$500 Budget Build

[Makol]

Hey all, I'm currently in the process of moving and sold my old gaming rig to a coworker since I didn't want to take it on the road trip required for this move. So now I plan on building a new rig after I finish moving and have a $500 (US) budget. I kind of need this build to be on the small side (ITX or micro ATX) since my desk isn't very large and I don't want to put it on the floor which is carpet and will most likely be licked by my dog who thinks everything he sees is food. 

 

The resolution that my monitor (24" Samsung TV) has a max resolution of 1280x720 which doesn't really bother me since I sit pretty far back from it and have come use to playing games at the resolution thanks to my PS3 and Wii U (and Xbone, lmao). And I don't plan on replacing it anytime soon. 

 

Since it'll be asked here is a list of games I regularly play: CS:GO, Diablo 3, StarCraft 2, Dark Souls 2, Insurgency, WoW, ArmA 3, and Civ 3. 

 

And there's no need for a hard drive or SSD, but I do need a OS. 

[tdlab]

I'm sorry, but :

 

 

And there's no need for a hard drive or SSD, but I do need a OS. 

 

I found a nice setup by some guy on pcpartpicker. Would work for you I think. http://pcpartpicker.com/guide/7TYcCJ/370-ultimate-value-for-money-gtx-960-1080p60fps-gaming-pc Only thing is that it doesn't include a OS, but Linux is great and you can get cheap windows on Reddit. Or crack it but that isn't recommended, it makes microsoft mad.

[Misanthrope]

Here you go:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($93.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97M-ITX/AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($82.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory  ($50.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card  ($117.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Thermaltake Core V1 Mini ITX Tower Case  ($34.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($36.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($86.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $504.90
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-29 20:45 EDT-0400

[Makol]

 

I found a nice setup by some guy on pcpartpicker. Would work for you I think. http://pcpartpicker.com/guide/7TYcCJ/370-ultimate-value-for-money-gtx-960-1080p60fps-gaming-pc Only thing is that it doesn't include a OS, but Linux is great and you can get cheap windows on Reddit. Or crack it but that isn't recommended, it makes microsoft mad.

Looks pretty solid. The money saved from dropping that hard drive should save me enough for a OEM key for 8.1 

 

But that picture for the case is weird. It makes it looks massive.

 

Here you go:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($93.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Motherboard: ASRock H97M-ITX/AC Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($82.98 @ Newegg)

Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory  ($50.99 @ Newegg)

Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card  ($117.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Case: Thermaltake Core V1 Mini ITX Tower Case  ($34.99 @ Micro Center)

Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($36.98 @ Newegg)

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($86.98 @ OutletPC)

Total: $504.90

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-29 20:45 EDT-0400

Now this. I like this.

 

Never heard of SuperBiiz though. 

[Misanthrope]

Just try to find the parts on other vendors the price difference shouldn't be that much, might even work out better with a single vendor adjusting for separate shipping charges

[Makol]

What about this? Went with the Pentium since it's pretty overclockable, and it ended up being cheaper. 

 

I took out the OS since I found out I can get it for about $60 from school. 

[Fgtfv567]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($68.99 @ Newegg) 

Motherboard: ASRock H81M-ITX/WIFI Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($71.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory  ($55.99 @ Newegg) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($48.59 @ OutletPC) 

Video Card: XFX Radeon R7 260X 2GB Core Edition Video Card  ($114.76 @ Amazon) 

Case: Cooler Master Elite 110 Mini ITX Tower Case  ($29.99 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply: EVGA 430W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply  ($24.99 @ NCIX US) 

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($86.98 @ OutletPC) 

Total: $496.28

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-04-29 22:11 EDT-0400

If you don't need an OS, get a better GPU like a 270, 270X or 280.... Just make sure the GPU is short enough to fit in the case, otherwise get a elite 130

[Makol]

You included a hard drive which isn't needed. I have a 500GB and three 120GB SSDs (One Intel and Two Corsair) I can reuse. I can get an OS for $60 from my school so that leaves a bit more wiggle room for the PC itself. 

 

And damn, that case is tiny. 

[Makol]

Update: Turns out I don't need an OS at all as a friend has a spare key he got from work and never used. So now the whole $500 budget can be put towards hardware. 

 

I'm leaning towards the one Misanthrope posted and the one I linked a few pages up.