Advice on the situation

[nickk47]

Hello OCC, It's been forever since my last login, been busy with school and other things..

So here's my situation..

The PC u see in my sig was stolen a couple days ago. I am currently using a makeshift laptop that's good enough for schoolwork, but as a poor college student, I can't go out more than a few times a month. Dota 2 was my other activity that I do with my friends, and this laptop cannot handle it. Ive been tinkering with the laptop for a bit to the point where things like Office 2010 and other programs are in smooth order. All these parts were salvaged from old laptops that were virtually free. I think I spent $30 on all these upgrades,

Turion TF-20 1.6ghz ---> Turion x2 Dual Core TL-50 1.6ghz OC'ed to 1.8GHz

WD 5400 rpm 160GB ---> Toshiba 7200 rpm 320GB

Broadcom Wireless b/g ---> Broadcom Wireless b/g/n

New battery

And the system has 3GB DDR2 ram and a Radeon HD3200. 


So from these specs you can see that it has a hard time running Dota 2, even with lower resolutions. ( I did not try 800x600 or anything below because that's just sad. )

 

I saw a couple budget systems on Kijiji (a craigslist type site) but they are stuff like Acer or Dell. I don't wanna deal with the crappy PSU they come with, and the motherboards.

A used custom computer parts would be the best as I have an Intel Core2 E6700 lying around, and I have a keyboard, mouse, and a monitor. 
And my budget for this computer is $150. Really can't give anymore than that because I have other bills to pay

What would you guys do in my situation? Do you think I can get a computer that can play Dota 2 smoothly on a 17 inch (1280x1024) monitor with that kind of low money? 
(donations of old computer parts are super welcome..!)
 

[kyfire]

Not familiar with the requirements for DOTA 2 but check Geeks.com http://www.geeks.com/products.asp?cat=SYS they have refurb systems starting out at $29.99. I've made a few purchases from them and am quite happy with the products and thier service.

[nickk47]

the problem with their refurb systems are that the motherboards don't have a PCIE slot since they are all small factors... I dont see any hope

[freddie]

Have you contacted your school about your problem? not sure how it is in Canada but over here most schools/education providers will usually provide you with some equipment if you ask.

As long as you dont say its for dota 2 lol.

[nickk47]

We get free Windows 7 and a discount for Office Home&Student...but I don't know anything about hardware.

Or I could somehow get Dota 2 working via a USB Ext. Hard drive and just play it at school. Last time I tried that though, Steam tried to update and then it said I don't have permission.