Budget PC build: $750 limit

Look, I’ll be the first to admit: I haven't touched anything related to PC building in about a decade.

The case...
As far as old parts go, I’ve got a DVD burner and a 1TB SATA 2 hard drive sitting around.
Everything else needs to be brand new.
For the CPU, I was thinking something along these lines:
i3 8100 $467
DDR4 RAM 8GB 3000MHz Panther Silver $210
GTX 1050 Ti (honestly, I'm thinking about grabbing one used since they're basically half price right now) $542
A 240GB SSD
Also, if anyone knows a decent online shop where I can snag some deals, let me know. =) But here's the kicker: I absolutely need to be able to pay in installments using a Chase card. Money is a bit tight lately.

I reckon you can put together a pretty solid rig for $1167 if you aren't looking to include a GPU right away.
Honestly, I’d steer clear of that Intel chip and go with a Ryzen 5 1600 or maybe a Ryzen 5 2600 instead. You get way more bang for your buck at that price point.
Also, don't waste your money on a 1050Ti. It's a total rip-off when you realize you can snag a used GTX 1060 with a warranty on eBay for just $300.

No way you're buying an i3 8100 at those prices. $467 It’s total hype. Before Intel's prices went through the roof, it used to sit under $333.

If you're set on a quad-core, grab a Ryzen 3 2200g for <$300 since the performance is basically neck-and-neck with that i3.
Or, if you want to actually spend some money, go for a Ryzen 1600/2600.

What are you even planning to use the PC for?

Mostly just for gaming.

What resolution are we talking about?

Basically, go with a Ryzen 5 1600 or a 1600X and whatever beefy GPU you can actually afford.

I'm going with a 22" monitor because anything bigger just won't fit on my desk =)

EDIT
I'll probably grab a used GPU about 99% of the time.
I actually found a GTX 1060 3G OC Edition 3072MB DDR5 for $333—honestly looks like a better move than the other option for that kind of cash. This is 3.7 miles a local guy's offer, comes with a warranty valid until 2020.
What do you guys think?
I'm pretty much stuck with the used market since I'm working with a tight budget here.
Though, if I can find a $167 better deal on a CPU, I could swing a new one, but looking at prices, used CPUs and brand-new ones seem to be priced almost identically right now. :/

Here’s the rest of the build I put together:
AMD Ryzen 5 1600 BOX, Socket AM4, 3.4GHz, 19MB cache, Hexa-core, Wraith Stealth $493
ASROCK A320M-HDV motherboard, AMD A320, DDR4, mATX, Socket AM4 $130
OR an ASUS Prime A320M-K $6.75 which is pricier; I'm having a hard time deciding between them.
DDR4 RAM, 8 GB, GEIL EVO Spear GSB48GB3000C16ADC, DDR4 3000MHz, 2x4GB kit $210
240.0 GB CRUCIAL BX500 SSD, CT240BX500SSD1, SATA3, 2.5", max up to 540/500 MB/s $114
MS Industrial Fighter case, MIDI, ATX, black, no PSU included $57
500W Power Supply, CHIEFTEC Smart Series GPS-500A8, ATX v2.3, 120mm fan, PFC $113
LG GH24NSD1 DVD±RW, 24x, SATA, Dual layer, black, bulk $33
Add that GPU from earlier to this: $1.50
Plus $233 a 22" ASUS VP228TE LED monitor, FHD 1ms, DVI
And a 1TB hard drive (I've already got that lying around from my old rig).

I also got a quote from another shop for some DDR4
DDR4 8GB APACER PANTHER SILVER 3000MHZ for $208 (THIS looks like a better deal to me than the one I mentioned before).

Intel Core i5-7600K processor, LGA 1151 socket, 3.6GHz, 19MB cache, Hexa-core, cooler not included.
The ASUS Prime B350-Plus features an Intel B360 chipset, DDR4 support, and standard audio, Gigabit LAN, SATA, and M.2 connectivity. It includes PCI-E 3.0, D-Sub, DVI, and HDMI ports, plus USB 3.0-C, all on an ATX form factor with an AM4 socket.
PC-24000 RAM, 8 GB, GEIL EVO Spear GSB48GB3000C16ADC, DDR4 3000MHz, 2x4GB kit
Gigabyte UD Pro 240GB SSD, SATA III, 2.5" — tops out at around 500/420 MB/s, I guess.
It’s a 500W power supply, an Antec VP500PC ES. It follows the ATX v2.3 standard and features a 120mm fan.
ASUS ROG Matrix gaming case, Midi, ATX, Micro-ATX, black, PSU not included.
22-inch Dell S2221H monitor, 5ms response time, 250cd/m2 brightness, 3000:1 contrast ratio, black.
The LC POWER LC-CC-95 Cosmo Cool liquid cooler—it covers everything from LGA 775 up through AM4. Seems pretty versatile, I guess.
The ARCTIC P12 Silent fan—120mm, hitting about 1050 RPM.

$1416 Any links? Also, let me know if there's an option to pay in installments.

Everything works pretty well with this setup, and I guess you’ve still got enough left over to pick up a used graphics card.

Why bother aiming for 1600 when you can just grab the 2600 setup? At the end of the day, the price difference is basically nothing.
Obviously, the motherboard is going to be better and cost more—that’s a given.
I’ll probably pick up the monitor at Best Buy since the deals are better there anyway. Plus, I’m looking for that 1ms response time, whereas this one is sitting at a sluggish 5ms.
As for that SSD I mentioned, it's a 540/500 model, so it technically qualifies as "fast."
And I still need to figure out the RAM... should I go with 2x4GB or just a single 1x8GB stick? I know the old rule of thumb was that dual channels with 2x4GB always performed better.

Prices aren't identical. At Los Angeles, for instance, you're looking at 1600X for $400, while the 2600 is almost $500.

Definitely steer clear of that A320 motherboard. You can't overclock on it, and even if you don't plan to push the CPU, a B350 or B450 will hold those boost clocks much better.

If they were the same price, I'd go with the 2600. But since the gap is tiny, the 1600X still makes sense because its boost clocks are decent—and if you do decide to overclock, you're only looking at about a 200MHz difference anyway.

You can easily overclock the 1600X to 3.8GHz all-core, or just leave it at stock and let XFR handle the clock speeds.

True, but since the 1600x doesn't come with a cooler, that makes things $33 even worse. Honestly, if you're looking at a $200 price gap, I'd say the 2600 is the smarter play here
I'm on the same page regarding the motherboard—already added that to my list 🙂

True, you get a cooler with the 2600, but let's be real—it’s a F-35 Lightning II level nothingburger. It’s basic.

Picking one isn't easy.

The 1600 comes with the Wraith Spira, which actually beats the one bundled with the 2600. That’s a solid move. For roughly what you'd pay for a 1600X, you get a decent cooler, though out-of-the-box the clock speeds are lower. You'd probably want to overclock it to something like 3.8GHz (overclocking potential is basically the same as the 1600X).

The 1600X has higher clocks, but there's no cooler included. If you grab a Freezer 33—which is actually good and outperforms the Wraith Spira—you end up around $467. You can just run it at stock using boost or try to overclock.

The 2600 packs the Wraith Stealth. It’s mediocre, but fine if you're sticking to stock settings.
Also, the 2600 is a few percent faster at the same clock speeds, has speeds similar to the 1600X, and a slightly better memory controller. But it costs more than the first two and you're stuck with that thin little cooler.

It all depends on whether you plan to overclock or not. If you're going to do even some basic overclocking, the 1600 is likely your best bang for the buck.

If you don't care about the price gap, the 2600 is probably the path of least resistance. It won't perform worse than the other two, even with that stock cooler.

The 1600X is suggested because Smartic wanted to bundle everything together for convenience—you get free assembly, plus the 1600X at the Los Angeles price point is actually a steal. We usually recommend parts from a single source because we don't assume the OP wants to jump between different shops just to squeeze out a few extra bucks for $33 total savings. If someone really wants to hunt for deals, sure, why not?

Look, if you pair the 1600X with Freezer 33, you might end up close to $2600. But then again, you’re getting a decent cooler that actually allows for better overclocking than a 2600 paired with a cheap stock cooler. In that sense, it’s not even slower—it could actually be slightly faster for a tiny bit less cash, if we're really splitting hairs here. Honestly, it doesn't matter much; it's not a game-changing decision, and whatever you pick will be fine.

Regarding that i3 8100, it used to go for around $800 at one point... if that price had held, I probably would have recommended it more often. Even back then, though, we were more likely to suggest the Ryzen 5 6c/12t, because for 50% more money, you're getting 50% more cores (plus a better upgrade path, an unlocked CPU, though no integrated graphics). Looking at threads alone, it's 4 versus 12. At current prices, the i3 8100 isn't even worth considering; buying that would be a total lapse in judgment.

If you're looking at that monitor Smartik suggested, just grab it. Seriously. As for the case, looks like they're totally out of stock right now.

Honestly, the performance gap between the 1600X and the 2600 is basically non-existent. I'm talking negligible—I wouldn't even call it a 1% difference. The 2600 has slightly newer architecture, while the 1600X pushes a bit higher clock speeds. But the real kicker between those two is the efficiency. You're looking at a TDP of 95W versus a TDP of 65W. That means the 1600X is going to pump out 30W more heat than the 2600 just to get the same job done.

That said, pairing a 1600X with a Freezer 33 is still a better budget move than running a 2600 with a cheap stock cooler. I'd skip the LC Cosmo 95 entirely, though—it’s a total waste of cash since there isn't much of a real-world difference between that and the standard R5 2600 stock cooler.

Look, the difference between 95W and 65W isn't actually real. It’s just marketing fluff and some "recommended" cooler wattage.
It's the same way Intel slaps the same TDP on 6-core chips as they do on 4-core ones—obviously, they don't pull the same power in the real world.

In reality, you're looking at maybe a 10% difference in energy efficiency if you keep the clock speeds identical.

Basically, the 2600 hits higher clocks by about 200MHz while staying at the exact same voltage and power draw.

For now, nothing's changing. This rig basically runs 24/7 because nobody’s lazy enough to actually hit the power button..
I'm eyeing the 2600 here.

And this GPU is just a GTX 1060 3GB. Maybe a better deal will pop up and give me an actual clue what I should be looking for. Ten years ago, I knew exactly how this whole market worked. Nowadays? Not a clue. 🙂 Last time I really kept tabs on things, DX9 was still the standard. 🙂

Look, $333 it really comes down to this—you're looking at the GTX 1060 3GB or maybe an RX 470/570. I'm not entirely sure if the RX 480/580 or the 6GB version of the GTX 1060 have started hitting those price points yet... Just make sure you pick something with a solid warranty.

M.2 is simply the physical connection interface; the actual data transfer protocol can be either SATA & NVMe

If you're using an M.2 SATA drive, the performance is identical—it’s just plugged directly into the motherboard instead of using a SATA cable. If it's NVMe, it's technically faster, but honestly, for a typical home user or gamer, you probably won't even notice the difference. So, the short answer is likely no.