$500 budget build help

Ravenesque

Honorable
Dec 1, 2013
22
0
10,510
Want to build a light gaming pc for my brother. Probably won't be used that much and mostly for steam and league of legends I would think. Budget is 500 maybe a little over but yeah any help is appreciated, was thinking an i3 with a 750ti build maybe. Would prefer if it could be in a corsair obsidian 250d cause that case is awesome
 
Solution
Here is an old post for a "budget" gamer,
take from it what you will.
The parts you listed would be excellent, but I wonder if they can meet a $500 budget.


------------------------------ budget skylake build ---------------------------
For a budget gaming build, I like to recommend that one builds for future expandability.
That means paying a bit more up front for some parts that allow for an easier future upgrade.
A good rule of thumb is to budget twice as much for the graphics card than for the cpu.

Let me start where you might not expect:

1. Buy a good 500w psu or better. 520w will run a card as good as a GTX1080.
Future graphics cards will be built on smaller 14nm so they should not need more power than today.
I would...
Here is an old post for a "budget" gamer,
take from it what you will.
The parts you listed would be excellent, but I wonder if they can meet a $500 budget.


------------------------------ budget skylake build ---------------------------
For a budget gaming build, I like to recommend that one builds for future expandability.
That means paying a bit more up front for some parts that allow for an easier future upgrade.
A good rule of thumb is to budget twice as much for the graphics card than for the cpu.

Let me start where you might not expect:

1. Buy a good 500w psu or better. 520w will run a card as good as a GTX1080.
Future graphics cards will be built on smaller 14nm so they should not need more power than today.
I would normally suggest Seasonic 520w: Expect to pay around $60.
Look for a tier 1 or 2 quality unit on a list such as this:
https://community.newegg.com/eggxpert/computer_hardware/f/135081/t/45344.aspx?Redirected=true

2. Buy a Z170 based motherboard. Z170 will allow you to install a overclockable cpu and even permit a future Kaby lake processor upgrade.
You should find one for under $100. Lesser lga1151 chipsets will work for the truly budget constrained but at the expense of future upgrade optiions.
Here is a M-ATX example: ASRock Z170M Pro4S for $99:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157637

3. I suggest a I3-6100 @3.7. About $130. If you are truly budget limited, you can buy a g4400 dual core for $60.
In time, you can upgrade to any I3/I5/I7 cpu that you want and market theoriginal processor.

4. The intel stock cooler will do the job. Skylake runs cool.
If you want, you can use a cryorig H7 cooler with a 120mm fan. $35. It will be quieter.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA4UF2DZ6565
One can always add a cpu cooler later.

5. For ram, speed is not important. Buy a 8gb kit of 2 x 4gb DDR4 1.2v 2133 speed ram.
About $40 for this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148858
Heat spreaders are marketing and generally useless.
Faster ram is not worth it for skylake:
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1478-page1.html

6. Cases are a personal thing. Buy one you love. Most will do the job for <$50.
Here is a silverstone PS08 for $35; It fits a smallar M-ATX motherboard.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163223

7. The graphics card is the most important component for gaming.
I like the GTX750ti and EVGA as a brand.
Here is a superclock version:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
You could go stronger in the video card if your budget permits and your games need it.
On the other hand, you could build using the integrated 530 graphics which is quite good and see how you do.
By deferring on the graphics card, you will get a better idea of what you really need.
Integrated is fine for sims, but not fast action games.
8. Lastly, I will never build again without a SSD for the "C" drive. It makes everything you do so much quicker. 120gb will hold the OS and a handful of games.
With 240gb you may never need a hard drive at all. Defer on a hard drive until your ssd approaches 90% full.
Currently, I like samsung 850 EVO best.

-------------good luck------------




 
Solution

GraySilencer

Reputable
Jun 25, 2016
422
2
5,165
Because of the case it makes this build more expensive then it has to be.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor ($110.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H110M-ITX Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard ($67.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($33.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($45.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon RX 460 2GB Red Dragon Video Card ($111.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair 250D Mini ITX Tower Case ($84.99 @ B&H)
Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($43.30 @ OutletPC)
Total: $499.13
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-08-27 17:14 EDT-0400




Personally I would go for this though:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor ($110.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B150M-DS3H Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($66.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Avexir Core Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($35.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk Z400s 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($45.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon RX 460 2GB Red Dragon Video Card ($111.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair Carbide Series 88R MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($56.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Fractal Design Integra M 550W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $528.79
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-08-27 17:37 EDT-0400