Experience Modern Gaming on a £175 Budget with 1st Gen Core i7

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Building the Budget Gaming PC
   1. The Case
   2. Selling the Components
   3. The Parts I Had to Buy
3. The CPU and GPU
   1. Intel Core i7 860
   2. Radeon R9 290
4. Gaming Performance in 2020
   1. GTA 5
   2. Far Cry 5
   3. Overwatch
   4. Shadow of the Tomb Raider
   5. PUBG
   6. Fortnite
   7. Red Dead Redemption 2
5. CPU Performance in Cinebench R20
6. Conclusion

Building a Budget Gaming PC: Is a First Generation Core i7 Still Capable in 2020? 💻🎮

Are you on a tight budget but still want to enjoy some gaming in 2020? Not to worry! In this article, we will explore the possibility of building a budget gaming PC using a first-generation Core i7 processor. We'll discuss the components involved, their performance, and whether this setup still holds up to modern gaming standards. So, let's dive in and see if this retro build can compete with today's gaming demands!

Building the Budget Gaming PC

When building a budget gaming PC, it's crucial to find cost-effective solutions. In this case, we took a different approach and utilized a Second-HAND PC case as the foundation for our build. This allowed us to save money on essential components like the case, power supply, and hard drives.

The Case

We started with a visually appealing case that already contained a Corsair 750W power supply, an ASRock Extreme3 970 motherboard, and an old AMD FX 4000 series chip. By selling these components, we were able to recoup some of the costs and obtain a Zalman case, a 750W power supply, a 60GB SSD, and a 1TB hard drive for a mere £40.

Selling the Components

While it was a bit risky, selling the existing components from the FX PC allowed us to save serious money. We sold the motherboard and CPU separately, generating additional funds. Although we opted not to sell the RAM at this time, it could be sold later for additional savings.

The Parts I Had to Buy

To complete the build, I had to purchase a few components. These included a quad-core, eight-threaded Intel Core i7 860 CPU, an Intel DQ 5070 motherboard, 8GB of DDR3 RAM, and an AMD Radeon R9 290 graphics card. Additionally, we obtained different SSD and hard drives from another troubleshooting project.

By using this approach, the entire system cost me £175 in the UK, $220 in the US, or €195 in mainland Europe. Keep in mind that prices may vary depending on availability and location.

The CPU and GPU

Before delving into gaming performance, let's take a closer look at the key components of our budget gaming PC: the Intel Core i7 860 CPU and the AMD Radeon R9 290 graphics card.

Intel Core i7 860

Released in the third quarter of 2009, the i7 860 was a high-performance CPU. Sporting four cores, eight Threads, a base clock speed of 2.8GHz, and a max turbo frequency of 3.46GHz, it was considered a premium processor during its time. Today, you can find it at a relatively decent price on the UK used market.

AMD Radeon R9 290

The R9 290, based on the Hawaii GPU architecture, was a high-end graphics card that launched in November 2013. With 4GB of GDDR5 memory, it was a powerful contender in its era. Although it had impressive performance, it was notorious for its noise levels.

Gaming Performance in 2020

Now comes the moment of truth! How does our budget gaming PC perform in modern games? Let's take a look at the gaming experience with various popular titles.

GTA 5

Running GTA 5 at high in-Game settings, we achieved an average of 64 FPS with a 1% low of 46 and a 0.1% low of 42. This provides a pretty reasonable gaming experience at 1080p. While turning down the settings may lead to a higher frame rate, the visual quality remains satisfactory.

Far Cry 5

At normal settings, Far Cry 5 delivered an average frame rate of 52 FPS, with a 1% low of 44 and a 0.1% low of 34. This resulted in smooth gameplay, with only minor drops in frame rate. Keep in mind that these results were obtained through the in-game benchmark test and may vary slightly during real-world gameplay.

Overwatch

Despite some stuttering during Recording, Overwatch maintained a smooth and enjoyable experience during actual gameplay. With settings at high, we achieved over 120 FPS, indicating that this popular title runs excellently on the budget build.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider

Initially experiencing some stuttering, we discovered a background Windows update was causing the issue. After resolving this, we achieved an average of 50 FPS with the highest performance preset. Admittedly, a more powerful GPU would have been beneficial in this case.

PUBG

PUBG showcased a few stutters during recording, but the actual gameplay was much smoother. With medium settings, we managed to reach an average of 60 FPS at 1080p. Although there was some stuttering when initially jumping out of the plane, overall, the performance was acceptable.

Fortnite

When testing Fortnite at medium settings, we achieved an impressive 89 FPS. The combination of the i7 CPU and R9 290 GPU handled this popular title without any significant issues. Although a more powerful GPU would enhance the experience, the performance we obtained was commendable for the price.

Red Dead Redemption 2

The most surprising result came with Red Dead Redemption 2. With the highest performance preset, we obtained an average of 42 FPS, a 1% low of 33, and a 0.1% low of 26. Considering the demanding nature of this game, it was impressive to achieve at least 30 FPS on this budget build.

CPU Performance in Cinebench R20

To gain a better understanding of the CPU's capabilities, we ran Cinebench R20, which yielded a score of 950 points. This places the i7 860 between the previously tested i3 4130 and i5 3532 CPUs. While the i3 struggles due to its two cores and four threads, the i7 holds up well in comparison.

Conclusion

In conclusion, a budget gaming PC built around a first-generation Core i7 CPU can still handle modern games reasonably well. With the right combination of components, such as the R9 290 GPU, satisfactory frame rates and smooth gameplay can be achieved at 1080p. Although an overclock and a more powerful GPU would further enhance performance, this retro build offers an affordable entry point into gaming.

If you're currently using a first-generation Core i7 or considering building a budget gaming PC, we'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences. Drop a comment below and let us know how it's working out for you!

Note: Results for Call of Duty: Warzone were not included in this article due to a substantial update at the time of testing. Please refer to the pinned comment for future updates or additional test results.

Resources:

• None Mentioned