How far can you push a bad PC with a good gpu?

[ThomBassmonkey]

As I've said elsewhere, my pc's bricked recently and I'm getting vouchers in return for that place with the people that wear purple shirts.

Obviously I would rather build my own computer but given the prices they charge and the fact I rely a lot on my computer and I've not had a PC for almost 7 weeks now, I'm considering buying a PC from that place.

The pcs there are fairly low spec generally, they don't even seem to have sandy bridge which is very annoying since I may end up buying a complete machine from them. But I'm considering buying the best PC I can from them then upgrading it over time as I can afford it.

Given that it'd be a gaming machine, if I got a fairly low spec machine with the intention to spend potentially up to a couple of hundred on a GPU (maybe less, depends on PSU etc), would I be left with a machine that's still fairly useless as the processor would be slow or would it still be capable enough to bide me by while I slowly upgrade?

Thanks.

 

[ThomBassmonkey]

I did start a thread in the general section asking for advice about it that has more information on my situation, but the consensus was pretty much that I should sell the vouchers, take the loss and still come out with a better deal elsewhere, but I really need a PC ASAP now so I'm trying to figure out the best way to go about getting a computer up and running quickly. Waiting a few days for parts ordered online would probably be ok, but waiting to sell on vouchers before I cando anything would be longer than I'd be happy with.

I'll find out tomorrow exactly how much I'll be getting, but I'm expecting somewhere in the £450 area. I'll have extra cash to put in as required though.

 

[ThomBassmonkey]

Yeah, everyone seems to suggest the same thing, someone suggested some specific components that were ok and not too overpriced on the other thread, I'll probably post again in that thread tomorrow once I know exactly how much I have to spend there for more advice.

So frustrating to know that being forced to buy from that one place is going to mean having to compromise on quality rather than budget being the compromise.

 

[ThomBassmonkey]

They don't have all the bits, they don't even sell any sandy bridge processors. The bits that they do have are vastly overpriced, if I had £450 to spend here, from what I've seen in other threads I could get a usable gaming machine, if I do get £450 to spend there I'd be lucky to get half the parts to the same standard between them not selling some bits and other bits being overpriced.

 

[ThomBassmonkey]

The processors were what shocked me, for the basic i5 non-sb it costs £160, the SB i5 2500k here is £155, actually cheaper by a fiver. I find out exactly how much they're giving me tomorrow hopefully.

There's a small chance I might be able to sell the vouchers to my dad who's after a camera and might do a deal with me, but if that doesn't work out, I really need a PC ASAP as, like I said, I've been without one for 7 weeks and I already have a lot of catching up to do.

 

[ThomBassmonkey]

Like I said, not going to happen due to time limits. For reasons I won't go into I need a PC ASAP, basic internet access from an iPad and ps3 isn't enough for extended periods of time. The amount of time it'd take to sell something and wait for funds to clear would be way too long. I'm sure a lot of people would feel the same if they had gone almost 7 weeks with no access to their own PC.

I'm supposed to be getting a call back about 10 minutes ago telling me how much I actually have in vouchers, so at least I'll know my budget then..