New budget build

[bigmouthbob1]

So my friend said today that he was either going to get a ps4 or a pc and I finally got him to go to pc, but only if it was the same price or cheaper than a ps4 ($400 usd). So I want to make him something fairly expandable for later on, and have it look decent. If any of you have lists I would gladly take them.

[MandoPanda]

6 minutes ago, bigmouthbob1 said:

So my friend said today that he was either going to get a ps4 or a pc and I finally got him to go to pc, but only if it was the same price or cheaper than a ps4 ($400 usd). So I want to make him something fairly expandable for later on, and have it look decent. If any of you have lists I would gladly take them.

It's tough to do that with a legit copy of Windows included. Here is as close as you can get with new hardware:

 

 

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD - Ryzen 5 2400G 3.6 GHz Quad-Core Processor	$158.89 @ OutletPC
Motherboard	MSI - B450M PRO-M2 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard	$64.99 @ Amazon
Memory	G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2800 Memory	$67.98 @ Newegg
Storage	Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive	$45.89 @ OutletPC
Case	Thermaltake - Versa H15 MicroATX Mid Tower Case	$31.90 @ Amazon
Power Supply	Corsair - CX (2017) 450W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply	$44.90 @ OutletPC
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$414.55
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-11-05 19:35 EST-0500

 

 

You could drop down to the 2200g but I don't recommend it. Also, get an SSD.

[iKingRPG]

where is the cpu cooler?? i think you could get a hyper 212 for $30 instead of the stock cooler.

[Nocte]

7 minutes ago, iKingRPG said:

where is the cpu cooler?? i think you could get a hyper 212 for $30 instead of the stock cooler.

AMD has good stock coolers and you can't afford one with OP's budget. 

 

MandoPanda partlist is good if he can add a GPU in the future. 

 

This is the bare minimum you can get for a system with a discrete GPU (which is overbudget already). So Mando's option would be probably better. 

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 3 2200G 3.5 GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($96.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Motherboard: ASRock - AB350M Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($55.88 @ OutletPC) 
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($57.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Team - L5 LITE 3D 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($19.99 @ Newegg Business) 
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 320GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($18.95 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: Gigabyte - GeForce GTX 1050 2 GB D5 Video Card  ($124.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: Rosewill - FBM-05 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($19.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: Corsair - CX (2017) 450W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($44.90 @ OutletPC) 
Total: $439.68
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-11-05 19:53 EST-0500

 

However, I think that you can get a much better system for your budget by hunting the used market for Maxwell GPUs (960/70s) and 4th gen intel mobo/cpu/ram combos (i5 maybe?). 

[Streetguru]

50 minutes ago, bigmouthbob1 said:

So my friend said today that he was either going to get a ps4 or a pc and I finally got him to go to pc, but only if it was the same price or cheaper than a ps4 ($400 usd). So I want to make him something fairly expandable for later on, and have it look decent. If any of you have lists I would gladly take them.

You're likely going to end up with an R3 2200G PC which can run games for now, then you just need to add in a graphics card of some kind in the near future

 

41 minutes ago, MandoPanda said:

CPU	AMD - Ryzen 5 2400G 3.6 GHz Quad-Core Processor	$158.89 @ OutletPC
Motherboard	MSI - B450M PRO-M2 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard	$64.99 @ Amazon

The 2400G is generally not worth it for gaming, and that motherboard is bad for an APU system due to a lack of VRM heatsinks.

 

23 minutes ago, Nocte said:

Video Card: Gigabyte - GeForce GTX 1050 2 GB D5 Video Card  ($124.99 @ Amazon) 

For around $160-170 right now you can get double that GPU's performance with the RX 570, depending on sales.

[boey]

At $400, I think going for used parts(if you don’t mind) could be better. Maybe used 3570k + 750Ti?

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type	Item	Price
CPU	Intel - Core i5-3570K 3.4 GHz Quad-Core Processor	$70.00
CPU Cooler	Cooler Master - Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler	$29.89 @ OutletPC
Motherboard	Gigabyte - GA-Z77X-UD3H ATX LGA1155 Motherboard	$80.00
Memory	G.Skill - Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory	$45.99 @ Newegg
Storage	Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive	$45.89 @ OutletPC
Video Card	Asus - GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2 GB Video Card	$50.00
Case	Deepcool - DUKASE V2 ATX Mid Tower Case	$34.99 @ SuperBiiz
Power Supply	EVGA - BQ 500W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply	$39.89 @ OutletPC
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total (before mail-in rebates)	$421.65
	Mail-in rebates	-$25.00
	Total	$396.65
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-11-05 20:16 EST-0500

The CPU, Motherboard and GPU here are used.(Prices based off of ebay, if you search on different websites you may find better deals) For windows, you can just leave it unactivated or buy a key from grey market sites like Kinguin. If you get a used case, you could probably fit in a 120gb ssd in there.

[Streetguru]

52 minutes ago, bigmouthbob1 said:

So my friend said today that he was either going to get a ps4 or a pc and I finally got him to go to pc, but only if it was the same price or cheaper than a ps4 ($400 usd). So I want to make him something fairly expandable for later on, and have it look decent. If any of you have lists I would gladly take them.

A used PS4 that's cheap isn't too bad, but if he going for a console, then clearly the nintendo switch is the way to go for the best exclusives, unless he really has to play something on the PS4

Only issue is paying to play online for the PS4, and the potential limitations on multiplayer.

 

Should just grab a basic R3 2200G PC for now and add in an RX 570 at some point in the future
 

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

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 3 2200G 3.5 GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($96.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock - B450 Pro4 ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($74.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2800 Memory  ($67.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: ADATA - Ultimate SU650 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cougar - Solution 2 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Cooler Master - MasterWatt 550W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($44.44 @ Amazon)
Total: $359.38

 

PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/Td99Bb
Price breakdown by merchant: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/Td99Bb/by_merchant/
Video Card: PowerColor - Radeon RX 570 4 GB RED DRAGON Video Card  ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $519.37

[Streetguru]

2 minutes ago, _d0nut said:

 

The R3 2200G with decent memory has about the same performance as the 750ti but leaves you with a way better upgrade path with the AM4 motherboard.


You'd want to find a used business machine for under $200 by itself then add in the 750ti-GTX 1050 otherwise, preferably something with an i7 2000 or better.

[boey]

8 minutes ago, Streetguru said:

The R3 2200G with decent memory has about the same performance as the 750ti 

Never actually knew that. Maybe I underestimated the 2200G’s iGPU.

8 minutes ago, Streetguru said:

You'd want to find a used business machine for under $200 by itself then add in the 750ti-GTX 1050 otherwise, preferably something with an i7 2000 or better.

This is a pretty good idea too. With $400 you could probably fit in a used RX 570, or a 1060 6GB/RX 580 8GB if you get a good deal. You might want to spend a little on a used case though, some OEM PCs have cases with horrendous airflow. 

[Streetguru]

21 minutes ago, _d0nut said:

Never actually knew that. Maybe I underestimated the 2200G’s iGPU.

This is a pretty good idea too. With $400 you could probably fit in a used RX 570, or a 1060 6GB/RX 580 8GB if you get a good deal. You might want to spend a little on a used case though, some OEM PCs have cases with horrendous airflow. 

You'd probably have to buy a new power supply if you went above the GTX 1050 for those systems, especially with the RX 570

Makes more sense in general to just buy the AM4 APU so you can easily upgrade it in the future.