Budget PC build - $450 to $500 range

Another classic request for help. 🙂

I'm just looking for the case within this price range.

The PC will be used for gaming—plus browsing and watching movies—but I’m not looking for anything flashy.
If we look at a five-year lifecycle, I'd want it to run newer titles on at least medium settings for the first two years. For the remaining three, if it can't handle them, it doesn't matter.

When a graphical beast like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt comes out, it’s enough if it runs at a stable 30 fps on low settings. I know The Witcher is an extreme example, but it serves as a baseline for my expectations.

Also, which retailers would you recommend? Assuming they offer free assembly and/or shipping if I buy everything from them.

1 x MSI H110M PRO-D (S1151, DDR4, USB3.1, SATA III, DVI, Audio, LAN) mATX Retail
1 x Seagate Barracuda 1TB, 64MB, 7200rpm, High-Performance
1 x MS Mercury 2 Case, 1x12cm+1x9cm fans
1 x PNY DDR4 8GB, 2133MHz
1 x Fortron Hexa+ 400W, 80+
1 x Intel Core i3-6098P (3.6GHz, 3MB, LGA1151) box
1 x XFX AMD Radeon RX 460 GDDR5 2GB/128bit, 1220MHz/7000MHz, PCI-E 3.0 x16, HDMI, DVI-D, DP, VGA cooler (Double Slot), Retail

Total: $1170
intel build - futura:

1 x Seagate Barracuda 1TB, 64MB, 7200rpm, High-Performance
1 x MS Mercury 2 Case, 1x12cm+1x9cm fans
1 x PNY DDR4 8GB, 2133MHz
1 x Fortron Hexa+ 400W, 80+
1 x AMD Athlon II x4 860K
1 x MSI A88XM-E35 V2,FM2 +,D3,S3,U3
1 x XFX RADEON RX 460 Single Fan 4GB GDDR5
1 x LC-CC-95 CPU Cooler, Intel/AMD, 90mm 4-pin

Total: $1182
amd build - futura

I'd personally pick the i3. It leaves the door open for a better upgrade later, like an i5.

Thanks. I was actually thinking about switching over to Intel. Currently running AMD and I'm not particularly impressed.

Haven't heard much about Futura since they don't have a branch out here in the Midwest. I assume they're reliable?

William Ward41 said:Thanks. I was actually thinking about switching over to Intel. Currently running AMD and I'm not particularly impressed.

Haven't heard much about Futura since they don't have a branch out here in the Midwest. I assume they're reliable?

yeah 🙂

Blew my budget, so I’m jumping over to this thread instead. 😁
I decided to add an HDD too. If there isn't anything else I should swap out to get more bang for my buck, I'm pulling the trigger on the order tomorrow. 🕺
Also about the case, https://www.amazon.com/ms-armor-case-power-supply/dp/B00EXAMPLE—this one looks way better to me visually... but I noticed it’s missing a USB 3.0 port. 🤔

img host

Bryan Adams6 said:Blew my budget, so I’m jumping over to this thread instead. 😁
I decided to add an HDD too. If there isn't anything else I should swap out to get more bang for my buck, I'm pulling the trigger on the order tomorrow. 🕺
Also about the case, https://www.amazon.com/ms-armor-case-power-supply/dp/B00EXAMPLE—this one looks way better to me visually... but I noticed it’s missing a USB 3.0 port. 🤔

img host

For the price, this build is solid. The only thing I'd upgrade is the RX 460 to the 4GB VRAM version, since games are getting hungrier for memory lately.

Robert Rodriguez2 said:For the price, this build is solid. The only thing I'd upgrade is the RX 460 to the 4GB VRAM version, since games are getting hungrier for memory lately.

Which one of these two? 🤔🕺
https://www.cnn.com/vga-sapphire-r...57-02-20g.aspx

https://www.cnn.com/sapphire-rx-46...mi-dp-dvi.aspx

Bryan Adams6 said:Which one of these two? 🤔🕺
https://www.cnn.com/vga-sapphire-r...57-02-20g.aspx

https://www.cnn.com/sapphire-rx-46...mi-dp-dvi.aspx

Go with the cheaper one. It's the exact same card, just from different suppliers. 👍

Robert Rodriguez2 said:Go with the cheaper one. It's the exact same card, just from different suppliers. 👍

Thanks... that's probably how it'll end up.👍

Bryan Adams6 said:Thanks... that's probably how it'll end up.👍

Let me know what you think once the rig arrives 😍

If you're looking for an SSD, just grab the Kingston UV400 120GB or the Radeon R3 120GB. That drive you've got listed is ancient and overpriced compared to those.
Regarding your power supply, it shows as unavailable, and there might be other parts in the same boat (just click on a component in the top right corner to check current stock availability).

I honestly think the Skylake i3 build that Robert Rodriguez2 put together beats out the FM2+ setup any day. It’s definitely more futureproof, and in my experience, that i3 is going to outperform the Athlon most of the time, even if it doesn't have those extra physical cores.

When I started building this thing about ten days ago... man, it was a total mess. 😢

A Thermaltake TR2 S 450W? You thinking of swapping the current one for that?

Corsair CX430

Robert Rodriguez2 said:Let me know what you think once the rig arrives 😍

Yo, just wanted to say I'm stoked with the new build 👍
Thanks again for all the advice

and a huge 👍 shoutout to the guys over at CNN

Found this on Craigslist and I’m wondering if you experts think it's worth it or just a waste of cash for $867 🙂
I don't really game... mostly just Photoshop and Sony Vegas

Processor: Sony Vegas processor: Intel Core i7-920
Motherboard: ASUS Rampage II RAM
RAM: 8GB DDR3
Graphics Card: Phantom GTX560 1024/256 DDR5 Dx11
Storage: 1TB
Power Supply: 480W Tagan

Thanks!

Paul Barnes6 said:Found this on Craigslist and I’m wondering if you experts think it's worth it or just a waste of cash for $867 🙂
I don't really game... mostly just Photoshop and Sony Vegas

Processor: Sony Vegas processor: Intel Core i7-920
Motherboard: ASUS Rampage II RAM
RAM: 8GB DDR3
Graphics Card: Phantom GTX560 1024/256 DDR5 Dx11
Storage: 1TB
Power Supply: 480W Tagan

Thanks!

For that price, it's a decent deal. Only thing is the power supply looks sketchy...

Paul Barnes6 said:Found this on Craigslist and I’m wondering if you experts think it's worth it or just a waste of cash for $867 🙂
I don't really game... mostly just Photoshop and Sony Vegas

Processor: Sony Vegas processor: Intel Core i7-920
Motherboard: ASUS Rampage II RAM
RAM: 8GB DDR3
Graphics Card: Phantom GTX560 1024/256 DDR5 Dx11
Storage: 1TB
Power Supply: 480W Tagan

Thanks!

It's a decent deal. If you aren't interested in gaming, tell him to pull the 560 out and drop the price to 400$167.

Keep in mind that if that motherboard dies, finding a replacement for that specific CPU will be a nightmare. You might find one, but the prices for that socket are astronomical. That specific CPU alone goes for about 500$233 on eBay
.

mellowtiger83 said:It's a decent deal. If you aren't interested in gaming, tell him to pull the 560 out and drop the price to 400$167.

Keep in mind that if that motherboard dies, finding a replacement for that specific CPU will be a nightmare. You might find one, but the prices for that socket are astronomical. That specific CPU alone goes for about 500$233 on eBay
.

If he pulls the 560, you'll have to pick up a dedicated GPU separately—that Core i7-920 doesn't have integrated graphics.

For that amount, it's decent. But since this is an older build originally bought by enthusiasts, I'd highly recommend running a stress test on the CPU right there on the spot.