Parts advice on a budget build for my best friend!

[Snowyman42]

Budget (including currency): USD $700

Country: United States

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: 90% of the time he will play SWTOR and Minecraft. 5% he does some 3D printing nothing to crazy though. The last 5% I hope to open his eyes to full time gaming on pc, hopefully enjoy it enough to ditch the console and go pc. So might show him around some AAA titles and other multiplayer games.

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):

He already has keyboard mouse and two monitors. He also has a headset. So peripherals are not a factor in this budget. His current machine is basic it’s an old dell desktop:

•intel i5 2500k cpu

•8gb ddr2 ram

•nvidia GeForce GTX 1050

 

He is only going to game in 1080p. He plans to reuse his graphics card until he can afford something better (and stock gets better) he will also reuse his current hard drive for extra storage space.

 

Here is the build I put together in five minutes last night.

 

here is a link 

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 1600 (12nm) 3.2 GHz 6-Core Processor	$149.99 @ Amazon
CPU Cooler	be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 50.5 CFM CPU Cooler	$89.90 @ Amazon
Motherboard	ASRock B450M PRO4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard	$82.99 @ Amazon
Memory	Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory	$83.99 @ Best Buy
Storage	Samsung 970 Evo 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive	$64.99 @ B&H
Case	Corsair 4000D Airflow ATX Mid Tower Case	$79.99 @ Best Buy
Power Supply	Corsair RM (2019) 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply	$124.99 @ Best Buy
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$676.84
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-01-05 17:44 EST-0500

I’m just wondering if there are better parts I should look into for him? Or if there might be some issues with the parts I have chosen for him above? I really want this to be a good build for him with room for upgrades in the future. I hope that this build really shows him how nice it is to build and use gaming pc’s. Thanks for taking the time to give input on this!

Edited January 5, 2021 by Snowyman42

[Guest]

You have no graphics.
You can downgrade to ram stick & save like 30 bucks and put it towards graphics.

Drop the cooler & save $90 bucks. With that 120$ you can get an entry level GPU from AMD or something decent from the second hand market.

 

If you want to do an APU from AMD, you have to get something that ends in G. I have the Ryzen 5 2400G. It has the same iGPU as the Ryzen 5 3400G.

Dedicated cards are basically always better though.

[WhitetailAni]

1 minute ago, fpo said:

You have no graphics.
You can downgrade to ram stick & save like 30 bucks and put it towards graphics.

Drop the cooler & save $90 bucks. With that 120$ you can get an entry level GPU from AMD or something decent from the second hand market.

 

If you want to do an APU from AMD, you have to get something that ends in G. I have the Ryzen 5 2400G. It has the same iGPU as the Ryzen 5 3400G.

Dedicated cards are basically always better though.

He mentioned his friend reusing his old GTX 1050.

[Fasauceome]

The foundation is solid, but the power supply and CPU cooler are SUPER overkill. Also if you were going to get the 1600 AF or 2600, I would recommend a look at the used market. But have a look at this:

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 1600 (12nm) 3.2 GHz 6-Core Processor	$149.99 @ Amazon
Motherboard	ASRock B450 Pro4 ATX AM4 Motherboard	$74.99 @ Newegg
Memory	Team T-FORCE VULCAN Z 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory	$59.99 @ Newegg
Storage	Team MP33 512 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive	$50.99 @ Newegg
Case	Cougar MX330 ATX Mid Tower Case	$41.99 @ Newegg
Power Supply	EVGA GD (2019) 600 W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply	$78.99 @ Newegg
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$456.94
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-01-05 17:50 EST-0500

Plenty of room to upgrade in the future, more budget friendly choices.

[somer4ndo]

1 minute ago, fpo said:

You have no graphics.
You can downgrade to ram stick & save like 30 bucks and put it towards graphics.

Drop the cooler & save $90 bucks. With that 120$ you can get an entry level GPU from AMD or something decent from the second hand market.

 

If you want to do an APU from AMD, you have to get something that ends in G. I have the Ryzen 5 2400G. It has the same iGPU as the Ryzen 5 3400G.

Dedicated cards are basically always better though.

They already have a 1050, and with how overpriced graphics cards are these days, I'd say that's enough for now, otherwise agree with all you're saying, the 1600 doesn't need more than stock cooling.

[js5836]

OP, I feel like your cpu cooler, and PSU are very overkill for the CPU that you have matched it with, unless you are planning on making an upgrade in the near future, you should definetly try to match it more. I wouldn't think you need more than a 550 W PSU for a 1600 and 1050, and you will get by easy on something like a hyper 212 cpu cooler.

[Guest]

1 minute ago, ragnarok0273 said:

He mentioned his friend reusing his old GTX 1050.

You get what you pay for. Free advice is flawed.

 

You really don't need to upgrade, OP.
If you insist on it, wait for Ryzen 5,000 to become available as the 1600 is outdated at this point.

[Snowyman42]

Just now, Fasauceome said:

The foundation is solid, but the power supply and CPU cooler are SUPER overkill. Also if you were going to get the 1600, I would recommend a look at the used market. But have a look at this:

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 1600 (12nm) 3.2 GHz 6-Core Processor	$149.99 @ Amazon
Motherboard	ASRock B450 Pro4 ATX AM4 Motherboard	$74.99 @ Newegg
Memory	Team T-FORCE VULCAN Z 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory	$59.99 @ Newegg
Storage	Team MP33 512 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive	$50.99 @ Newegg
Case	Cougar MX330 ATX Mid Tower Case	$41.99 @ Newegg
Power Supply	EVGA GD (2019) 600 W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply	$78.99 @ Newegg
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$456.94
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-01-05 17:50 EST-0500

Plenty of room to upgrade in the future, more budget friendly choices.

Nice! I like this list l. How reliable are those parts?

[Snowyman42]

1 minute ago, js5836 said:

OP, I feel like your cpu cooler, and PSU are very overkill for the CPU that you have matched it with, unless you are planning on making an upgrade in the near future, you should definetly try to match it more. I wouldn't think you need more than a 550 W PSU for a 1600 and 1050, and you will get by easy on something like a hyper 212 cpu cooler.

Alright! Thanks! I will look into downgrading those parts. He will likely upgrade his gpu next get himself something a lot newer would 550w still power it enough?

[Fasauceome]

2 minutes ago, Snowyman42 said:

Nice! I like this list l. How reliable are those parts?

Well EVGA has one of the best warranty programs I know of in the PC space, and I've used a lot of team group SSDs and they're fine.

 

3 minutes ago, fpo said:

You get what you pay for. Free advice is flawed.

 

You really don't need to upgrade, OP.
If you insist on it, wait for Ryzen 5,000 to become available as the 1600 is outdated at this point.

Upgrading now with budget Ryzen components and putting a ryzen 5000 series CPU in later is a good move, and keeping the GPU is especially good because of the awful GPU prices, even if it won't result in a huge performance uplift right away 

[Guest]

1 minute ago, Snowyman42 said:

Nice! I like this list l. How reliable are those parts?

Everything is comparible to what you selected, just lower cost with no realistic performance difference.

You may want to choose your own case though depending on how important the case is for you.

[Snowyman42]

Just now, Fasauceome said:

Well EVGA has one of the best warranty programs I know of in the PC space, and I've used a lot of team group SSDs and they're fine.

Awesome! I think I’m gonna take you up on those part changes. I will need to see the case though to make a decision on that change.

[Guest]

1 minute ago, Fasauceome said:

Upgrading now with budget Ryzen components and putting a ryzen 5000 series CPU in later is a good move, and keeping the GPU is especially good because of the awful GPU prices, even if it won't result in a huge performance uplift right away 

Judging by the pfp of OP, I imagine OP to be in High school or around that age where money doesn't come so easy.

Ryzen 5,000 is going to be coming in stock over the next 2 months imo, so it might just be worth sticking it out with his old Dell till he can get a Ryzen 5,000 for a good price & skip the outdated Ryzen 1600.

[Fasauceome]

1 minute ago, Snowyman42 said:

Awesome! I think I’m gonna take you up on those part changes. I will need to see the case though to make a decision on that change.

The reasons I selected it are because of the good open space inside, and good quality aurflow, all for a low cost. If you wanted to improve the looks, two LED fans in the front look pretty great 

 

1 minute ago, fpo said:

Ryzen 5,000 is going to be coming in stock over the next 2 months imo, so it might just be worth sticking it out with his old Dell till he can get a Ryzen 5,000 for a good price & skip the outdated Ryzen 1600.

The price difference could be a matter of like $20, buying a used CPU and selling it again later would be all it takes.

[Snowyman42]

1 minute ago, fpo said:

Everything is comparible to what you selected, just lower cost with no realistic performance difference.

You may want to choose your own case though depending on how important the case is for you.

Yeah thanks for the advice! I think I’m for sure going to go with the change in memory, storage, and psu. I know my friend well enough to know he will end up repainting and nodding the case I just want something that will make cable management easier.

[Snowyman42]

Just now, Fasauceome said:

The reasons I selected it are because of the good open space inside, and good quality aurflow, all for a low cost. If you wanted to improve the looks, two LED fans in the front look pretty great 

Cool I think that’s the list I’m gonna send him! Thanks so much for this! I know he is gonna mod the case to be mandalorian themed.

[Guest]

1 minute ago, Snowyman42 said:

Yeah thanks for the advice! I think I’m for sure going to go with the change in memory, storage, and psu. I know my friend well enough to know he will end up repainting and nodding the case I just want something that will make cable management easier.

afaik, memory is all basically the same except for
1: DDR number. IE DDR3, DDR4
2: Memory speed.

Storage is dependant & I have money for samsung, so just buy it.
PSU, I don't know enough on but trust the consensus of the PSU tier list.

[Snowyman42]

2 minutes ago, fpo said:

Judging by the pfp of OP, I imagine OP to be in High school or around that age where money doesn't come so easy.

Ryzen 5,000 is going to be coming in stock over the next 2 months imo, so it might just be worth sticking it out with his old Dell till he can get a Ryzen 5,000 for a good price & skip the outdated Ryzen 1600.

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, Fasauceome said:

The reasons I selected it are because of the good open space inside, and good quality aurflow, all for a low cost. If you wanted to improve the looks, two LED fans in the front look pretty great 

 

The price difference could be a matter of like $20, buying a used CPU and selling it again later would be all it takes.

Buying new is overpriced. No way to make your money back with a 4 year old processor when the new one is so competitively priced.

 

Unless eBay is flooded with idiots.

[Snowyman42]

Thanks everyone for the advice I think I’m gonna go with this build by @Fasauceome.

I will advise him to wait but he is impatient he almost bought this build last night but I asked him to hold of until I Got some more input on it. I’m very glad I did!

[Snowyman42]

5 minutes ago, fpo said:

Buying new is overpriced. No way to make your money back with a 4 year old processor when the new one is so competitively priced.

 

Unless eBay is flooded with idiots.

Yeah I get it. But this kid is to impatient and isn’t gonna go used hunting on eBay. So I just want to find him the best I can new for now.