Budget PC build under $550

Greetings, everyone.

I am currently in the process of assembling a computer specifically for gaming purposes, and I find myself in need of some collective wisdom from this group.
Essentially, I am trying to determine what would constitute the most optimal configuration without exceeding a budget of $1233
. To be clear, I have no intention of including a case, a hard drive, or a power supply unit in this specific calculation.
My focus is strictly limited to the motherboard, RAM, the processor, and the graphics card, provided they stay under $1233
. I suppose I should say thank you in advance for any guidance you might offer.🙂

Timothy Brown61 said:Hey everyone,

I'm putting together a gaming rig and could use some help from you guys.
Specifically, I want to know what the best setup would be for under $1233
. I don't need a case, hard drive, or power supply for this build.
Just looking for a motherboard, RAM, CPU, and GPU within the $1233
range. Thanks in advance! 🙂

What kind of case, PSU, and HDD are you working with? Just want to make sure everything fits.

Yeah, you should probably let us know what the rest of your build looks like, just to be safe 😉

AMD Radeon R9 380 2GB, XFX-R9-380P-2DF5
AMD FX-Series X6 6300 3.5GHz, 14MB, 95W, AM3+
Gigabyte 970A-DS3P v2.0, AM3+, AMD 970 SB950, 4x DDR3 2000(O.C.)/1866/1600, 1 x PCI Express x16
SCYTHE Tatsumi, SCTTM-1000B
DDR3 8GB (1x8GB) Kingmax, 1600MHz, non-ECC, CL9.0, FLGG

Total: $1.25 ADM

+$57 maybe a bit more if you can stretch the budget for an AMD FX 8300.

It’s a joke when you're stuck dealing with some cheap, off-brand power supply 🤣

Robert Rodriguez2 said:nowadays, you end up with some cheap, bottom-of-the-barrel power supply 🤣

Some off-brand case that's basically the size of a matchbox😁

If you've already got a decent PSU, a solid case, and a SATA HDD, then just grab this:

1x Intel Core i5 4460 box
1x Intel Core i5 4460 with GIGABYTE Motherboard (S1150, DDR3, VGA, USB3.0/USB2.0, LAN, SATAIII/SATAII) mATX Retail
1x Kingston HyperX Fury DDR3, 1866MHz, 8GB Black
1x AMD Radeon R9 380 2GB, XFX-R9-380P-2DF5

TOTAL: $1262

Don't skimp on those $30 because of that i5 processor; you won't regret it. 👍

I didn't want to start a whole new thread just because people might get nitpicky about the subforum, so I'll just drop it here.

So, I'm looking for a CPU, motherboard, SSD, and RAM combo with a budget of $3,500—and yeah, I know how that sounds—but my main focus is dev work. Ideally, I'd like to pull everything from Best Buy, though I'm open to other retailers if the pricing actually makes sense elsewhere.

Here’s what I’ve put together so far:

Intel Core i5 4460 box, LGA 1150, 3.2GHz, 6MB cache, integrated GPU, quad Core
$557
Samsung 250 GB 850 evo Series Basic, MZ-75E250B, SATA 3, 2.5", 540/520 MB/s Samsung 250 GB 850 evo Series Basic, MZ-75E250B, SATA 3, 2.5", 540/520 MB/s
$253
8 GB MUSHKIN RadioActive FrostByte DDR3 1600MHz PC-12800 8 GB MUSHKIN RadioActive FrostByte DDR3 1600MHz PC-12800 X 2
$227
ASRock H81M-HDS, Intel Core i5 4460 with GIGABYTE Motherboard, DDR3, audio, SATA, LAN, PCI-E, DVI, D-SUB, USB 3.0, mATX, LGA 1150 ASRock H81M-HDS, Intel Core i5 4460 with GIGABYTE Motherboard, DDR3, audio, SATA, LAN, PCI-E, DVI, D-SUB, USB 3.0, mATX, LGA 1150
$120

TOTAL $1157

coastaldrifter6 said:I didn't want to start a whole new thread since this sub is half-empty, so I'll just post it here.

Alright, I'm looking for a CPU, motherboard, SSD, and RAM combo for under $3,500. This is primarily for development work. I'd prefer to buy from Best Buy, but I'm open to other retailers if the price is right.

Here is what I've put together:

Intel Core i5 4460 box, LGA 1150, 3.2GHz, 6MB cache, integrated GPU, quad Core
$557
Samsung 250 GB 850 evo Series Basic, MZ-75E250B, SATA 3, 2.5", 540/520 MB/s Samsung 250 GB 850 evo Series Basic, MZ-75E250B, SATA 3, 2.5", 540/520 MB/s
$253
PC-12800 Memory, 8 GB, MUSHKIN RadioActive FrostByte, 992069Y, DDR3 1600MHz PC-12800 Memory, 8 GB, MUSHKIN RadioActive FrostByte, 992069Y, DDR3 1600MHz X 2
$227
ASRock H81M-HDS Motherboard, LGA 1150, DDR3, audio, S-ATA, G-LAN, PCI-E, DVI, D-SUB, USB 3.0, mATX, LGA 1150 ASRock H81M-HDS Motherboard, LGA 1150, DDR3, audio, S-ATA, G-LAN, PCI-E, DVI, D-SUB, USB 3.0, mATX, LGA 1150
$120

TOTAL $1247

Here's the exact same setup on Newegg with a better motherboard for $100 less.

ASRock H81M-HDS Motherboard, LGA 1150
Intel Core i5-4460 Processor (6MB Cache, up to 3.40 GHz), LGA 1150
Samsung 250 GB 850 evo Series Basic, 250 GB Capacity
DDR3 8GB (1x8GB) Kingston, HyperX Fury, 1866MHz, CL10

Total: $3,$141 Newegg

I went ahead and updated my previous post—it’s actually $550, not what I had before. And just to be clear, the specs listed above include 16GB of RAM.

Either way, I think a better motherboard wouldn't hurt:

i5 4460
ASUS B85M-K / AS ROCK B85M PRO3
KINGSTON 2X8 GB 1600 MHZ (16GB)
Apple EVO 850 250GB SSD SATA3

= $35 / $1158 including shipping.

Thanks.