[Stardrone]

I want to buy a new PC which would be capable of running GTA IV, L.A. Noire and other games of this genre on THEIR STOCK SETTINGS! I don't want any max-out or crystal-clear graphics. I just want a PC to run these games at @35-40 FPS on 1280x1024 at medium settings. My budget goes up to 500$. It's little, but I don't want a monster PC, and surfing the net showed me some AMD Quad-Cores, i5's and nVidia GT540/ATI Radeon HD6670's in this price range.

Please reply me some stuff I need to know before I buy a new PC.

EDIT:
Here's a link of a PC which caught my eye:
Link

This post has been edited by Stardrone on Saturday, Jul 21 2012, 19:43

[PrometheusX]

For that build: The CPU is terrible and out-dated, and the GPU is a bit weak.

Here's a typical build. Not the first time, I'm over-budget.

Thanks yojo

Component	Item	Price
Motherboard	GIGABYTE GA-970A-DS3 Socket AM3+/ AMD 970/ DDR3/ CrossFireX/ SATA3&USB3.0/ ATX Motherboard	$80
Processor	AMD Phenom II X4 Processor 965 (3.4GHz) AM3, OEM	$90
Graphics Card	MSI nVidia GeForce GTX560 1GB DDR5 Video Card	$164
Memory	Super Talent DDR3-1333 8GB (2x4GB) Dual Channel Micron Chip Memory	$40
Hard Drive	Seagate 500GB SATA3 7200rpm 16MB Hard Drive	$53
Case	Raidmax ATX-238WU Tornado ATX Mid Tower Gaming Case	$49
Power Supply	XFX ProSeries Core Edition 450W 80Plus Bronze Power Supply	$50
Total	[Grand Theft Auto IV @ Highest Settings - 30-35 FPS]	$526

This post has been edited by PrometheusX on Sunday, Jul 22 2012, 20:06

[dansgas1000]

Since the budget is not full maybe he could get a 560 Ti or 7870 instead.

[yojo2]

@PrometheusX: I hope you were just joking with that Coolmax... or maybe you have more info about it than I do? It looks rather suspicious to me.
Plus, GTX560 SE isn't really a good deal.

[PrometheusX]

QUOTE (yojo2 @ Sunday, Jul 22 2012, 18:44)

@PrometheusX: I hope you were just joking with that Coolmax... or maybe you have more info about it than I do? It looks rather suspicious to me. Plus, GTX560 SE isn't really a good deal.

Oh oh....Don't tell me SE stands for "Smart" Edition

Also, yes, I have no info about the PSU. OP if you decide to buy that build, let me know to insert some changes worth extra $30.

[yojo2]

Well, I think it's more like "sh*tty Edition" than "Smart Edition".

As for the PSU: http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=XFX-450S - $5 more, but it's a more reasonable choice than unknown Coolmax.

[PrometheusX]

QUOTE (yojo2 @ Sunday, Jul 22 2012, 20:00)

Well, I think it's more like "sh*tty Edition" than "Smart Edition". As for the PSU: http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=XFX-450S - $5 more, but it's a more reasonable choice than unknown Coolmax.

Right. Replaced the PSU & GPU - Should be the best bang for the buck now

[unc13bud]

QUOTE

I don't want any max-out or crystal-clear graphics. I just want a PC to run these games at @35-40 FPS on 1280x1024 at medium settings.

that machine you linked in your first post should run vanilla gta iv fine. eflc might take some tweaking, but if you turned off reflections and gave it low shadows, it would work also.

[Stardrone]

QUOTE (PrometheusX @ Saturday, Jul 21 2012, 20:07)

For that build: The CPU is terrible and out-dated, and the GPU is a bit weak. Here's a typical build. Not the first time, I'm over-budget. Thanks yojo Component Item Price Motherboard GIGABYTE GA-970A-DS3 Socket AM3+/ AMD 970/ DDR3/ CrossFireX/ SATA3&USB3.0/ ATX Motherboard $80 Processor AMD Phenom II X4 Processor 965 (3.4GHz) AM3, OEM $90 Graphics Card MSI nVidia GeForce GTX560 1GB DDR5 Video Card $164 Memory Super Talent DDR3-1333 8GB (2x4GB) Dual Channel Micron Chip Memory $40 Hard Drive Seagate 500GB SATA3 7200rpm 16MB Hard Drive $53 Case Raidmax ATX-238WU Tornado ATX Mid Tower Gaming Case $49 Power Supply XFX ProSeries Core Edition 450W 80Plus Bronze Power Supply $50 Total [Grand Theft Auto IV @ Highest Settings - 30-35 FPS] $526

Thanks for the components! I can extend my budget to 526$ and even add up to 600$...the problem is the site you put there is not Romanian, and here you can't find these components at these prices .

[PrometheusX]

QUOTE (Stardrone @ Tuesday, Jul 24 2012, 10:29)

QUOTE (PrometheusX @ Saturday, Jul 21 2012, 20:07) For that build: The CPU is terrible and out-dated, and the GPU is a bit weak. Here's a typical build. Not the first time, I'm over-budget. Thanks yojo Component Item Price Motherboard GIGABYTE GA-970A-DS3 Socket AM3+/ AMD 970/ DDR3/ CrossFireX/ SATA3&USB3.0/ ATX Motherboard $80 Processor AMD Phenom II X4 Processor 965 (3.4GHz) AM3, OEM $90 Graphics Card MSI nVidia GeForce GTX560 1GB DDR5 Video Card $164 Memory Super Talent DDR3-1333 8GB (2x4GB) Dual Channel Micron Chip Memory $40 Hard Drive Seagate 500GB SATA3 7200rpm 16MB Hard Drive $53 Case Raidmax ATX-238WU Tornado ATX Mid Tower Gaming Case $49 Power Supply XFX ProSeries Core Edition 450W 80Plus Bronze Power Supply $50 Total [Grand Theft Auto IV @ Highest Settings - 30-35 FPS] $526 Thanks for the components! I can extend my budget to 526$ and even add up to 600$...the problem is the site you put there is not Romanian, and here you can't find these components at these prices .

Aren't you willing to buy from an e-retailer? If not then this won't be any use to you.

[mkey82]

^^^ Importing from US is not an option. By the time the gear gets to eastern Europe, prices go up about 60% compared to newegg.

[Stardrone]

that site you linked the components to doesn't support international shipping anymore D:

[mkey82]

You can maybe try ordering from some UK stores, like scan.co.uk but the shipping charges are probably going to ramp up.

[Extronic]

QUOTE (mkey82 @ Tuesday, Jul 24 2012, 15:42)

^^^ Importing from US is not an option. By the time the gear gets to eastern Europe, prices go up about 60% compared to newegg.

Its not completely true, you can find that gtx560 for $177 and Phenom II X4 965 for $96 from a local retailer there, which is hardly 5% up from those prices mentioned above.
btw id go with HD 7770 as its much cheaper and more power efficient card (beware of ~15% drop in perfomance, though)

[radioman]

In that price range, it is best to build your own PC instead of getting a pre-built one..As pretty much all pre-built ones in that price range will have an Intel Video card OR a Cheap Nvidia 6150/ATI 6500 series(which are Integrated cards and not good for gaming-past SA anyway.. )

QUOTE

prices go up about 60% compared to newegg.

I find that hard to believe prices would go up that much due to taxes and fees, as there is a Federal Law against Price Gouging(which is what that much of an increase is considered under the law?.)...so, long story short, any reputable business which charges that much in taxes and fees would be heavily fined and/or put out of business for Price Gouging under the law...I know of one local gas station chain in this area which was heavily fined(3 times) for price gouging after a hurricane in 2005, is how I found out about the law and from looking it up in the Statue book...

[Ron0968]

dude, for that price just go to dell.com and pick up a XPS desktop!! I just got mine in and it has Intel core i7 windows 7, 12GB mem, Gforce GT 640 graphic card, 2TB Hard drive and it runs GTAIV alot more clearer than my GTAIV on my ps3.

[PrometheusX]

QUOTE (Ron0968 @ Saturday, Aug 4 2012, 22:02)

dude, for that price just go to dell.com and pick up a XPS desktop!! I just got mine in and it has Intel core i7 windows 7, 12GB mem, Gforce GT 640 graphic card, 2TB Hard drive and it runs GTAIV alot more clearer than my GTAIV on my ps3.

It isn't worth the price. Plus the GPU isn't good at all, it'll run mostly at Medium settings at a playable framerate.

[unc13bud]

medium settings in GTA IV look fine!!! i cant tell the difference between them and high/very high settings. but maybe i am too busy playing/enjoying the games to notice... har har har
Statistics
Average FPS: 40.03
Duration: 32.62 sec
CPU Usage: 74%
System memory usage: 69%
Video memory usage: 35%

Graphics Settings
Video Mode: 1360 x 768 (60 Hz)
Texture Quality: High
Shadow Quality: Medium
Reflection Resolution: Medium
Water Quality: Medium
Texture Filter Quality: Anisotropic x4
Night Shadows: Off
View Distance: 25
Detail Distance: 31

Hardware
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
Service Pack 3
Video Adapter: NVIDIA GeForce GT 640
Video Driver version: 301.42
Audio Adapter: NVIDIA High Definition Audio
AMD Phenom™ II X4 975 Processor

File ID: TBoGT-Benchmark.cli