Starter Gaming PC

[xterminatormonkey]

Budget (including currency):  600-800 USD

Country:  USA

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Valorant, Fortnite, COD, Rocket League 

Other details

My son wants his first gaming pc, the price is just the build. I have attached the PC part picker listed that I created that is pretty bare bones and simple. Would like feedback and improvements on parts. I know my biggest struggle will be getting a graphics card due to limited supply. He liked a couple pc's on best buy but I was skeptical of it since I know some prebuilts cheap out on parts like the psu. Any advice? 

Games play: 1080p, low/medium intensity 120Hz 

[curiousmind34]

Seems like you forgot an ssd

Also, the gt 1030 you chose is twice the price they should be and I would just go for an i5 10400 w/integrated graphics

Honestly I would just go with a prebuilt because the ability to game is probably worth a lot more than cranking up the settings a bit more but waiting 9 months.

Prebuilt #1 is pretty decent value but not the best value, if you do buy it just buy another 8gb stick of ram for under 50 bucks and slot it in

Prebuilt #2 will not be able to fire up a single game because of the gt 730

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/ibuypower-trace-mr-gaming-desktop-intel-i5-10400f-8gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-gtx-1650-4gb-240gb-ssd-1tb-hdd/6436829.p?skuId=6436829 this is the best I have found, you might have to spend an extra ~$40 to fit another 8 gig stick of ram if it’s low, but it’s better or equal to the prebuilt you posted in almost every way.

[GeorgeMKane]

I would recommend the first prebuilt you linked to. That GT1030, in your pcpartpicker list, is going to be super slow for most gaming (especially games like Call of Duty, Fortnite, Rocket League, etc.).

If you have the funds for it, just add another 8GB stick of DDR4 RAM to it. That'll increase the smoothness of the gameplay. You can get a Corsair stick of 8GB 2666MHz RAM (which the build uses), for around $50. https://pcpartpicker.com/product/dwhj4D/corsair-memory-cmk8gx4m1a2666c16

[Herman Mcpootis]

at this point, GPU prices are so terrible that a prebuilt would be a good idea if you can't find one in stock.

[Chris Pratt]

15 minutes ago, curiousmind34 said:

Seems like you forgot an ssd

Also, the gt 1030 you chose is twice the price they should be and I would just go for an i5 10400 w/integrated graphics

Honestly I would just go with a prebuilt because the ability to game is probably worth a lot more than cranking up the settings a bit more but waiting 9 months.

Prebuilt #1 is pretty decent value but not the best value, if you do buy it just buy another 8gb stick of ram for under 50 bucks and slot it in

Prebuilt #2 will not be able to fire up a single game because of the gt 730

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/ibuypower-trace-mr-gaming-desktop-intel-i5-10400f-8gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-gtx-1650-4gb-240gb-ssd-1tb-hdd/6436829.p?skuId=6436829 this is the best I have found, you might have to spend an extra ~$40 to fit another 8 gig stick of ram if it’s low, but it’s better or equal to the prebuilt you posted in almost every way.

I agree. The first prebuilt is pretty much the best you're going to do for sub-$800, and is a pretty decent gaming machine overall. Also, iBuyPower is going to be all standard parts. It's big companies like Dell and HP that do the proprietary mobos and PSUs, so no worries there.

[Archerr]

It would be much better if you picked up a rx 580 or rx 590 used on eBay or your local marketplace.