looking for help on making a decent setup with 650$ in total

[aforkhead]

Budget (including currency): 500 usd for the PC, 150 max for monitor, mouse, and keyboard (including rebates, deals, and discounts)

Country: houston, tx, usa

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Lots of web browsing (lots of open tabs), fl studio for music production, valorant, league of legends, genshin impact, and I'll most likely pick up around 2 more aaa games.

Other details I'm upgrading from a 2009 toshiba laptop that my dad bought for me off ebay. I need a monitor, mouse, and keyboard (150$ max for these peripherals). I am planning on buying before 2024. I want to play at a minimum of 1080p, 60fps and a 60hz refresh rate for a monitor. I don't have any existing parts. I'm am fine with buying used parts as long as the seller isn't sketchy. I am also ok with buying from eastern markets like aliexpress. I want to capitalize on deals. I want this PC to last me for around 5 years, but I don't really want to future-proof it (I just want it to be workable and playable over that time period, not looking for the best graphics). I don't want apus. I'm not that big on aesthetic, as long as the pc doesn't look horrible. I want a higher quality case with dust filters and fans, but don't want the price to be over 70. I want 16gb ram minimum (2x8). I want the motherboard to have extra ram and SSD slots if I feel like upgrading in the future. I want my mouse and keyboard to be wired.

 

[SorryBella]

Mind you at 500$ you basically going to always have not the best aesthetic, and used parts will be the best route to go 99% of the time.

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($150.00) 
Motherboard: ASRock B450M Steel Legend Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($0.00) 
Memory: Silicon Power GAMING 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($48.97 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Mushkin Helix-L 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($35.99 @ Newegg) 
Case: Deepcool MATREXX 40 3FS MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($49.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: Thermaltake Toughpower GX2 600 W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply  ($66.98 @ Amazon) 
Monitor: Asus VP229HE 21.5" 1920 x 1080 75 Hz Monitor  ($94.00 @ ASUS) 
Keyboard: Qisan Magicforce Wired Mini Keyboard  ($39.97 @ Amazon) 
Mouse: Logitech G203 Lightsync Wired Optical Mouse  ($15.98 @ Newegg) 
Custom: Ebay Special (RX 5700XT, RX 6600, GTX 1660Ti, RTX 2060, RTX 2060 Super, GTX 1080Ti) ($150.00)
Total: $651.88
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-07-07 00:39 EDT-0400

 

For the CPU, its price of a combo. Board price in ebay is still pretty mediocre, so try to find a Ryzen 5 3600 with B450 or B550 board bundled, because if you buy it separately you might as well go for Ryzen 5 5500 with a B450 PRO VDH Max for the 25$ overbudget youll have to incur. The Ebay special is just the range of price i found those GPU at for used, so YMMV. Just make sure you dont picked on Parts Only or things that seller described as so.

[PDifolco]

5 hours ago, aforkhead said:

Budget (including currency): 500 usd for the PC, 150 max for monitor, mouse, and keyboard (including rebates, deals, and discounts)

Country: houston, tx, usa

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Lots of web browsing (lots of open tabs), fl studio for music production, valorant, league of legends, genshin impact, and I'll most likely pick up around 2 more aaa games.

Other details I'm upgrading from a 2009 toshiba laptop that my dad bought for me off ebay. I need a monitor, mouse, and keyboard (150$ max for these peripherals). I am planning on buying before 2024. I want to play at a minimum of 1080p, 60fps and a 60hz refresh rate for a monitor. I don't have any existing parts. I'm am fine with buying used parts as long as the seller isn't sketchy. I am also ok with buying from eastern markets like aliexpress. I want to capitalize on deals. I want this PC to last me for around 5 years, but I don't really want to future-proof it (I just want it to be workable and playable over that time period, not looking for the best graphics). I don't want apus. I'm not that big on aesthetic, as long as the pc doesn't look horrible. I want a higher quality case with dust filters and fans, but don't want the price to be over 70. I want 16gb ram minimum (2x8). I want the motherboard to have extra ram and SSD slots if I feel like upgrading in the future. I want my mouse and keyboard to be wired.

 

$500 is just enough to get an entriest level gaming PC that'll perform decently, all new parts

I let you find some deals on monitor and KB/M, $150 will be ok

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5500 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($99.00 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: Asus PRIME A520M-A II/CSM Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($79.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Silicon Power GAMING 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($29.97 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Silicon Power A55 512 GB M.2-2280 SATA Solid State Drive  ($19.97 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: ASRock Challenger D Radeon RX 6600 8 GB Video Card  ($179.99 @ Newegg) 
Case: Cooler Master MasterBox Q300L MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($39.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: Thermaltake Smart 600 W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply  ($39.99 @ B&H) 
Total: $488.90
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-07-07 04:13 EDT-0400

 

 

[The Hope]

[aforkhead]

9 hours ago, SorryBella said:

Mind you at 500$ you basically going to always have not the best aesthetic, and used parts will be the best route to go 99% of the time.

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($150.00) 
Motherboard: ASRock B450M Steel Legend Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($0.00) 
Memory: Silicon Power GAMING 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($48.97 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Mushkin Helix-L 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($35.99 @ Newegg) 
Case: Deepcool MATREXX 40 3FS MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($49.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: Thermaltake Toughpower GX2 600 W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply  ($66.98 @ Amazon) 
Monitor: Asus VP229HE 21.5" 1920 x 1080 75 Hz Monitor  ($94.00 @ ASUS) 
Keyboard: Qisan Magicforce Wired Mini Keyboard  ($39.97 @ Amazon) 
Mouse: Logitech G203 Lightsync Wired Optical Mouse  ($15.98 @ Newegg) 
Custom: Ebay Special (RX 5700XT, RX 6600, GTX 1660Ti, RTX 2060, RTX 2060 Super, GTX 1080Ti) ($150.00)
Total: $651.88
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-07-07 00:39 EDT-0400

 

For the CPU, its price of a combo. Board price in ebay is still pretty mediocre, so try to find a Ryzen 5 3600 with B450 or B550 board bundled, because if you buy it separately you might as well go for Ryzen 5 5500 with a B450 PRO VDH Max for the 25$ overbudget youll have to incur. The Ebay special is just the range of price i found those GPU at for used, so YMMV. Just make sure you dont picked on Parts Only or things that seller described as so.

thank you! I have a question: do you think it's worth waiting until black friday/cyber Monday to build a PC to save me some money or are bf/cm deals mediocre?

[SorryBella]

Just now, aforkhead said:

thank you! I have a question: do you think it's worth waiting until black friday/cyber Monday to build a PC to save me some money or are bf/cm deals mediocre?

Then you have to remake this thread around H-48 hours, 4 months is a lot of time for price to shift around and for stocks of product to change, by a lot.

[aforkhead]

3 minutes ago, SorryBella said:

Then you have to remake this thread around H-48 hours, 4 months is a lot of time for price to shift around and for stocks of product to change, by a lot.

ok thanks again

[aforkhead]

3 hours ago, The Hope said:

how much better is the i3-13100 compared to the i3-12100?

[SorryBella]

3 minutes ago, aforkhead said:

how much better is the i3-13100 compared to the i3-12100?

Not enough to justify its higher premium.

[The Hope]

Quote

how much better is the i3-13100 compared to the i3-12100?

 

107.57 - 94.53 = 13.04

 

As everyone can see in the pictures, the price difference in reality is extremely small in some (densely populated) countries.
And I think it's about reality and not about the "imagined" prices.

 

8946 / 8171 = 1.095

 

28 / 25 = 1.12

 

You pay 13 EUR extra for a CPU that is 9.5% - 12% faster.

To calculate performance/dollar we also need to consider power consumption.

 

Efficiency Power Consumption Cinebench R23 - CPU - Total:

The i3-12100 uses exactly 11% more power than the i3-13100 to do the same tasks in Cinebench R23, and is thus 11% less efficient under load.

 

For Germany we can conclude that both CPUs have exactly the same price/performance ratio.

The 12100 is the slower of the two and therefore slightly less future-proof.

 

[aforkhead]

2 hours ago, The Hope said:

 

107.57 - 94.53 = 13.04

 

As everyone can see in the pictures, the price difference in reality is extremely small in some (densely populated) countries.
And I think it's about reality and not about the "imagined" prices.

 

8946 / 8171 = 1.095

 

28 / 25 = 1.12

 

You pay 13 EUR extra for a CPU that is 9.5% - 12% faster.

To calculate performance/dollar we also need to consider power consumption.

 

Efficiency Power Consumption Cinebench R23 - CPU - Total:

The i3-12100 uses exactly 11% more power than the i3-13100 to do the same tasks in Cinebench R23, and is thus 11% less efficient under load.

 

For Germany we can conclude that both CPUs have exactly the same price/performance ratio.

The 12100 is the slower of the two and therefore slightly less future-proof.

 

thanks for the detailed answer!

[aforkhead]

12 hours ago, SorryBella said:

Mind you at 500$ you basically going to always have not the best aesthetic, and used parts will be the best route to go 99% of the time.

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($150.00) 
Motherboard: ASRock B450M Steel Legend Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($0.00) 
Memory: Silicon Power GAMING 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($48.97 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Mushkin Helix-L 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($35.99 @ Newegg) 
Case: Deepcool MATREXX 40 3FS MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($49.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: Thermaltake Toughpower GX2 600 W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply  ($66.98 @ Amazon) 
Monitor: Asus VP229HE 21.5" 1920 x 1080 75 Hz Monitor  ($94.00 @ ASUS) 
Keyboard: Qisan Magicforce Wired Mini Keyboard  ($39.97 @ Amazon) 
Mouse: Logitech G203 Lightsync Wired Optical Mouse  ($15.98 @ Newegg) 
Custom: Ebay Special (RX 5700XT, RX 6600, GTX 1660Ti, RTX 2060, RTX 2060 Super, GTX 1080Ti) ($150.00)
Total: $651.88
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-07-07 00:39 EDT-0400

 

For the CPU, its price of a combo. Board price in ebay is still pretty mediocre, so try to find a Ryzen 5 3600 with B450 or B550 board bundled, because if you buy it separately you might as well go for Ryzen 5 5500 with a B450 PRO VDH Max for the 25$ overbudget youll have to incur. The Ebay special is just the range of price i found those GPU at for used, so YMMV. Just make sure you dont picked on Parts Only or things that seller described as so.

will used gpus last me for less time? if yes, how long less do you think they will last compared to a brand new GPU of the same model?

[QuantumSingularity]

This is as close as i could get to $650 w/o going 2nd hand and/or sacrificing performance to the point where it's questionable if you even should put together a new build:

 

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600 3.5 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($138.00 @ Adorama) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte B450M DS3H WIFI Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($79.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: TEAMGROUP T-Create Expert 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($29.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Samsung 970 Evo Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($54.99 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: ASRock Challenger D Radeon RX 6600 8 GB Video Card  ($179.99 @ Newegg) 
Case: Fractal Design Focus 2 RGB ATX Mid Tower Case  ($54.98 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: EVGA 500 W1 500 W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply  ($52.86 @ Amazon) 
Monitor: AOC 24B2XH 23.8" 1920 x 1080 75 Hz Monitor  ($99.99 @ Amazon) 
Keyboard: Logitech MK200 Wired Slim Keyboard With Optical Mouse  ($19.99 @ Logitech) 
Total: $710.78
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-07-07 14:06 EDT-0400

 

Edit:

Had to edit that 2 times in the span of less than 2 minutes, because they keep changing the prices of some items.

 

Edit2:

Also MicroCenter have an exclusive deal on AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D, ASUS TUF Gaming B550 Plus WiFi II DDR4, G.Skill Ripjaws V 16GB DDR4-3200 Kit, Computer Build Bundle, which is in-store only, so you can buy it only in a physical store. Idk if they have the same practice as other shops here, but when you buy a full PC rig, some stores here will make a GOOD discount, even if some of the items are already discounted or in bundles. Other will subtract the VAT entirely. Won't hurt i guess to go there and see what you can get in addition to that. 

[The Hope]

15 hours ago, aforkhead said:

will used gpus last me for less time? if yes, how long less do you think they will last compared to a brand new GPU of the same model?

I sold my Nvidia GTX 1050 2GB during the time when GPU prices were very high. I have a pc case with high airflow and I never saw this GPU getting warmer than 61° even in very hot summer days. The GPU always worked fine and I think the person who bought it can still use it for a (very) long time.

 

I have used PowerColor (Radeon), Asus (Radeon), XFX (Radeon) and MSI (Nvidia) GPU's and none of them really stopped working. But after after 8-9 year usage they didn't have enough performance for gaming. But my impression is that current GPU's age much better. Game engines stagnated and you can use GPU's for a much longer time compared to 2005-2010.

 

That's how it usually goes with all my stuff actually. But you can also buy from other types of people. I have two sisters and with one of them I constantly see the following things:

When my mobile phone breaks down after 10-12 years, my sister has already broken her mobile phone 7 times in the same period. Things like completely broken screen and things like that. I had once bought a WD hard drive for her and I think she had literally managed to break the connection on the first day making the product unusable.

 

I think buying a second-hand GPU is exactly the same story. You usually don't know for sure how the product has been handled. You probably do a good job, but not always.

[QuantumSingularity]

5 hours ago, The Hope said:

I sold my Nvidia GTX 1050 2GB during the time when GPU prices were very high. I have a pc case with high airflow and I never saw this GPU getting warmer than 61° even in very hot summer days. The GPU always worked fine and I think the person who bought it can still use it for a (very) long time.

 

I have used PowerColor (Radeon), Asus (Radeon), XFX (Radeon) and MSI (Nvidia) GPU's and none of them really stopped working. But after after 8-9 year usage they didn't have enough performance for gaming. But my impression is that current GPU's age much better. Game engines stagnated and you can use GPU's for a much longer time compared to 2005-2010.

 

That's how it usually goes with all my stuff actually. But you can also buy from other types of people. I have two sisters and with one of them I constantly see the following things:

When my mobile phone breaks down after 10-12 years, my sister has already broken her mobile phone 7 times in the same period. Things like completely broken screen and things like that. I had once bought a WD hard drive for her and I think she had literally managed to break the connection on the first day making the product unusable.

 

I think buying a second-hand GPU is exactly the same story. You usually don't know for sure how the product has been handled. You probably do a good job, but not always.

That's not how thing work anymore. New GPUs with GDDR6(X) memory are meant to boost until they hit their BIOS safe temperature limits or they hit a CPU limit. Some of them like the 4070s and 4060s come out already outdated and obsolete. Crypto mining also made for A TON of time-bombs, both on AMD and Nvidia's side. Getting a 2nd hand GPU now is riskier than ever before, especially if its out of warranty. The horrors that might lay down underneath that well cleaned cooler are sometimes almost impossible to imagine. 

[aforkhead]

5 hours ago, The Hope said:

I sold my Nvidia GTX 1050 2GB during the time when GPU prices were very high. I have a pc case with high airflow and I never saw this GPU getting warmer than 61° even in very hot summer days. The GPU always worked fine and I think the person who bought it can still use it for a (very) long time.

 

I have used PowerColor (Radeon), Asus (Radeon), XFX (Radeon) and MSI (Nvidia) GPU's and none of them really stopped working. But after after 8-9 year usage they didn't have enough performance for gaming. But my impression is that current GPU's age much better. Game engines stagnated and you can use GPU's for a much longer time compared to 2005-2010.

 

That's how it usually goes with all my stuff actually. But you can also buy from other types of people. I have two sisters and with one of them I constantly see the following things:

When my mobile phone breaks down after 10-12 years, my sister has already broken her mobile phone 7 times in the same period. Things like completely broken screen and things like that. I had once bought a WD hard drive for her and I think she had literally managed to break the connection on the first day making the product unusable.

 

I think buying a second-hand GPU is exactly the same story. You usually don't know for sure how the product has been handled. You probably do a good job, but not always.

thanks again for another great explanation, will definitely keep this in mind

[aforkhead]

21 hours ago, QuantumSingularity said:

This is as close as i could get to $650 w/o going 2nd hand and/or sacrificing performance to the point where it's questionable if you even should put together a new build:

 

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600 3.5 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($138.00 @ Adorama) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte B450M DS3H WIFI Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($79.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: TEAMGROUP T-Create Expert 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($29.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Samsung 970 Evo Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($54.99 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: ASRock Challenger D Radeon RX 6600 8 GB Video Card  ($179.99 @ Newegg) 
Case: Fractal Design Focus 2 RGB ATX Mid Tower Case  ($54.98 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: EVGA 500 W1 500 W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply  ($52.86 @ Amazon) 
Monitor: AOC 24B2XH 23.8" 1920 x 1080 75 Hz Monitor  ($99.99 @ Amazon) 
Keyboard: Logitech MK200 Wired Slim Keyboard With Optical Mouse  ($19.99 @ Logitech) 
Total: $710.78
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-07-07 14:06 EDT-0400

 

Edit:

Had to edit that 2 times in the span of less than 2 minutes, because they keep changing the prices of some items.

 

Edit2:

Also MicroCenter have an exclusive deal on AMD Ryzen 5 5600X3D, ASUS TUF Gaming B550 Plus WiFi II DDR4, G.Skill Ripjaws V 16GB DDR4-3200 Kit, Computer Build Bundle, which is in-store only, so you can buy it only in a physical store. Idk if they have the same practice as other shops here, but when you buy a full PC rig, some stores here will make a GOOD discount, even if some of the items are already discounted or in bundles. Other will subtract the VAT entirely. Won't hurt i guess to go there and see what you can get in addition to that. 

Thanks, I'll be going to microcenter today