Recreation of LTT El Cheapo PC (july 2019)

[Lenovich]

^{Sorry for simplified English.}

Hi. This is my new main PC. My goal: build a nice PC from new parts* as cheap as possible. Good for me, LTT had answers. Eventually, I spend $225** for a new PC.

Let's see specs and prices:

• Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-A320M-S2H ~$55
•  CPU/APU: AMD Athlon 200GE  BOX ~$50
•  Video card: Vega3 ~free (built in APU)
•  RAM: 2x DDR4, 4 Gb Crucial 2400MHz ~$50
• SSD: SATA Sandisk 120Gb ~$25
•  No name PC case ~$15
•  PSU Aerocool VX plus*** ~ $15
•  Lenovo USB mouse and keyboard combo ~$15

How does it performs? Very nice. -- Stable work✔ --Full HD video encoding✔--Browsing internet ✔--Watching 4K video ✔--CSGO ✔

For comparison in cinbench R20:

My friend old Gaming PC  i5 4460 on MSI Z97 gaming motherboard 12gb RAM -- 1074 pts

My version of El cheapo -- 760 pts (~850 pts overclock at 3,8GHz)

 

Conclusion. For me, LTT El cheapo performs nice and snappy(after more than two decades  Pentium, Duron, Celeron, Core2duo and C60 APU). And it is silent. I think, job done right. It is amazing to see how, at a low cost, you can get very decent performance nowdays.

^{For comparison in cinbench R20:}

^{My friend old Gaming PC  i5 4460 on MSI Z97 gaming motherboard 12gb RAM -- 1074 pts}

^{My version of El cheapo -- 760 pts (~850 pts overclock at 3,8GHz)}

^{*Not mentioned old 4 by 3 NEC LCD professional monitor}

^{** Prices are relative because of my local exchange rates (₽ to $)}

^{*** on photo OLD stock PSU}

 

And more. which ~$150 video card do you recommend for this PC? And should I buy M.2 SSD? 

 

[emosun]

there was a video by low spec gamer improving this build by a lot

 

 

[muito_gostoso]

athlon 3000g is the best now at 50 dolars and more mhz.

 

butthere is non sense ryzen 2200g is just 15-20 more expensive and worth the hassle, so no need more the athlons any ways.

[Lenovich]

2 minutes ago, emosun said:

there was a video by low spec gamer improving this build by a lot

 

 

Thanks, 2 sticks of same 4Gb works great for me.

[Theguywhobea]

Nice job dude, glad you're happy, and it looks like you had a nice time build too.

[Lenovich]

14 minutes ago, muito_gostoso said:

athlon 3000g is the best now at 50 dolars and more mhz.

Released in 19 nov. 2019. In tests not too much boost on performance. But for new builds 3000G and ryzen is better.

Edited December 10, 2019 by Lenovich

[Lenovich]

4 minutes ago, Theguywhobea said:

Nice job dude, glad you're happy, and it looks like you had a nice time build too.

Thanks mate!

[r2724r16]

Nice job! Impressive for a first time builder.

[Lenovich]

2 minutes ago, r2724r16 said:

Nice job! Impressive for a first time builder.

Thanks! Totally not my first build, but first in last decade. My first build was back in 2001 based on AMD Duron. Also question, does local forum community have interest in retro builds? I have parts for 1995 gaming PC

[St. Nick]

It might actually be beneficial to upgrade to an MSI b350 board with the 200GE. There are certain bios versions for MSI 350 boards that allow you to overclock the snot out of the 200 GE. 

[r2724r16]

6 minutes ago, Lenovich said:

Also question, does local forum community have interest in retro builds? I have parts for 1995 gaming PC

Yes:

[Lenovich]

9 minutes ago, St. Nick said:

It might actually be beneficial to upgrade to an MSI b350 board with the 200GE. There are certain bios version for MSI 350 boards that allow you to overclock the snot out of the 200 GE. 

Current motherboard (GA-A320M-S2H) from box, allow to overclock this CPU. According to my observations(in current build) overclocking just bus increase performance more than just set high frequency of CPU.

[St. Nick]

A higher frequency and the abillity to get ram up to 3000 mhz was what I was after actually, since ram speed does help with the APU's performance.

 

[muito_gostoso]

9 minutes ago, Lenovich said:

Current motherboard (GA-A320M-S2H) from box, allow to overclock this CPU. According to my observations(in current build) overclocking just bus increase performance more than just set high frequency of CPU.

Also msi a320 offers overclock with a320 chipset, with the latest bios update.

[St. Nick]

Anyway, for GPU upgrades at around 150 if your able to stretch your budget a little newegg has a gigabyte RX 590 for 170 right now due to a promo code. Since you seem to be in Russia though I'm not really sure what your availability and price is like over there. In this price point I don't think an m2 is a worthwhile upgrade over the sata ssd you have, there is better ways to spend your money!

[Lenovich]

4 minutes ago, St. Nick said:

Anyway, for GPU upgrades at around 150 if your able to stretch your budget a little newegg has a gigabyte RX 590 for 170 right now due to a promo code. Since you seem to be in Russia though I'm not really sure what your availability and price is like over there. In this price point I don't think an m2 is a worthwhile upgrade over the sata ssd you have, there is better ways to spend your money!

Nice GPU! Our prices is about $190-$220 for card in local stores.

[St. Nick]

Try looking for the Asrock Phantom Gaming D RX 580 8G OC, it's loud but it IS cheap in nearly every market, I think asrock is the cheapest option for RX anything atm. 

[Lenovich]

New year upgrade:

M2 SSD: WD green 120 Gb ~$24

Monitor: ACER V246HQL ~$95

 

"Old" SATA SSD goes to Lenovo t63 notebook. Monitor, good for movies, bad for games. Very bright, big. But strong ghost effect.

On photo new interior. Old 600 Gb HDD are hidden.

[Lenovich]

Exterior