My first build

[Sticks5803]

Budget (including currency):  $400 USD

Country: United States

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Pro Tools, Lightworks, Light Gaming such as Minecraft or Civilization 6, Lots of video streaming (Youtube, Twitch, Netflix, Hulu, etc)

Other details (existing parts lists, whether any peripherals are needed, what you're upgrading from, when you're going to buy, what resolution and refresh rate you want to play at, etc): 

I already have monitors, keyboard, mouse and headsets. I've been watching Linus for a long time and decided I would take a shot at building my own pc after dreaming of it for a while. I am also looking for a decent sound card too but I have no idea where to start the search for that. Any help is appreciated. This PC needs to be super low budget though. Any way to substitute parts for other parts that will give the same benefit but cost lower is much appreciated.  

 

AMD    Ryzen 3 3200G    $99
CPU Cooler:    AMD    Wraith Stealth Boxed Cooler    Included
Motherboard:    ASRock B450M PRO4 AM4 AMD    $84
Memory:    Corsair    Vengeance LPX 16GB (2x 8GB) DDR4-3200 CL16    $63
Storage:    ADATA    SU635 256GB SSD    $36
Case    Rosewill FBM-X2 Micro ATX Mini Tower  $40
EVGA 500W 80Plus Power Supply Unit $48
 

[jtmoseley]

24 minutes ago, Sticks5803 said:

Budget (including currency):  $400 USD

Country: United States

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Pro Tools, Lightworks, Light Gaming such as Minecraft or Civilization 6, Lots of video streaming (Youtube, Twitch, Netflix, Hulu, etc)

Other details (existing parts lists, whether any peripherals are needed, what you're upgrading from, when you're going to buy, what resolution and refresh rate you want to play at, etc): 

I already have monitors, keyboard, mouse and headsets. I've been watching Linus for a long time and decided I would take a shot at building my own pc after dreaming of it for a while. I am also looking for a decent sound card too but I have no idea where to start the search for that. Any help is appreciated. This PC needs to be super low budget though. Any way to substitute parts for other parts that will give the same benefit but cost lower is much appreciated.  

 

AMD    Ryzen 3 3200G    $99
CPU Cooler:    AMD    Wraith Stealth Boxed Cooler    Included
Motherboard:    ASRock B450M PRO4 AM4 AMD    $84
Memory:    Corsair    Vengeance LPX 16GB (2x 8GB) DDR4-3200 CL16    $63
Storage:    ADATA    SU635 256GB SSD    $36
Case    Rosewill FBM-X2 Micro ATX Mini Tower  $40
EVGA 500W 80Plus Power Supply Unit $48
 

This computer will do perfectly fine with video streaming but you need to define light gaming a bit more. If you're serious at all about it you need to consider getting a dedicated graphics card. Unless you're fine with turning some games down to 720p or something.

[adm0n]

The build you picked out is very servicable and probably does what you want. If you really want to go that rout, i'd highly recommend you go for a ryzen 5 3400G instead, it has a better GPU and more threads.

 

But I'd recommend you try to get a cheap used system. like a dell optiplex or something similar. Linus did a video on that recently.

If you get something like a i7 3770 or 4770 you'll have the same CPU performance as the ryzen 3 3200G/3400g (well they are a bit faster, but not substantially),

and then get a dedicated GPU for the system, as well as a new SSD.

 

1 hour ago, Sticks5803 said:

Storage:    ADATA    SU635 256GB SSD    $36

The SSD does not use a DRAM chache (they use them to index your drive. It basically holds a map, that tells the drive, where it has to look for your data) and it uses QLC NAND (each cell of the SSD can hold up to 4 bits of data. Generally the more bits it holds, the slower and less durable they become).

I'd recommend you get the ADATA SU760, which cost $34.99. It uses TLC (3 bits per cell) and has a DRAM buffer.

Actually it does not have a DRAM cache, sorry for missinforming ... On the official website it states: With SLC Caching and DRAM Cache Buffer.

But the DRAM Cache Buffer is apparently the internal SRAM of the controler, not an actual dram cache ... I would get whatever cheap SSD with DRAM cache you can get. The crucial MX 500 is a good buy, but a bit more expensive.

 

If you have any other questions, fell free to ask

Edited June 7, 2020 by adm0n
Wrong information

[Sticks5803]

15 minutes ago, adm0n said:

I'd recommend you try to get a cheap used system. like a dell optiplex or something similar.

How would this work? Ill try and find the Linus vid on it but how much upgradeablity and compatibility does a pre built like a optiplex have?

[adm0n]

Usually it just has a pcie x16 slot for a GPU and if you are lucky some x1/x4 slots. You might be able to swap the CPU, but you have to make sure, that you stay within the range of the cooling system, which is usually not easily swappable.

RAM and storage works like everywhere else als well, you'll just have some ram slots and some sata ports.

 

This should be the video I mentioned (I really hate those titles ...):

 

[Sticks5803]

47 minutes ago, adm0n said:

Usually it just has a pcie x16 slot for a GPU and if you are lucky some x1/x4 slots. You might be able to swap the CPU, but you have to make sure, that you stay within the range of the cooling system, which is usually not easily swappable.

RAM and storage works like everywhere else als well, you'll just have some ram slots and some sata ports.

 

This should be the video I mentioned (I really hate those titles ...):

 

From what I understand going that route might not save much more than 100 bucks on parts with also trying to find a usable old system so wouldn't it be better to build from the ground up?

[adm0n]

1 minute ago, Sticks5803 said:

From what I understand going that route might not save much more than 100 bucks on parts with also trying to find a usable old system so wouldn't it be better to build from the ground up?

The PC they showed in the ebay listing was $130 with an i7 3770 and 16GB of Ram. so you'd only need a SSD as well as a GPU.

Compared to your build, with a decent GPU, it could be like 4 times as fast and you have like $200 to spend on a GPU as well.

 

Unless I did my math wrong ._.

 

The thing with building a PC new at that price point, is that you are not really in the sweet spot for price to performance, so everything kinda feels like a waste of money.

If you really would want to build a new PC, I'd buy a ryzen 5 3600 for $166, which gives you enough power for gaming as well as productivity task. But now you also need a graphics card. Maybe like a RX 580 or something similar, which will also run you another $170. 

 

With that you have a competent machine, but it is quite a bit more expensive.
I think the current virus situation made the used market a bit more expensive, than it should be, but even then. If you look at this PC:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Optiplex-9020-Intel-Core-i7-4770-3-40GHz-16GB-RAM-500GB-HDD-DVDRW/233581873760?hash=item3662908a60:g:siAAAOSweKRetKSl

 

You get a comparable CPU to your configuration, as well as the ram and so on in one package.

 

Then you throw in this GPU for $160 (for example): https://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-GeForce-Graphics-Compact-GV-N1656OC-4GD/dp/B086TSK5M3/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=GTX+1650+OC+4G&qid=1591523012&sr=8-2

 

and some SSD with a dram cache. Linus found a 128GB one for I think under $30. The one i recommended in my last post, didn't have one. I corrected that. sorry.

You will still spend like ~$50 more but you suddenly can play most games in 1080p at 60fps, while before your pc would have struggled at 720p ...

 

If you really want to build a PC from the ground up, that won't be a server (because those ryzen chips are awesome for that), I'd recommend saving and spending a bit more. It will last you a lot longer that way and you'll have a decent experience. Your current conifg will probably be bad at what you want it to do fairly soon.

[Aereldor]

@Sticks5803 - I have been waiting for this moment. Here's a really good $400 build!

It's a lot faster than the build you picked out.

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	Intel Core i3-9100F 3.6 GHz Quad-Core Processor	$74.99 @ B&H
Motherboard	MSI H310M PRO-VDH PLUS Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard	$56.99 @ Walmart
Memory	Team 8 GB (1 x 8 GB) DDR4-2400 CL16 Memory	$29.49 @ Amazon
Storage	ADATA SU635 240 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive	$29.99 @ Amazon
Video Card	ASRock Radeon RX 570 4 GB Phantom Gaming D Video Card	$124.99 @ Newegg
Case	HEC HX210 MicroATX Mini Tower Case	$36.98 @ Newegg
Power Supply	be quiet! Pure Power 11 300 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply	$47.69 @ Amazon
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$401.12
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-06-07 07:55 EDT-0400

 

[Sticks5803]

5 hours ago, Aereldor said:

Video Card ASRock Radeon RX 570 4 GB Phantom Gaming D Video Card

Is a video card/gpu necessary for that build? Im not gonna be running a whole of high demand games so is it really worth it to spend the $130 for that?

[Aereldor]

10 minutes ago, Sticks5803 said:

Is a video card/gpu necessary for that build? Im not gonna be running a whole of high demand games so is it really worth it to spend the $130 for that?

If this is going to be primarily a video editing PC, then I would build this, with the recommendation to add another SSD when you can. This is a significantly faster CPU, twice the SSD space to store projects, but a much, much worse GPU. It'll reduce your gaming performance markedly, but it should help with video editing quite a bit.
 

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 1600 (12nm) 3.2 GHz 6-Core Processor	$104.99 @ Amazon
Motherboard	Asus PRIME A320M-K Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard	$61.00 @ B&H
Memory	GeIL EVO SPEAR Phantom Gaming 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory	$59.99 @ Newegg
Storage	Crucial P1 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive	$59.95 @ B&H
Video Card	Sapphire Radeon RX 550 - 512 4 GB PULSE Video Card	$84.99 @ Newegg
Case	Deepcool MATREXX 30 MicroATX Mini Tower Case	$34.99 @ Amazon
Power Supply	be quiet! Pure Power 11 300 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply	$47.97 @ Amazon
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$453.88
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-06-07 13:44 EDT-0400