First budget build for College

[moggi]

Budget (including currency): 500-700$

Country: United States

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Games: FPS (Valorant, Csgo, Apex, Marvel Rivals). General workload like Word, Excel, youtube, twitch, school work and programming.

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): 

Just some background information about me. I'm a college student and have a XBOX series S as well as a hp laptop. I use my laptop for school but it's getting to its last legs. I play some games on my XBOX but I just prefer kb & m and so many games on the xbox don't support that. Also, some additional info, the place I'm at doesn't have a micro-center or best buy and I have no means of traveling. I have been looking for laptops as well but a computer just seems more future proof but should I be leaning more towards a laptop as I could use it as my daily driver as well.

Let me know what ya'll think! Thanks :))

 

[strange13930]

5 minutes ago, moggi said:

Budget (including currency): 500-700$

Country: United States

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Games: FPS (Valorant, Csgo, Apex, Marvel Rivals). General workload like Word, Excel, youtube, twitch, school work and programming.

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): 

Just some background information about me. I'm a college student and have a XBOX series S as well as a hp laptop. I use my laptop for school but it's getting to its last legs. I play some games on my XBOX but I just prefer kb & m and so many games on the xbox don't support that. Also, some additional info, the place I'm at doesn't have a micro-center or best buy and I have no means of traveling. I have been looking for laptops as well but a computer just seems more future proof but should I be leaning more towards a laptop as I could use it as my daily driver as well.

Let me know what ya'll think! Thanks :))

 

here's a sub $700 build. https://pcpartpicker.com/list/gTtNZc how is the hp laptop on it last legs?

[moggi]

45 minutes ago, strange13930 said:

here's a sub $700 build. https://pcpartpicker.com/list/gTtNZc how is the hp laptop on it last legs?

I've been using it for school for like 3-4 years now. I've been playing my games here but it doesn't really run them well anymore. I wouldn't say it's on its last legs but I've had multiple water damage that broke the device but it fixed itself somehow. It also only has 256gigs of storage and 8 gigs of RAM and the battery barely lasts like 2-3 hours in power. It runs fine but I feel like it's nearing its end lol. Thank you for the build you mentioned. Are there areas I could save more money?

[Millios]

43 minutes ago, strange13930 said:

here's a sub $700 build. https://pcpartpicker.com/list/gTtNZc how is the hp laptop on it last legs?

Its sub 700 because the mobo has no price ie with a priced mobo it'll be higher also you overspend on some components for this budget like the SSD and the cooler

It would be better to got a lil smt like this instead that is barely above 700 but has a priced everything and is somewhat better

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/mdFrnp

[strange13930]

12 minutes ago, Millios said:

Its sub 700 because the mobo has no price ie with a priced mobo it'll be higher also you overspend on some components for this budget like the SSD and the cooler

It would be better to got a lil smt like this instead that is barely above 700 but has a priced everything and is somewhat better

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/mdFrnp

It will probably be worth it to try and fit the 3060 or a 7600 xt into the budget because of the higher vram amount

[Millios]

3 minutes ago, strange13930 said:

It will probably be worth it to try and fit the 3060 or a 7600 xt into the budget because of the higher vram amount

3060? no

its old and the 7600 is either as good or somewhat better but cheaper

7600xt? streaches the budget too thin so its up to OP if they wants it

[Dustinn]

2 hours ago, moggi said:

I've been using it for school for like 3-4 years now. I've been playing my games here but it doesn't really run them well anymore. I wouldn't say it's on its last legs but I've had multiple water damage that broke the device but it fixed itself somehow. It also only has 256gigs of storage and 8 gigs of RAM and the battery barely lasts like 2-3 hours in power. It runs fine but I feel like it's nearing its end lol. Thank you for the build you mentioned. Are there areas I could save more money?

Not going to comment on the build you're looking for so much as it seems like you already have a good list provided, other than my usual shtick of check eBay for cheaper prices on new or lightly used.

 

However, I would also look at upgrading/repairing your laptop a bit if able to. HP is usually pretty good about user serviceable stuff depending on the model, usually also pretty cheap parts wise too. If I had a model number to reference I could try to get you more info. Having a laptop in college is your best friend, trust me.

[moggi]

2 hours ago, Dustinn said:

Not going to comment on the build you're looking for so much as it seems like you already have a good list provided, other than my usual shtick of check eBay for cheaper prices on new or lightly used.

 

However, I would also look at upgrading/repairing your laptop a bit if able to. HP is usually pretty good about user serviceable stuff depending on the model, usually also pretty cheap parts wise too. If I had a model number to reference I could try to get you more info. Having a laptop in college is your best friend, trust me.

Thanks, I did look into upgrading my laptop as well.  It was worked on once and I think the person used the wrong screws when re-assembling because I couldn't get the screws off. I can't really find concrete information on whether I can upgrade the RAM or not but I can try to open it up and test again. The laptop is HP Pavilion x360 Convertible 14-dh2075nr. Should I opt to add one more stick of RAM and get more storage as upgrades?
Thank you for your help so far :))

[moggi]

Thanks every for the help so far. Also, if I want to start building but do not have all budget, should I start out by getting everything except the GPU? If I want to do that I should opt for the Ryzen 5 5600G or GT right? Would that be a smart choice? Are there any specific builds that does this so that I can start out with something and upgrade my way up?

[Dustinn]

45 minutes ago, moggi said:

If I want to do that I should opt for the Ryzen 5 5600G or GT right? 

In theory yes, you could go for that, the G stands for integrated graphics. Just don't expect any high performance gaming, you'll be able to web browse and do homework. You could do very basic gaming like Minecraft or Roblox if that's your jam. I don't know about any of the titles you mentioned, maybe could do very low settings and get by.

 

But, in short, yes, you could get that CPU and be able to use the computer until you get a GPU.

 

Let me look into your laptop.

[Dustinn]

1 hour ago, moggi said:

HP Pavilion x360 Convertible 14-dh2075nr

Did look into your laptop, unfortunately RAM upgrade isn't an option in your case as your laptop has soldered on memory and not removable. 

 

However, after looking at this Video, it does look like your storage is upgradable by replacing your NVME or adding a 2.5 SSD or HDD, you will need an Adapter for the 2.5 option.

 

Batteries are pretty easily to replace as well, usually pretty cheap nowadays.

Edited April 30 by Dustinn
Adding link to replacement battery and a cheap NVME option

[moggi]

16 hours ago, Dustinn said:

Did look into your laptop, unfortunately RAM upgrade isn't an option in your case as your laptop has soldered on memory and not removable. 

 

However, after looking at this Video, it does look like your storage is upgradable by replacing your NVME or adding a 2.5 SSD or HDD, you will need an Adapter for the 2.5 option.

 

Batteries are pretty easily to replace as well, usually pretty cheap nowadays.

Funnily enough, I found the actual documentation for the computer and found out that the memory is not soldered. Managed to get it open and friend had some spare RAM so I swapped my 8 with their 2x 8 kit. I'll look into adding a 2.5 SATA drive now. Thanks!

[Dustinn]

3 hours ago, moggi said:

Funnily enough, I found the actual documentation for the computer and found out that the memory is not soldered. Managed to get it open and friend had some spare RAM so I swapped my 8 with their 2x 8 kit. I'll look into adding a 2.5 SATA drive now. Thanks!

Good to hear. It's possible I just didn't see the RAM slots in the video I linked or it was a different board revision that did use soldered memory.