Can I build a decent PC with 400 - 500€ ?

[amogus23]

Budget (including currency): 400 - 500€

Country: Greece

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Visual Studio 2022 (and other development software), Microsoft Edge, Minecraft (and other low requirement games)

 

I currently have a HP laptop with these specs:

• CPU: AMD A9-9425 (Cores: 2, Max clock speed: 3.1GHz
• GPU: AMD Ryzen R5 Graphics (integrated)
• RAM: 12GB
• Hard Drive: 1TB HDD

As you can probably see, my laptop sucks. It runs Minecraft at 1-5 fps (I am not kidding lol), most programs work but terribly slow, and a proper reboot takes around 20 minutes (again, I am not kidding!).

 

I want to upgrade to a desktop, with better specs. Note that I have a keyboard, a mouse and a monitor.

 

So here is what I want:

• I want the PC to be upgradeable, so I can upgrade its components without problems later in the future.
• I want it to run games as light as Minecraft with at least 30 fps
• As an OS, Windows 10/11 are what I want. I think I can find them for about 20€, but don't include them in the price, I can install them and not activate them. (Quick question: I already have Windows 10 on my laptop. Can I transfer them to the PC without paying again? I don't care if I have to uninstall them from the laptop first.)
• I want at least 8 GB ram. I also want at least a free slot for future upgrades.
• As I mentioned above, my budget is about 400 - 500€.
• I plan to use it with one FHD IPS monitor, but I may buy a second one in the future.

So, I would appreciate if somebody could suggest me a PC build with the stuff mentioned above. I don't know if what I ask for is realistic as I don't know many things about computer building. Thank you in advance!!

[RONOTHAN##]

14 minutes ago, amogus23 said:

Can I transfer them to the PC without paying again? I don't care if I have to uninstall them from the laptop first.

I know it's possible, it's just usually a bit weird to get it to work. Personally, I'd just get a second Windows license since in my experience it is a real headache, but I'm also used to a bit higher budgets, so take that for what you will. You can always try (there are a number of tutorials out there), and if you can't figure it out, buy a new license.

 

As for what to do for this build, the 5600G is probably the CPU you should be looking at. It's ~$250 US (so I guess ~250 Euro) and is some of the best integrated graphics you can get. For everything else, if you get the cheapest parts that aren't going to die in a week, you should get a pretty good system.

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/8gXFfv

 

This is what I would look for. There are some things about it I really don't like, like single channel memory and the PSU isn't amazing, but it's enough to make a good first system. Also steal the HDD out of your laptop for this system, 120GB of storage is not enough for almost anyone, espeically if you wanna install a game. You will have to adjust based on your particular region (I don't know the shops in Greece to be able to find an exact price), so for something like the motherboard there might be a better option. Just make sure you get one with BIOS flashback, it will save you a ton of headache in the future. 

[Jonathan Lee]

Hmm yea that hard drive is probably your main problem with those boot times. I think any modern CPU with integrate graphics will completely destroy your current laptop so I think I can work with that budget. 

 

AMD Option:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($269.00 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte B550 GAMING X ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($118.46 @ Amazon) 
Memory: Team T-FORCE VULCAN Z 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 CL16 Memory  ($56.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: ADATA XPG GAMMIX S7 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($89.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: Phanteks Eclipse P360A ATX Mid Tower Case  ($84.98 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: EVGA BQ 650 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply  ($40.00 @ Amazon) 
Total: $659.42
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2022-01-25 13:13 EST-0500

 

Intel option:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-10400 2.9 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($149.99 @ Newegg) 
Motherboard: MSI MAG B460M BAZOOKA Micro ATX LGA1200 Motherboard  ($139.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: Team T-FORCE VULCAN Z 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 CL16 Memory  ($56.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: ADATA XPG GAMMIX S7 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($89.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: Phanteks Eclipse P360A ATX Mid Tower Case  ($84.98 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: EVGA BQ 650 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply  ($40.00 @ Amazon) 
Total: $561.94
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2022-01-25 13:16 EST-0500

 

The AMD one has a much better integrate GPU so will perform better in general. USD pricing for 5600g is a little high right now so I think you should be able to get it for less.

[amogus23]

Thank you! I have a question: the 5600G cpu's iGPU is good for games like Minecraft? Like, how many fps am I gonna get? And also, is it sure my laptop's hard drive will work with the pc?

[RONOTHAN##]

7 minutes ago, amogus23 said:

Thank you! I have a question: the 5600G cpu's iGPU is good for games like Minecraft? Like, how many fps am I gonna get? And also, is it sure my laptop's hard drive will work with the pc?

It's the 2nd best iGPU on the market. If it wasn't for it's amazing iGPU, I would be recommending you go i3 12100 for this build instead. As for a framerate in Minecraft, I'd be surprised if it wasn't well into triple digits. Minecraft, in my experience, is very inconsistent with frame rates, so it's hard to give you an exact number, but especially if you install Optifine, you should be getting a very nice gaming experience with it. 

[Jonathan Lee]

Just googled a video of someone testing minecraft with 5600G. Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6xze8TWOds&ab_channel=Benchmarks

 

 

I think you'll be fine  

[amogus23]

Thanks! I appreciate you!