Is this gaming computer offer good? Need help.

[PVarck31]

I don't know too much about gaming computers. I know the basics but I'm not sure what a good setup would be for the money. There is a guy who builds custom PCs for people around here and he made me an offer based on my budget. I just want some opinions to see if it's a fair deal.

My one requirement in this whole thing is that I will be able to use Space Engine and Universe Sandbox 2 at high settings.

So here is what he is offering:

Intel Xeon (equivalent to a core i7 3770)
8gb DDR3 RAM
128gb SSD boot drive
500gb HDD storage drive
AMD RX 470 4gb graphics card
Antec 400w power supply
Antec PC case
Windows 10 pro 64 bit fully activated

$475 out the door

I have a pretty decent monitor already.

So yeah, just wanted some opinions on this. I know it should run the programs I want to use just fine from what I have looked up. But is the price right?

Thanks

[KSUowls]

Less than $500 for an i7 (even an old one) and a decent dedicated GPU is going to be hard to find. So from that standpoint I think it's a good deal.

Whether or not it meets your requirements is harder to say. From a components standpoint I would have thought for sure no, because of the processor (my understanding of the game is that the cpu handles more of the load than the gpu), but I do see people on reddit who have played Sandbox with that processor. They don't mention if they are on high settings or not, but since the original game came out around the same time as that processor then maybe it will be ok. I would imagine it would depend on how much "fun" you're looking to have in that game though. I've never played it, but I've seen videos where people start putting in a bunch of black holes and speeding up orbits and the frames drop to near 0 (on entry level newer gaming systems).

Not a complete answer, but hope this helps. It probably will be fine for your needs, but I am basing that mostly on when Universe Sandbox came out in 2012.

[PVarck31]

Quote: Originally Posted by KSUowls

Less than $500 for an i7 (even an old one) and a decent dedicated GPU is going to be hard to find. So from that standpoint I think it's a good deal. Whether or not it meets your requirements is harder to say. From a components standpoint I would have thought for sure no, because of the processor (my understanding of the game is that the cpu handles more of the load than the gpu), but I do see people on reddit who have played Sandbox with that processor. They don't mention if they are on high settings or not, but since the original game came out around the same time as that processor then maybe it will be ok. I would imagine it would depend on how much "fun" you're looking to have in that game though. I've never played it, but I've seen videos where people start putting in a bunch of black holes and speeding up orbits and the frames drop to near 0 (on entry level newer gaming systems). Not a complete answer, but hope this helps. It probably will be fine for your needs, but I am basing that mostly on when Universe Sandbox came out in 2012.

Thank you. That helps. I'm thinking about raising my budget a bit and maybe building my own or buying a good pre-built one. But with those, I don't know which brands to trust.

I found this part picker site and put some stuff together and then I realize I'd have to pay $100 more for Windows. So I'm still trying to figure it out.

[KSUowls]

There is a lack of information for that game and pc requirements (from users), but I did find a few more posts that give me a bit more confidence in the system you originally posted. As long as you don't go too crazy with breaking the universe then I think it will be fine, but I understand the fear of spending hundreds of dollars on something and then it not doing what you want.

I wouldn't worry about brands too much with pre-built pc's. Unless you're talking about a major increase to your budget then pre-builts will largely be the same. Customer service might be better with something like a Dell, but the systems themselves will be pretty similar, and imo you're better off buying better components than a better name (as long as it's from a reputable retail shop). Pre-builts will typically use the lower end of components. By that I mean, you're getting DDR 4 ram, but you're getting it at the lowest clock speed and some off brand. You're probably not getting much in the way of powersupply to support upgrades down the road, a cheaper mobo, and a bare bones cooling system. If you're looking to max out frames on Call of Duty then these things matter. For your purposes just trying to play an 8 year old game (well I guess Sandbox 2 is newer), then these things will matter less. Cooling might be an issue if you start putting the cpu under major stress by re-creating the big bang lol, but you're not going to get all 10's on a budget.

Building a pc is almost always the cheapest option, but sometimes the savings aren't as much as you would think (especially when you factor in Windows). I would recommend first building all the components and everything you want on something like pcpartpicker and then shop around to see if you can find something similar for cheaper.

I'm assuming you found pc part picker. That's a great resource. There are a ton of completed builds on there, so you don't go through the daunting task of going through the full list of options for each component. You can set a price range and see what other people have built in that range .

[PVarck31]

Thanks again. Yeah I found PC part picker.

I'm thinking about raising my budget because I want a better graphics card. I also think I might build myself because what I put together seems like a steal.

If you don't mind, I will leave a link and if you could let me know if this is a good value I would appreciate it.

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/pvarck...d/#view=byWy4D

This should definitely play way more than Universe Sandbox at high settings.

[KSUowls]

Quote: Originally Posted by PVarck31

Thanks again. Yeah I found PC part picker. I'm thinking about raising my budget because I want a better graphics card. I also think I might build myself because what I put together seems like a steal. If you don't mind, I will leave a link and if you could let me know if this is a good value I would appreciate it. https://pcpartpicker.com/user/pvarck...d/#view=byWy4D This should definitely play way more than Universe Sandbox at high settings.

The link says "permission denied"

[PVarck31]

Quote: Originally Posted by KSUowls

The link says "permission denied"

Oh crap, it's because it's set to private and I can't figure out how to make it public.

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/pvarck...d/#view=byWy4D That should do it.

[KSUowls]

Quote: Originally Posted by PVarck31

Oh crap, it's because it's set to private and I can't figure out how to make it public. https://pcpartpicker.com/user/pvarck...d/#view=byWy4D That should do it.

I think it is a solid build. I would recommend not going with an F suffix on the CPU though, (KF is fine). The ones that end in F do not have integrated graphics, which means that everything that requires graphics processing will be coming from your GPU, even small tasks. Is this a deal breaker? Probably not, unless you're really pushing the GPU but those chips arent much cheaper than the ones that have graphics built in.

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