Looking for recommendations on a budget build

[MrFisc]

I'm trying to figure out a gaming solution for the lowest possible cost I can. 

 

I'm currently stuck on PS4 ever since I had to sell my old gaming rig, but lately i've been wanting to play some Tarkov among other things. 

 

My current budget needs to be LESS THAN $500.

 

Some notes regarding the build:

• I'm totally happy with 1080p @ 60fps
• It only needs to support one monitor, although supporting two 1080p monitors would really be preferred. Or even one 1080p for gaming and the other at some super low resolution, so long as i can have discord on the screen since I'm often on discord while I play and i've only had bad experiences with overlays
• The computer will only be used for gaming / discord. Nothing else intensive will ever run on it
• I only need core components, no operating system or peripherals.
  • CPU (Ryzen preferred since it comes with a cooler), GPU, PSU, Ram, Motherboard, Cooling. Case.
• I'd really prefer 16gb of ram, but I'd settle for 8gb if it can get the job done and support the games I'd like to play (listed below).

The games I'd like to be able to play at ~60fps.

• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2019
• Escape from Tarkov
• Battlefield V
• Rocket League
• Overwatch
• that's it.

I'm currently using a 2018 Mac mini on two 4k displays. These would be used with a KVM i already have for gaming, but they would both run at 1080p (or one at 1080p and the other at something lower). Like i said above, i already have all of the peripherals i'd need.

 

Things I've already considered

1. Getting an EGPU for my mac and running bootcam
   • Issues with this include GPU enclosures + GPU cost coming out to ~$400+ doesn't seem worth it when i'd be stuck running on a potentially buggy solution. I'd rather just have a dedicated windows computer for gaming.
2. A gaming laptop
   • I've had a lot of difficulty finding one in the price range I need that would support running the games I want to run at the frame rate i'd like.
3. Pre-builds
   • They just aren't worth it. They're all crazily over priced and then expect you to be happy with a GTX 750.

---

 

I'm looking for recommendations on builds that would acommodate what I'm asking, while keeping the total cost including taxes at or around $500 USD. I'm not sure if this is even feasible, my expectations may be a little skewed since my last gaming computer i spent ~$2000 on and it had really top tier specs.

 

I've been looking around for a while without much luck. So really any input would be much appreciated. 

[Radium_Angel]

6 minutes ago, MrFisc said:

• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2019
• Escape from Tarkov
• Battlefield V
• Rocket League
• Overwatch

 

7 minutes ago, MrFisc said:

1080p @ 60fps

 

7 minutes ago, MrFisc said:

two 1080p monitors

 

7 minutes ago, MrFisc said:

16gb of ram

 

7 minutes ago, MrFisc said:

LESS THAN $500

Good luck with that.

Looks like most demanding games want a RTX 2070 which is 400$ by itself

[MrFisc]

6 minutes ago, Radium_Angel said:

 

 

 

 

Good luck with that.

Looks like most demanding games want a RTX 2070 which is 400$ by itself

I think the most demanding game i listed was tarkov. I don't know why the rest wouldn't run at 1080p 60fps just fine on like an RX 580, or a GTX 1060. And i did say i would settle for 8GB if it came down to it and things would function.

[Radium_Angel]

2 minutes ago, MrFisc said:

I think the most demanding game i listed was tarkov. I don't know why the rest wouldn't run at 1080p 60fps just fine on like an RX 580, or a GTX 1060. And i did say i would settle for 8GB if it came down to it and things would function.

I was looking at this post for BF V

https://hothardware.com/news/battlefield-v-recommended-pc-hardware

 

If you don't want the best looking gfx settings, then changes could be made, but most gamers I know of, here and elsewhere, want all the shiny enabled.

[MrFisc]

6 minutes ago, Radium_Angel said:

I was looking at this post for BF V

https://hothardware.com/news/battlefield-v-recommended-pc-hardware

 

If you don't want the best looking gfx settings, then changes could be made, but most gamers I know of, here and elsewhere, want all the shiny enabled.

I just want to be able to play the games i care about at like medium settings? with people who i play with. I'm not super worried about "game looking pretty", i have a ps4 that does a good enough job of that for me. This is purely for the social aspect since everyone i play with is on PC.

[boggy77]

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 1600 (12nm) 3.2 GHz 6-Core Processor	$99.99 @ Newegg
Motherboard	ASRock B450M/AC Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard	$69.99 @ Newegg
Memory	Team T-FORCE VULCAN Z 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory	$64.99 @ Newegg
Storage	Intel 660p 512 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive	$63.99 @ Newegg
Video Card	Gigabyte Radeon RX 570 4 GB GAMING Video Card	$119.99 @ Newegg
Case	HEC HX210 MicroATX Mini Tower Case	$34.98 @ Newegg
Power Supply	Corsair CX (2017) 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply	$58.98 @ Newegg
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$512.91
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-04-03 15:25 EDT-0400

 

[Grabhanem]

26 minutes ago, MrFisc said:

I'm trying to figure out a gaming solution for the lowest possible cost I can. 

 

I'm currently stuck on PS4 ever since I had to sell my old gaming rig, but lately i've been wanting to play some Tarkov among other things. 

 

My current budget needs to be LESS THAN $500.

 

Some notes regarding the build:

• I'm totally happy with 1080p @ 60fps
• It only needs to support one monitor, although supporting two 1080p monitors would really be preferred. Or even one 1080p for gaming and the other at some super low resolution, so long as i can have discord on the screen since I'm often on discord while I play and i've only had bad experiences with overlays
• The computer will only be used for gaming / discord. Nothing else intensive will ever run on it
• I only need core components, no operating system or peripherals.
  • CPU (Ryzen preferred since it comes with a cooler), GPU, PSU, Ram, Motherboard, Cooling. Case.
• I'd really prefer 16gb of ram, but I'd settle for 8gb if it can get the job done and support the games I'd like to play (listed below).

The games I'd like to be able to play at ~60fps.

• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2019
• Escape from Tarkov
• Battlefield V
• Rocket League
• Overwatch
• that's it.

I'm currently using a 2018 Mac mini on two 4k displays. These would be used with a KVM i already have for gaming, but they would both run at 1080p (or one at 1080p and the other at something lower). Like i said above, i already have all of the peripherals i'd need.

 

Things I've already considered

1. Getting an EGPU for my mac and running bootcam
   • Issues with this include GPU enclosures + GPU cost coming out to ~$400+ doesn't seem worth it when i'd be stuck running on a potentially buggy solution. I'd rather just have a dedicated windows computer for gaming.
2. A gaming laptop
   • I've had a lot of difficulty finding one in the price range I need that would support running the games I want to run at the frame rate i'd like.
3. Pre-builds
   • They just aren't worth it. They're all crazily over priced and then expect you to be happy with a GTX 750.

---

 

I'm looking for recommendations on builds that would acommodate what I'm asking, while keeping the total cost including taxes at or around $500 USD. I'm not sure if this is even feasible, my expectations may be a little skewed since my last gaming computer i spent ~$2000 on and it had really top tier specs.

 

I've been looking around for a while without much luck. So really any input would be much appreciated. 

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
Motherboard	ASRock B450M/AC Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard	$69.99 @ Newegg
Memory	Patriot Viper 4 Blackout 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory	$39.99 @ Newegg
Storage	Intel 660p 512 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive	$63.99 @ Newegg
Video Card	Gigabyte Radeon RX 570 4 GB GAMING Video Card	$119.99 @ Newegg
Case	Thermaltake Versa H17 MicroATX Mini Tower Case	$44.99 @ Best Buy
Power Supply	Corsair CX (2017) 550 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply	$69.29 @ Newegg
Custom	AMD CPU RYZEN 5 1600 AM4	$85.00
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$493.24
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-04-03 15:22 EDT-0400

Ignore all the people who say you can't game on $500. You can definitely game on $500.

 

The only thing I'd consider that much of a compromise on this build is the storage-- it's a fast SSD but only 500GB, so it'll fill up fairly fast if you're installing a lot of big games. Luckily it's easy to add more storage later.

[Radium_Angel]

2 minutes ago, Grabhanem said:

Ignore all the people who say you can't game on $500

I didn't say you couldn't game on 500, I said you couldn't do it and look pretty at 500. There is a difference.

[Grabhanem]

1 minute ago, boggy77 said:

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 1600 (12nm) 3.2 GHz 6-Core Processor	$99.99 @ Newegg
Motherboard	ASRock B450M/AC Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard	$69.99 @ Newegg
Memory	Team T-FORCE VULCAN Z 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory	$64.99 @ Newegg
Storage	Intel 660p 512 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive	$63.99 @ Newegg
Video Card	Gigabyte Radeon RX 570 4 GB GAMING Video Card	$119.99 @ Newegg
Case	HEC HX210 MicroATX Mini Tower Case	$34.98 @ Newegg
Power Supply	Corsair CX (2017) 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply	$58.98 @ Newegg
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$512.91
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-04-03 15:25 EDT-0400

 

Looks like we both nailed almost the exact same build-- great minds think alike?

 

The only differences I see:

-- I found a slightly better price on the CPU

-- I went with a slightly fancier case

-- I went with a slightly higher capacity power supply, although either would probably be fine

-- Boggy used the savings on case & power supply to afford more RAM

 

Either build is perfectly fine and should run 1080p med-high flawlessly.

[MrFisc]

9 minutes ago, Grabhanem said:

Looks like we both nailed almost the exact same build-- great minds think alike?

 

The only differences I see:

-- I found a slightly better price on the CPU

-- I went with a slightly fancier case

-- I went with a slightly higher capacity power supply, although either would probably be fine

-- Boggy used the savings on case & power supply to afford more RAM

 

Either build is perfectly fine and should run 1080p med-high flawlessly.

I definitely prefer performance over aesthetics. The whole thing could be in a cardboard box for all i care, so long as it's protected and runs fine.

[MrFisc]

15 minutes ago, Grabhanem said:

Looks like we both nailed almost the exact same build-- great minds think alike?

 

The only differences I see:

-- I found a slightly better price on the CPU

-- I went with a slightly fancier case

-- I went with a slightly higher capacity power supply, although either would probably be fine

-- Boggy used the savings on case & power supply to afford more RAM

 

Either build is perfectly fine and should run 1080p med-high flawlessly.

Are case fans not really a requirement for this? Wouldn't the memory and M.2 drive need to be passively cooled?

[Grabhanem]

12 minutes ago, MrFisc said:

Are case fans not really a requirement for this? Wouldn't the memory and M.2 drive need to be passively cooled?

They certainly don't hurt, but they're not 100% necessary. If you're worried about case airflow, I would go with the Thermaltake case-- both cases only include a single fan, but at least the Thermaltake case has a decent amount of passive ventilation, while the HEC case is so un-breathable it should come with a choking hazard label...

 

If you have a few dollars to spare you could pick up a cheap 120mm fan for the front if you're worried about airflow. This one is at least from a reputable brand and seems to be well liked:

https://www.newegg.com/arctic-cooling-afaco-12000-gba01-case-fan/p/N82E16835186079?Item=9SIA2W097S8149

 

Edit: it seems the HEC case is only barely compatible with intake fans, if at all. If you want good passive cooling the Thermaltake case is the way to go.