Budget gaming PC build: $750 - $900 range

Hey everyone, I’m looking to pick up a new PC after about 8 years. It's definitely time for an upgrade.
I'm aiming to spend around $1667, though if there's a specific build that offers a massive jump in performance, I could go as high as $2000.
Thanks!

Looking for a monitor?

1 x Gainward GF GTX1660Super GHOST OC, 6GB
1 x AMD Ryzen 1600 6C/12T Desktop CPU (3.2/3.6GHz Boost, 19MB, 65W, AM4) tray + Wraith Spira cooler
1 x Crucial 16GB Kit (2x8GB) DDR4 3000 MT/s (PC4-24000)
1 x Corsair Armis AR5 Case (no PSU included)
1 x Corsair Vero L2 600W, 80+ Bronze Power Supply
1 x GIGABYTE SSD 480GB, SATA III, 3D NAND TLC
1 x Asrock B450M PRO4-F

Total: $1742 -2% discount for builds ordered through the forum ~ $1.75 - Future-IT

Ryzen 1600 for $266 🎉👍👍

Stock seems fine, won't expire anytime soon. A 6-core multithreaded chip for an entry-level price? Honestly, it's a steal
.
Five years ago, you could only grab some dual-core i3s for this kind of cash
.

I don't need a monitor; I picked up a Dell a couple of years ago and I'm still loving it.

Thanks for the offer on the PC.

By the way, how do I actually snag that 2% discount? And where on their site do I go if I want them to put together a custom build for me? 👍

Lawrence Richardson13 said:Btw, how do you actually snag that 2% discount? And where on their site do I request them to build the components together? 👍

I think you just shoot them an email using your forum handle so they can apply the discount to the quote.

crimsonstag84 said:Do you need a monitor?

1 x GIGABYTE SSD 480GB, SATA III, 3D NAND TLC,

Total: $1742 -2% discount for builds ordered through the forum ~ $1.75 - FutureTech

Btw, do you think just an SSD is enough without an HDD? I feel like 480 GB would fill up pretty fast once you start adding movies, games, and stuff.

Lawrence Richardson13 said:btw, you think an SSD is enough on its own? without an HDD. I feel like 480 GB would fill up pretty fast with movies, games, and stuff.

If it fits the budget, just toss in a 1-2TB HDD. Stick with the same SSD though.

Given how much they're charging for a 1TB SSD at Micro Center, I guess it might actually make more sense to just grab an extra 1TB HDD instead. You could use the SSD strictly for Windows, your main apps, and games, then dump everything else onto the hard drive.

https://www.microcenter.com/hard-drive-...30465/product/

Rich after watching a movie or finishing a game? Delete everything.

Timothy Kim60 said:It's a win when you finish a movie or a game—just wipe it.

I’ve got a massive collection of all-time favorite movies and comics, and it barely hits 200-300 GB.

Why don't you just turn your current HDD into an external drive to stash all that stuff on? I highly doubt you're digging through your collection of top-tier comics and movies every single day anyway.

I might try that, we'll see. ^^

btw, how does the whole Windows installation process work? Like, if I grab a license from eBay and get a download link... how am I supposed to actually download it if there's no Windows on the new PC yet?

sorry if that sounds like a dumb question 😁

edit: oh, I just saw that Microsoft has a media tool. So you can just download everything on another PC, put it on a USB drive, and then install Windows on the new one...?

Download the media creation tool on a different computer, then burn it onto a USB drive—say, Windows 10 Pro 64. You can usually find a Windows 10 license on eBay for just a couple of bucks.

Yeah, exactly what he said.

If the installation happens to hang on you—which happens once in a blue moon—just give Microsoft US a call and they'll hook you up with an activation code.

Timothy Kim60 said:Just wipe it once you're done watching the movie or finishing the game. It's simple logic.

Data hoarder alert. You're basically a digital packrat, aren't you?🤣

What’s actually the difference between these graphics cards?

Gainward vs. Palit.
The price gap is $267 in the future; I don't know much about this stuff, but they look exactly the same to me.

It might look similar, but don't be fooled—it’s a completely different GPU chip

By the way, you can grab the first one later through the link for $83 a lower price

Here's an option featuring the RTX 2060

https://www.amazon.com/manli-rtx2060-gal...m_medium=click

Look, if you're rocking a high refresh rate 1080p monitor, buying an RTX 2060 over a GTX 1660 Ti or Super is a total waste of cash 95% of the time. Honestly, I’d just go with whatever Smartik suggested.

If you've got extra money burning a hole in your pocket, don't blow it on the GPU—put it toward a beefier processor instead. The Ryzen 5 1600 is an absolute steal, but for maybe $800-$$300 more (bringing you up to $6,000), you can grab a much newer Ryzen 5 3600. That chip is actually going to make a noticeable difference in CPU-heavy games.

I think I'll just grab the RTX 3060 then. The RTX models at Best Buy were totally wiped out today—someone must have snagged the last one or something.
As for the CPU, do you really think it’s worth it? Spending an extra 800-$300 feels like I'd be going broke before my next paycheck hits.😁