My First Desktop Build

[Thecomputernerd]

Budget (including currency): 550$ USD

Country: United States of America

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Gaming, mostly exploration games, and as an every day computers.

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): 

CPU: Intel Core i5-12400 2.5 GHz

 

RAM: TEAMGROUP T-Force Vulcan Z 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory

 

Storage: Kingston A400 480 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive

Case: Corsair 4000D Airflow ATX Mid Tower Case

 

Motherboard: MSI PRO H610M-B DDR4 Micro ATX LGA1700 Motherboard

PSU: Cooler Master V650 V2 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply

 

I was hoping I could get some advice on wether the parts I have picked out are the best parts I can get in my budget. 

 

Thanks for the help!

 

P.S.

I plan to add a GPU when I get the money, but I’m hoping the CPUs integrated graphics will be adequate until then. 

[GeorgeMKane]

Swap the 2.5" SSD for a M.2 NVME SSD. WD SN770 500GB or 1TB should be at a solid price. Maybe get a cheaper case too. I think the NZXT H510 flow is a bit cheaper. CPU with integrated graphics won't be that great. You should be looking at a 5600G or 5700G and a b550 motherboard instead. That would be better.

[Thecomputernerd]

11 minutes ago, GeorgeMKane said:

Swap the 2.5" SSD for a M.2 NVME SSD. WD SN770 500GB or 1TB should be at a solid price. Maybe get a cheaper case too. I think the NZXT H510 flow is a bit cheaper. CPU with integrated graphics won't be that great. You should be looking at a 5600G or 5700G and a b550 motherboard instead. That would be better.

Would the ASRock B660M Phantom Gaming 4 Micro ATX LGA1700 Motherboard work well? 
Thanks for the help!

[Dukesilver27-]

Define adequate, for light 2D games and old 3D games, sure maybe it is adequate.

Anyway, yes, swap di SSD with an NVME SSD, get the cheapest one, and get 1TB, 500GB fills up really quick these days.

Shell out a bit more for B660, H610 boards are too barebones. I picked a really great budget B660M.

A bit over budget, but worth it, believe me.
 

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/6Ld9Ls

CPU: Intel Core i5-12400 2.5 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($183.47 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: MSI PRO B660M-A DDR4 Micro ATX LGA1700 Motherboard  ($109.99 @ B&H) 
Memory: Silicon Power GAMING 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($40.97 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Silicon Power A60 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($51.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: Corsair 4000D Airflow ATX Mid Tower Case  ($104.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: Cooler Master V650 V2 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($69.99 @ Newegg) 
Total: $561.40
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2022-12-01 01:09 EST-0500

 

Side note, maybe find used cases, they are low risk and cheaper.

[Thecomputernerd]

8 minutes ago, Dukesilver27- said:

Define adequate, for light 2D games and old 3D games, sure maybe it is adequate.

Anyway, yes, swap di SSD with an NVME SSD, get the cheapest one, and get 1TB, 500GB fills up really quick these days.

Shell out a bit more for B660, H610 boards are too barebones. I picked a really great budget B660M.

A bit over budget, but worth it, believe me.
 

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/6Ld9Ls

CPU: Intel Core i5-12400 2.5 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($183.47 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: MSI PRO B660M-A DDR4 Micro ATX LGA1700 Motherboard  ($109.99 @ B&H) 
Memory: Silicon Power GAMING 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($40.97 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Silicon Power A60 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($51.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: Corsair 4000D Airflow ATX Mid Tower Case  ($104.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: Cooler Master V650 V2 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($69.99 @ Newegg) 
Total: $561.40
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2022-12-01 01:09 EST-0500

 

Side note, maybe find used cases, they are low risk and cheaper.

Thanks for the advice.

[Thecomputernerd]

If I were to use the Ryzen 7 5700g what motherboard would work best in my budget?

 

[Dukesilver27-]

Any B550M board is fine, just make sure all the features you need would be there.

[Somerandomtechyboi]

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

Actually you can afford to fit a gpu (6600xt) in this budget though youll have to get a used b450 (decent ones like the pro4, aorus elite, a pro, etc. Should go ~60$ used) and the gpu off ebay (floating around 230$), also gotta sack the case and buy a cheap used one like what linus did in his 500$ gaming pc though a decent used case with good airflow is preffered

 

You dont really have enough money to get a rock solid base that is sensible to upgrade unless you intend on upgrading in a year in that case @Dukesilver27- suggestion would be good (12400 -> 13600k) though id get a cheaper case cause 100$ on something that doesnt contribute to performance is abit ridicolous on such a tight budget, pcpp lists perforated front cases like the s2 around 55$, waiting 2 - 3 years to upgrade on the same platform you go am5 and atm its overpriced af, ddr5 only, and has issues with ddr5 compatibility since the firmware isnt there yet, not even guaranteed am5 will last that long either as amd has screwed the ihs design by making it so thicc that it ruins thermals at higher heat outputs (you can literally get 20c+ drop by running direct die so thats already terrible)

 

So either you upgrade in a year with a 12400 + decent b660 or you get a good system now and overhaul it after 2 or more years when you want better performance (ram, cpu, board, gpu swap + case if you didnt get a good used one now since running w/o sidepanel although fine is not ideal)

[8tg]

Drop to a 12100F and buy a used gpu

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/WL9N78

Swapping down the cpu, case and changing out the psu to save a bit, you then have $140 for a gpu. You can get something like a GTX 1070 for that kind of money and have a fairly competent system. It’ll still be on a decent platform for upgrades down the line.

 

[Thecomputernerd]

Using the advice you guys gave me i put this together. It’s a bit over-budget but I can handle it.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/y4C8k9
Is this good for the new 650 budget? Thanks!

[RVRY]

48 minutes ago, Thecomputernerd said:

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/y4C8k9
 

You should not buy a 6500XT with a 5700G.

The 5700G only supports PCIe 3.0 and the RX 6500XT requires PCIe 4.0 or else it performs worse than integrated graphics.

[RVRY]

1 hour ago, Thecomputernerd said:

Using the advice you guys gave me i put this together. It’s a bit over-budget but I can handle it.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/y4C8k9
Is this good for the new 650 budget? Thanks!

Try something like this instead, its closer to your original budget while having a better upgrade path. 

If you find a used card around ~$60 you'd be in a good position here.

PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/4drMxs

 

CPU: Intel Core i5-12500 3 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($230.98 @ Newegg) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte H610I DDR4 Mini ITX LGA1700 Motherboard  ($109.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: *Neo Forza FAYE 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory  ($43.99 @ Newegg Sellers) 
Storage: Samsung 980 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($79.98 @ Amazon) 
Case: HYTE REVOLT 3 Mini ITX Tower Case w/700 W Power Supply  ($129.99 @ Best Buy) 
Total: $594.93
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2022-12-01 13:26 EST-0500

 

[Thecomputernerd]

Ok. Thanks!

 

[GeorgeMKane]

12 hours ago, Thecomputernerd said:

Would the ASRock B660M Phantom Gaming 4 Micro ATX LGA1700 Motherboard work well? 
Thanks for the help!

MicroATX B660 motherboards would work well. I cannot honestly recommend the ASRock brand though, as I've had plenty of issues with that brand before. I would recommend ASUS, Gigabyte, or MSI instead. MSI for sure tends to have at least 1 or 2 more fan headers than ASUS though.

[GeorgeMKane]

1 hour ago, Thecomputernerd said:

Using the advice you guys gave me i put this together. It’s a bit over-budget but I can handle it.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/y4C8k9
Is this good for the new 650 budget? Thanks!

I would recommend this instead.

 

You definitely won't need the 5700G if you're already buying a dedicated graphics card, so you can swap that for a Ryzen 5 5600 cpu. Newer PSU, and went for microatx case with additional fan for the front of the case (mount it as an intake fan btw). G.Skill has better heat spreaders on the RAM too.

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/PfC8k9

[Awesomon2234]

Slight miss distribution of your budget, spending too much on items that wont help perf while underspending on items that will.
BOTH of these include a Dedicated GPU with your budget, if you are adamant about getting a PC without Dgpu and waiting to buy check out other peoples msgs, although do look at this and just consider.


AMD BUDGET WITH DGPU NEW
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/N2MCcb

Total: 602usd
AMD is currently cheaper than intel although doesnt have IGPU which isnt needed for this build.
ryzen 5500, similar perf to 5600 although much cheaper, i would recommend upgrading to 5600 or 5600x later down the line. aswell as getting a budget air cooler (CPU comes with cooler which will be fine for a while)
good budget Matx Board will work for 5600/5600X too, may work for other better CPUs for same socket.
cheaper ram kit, same specs
512gb NVME drive.
DEDICATED GPU RX 6600 can play alot of games mid-high 30-60FPS at 1080p.
Cheaper case, comes with preinstalled fans.
Cheaper and better PSU. 

AMD BUDGET BUILD USED
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/MCh7Bj

Total:536usd


Only change i made was using a GPU from the used market. I know how people think about getting used although for this budget it is one of the only options if you want to fit a DGPU in it.

Currently there are 4 cards i would recommend 
RX 580, goes for around 50-100usd used rn is an amazing card for the price.
GTX 1070, if you can find this for under 100usd its a decent steal
2070 goes for around 100usd usually. 
5700XT goes for 100-200usd is the best card on this list, and the one i used for average in this build.

Using the extra money you could upgrade your storage or cpu (storage to 1tb NVME or CPU to 5600 non X)

Your PSU will be fine up to a 3070 so no worries there. If you upgrade in the future be sure to consult the PSU cultists tier list https://cultists.network/140/psu-tier-list/