Budget gaming PC build for the kids

I’m always a bit lost when it comes to power supplies. Any recommendations on what I should grab?
The SSD looks fine to me, just a note.
I missed the RAM entirely, so yeah, fair point.
As for the HDD, whatever.
Regarding the processor—am I going to need to overclock this thing or what? Is the stock cooler really that underwhelming?

Look, you aren't exactly making a mistake by picking that power supply, but I was mostly just pointing out that since you aren't planning on overclocking, you could probably grab something a bit cheaper or maybe step up to something slightly higher quality for the same buck.

As for the CPU, if you're staying within the factory settings and not messing with clock speeds, that stock cooler is going to be totally fine—you won't regret grabbing the Ryzen 5 2600.
If it were my money, though? I’d personally lean toward the 1600X paired with an Arctic Freezer 33. It’s basically just better value for the exact same price. You end up getting the same performance but with a chip that runs a hell of a lot cooler and quieter.

https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compar...00X/3955vs3920

So, I'm looking at this MSI RX580 8 G Armor. It’s a Radeon card with 8GB of GDDR5 and a 256-bit bus, running at 1340/2000MHz (V341-091). It seems decent enough, I guess.
So, I've got an AMD Ryzen 5 1600X BOX, 3.6GHz with 16Mb on the AM4 socket. Just putting that out there, I guess.
Maybe consider some DDR4 16GB (2x8GB) Crucial Ballistix Sport kits, specifically the 3000MHz version (BLS2K8G4D30BESBK). It seems like a solid choice.
So, I'm looking at this 240GB Kingston A400 SSD, the SATA3 version (SA400S37/240G). Just a basic little drive, I guess.
So, I was looking at this Fortron CMT 230 power supply—the 550W Hydro GE model with ATX 2.4 support. It seems like a decent enough option, I guess.
Fortron CMT 230 case, black with a window, no PSU included, ATX.
It looks like the ATX Arctic Freezer 33 covers quite a range, including AM4 and those various Intel sockets. I guess it’s pretty versatile for most builds.
I guess it’s the MSI B450 Tomahawk, an AM4 board.

Total: $2383Maybe 12 monthly installments?

Do you pay in installments or all at once? If you go with the lump sum, the Price1 is about 5% cheaper, I guess.

Just a quick noob question here: does that Ryzen 5 1600 come overclocked right out of the box, or is it something you have to do yourself? And if it's the latter, is that why people say you'll need a better cooler?

I guess the Ryzen 5 1600 doesn't come with a cooler included.

Hey everyone... I don't want to clutter things up by starting a whole new thread...

A buddy of mine asked if I could put together a quick gaming rig for his kids.
They're mostly playing stuff like Fortnite, League of Legends, FIFA, and that kind of thing.
No need to worry about peripherals or anything else.

He’s working with a budget of maybe $600-$700. So, we're looking for that sweet spot—a total best buy, you know? That's the absolute ceiling he can stretch to.

It would be awesome if I could just grab everything from one single shop, if that’s even an option...

EDIT:
Got it sorted, thanks 😁

So, I finally pulled the trigger on my build. I ended up stretching the budget a little more than I originally intended, but here is what I landed on:

ASRock AB350M PRO4 motherboard, AM4 socket
Gigabyte GTX1660 ti OC 6 g graphics card, 6GB GDDR6, 1800/1500MHz
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 processor, 3.40GHz, 16MB Cache, AM4 socket
16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-24000U 3000MHz CL16 G.Skill Aegis
550W Fortron Hydro GE power supply, ATX 2.4
Arctic F12 Silent fan, 120mm, 800rpm, 62.9m³/h
Zalman S3 case, acrylic window
2x 240GB TRANSCEND 220S SSDs (picked these up at a steal through a friend)

Total: $2.00 excluding the drives.

Well, everything is finally assembled and running smoothly, though I ran into a bit of a hiccup along the way. I’m not entirely sure which specific fix did the trick, but maybe this will help someone else out there.

While gaming, I kept getting hit with a Blue Screen of Death featuring a > error. My only real "sin" was jumping into the BIOS and trying to force an XMP profile at 3000MHz. Interestingly enough, this motherboard doesn't seem to play nice with these G.Skill sticks at 3000MHz—it lists them as 2933MHz instead—while the 3200MHz versions seem to be supported. To fix it, I updated the BIOS, did a clean driver installation for the GPU, and dialed the RAM back down to 2933MHz. It solved the issue, so I suspect that slight frequency adjustment was the key.

On a side note, I actually botched the initial RAM installation. I had them tucked into slots A1 and A2 when they really belonged in A2 and B2. The system was crashing Windows every few minutes until I corrected that mistake. I suppose my blunder was not digging a little deeper into the manual regarding optimal slot placement before starting. It seemed like such a straightforward DIY build, yet I still managed to stumble into a few minor headaches. 🙂

Yeah, there's always some little glitch popping up. Nothing stays perfect forever.

Did you check if 3000MHz actually works yet?
Maybe try 3200?

I haven't tried it, and honestly, I don't plan to. It’s just not really on my radar.

It seems I’m hitting a wall trying to get this Aegis RAM up to 3000 MHz—which is really just 1501 MHz according to the XMP profile—on my x370 motherboard, even though I've gone ahead and selected the correct D.O.C.P. settings... and since I currently have them seated in the A2 and B2 slots, just as the manual explicitly instructs 😵, I honestly can't be bothered to pull them all out again right now...

So, we’re looking to pick up a desktop for a teenager—someone who needs to be able to run Fortnite on at least medium settings. Right now, they're stuck playing on a laptop with everything cranked down to low, and honestly, it's painful to watch. They mostly stick to those shooters where it's all about quick reflexes and constant gunfire.
We don't need to worry about peripherals; we've already got that covered.

First off, which retailers should I steer clear of entirely? I know some names have been brought up here before regarding bad service or sketchy deals. On the flip side, are there any specific shops you guys swear by? I'd rather just go straight to the good ones and not waste my time browsing everywhere else.
Future-proofing is a big deal for us—we want something that can actually be upgraded later—and we’re definitely leaning toward whatever offers the longest warranty possible.

What kind of budget are we looking at here? And does that include a monitor, or are you looking for just the tower? If you've already got one in mind, let me know!

I can almost run Fortnite on medium settings without any issues, but the moment you try to upgrade to something newer, you're right back to square one—especially if you're trying to keep costs to a minimum.

It’ll definitely be built around an Ryzen 5 1600, which should work fine for $267. As for GPUs, you could go a dozen different ways depending on what you want to spend. You can snag an MSI RX580 8 G Armor for under $533, though I suppose the RX 5500 is an option now too... 😬

Timothy Kim60 said:What budget? Does it include a monitor? If you have one in mind, let us know.

Even running > on medium settings is almost playable on this thing—but the second you try to upgrade to anything modern, you’re going to hit a wall again (assuming we're talking about keeping costs down here).

Buying a monitor right now is just a bad move. He’s using this one, and it’s still under warranty:
https://lenovastore.com/monitors/moni...rved-27-detail

But whatever he gets next, it’ll definitely need a higher resolution.

Look, I don't have a set budget, and I'm not looking for "budget" builds that force us to swap parts out immediately just to stay relevant. That’s why I mentioned the specific games—I want to find the sweet spot. Even though > runs okay on his current setup, I’m counting on this new machine being able to handle more than just the bare minimum. From my perspective—and I'm clearly no pro gamer, nor is he—it plays fine enough right now. But hey, what do I know? He’s moving over to a desktop, and since he’s paying for most of this out of his own savings, I can't really lecture him too much. I can only offer suggestions and ask for help here so we don't end up throwing money down the drain.

For instance, if I look at this deal:
https://www.microcenter.com/desktop-computers.../190/

We'd probably be looking at starting somewhere near $400, and heading up from there. But how far up? Which of these options won't be a total mistake?
Is it actually better to go with an > or a >?
Checking this link https://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compar...580/4038vs3923, I noticed some other games he might play, which makes it seem like the GTX is the superior choice. But does it even make sense to jump to > given the monitor he’s currently using? 🤔

If you know any reputable shops, could you link some pre-built configurations that actually offer good value?
I looked at Micro Center, but I've heard > and > aren't the best places to shop... So, who's actually worth dealing with?

1 x AMD Ryzen 5 1600 6C/12T 3.2/3.6GHz
1 x ASRock AB350M PRO4
1 x Crucial 16GB Kit ( 2x8GB ) DDR4 3000 MT/s (PC4-24000)
1 x EVGA 500W, 80+ Bronze Power Supply
1 x Cooler Master Mid-Tower Case, no PSU included
1 x GIGABYTE SSD 1TB, SATA III, 3D NAND TLC
1 x Palit GF GTX1660 Ti Dual, 6GB GDDR6

Total: $1977 ... Best Buy

I guess you can grab an extra 2% off if you show off the build on the forum once it's finished.

Thanks a ton for the specific breakdown. My only thought—and maybe I'm just being picky here—is that we should probably grab a case with more USB ports right on the front panel. You can never have enough of those, seriously.
Also, I was thinking about tossing in an internal optical drive just so he doesn't have to keep bugging me to borrow my external one whenever he needs it (even if it’s not super frequent). Is this setup hitting that sweet spot where it won't be obsolete by next year? And more importantly, is the motherboard flexible enough that we can actually swap parts or upgrade things down the road without starting from scratch?
What’s the deal with connectivity—Bluetooth and Wi-Fi? Do we need to pick up extra modules for that, or is it built-in? We're just using our standard home network.