This project demonstrates several things. To begin, so long as you don’t buy too much graphics card (as in, a board that's far more powerful than the rest of the platform), an overclocked Pentium G3258 is a great value, even if it's never going to be a truly high-end processor. Cap your goal at a reasonable 4.4 GHz or so and you'll find that little effort needs to go into overclocking.
Once again, we want to emphasize that a reasonable balance between graphics card performance and the CPU should be sought.
MSI's H97M-G43 is a relatively inexpensive option for overclocking the Pentium if you don’t want to spend more money on a Z97-based board. Granted, the firmware that allows overclocking is an unofficial, leaked version, so going down this path is not without risks. And if you want to save even more money, there's always the B81-based MSI motherboard used previously in our Pentium overclocking experiment, which sells for a scant $45.
With that, the CPU, motherboard, and graphics card are a great match. Anything else?
It's certainly not going to appeal to everyone, but Deepcool's Steam Castle is at least something different. Whether you plan to mod it or not, functionality-wise, this is a good case. It sports plenty of nifty details, and we enjoyed building with it. Conversely, the externally-facing 3.5" drive bay is unnecessary and would prefer the audio jacks to be marked. We also found that the front fan slightly rumbles at low RPMs.
We wish we could say it was possible to build an identical copy of this system. However, some of the components that are readily available oversees haven't shown up yet in the U.S. Still, the ideas we're presented translate over. In every country, Nvidia's GeForce GTX 750 Ti is an efficient little card that's plenty fast, even if you're forced to pay a premium for its compact dimensions and Maxwell architecture. Intel's Pentium G3258 makes for an idea complement. And going any faster on the graphics side with such a mainstream platform just wouldn't make sense. Keep balance in mind as you build.
Deepcool's Steam Castle is a visually interesting case that offers some interesting features. You can't get the Maelstrom 120 here, though even if you could, we're not convinced you'd want to spend big on closed-loop liquid cooling for a $70 CPU anyway. Our already-published experiments show you can hit 4.4 GHz using Intel's bundled cooler with a bit of luck.
Regardless of which way you go with your own components, there's lot of fun to be had building your own entry-level PC. It doesn't always have to be all about high-end hardware.
- Building a Budget Intel-Based MicroATX Gaming Cube
- Deepcool Steam Castle
- MSI H97M-G43 and Intel Pentium G3258
- Deepcool Maelstrom 120: Closed-Loop Liquid Cooling
- Storage Installation
- PSU Installation and Cabling
- Installing the Graphics Card and Finishing Touches
- Overclocking Temperature and Sound
- Picking Parts For Your Own Build


I would get a X4 760K with a better GPU instead of a G3258 with a more expensive motherboard...
Yeah a I5 would totally be better, but as for gaming, it would not push a 750 TI much more than a G3258 would. But you are right to think that a water cooling is not a good idea budget-wise
AIO $ 80, ODD $16 , RAM 8GB (2x4GB) $73
Most of these budget build makes no sense when there is no strict budget cap. Next time when there is another budget build and there is something that just got to have it, but cost like $100 more, let's up the price cap and still call it a budget build!
exactly my first thoughts. I'd go with a Fractal Design Core 1000, an EKL Alpenfohn Sella, and just get a MX100 256GB instead of the HDD. If you really need more space, you can always get a big HDD later, or just buy an external USB 3.0 one, or use an NAS or cloud. Also a good 300W PSU should be more than enough for this system, even if you overclock to 4.5 GHz.
exactly my first thoughts. I'd go with a Fractal Design Core 1000, an EKL Alpenfohn Sella, and just get a MX100 256GB instead of the HDD. If you really need more space, you can always get a big HDD later, or just buy an external USB 3.0 one, or use an NAS or cloud. Also a good 300W PSU should be more than enough for this system, even if you overclock to 4.5 GHz.
Yeah, but in a budget build I would use a HDD only. Games these days are about 20-40gigs. That's a lot. SSD's will only increase the loading times, nothing else, no graphical improvements. I would just go with a WB black and spend the saved money on a better CPU/GPU.
And a 400-500W PSU would be the better way, since good 300W PSU's are hard to find everywhere. Plus if the graphics card gets pumped up, the power will too. The Seasonic S520II is the best budget PSU right now.
G3258 $79
MSI Z87M GAMING motherboard $179
Kingston hyper x fury black $99
western digital caviar blue $69
2nd hand 500W psu $15
2nd hand GTX 660 $140
3 coolermaster sickleflow x green fans x3 $12 ($36)
1 bitfenix spectre pro 200mm green $27
gigabyte k7 force keyboard $59
razer naga hex green $79
and a generic cd rom $19
this is a nice looking budget build and performs really well
and if you where to buy a new GTX 660 it would be $199
and a new 500 w psu it would be $49 so it would be $895
and the G3250 can be overclocked to 4.5 on the stock cooler for me.
I play watchdogs a lot high textures and ultra graphics setting and I get between 25-50 fps average is around 40fps
this is a high performance budget build and stays really cool