Budget Low-End Gaming Build

[sirkelly55]

Hello, I would love some advice on a super-budget gaming computer for my Dad.
I'm based in New Zealand, so PC prices are sh*t and I don't have access to some parts (All prices I give are in NZD sorry.) Just looking to run average games and MMO's at medium(ish) settings on a small (17") monitor.

So far I have a salvaged HD 4550 and a LG CD/DVD drive from an older build, that's about it for possibly useful components though.

My thoughts are that if there is extra income in the future, I could upgrade the graphics card, but I want something in the meantime for as cheap as possible.

CPU - A6-6400K - $105
MOBO - Gigabyte GA-F2A55M-DS2 - $95
GPU - AMD Radeon HD 4550 (Is this useful in this build, or does the more modern inbuilt graphics of the A6 render this useless?) - $0
RAM - G.Skill Ripjaws X 8GB - $100
PSU - FSP RA-450S 450W - $85
CASE - Cooler Master Elite 343 - $65
HDD - Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB - $90
TOTAL - Around $540
I can come up with a monitor and keyboard/mouse easily so that's not an issue.

Please give me any suggestions as to how to save costs, get decent performance for less money, or a completely different rig for the same kinda price (or lower).

Cheers, Kelly.

 

[PP Mguire]

You can try the 4550 but I think you'll find the APU has better graphics. You could always downgrade the HDD and RAM to a 500GB HDD and 4GB of RAM to get a better APU.

 

[sirkelly55]

NZ has funny prices... A 500GB HDD would save meabout $5... I'll see about the RAM, would you recommend Strontium brand, or maybe Kingston? I might be able to save $40 by downgrading.

Cheers, Kelly.

 

[PP Mguire]

Never heard of the first brand, but Kingston would be fine. Just seems like a smarter way to got o me because it's easier and cheaper to add another 4GB of RAM later rather than replace the whole CPU. This way here, you aren't CPU bound later, and can add a dedicated GPU at a later date without worry of the CPU being too slow.

 

[sirkelly55]

Cool thank you, is there another stronger CPU you would recommend? I think fx-4300 is in that price range $150 ish, but are there better choices?

 

[PP Mguire]

No just go up in APU because they have a GPU. Going CPU/GPU will cost more money and the 4550 is a weak card.

 

[sirkelly55]

Alrighty then, thanks for all the help mate

Cheers, Kelly.