Need help with $500 PC Build

[madscientist56]

Hello LTT People,

I used to be pretty active on this forum but those days are behind me as are the days when I could throw together a great build at any price-point.

I'm building a PC for a friend and here are the parameters:

- must be around $450

- doesn't have to be a beast he doesn't play graphically demanding games (he plays wow, league, csgo, civ5, etc), I still don't wait it to be under-powered though (I would list a graphics card but I don't know any recent ones)

- build should be reliable, clean looking

- build should have an ssd

- this is in USD btw

 

thanks in advance, I will update this when I realize what parameters I forgot

 

[Shiv78]

Basically as cheap as it gets while retaining quality and not going AMD FX (*shudders*) or Pentium

EDIT: forgot the actual build, nice job moron

 

You could also get an RX 470 or 1050Ti for a bit more

 

PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/TmFhFd
Price breakdown by merchant: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/TmFhFd/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($104.99 @ Newegg) 
Motherboard: Asus H110M-A/M.2 Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($50.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($50.98 @ Newegg) 
Storage: ADATA Ultimate SU800 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($59.99 @ Newegg) 
Video Card: XFX Radeon RX 460 4GB Double Dissipation Video Card  ($119.98 @ Newegg) 
Case: Deepcool TESSERACT BF ATX Mid Tower Case  ($34.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($46.99 @ OutletPC) 
Total: $468.91
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-12-04 18:00 EST-0500

[madscientist56]

1 minute ago, Shiv78 said:

Basically as cheap as it gets while retaining quality and not going AMD FX (*shudders*) or Pentium

is amd fx no longer a better value than going core i3?

[Nmistry09]

I mean, the only reason he is putting an i3-6100 is because AMD is coming out with Zen, and the socket is AM4, which doesn't exist yet. Otherwise I think any logical person would go with AMD, for cheap, but good stuff.

[Nmistry09]

Zen will come out in January, I believe.

[Shiv78]

19 minutes ago, madscientist56 said:

is amd fx no longer a better value than going core i3?

FX processors no longer have any real upgrade path. You can wait a bit and try for Zen if its any good.

With an i3 you can go all the way to a i7 6700 later

[Herman Mcpootis]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($104.99 @ Newegg) 
Motherboard: ASRock H110M-HDS Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($39.98 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Avexir Core Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($41.98 @ Newegg) 
Storage: ADATA Ultimate SU800 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($59.99 @ Newegg) 
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB Mini Video Card  ($138.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Case: Thermaltake Versa H15 MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($34.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Power Supply: Antec Basiq 350W ATX Power Supply  ($29.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Total: $450.91
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-12-04 19:17 EST-0500

[TheDankKoosh]

1 minute ago, herman mcpootis said:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($104.99 @ Newegg) 
Motherboard: ASRock H110M-HDS Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($39.98 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Avexir Core Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($41.98 @ Newegg) 
Storage: ADATA Ultimate SU800 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($59.99 @ Newegg) 
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB Mini Video Card  ($138.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Case: Thermaltake Versa H15 MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($34.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Power Supply: Antec Basiq 350W ATX Power Supply  ($29.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Total: $450.91
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-12-04 19:17 EST-0500

psu leaves much to be desired, I would spend the extra 15$ for one that is much better. Something like the cx450m

[Shiv78]

Just now, TheDankKoosh said:

psu leaves much to be desired, I would spend the extra 15$ for one that is much better. Something like the cx450m

This

[Herman Mcpootis]

8 minutes ago, TheDankKoosh said:

psu leaves much to be desired, I would spend the extra 15$ for one that is much better. Something like the cx450m

 

8 minutes ago, Shiv78 said:

This

tier 5 in the psu tier list, same tier as the evga 450/500B and CX greens, which has been stated to be fine for low-end rigs like this.

[Shiv78]

5 minutes ago, herman mcpootis said:

tier 5 in the psu tier list, same tier as the evga 450/500B and CX greens, which has been stated to be fine for low-end rigs like this.

BUT those other PSUs have similar quality and price while having almost or more than 100W more, which is helpful for future GPU upgrades. I'd never go lower than ~430-450W

[Herman Mcpootis]

38 minutes ago, Shiv78 said:

BUT those other PSUs have similar quality and price while having almost or more than 100W more, which is helpful for future GPU upgrades. I'd never go lower than ~430-450W

the gtx 1050ti barely eats any power under load, only taking 75w in metro last light with overclocking. he has also stated that the build will be used for playing undemanding games like cs:go and LoL, which doesn't need a strong gpu to play maxed out. he'll likely be keeping the 1050ti for quite a few years before upgrading, which by then he likely would also have had a psu upgrade or just get a similar power efficient but stronger gpu instead.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/nvidia-geforce-gtx-1050-ti,4787-6.html