Reply 20 of 60, by Retrojanusz
Got myself the FX5500 for 8$ as a start, since it was cheap (or to be precise, 7.79$). May not be the most desireable model around, but it's a start and costs as much as two big macs, so why not. It being passively cooled will make it the better choice in older games where its lackluster performance is not a problem (but its silence is a blessing).
Getting the GPU is the hardest part in general. I'll do some chilled lurking for a while, maybe I'll find a better model for a good price.
So far haven't decided yet whether to go AMD or Intel on the CPU. The ability to mount an AM4 cooler sounds great, I have one free to use (Got a Wraith Spire or Stealth when buyng the Ryzen 3600, never used it, should be enough for those low-power solutions) so it would likely help with the noise levels, so I'm leaning towards that solution, unless there is a distinctive advantage of going for pentiums?
Also, how about a GeForce 6200? I see one passively cooled piece for 10 $.
For around 25$ there are those:
9600XT by Club3d:
MSI 4200Ti:
Radeon 9800XT by MSI:
Powercolor 9600 Pro:
Are any of those worth the 25$?
Not particularly excited about those crappy old fans, will likely have to replace them immediately.