**The Struggle is Real: Building a Gaming PC on a Budget**

We recently embarked on an ambitious project - building a gaming PC that wouldn't break the bank. Our goal was to create a system that could handle some of the most popular games out there, without sacrificing performance or breaking our budget.

**The Hardware**

We started by acquiring a decent graphics card, which we thought would be the backbone of our system. However, upon further inspection, we realized that we had also picked up a dedicated Wi-Fi card and a modem. "Why not?" we thought. After all, future-proofing is always a good idea.

**The Installation Process**

As we began to assemble the system, things quickly took a turn for the worse. We encountered issues with getting the graphics drivers installed, only to discover that they were 64-bit only. Ouch! Our CPU was also revealed to be a single-core processor, which seemed like a major problem considering most modern games require dual cores.

**The Upgrade**

With our spirits dampened, we decided to explore alternative options. We managed to scrounge up an R7 240 GPU from somewhere (we won't reveal the details), and after some tinkering, it slipped right into place. We were determined not to let this setback bring us down.

**The First Test**

With our system finally assembled, we fired it up and tested its capabilities. The results were... surprising. Zero frames per second? Yes, you read that right - zero! But, undeterred, we decided to tweak the settings and see what would happen.

**The Breakthrough**

As we continued to experiment with different settings, something unexpected happened. We managed to get a playable 120 FPS menu screen going, which was a small victory considering our system's specs. But wait - there's more!

**The Online Gaming Experience**

Next, we decided to test the waters by trying online gaming at 720p resolution. To our surprise, we were able to achieve a respectable 32-34 FPS, with some minor tweaking required to keep it stable.

**The Verdict**

While our system is far from perfect, it's a testament to human ingenuity and determination. With some creativity and elbow grease, even the most unlikely components can be coaxed into performing better than expected. So, if you're on a tight budget but still want to experience the thrill of gaming, don't give up - double down on failure!

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en- Hey, guys, this is Austin,and today, we're going to be doinga little bit of a different video.So, I'm here with my buddy JayzTwoCents.- So, we thought, what if you already havean old computer layingaround, or access to it?Does it make more sense to buya new GPU and put it in that?- So, this is the first episode of...-Junkyard Battles, yeah!- I almost said Scrapyard Wars.- I think it's time to hit Craigslist.$30 for a Core 2 Duo machine?- What is that?- This one?- Oh, it's 195 bucks, though.It's an i5.It also says Windows Vista on it.- I mean, that's the finestoperating system ever.It's clearly what I want in my life.Acer Athlon 64.For 50 bucks, this might not be crazy.- Okay, wellI'm gonna text him now.What's the number?- Here's a place.Buy, sell, trade, and repair.Hey, so, a friend and I,we're trying to do a project,and we need a little bit likean older and cheaper desktopthat has a PCI slot.- Yeah, we have a bunchof different desktops.I can go 150 dollars.- Okay perfect, much appreciated, man.Have a good one.- Okay, all right, you too.You have a good one, bye-bye.- It's not far away.It sounds like it's got options,and if it's maybe missing something,could talk the price down a little bit,and it sounds like he has--- Yeah, lots of parts.So even if we don't wantnecessarily a fully built system,like if we're able toget everything we need,we can throw something together.- But if it doesn't havelike say an air cooler.- All right, so I heard backfrom the guy that I textedbefore we found this other shop,so I think it's a reallygood back up plan,in case this store doesn't work out.- How far is this from the store?- They're both in Fontana.- Oh, okay.- So they're in the same city,and they are available today,so I think we got a good back up.- Once we gotto the store though,we quickly realized we mightbe in a little bit of trouble.- We're hoping there's somethingmaybe complete enoughthat we can at leastmake sure powers on.- I know for a fact that it turns on.(ding)- What about these guys?These are Core 2 Duo.- It's got acooler in there already.It's got no RAM though.- Yeah, the drive.This is gonna be a prettygood, complete system.I can almost guarantee you it'll turn on.- So how much is that one?- This one is gonna be 150.- All right, so it's a 7200.It's got a gig of DDR2.- There were a fewoptions that could sort of work,but the system we really wantedwas the $50 Craigslist PC.- Hi, I'm the one that was texting youabout the computer for sale.If we could get an addressand come meet up with you,we're really interested in it.It's working, right?All right, have a good one.And he's like three blocks away.- Oh perfect.- Okay, so this is like an old guy.- Okay.- Wasn't a kid.Wasn't someone thatbeat up the computer.It literally sounds like an old manthat just got a new computer,and just trying to get acouple bucks for his old one,so I think we really lucked out right now.50 bucks?- 50 bucks is pretty much perfect.The two gigs of RAMworries me a little bit--- And it's a 32 bit system.- So we might not beable to do everything,but we're all in on this computerless than $200 right now.- I think it's the yellow house.- Yellow house?That's a lot of bird (bleep).All right, we have been successful,so Craigslist pulled it out.So we got a 160 gig hard drive.It's a little dusty, but man,we blow this thing out, throwa graphics card in here--- It's got wireless,it's got a card reader,it's got bonus stuff.- Yeah.We're bringing the heat right now.I mean, like it's actually hot.Okay, so we successfully made it.It is 5 o'clock, so I thinkit's time to update this guy.- I still can'tbelieve we scored thisfor 50 bucks.- 50 bucks, I'm like really happy.Although now I realize,it's missing a foot.- Ah, so we could've 45 bucks.- We need our money back (laughs).I mean, we do only have 2 gigs of RAM.That's the only thing I worry about.Some of the games andbenchmarks probably won't work.- Ideally we wanted four,but we've realize that tryingto keep this on the super lowand getting 4 gigs wasn'treally gonna happen.- So not only is it 50bucks, we scored upgrades,because it says Windows Vista,but it has Windows 7 Pro--albeit it 32 bit--- I mean this is like what,a nine year old system?- Close, close.- 2007.- Yeah.- This actually is a pretty solid card,like it doesn't need external PCI power,so it's perfect for something like this.So on addition to our sick graphics card,we have a dedicated Wi-Fi cardand a modem, because future.- You need help?- You know what, I'm not sure.I've never done this before.- Okay, well--- Right here--- Well, well--- You do it like this, right?If it doesn't go, just push harder.There we go.Moment of truth.(suspenseful music)- I mean, unless somethinggot damaged in transit--- I mean, we did check before we bought itto make sure it worked.- The surprise would be if it didn't boot.I feel like this might, becauseit's a really old system,I feel like this might be onethat we have to go into the BIOSand set it to do external GPU.- Which ended up being a problem,because we actually didn'thave a VGA cable lying around.So one quick trip to Best Buy later,we now have a VGA cable.I can't believe wedidn't have one of these.- Are we adding that tothe price of the system?- This monitor is like really--- Yay!- I was right foronce about something.- All right.- All right, let's look atthe device manager though,and see if the GPU is even seen.- Okay so--- GeForce 6100 built in.- But it's not seeing anythingplugged in right now to the GPU.Is it seated all the way?- It looks like it, maybe not.After some tinkering,we got the card to boot,however, we were about torun into a much bigger issue.- Is it a dual core?A 3800+, is it a dualcore, or is it a single core?- Wait, hang on, wait, let'sGoogle this for a second.Oh no.What are we actually...Single core, 2.4 gigahertz.Oops (laughs).This actually might be a big problem.I think all of our games need dual core.- Well we could benchmark Publisher.That's a joke.- When it came timeto install the graphics drivers,we realized just how screwed we were.Oh my goodness, these are 64 bit only.Damn (laughs).Okay, maybe we pivot.Maybe this is a $100 gaming PCbuild, and we use that 240.Luckily sittingright here, an R7 240.Now I know for a fact that thiswill support 32 bit Windows.So--- And it brings that price down--- A lot.Now mind you, the 240 is not a cardthat I really recommend for most things,but for a situation like this.So when Junkyard Battlesruns into failure,we don't give up, oh no,we double down on the failure.So with a little bit ofupgrade action with the 240,let's give this a try.Oh, look how the 240slipped right in no problem.We'll clear this away.Don't worry, this never happened.Don't worry, this is totally not a...So to save you some timeso we're not here til like midnight,I'm using a laptop and an external drive,just to load all our Steam games,so hopefully, once weget drivers installed,we plug it in and we're good to go.We got zero frames per second!- Yes, zero!- Give us something.- Oh!(Austin gasps)Look at that FPS!- Oh, 150, 120!- See in the menu, 120.- Oh!- In the menu, but still.- I mean, that's reallyall we really care about.Gaming is overrated.Let's just take our 120 FPS menu--- It's all about the splash screen.- Yeah, what do you think itautomatically picked for us?- Low, low, low, off, off, off.- 1080p, I see a medium, I see a--- What of what?Shader Detail, very high?- Should we try it?Should we try what itthinks it can handle?There's no way it'll actually work.- Dude, MSAA 8x, what the hell!(laughing)- Oh dude!16 frames per second, we'vegot 8x MSAA right now.This is actually kind of playable--Okay, well.- You say kind of, but still...- With such a low powered CPU,next we tried dropping botsand playing online at 720p.- Okay, so look at that, 32 FPS, 34 FPS.So we just gained almost double.Granted it's a shooter, yes it's CS:GOand I know die hard CS:GO players right noware throwing something at the screen like,"That is not playable!"- Hey man, if it's thisversus not having a computer--- Okay, so go into the settings.- Let's try to crank it back up.- Yeah, leave it at 720,no, go back to 1080.- Since we'reentirely CPU bottlenecked,in theory, running at a higher resolutionwill put more strain on the graphics cardto even perform itself.All right, so now we'replaying, mind you still low,but we're at 1080p.- It's 43, 44, 45.It's totally doable!- This is 100% playable.Like it's not even jittery.- 60s, because you're in the--- I'm in a small spot,but still, look at the ground.Just look at the ground.- Yeah!- It's at 73 frames!It's even able to playsome relatively newer gameslike Dota 2, providedyou're willing to dealwith a lower frame rate.Jump into an older game likethe original Modern Warfare,and it not only works, butit plays surprisingly well.- If you wanna play someindie games and stuff,this is perfect.- Oh yeah, and I think the cool thing isif you don't have a computer right now,and you just wanna likebuild your first PC,or even just like work on one,this is a super easy upgrade to do.- Grandma has got one inthe garage collecting dust,you know, "Hey Grandma,can I have that PC?""Oh sure, take it."Mow some lawns, spend 60bucks on a GPU, and look.- I'm really happy withhow this turned out.Like, it's not a killer game PC,it's not gonna blowyou away, but it works.- I rarely like find myselfspeechless, but this...- It works, man.Never underestimate single threaded power.(laughing)