 by Fastway

    • 

      Mainsail on 11/06/2014 - 15:28

      Wagga Wagga 2650.
      It was $93.xx + $8.xx insurance.

      • 

        Mainsail on 16/06/2014 - 12:22

        To be fair it is all down to Fastway.
        To Albury (2640) another computer shop was <$25, and to Wagga Wagga (2650) it was >$90.

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  mrfluffy on 11/06/2014 - 12:06

  Good on you for taking the time to find MSY prices, WorkAround.

  Obviously a great buy!

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  slackme on 11/06/2014 - 12:07

  Only for people in Melbourne who can pick up.

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  BadGiraffe on 11/06/2014 - 13:40

  mATX mother board? Will this thing have space if I throw a second R7 260X on there?

  • 

    WorkAround on 11/06/2014 - 13:57

    Ignoring the motherboard, dunno if I'd roll the dice on CF for a 260X/Thermaltake 500W PSU… Especially if you consider that it'll be paired with an i3. You might do better configuring your own build with a single, high-end graphics card instead of CFing two lower-end ones.

    Edit: Motherboard theoretically does CF but at x4… which probably isn't worth it unless you have a spare 260X lying around + want to take your chances with the PSU (double check the system draw first). :/

    • 

      BadGiraffe on 11/06/2014 - 14:57

      Urrgh. Good point. Forgot about the PSU. This is still a good price, though. And with these specs, it should be enough to play through my pile of shame.

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  lostn on 11/06/2014 - 14:31

  Not a lot of point in budget gaming PCs imo. With specs like these I would rather remove the GPU, get a smaller and cheaper case and market it as a budget PC for home office or general use.

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    BadGiraffe on 11/06/2014 - 15:03

    Actually, that's a good point. Get this PC, stick the bits into a mATX case, use that as a HTPC, then with the other parts, put together an AMD build, maybe even CF two R7 260X's together.

    This could actually work for my setup. I've been needing a HTPC and a gaming rig for a while now.

    • 

      Gnostikos on 11/06/2014 - 18:34

      +1

      Get this PC, stick the bits into a mATX case, use that as a HTPC, then with the other parts, put together an AMD build, maybe even CF two R7 260X's together.

      Stay away from multi-GPU builds. It's just not worth it, especially not for a budget PC. Just go with a single higher-end GPU.

    • 

      lostn on 11/06/2014 - 21:10

      Can you get a remote control working on a HTPC? How do you control it from the couch?

      • 

        Gnostikos on 11/06/2014 - 21:57

        Something like this should do. There's plenty of free software for IR remotes.

        I use an ancient remote control/IR receiver set that came with a HP Pavilion from 2006. Works great.

      • 

        lostn on 12/06/2014 - 17:45

        Do they have a specialized Windows OS or GUI for HTPCs to make it like a real media center, instead of classic Windows desktop?

      • 

        Gnostikos on 12/06/2014 - 19:33

        XMBC is what I'd recommend. Well-supported, feature-packed, highly customisable.

  • 

    Gnostikos on 11/06/2014 - 18:31

    +1

    Actually CPL's deals as of late have featured very balanced, sensible builds that are cheaper than what you could individually piece together at MSY or other vendors; so you can't fault them on price or choice.

    You can't really cut back anymore on the other components in this build to put more money towards the GPU.

    But I do agree that you need to spend closer to $800 to actually have a build that can game properly, not just on some games but not all.

    • 

      lostn on 11/06/2014 - 21:13

      That's why I said budget gaming PCs are a waste. Either you're doing very light gaming which an onboard GPU can handle already. Facebook style games, and things like Bejeweled, PvZ, Peggle and other 2D style games. Or you're actually playing proper 3D games, and then you find the performance is under par and you have to turn down the settings and get an ugly looking game.

      It's these times you'll wish you either spent more for a better rig, or not bothered with it at all.

      They should either have done a low budget PC (not for gaming), or a gaming PC that's a few hundred dollars more, but decent. They went for something in between which I think is the worst of both worlds.