VIDEO Best cheap computer setup for GTA V and some Steam games?

NightEagle

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Hey guys

I have some things to ask.

I recently watched this YouTube video by Green Ham Gaming which shows how to get a GTA V PC for less then $150. It uses a Dell Optiplex 755


Now I want to try this out myself, since I would like the next gen version of GTA V, as I only have the last gen on Xbox 360.

I picked out a cheap desktop off eBay for about £40 Link Removed. I will be able to take some RAM out another computer and put it in this one but that now leaves me with a graphics card and possibly a SSD big enough to hold GTA V savefiles. I'm also going to upgrade the processor to a Intel Core 2 Quad processor

The question I ask, what is the best low-profile graphics card which is powerful and works well with GTA V?

I'd appreciate some answers soon as, because I'm investing some money into a project like this.

Thanks!
 
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I'd sell all my old tech and start from scratch, building a cheap ddr3 based gaming system should be fairly cheap. You could get a decent gaming exp with any of the low end i5 or Amd FX series chips. Combine that with a mid range Nvidia or Amd gpu and you'd play GTA V fine
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Quite honestly, if it seems too good to be true it probably is. What they may have done when building this system was to add multiple modern graphics cards, but they will bog down the PCI bus. There is a reason its not in HD (1080P) and its probably because the motherboard straight up can't handle it. Maybe it will run GTA 5 but it may not be worth it. You are going to hit a bottleneck but it may work... just not very well. But if its to your liking, than who can complain? What you need to know straight away is that it will very likely not run next gen games. If it runs GTA 5 in 1080P it will be like some miracle that is maxing out all of your hardware.
 
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You may be inclined to wait... get a Skylake motherboard with at least one m.2 PCI slot and a Intel Skylake processor... This will give you room to expand... I mean this motherboard runs DDR2 it is ancient history by today's standards. And we're talking *just to run* a video game, that was originally designed for PS3/XBox 360 and given better high texture graphics for PS4/Xbox One... I'd seriously consider if this thing will last you more than 60 hours of enjoyment and if that is even worth it.
 
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I see your point there Mike.

My main goal is not really just to get a computer, upgrade it to the max hoping it can any game with maximum graphics.

I play a few Steam games on my laptop which don't meet the recommended specifications, although they are still playable. I primarily just want games like GTA V to be playable, not beautiful at the same time. I can live with low quality graphics.


I'll look into this at the same time. My choices are still open so I've still got time to think about it

EDIT: Specs of GTA V:

Minimum specifications:
OS: Windows 8.1 64 Bit, Windows 8 64 Bit, Windows 7 64 Bit Service Pack 1, Windows Vista 64 Bit Service Pack 2* (*NVIDIA video card recommended if running Vista OS) = Can't really say, if I get this Dell, it will probably have Windows 10 but it shouldn't be a problem
Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad CPU Q6600 @ 2.40GHz (4 CPUs) / AMD Phenom 9850 Quad-Core Processor (4 CPUs) @ 2.5GHz = Can be possible to upgrade the Dell to a Core 2 Quad, since its 775
Memory: 4GB = I've got some RAM around, can easily be upgraded
Video Card: NVIDIA 9800 GT 1GB / AMD HD 4870 1GB (DX 10, 10.1, 11) = This is the part I need to try and think about. For the computer I looked at, it had a low profile PCI Express x16 port but it depends if I can get a graphics card powerful enough and fits in perfectly
Sound Card: 100% DirectX 10 compatible = Anyone should have this
HDD Space: 65GB = Should be easy to sort. I can either use my 1TB HDD or a SSD with enough storage for the game and Windows itself
DVD Drive = Not sure if this is needed, but its there anyway

Recommended specifications:
OS: Windows 8.1 64 Bit, Windows 8 64 Bit, Windows 7 64 Bit Service Pack 1 = See above
Processor: Intel Core i5 3470 @ 3.2GHZ (4 CPUs) / AMD X8 FX-8350 @ 4GHZ (8 CPUs) = In my dreams. Definitely won't be able to get this far
Memory: 8GB = Can be possible, although it is going to be expensive
Video Card: NVIDIA GTX 660 2GB / AMD HD7870 2GB = Depends if I can get a powerful enough graphics capable of running on the computer and fits in the low profile socket
Sound Card: 100% DirectX 10 compatible = See above
HDD Space: 65GB = See above
DVD Drive = See above

I could get a bigger version of the computer if needed. I'm selling a lot of my old tech so it should be easy to fund all this
 
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I'd sell all my old tech and start from scratch, building a cheap ddr3 based gaming system should be fairly cheap. You could get a decent gaming exp with any of the low end i5 or Amd FX series chips. Combine that with a mid range Nvidia or Amd gpu and you'd play GTA V fine
 
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Solution

What I've done so far is upgrade my old Compaq Presario SR1819UK from the previous dedicated GPU, which is a ATI FireGL V3100 with 128MB Vram to a Nvidia GeForce 210 with 1GB Vram. I also upgraded the original single core AMD Sempron 1.8GHz processor with a dual core AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ 2.2GHz processor. Right now, I'm looking at more powerful GPUs suited for playing modern games, with a mix for performance but also graphics quality. Here are the current specifications now: CPU-Z VALIDATOR

If it comes to that point, I may just invest in a custom built PC, although that may be unlikely as I'd prefer OEM PCs and am currently saving up for an Xbox One.

For now, the only game I've got running at a somewhat stable fps is Minecraft, which is limited to 30 fps. A few lightweight Steam games run at a playable speed as well. I've tried Batman Arkham Asylum GOTY Edition on it, but its too laggy and slightly unplayable.
 
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nmsuk said:
That Geforce 210 is really limited when it comes to games. Really good card for a htpc though
Click to expand...
I agree. Although it runs the more lightweight games reasonably well, it does struggle with the more heavy-graphic games.

If I get a more powerful GPU, I'll probably reuse the existing one in a basic PC build or something.
 
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May not want to go skylake after hearing this:
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Sorry for the bump, but I have finished GTA 5 thrice on this PC:

Intel Core i7 5th Gen quadcore, at 3.4 Ghz
Nvidia GT610 graphics of 2GB
RAM 4GB

lagged a slight bit at high speeds, but was mostly OK...and that too, was at medium graphics...
 
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I brought a 2008 Lenevo desktop computer from Craigslist. I did some research on the hardware and brought a few parts online. Replaced the dual core Intel processor with a Quad Core Q6600 2.4 Ghz processor. Replaced two sticks of 2 GB with 4 GB of RAM. Removed the heatsink of the motherboard chipset as it was running hot after playing GTA V. The computer came with a old Nvidia GeForce 550 GTX video card. Replaced the video card with a ASUS Geforce 750 Ti video card for under 150 dollars. Installed a chipset fan and heatsink for the motherboard chipset. This was all done a year ago. All working fine. The 280 watt power supply was running lots of heat while the video card was running up to 50 percent of GPU power. Two weeks ago, I replaced the 280 watts power supply with a new 430 watts Thermaltake power supply and it runs cool. Much less heat while playing games.
 
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