Best possible budget build for a friend.

jjjay999 · May 17, 2017

Hello, lately I've been very busy with life and a good friend of mine wants to get into PC gaming (she's been playing on consoles a long time), and her budget is $500-600. I don't really have a lot of time to research, plan a build, etc., so I'd appreciate it if the guru's could put the best possible gaming build for that budget. She's going to be playing primarily at 1080P/60hz, she doesn't need an OS or monitor, and she doesn't need a m&k. Also, a decent, modern upgrade path would be great, if possible. It doesn't matter AMD, Intel, Nvidia, whatever is the best bang for the buck for a gaming PC. Also, it's hard to say what "type" of games she'll use it for, as she likes most everything from budget/indie titles all the way to AAA stuff like the "Middle Earth: Shadows of...." series. Thank you!

LucoTF · May 17, 2017

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Pentium G4560 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($59.48 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI - B250M PRO-VDH Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($69.99 @ B&H)
Memory: Crucial - 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($55.49 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.33 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte - Radeon RX 580 8GB Gaming 8G Video Card ($220.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Deepcool - TESSERACT BF ATX Mid Tower Case ($28.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - S12II 620W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($47.78 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $531.05
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-05-17 16:11 EDT-0400

Dark Lord of Tech · May 17, 2017

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i5-7400 3.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($176.44 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI - B250M PRO-VD Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($63.44 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Crucial - Ballistix Sport LT 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate - BarraCuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($45.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI - Radeon RX 570 4GB ARMOR OC Video Card ($174.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Deepcool - TESSERACT SW ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - S12II 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($44.89 @ Newegg)
Total: $605.62
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-05-17 16:17 EDT-0400

cisco001 · May 17, 2017

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1400 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($163.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock - AB350M Pro4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($77.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: ADATA - XPG Z1 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2800 Memory ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.33 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI - Radeon RX 570 4GB ARMOR OC Video Card ($174.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair - 270R ATX Mid Tower Case ($42.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - S12II 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($44.89 @ Newegg)
Total: $613.05
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-05-17 16:16 EDT-0400

Best to get 16GB RAM. Budget not allow...
And it worth get a cheap CM 212 Evo for OC if she got extra fund

jjjay999 · May 18, 2017

Wow. Thanks, these are all solid builds! I sent her the link, she said she may sign up for the forum if she has any questions (if you guys don't mind.)

Lucky_SLS · May 18, 2017

i would go with Luco's build. it got a 4 ram slot mobo to upgarde to16 gigs and u can later change that g4560 to an i7 7700. that rx580 will bottleneck the g4560 but when u have a 60hz monitor, its moot. only in the most demanding games, the g4560 will show its weakness.

jjjay999 · May 19, 2017

So, since Luco's build has about $70 headroom, she wants to know if there's a better CPU she can get with that $70? Other than that, she's pretty much getting those parts. She said thanks!

Lucky_SLS · May 19, 2017

i would scale down to a 4gb rx580 which is around 190. that gives about 100 bucks headroom. i would advise to start saving and get an i7 7700, which is about $280. u can sell the g4560 easily for abt 30-35 bucks. so with that 7700 and rx580, u r set with ur rig. think abt 16gigs of ram later.

madmatt30 · May 19, 2017

Id be tempted to look the other way & go for a CPU that won't need upgrading & a cheaper gpu like the 1050ti.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1500X 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($188.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock - AB350M Pro4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($84.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Crucial - Ballistix Sport LT 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($63.85 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Toshiba - 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($45.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB ACX 2.0 Video Card ($122.76 @ Jet)
Case: DIYPC - DIY-F2-W ATX Mini Tower Case ($35.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - S12II 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($44.89 @ Newegg)
Total: $587.26
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-05-19 02:35 EDT-0400

Lucky_SLS · May 19, 2017

the choice is upto u OP. the rx580 is perfect for maxing 1080p. if u r ok with medium settings, matt's build is a good choice. it all depends on ur friend if she wants to spend more on her build.

Hellfire13 · May 19, 2017

My 2 cents in the mix. The upgrade path would be a 7700 couple of years down the line with another 8gb RAM stick with a better case. But as of now this will be a very good build.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Core i5-7500 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($188.49 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock - B250M-HDV Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($62.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill - NT Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda ES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($39.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte - Radeon RX 580 4GB Gaming 4G Video Card ($198.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Rosewill - SRM-01 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($19.99 @ Jet)
Power Supply: Corsair - CXM 550W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $605.43
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-05-19 02:52 EDT-0400

madmatt30 · May 19, 2017

@hellfire - just the awful case mate IMO , if I were going I5 , I'd drop the GPU to a 570 to save $20 & spend that $20 on a better case

LucoTF · May 19, 2017

jjjay999 :

Tough to get a better CPU in that budget without getting a lower gpu. I would actually add an SSD with the rest of the budget:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Pentium G4560 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($59.48 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI - B250M PRO-VDH Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($69.99 @ B&H)
Memory: Crucial - 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($55.49 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk - SSD PLUS 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($67.88 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.33 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte - Radeon RX 580 8GB Gaming 8G Video Card ($220.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Deepcool - TESSERACT BF ATX Mid Tower Case ($34.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - S12II 620W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($47.78 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $604.92
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-05-19 03:25 EDT-0400

Because it's easy to upgrade a CPU or GPU at a later date, whereas adding an SSD after the fact is a bit more tricky (unless you're willing to reinstall windows). They don't make any difference in gaming, but the system is a bit mroe snappy and reboots are much improved - the first time you hit a problem that requires multiple restarts to fix, you'll be thanking the gods that you have an SSD.

The g4560 is perfectly fine for 2017 and maybe beyond, depending on what games she plays. But for a future cpu upgrade, I would get the i7 6700 or i7-7700. It's $300 at the moment, it will come down a little once the next generation of intel CPUs comes out, but for CPU upgrades I have a 'do it once, do it right' philosophy. You get the best cpu for this motherboard so it will give you the longest possible time before you have to upgrade again.

Incidentally, Matt's idea of a stronger CPU and weaker gpu is definitely a valid one. If your friend is happy with lowering the settings a little on the newest games then it's an attractive option for sure. Personally I actually prefer turning off things like depth of field and motion blur and think games look better without them, and I can't tell the difference between mid-high settings and ultra settings in most games.

madmatt30 · May 19, 2017

I'll be honest , I've never been the staunchest supporter of the 1050ti at all.
When it dropped at a $150-160 market price it just looked really bad value next to the amd RX 470 at $20 more.
That said if you can get one at the $125 mark then its pretty hard to fault IMO.
High settings mid 40s minimum , medium settings 60fos on anything out there.

The $600 pricepoint is a real hard one because (& everyone's builds show this) there are so many ways to go , all of which will likely require an upgrade in 2 years time

I just think get your base system right in the first place & leaving only GPU and/or ram upgrades as a real necessity makes more sense for a first timer.
The ryzen offers that in all 99% likelihood.

Gpu's ?? Look at the 1050ti now , $125 for a card that performs the same as a $200+ card 2 from 2 years ago.
That's a solid pattern over the last 5 or 6 generations aswell.
A card with the raw power of a 580 is probably going to be $120 2 years from now.
CPU prices (Intel especially) ?? They've never ever dropped over time.

LucoTF · May 19, 2017

Personally I don't see a CPU upgrade as any more difficult than a GPU upgrade, especially with intel as their heatsinks are just so easy to remove and replace. You can swap a cpu in under 5 minutes with nothing but a flathead screwdriver.

madmatt30 · May 19, 2017

LucoTF :

I agree for myself (although a gpu upgrade is still slightly quicker & easier) ,Im just saying in 2 years time a gpu upgrade will probably be a fair bit cheaper than a cpu upgrade comparitively.
Gpu price to performance ratio increases from gen to gen ,cpu prices stay exactly the same.

Hellfire13 · May 19, 2017

madmatt30 :

I know mate. Just trying to pack as much performance for the time being as possible. Thats why i said, a good case down the line will be a nice upgrade. Else, if the OP can put in another $20, there is a plethora of options to choose from.
Cheers...

Best possible budget build for a friend.

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