Hardware Would this be good to start off with?

[KingAsix]

I am trying to get a desktop...Particularity one that will be better for gaming than my laptop. I found this one eBay and thought it might be nice to start with until I can afford better parts to beef it up (which will be awhile).....I just wanted a 2nd opinion because well....I dont know much about these things.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/AMD-Dual-Co...1315422425?pt=Desktop_PCs&hash=item4d23f024d9

 

[Originality]

Budget?

 

[KingAsix]

I have $200 thanks to my girlfriend (since I ranked 2nd in my 1st game jam I entered) but I might be able to get $300...past that I am not sure when I will be able to plug money into this (with bills and me trying to get in school...though I just launched a Patreon page but no telling when that will start generating income)

 

[FAST6191]

"FREE HDMI 1.4 CABLE INCLUDED"
What a deal.

4 gigs of RAM is enough for a lot but still quite low compared to what is out there, especially if it is two sticks of RAM (if it is)

The motherboard does not have a model number which is odd.

Anyway $300 as a budget, no OS needed.

CPU
Motherboard
RAM
PSU
Case
DVD drive
HDD

Replicating the specs, don't take this as a suggestions list.
CPU
http://www.amazon.com/AMD-A6-5400K-3-6Ghz-Processor-AD540KOKHJBOX/dp/B0095VPBFY/
$60
Motherboard.
http://www.amazon.com/MSI-Computer-Corp-A55M-E33-Motherboards/dp/B00HGLX81O/
$40
RAM equivalent (kind of hard to find that small an amount)
http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-PC3-12800-Unbuffered-240-Pin-CT25664BA160B/dp/B006YG88QC/
$22 x 2 = $44
HDD (again going as low as 1TB might change things)
http://www.amazon.com/WD-Green-Desktop-Hard-Drive/dp/B006GDVREI/
$55

$95 for a case, PSU and DVD. I do not like but it could be done, ideally I would have most of that go on the PSU and looking at the listing it seems they went for the cheap and cheerful option, indeed http://www.amazon.com/Logisys-Corp-10-Bay-Computer-CS305BK/dp/B008CDNW6G/ has the combined case listed there and PSU (unknown) for $35

Had I not just found the case and PSU combo it would strike me more as someone built a machine, used it for a year or two and is now trying the flog it on for a small hit thing (I steer clear of such things but who knows). With that case find though they are charging you a decent sum for assembly, doable a decade ago but today you can do better.

 

[KingAsix]

Wow...Very informative...So should I just get the parts and just assembly it myself and just upgrade it as I go (I should note I am not a graphics dude...As long as the game plays and my computer does blow up Im good...I can get high end graphics when I have high end money) or can I simple do completely better with the $300

 

[FAST6191]

Yeah you are being charged about $60 for a DVD drive and assembly of it, possibly more if you hunt around and find a better deal (entirely possible, I used amazon because it was in my search bar). I do not really have any good vendors that I like in the US (there are probably several, I just do not know of them), around here I have a few that would sell a barebones, refurb or complete setup for not a lot that would do what you want (play stuff and upgrade when the time comes). Indeed now Windows XP has ended and people it is what I have been doing for months at this point.

You might still get something on ebay but that one is not a good deal.

Games wise. A year or so back we were living well as the consoles were holding things back and basically every half modern PC could play most things, I doubt it is going to reach the "needs bleeding edge" levels of earlier years again but I am still not sure the how new consoles are going to change things. Thankfully a few devs seem to have realised that a bigger audience is a good thing and are making games run on lower end machines.

 

[KingAsix]

Sweet...That has me a little hopefully for what I can do with $300...I was kinda worried Id still need more money. If I were to buy everything from what you gave me I'd still have a good bit of money to throw around out of my budget. My goal is that if I can afford a functioning desktop I can sell my laptop as I don't use it much anymore and it would give me more money toward the laptop...I just cant get rid of it until I have something else.

 

[sandytf]

www.newegg.com has great prices and often free shipping. I purchase almost exclusively from there. Items are constantly going on sale, so if you are willing to wait a little bit, you could save a significant amount of money. www.tigerdirect.com may also be worth a look, although I still prefer Newegg.