For a few months I've been wanting to build another gaming computer. I've always held off though as the timing just didn't seem quite right in terms of the cost of parts. I've always based everything off how cheap I can get the motherboard + ram + CPU in a combo. If that's cheap and the specs are decent, I work from there and get the other parts until the pieces are together.
The timing was just right for when I decided to embark on building another gaming PC. Enough money was there, I found a listing with a cheap combo (for the specs) and won it. I had this weeks project planned.
I ordered:
I7 2600 + DQ67SW mobo + 8gb of DDR3 ram (x2 2gb, x1 4gb) - $139 + $12 shipping = $151
240gb Gigabyte SSD - $48 + $3 shipping = $51
GTX 750ti - $99 + $12 shipping = $111
I had a case and PSU from a computer I bought a while back. I liked the case and swapped it with a shitty one I had and sold it off with that. A bonus was that there was a SD reader with this case too.
I put all the parts together. Cable strapped and circumcised. A really easy job to do. Most of the time spent doing this was just waiting for the parts to arrive. The actual assembly was as easy as a bag of dicks.
I intend to sell this for a couple hundred more. Based on the research I've conducted and now my fine experience of computer selling, it should be gone in 2 weeks.
Benchmark: https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/19381877
Photos: https://imgur.com/a/yEfWQmg
$310 NZD = $200 USD in total.
Everything but the SSD was second hand. If I bought it new, it probably would have been 2.5x the cost.
I used the NZ equivalent of eBay (TradeMe) to order everything. I find it to be trustworthy even though people still take issue with buying things online like computers.
I don't see the point in actually buying new for these kinds of projects. I'd perhaps be different if it was for my own usage and I needed the latest and greatest stuff. I like second hand nonetheless. I get the product for a quarter of the price. reee I love second hand