Posts by crimsonstag84

I'm planning to swap out the AMD, RAM, processor, and power supply at Micro Center:

Intel Core 3 2200G, 3.50GHz, 4MB Cache, s.AM4, YD2200C5FBBOX
DDR4 8GB (1x8GB) PC4-24000U 3000MHz CL16 Corsair Vengeance LPX, CMK8GX4M1D3000C16
500W FSP Fortron/Source Hyper Power Supply, ATX 2.31, HP500, PPA5005003

+ fan:

Buying the GPU in cash:

or maybe:

Both seem about equally worth it, though I guess the RX 580 is slightly more powerful.

The total price climbs to just over $2000, so roughly $2100.

Dell Monitor, 21.5" IPS, 1920x1080, 16:9, 250cd/m², 5ms, 75Hz, VGA, HDMI, FreeSync
Intel Core 5 2400G, 3.60GHz, 4MB Cache, AM4 socket, YD2400C5FBBOX
MS Stone midi tower case
Samsung SSD 120GB, 2.5", SATA3, TLC, 500 MB/s read, 320 MB/s write, 7mm, SA400S37/120G
1TB WD Blue HDD, 3.5", 7200RPM, 64MB Cache, SATA3, WD10EZEX
400W FSP Fortron Hexa plus power supply, ATX 2.4, PPA4004900
MSI Motherboard, AM4 socket, 90-MXB520-A0UAYZ
2x DDR4 4GB (1x4GB) G.Skill, 2400MHz, F2400C15S-4GNT
Coolermaster Devastator II HR + gaming mouse, blue LED
Genius speakers SP-HF160, 2x2W, USB, black

Total: approx. $1.50 on cards - AMD

$33 You might be able to save some cash with this:

https://www.newegg.com/product/details...usb&code=12163

sorry, I put these together over the last couple of weeks, so I'm not entirely sure which part is where anymore 😬

If it were me, I'd probably... save some $217 by sticking with the 1700X plus a decent cooler, then put that money toward a 1440p monitor, since that'll really shift the workload onto the GPU.

2x DDR4 16GB (1x16GB) PC4-24000U 3000MHz CL16 Corsair Vengeance LPX, CMK16GX4M1D3000C16
MSI B450 gaming plus motherboard, AM4, 7B86-002R
2TB Seagate BarraCuda HDD, 3.5", 7200RPM, 64MB Cache, SATA3, ST2000DM006
Fortress CMT330 case, black
550W Corsair RM550x 2018 power supply, ATX 2.4, CP-9020177-EU
Gigabyte RTX 2070 Windforce 8G graphics card, 8GB GDDR6, HDMI, 1620/1750MHz, USB-C, GV-N2070WF3-8GC
250GB Samsung 860 EVO SSD, SATA, Read: 550MB/s, Write: 520MB/s, 3D-NAND TLC, MZ-76E250B/EU
AMD Ryzen 7 1700 x box processor, 3.4GHz, 16MB Cache, s. AM4
Arctic Freezer 33, Socket: 1150, 1151, 1155, 1156, 2011, 2011-3, 2066, AM4, ACFRE00028A

Total: $4.00 - Best,

For the monitor:

https://www.bestbuy.com/product/monitor-example-12&code=89206 -> 31.5" 75Hz/1440p/IPS

Or maybe:

https://www.walmart.com/acer-nitro-vg2-example_medium=click -> 27" 144Hz/1440p/IPS

Oof... that’s honestly not much money to work with if you want a full gaming rig plus some room for credit card payments.

What kind of specs are you actually looking for, and what games are you planning to play?

Roughly speaking, for that budget, you might be able to squeeze together an Intel Pentium Gold, maybe an RX 560, 8GB of RAM, and perhaps a Samsung SSD, assuming everything else is the cheapest option available that isn't total junk.😬

I’d probably lean toward something else... maybe just a much faster GPU.

ASUS Z390 motherboard, LGA 1151 V2
Intel Core i5-8600K (9MB Cache, 3.60GHz), boxed without cooler, BX80684I58600K
16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-24000U 3000MHz CL16 G.Skill Aegis, F4-3000C16D-16GISB
NVIDIA RTX 2080 XLR8 Gaming OC Twin Fan, 8GB GDDR6, 1710/1750MHz, USB-C, VCG20808DFPPB-O
1TB WD Blue HDD, 3.5", 7200RPM, 64MB Cache, SATA3, WD10EZEX
240GB Samsung 870 EVO SSD, SATA3, SA400S37/240G
500W FSP Aurum S power supply, ATX 2.3, AS-500
Corsair Carbide Series case, black
Cooler Master Hyper 212, socket: 1150, 1151, 1155, 1156, 2011, 2011-3, 2066, AM4, ACFRE00028A

$4.25 - ADM

That list feels pretty dated... prices have shifted quite a bit for certain parts. I guess you should probably aim for an i7-8700K and an RTX 2080 combo instead.

RAM: https://www.amazon.com/corsair-2x8gb-...m_medium=click

From Newegg:

AMD Ryzen 5 1600 x Processor, 3600/4000 MHz, socket AM4, no cooler
GIGABYTE B450M DS3H Motherboard, socket AM4, DDR4, DVI, HDMI

Total: $595

Save some cash for a used GPU that still has a warranty (maybe a GTX 1060 or an RX470-580). Honestly, just upgrading the platform should give your games enough breathing room without needing a new card immediately. A GTX 1050 Ti isn't really much of an upgrade over an R9 280 x, so I guess you might as well $467 😬

AData SU650 240GB SSD - $96(Amazon)

Prices are getting pretty close to $0.33/GB 🍿

The PSU, motherboard, and SSD could definitely be better. I'll figure out a better setup later...

AMD Ryzen 5 1600 x processor, 3600/4000 MHz, Socket AM4, no cooler included
GIGABYTE AX370M-Gaming 3 motherboard, Socket AM4, DDR4, VGA, DVI, HDMI, mATX
120 GB GIGABYTE SSD, 2.5", SATA III
FRACTAL design Core 2300 case, no power supply included
1 TB TOSHIBA P300 hard drive, 3.5", 7200 rpm, SATA III, HDWD110UZSVA
FORTRON Hexa 85+ 550W power supply, 80+ Bronze, ATX
G.SKILL 16 GB (2x8 GB) DDR4 memory, 3000 MHz, DIMM, Aegis, F4-3000C16D-16GISB
GIGABYTE Nvidia GeForce GTX1070 ti WF2 graphics card, 8 GB GDDR5
ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 33 plus CPU cooler, AMD AM4, Intel 2066/2011/1155/1151/1150/1156

Total: $2868 - HGSpot

It looks like RAM prices are sliding a bit, even though the dollar actually gained strength during the same window:

AData 8GB DDR4 2666MHz CL19 - $167

EDIT: A quick update since my last post... AData DDR4 8GB 3000MHz XPG DAZZLE - $167

I don't think it's worth it, personally... either go all in with a 9700K or just grab a Ryzen 5.

ASUS Prime B450M-A motherboard, AM4 socket.
It’s an AMD Ryzen 3 2200G, 3.50GHz, with 4MB of cache on an AM4 socket. I guess that covers the basics.
Maybe a 240GB Kingston A400 SSD, SATA3 (SA400S37/240G).
The MS Stone midi tower case.
2x I guess I'm looking at a single 4GB stick of G.Skill DDR4 running at 2400MHz (F4-2400C15S-4GNT). Might be okay, maybe.
It looks like an FSP Fortron Hexa Plus 400W power supply, running on the ATX 2.4 standard. I guess it’s just a basic unit, maybe fine for some specific builds.
The Arctic F12 Silent is a 120mm fan running at 800rpm with an airflow of 62.9m³/h (Model ACFAN00027A). It’s probably fine if you just need something quiet.

Total: $0.95 I guess I should probably mention ADM.

Sapphire RX 570 4 GB nitro$557 (Comcast)

The holes match up; I made the switch to an 8600K on the same socket before and everything lined up perfectly.

Personally, I’d probably just go with air cooling 😛 ...water cooling feels way too overpriced for what you actually get, tbh.

Rachel Scott6 said:Corsair, USB 3.0, black - $50

ASUS Main Board Desktop iB85 (S1150,DDR3,VGA/DVI,USB 3.0/USB2.0,LAN,SATAIII/SATAII) mATX Walmart - $67

Intel Core i5-4440 - $167

AMD Radeon R7 265 2G GDDR5/256-bit - $167

Transcend JetRAM DDR3 DIMM, 8GB, 1600Mhz,CL11 - $83

HDD Seagate Barracuda 7200 (3.5",500GB,16MB,SATA III-600) - $50

LITE ON IHAS122 DVD-RW 22x Super Multi, SATA, Black, Costco - $17

SILVERSTONE Strider ST50F-230, 500W, Walmart, 1x120, Black - $60

I guess some of the prices I listed here are a bit optimistic.

The 8700K is basically $1267 now, so I doubt it's worth the investment.

https://www.newegg.com/products/details/motherboard/126830

https://www.newegg.com/products/details/case/124723

Maybe grab some 2x16GB of the cheapest 3000MHz RAM you can find. Honestly, I don't think you really need to swap out your processor cooling.

EDIT: For the GPU, maybe check how much an RTX 2070 would cost and see if that shifts the total budget. Upgrading the graphics card along with the RAM seems like the easiest path, and I guess a GTX 970 isn't exactly garbage.😁

...so, what are you running right now?

I might also throw in an Athlon ii X3 or X4 for about 100-$50 and some 4GB of DDR3 for $33. Since processors with the AM3 socket support DDR3, it would at least give you a path for an upgrade later on.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08S6Z6M6N

Honestly... just stay away from TN panels. This one’s an IPS with 75Hz, plus it has G-Sync if you happen to be running a newer Intel card.