$500 PC to fill my needs of simply having a PC to begin with.

[Vozella]

So when I joined this site, I had an intention of building this huge Full Tower $1200 gaming PC, but I slowly realized that I need to conserve my money since I'm heading in to college and that with all the school and work that I have I won't have time to game anyway. I don't even enjoy video games that much. Why was I so obsessed with making such an expensive PC?

Anyways, I still want to have my own PC, so I made this build. 

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/Vozella/saved/#view=gX7J7P

CPU: Intel Core i3-4170 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($112.99 @ NCIX US) 

Motherboard: Asus H97I-PLUS Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($101.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($43.89 @ OutletPC) 

Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($89.99 @ Amazon) 

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA G2 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($84.99 @ Amazon) 

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit)  ($89.75 @ OutletPC) 

Other: Fractal Design Core 500 ($79.99)

Total: $603.59

 

I was thinking of getting that good Pentium that everyone seems to know about, but I think I'll go with an i3.

Also, I know the power supply is overkill. I'm still debating whether it's worth it to have that silent mode on a PSU. I don't even know how loud PSUs get. I've never had a desktop PC.

I'm thinking of adding a GPU later. I can't pick between a GTX 750Ti or a GTX 960 because I don't know how much I'll need. Kind of want to have the latest generation to be honest.

I'm going with only an SDD since I've never used more than 200GB of storage.

I almost picked the Node 202 since I was looking for less size, but Core 500 seems like a good spot for me.

 

 

[TheRandomness]

PSU's don't tend to be loud at all, in fact, I have my case next to me and it's effectively silent.

 

[Lotus]

This is what I'd do. It's much better suited future changes like an additional GPU, and it performs better at the start too. Going for an i5 over an i3 is a significant difference in any program that would use it, including games. The PSU is more than enough wattage while also being a great quality (seasonic) and fully modular for the ITX form factor. Overall, I'd highly recommend this build over yours:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($176.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H81M-ITX/WIFI Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($63.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($39.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($89.89 @ OutletPC)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 130 Mini ITX Tower Case  ($43.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 520W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($65.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $480.63
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-09-14 14:57 EDT-0400

[Heizu]

 

So when I joined this site, I had an intention of building this huge Full Tower $1200 gaming PC, but I slowly realized that I need to conserve my money since I'm heading in to college and that with all the school and work that I have I won't have time to game anyway. I don't even enjoy video games that much. Why was I so obsessed with making such an expensive PC?

Anyways, I still want to have my own PC, so I made this build. 

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/Vozella/saved/#view=gX7J7P

CPU: Intel Core i3-4170 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($112.99 @ NCIX US) 

Motherboard: Asus H97I-PLUS Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($101.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($43.89 @ OutletPC) 

Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($89.99 @ Amazon) 

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA G2 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($84.99 @ Amazon) 

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit)  ($89.75 @ OutletPC) 

Other: Fractal Design Core 500 ($79.99)

Total: $603.59

 

I was thinking of getting that good Pentium that everyone seems to know about, but I think I'll go with an i3.

Also, I know the power supply is overkill. I'm still debating whether it's worth it to have that silent mode on a PSU. I don't even know how loud PSUs get. I've never had a desktop PC.

I'm thinking of adding a GPU later. I can't pick between a GTX 750Ti or a GTX 960 because I don't know how much I'll need. Kind of want to have the latest generation to be honest.

I'm going with only an SDD since I've never used more than 200GB of storage.

I almost picked the Node 202 since I was looking for less size, but Core 500 seems like a good spot for me.

 

 

I would seriously suggest you consider itx form factor cases for college students makes it so much easier when moving around.

[Prysin]

@Vozella

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor  ($97.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock 970M PRO3 Micro ATX AM3+/AM3 Motherboard  ($63.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport XT 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Hitachi Deskstar 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($42.90 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 950 2GB Superclocked+ ACX 2.0 Video Card  ($164.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($37.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($44.99 @ NCIX US)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit)  ($97.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $590.53
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-09-14 15:31 EDT-0400

 

 

This would be inbetween a Core i3 and a Core i5 in general performance...

 

i know you said 500 USD, but since your own suggestion was 600+, i thought i would stick to around 600 with the OS

'

 

 

EDIT:

Since you mentioned you originally wanted a 1200 USD build... here is one, with a Freesync monitor included

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($176.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock B85M-DGS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport XT 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: OCZ Trion 100 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($74.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R9 290X 4GB Double Dissipation Video Card  ($282.98 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT H230 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($60.99 @ Best Buy)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($65.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit)  ($97.89 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Nixeus NX-VUE24A 144Hz 24.0" Monitor  ($299.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1148.70
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-09-14 15:38 EDT-0400

[Vozella]

I would seriously suggest you consider itx form factor cases for college students makes it so much easier when moving around.

The Core 500 IS an ITX case. I'm even considering the Node 202.

 

@Vozella

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor  ($97.89 @ OutletPC)

Motherboard: ASRock 970M PRO3 Micro ATX AM3+/AM3 Motherboard  ($63.89 @ OutletPC)

Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport XT 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($39.99 @ Newegg)

Storage: Hitachi Deskstar 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($42.90 @ Amazon)

Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 950 2GB Superclocked+ ACX 2.0 Video Card  ($164.99 @ NCIX US)

Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($37.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($44.99 @ NCIX US)

Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit)  ($97.89 @ OutletPC)

Total: $590.53

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-09-14 15:31 EDT-0400

 

 

This would be inbetween a Core i3 and a Core i5 in general performance...

 

i know you said 500 USD, but since your own suggestion was 600+, i thought i would stick to around 600 with the OS

I said $500 even though my build was $600 because nobody ever adds the OS to their cost like they're going to pirate it or something.

 

I was planning to go with a small case so ITX is important.

I had one stick instead of two so I could add another one later.

I was going to get an SSD since I don't use much space and everyone seems to pressure me to get one.

 

That GPU and PSU are good choices though.