# Please help me build a good budget gaming pc for my son



## bubbles26 (Feb 20, 2019)

Hi there,

My son 14 would like to build a gaming computer (also happy to buy second hand if better value).
The budget is $1200. He has keyboard and mouse but doesn't have monitor.
We are in Melbourne, Australia.

Any help will be much appreciated as he is unaware of what specs etc to get.

Thanks in advance.
Tina


----------



## Durvelle27 (Feb 20, 2019)

https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/w6gwQZ


----------



## Naito (Feb 20, 2019)

Does the $1200 budget include shipping and operating system?


----------



## Hockster (Feb 20, 2019)

You'll have to convert to AU dollars, but these are all pretty decent.


----------



## bubbles26 (Feb 20, 2019)

Naito said:


> Does the $1200 budget include shipping and operating system?



Yes it does...can go a little over budget if he has to


----------



## kastriot (Feb 20, 2019)

Here for little over budget.

https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/Jn3bgw


----------



## Naito (Feb 20, 2019)

$1200 is a fairly tight budget for a gaming rig, particularly if buying new. If going Windows 10 route for the OS, you're looking at around $160+ for Home Edition. Postage could add $50. 

To help narrow down the specs, what games does he like play or is looking forward to playing?


----------



## bubbles26 (Feb 20, 2019)

Naito said:


> $1200 is a fairly tight budget for a gaming rig, particularly if buying new. If going Windows 10 route for the OS, you're looking at around $160+ for Home Edition. Postage could add $50.
> 
> To help narrow down the specs, what games does he like play or is looking forward to playing?



He wants to play games like Apex, CSGO, rust and Ark.


----------



## ne6togadno (Feb 20, 2019)

modified a bit @kastriot 's list
https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/w4Pnvn


----------



## Naito (Feb 20, 2019)

bubbles26 said:


> He wants to play games like Apex, CSGO, rust and Ark.




*PC Case Gear - Shared Shopping Cart*
1 x AMD Ryzen 3 2200G APU with Vega 8 Graphics - *$155.00ea*
1 x Gigabyte B450M DS3H Motherboard - *$129.00ea*
1 x Team T-Force Dark 3000MHz 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 Grey Black - *$189.00ea*
1 x Western Digital WD Blue 2TB WD20EZRZ - *$85.00ea*
1 x SilverStone Essential ET650-G Gold 650W Power Supply - *$95.00ea*
1 x Gigabyte Radeon RX 570 Gaming 8GB - *$219.00ea*
1 x Thermaltake Versa N27 Window Mid-Tower Chassis - *$79.00ea*
1 x Acer KG251Q FHD 75Hz FreeSync 25in Gaming Monitor - *$179.00ea*
1 x Microsoft Windows 10 Home 32bit/64bit USB Drive - *$169.00ea*
1 x Intel 760p Series M.2 NVMe SSD 256GB - *$99.00ea
Total: $1,398.00 + Delivery*

*Rationale*

*DDR4*
Not 100% sure on board compatibility, but it should right. Ryzen CPUs like speed, so 3000MHz should be fine. The below memory should be suitable as an alternative. Perhaps even drop down to an 2x4GB kit.
G.Skill Fortis F4-2400C15D-16GFT (2x8GB) Ryzen DDR4 - *$169.00ea*

*Graphics Card*
Only $20 more than the 4GB version of the RX570 below.
Gigabyte Radeon RX 570 Gaming 4GB - *$189.00ea*

*Solid State Drive*
The Intel 760p 256GB is a little more than the cheaper M.2 drives, but supports the NVMe protocol, which is much faster than SATA. SATA alternative below.
Crucial MX500 M.2 SATA SSD 250GB - *$75.00ea*

*Hard Disk Drive*
A 2TB HDD is only ~$20 more than 1TB drive, so why not double the capacity? If you're still trying to get the budget down, go the 1TB below.
Western Digital WD Blue 1TB WD10EZEX - *$59.00ea*

*Monitor*
The Acer was chosen as it has a quick refresh time and supports FreeSync technology - both of which should help enhance the gaming experience. If not too important, some money can be saved here.
AOC E2470SWH FHD 24in Monitor - *$145.00ea*

If the budget could stretch a fair bit more, I'd look at swapping in these two components as they should see a decent boost in performance:
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 with Wraith Stealth - *$259.00ea*
Gigabyte Radeon RX 580 Gaming 8GB - *$299.00ea*

I used PC Case Gear as they have a few critical components on sale and their postage costs are reasonable. Furthermore, I find their after sales support top notch.

As always, do your own research and shop around, but this will hopefully give you an idea of what to look for.

Naito


----------



## sepheronx (Feb 20, 2019)

Check out gumtree for parts.  I just did a quick search and found some pretty good deals on RX580's for $250 or so.


----------



## Vayra86 (Feb 20, 2019)

kastriot said:


> Here for little over budget.
> 
> https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/Jn3bgw





ne6togadno said:


> modified a bit @kastriot 's list
> https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/w4Pnvn



/thread, really. Look no further. These are great suggestions, definitely the highest bang/buck factor.

The only thing you might want to focus on right now is the case. Thermaltake/CM... in the budget range of 60-100 bucks there is a massive amount of choice, and certainly also of higher quality. The options given aren't bad, but you can let preference weigh in here as well. Take a look at Phanteks, Fractal Design in particular.


----------



## ne6togadno (Feb 20, 2019)

https://au.pcpartpicker.com/products/case/#X=0,9976&f=2&sort=price&page=1
planty of good cases sub 60 too but you'd have to keep in mind that you'll get what you've paid for.
as general recomendation i'd say make sure it has dust filters at front, top and for psu and if you have enough space make sure it can fit atx motherboards


----------



## juiseman (Feb 20, 2019)

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=9SIADT25YT4824
HP z420 Tower Workstation Desktop PC, Intel Xeon E5-1620 3.6GHz, 16GB DDR3 RAM, 2TB HDD, Win-7 Pro x64, NVIDIA Quadro 2000

$350

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202327

Sapphire Radeon NITRO+ RX 590 8GB GDDR5 PCI-E Dual HDMI / DVI-D / Dual DP OC w/ Backplate SPECIAL EDITION (UEFI), 100415NT+8GSEL

$260


https://www.ebay.com/p/Intel-Xeon-E5-1660-3-3GHz-Six-Core-CM8062107284111-Processor/115946226

Intel Xeon E5-1660 3.3GHz Six Core

$107


https://www.ebay.com/itm/GENUINE-WI...h=item4d882acf2c:g:CgAAAOSwV3dcLAnF:rk:1:pf:0

windows 10 pro

$4

Total $721

If that Z420 is a 2013 it will take a e5-1660v2 or 2690v2 ...thats alot of power...

just my 2 cents if you dont mind buying a few used pieces....


----------



## eidairaman1 (Feb 20, 2019)

Here yall go.

https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/hF6R3b

Has room for upgrades to boot


----------



## juiseman (Feb 20, 2019)

https://browser.geekbench.com/v4/cpu/3454395

https://browser.geekbench.com/v4/cpu/12109031

about double the multicore power


----------



## eidairaman1 (Feb 20, 2019)

juiseman said:


> https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=9SIADT25YT4824
> HP z420 Tower Workstation Desktop PC, Intel Xeon E5-1620 3.6GHz, 16GB DDR3 RAM, 2TB HDD, Win-7 Pro x64, NVIDIA Quadro 2000
> 
> $350
> ...



Geekbench=
Hp is proprietary parts, nope


----------



## juiseman (Feb 20, 2019)

Why does proprietary parts matter? that is double the GPU and CPU power that will game great.....

ahhh...that is what you get for sharing your opinion...lol

I have built several HP z400 and Z420 Workstations I have also built several new rigs i3,i5,i7 older AMD's.
I sold every consumer rig custom rig and went all Xeon and X79 and X58 builds with a mixture of Z420's and Z400's...
Not looking back....I could have saved ALOT of money over the years.....


----------



## sepheronx (Feb 20, 2019)

juiseman said:


> Why does proprietary parts matter? that is double the GPU and CPU power that will game great.....
> 
> ahhh...that is what you get for sharing your opinion...lol
> 
> ...



Only gripe I have with the Z400/420 is that their 24pin molex connector (well, 18pin to be exact) on motherboard is proprietary thus you need an adapter if you get an aftermarket PSU.  Otherwise, I agree, they are solid machines that can be had for cheap.


----------



## juiseman (Feb 20, 2019)

Yes, built like a tank.
600w power supply with 90% rating is ok for most everything now.
there are alot of replacment parts out there..

anyhow, I dont want to start to argue...just posting what I have personally done on a budget. Built like 6 computers for the price of a 2....


----------



## Durvelle27 (Feb 20, 2019)

eidairaman1 said:


> Here yall go.
> 
> https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/hF6R3b
> 
> Has room for upgrades to boot


But you’ll be crippling the performance of not only the CPU but the IGP as well by only using single channel RAM



Durvelle27 said:


> https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/w6gwQZ


My suggestion has room for upgrades and will offer great performance for the price


----------



## eidairaman1 (Feb 20, 2019)

CSGO is a fairly old game


----------



## John Naylor (Feb 20, 2019)

Will you be reusing peripherals from an older system ?  And if so what resolution monitor ?

1.  The think I try and highlight when doing initial build is pay less attention to things that are easily upgraded and more to those that are not.  For example, not recommended to get 2 x 4Gb now as adding a second set of 2 x 4 GB later is a risky alternative.  So best to get 2 x 8B from the getgo is always the best route.... but that's gonna cost you an extra $20.

https://au.pcpartpicker.com/product...gb-2-x-8-gb-ddr4-3000-memory-bls2k8g4d30besbk

2.   Micro ATX sometimes has a cost premium over ATX and often the Audio, LAN and other subsytems are compromised.  For a box that will be used primarily for gaming, we recommend boards with AC 1220 audio subsystem.  Unfortunatly, while in US, this might att $10 or $15, down under it can add $80 or so.

3.  Of course an SSD is going to add a significant cost, usually $125 or more ... this is an item that is very easy to add later.    With a 1 TB HD, that's gong to bring you to $180 or more.   With games approaching a 100 GB foot print these days, that 500 GB SSD doesn't hold many games.  Everything else goes on the HD which is slow.  The SSHD is over 50% faster in gaming than a HD .   a 1 TB drive will costs ya $85 down under, about $30 more than a HD.  So ... 

Option A - 500Gb SSD + 1TB SSHD will add $30 to your build cost for same capacity.

Option B - 500Gb SSD + 2TB SSHD will add $80 to your build cost for doube capacity.

Option C - Skip the 500Gb SSD for now, gran the 2 TB SSHD and add the SSD when budget allows (next B'day, XMas, chores whatever).  This puts $45 back in your pocket, allowing you to gran that 2 x 8GB of RAM now and still have $20 left in ya pocket.

That extra $20 would also pay for a GFX card alternative to consider ... the 1060 6GB which may be of interest for various reasons ,,, figures below based upon MSI 580 mech and MSI 1060 Gaming

a)  If you will use Afterburner to tweak your card speed a a bit, the reference 580 scores a 98 to 97 edge over the 1060 ... if you use AB to tweak the cards speeds, as most forum users do, you can boost the 580s score to110.4 whereas the 1060 6 GB will get to 114.7 so it is marginally (4%) faster wen tweaked.

b)  The MSI 1060 uses 135 watts in peak Gaming, the 580 Mech is 197 .... 46% more on ya electric bill.    At 20.5  cents a kw-hr (average Aussie rate) and 30 hours of gaming a week, that's $22.87 a year

4.  Normally I'd say that ya might wanna invest an extra few bucks in a Mobo that doesn't come with a Realtek ALC887 audio chipset.  Those that do the 1st person combat tell me that the 'sound radar" that allows you to detect source direction of fire "makes all the difference" ... however, down under, instead of the $10 extra we see, last time I looked at Aussie sources it was like 480.


----------



## bubbles26 (Feb 20, 2019)

Hi guys,

thank you all for your input...most of it goes over my head though lol!

My son has now said he's going to keep the monitor he has and put a bit more money into other parts.
So he would have $1400 to spend, and does not need monitor.

Much appreciate all the support on this forum


----------



## darkeasterbunny (Feb 20, 2019)

The australian prices make it a bit hard to give advice but in general.

A 2200G ryzen is nice, but he doesn't need ti Igpu (onboard videocard) seen how he's buying a descrete one. Seen the current 6core trend, games will probably in the future optimize for this. I'd try to buy a ryzen 2600

And if it's within budget, despite being an amd fan, buy the nvidia 1060. Sure as hell don't buy the AMD 570. At least the 580 if you want to be somewhat future proof

And buy a kit of 2 ram sticks, please. You have a lot more bandwith and especially if you do buy the 2200G, you're performance will appreciate the difference.

And for CS:GO this rig might be overkill. But if you buy a game pc or any pc for that matter, you have to think ahead. Plus, in my experience, if you have a fast pc, you will try demanding games. Especially in this age of free games.

Good luck with your buy

ps. For windows, look around on the internet, I don't know what the  price are like over there, but the difference her is in normal shop windows pro e160, online windows pro e10.


----------



## John Naylor (Feb 20, 2019)

Id suggest waiting for the 1660 Ti .... reportedly to provide 1070 like performance for much lower price ($250) on our end of the world, more down by you no doubt,.... just might be able to squeeze it into your budget and worst case, it should drive other cards below it down a bit.  Reportedly releasing late February / early March


----------



## eidairaman1 (Feb 20, 2019)

darkeasterbunny said:


> The australian prices make it a bit hard to give advice but in general.
> 
> A 2200G ryzen is nice, but he doesn't need ti Igpu (onboard videocard) seen how he's buying a descrete one. Seen the current 6core trend, games will probably in the future optimize for this. I'd try to buy a ryzen 2600
> 
> ...




With games he is playing V11 igp is enough for starters


----------



## darkeasterbunny (Feb 20, 2019)

^^

Yes it is enough, but I mostly play cs as well. Have a 2K rig though. I
t's nice to be able to join your friends, if they say let's play this new free game we're all super hyped about and not have to cry.
Especially seen how he's net extremely budget handicapped, I'd think ahead and not focus too much on being a pennyhog and his current user profile.

V11 is nice, until you install any current game. Let's not forget CS:GO by game standards is ancient


----------



## eidairaman1 (Feb 20, 2019)

darkeasterbunny said:


> ^^
> 
> Yes it is enough, but I mostly play cs as well. Have a 2K rig though. I
> t's nice to be able to join your friends, if they say let's play this new free game we're all super hyped about and not have to cry.
> ...



When money is not so tight a 590 or V56 can be dropped in.

Also the price of the entire build is under 1200


----------



## bubbles26 (Feb 20, 2019)

John Naylor said:


> Will you be reusing peripherals from an older system ?  And if so what resolution monitor ?
> 
> 1.  The think I try and highlight when doing initial build is pay less attention to things that are easily upgraded and more to those that are not.  For example, not recommended to get 2 x 4Gb now as adding a second set of 2 x 4 GB later is a risky alternative.  So best to get 2 x 8B from the getgo is always the best route.... but that's gonna cost you an extra $20.
> 
> ...



Thank you kindly for the information John.
I'm happy to pay the extra to get a better rig...Can you please put all your best recommendations in a part picker list for me?


----------



## NdMk2o1o (Feb 20, 2019)

Definitely on the right path, agree with Ryzen 2600, B450 board, 16GB RAM, 256-500GB SSD and a 1TB HDD for storage, GPU you be looking at the RX 580/GTX 1060 in this price bracket me thinks, maybe even a RX 590. Choose a good quality PSU of around 550-600w EVGA, corsair, Seasonic come to mind. Case is a personal choice imo and then buy a Windows 10 key and you should be good to go.


----------



## steen (Feb 21, 2019)

sepheronx said:


> Only gripe I have with the Z400/420 is that their 24pin molex connector (well, 18pin to be exact) on motherboard is proprietary thus you need an adapter if you get an aftermarket PSU.  Otherwise, I agree, they are solid machines that can be had for cheap.



There are many issues with Z4x0/Z6x0 other than just the ATX pinout when repurposing. Additional GND wires for "high powered" fan/cpu combinations, sensors on pinouts, motherboards are tray mounted with not quite ATX mounts (so you better be happy with the existing limited airflow/storage/case unless you want to make mods), no native NVMe, etc. All solvable, but PITA. Unless you know exactly what you're buying, I'd avoid. The motherboards are 2nd tier foxconn/compal OEM with mediocre VRMs & components. Nothing like a configurable BIOS from a top tier AIB either. If you're happy with stock, go for it.



juiseman said:


> anyhow, I dont want to start to argue...just posting what I have personally done on a budget. Built like 6 computers for the price of a 2....



Sure, because you're comparing used to new. No question these old workstations can be good value esp x79, but there are many gotchas. Which rev motherboard are you getting? If your Z400 comes with a 4 bank X58, you're SOL. I rescued some Z400s ~4yrs ago for my kids. I used the three that came stock with W3680, 16GB ECC, Quadro K4000, 160GB SSD, 6 bank motherboards & Asetek AIO. The only issue was 1066 DDR3 speed with 4x4GB modules installed. Easily solved by removing the extra module. Using Intel XTU, they run @ 4GHz. Only problem now is the kids want GPU upgrades...

Hope this helps the OP...


----------



## sepheronx (Feb 21, 2019)

steen said:


> There are many issues with Z4x0/Z6x0 other than just the ATX pinout when repurposing. Additional GND wires for "high powered" fan/cpu combinations, sensors on pinouts, motherboards are tray mounted with not quite ATX mounts (so you better be happy with the existing limited airflow/storage/case unless you want to make mods), no native NVMe, etc. All solvable, but PITA. Unless you know exactly what you're buying, I'd avoid. The motherboards are 2nd tier foxconn/compal OEM with mediocre VRMs & components. Nothing like a configurable BIOS from a top tier AIB either. If you're happy with stock, go for it.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Due to how cheap version 2 of Z420 can be had, I don't mind picking them up and doing basic upgrades (GPU, SSD,etc) and then selling them or handing them off to friends (most who wouldn't even begin to try and overclock or even understand the basis behind it).  But otherwise, I agree on the restrictive aspects behind the system and agree with you. But it still is a good system if grabbed for cheap.


----------



## bubbles26 (Feb 21, 2019)

Hi all,
Thank you for everyone’s feedback. 
My son’s friend told him this is a good deal...
What are your thoughts please?
It’s priced at $1039 without storage card.


----------



## Naito (Feb 21, 2019)

If there is any existing, no longer used Windows 7 or higher keys, these can usually be used to activate Windows 10 acquired through installation media tool (if that's what he wants to use) and save a significant amount.


----------



## eidairaman1 (Feb 21, 2019)

A320 are mainly business boards.


----------



## sepheronx (Feb 21, 2019)

bubbles26 said:


> Hi all,
> Thank you for everyone’s feedback.
> My son’s friend told him this is a good deal...
> What are your thoughts please?
> ...



Not bad at all especially the GPU and CPU.  Unsure of the motherboard. Plus you would want to add another 8gb stick of matching ram for dual channel since that will have a significant amount of performance boost.


----------



## Naito (Feb 21, 2019)

bubbles26 said:


> Hi all,
> Thank you for everyone’s feedback.
> My son’s friend told him this is a good deal...
> What are your thoughts please?
> It’s priced at $1039 without storage card.



The CPU and GPU are the key points in that system, the rest of the system would be scraping the bottom of the barrel. Right off the bat, you'd want more RAM for dual channels (speed not optimal), SSD capacity is a bit too small and you'd probably want to add a HDD. PSU is probably a cheap bronze-rated unit. The motherboard is a slightly-outdated chipset and probably of the barebones type. No operating system, which if you don't have a spare key, will add to the cost. Very generic monitor, so probably best keep what is currently available. Overall, not a very 'balanced' build.


----------



## phanbuey (Feb 21, 2019)

Unfortunately that rig with a 2600 non x w/ single channel ram couldn't get out of it's own way in gaming.  Get an i5 8400 or a 2600x at the least with dual channel 16 gb and a decent mobo - Im not sure what your prices are locally but you could probably do better than that - although with everything included it's not a rip off - just not a great gaming setup as it will stutter the way it is.

If you can add another stick of ram to it, it looks like a sweet deal.


----------



## Naito (Feb 21, 2019)

If you already have an OS and don't mind going for an older board (similar GPU to your above build):

*PC Case Gear - Shared Shopping Cart*
1 x Thermaltake Versa N27 Window Mid-Tower Chassis - *$79.00ea*
1 x AMD Ryzen 5 2600 with Wraith Stealth - *$259.00ea*
1 x Western Digital WD Blue 2TB WD20EZRZ - *$85.00ea*
1 x Corsair Vengeance LPX CMK16GX4M2B3000C15 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 - *$199.00ea*
1 x SilverStone Essential ET650-G Gold 650W Power Supply - *$95.00ea*
1 x Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2060 Mini ITX OC 6G - *$579.00ea*
1 x Crucial MX500 M.2 SATA SSD 250GB - *$75.00ea*
1 x ASUS Prime A320M-K Motherboard - *$79.00ea
Total: $1,450.00*

Or, if you want to include OS within the budget and go with a more featureful motherboard and faster SSD:

*PC Case Gear - Shared Shopping Cart*
1 x Thermaltake Versa N27 Window Mid-Tower Chassis - *$79.00ea*
1 x AMD Ryzen 5 2600 with Wraith Stealth - *$259.00ea*
1 x Gigabyte Radeon RX 580 Gaming 8GB - *$299.00ea*
1 x Western Digital WD Blue 2TB WD20EZRZ - *$85.00ea*
1 x Corsair Vengeance LPX CMK16GX4M2B3000C15 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 - *$199.00ea*
1 x Microsoft Windows 10 Home 32bit/64bit USB Drive - *$169.00ea*
1 x Gigabyte B450M DS3H Motherboard - *$129.00ea*
1 x SilverStone Essential ET650-G Gold 650W Power Supply - *$95.00ea*
1 x Intel 760p Series M.2 NVMe SSD 256GB - *$99.00ea
Total: $1,413.00*

Add this to the latter build for more capacity, but slightly less speed (in place of the 760p):

Intel 660p Series M.2 NVMe SSD 512GB - *$135.00ea*


----------



## phanbuey (Feb 21, 2019)

those are nice if you can OC the 2600 a bit.

EDIT:  after pricing out some components local to the OP that tech-fast deal is unbelievably good.  I would jump on that and add an extra ram-stick and call it a day.


----------



## R-T-B (Feb 21, 2019)

bubbles26 said:


> Ark



This is by far the toughest game to run in your list.  It's really a vram hog.


----------



## phanbuey (Feb 21, 2019)

R-T-B said:


> This is by far the toughest game to run in your list.  It's really a vram hog.



The ryzen 2 series is surprisingly good for ARK - matching / beating the 8400.  Gonna want that dual channel ram tho.


----------



## ne6togadno (Feb 21, 2019)

updated list
https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/mxBqnH
i'd skip pre-built system. considering that vga and cpu form about 50-60% of final price in order to fit other components in the price they have to use cheapetst parts with at best questionable quality.


----------



## Final_Fighter (Feb 21, 2019)

Here are my recommendations for a complete 1080p med/high settings gaming rig.

Seagate BarraCuda ST2000DM008 2TB 7200 RPM 256MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive 
DIYPC DIY-BG01 Black USB 3.0 ATX Mid Tower Gaming Computer Case with Pre-installed 3 x 120mm Fans
ASRock AB350M Pro4 AM4 AMD Promontory B350 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard 
CORSAIR VS Series VS600 (CP-9020119-NA) 600W ATX12V / EPS12V 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply 
Ballistix Sport LT 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 3200 (PC4 25600) Desktop Memory Model BLS2K8G4D32AESBK
AMD RYZEN 5 2600 6-Core 3.4 GHz (3.9 GHz Max Boost) Socket AM4 65W YD2600BBAFBOX Desktop Processor
Silicon Power 256GB - NVMe PCIe Gen3 x4 M.2 2280 R/W up to 3,200/3,000 MB/s SSD (SP256GBP34A80M28)
PowerColor RED DRAGON Radeon RX 570 DirectX 12 AXRX 570 4GBD5-3DHD/OC 4GB 256-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 CrossFireX Support ATX Video Card

Grand Total: AUD$1,241.29 

if you have a keyboard and mouse along with a monitor than this should get you all up and running. if you dont think the graphics card is enough than you could always switch it for something a little more but the rx570 will be plenty for any 1080p gaming.


----------



## ShieldHead (Feb 21, 2019)

Hello bubbles, after having seen most of the builds linked here I'm a bit disappointed by most, with some IGP builds even included...
So I made my own balanced build and it is under budget at 1200au$. You can easily upgrade the GPU when your son demands more from the computer and you can upgrade the 1TB Hard drive to a 2TB one and still be within budget. The 4GB RX570 is the current value champion being alot faster than the gtx 1050ti however it might be worth it to wait for the gtx 1660/ti.
You can also save some bucks on windows if you can grab a free windows student key or cheap keys on some web markets

https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/m4mLTB


----------



## sepheronx (Feb 21, 2019)

I have also read people who purchased keys for win10 from ebay that worked fine.  I purchased mine from scdkeys that worked great but they dont seem to offer win10 keys anymore anyway.


----------



## juiseman (Feb 21, 2019)

steen said:


> There are many issues with Z4x0/Z6x0 other than just the ATX pinout when repurposing. Additional GND wires for "high powered" fan/cpu combinations, sensors on pinouts, motherboards are tray mounted with not quite ATX mounts (so you better be happy with the existing limited airflow/storage/case unless you want to make mods), no native NVMe, etc. All solvable, but PITA. Unless you know exactly what you're buying, I'd avoid. The motherboards are 2nd tier foxconn/compal OEM with mediocre VRMs & components. Nothing like a configurable BIOS from a top tier AIB either. If you're happy with stock, go for it.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



 Wouldn't recomend going for a z400 these days; I posted a link to a z420. If the boot block date is 2013; than a 1660v2 or 2690v2 is no slouch of a cpu; 
For anyone who is into workstations I'm seeing Z440's for a good value now.
 Just use official parts; they work great. no modding needed. The Power supply is on par or better than any other 600W PSU out there.

I should have not posted this and started a new thread for people interested in a complete computer for the same price as Intel's i7 9700k......lol

But again; just my thought.

Also, for anyone who is a Power user or just likes alot of cores; be on the lookout for Z620/Z640's and Z820/Z840's with allready
included extra cpu risers installed. If you find a Gem and upgrade the Cpu's you could get into a 24 core/ 48 thread rig for a good price....
But then again; it would be nice to see what AMD will bring to the table soon.... 

Cheers!! its 1 day before Friday!!!


----------



## tvamos (Feb 21, 2019)

ShieldHead said:


> Hello bubbles, after having seen most of the builds linked here I'm a bit disappointed by most, with some IGP builds even included...
> So I made my own balanced build and it is under budget at 1200au$. You can easily upgrade the GPU when your son demands more from the computer and you can upgrade the 1TB Hard drive to a 2TB one and still be within budget. The 4GB RX570 is the current value champion being alot faster than the gtx 1050ti however it might be worth it to wait for the gtx 1660/ti.
> You can also save some bucks on windows if you can grab a free windows student key or cheap keys on some web markets
> 
> https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/m4mLTB


You can shave of some $20 more by going for cheaper PSU, like CM MasterWatt 550, this build hardly needs more.


----------



## ShieldHead (Feb 21, 2019)

tvamos said:


> You can shave of some $20 more by going for cheaper PSU, like CM MasterWatt 550, this build hardly needs more.


Yes I know, 500w would be more than enough. But it's always better to go overkill to reduce load and, consequently heat/noise output from psu and also for possible future upgrades.


----------



## Ripcord (Feb 21, 2019)

This is what i would be looking at 

https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/pK7vxG

I would look to buy a windowns 10 pro key online, ive seen legit ones for 11$ on the grey market. ive never had a problem using them.

The only possible issue is the motherboard may need a bios update before it will run the 2600 but its worth the risk for the better sound chip youll get(best to check it has the latest bios on it before they ship it some place will check for u), you wont even notice the advanced power features youll lose from the 4xx chipsets.

 the rx 470 is basically a rx 570 just rebranded so save the $30.
 the 1TB ssd is more than enough storage for a few games and will be much faster then some of the hybrid options give here.
 ddr4 3200 memory is the sweet spot for the ryzen 2xxx chips(price/peformance) 
and a good quality PSU.
Also i included a silent case i consider it a must if the pc is in a bedroom.

its what i would look to build and its similar to the pc i currently have
  hope it helps


----------



## FishHead69 (Feb 21, 2019)

Gone a bit over but postage is only $17 - $24 and you can pick up a windows 10 key off Ebay for around $10 

https://www.pccasegear.com/wish_lists/913615/Bubbles26 


PS in Aus you will be paying around 15$ or so postage from each different store you buy from ! so you have to factor in that into prices from pcpartpicker from multiple stores


----------



## thebluebumblebee (Mar 12, 2019)

Did you get this sorted?


----------

