Let's play build the budget PC!

[derpkotacasper]

First off, this is for family. I'm giving him a GTX 1050 Ti. I can also provide an i5 7400, but we think his budget can be met with something nicer than that. He's looking to spend 500 bucks on PC, he already has a monitor, keyboard and mouse.

So, everything but the GPU, he wants it to play modern games. Obviously 1080p low settings. Who can come up with the most powerful build at that price point?

[Moonzy]

11 minutes ago, derpkotacasper said:

I'm giving him a GTX 1050 Ti. I can also provide an i5 7400

i say use these, use some of the budget on SSD and the rest of the PC

if there's leftover, upgrade CPU and GPU after the shortage

 

or buy a decent CPU and motherboard now if you dont have a board for that 7400 yet, because spending money on a board for it today is... meh, just get something modern while you're at it

[derpkotacasper]

1 minute ago, Moonzy said:

i say use these, use some of the budget on SSD and the rest of the PC

if there's leftover, upgrade CPU and GPU after the shortage

 

or buy a decent CPU and motherboard now if you dont have a board for that 7400 yet, because spending money on a board for it today is... meh, just get something modern while you're at it

that's more or less what our train of thought was. the i5 7400 is out of a pc with a blown board

[SorryBella]

14 minutes ago, derpkotacasper said:

He's looking to spend 500 bucks on PC, he already has a monitor, keyboard and mouse.

Give him the 1050Ti, and then get yourself this:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-11400F 2.6 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($174.99 @ B&H)
Motherboard: MSI MAG B560M BAZOOKA Micro ATX LGA1200 Motherboard  ($142.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot Viper 4 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-3000 CL16 Memory  ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate BarraCuda Q1 240 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($34.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Deepcool MATREXX 30 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($39.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair CX (2017) 550 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($69.98 @ Amazon)
Total: $512.92
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-06-01 01:22 EDT-0400

 

Honestly i would spend 50$ extra to get bigger storage, but thats always an add later item.

[Moonzy]

Just now, derpkotacasper said:

that's more or less what our train of thought was. the i5 7400 is out of a pc with a blown board

in that case, sell the CPU and buy something more modern

 

can always drop in a better GPU down the line, a 1050ti should be able to scrape by in 1080p low in modern AAA like CP2077 (around 30fps, my friend told me)

but if you play less demanding games, the 1050ti is still very capable

 

with $500, after getting the rest of the PC minus a GPU, you're probably looking at ~$250 for cpu, board, and RAM, which isnt a lot

 

overbudget, but im not sure what i would cut down other than cheaper casing perhaps

Spoiler

PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/J3sxJf

 

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($209.99 @ B&H) 
Motherboard: MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($120.52 @ Amazon) 
Memory: Silicon Power 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($78.97 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Kingston A2000 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($60.45 @ Amazon) 
Case: Corsair 4000D Airflow ATX Mid Tower Case  ($84.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: Corsair CXM 550 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply  ($73.98 @ Amazon) 
Total: $628.90
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-06-01 01:31 EDT-0400

 

i would personally recommend 5600x, just for the single threaded performance that would definitely help in some games

Spoiler

PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/kzHs4d

 

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($299.00 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: MSI MAG B550 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($159.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: Silicon Power 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($78.97 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Kingston A2000 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($60.45 @ Amazon) 
Case: Corsair 4000D Airflow ATX Mid Tower Case  ($84.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: Corsair CXM 550 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply  ($73.98 @ Amazon) 
Total: $757.38
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-06-01 01:32 EDT-0400

no bulk storage either, only 500gb SSD, which can only fit a few games

[dean_5234]

11 minutes ago, SorryClaire said:

Give him the 1050Ti, and then get yourself this:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-11400F 2.6 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($174.99 @ B&H)
Motherboard: MSI MAG B560M BAZOOKA Micro ATX LGA1200 Motherboard  ($142.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot Viper 4 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-3000 CL16 Memory  ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate BarraCuda Q1 240 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($34.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Deepcool MATREXX 30 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($39.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair CX (2017) 550 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($69.98 @ Amazon)
Total: $512.92
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-06-01 01:22 EDT-0400

 

Honestly i would spend 50$ extra to get bigger storage, but thats always an add later item.

Get 16GB of ram.

Get a better case, even a Thermaltake H17 is much easier and better quality as shown in this video. Some other good budget options are the MG130-G with some intake fans or a Thermaltake H18.

 

[dean_5234]

2 minutes ago, Moonzy said:

i would personally recommend 5600x, just for the single threaded performance that would definitely help in some games

 

For a $500 budget? Something like an 11400F would make MUCH more sense.

[SorryBella]

Just now, davemc said:

Get 16GB of ram.

blew the budget, tried everything that isnt just cutting off the case or the CPU. But yeah, thats way better overspend than on storage.

 

1 minute ago, davemc said:

Get a better case, even a Thermaltake H17 is much easier and better quality as shown in this video.

wb airflow?

[dean_5234]

Just now, SorryClaire said:

blew the budget, tried everything that isnt just cutting off the case or the CPU. But yeah, thats way better overspend than on storage.

 

wb airflow?

Considering the Deepcool case supports only 1 fan and is very bad to build in, it wouldn't be much of an airflow improvement really.

 

1 minute ago, SorryClaire said:

blew the budget, tried everything that isnt just cutting off the case or the CPU. But yeah, thats way better overspend than on storage.

 

Agreed. Makes a lot of sense, maybe OP can sell the 7400.

[Moonzy]

Just now, davemc said:

For a $500 budget? Something like an 11400F would make MUCH more sense.

i never said within $500 for my recommendations (albeit op wanted it to be so), as i wouldn't buy a pc below that personally as it's probably not worth the money for what im getting, like buying a GT1030, perhaps my standards are a tad high

but im wagering that perhaps OP can sell his CPU and have higher budget and consider one of those builds

 

but yes, 10400F might make more sense, but i doubt you can fit it into the budget with the rest of the build, though i havent build system in a long time so i may be wrong

[dean_5234]

Just now, Moonzy said:

i never said within $500 for my recommendations (albeit op wanted it to be so), as i wouldn't buy a pc below that personally as it's probably not worth the money for what im getting, like buying a GT1030, perhaps my standards are a tad high

but im wagering that perhaps OP can sell his CPU and have higher budget and consider one of those builds

 

but yes, 10400F might make more sense, but i doubt you can fit it into the budget with the rest of the build, though i havent build system in a long time so i may be wrong

I mean OP already has a 1050 TI which is a good option RN.

Something like @SorryClaire's build with a couple of modifications and maybe a case and RAM (maybe storage) upgrade if OP can sell the 7400 would make much more sense.

[derpkotacasper]

Guys. I'll give him the 7400 if he's gonna use it. If I keep it and sell it, I'm keeping the money too. It just seems that for an old cpu we could do better and still meet his budget and then.... I'm just gonna sell it for myself. The 7400 going into his budget isn't an option.

[Moonzy]

1 minute ago, davemc said:

I mean OP already has a 1050 TI which is a good option RN.

Something like @SorryClaire's build with a couple of modifications and maybe a case and RAM (maybe storage) upgrade if OP can sell the 7400 would make much more sense.

i saw the build, didn't know 10400f was that cheap

that would make more sense, but yea i would go at least 16gb RAM

 

casing and storage is still a question, 240gb is probably not enough, minimum would probably be 500gb, or at least 240gb ssd + bulk storage, imo

[Moonzy]

Just now, derpkotacasper said:

Guys. I'll give him the 7400 if he's gonna use it. If I keep it and sell it, I'm keeping the money too. It just seems that for an old cpu we could do better and still meet his budget and then.... I'm just gonna sell it for myself. The 7400 going into his budget isn't an option.

in that case, sorryclaire's build seems pretty solid

though i would add more RAM and storage as mentioned, which can be done with ~$50 more or so

[SorryBella]

1 minute ago, Moonzy said:

though i would add more RAM and storage as mentioned, which can be done with ~$50 more or so

...pretty much what i would say. Im more biased to storage upgrade now because im a data hoarder and i can take hit on multitasking downgrade for a while especially because these 2 components pretty much trade blows in price. But RAM would make more sense in general.

[derpkotacasper]

1 minute ago, Moonzy said:

in that case, sorryclaire's build seems pretty solid

though i would add more RAM and storage as mentioned, which can be done with ~$50 more or so

We're between that and a 3300X and building it ourselves and overclocking it.

[dean_5234]

Just now, Moonzy said:

in that case, sorryclaire's build seems pretty solid

though i would add more RAM and storage as mentioned, which can be done with ~$50 more or so

Agree on the RAM part, a 2x8 kit is so cheap these days spending the extra 20-30 bucks is an easy choice.

Although 240GB can last a bit depending on the person, and you can always add a 2TB Barracuda for mass storage. But for many ppl 500+GB may make a lot more sense.

 

OP, my advice to you is to buy this.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-11400F 2.6 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($174.99 @ B&H) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte B560M DS3H Micro ATX LGA1200 Motherboard  ($119.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Team T-FORCE VULCAN Z 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 CL16 Memory  ($74.98 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Silicon Power A60 256 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($37.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: Thermaltake Versa H18 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($49.50 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: be quiet! Pure Power 11 500 W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply  ($69.90 @ Amazon) 
Total: $527.35
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-06-01 01:53 EDT-0400

[dean_5234]

1 minute ago, derpkotacasper said:

We're between that and a 3300X and building it ourselves and overclocking it.

The 11400F would be much faster, and the 3300X is very hard to find. Out of curiosity, where are you finding it in stock and for what price?

[derpkotacasper]

2 minutes ago, davemc said:

The 11400F would be much faster, and the 3300X is very hard to find. Out of curiosity, where are you finding it in stock and for what price?

my brother just found it for 178, i don't know which site though.

[dean_5234]

Just now, derpkotacasper said:

my brother just found it for 178, i don't know which site though.

11400F is the way to go there.