budget console killer

[xzantian]

I have been working on my own build for a while, and have received great help from this forum, and I am now looking to help a friend build a budget console killer.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/fVtG6X

this is the build so far.

I am looking to build him a 1080p 30, or 60 fps rig that can beat a console's graphics settings, for close to the cost of a console. I am not sure how far I can pull the price down without dropping performance below these levels.

It has to have at least 4 logical cores (2 with hyperthreading will work) and it needs to have at least 8 gigs of ram.

what would be the best way to pull down the price without destroying performance?

if I cant get the price lower I will suggest he stick with buying an xbone.

[LHJKO]

why not get a single 8gb ram so you can upgrade 

[RadiatingLight]

I'd recommend a cheaper motherboard if possible and cheaper case.

Maybe H110 if you know someone with a skylake CPU.

[RadiatingLight]

You could go for this PSU:

It's not high-quality, but it's good enough for low-end parts.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139198&cm_re=Corsair_VS-_-17-139-198-_-Product

the rebate makes it really cheap.

[xzantian]

the motherboard has four ram slots, so he can upgrade to 16 in the future, but he is not looking to mess with it at all. he is not a computer person, and will want me to set it up. as for the h110, i heard it is a coin flip's chance that the bios will need updated, and without a skylake cpu, it would be impossible. I have one, but i would prefer it stay where it is

 

[xzantian]

the psu i have listed is a dollar cheaper.

[xzantian]

is there a better budget cpu/gpu combo for 1080p mid to high settings 30-60 fps gaming?

[RadiatingLight]

1 hour ago, xzantian said:

the psu i have listed is a dollar cheaper.

Quote me next time.

 

It is, but the one I suggested has a rebate.

if you're willing to put 15 minutes into redeeming the rebate, it might be worth it.

[RadiatingLight]

1 hour ago, xzantian said:

is there a better budget cpu/gpu combo for 1080p mid to high settings 30-60 fps gaming?

Kinda.

I'd recommend an RX 480, but it would increase the overall price of the build.

however, it will provide TONS more performance.

[LHJKO]

Just now, xzantian said:

is there a better budget cpu/gpu combo for 1080p mid to high settings 30-60 fps gaming?

you dont have spend 40$ on live you get games 20$ cheaper  so even if you cant go any lower your gonna be making your money back from the little extra he needs to spend 

[xzantian]

4 minutes ago, RadiatingLight said:

Quote me next time.

 

It is, but the one I suggested has a rebate.

if you're willing to put 15 minutes into redeeming the rebate, it might be worth it.

sorry I was not quoting, I have not been on the forum long.

 

4 minutes ago, RadiatingLight said:

Kinda.

I'd recommend an RX 480, but it would increase the overall price of the build.

however, it will provide TONS more performance.

I am hard pressed to make the up sale from and xbox one, and its no hassle, no settings, no tweaking functionality, to an expensive pc, which will require a larger amount of fiddling to get working. that being said, the 480, and 470 would be better in my opinion. the 1050 ti was nearly 20 dollars cheaper, and still reached the goals I set before.

 

3 minutes ago, Vernw3 said:

you dont have spend 40$ on live you get games 20$ cheaper  so even if you cant go any lower your gonna be making your money back from the little extra he needs to spend 

yes, but that will be an easier sell if I can get the initial price lower. if I have to present him this as an option vs 250 for an xbone, he will not want to switch over from console, which he is comfortable with. I looked at a few apu's from amd in an attempt to get the price down, but they go for near 100-150 dollars, and it seemed better to go this route.

[RadiatingLight]

12 minutes ago, xzantian said:

sorry I was not quoting, I have not been on the forum long.

 

I am hard pressed to make the up sale from and xbox one, and its no hassle, no settings, no tweaking functionality, to an expensive pc, which will require a larger amount of fiddling to get working. that being said, the 480, and 470 would be better in my opinion. the 1050 ti was nearly 20 dollars cheaper, and still reached the goals I set before.

 

yes, but that will be an easier sell if I can get the initial price lower. if I have to present him this as an option vs 250 for an xbone, he will not want to switch over from console, which he is comfortable with. I looked at a few apu's from amd in an attempt to get the price down, but they go for near 100-150 dollars, and it seemed better to go this route.

RX 470 is actually available for less than that 1050Ti with rebates from jet.com (the XFX card, with code "Triple15" and $30 rebate.)

You should definitely get that instead of the 1050Ti

 

point out to your friend that with a PC, you can also do real work, and get games cheaper. Show him humble bundle, and stuff like that.

 

You were right not to go with an AMD APU. They're all shit until AM4 APUs release.

[xzantian]

Just now, RadiatingLight said:

RX 470 is actually available for less than that 1050Ti with rebates from jet.com (the XFX card, with code "Triple15" and $30 rebate.)

You should definitely get that instead of the 1050Ti

 

point out to your friend that with a PC, you can also do real work, and get games cheaper. Show him humble bundle, and stuff like that.

 

You were right not to go with an AMD APU. They're all shit until AM4 APUs release.

if I can upgrade without increasing price I will. thank you for pointing out that deal to me. right now I am only using pc part picker to run the searches, I am most likely missing a number of sales. is there a better processor? I do not know amd processors well at all, as they are not my brand of choice.

[RadiatingLight]

2 minutes ago, xzantian said:

if I can upgrade without increasing price I will. thank you for pointing out that deal to me. right now I am only using pc part picker to run the searches, I am most likely missing a number of sales. is there a better processor? I do not know amd processors well at all, as they are not my brand of choice.

AMD CPUs on any platform other than AM4 are shit. You're not missing anything on that side of the CPU field. the G4560 is a blessing for budget builds, and isn't likely to get beat out by anything for a while.

 

The CPU is pretty much the best you can get for your price point.

 

I'd really suggest getting a cheaper mobo though, because if it doesn't work with kabylake, then you can just take the skylake CPU out of your PC and BIOS update. it's not that hard and would bring the price down quite a bit.

 

also, a cheaper case if you haven't swapped that out already.

[xzantian]

 

2 minutes ago, RadiatingLight said:

AMD CPUs on any platform other than AM4 are shit. You're not missing anything on that side of the CPU field. the G4560 is a blessing for budget builds, and isn't likely to get beat out by anything for a while.

 

The CPU is pretty much the best you can get for your price point.

 

I'd really suggest getting a cheaper mobo though, because if it doesn't work with kabylake, then you can just take the skylake CPU out of your PC and BIOS update. it's not that hard and would bring the price down quite a bit.

 

also, a cheaper case if you haven't swapped that out already.

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/xzantian/saved/Ydppgs

this is the current build if anyone is curious, I would switch out the psu's, but the list on pcpartpicker does not have the rebate listed, so I will make the change, but it is not listed here. I am also curious if there is a good chance that the new god of war game will be ported to pc soon, it may be a swing factor.

[RadiatingLight]

6 minutes ago, xzantian said:

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/xzantian/saved/Ydppgs

this is the current build if anyone is curious, I would switch out the psu's, but the list on pcpartpicker does not have the rebate listed, so I will make the change, but it is not listed here. I am also curious if there is a good chance that the new god of war game will be ported to pc soon, it may be a swing factor.

How about this one?

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/kh3xCy

 

Cheaper PSU, GPU, Case, and RAM

[xzantian]

1 minute ago, RadiatingLight said:

How about this one?

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/kh3xCy

 

Cheaper PSU, GPU, Case, and RAM

that is an exceptionally helpful list, thank you very much! I believe the 50 dollar price drop so far will go a long way towards convincing him to make the upfront investment.

[ATFink]

6 hours ago, RadiatingLight said:

RX 470 is actually available for less than that 1050Ti with rebates from jet.com (the XFX card, with code "Triple15" and $30 rebate.)

You should definitely get that instead of the 1050Ti

 

point out to your friend that with a PC, you can also do real work, and get games cheaper. Show him humble bundle, and stuff like that.

 

You were right not to go with an AMD APU. They're all shit until AM4 APUs release.

To add to what @RadiatingLight has said, try to convince him from the standpoint that he won't need to buy a desktop for about another decade and a half or more if he gets this (or laptop if portability isn't a big deal for on the go schoolwork). Show him the beauty that is Steam summer and and winter sales. Humble bundle is another good thing to show off.

 

EDIT:

If he wants to keep the desktop that long I suggest getting a better quality PSU... like getting a SeaSonic s12ii. Those are the most reliable units you can get on a budget. As long as the PSU isn't pushed to its limits 24/7 you probably get a decade out of those puppies without batting an eye. The warranty is 5 years on the s12ii models. Jonnyguru gave it a 9.7/10... I've only ever seen 3 units rated higher and they are all over $100 with significantly higher load thresholds (EVGA's G2 series, corsair's ax---(-)i series, and another one I don't remember).

 

Check it out here:

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16817151074

 

EDIT2:

Found another unit... This isn't bad, but it has a $20 rebate so it is CHEAP right now. Probably the best PSU you can pick up for $23.98:

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026

[ATFink]

With a PC you'll never have to worry about scratching another CD ever again.

[Flavio hc 16]

PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/CQ69Ps
Price breakdown by merchant: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/CQ69Ps/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Pentium G4560 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($59.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Motherboard: ASRock B250M-HDV Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($61.98 @ Newegg) 
Memory: G.Skill NT Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($52.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($48.89 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: Asus Radeon RX 470 4GB STRIX Video Card  ($149.99 @ Newegg) 
Case: Rosewill FBM-01 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($26.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: EVGA 450W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($33.49 @ OutletPC) 
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WN881ND PCI-Express x1 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi Adapter  ($16.75 @ OutletPC) 
Total: $451.07
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-04-04 04:09 EDT-0400

that should be it