My first build ever

[TomasFr]

Hi!
I've been wanting to build a computer for some time now. The problem has so far only been the budget, limiting me to about $650. I made a list on pcpartpicker and made a build but I'm afraid it might not be optimal. Please let me know if I'm going too cheap on the mobo or the psu or if you can recommend any "budget" hardware for my build. Any feedback is appreciated.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD - Ryzen 3 2200G 3.5 GHz Quad-Core Processor	$94.89 @ OutletPC
Motherboard	Gigabyte - B450M DS3H Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard	$76.88 @ OutletPC
Memory	Kingston - HyperX Predator 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory	$82.13 @ Amazon
Storage	HP - EX900 250 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive	$46.89 @ OutletPC
Storage	Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive	$44.89 @ OutletPC
Video Card	MSI - GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4 GB GAMING X 4G Video Card	$169.99 @ Newegg
Case	Cooler Master - MasterBox Q300L MicroATX Mini Tower Case	$39.99 @ Amazon
Power Supply	Cooler Master - MWE Bronze 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply	$43.84 @ Newegg Business
Operating System	Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit	$98.89 @ OutletPC
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total (before mail-in rebates)	$718.39
	Mail-in rebates	-$20.00
	Total	$698.39
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-01-24 12:45 EST-0500

This build goes ahead of my budget by a tad but since I plan on buying most of the stuff during sales i think it'll work out. If anyone could optimise it anyway, would make me really grateful.

[Eastman51]

That PSU concerns me a little. I'd recommend getting a Seasonic PSU. They are great quality, and you can get really good prices on them (a 500W Gold for $60?).

You can also take a look at the PSU tier list.

 

Edit: Everything else looks fine to me. You could get a 2.5" SATA SSD instead (you can get them cheaper sometimes), and you could get a 2TB HDD if you're feeling brave. Also, you don't HAVE to pay for a Windows key; if you don't, all they do to you is leave a watermark on screen and lock you out of the personalization settings.

[Turtle Rig]

3 minutes ago, TomasFr said:

Hi!
I've been wanting to build a computer for some time now. The problem has so far only been the budget, limiting me to about $650. I made a list on pcpartpicker and made a build but I'm afraid it might not be optimal. Please let me know if I'm going too cheap on the mobo or the psu or if you can recommend any "budget" hardware for my build. Any feedback is appreciated.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD - Ryzen 3 2200G 3.5 GHz Quad-Core Processor	$94.89 @ OutletPC
Motherboard	Gigabyte - B450M DS3H Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard	$76.88 @ OutletPC
Memory	Kingston - HyperX Predator 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory	$82.13 @ Amazon
Storage	HP - EX900 250 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive	$46.89 @ OutletPC
Storage	Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive	$44.89 @ OutletPC
Video Card	MSI - GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4 GB GAMING X 4G Video Card	$169.99 @ Newegg
Case	Cooler Master - MasterBox Q300L MicroATX Mini Tower Case	$39.99 @ Amazon
Power Supply	Cooler Master - MWE Bronze 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply	$43.84 @ Newegg Business
Operating System	Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit	$98.89 @ OutletPC
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total (before mail-in rebates)	$718.39
	Mail-in rebates	-$20.00
	Total	$698.39
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-01-24 12:45 EST-0500

This build goes ahead of my budget by a tad but since I plan on buying most of the stuff during sales i think it'll work out. If anyone could optimise it anyway, would make me really grateful.

I would get 16GB of RAM if your using Winblows 10.  Also your CPU and 1050Ti will play nice with each other.  Anything higher then a 1050Ti will be a major bottleneck.  So you did good with the parts.  

[Turtle Rig]

Just now, Eastman51 said:

That PSU concerns me a little. I'd recommend getting a Seasonic PSU. They are great quality, and you can get really good prices on them (a 500W Gold for $60?).

You can also take a look at the PSU tier list.

He is fine with the 450watt PSU.  His draw when playing games will be like 300ish to 400 max wattage.  So he will have some headroom too.  It is a good budget PSU and no worries the 450watt will handle your build easy.

[Eastman51]

Just now, Turtle Rig said:

He is fine with the 450watt PSU.  His draw when playing games will be like 300ish to 400 max wattage.  So he will have some headroom too.  It is a good budget PSU and no worries the 450watt will handle your build easy.

I'm not worried about the wattage, I just don't know how good Cooler Master PSUs are.

[TomasFr]

2 minutes ago, Turtle Rig said:

I would get 16GB of RAM if your using Winblows 10.  Also your CPU and 1050Ti will play nice with each other.  Anything higher then a 1050Ti will be a major bottleneck.  So you did good with the parts.  

Thank you! Could you recommend any good RAM?

[m1lk3y]

I think it looks like a pretty decent starter build. And one that's easy to upgrade down the line. But like Turtle said, 16GB would suit you a lot better for gaming since windows like to hog ram (even more so with chrome). I'm not sure how comfortable you are with software, or how much the community here is against it, but if you don't mind not having official support from microsoft, there's always the option of getting an OEM Windows key from someone like kinguin. It will save you a bit of money that you could use for more RAM. There's a small process to get it activated, but they leave pretty good instructions on how to do it...

[Eastman51]

1 minute ago, TomasFr said:

Thank you! Could you recommend any good RAM?

You could get a 4x4 or 2x8 kit of the Kingston HyperX. Otherwise I'd go with G.Skill. Corsair is ok, but I've had problems with all of their products

[Turtle Rig]

7 minutes ago, Eastman51 said:

You could get a 4x4 or 2x8 kit of the Kingston HyperX. Otherwise I'd go with G.Skill. Corsair is ok, but I've had problems with all of their products

Over 7 years now my quad channel kit has worked flawlessly... But I do agree Corsair make some sh*T,  but their RAM and PSU are top notch.  Their fans blow ballz and make really bad noises besides the wind noise the fan generates.  Also their Mice blow balls as well.  

[Eastman51]

2 minutes ago, Turtle Rig said:

Over 7 years now my quad channel kit has worked flawlessly... But I do agree Corsair make some sh*T,  but their RAM and PSU are top notch.  Their fans blow ballz and make really bad noises besides the wind noise the fan generates.  Also their Mice blow balls as well.  

I've had two Corsair kbs, both were trash. I've heard some of their PSUs are pretty good, never used them myself. I have a Corsair mouse, which is OK, but I would replace it if there were better mice with too many side buttons. I have two 2x8 kits of their RAM in my Ryzen machine; not sure if I got unlucky or what, but I can't run completely stable at 3000MHz (they are 3000MHz kits), I lowered to 2933MHz to avoid the random BSODs (typically after a CPU intensive program closed).

[Turtle Rig]

3 minutes ago, Eastman51 said:

I've had two Corsair kbs, both were trash. I've heard some of their PSUs are pretty good, never used them myself. I have a Corsair mouse, which is OK, but I would replace it if there were better mice with too many side buttons. I have two 2x8 kits of their RAM in my Ryzen machine; not sure if I got unlucky or what, but I can't run completely stable at 3000MHz (they are 3000MHz kits), I lowered to 2933MHz to avoid the random BSODs (typically after a CPU intensive program closed).

Loosten the timings ?  Man sorry to hear your having this problem.  The Vengeance and Dominator kits are not trash.  Your just having a bad experience with them, and so sorry for that my friend.  Also try raising the voltage of the RAM you can put it at 1.6v or 1.65 volt to gain stability.

[Eastman51]

1 minute ago, Turtle Rig said:

Loosten the timings ?  Man sorry to hear your having this problem.  The Vengeance and Dominator kits are not trash.  Your just having a bad experience with them, and so sorry for that my friend.  Also try raising the voltage of the RAM you can put it at 1.6v or 1.65 volt to gain stability.

I haven't played with the memory voltage yet. I have no idea what the hell the timings even mean, so idk if that's a good idea to play with. I think the black kit I have is the troublesome one (I have 2x8 black LPX and 2x8 white LPX), I had that one first. It ran stable for a while, then randomly decided to give me Watchdog BSODs

[Turtle Rig]

5 minutes ago, Eastman51 said:

I haven't played with the memory voltage yet. I have no idea what the hell the timings even mean, so idk if that's a good idea to play with. I think the black kit I have is the troublesome one (I have 2x8 black LPX and 2x8 white LPX), I had that one first. It ran stable for a while, then randomly decided to give me Watchdog BSODs

Yes those are their budget line of RAM but still should not BSOD at native Mhz speed.  Once again you might need a bit more voltage on the RAM also loosten the timings a tad bit which will allow to run 3000Mhz or higher and give you stability.  Your latency will not get affected to much.

[Turtle Rig]

Some people opt to tighten their timings and lower the Mhz so they get better latency.  At the end of the day latency is what important.  As even 2133Mhz memory is fine and you would not notice a difference in real world with 3000 or with 2133 and I swear to you on that.

[Eastman51]

1 hour ago, Turtle Rig said:

Yes those are their budget line of RAM but still should not BSOD at native Mhz speed. 

Yea. I don't know if its related, but this PC also has really long POST times (20+ seconds). Windows is on an SSD, and I have minimal software set to run at startup. Comparatively, my 4th gen i5 PC with 32GB of Kingston HyperX POSTs in less than 2 seconds.

[TomasFr]

3 hours ago, m1lk3y said:

I think it looks like a pretty decent starter build. And one that's easy to upgrade down the line. But like Turtle said, 16GB would suit you a lot better for gaming since windows like to hog ram (even more so with chrome). I'm not sure how comfortable you are with software, or how much the community here is against it, but if you don't mind not having official support from microsoft, there's always the option of getting an OEM Windows key from someone like kinguin. It will save you a bit of money that you could use for more RAM. There's a small process to get it activated, but they leave pretty good instructions on how to do it...

Alright, but that would mean that I'm putting more money into the RAM than the cpu. As a newbie i don't know if it's common but i certainly feel like its not right, or is it?

[m1lk3y]

1 hour ago, TomasFr said:

Alright, but that would mean that I'm putting more money into the RAM than the cpu. As a newbie i don't know if it's common but i certainly feel like its not right, or is it?

So one other thing I was curious about, the fact that you're getting a dedicated GPU but also the 2200G. If it's due to pricing/availability then I understand, but I know AMD has the 2200x that doesn't have the Vega graphics in it. I don't know a whole lot about the AMD side of things, I was just curious. And as far as spending more on the RAM than the CPU, it's fairly hard to find decently priced RAM. A few years ago, you used to be able to buy a 16GB kit for $80 or less, but shortage of components from manufacturers caused the prices to skyrocket. So at the moment, yes you will most likely spend more on the RAM than the CPU in a budget build like this! Hopefully I'm making sense...

[xKyric]

7 hours ago, TomasFr said:

Hi!
I've been wanting to build a computer for some time now. The problem has so far only been the budget, limiting me to about $650. I made a list on pcpartpicker and made a build but I'm afraid it might not be optimal. Please let me know if I'm going too cheap on the mobo or the psu or if you can recommend any "budget" hardware for my build. Any feedback is appreciated.

Overall, you have a pretty solid build. You've obviously put research into it. 
If I were you, I would build something along the lines of this: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/Cvqv7W

8GBs of RAM is fine for gaming, unless your a heavy multitasker. 

 

[Guest]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD - Ryzen 3 2200G 3.5 GHz Quad-Core Processor	$94.89 @ OutletPC
Motherboard	Asus - PRIME B450M-A/CSM Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard	$77.49 @ OutletPC
Memory	Team - Vulcan 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory	$89.89 @ OutletPC
Storage	Kingston - A400 240 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive	$29.99 @ Amazon
Storage	Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive	$44.89 @ OutletPC
Video Card	PowerColor - Radeon RX 580 8 GB Video Card	$169.99 @ Newegg
Case	Cooler Master - MasterBox Q300L MicroATX Mini Tower Case	$39.99 @ Amazon
Power Supply	Corsair - CXM 550 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply	$39.99 @ Newegg
Operating System	Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit	$98.89 @ OutletPC
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total (before mail-in rebates)	$756.01
	Mail-in rebates	-$70.00
	Total	$686.01
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-01-24 21:24 EST-0500

Compared to OP's build, much better graphics card, more ram, better motherboard, better power supply. 

 

[Herman Mcpootis]

8 hours ago, TomasFr said:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD - Ryzen 3 2200G 3.5 GHz Quad-Core Processor	$94.89 @ OutletPC
Motherboard	Gigabyte - B450M DS3H Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard	$76.88 @ OutletPC
Memory	Kingston - HyperX Predator 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory	$82.13 @ Amazon
Storage	HP - EX900 250 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive	$46.89 @ OutletPC
Storage	Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive	$44.89 @ OutletPC
Video Card	MSI - GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4 GB GAMING X 4G Video Card	$169.99 @ Newegg
Case	Cooler Master - MasterBox Q300L MicroATX Mini Tower Case	$39.99 @ Amazon
Power Supply	Cooler Master - MWE Bronze 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply	$43.84 @ Newegg Business
Operating System	Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit	$98.89 @ OutletPC
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total (before mail-in rebates)	$718.39
	Mail-in rebates	-$20.00
	Total	$698.39
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-01-24 12:45 EST-0500

get an RX 570 instead of the 1050ti, you can find similar ram kits for alot less. get a corsair CX450/M or masterwatt instead of the MWE.

[Herman Mcpootis]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($164.99 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: ASRock - AB350 Pro4 ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($66.98 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Team - Vulcan 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($89.89 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: HP - EX900 250 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive  ($46.89 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($37.99 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: PowerColor - Radeon RX 580 8 GB Video Card  ($169.99 @ Newegg) 
Case: DIYPC - J180-BL ATX Mid Tower Case  ($35.95 @ Newegg Business) 
Power Supply: Corsair - CX (2017) 550 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($29.99 @ Newegg) 
Total: $642.67
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-01-24 21:36 EST-0500

get OS from ebay for a few dollars.

[TomasFr]

17 hours ago, Herman Mcpootis said:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($164.99 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: ASRock - AB350 Pro4 ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($66.98 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Team - Vulcan 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($89.89 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: HP - EX900 250 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive  ($46.89 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($37.99 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: PowerColor - Radeon RX 580 8 GB Video Card  ($169.99 @ Newegg) 
Case: DIYPC - J180-BL ATX Mid Tower Case  ($35.95 @ Newegg Business) 
Power Supply: Corsair - CX (2017) 550 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($29.99 @ Newegg) 
Total: $642.67
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-01-24 21:36 EST-0500

get OS from ebay for a few dollars.

Thank you for making this! I'm going to research benchmarks on these specs and I'll definiately consider this build since it looks pretty good.

Only thing is that pcpartpicker claims that I will have to upgrade the BIOS. Do you know if my current PC:s (pretty slow laptop) CPU will be able to assist during the upgrade?:AMD A10 9600P. Or do I even understand the upgrading process correctly?

[m1lk3y]

26 minutes ago, TomasFr said:

Thank you for making this! I'm going to research benchmarks on these specs and I'll definiately consider this build since it looks pretty good.

Only thing is that pcpartpicker claims that I will have to upgrade the BIOS. Do you know if my current PC:s (pretty slow laptop) CPU will be able to assist during the upgrade?:AMD A10 9600P. Or do I even understand the upgrading process correctly?

A BIOS upgrade is just an update to the motherboards firmware. Most motherboard manufacturers have an update utility built in with windows so that you won't need another computer to update. Some motherboards even have a USB port that allows you to update the BIOS with a flash drive (a port usually marked on the IO shield). Your best bet would be to download the update from ASRock's website, and install using the tools they give you. Worst case, you can most likely find a YouTube video with step by step instructions!

[m1lk3y]

1 minute ago, m1lk3y said:

A BIOS upgrade is just an update to the motherboards firmware. Most motherboard manufacturers have an update utility built in with windows so that you won't need another computer to update. Some motherboards even have a USB port that allows you to update the BIOS with a flash drive (a port usually marked on the IO shield). Your best bet would be to download the update from ASRock's website, and install using the tools they give you. Worst case, you can most likely find a YouTube video with step by step instructions!

Let me add one more thing here, I took a look at the PC Part picker website you mentioned AFTER I posted of course. With what they are saying, some of the B350 chipsets might not be compatable with that processor that is chosen. So in order to update the BIOS, you would need a compatable CPU. I belive the motherboard needs to be able to boot properly before the firmware can be updated, so having an incompatable CPU right from the get go wouldn't allow you to update it. I'm sure someone can add on to what I have mentioned here.

[TomasFr]

29 minutes ago, m1lk3y said:

Let me add one more thing here, I took a look at the PC Part picker website you mentioned AFTER I posted of course. With what they are saying, some of the B350 chipsets might not be compatable with that processor that is chosen. So in order to update the BIOS, you would need a compatable CPU. I belive the motherboard needs to be able to boot properly before the firmware can be updated, so having an incompatable CPU right from the get go wouldn't allow you to update it. I'm sure someone can add on to what I have mentioned here.

So would i have to install a CPU in the system witch supports older BIOS so that I could update the BIOS for the Ryzen?