What Gaming pc can I get for an 1200$ US Budget?

[killster1]

I'd wait and see what comes out next month ... and perhaps thru 1st quarter. If nothing else, it will drive down the price of current generation technology. When starting, make a list of the things you do and pick the CPU / Platform based upon application / gaming performance. Forget core counts, die sizes and anything else that is irrelevant. If you're only gaming than the CPU that is the best for you is the one that games fastest ... if you do Photo / Video editing and other things ... go into comparison reviews and see how it does with your apps / games. How fast it does 3D CAD rendering is only relevant if you do 3D CAD rendering. That goes for all componenty

1. CPU - Not suggesting either of these for you build but this is the type of comparison review, you should be looking at, again looking at only things that you actually do. As an example, let's assume these are you interests:

Gaming performance:
1080p - https://tpucdn.com/review/amd-ryzen-9-3900x/images/relative-performance-games-1920-1080.png
1440p - https://tpucdn.com/review/amd-ryzen-9-3900x/images/relative-performance-games-2560-1440.png

Office Suite performance:

https://tpucdn.com/review/amd-ryzen-9-3900x/images/word.png

https://tpucdn.com/review/amd-ryzen-9-3900x/images/excel.png

Photo / Video performance:

https://tpucdn.com/review/amd-ryzen-9-3900x/images/photoshop.png

https://tpucdn.com/review/amd-ryzen-9-3900x/images/premiere-pro.png

Of course, on the gaming ... go beyond the Game Suite testing and look at the games you are most interested in.

Finally, consider whether or not you need GFX capability on the CPU, useful for example to feed a 2nd screen where you can keep utilities, browser, Discord, etc. And if comparing, if possible, choose a CPU w/o GFX caoability if you don't need it because you will be feeding screen off your GFX card

2. MoBo - I have seen folks [pair $300 / $500 CPus with < $100 MoBos. In most cases, i don't see the logic here. Recognize that the reason these budget boards have such low prices, it's because you are missin g features which may effect storage options as well as other subsytems. You may not need or want the chipset options, but along with missing those, you are also getting gaming substandard subssyems such as audio and LAN. By the time you look for a budget board with ALC 1220 and Z / X series comparable LA, you are no longer in the budget range and are at or neay the cost of the X / Z series MoBos.

3. RAM - Speed increases come at marginal cost intil a point at which the curve breaks and begins to rise sharply. DDR4-3000 CAS 15, DDR403200 CAS 16 and DDR4-3600 CAS 18 are all between $70 and $75 for 2 x 8 GB. If ya can find lower CAS w/o too much of a price increase, worth grabbing.

4. GFX - Big question here ... do you use MSI Afterburner or equivalent to tweak GFX settings. While AMD doesn't really have anything to compete at the higher levels, what you choose very much depends on the answer to that question ... in the middle tiers, the AMD card is close or faster outta the box, but due to low clocking headroom, once ya get at it w/ MSI AB, the nVidia card overtakes it. For example in the $225 - $300 range , the MSI 1660 Super Gaming X is faster, and $40 cheaper than the Vega 56 @ 1080p ... with 100 watts less power draw and heat production and the Vega 56 being 2.3 times as loud and 8C hotter.

5. Storage - We normally put one SSD and one SSHD in every build, haven't used a HD in 8 or 9 years. This is mostly a budget situation. There is no doubt that SSDs are faster, but the way they are tested and reviewed does little to inform the reader how it performs in every day usage and "will ya notice". We found that users do not. In boxes configured as described above, when we changed the boot drive from the SSD to the SSHD no one noticed (5 users ... 6 weeks) . boot time for SSD was 15.6 seconds, versus 16.5 with the SSHD. If budget allows, 2 TB+ of SSD is an option, but 500 GB SSD and 2 TB SSHD will probably make more sense in your budget range.

6. Case - Skip the bling bling and focus on cooling. Recommend a case that has good cable routing, plenty of room to work in and 140mm fan mounts. Use (1) 140mm 1250 rpm fan for each 75 - 100 watts of component heat. Also you'll want 1.3 - 1.5 intake fans for each exhaust fan. Intake fans are restricted by inlet filters which reduce air flow, especially if you lax on cleaning them. If you don't adhere to this, you will find, that exhaust air from your PSU and GFX card gets sucked back into the case thru the rear case grille.

7. PSU - We used to keep a bunch of PSUs on our recommended list ... these days, outside of abig sale, I find it hard to pick anything but the Seasonic Gold Plus

lol not used a hd in 8 or 9 years? i guess you dont believe in storage? personally i have a nas but a few of my pc also have 4-5x8tb drives that are actually very full. I guess we all dont use the pc for the same things since i have 0 games installed right now. (just copied over 1tb in photo and 1tb of video from my last vacation over and would seem silly to use some kind of raid card with 20x2tb ssd's plugged in. 8tb drives are 130$ or less and very reliable, not even going to mention backing up the 35tb to more ssd's LULZ. I use 1tb pcie for boot drives always, excited for when 2tb boot drives are 100-150 and 4000+mbps
i do agree with getting a gold or better psu, why would you spend 1000 on the pc and get a broze corsair? ;( psu is usually first nice thing i buy since they dont drop in price like everything else so it should be easy to pick that out while you shop for the rest of your parts.(like cases they will stay about the same in price)
Really disappointed Ebay is charging tax now kinda ruins online shopping for me now

 

[laneslant]

pair up a 3700x with a 5700xt, the 5700xt has very similar performance compared to the 2070s, but for 100$ less, which you can spend instead on the cpu.

 

[Bill_Bright]

i guess you dont believe in storage?

??? Ummm SSDs are storage devices too. And SSHDs are still hard drives and he said one goes in every build.

psu is usually first nice thing i buy since they dont drop in price like everything else

The PSU is the last thing I buy - or at least the last component and purchase decision I make. Why? Because if we select all the other components first, it is simple then to figure out what the power requirements of the entire computer will be. I don't have to guess what the power requirements "might" be because I will already know what graphics card, CPU and how many RAM sticks will be going in there. Buying the PSU first often results in buying way more than needed.

Sorry, but not buying the prices "don't drop like everything else" argument. Prices can and do fluctuate (which includes go "up") - on everything.

And for that matter, the best strategy for buying computer components is to save your money until the budget allows you to buy everything at once - or at most, over a period of a week or so. Longer than month piecemeal is not a good strategy for several reasons. For one, the warranty period starts on the day of purchase - as does the "no questions asked" return policies (which are often just 30 days). Buying piecemeal could mean your new motherboard, for example, could sit on your closet shelf for 2 months or longer, still sealed in the box with the warranty ticking away. What happens if you finally put it together and the board does not work? The no questions asked period might be over so you can't return it to the place of purchase and you will have to deal with the manufacturer. What happens if your car breaks down and now you can't afford to buy the remaining components? Other warranties may expire completely, or new "revisions" of the motherboard may come out. Or some entirely new board you might rather have may be released.

So the best strategy is to build up your budget then buy everything you need for the build all at once.

Really disappointed Ebay is charging tax now kinda ruins online shopping for me now

Well, don't blame eBay (or Amazon or Newegg, etc.). Blame your state. It is the states who are forcing on-line retailers to collect sales taxes now. And it has always been if there was a "brick and mortar presence" in the state, taxes were collected. A brick and mortar presence could be an actual store, or a distribution or call center. And I note more and more distribution centers are popping up to make deliveries faster. And with Amazon buying out Whole Foods, that was that for Amazon purchases in many states.

But frankly, I think it is a good thing. If you go back and look at your state tax codes and forms for previous years, you will likely see requirements to declare all your on-line purchases where sales taxes were not collected. My state (Nebraska) has been doing this for years and I know many other states have too. While many taxpayers never declared those purchases, the states could, if they wanted to, go after you for not paying them. And tax fraud is not easy to defend against when eBay, Amazon, Newegg, etc. have your shipping and billing address, and all your purchases on record. Note most states, like the IRS, can go back 3 years too - some states even longer. And there is no statute of limitations if the fraud is found to be intentional!

So with these on-line retailers now collecting sales taxes too, taxpayers no longer have to go back through all their last year's receipts for their on-line purchases, figure out which purchase included sales taxes and which didn't, add them up and enter them on the returns. So it is much much easier if these on-line retailers just collect the taxes. Then we don't have to worry about completing that line on our return forms. Because you know what is said about death and taxes, right?

 

[killster1]

??? Ummm SSDs are storage devices too. And SSHDs are still hard drives and he said one goes in every build.



The PSU is the last thing I buy - or at least the last component and purchase decision I make. Why? Because if we select all the other components first, it is simple then to figure out what the power requirements of the entire computer will be. I don't have to guess what the power requirements "might" be because I will already know what graphics card, CPU and how many RAM sticks will be going in there. Buying the PSU first often results in buying way more than needed.

Sorry, but not buying the prices "don't drop like everything else" argument. Prices can and do fluctuate (which includes go "up") - on everything.

And for that matter, the best strategy for buying computer components is to save your money until the budget allows you to buy everything at once - or at most, over a period of a week or so. Longer than month piecemeal is not a good strategy for several reasons. For one, the warranty period starts on the day of purchase - as does the "no questions asked" return policies (which are often just 30 days). Buying piecemeal could mean your new motherboard, for example, could sit on your closet shelf for 2 months or longer, still sealed in the box with the warranty ticking away. What happens if you finally put it together and the board does not work? The no questions asked period might be over so you can't return it to the place of purchase and you will have to deal with the manufacturer. What happens if your car breaks down and now you can't afford to buy the remaining components? Other warranties may expire completely, or new "revisions" of the motherboard may come out. Or some entirely new board you might rather have may be released.

So the best strategy is to build up your budget then buy everything you need for the build all at once.

Well, don't blame eBay (or Amazon or Newegg, etc.). Blame your state. It is the states who are forcing on-line retailers to collect sales taxes now. And it has always been if there was a "brick and mortar presence" in the state, taxes were collected. A brick and mortar presence could be an actual store, or a distribution or call center. And I note more and more distribution centers are popping up to make deliveries faster. And with Amazon buying out Whole Foods, that was that for Amazon purchases in many states.

But frankly, I think it is a good thing. If you go back and look at your state tax codes and forms for previous years, you will likely see requirements to declare all your on-line purchases where sales taxes were not collected. My state (Nebraska) has been doing this for years and I know many other states have too. While many taxpayers never declared those purchases, the states could, if they wanted to, go after you for not paying them. And tax fraud is not easy to defend against when eBay, Amazon, Newegg, etc. have your shipping and billing address, and all your purchases on record. Note most states, like the IRS, can go back 3 years too - some states even longer. And there is no statute of limitations if the fraud is found to be intentional!

So with these on-line retailers now collecting sales taxes too, taxpayers no longer have to go back through all their last year's receipts for their on-line purchases, figure out which purchase included sales taxes and which didn't, add them up and enter them on the returns. So it is much much easier if these on-line retailers just collect the taxes. Then we don't have to worry about completing that line on our return forms. Because you know what is said about death and taxes, right?

sure and like i said 35tb of storage with ssd? and backing up the storage? buy psu last? haha i always overdo the powersupply and buy platinum quality they usually have 7-10 year warranty so no worries about that. 600w is plenty for me and i dont like to cheap out on my parts anyway. sometimes I even prefer to buy used parts so i dont have to worry about DOA (but always like to test things to make sure they work within a week or so). id go x470 for features but im need usb c / million ports just personal pref. Feel like you are some kinda lawyer defending others ;P (wonder why you didnt reply the post about your sub 100$ copper wire psu lulz) why spend so much and cheap out on the psu.. 600w gold plus or plat or titanium or go home!
Half my purchases are not even shipped to me and to someone else for gifts not under my name or address at all.

 

[phanbuey]

... sometimes I even prefer to buy used parts so i dont have to worry about DOA (but always like to test things to make sure they work within a week or so)...

I like to do this whenever I can -- open box tested working or from friend (or here from TPU). I've never had an open box part fail, it's pretty sweet (and cheap!).

 

[Bill_Bright]

And where did the OP ever say they need 35TB of storage?

i always overdo the powersupply and buy platinum quality they usually have 7-10 year warranty so no worries about that.

Ha ha - so you waste money by buying too big. You buy Platinum even though it would take many years (if ever) to make up for the extra cost in energy savings. And there are many Gold rated PSUs with 7 - 10 year warranties. Like this or this.

sometimes I even prefer to buy used parts so i dont have to worry about DOA

LOL. Yeah right because everyone knows buying used always ensures the product works.

Of course, buying used from a trusted friend (or perhaps through TPU) would be safe. But to say there's no worry about DOAs is just living in a dream world.

 

[sepheronx]

Memoryexpress sells open boxed items and give same exact warranty offer while also giving 5% off of the product. The product was thoroughly tested before being repackaged and sold.

 

[Bill_Bright]

Open box is not the same thing as used. Open box just means the product was previously sold, opened, and returned. It does not suggest the product was ever installed or "used". It could have been returned because it was the wrong color. Didn't fit. Was missing a cable or whatever.

"Used", on the other hand, could mean the product is 2 or 3 years old and has been used every day since initially installed.

 

[sepheronx]

Open box is not the same thing as used. Open box just means the product was previously sold, opened, and returned. It does not suggest the product was ever installed or "used". It could have been returned because it was the wrong color. Didn't fit. Was missing a cable or whatever.

"Used", on the other hand, could mean the product is 2 or 3 years old and has been used every day since initially installed.

For us up here, as soon as it's opened, it's used. But you are right, if the card is used for 2+ years, I only recommend as a cheap method but taking the chance, to get a half decent component. Otherwise, brand new or open box is most ideal.

 

[potato580+]

hmm the op seems nowhere to be found now, i still curious what he bought, i rly hope he do pay for trident somhow heh

 

[killster1]

And where did the OP ever say they need 35TB of storage?

Ha ha - so you waste money by buying too big. You buy Platinum even though it would take many years (if ever) to make up for the extra cost in energy savings. And there are many Gold rated PSUs with 7 - 10 year warranties. Like this or this.
LOL. Yeah right because everyone knows buying used always ensures the product works.

Of course, buying used from a trusted friend (or perhaps through TPU) would be safe. But to say there's no worry about DOAs is just living in a dream world.

how do you know how much i pay for electricity? how do you know what my pc's needs are what temp's my psu's run @ etc etc. i actually have hx750's in 3 boxes reused from 10+? years ago (maybe they are not all that old but close) , soooo i wonder how long they will last, how foolish of a move it was to purchase them. I think they cost me about 110-140?$ each. Its been so long i cant remember what i paid for them maybe less. dusted out every 3 or 4 years.

Funny i cant think of a single component that has died on me besides spinner hard drives and a few sticks of ram, buying used has been pretty lucky for me i guess but again i dont buy low quality ;P so maybe that helps? no biostar brand / antec budget psu's or kia's thats for sure haha.

 

[potato580+]

how do you know how much i pay for electricity? how do you know what my pc's needs are what temp's my psu's run @ etc etc. i actually have hx750's in 3 boxes reused from 10+? years ago (maybe they are not all that old but close) , soooo i wonder how long they will last, how foolish of a move it was to purchase them. I think they cost me about 110-140?$ each. Its been so long i cant remember what i paid for them maybe less. dusted out every 3 or 4 years.

Funny i cant think of a single component that has died on me besides spinner hard drives and a few sticks of ram, buying used has been pretty lucky for me i guess but again i dont buy low quality ;P so maybe that helps? no biostar brand / antec budget psu's or kia's thats for sure haha.

did you mentioned this one?
my friend whom own pawnshop offering me backday when i wanted to try csf amd rx, but i skip it, it still there for a $50, i never use corsair so i dont know what value in, i usually choose fsp/sunflower/bequite only, altho i never did csf yet, i still seeking for cheapest 650watt only

 

[killster1]

View attachment 135430did you mentioned this one?
my friend whom own pawnshop offering me backday when i wanted to try csf amd rx, but i skip it, it still there for a $50, i never use corsair so i dont know what value in, i usually choose fsp/sunflower/bequite only, altho i never did csf yet, i still seeking for cheapest 650watt only

the box looks like a hx corsair platinum yes! they made diff revisions etc so im not 100% on it and buying a old psu is not always a good choice but 50 usd or 50 euro? depends how you like to gamble / spend your money. id prob buy it i guess sure

 

[potato580+]

the box looks like a hx corsair platinum yes! they made diff revisions etc so im not 100% on it and buying a old psu is not always a good choice but 50 usd or 50 euro? depends how you like to gamble / spend your money. id prob buy it i guess sure

its an ex mining, the person trading it for loan, yes i was tho abt pay for it too, its good despute the ex miner condition, i will probably pay for it hehe, it still there, i contact him justnow, he even offering the 1200watt, for good deal, but i think 750watt alr enough for csf

anyway i think i could get for another price cut, this would be hard bargaining, if its not going smooth, i think $50 flat is worth indeed, he open the price at around $58 anyway

 

[Bill_Bright]

For us up here, as soon as it's opened, it's used.

In terms of retailers trying to sell the product, it is same here. They cannot legally sell it as "new". But still, just because the box has been opened that does not mean the device inside was ever "used". And that's a problem for consumers.

Part of that problem is there are no standards for how retailers handle those open box items. Some could have been display models. Some returns for "the wrong color" or something similar. Some were bad and then "refurbished". Any of those could be re-sold as "open box".

That puts us consumers at a disadvantage because we typically don't know the real history of the device inside that "open" box. So with "used" products, regardless the seller, I say "caveat emptor".

how do you know how much i pay for electricity? how do you know what my pc's needs are what temp's my psu's run @ etc etc.

Who cares how much you pay? I sure don't. That is not a factor here - even if your daddy pays the bills, someone pays them and the efficiency of the PSU does not change if your price per kWh is cheap or expensive. The fact remains, it takes years to make up the extra cost of a Platinum or Titanium PSU over a Gold through the few percentage points in efficiency those more expensive PSUs offer. If you stumble upon a great, too good to be true, discount for a Platinum or Titanium, then fine. But odds are with a little homework and patience, you can find a similar discount for a nice "Gold".

You already admitted you "overdo the power supply" so it does not matter what your PC needs, or the heat of your PSU.

but again i dont buy low quality ;P so maybe that helps?

Of course that helps. At least IMO it does. If you go back and look at any of my posts concerning PSUs, I always recommend buying a "quality" PSU from a reputable maker. In fact, in one of my favorite analogies, I point out you would not buy a brand new Porsche then fill it up with fuel from the corner Tobacco and Bait shop. A car engine can miss a beat and keep on running. Not so with digital electronics.

But of course, there are always exceptions. I have run across many old Dells or Compaqs, for example that sat in offices for 10 - 12 years or longer running with no-name generic or Deer or some other OEM PSU that are still chugging along. And many of those computers had never been opened for simple cleaning and were jam packed with dust, dust bunnies, dead critters, dirt and whoknowswhat, but were still running just fine. Those examples make it hard sometimes to convince clients they need to "invest" is a quality PSU.

 

[killster1]

In terms of retailers trying to sell the product, it is same here. They cannot legally sell it as "new". But still, just because the box has been opened that does not mean the device inside was ever "used". And that's a problem for consumers.

Part of that problem is there are no standards for how retailers handle those open box items. Some could have been display models. Some returns for "the wrong color" or something similar. Some were bad and then "refurbished". Any of those could be re-sold as "open box".

That puts us consumers at a disadvantage because we typically don't know the real history of the device inside that "open" box. So with "used" products, regardless the seller, I say "caveat emptor".
Who cares how much you pay? I sure don't. That is not a factor here - even if your daddy pays the bills, someone pays them and the efficiency of the PSU does not change if your price per kWh is cheap or expensive. The fact remains, it takes years to make up the extra cost of a Platinum or Titanium PSU over a Gold through the few percentage points in efficiency those more expensive PSUs offer. If you stumble upon a great, too good to be true, discount for a Platinum or Titanium, then fine. But odds are with a little homework and patience, you can find a similar discount for a nice "Gold".

You already admitted you "overdo the power supply" so it does not matter what your PC needs, or the heat of your PSU.

Of course that helps. At least IMO it does. If you go back and look at any of my posts concerning PSUs, I always recommend buying a "quality" PSU from a reputable maker. In fact, in one of my favorite analogies, I point out you would not buy a brand new Porsche then fill it up with fuel from the corner Tobacco and Bait shop. A car engine can miss a beat and keep on running. Not so with digital electronics.

But of course, there are always exceptions. I have run across many old Dells or Compaqs, for example that sat in offices for 10 - 12 years or longer running with no-name generic or Deer or some other OEM PSU that are still chugging along. And many of those computers had never been opened for simple cleaning and were jam packed with dust, dust bunnies, dead critters, dirt and whoknowswhat, but were still running just fine. Those examples make it hard sometimes to convince clients they need to "invest" is a quality PSU.

i put costco gas in my porshe even am/pm gas sometimes. thats the thing, computers are the same they will run on dirty power as well and of course old dells that have not been used for a power work station or gaming box are a little different. well again i agree gold is plenty but if its the same price or close why not get the better one? a power supply is hardware that will last many generations of your pc builds. efficiency is very important to me not creating landfills and heat is definitely a huge issue in the environments i live. i used to enjoy reading the psu reviews at hardocp when they tested in hot conditions and checked efficiency / ripple in a torture situation. but i havnt had to purchase a psu in over 6 years? just keep reusing the very nice ones i purchased long ago.

 

[Bill_Bright]

well again i agree gold is plenty but if its the same price or close why not get the better one?

Well, "better" is a relative term. The criteria for the different 80-PLUS certifications deals only with PSU efficiency. Yes, more efficient is "better", but there is absolutely nothing to suggest a Platinum or Titanium PSU will have "better" ripple suppression, "better" regulation, "better" adhereance to voltage tolerances, "better" connections, "better" cables, "better" reliability, or "better" longevity (speaking of landfills). It only means it has better efficiency.

And I agree that efficiency is very important, as is limiting hazardous waste, protecting our environment, etc. But, for example, at 50% load, you are talking just 2% difference (90% vs 92%) between Gold and Platinum. It is also just 2% at 100% load. 90% is already outstanding.

But if you check the 20% criteria, you will see the efficiencies of those PSU drop 2 - 3 percentage points from the 50% numbers.

And it is for this reason, you should match your PSU to the demands so the loads consistently sits at 50% or above! But you don't! You claim protecting the environment is important to you, so you need to consider this. Running below 50% load is actually less efficient than running at 50% or higher. So by you always "overdoing" the PSU size, you are actually hurting the environment, not protecting it.

So buying a bigger PSU than you need does provide greater upgrade headroom. And it may mean quieter operation. But it does NOT save you money over the long run. It does not ensure "cleaner" power, better reliability or longevity. And it sure does not help protect the environment.