Budget build inspired by the recent budget gaming PC video

[basicbuild]

Budget (including currency): $500-$700 (USD)

Country: USA

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: CS GO, Dota 2, Light animation

I do not need any monitors/peripherals. I have a couple of 1080p monitors that I plan to continue using.

This will be my first PC build in over 20 years and I don't care about the aesthetics. I am sticking to most of the Linus's recommendations but I would like to get some feedback from the community on some parts.

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/QMt9tn

 

My main questions are about the GPU, motherboard and the case. The power supply is around $50 on Amazon but PC part picker didn't find that listing.

 

I find several used RTX 2060's around $200 on eBay. I am not sure how reliable they would be but I will get one from someone with a positive feedback and cross my fingers. Is RTX 2060 vs 5600 XT only a matter of preference?

 

I picked the ASRock B660M Steel Legend based on a recommendation in the video release post as it appears to be more upgradable. Are there better recommendations in that price range?

 

I want to avoid the Rosewill case as I prefer not to hammer my first build in two decades. Someone recommended Zalman T7, but anything with decent ventilation would do and preferably used, if it could save me a few bucks. Any recommendations would help.

 

 

Edited July 12, 2022 by basicbuild
minor details

[RONOTHAN##]

6 minutes ago, basicbuild said:

The power supply is around $50 on Amazon but PC part picker didn't find that listing.

There are better PSUs for $50. The CV650 is a pretty low end unit. The EVGA 650 GA is better and $10 more, and used PSUs are not a bad idea for a system like this. 

 

8 minutes ago, basicbuild said:

Is RTX 2060 vs 5600 XT only a matter of preference?

The 2060 is the better card, it's slightly faster and has the Nvidia feature set. 

 

11 minutes ago, basicbuild said:

I picked the ASRock B660M Steel Legend based on a recommendation in the video release post as it appears to be more upgradable. Are there better recommendations in that price range?

Not a terrible board. I'd personally spend the extra $10 on the MSI B660M-A Pro WiFi, it's got a significantly better VRM if you want to upgrade to an i7 in the future, though both are solid options. 

 

12 minutes ago, basicbuild said:

I want to avoid the Rosewill case as I prefer not to hammer my first build in two decades. Someone recommended Zalman T7, but anything with decent ventilation would do and preferably used, if it could save me a few bucks. Any recommendations would help.

If you're fine buying used, look on local listings (Craigslist, OfferUp, FB Marketplace, etc.) for something. Odds are you'll find someone like me (parts out system as a side hustle) and sells off spare cases for $5 a piece unless it's something particularly high end. I pretty much just want them out of my basement and if someone asks nicely enough they can just have one. 

 

 

As for some other suggestions about the build, it is overall pretty good, though I'd swap the CPU for the -F variant. Yes you lose out on the iGPU which is useful for troubleshooting, but you also save $30 which would be much better spent on a higher end GPU (with that $30 savings you might be able to go up to a new RX 6600 instead of a used 2060)

[basicbuild]

5 minutes ago, RONOTHAN## said:

There are better PSUs for $50. The CV650 is a pretty low end unit. The EVGA 650 GA is better and $10 more, and used PSUs are not a bad idea for a system like this. 

 

The 2060 is the better card, it's slightly faster and has the Nvidia feature set. 

 

Not a terrible board. I'd personally spend the extra $10 on the MSI B660M-A Pro WiFi, it's got a significantly better VRM if you want to upgrade to an i7 in the future, though both are solid options. 

 

If you're fine buying used, look on local listings (Craigslist, OfferUp, FB Marketplace, etc.) for something. Odds are you'll find someone like me (parts out system as a side hustle) and sells off spare cases for $5 a piece unless it's something particularly high end. I pretty much just want them out of my basement and if someone asks nicely enough they can just have one. 

 

 

As for some other suggestions about the build, it is overall pretty good, though I'd swap the CPU for the -F variant. Yes you lose out on the iGPU which is useful for troubleshooting, but you also save $30 which would be much better spent on a higher end GPU (with that $30 savings you might be able to go up to a new RX 6600 instead of a used 2060)

This really helps. Thanks!

[jaslion]

6 minutes ago, basicbuild said:

This really helps. Thanks!

Btw for the case look for a mesh or open front one. That way you don't run into airflow issues.

 

As for the pc I agree with @RONOTHAN## on all parts but would like to add that the 12400f is 20$ more for a WHOLE lot more cpu. As in a cpu that you will be able to use to game on for the next 5 years most likely compared to the i3 which basically goes down the drain the moment the ps4 and xbox one become irrelevant (which is basically gonna be any time about now).