Magnus Rex - first BYO PC - thoughts/feedback appreciated

[Magnus Rex]

First thread, first post, first attempt at building my own PC, oh the excitement!

 

Been a fan of LTT, TechQuickie, and other associated YouTube vids for about 8 months or so and after watching and rewatching some great custom build videos finally worked up the courage to start planning my very own custom PC build.

 

After doing what felt like endless research on PCPartsPicker, NewEgg, MicroCenter, and Amazon, I've selected the components below for my build; any helpful guidance or feedback from more seasoned veterans of custom PC building is greatly appreciated.

 

CPU: Intel Pentium Gold G5400 3.7 GHz dual-core (US $70.30 on Amazon)

MOTHERBOARD: ASUS TUF H310-Plus ATX (US $85.18 on Amazon)

RAM: Patriot Signature DDR4-2400 4GB x2 with Heatshield (US $83.98 on Amazon)

PSU: Cooler Master MasterWatt Lite 500w 80Plus Bronze ATX (US $34.99 at MicroCenter; $10 mail-in rebate lowers final price to $24.99)

CASE: Cooler Master HAF XB EVO Case ATX (US $89.99 at MicroCenter; $20 mail-in rebate lowers final price to $69.99)

STORAGE: Western Digital Blue m.2 SSD 250 GB SATA III 6gb/s (US $69.99 on Amazon)

 

My budget limit was US $500 and the components selected above came to just over US $300; factor in free shipping, mail-in rebates, and promotional discounts, and I was able to pay only $129.51 for everything listed above.

 

With the parts above my plan is to build a very basic PC running Ubuntu that will be used to surf the web, chat with friends, and create/edit documents. Maybe play 8-bit and 16-bit game emulation but no high-end HD gaming. No content editing either.

 

I chose a case with 4 drive bays because, further down the road, I intend to save up to upgrade this build to turn it into a Plex media server. But for now it will just be a basic web browser with the single m.2 SSD.

 

I didn't encounter any compatibility red flags on PC Parts Picker but if anyone here has a second opinion on that please let me know.

 

 

Thanks,

 

 

Magnus Rex

[DrDevinRX]

This build should be fine for what you want to accomplish.

[Fassive]

Looks good! I personally would have gone for a cheaper Mobo but the price you paid for the whole this is not bad at all.

[Theguywhobea]

If you have a $500 budget why not upgrade to a i3 or i5 CPU?

[Magnus Rex]

Thanks all I sincerely appreciate the feedback!

 

I decided on a Pentium CPU instead of a Core i3 or i5 for two reasons: 1. I was overly cautious about the total cost coming in well below the budget cap; and 2. since it's my very first PC build ever I figured buying lower-end parts would keep the risk low (i.e. replacing a Pentium less painful to my wallet than replacing an i5 if I make a mistake or damage something)

 

As for the motherboard, I probably could have gone even lower on the price point, but I knew I wanted ASUS for their reputation and reliability, and I knew I waned a board that would have a decent upgrade path. Plus this board had the most consistently positive ratings on PC Parts Picker and Amazon of all the boards I found that were under $100 and compatible with the rest of my parts list.

 

I may try to post some pics of the build when it comes time to assemble everything.

 

Thanks again!