Budget Build?

[Kantastic]

Hey guys, I can't remember the last time I thought about building a computer. It has been so many years since I was last active in this community that I'm at a complete loss as to where I should even begin. I must have stopped following the hobby sometime in college, and the next thing I know I'm getting my ass kicked in dental school. So here I am looking to find a way to relieve stress at night. I have been slowly buying gaming peripherals (mouse, keyboard, mousepad) and was just going to game on a MacBook, but I decided to just put together a cheap-o desktop. I don't want the latest and greatest, just something well balanced given my extremely limited budget.

I've already set aside money for a monitor, speakers, and a Windows license. I just need some advice on slapping together the actual tower. I have no idea which brands are still relevant, which retailers are reputable to purchase from, or even anything about Intel/AMD/Nvidia's offerings over the last 6-8 years. Help a brother out won't ya?

Requirements:

Budget: $500 (I know, I know, but I'm drowning in student loans)
Form Factor: mITX
Preferences: QUIET! I don't need fancy lights, but a sleek looking case wouldn't hurt.

I'm not opposed to buying used so if you have to go over the budget by a little, feel free. I'll just try and score some deals on used hardware.

 

[Ja.KooLit]

get a used haswell cpu, slap it on an used mitx board and get a cheapest SFF gpu you can get. there is a 1060ti or even 1080ti SFF but for your budget, I think a SFF 1050ti is best you can get.

I am still on my haswell build (4770k) and using 1060 and still I can play newest games. I dont have 120hz monitor so I am still playing at 1440p on my 1600p monitor. But I am not a hard core gamer. I mostly play nowadays DOTA and sometimes still visiting my tomb raider games. Just playing to kill some time as I have been busy as well

 

[Shou Miko]

If you don't want used like @night.fox is talking about the cheapest might be to go AMD Ryzen 5 and find a decent deal on a RX570-580 if you can't squezz a GTX 1060 or something in the built.

Where in the world are you from @Kantastic? Yes this play a part for prices.

 

[Kantastic]

If you don't want used like @night.fox is talking about the cheapest might be to go AMD Ryzen 5 and find a decent deal on a RX570-580 if you can't squezz a GTX 1060 or something in the built.

Where in the world are you from @Kantastic? Yes this play a part for prices.

I'm in the US. I've got a Micro Center not too far from me, not sure if that helps at all.

 

[kastriot]

https://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.3885257&Description=amd combo
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150794&Description=amd rx 580&cm_re=amd_rx_580-_-14-150-794-_-Product#

Best combo for your money.

Edit:My stupid add blocked blocked links

 

[Valantar]

What resolution will you be aiming for (at that budget the question would more accurately be "are you aiming for 1080p or below?"), and what games will you be playing?

For a GPU, I'd look for a used AMD RX 570 - 4GB or 8GB won't matter at those resolutions, but regardless it's by far the best value you'll get. Nothing else comes close in price/perf. New ones are cheap too, but I'd go for a used one if it saves you another $40 or so.

For a case and PSU I'd either look for something used or go for a Fractal Node 202 with the included Integra 450W. Not the best case or PSU, but perfectly fine and reasonably priced.

Motherboard and CPU is a bit tricky. My default recommendation would be AMD Ryzen-based, but their ITX motherboards are a tad expensive. I would look for a used core i5 setup from Skylake (6th gen) or later. If you can't find anything reasonable, go for a Ryzen 2200G - again the best bang for your buck in brand new CPUs, and going with Ryzen leaves you plenty of headroom for future CPU upgrades if you want/need them, moving to 6 or 8 cores if you want, all without breaking the bank.

RAM: for a build like this, 8GB dual-channel at a reasonable speed (3000-ish if you go Ryzen, Intel doesn't care much about RAM speed) should be perfectly fine.

Storage: get an SSD, no matter what. A 256GB SSD might be all you can afford, but using that with its limited storage will still be a far better experience than using a PC with an HDD as its boot drive. SATA or NVME largely doesn't matter, just stay away from DRAM-less cheapo drives. Crucial MX500, Intel 660P, Crucial P1 - all good value drives.

Also, if you have money out off for a Windows license you're likely planning to buy an off-the-shelf $100 license, right? I'd look around online for the heap of stores selling ~$15 OEM licenses. They're not quite official, but entirely legal, and work fine - and you'll be able to put any ramainign money into better hardware.

 

[silentbogo]

I'd start hunting around for 1st gen Ryzen parts, especially in US.
Something like Ryzen 5 1600(non-x) is around $120 new, stock cooling is fine if you don't plan on overclocking.
Used Ryzen parts are even more affordable.
RX570 would be my card of choice for low-budget rig: more than enough for 1080p gaming, and it's cheap.

Here's a perfect ITX gaming rig, which came out to be only $150 above your budget.
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/9wn7QZ

If you can score a good deal on chassis and PSU, and maybe find a used Ryzen 5 under $100, score a good deal on mobo+RAM then you can probably fit into your $500 limit.

 

[cucker tarlson]

that mitx format is gonna drive up the cost here
mitx mobos cost $50 more than decent matx ones,and that's just the first thing
consider matx instead of mitx

you can even squeeze a r5 2600/16gb/rx570 build at roughly $500-520 (sick,my 1080Ti alone cost more) but not with an itx board.

look at this here
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/rvx6J8

nice build at $540,here are upsides and downsides

you're getting:
a 12 thread cpu,with a good,quiet cooler,on a b450 platform that'll most likely support a 7nm upgrade in the future
a great value graphics card with a quiet cooler
16 gigs of ram
a quality psu with a 5 year warranty
a sleek case

tbh this build is not only great value for now,it's not gonna age badly too.

what you're not getting:
storage space.240gb ssd is all this price can fit,and it's a budget one (not bad tho)
the 1600 cpu will have trouble in games that are single thread heavy,and there's a lot of those.a non-X 1st gen ryzen is the absolute slowest you can get for single thread performance now.it's still a great value cpu and will allow you to buy a quality cooler,that's why I picked it.Going with core i5 is gonna cost too much.Core i3s-forget it! Choosing 2600x will improve things to a certain extent too but the difference isn't gonna be big enough to choose the $175 2600X with stock cooling over 1600+pure rock combo at $150 for both.


how you can cut that cost further:
-use a a320 mobo but forget about upgrading to 7nm.I wouldn't do that.
-get 8gb ram,but I wouldn't do that either.get 16gb now,enjoy not having to worry about ram anymore.
-get a cheaper version of 570.wouldn't do that.the premium on sapphire pulse is small compared to quality.
-get a cheaper psu-wouldn't do that either.power is the foundation of a stable,futureproof pc,you'd rather not learn it the hard way
-use a cheaper cpu cooler-nah.you'd get an itch to replace it very soon.get a decent one and forget it.
-get a cheaper case-but most likely an ugly one with worse build quality.

 

[Chomiq]

You're going to pay extra if you want to go the mITX route.

 

[cucker tarlson]

You're going to pay extra if you want to go the mITX route.

@cucker tarlson - my brother had a student loan back in early 2000's and from what I see you can still get one from PKO (up to 60 x 1000 pln).

yup but what I mean is in any decent country they're not making driving young people into debt a common business practice.
I mean I am a double major (full-time+extramural private),my family did not pay for my studies and I had to manage myself.Guess what-0 debt.

they got other ways to fyuta here tho.

 

[trog100]

get a used haswell cpu, slap it on an used mitx board and get a cheapest SFF gpu you can get. there is a 1060ti or even 1080ti SFF but for your budget, I think a SFF 1050ti is best you can get.

I am still on my haswell build (4770k) and using 1060 and still I can play newest games. I dont have 120hz monitor so I am still playing at 1440p on my 1600p monitor. But I am not a hard core gamer. I mostly play nowadays DOTA and sometimes still visiting my tomb raider games. Just playing to kill some time as I have been busy as well

that is about what i would go for on a tight budget.. i have a small form factor 4th generation haswell I5 4460 with 1650 card in it.. it plays farcry 5 nicely at 1080p 60 fps..

i did try a 4770 chip in it.. apart from running 20 C hotter it didnt alter the farcry frame rates at all.. i put the 4460 back in..

trog

 

[thebluebumblebee]

Too bad you're not in my area: https://portland.craigslist.org/wsc/sop/d/beaverton-casual-gaming-pc-i-gb-ddr3/6879413246.html

 

[SL2]

If you're going to buy used parts, look for a board first, as Mini ITX are not as common as other sizes.

If you want new, read this.

 

[SL2]

and a Windows license.

Look here: https://www.techpowerup.com/250562/...and-office-2016-lifetime-keys-at-up-to-92-off

 

[LFaWolf]

Not sure what screen resolution you are running, but here is a card with 4GB VRAM that could be sufficient - ASUS Radeon RX 580 O4G for $130 after $20 MIR, and use Promo Code (unpublished and valid today only) EMCSTATY2. You may need to sign up for Newegg newsletter to qualify for the promo code. Note you also get 2 free games out of it.
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814126196

 

[Valantar]

I'd like to second the one about looking for a motherboard first if you're looking at used parts, for exactly the reason @Mats pointed out.

As for RAM, even though someone above argued for going for 16GB for peace of mind (which is a good argument, 16GB will be plenty for gaming for quite a while), don't be scared off trying 8GB if that frees up budget room for other things. I've been running 8GB single-channel on my main PC for quite a while (specs in my profile) as I lent one of my DIMMs to a friend who had to RMA their kit, and I have no trouble playing a relatively recent AAA game like Middle Earth: Shadow of War with zero stuttering or other issues. If going for 8GB of RAM allows you to look at a current-gen Ryzen setup (maybe a 2600?) or a 500GB SSD, I'd say that it's worth it beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Not sure what screen resolution you are running, but here is a card with 4GB VRAM that could be sufficient - ASUS Radeon RX 580 O4G for $130 after $20 MIR, and use Promo Code (unpublished and valid today only) EMCSTATY2. You may need to sign up for Newegg newsletter to qualify for the promo code. Note you also get 2 free games out of it.
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814126196

That is amazing value. Wow.

 

[R0H1T]

You're in luck, everyone's favorite AMD RYZEN 5 2600 now on sale for as low as $149.99 comes w/Tom Clancy's The Division 2 Gold Edition & World War Z ~ https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113496

 

[Valantar]

Anyhow, getting back to the topic, OP: there are quite a few good deals on Newegg right now.
-The RX 580 mentioned above
-The Ryzen 5 2600 mentioned above
-16GB of DDR4-3200 from Corsair with a promo code (no idea about price as I don't have a Newegg account)
-500GB WD Blue SN500 NVMe SSD for $65, or an old but good 500GB HP EX900 m.2 NVMe SSD for $58.
-The Fractal Node 202 is also $10 off currently, so that's a very decent deal too. You might find a better ITX case deal, but not one as small with an SFX PSU, and anything with an ATX PSU will either be bigger or more restrictive.

 

[moproblems99]

Budget: $500 (I know, I know, but I'm drowning in student loans)
Form Factor: mITX
Preferences: QUIET! I don't need fancy lights, but a sleek looking case wouldn't hurt.

Honestly, with that budget, I would look for any k sku i7 Sandy Bridge and up (or maybe even an 8350). With the level of GPU you will end up with, I wouldn't worry about bottlenecking. As much money as possible should go into the gpu as long as you can pick up the aforementioned cpu.

Edit:

If you did go used Ryzen, it looks like you will want to stay away from the A320 boards as going by what we 'know', they don't appear upgradeable to Zen 2. I'm not really sure how much that matters as who knows what features of Zen 2 will be available to the older boards. Definitely something to consider. A first gen Ryzen on a x or b board seems to give you the best upgrade path.

 

[sneekypeet]

Thread heavily cleansed. Let's try to stick to the topic this time.

 

[moproblems99]

Not sure what screen resolution you are running, but here is a card with 4GB VRAM that could be sufficient - ASUS Radeon RX 580 O4G for $130 after $20 MIR, and use Promo Code (unpublished and valid today only) EMCSTATY2. You may need to sign up for Newegg newsletter to qualify for the promo code. Note you also get 2 free games out of it.
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814126196

Thinking about picking up one of these and reselling the card for $80 or so just to get a discount on the games lol. For some reason, I stopped receiving promos from Newegg and I can't ever get a hold of their support. Their support sucks.

 

[LFaWolf]

Thinking about picking up one of these and reselling the card for $80 or so just to get a discount on the games lol. For some reason, I stopped receiving promos from Newegg and I can't ever get a hold of their support. Their support sucks.

Hey me too, and I don't even like AMD cards because of the heat and drivers, but I believe you need an AMD cards to activate the keys. Anyway, if you log in to your Newegg account, go to the Dashboard, and on the left panel, you can manage your email subscription by clicking on the Email Notifications. Newegg customer service is best reached using online chat, but you could be customer 567 in a long line of queue.

 

[moproblems99]

I believe you need an AMD cards to activate the keys.

Nah, you don't need an AMD card. When I bought them to mine with I registered the games in my main rig with a 980.

Anyway, if you log in to your Newegg account, go to the Dashboard, and on the left panel, you can manage your email subscription by clicking on the Email Notifications. Newegg customer service is best reached using online chat, but you could be customer 567 in a long line of queue.

Usually, I get to a number less than 5 and it never goes down....just sits there....hours....f....

 

[TheMadDutchDude]

Looks like Micro Center are still selling the R5 1600 for $80, and you’ll save a further $30 when bundled with a compatible motherboard.

I’d start there...

Second hand is only worthwhile when deals like this aren’t around.

 

[Valantar]

Hey me too, and I don't even like AMD cards because of the heat and drivers

Apparently you haven't used an AMD GPU for the last five+ years (or earlier, really). Their drivers are excellent, certainly not any worse than Nvidia's in any way. Please stop spreading FUD.