Budget PC build around $750?

I’m looking to put together a build around the $1667 mark (though I might stretch it if the value is right). I'll probably just run it through my Visa or Amex on a monthly installment plan depending on how the terms look.

It's mainly for dev work—everything from web to mobile and desktop apps—plus some gaming on the side. For games, I need at least medium settings, though ideally I'd like to crank things up to high 😁 for whatever's out right now.

AMD FX 8300
Gigabyte 970 motherboard
8GB DDR3
1TB Seagate hard drive
RX 480 4GB
Case and power supply? Just pick whatever you find at Micro Center.

I’d suggest the LC Power 460W Silent Giant.

Just so you know, we're looking at roughly $500 for this setup.

1 x Intel Skylake Core i5-6400 (2.7GHz, 6MB,LGA1151) Processor
1 x MSI H110M PRO-VD (S1151, DDR4, USB3.1, SATA III, DVI, Audio, LAN) mATX Retail
1 x MSI Video Card GeForce GTX 1050 Ti OC GDDR5 4GB/128bit,
1 x Kingmax 8GB DDR4 2133MHz
1 x HDD Toshiba P300 1TB, 64MB, 7200rpm, High-Performance
1 x Fortron Hyper 500W, 80+ - 60mj.
1 x Zalman T3 Mini-Tower ATX case, no power supply, black

$51.00 card

Amy Vaughn12 said:1 x Intel Skylake Core i5-6400 (2.7GHz, 6MB,LGA1151) Processor
1 x MSI H110M PRO-VD (S1151, DDR4, USB3.1, SATA III, DVI, Audio, LAN) mATX Retail
1 x MSI Video Card GeForce GTX 1050 Ti OC GDDR5 4GB/128bit,
1 x Kingmax 8GB DDR4 2133MHz
1 x HDD Toshiba P300 1TB, 64MB, 7200rpm, High-Performance
1 x Fortron Hyper 500W, 80+ - 60mj.
1 x Zalman T3 Mini-Tower ATX case, no power supply, black

$51.00 card

Seems alright to me.👍

Thanks for the quick reply 😁 Just let me know, which store are we talking about?

Jamie Jones58 said:Thanks for the quick reply 😁 Just let me know, which store are we talking about?

I think it's Micro Center; they handle the assembly and shipping for free.😁

It looks like a 1TB Seagate ST1000DM003 hard drive, SATA3, with a 64MB cache and 7200 RPM, in a 3.5" form factor.
It’s an Intel Core i5-6400 Processor, right? Comes in the box with the 1151 socket, 2.7GHz, 6MB cache, integrated graphics, and it's a Quad Core. I guess that's the basic rundown.
It’s an MSI H110M PRO-VD, featuring an Intel H110 chipset and DDR4 support. It’s a standard mATX board with a 1151 socket, coming equipped with SATA, PCI-E, Gigabit LAN, and typical VGA/DVI outputs along with USB 3.1.
I think there might be a misunderstanding here—could you clarify what you mean by "2x"? I'm guessing you're looking for something specific, but I'm not quite sure where to start. It looks like we're looking at some 4 GB of G.SKILL Aegis series RAM—specifically the F4-2133C15S-4GIS DDR4 running at 2133MHz. I guess that should do the trick for basic needs.
It's a 460W unit—specifically the LC Power Silent Giant GREEN POWER LC6460GP3 V2.3, which features a 140mm fan and an 80+ Silver rating.
It’s an MS Industrial Monster Gaming case with a window, USB 3.0, and MIDI—standard ATX layout, though it doesn't come with a power supply.
The PCI-E Sapphire AMD Radeon RX 480 Nitro graphics card features 4GB of DDR5 and comes equipped with HDMI, DVI, and DP outputs.

$1746 Maybe check out the installment plans over at Links.

I guess you're looking at something about 60% more powerful on the GPU side... maybe?

I took a little longer to pull the trigger on this build, but I wanted to see if the rig crimsonstag84 posted is still the best bang for my buck, or if there's something better out there right now.

I’m definitely leaning towards an RX 480 since it smokes the 1050Ti, and it'd be great if I could swap out an HDD for an SSD.

Unfortunately, prices for RAM and SSDs have spiked, that LC Power power supply isn't on sale anymore(+$13), and that specific case just isn't available anymore.

PC-17000 Memory, 8 GB, G.SKILL Value series, F4-2133C15S-8GNS, DDR4 2133MHz
MODECOM Tres Case, MIDI, ATX, black MODECOM Tres Case, MIDI, ATX, black
460W Power Supply, LC Power Silent Giant GREEN POWER LC6460GP3 V2.3, 140mm fan.
PCI-E Sapphire AMD Radeon RX 480 Nitro+ OC Graphics Card, 4GB DDR5, HDMI, DP
PNY CS900 120.0 GB SSD, SSD7CS900-120-PB, SATA 3, 2.5", 560/450 MB/s
Intel Core i5-6400 Processor, LGA 1151, 2.7GHz, 6MB cache, GPU, Quad Core
ASROCK H110M-DGS Motherboard, Intel H110, DDR4, audio, G-LAN, S-ATA 3, PCI-E, USB 3.0, DVI-D, mATX, LGA 1151

$1829 - Best Buy, financing available

Sorry to bug you, but could you put together the same build or something similar using AMD or Futur? They’re offering 24 monthly installments right now.

Checking with AMD here—that highest price point is specifically tailored to your payment method.



It’s a massive cutback on the GPU just to make room for an SSD.

Will there be a massive speed hit if I ditch the SSD and just run the OS off an HDD instead? Thinking maybe it might help my GPU stats stay more stable.

Honestly, you’re going to notice a massive difference 🙂 The gap between an SSD and a traditional hard drive is night and day—it's like night and day—but if you're planning on picking up an SSD down the road anyway, you might be better off putting that extra cash toward a stronger graphics card. After all, when it comes to gaming, the GPU is really the heavy lifter, isn't it?

If you weren't doing what you're doing, I'd tell you to ditch the SSD and put that money toward a better GPU instead. But given your situation, you really have to weigh your priorities.

And how much more is this thing gonna run me if I swap in a better GPU?

Look, you could go for the $100 higher-end or just grab the $233 version which is actually way stronger than this.

And honestly, there's no need to drop cash on a 240GB SSD...☕ If he's just running an OS, he can save some money $67 by sticking with 120GB. That extra cash goes toward better graphics cards like a $33 GTX 1050ti upgrade or $167 more juice if he picks up an RX 470 🍿 instead.

Which one of those two would you guys go with? I’m trying to run modern titles at least at 60 FPS on 1080p. If there's an option that can actually handle high settings too, even better.

Look, the RX 470 is way more powerful than that other card...here’s the link go through the games (pages 7-21) to see what kind of FPS you're actually looking at. Just keep in mind—so you don't get frustrated later—that most of these tests are running on ultra settings unless the text says otherwise 😬

EDIT: you might want to check out that GTX 1050 review instead since it covers newer titles and gives you a direct comparison with the RX 470 right there...

I'll probably pick up an SSD down the road, then just upgrade to that Strix model—it would actually end up costing you about the same through $1833 anyway.

I'm going to end up spending about $2100 since I've decided to go all-in on an SSD. Now that we're looking at a total closer to $2100 rather than that initial $500, is this still a solid build for the money, or should I swap something out to get more bang for my buck?