Finding an affordable GPU in 2018?

[CR16]

With the bad GPU inflation, what's the best way to go for someone who wants to build a budget gaming computer for under $400? Would it be best to look at an APU or buy an older GPU? I've considered an APU, specifically, AMD's Ryzen 3 2200G because I could check off the CPU, CPU cooler and GPU for a 100 bucks, but what do you guys think?

[Enderman]

Buy a prebuilt.

[CR16]

3 minutes ago, Enderman said:

Buy a prebuilt.

Let's say I want to build it myself. And no, I don't want to buy a pre-built, tear it apart and then put it back together.

[Herman Mcpootis]

used i5 prebuilt with a 1050ti or some other gpu if you get a non-SFF prebuilt.

[Streetguru]

5 minutes ago, CR16 said:

With the bad GPU inflation, what's the best way to go for someone who wants to build a budget gaming computer for under $400? Would it be best to look at an APU or buy an older GPU? I've considered an APU, specifically, AMD's Ryzen 3 2200G because I could check off the CPU, CPU cooler and GPU for a 100 bucks, but what do you guys think?

Just get an R3 2200G machine if you're going new, save the rest of your money for a next generation GPU in a few months

[Enderman]

4 minutes ago, CR16 said:

Let's say I want to build it myself. And no, I don't want to buy a pre-built, tear it apart and then put it back together.

Why would you tear it apart...

It is a prebuilt. It already works.

[CR16]

3 minutes ago, Enderman said:

Why would you tear it apart...

It is a prebuilt. It already works.

I want to build one myself. I know it's a really bad time with GPU prices but I want to make something work. I figured you might be a smartass with me and tell me to rip it apart and put it back together lol

[Enderman]

1 minute ago, CR16 said:

I want to build one myself. I know it's a really bad time with GPU prices but I want to make something work. I figured you might be a smartass with me and tell me to rip it apart and put it back together lol

Ok well then look at used parts because nothing new is any good for that budget.

You can probably spend like 25-50% of the budget on a decent old GPU.

[Trulop]

for a GPU, a 950/1050 will work just fine to get you into gaming, and you can even play some higher end titles as long as your willing to cut down your settings to get a smooth framerate. in terms of the PC, if you buy anything new that 400$ budget is going to fly away very quickly. I would advise saving up at least 100$ more. find a GTX 950 off ebay or craigslist somewhere for around 100$, and 400$ should be able to buy you a decent spec'd computer to where u can add a higher end GPU later on down the road. The one place that will most likely be limited buying new, is the RAM so starting at 8GB minimum is a must, but you most likely wont reach anything more than that even with a 400$ budget (without GPU cost).

 

If you cant wait and have to buy now, then buy all used. 3rd/4th gen i5/i7 work just fine and can probably pick up some used DDR3 for cheaper online or just buy a used gaming rig from someone with more than 8GB already in it.

[Guest]

You can always look in the used market for a HD 7770/7870/7970 or an R9 270/270X, those generally go far cheaper than their NVidia equivalents do. A Ryzen 5 2400G would also perform fairly well.

[Streetguru]

48 minutes ago, CR16 said:

I want to build one myself. I know it's a really bad time with GPU prices but I want to make something work. I figured you might be a smartass with me and tell me to rip it apart and put it back together lol

What is your budget/Country?

[CR16]

1 hour ago, Streetguru said:

What is your budget/Country?

Did you read the whole post? Budget is $400 and I'm in the United States

[forregacc02]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Pentium G4560 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($54.69 @ OutletPC) 
Motherboard: MSI - B250M PRO-VD Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($40.99 @ B&H) 
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2666 Memory  ($79.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($43.90 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: MSI - GeForce GTX 1050 2GB AERO ITX Video Card  ($128.49 @ Newegg) 
Case: Cougar - MX330 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($24.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Power Supply: Corsair - CXM (2015) 450W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($29.49 @ Newegg) 
Total: $402.54
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-06-18 03:26 EDT-0400

[Streetguru]

18 minutes ago, CR16 said:

Did you read the whole post? Budget is $400 and I'm in the United States

Didn't you edit it?

 

9 minutes ago, forregacc02 said:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Pentium G4560 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($54.69 @ OutletPC) 
Motherboard: MSI - B250M PRO-VD Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($40.99 @ B&H) 
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2666 Memory  ($79.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($43.90 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: MSI - GeForce GTX 1050 2GB AERO ITX Video Card  ($128.49 @ Newegg) 
Case: Cougar - MX330 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($24.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Power Supply: Corsair - CXM (2015) 450W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($29.49 @ Newegg) 
Total: $402.54
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-06-18 03:26 EDT-0400

Seems fine, but you're going to want dual channel RAM, and that motherboard doesn't have much of an upgrade path

AM4 is going to let you get up an 8 core CPU, APU is probably half the performance of a 1050 in general.

PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/xMpd9J
Price breakdown by merchant: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/xMpd9J/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 3 2200G 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($94.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock - AB350M Pro4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($74.39 @ OutletPC)
Memory: ADATA - XPG GAMMIX D10 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($43.90 @ OutletPC)
Case: Cougar - MX330 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($24.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Corsair - CX (2017) 450W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($44.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $368.25
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-06-18 03:35 EDT-0400

 

[forregacc02]

12 minutes ago, Streetguru said:

Didn't you edit it?

 

Seems fine, but you're going to want dual channel RAM, and that motherboard doesn't have much of an upgrade path

AM4 is going to let you get up an 8 core CPU, APU is probably half the performance of a 1050 in general.

PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/xMpd9J
Price breakdown by merchant: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/xMpd9J/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 3 2200G 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($94.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock - AB350M Pro4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($74.39 @ OutletPC)
Memory: ADATA - XPG GAMMIX D10 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($43.90 @ OutletPC)
Case: Cougar - MX330 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($24.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Corsair - CX (2017) 450W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($44.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $368.25
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-06-18 03:35 EDT-0400

 

Hey there, you have a good build tbh.

 

I replicated your build with slightly different parts. I believe this is better, and has lower price.

• Similar motherboard, but I chose the ATX instead of the Micro-ATX
• Modular PSU

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 3 2200G 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($94.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Motherboard: ASRock - AB350 Pro4 ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($55.98 @ Newegg) 
Memory: ADATA - XPG GAMMIX D10 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($84.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($43.90 @ OutletPC) 
Case: Cougar - MX330 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($24.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Power Supply: Corsair - CXM (2015) 450W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($29.49 @ Newegg) 
Total: $334.34
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-06-18 03:42 EDT-0400

[Streetguru]

40 minutes ago, forregacc02 said:

 

You've got mail in rebates turned on, they're pretty unreliable