I want to buy a computer that will run empire: total war on medium settings without any graphics hiccups even during large battles. I don’t need a “whole package” with monitor/keyboard/mouse, just a box. 10 years ago building computers was easy, because I understood what all the numbers meant. Now there’s so many different versions and types of technology that I would just be lost trying to figure out what type of ram to buy or whether the XYZ2010 video card is better than the LMNOP5560 video card. Please help me pick the least expensive, smallest computer that will run modern games!
Mobo: ASUS M2N68-AM PLUS AM3/AM2+/AM2 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Newegg.com $50
GPU: SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 4870 Video Card 100279-1GL - Newegg.com $155
HD: Western Digital Blue 250GB 7200 RPM 3.5" Internal HDD - Newegg.com $45
Case + PSU: Broadway Com Corp 9257-Black Black Computer Case - Newegg.com $50
Total: $490
And that’s just a cursory glance at new egg. If you look for locla bargains and maybe go for a slightly lower class GPU you can easily take out $100 out of that (or replace with better quality components) and still be playing empire total war just fine. When buying a gamign PC you want to invest the most money into your GPU, followed by your CPU, your PSU, and then your mobo and RAM (usually).