Sub $500 gaming tower build

assasin32 · Apr 29, 2017

Approximate Purchase Date: e.g.: this week (the closer the better)

Budget Range: $500 after tax, before rebates if any.

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Web browsing, diablo II, WoW, possible other games like Diablo III and future games

Do you need to buy OS: Yes

Location: USA

Overclocking: No

SLI or Crossfire: No

Your Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080 or less

Additional Comments: Building this for spouse, she wants a SSD. Everything else besides needing the OS is up in the air. And with the current build will I have any difficulty installing the OS on a M2 SSD as my only and primary HD. She does not need much space for the SSD. Haven't kept track of computer hardware in a few years so suggestions are greatly appreciated.

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PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/7Yhff8
Price breakdown by merchant: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/7Yhff8/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Pentium G4560 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($59.48 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock B250M-HDV Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($56.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Intel 600p Series 128GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($64.69 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon RX 460 2GB WINDFORCE OC Video Card ($73.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill Galaxy-01 ATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair VS 400W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer ($16.89 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($86.88 @ OutletPC)
Mouse: Logitech B100 Wired Optical Mouse ($6.21 @ Amazon)
Speakers: Logitech Z150 0W 2ch Speakers ($19.42 @ Amazon)
Total: $424.51
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-04-29 23:47 EDT-0400

The Paladin · Apr 29, 2017

1. you forgot to put ram on that rig, I put that on the update version
2. 128GB aint a whole lot to have as Main SSD drive, 60GB is going to be OS alone, leaving little to play with..
gaming takes space. and SSD will only make the system boot faster... so add gaming to ssd concept, I doubles size of SSD for 20$ more than your choice.

updated your rig to :

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G4560 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($59.48 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock B250M-HDV Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($62.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Patriot 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($50.00 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Blue 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($83.33 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon RX 460 2GB WINDFORCE OC Video Card ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Rosewill Galaxy-01 ATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair VS 400W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($37.87 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer ($16.89 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($89.98 @ NCIX US)
Mouse: Logitech B100 Wired Optical Mouse ($6.21 @ Amazon)
Speakers: Logitech Z150 0W 2ch Speakers ($19.42 @ Amazon)
Total: $541.15
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-04-29 23:57 EDT-0400

CRO5513Y · Apr 29, 2017

Build looks good however, the Corsair VS are an unreliable/cheap series. Rated Tier 4 on the PSU Tier List which is "Built down to a low price. Not exactly the most stable units ever created. Very basic safety circuitry or even thin gauge wiring used. Not for gaming rigs or overclocking systems of any kind. Avoid unless your budget dictates your choice."

I would recommend swapping out to something like this if you can, a nice, reliable budget PSU > https://pcpartpicker.com/product/fZyFf7/seasonic-power-supply-s12ii520bronze.

See the PSU Tier List here > http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html. Hope this helps

genthug · Apr 29, 2017

If you are going to install Diablo III and WoW and additional games in the future onto that SSD, it needs to be more than 128. Minimum if I were to be installing WoW and D3 on it would be 240, that's around 40GB of files in and of itself. That's not counting any extraneous softwares that will be on the machine, future updates, etc. Minimum I would start out with would be 240GB. After that, I'd swap the PSU.

{Edited out}

Edit: And I somehow missed that there is no RAM in this... updated.

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

CPU: Intel Pentium G4560 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($59.48 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock B250M-HDV Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($56.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill NT Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($57.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: ADATA Premier SP550 240GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($80.98 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon RX 460 2GB WINDFORCE OC Video Card ($73.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill Galaxy-01 ATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair CXM 450W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($32.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($86.88 @ OutletPC)
Mouse: Logitech B100 Wired Optical Mouse ($6.21 @ Amazon)
Speakers: Logitech Z150 0W 2ch Speakers ($19.42 @ Amazon)
Total: $499.89
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-04-30 00:02 EDT-0400

Took out the DVD drive to cut out price, moved back down to a 460 (had a 1050 in first build) to cut out price, still ends up being $55 in MIR, but after MIR you are just... just under $500.

assasin32 · Apr 30, 2017

*EDITED IN: Deleted other build I had in this post for new one which is identical minus 240gb SSD*

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/vBRcvV

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

CPU: Intel Pentium G4560 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($59.48 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock B250M-HDV Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($56.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($50.00 @ Amazon)
Storage: MyDigitalSSD 80mm BP5e 240GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon RX 460 2GB WINDFORCE OC Video Card ($73.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill Galaxy-01 ATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair CXM 450W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($32.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer ($16.89 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($86.88 @ OutletPC)
Mouse: Logitech B100 Wired Optical Mouse ($6.21 @ Amazon)
Speakers: Logitech Z150 0W 2ch Speakers ($19.42 @ Amazon)
Total: $537.80
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-04-30 00:48 EDT-0400

I didn't even catch the fact I had no ram in there. So I added that, changed out the PSU to the CX 450M (I am going to steal the spare modular cable from that one since I own an identical PSU). And you make some good points on the SSD with upping it to 240gb.

Lets just say new budget around $600, I'm throwing some money in on her build and it be a bit of early birthday present.

The Paladin · Apr 30, 2017

if she plays WoW, suggest you either up the ram to 16GB or up the Video card to a 4gb

assasin32 · Apr 30, 2017

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/Vwc8wV

PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/Vwc8wV
Price breakdown by merchant: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/Vwc8wV/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Pentium G4560 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($59.48 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock B250M-HDV Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($56.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($50.00 @ Amazon)
Storage: MyDigitalSSD BPX 256GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($114.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon RX 460 2GB WINDFORCE OC Video Card ($73.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Zalman Z3 Plus White ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair CXM 450W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($32.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer ($16.89 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($86.88 @ OutletPC)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WN822N USB 2.0 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi Adapter ($14.88 @ OutletPC)
Mouse: Logitech B100 Wired Optical Mouse ($6.21 @ Amazon)
Speakers: Logitech Z150 0W 2ch Speakers ($19.42 @ Amazon)
Other: KOTVTM 36 Pieces PC Case Fans Rubber Anti Vibration Flexible Mount Screw Pin Rivet CPU Fan Mounting Screws Pin Rivets ($5.49 @ Amazon)
Total: $568.17
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-04-30 05:43 EDT-0400

Just changed some things around and added a wireless card and anti-vibration "screws" for the fans. She's a casual gamer and hardly will use the PC for gaming compared to the consoles she owns. Plus she doesn't care about maxing out the resolution and graphics so I'm not sure if there is any point to up the ram and GPU more.

assasin32 · Apr 30, 2017

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/tbzJHN

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

CPU: Intel Pentium G4560 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($59.48 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock B250M-HDV Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($56.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($50.00 @ Amazon)
Storage: MyDigitalSSD BPX 256GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($114.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 1050 2GB Video Card ($102.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Zalman Z3 Plus White ATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair CXM 450W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($32.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer ($16.89 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($86.88 @ OutletPC)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WN822N USB 2.0 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi Adapter ($14.88 @ OutletPC)
(Random stuff deleted to reduce clutter on list, not shown.)
Total: $643.55
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-04-30 15:57 EDT-0400

Changed out some things, including the GPU as I seen in the only benchmark I found that the Nvidia gets far better FPS in WoW which I know she will play, but in other games it's pretty close or slightly ahead in performance of the Radeon 460. Anyone know if this was a driver issue or does the Nvidia just really does perform that much better in WoW?

Beyond that I'm feeling pretty decent about the build right now and plan on purchasing it today most likely, so any final advice is greatly appreciated.

*EDITED IN*
Placed order for something very similar to above, had to change a few things due to stock at suppliers. Thanks for all the help. it's greatly appreciated.

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Sub $500 gaming tower build

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