Budget PC build around $500?

Hi there...

I’m looking for some help putting together a new build with a budget of roughly $1233
.
The main goal here is gaming...

I'd actually love to see two different options. One would be a complete setup without a DVD drive,

and the second option would exclude the hard drive, the optical drive, and the power supply—since I've still got those parts from my old rig and I'm thinking about recycling them...

Well... maybe just list the specific HDD and power supply models you're using. 😬
If they can be repurposed, sure—it might help free up some budget for the rest of your components.

🙂 It’s a Seagate BarraCuda hard drive, paired with an EVGA 500 W1 power supply...

Your power supply is garbage, though the hard drive seems fine enough.

1 x XFX Radeon R9 270A 2GB 256Bit DDR5
1 x Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 8GB 1866MHz DDR3
1 x Intel Core i3-4170 (3.7GHz, 3MB, LGA1150) box
1 x MSI B85M-E4 (S1150,DDR3,VGA/DVI,USB3.0,LAN,SATAIIII) mATX
1 x EVGA 500 W1
1 x Zalman T1 PLUS, mATX, USB3.0 black

Total: $1237
futura-it

Honestly, I’d lean toward the AMD build if you're looking at the long game—unless you're planning to jump straight to an i5 upgrade super soon. Plus, you get that better GTX 950 and a bit more breathing room in the case if you want to swap in a beefier GPU later on.

FX 6300
LC CC 94
GIGABYTE 78LMT-S2 AM3+
KINGSTON HYPER X RED 8GB 1866 MHZ
EVGA GeForce GTX 950 2GB DDR5
EVGA 500 W1
MONSTER MIDI ATX RED USB 3.0 ACRYLIC

= $1292.

I’ve pulled a little bit from one option and a little bit from another 🙂 thanks so much for all the help

Would something like this work? (I'm leaning toward an Intel + NVIDIA combo, but is that AMD processor actually a huge step up?)

Intel Core i3-4170 (3.7GHz, 3MB, LGA1150) box
Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 8GB 1866MHz DDR3
EVGA GeForce GTX 950 2GB
MS Monster gaming case, RED, Acrylic, USB3.0, 1x120mm

For the PSU, I'm torn between these two:
EVGA 500 W1, 80+
Fortron Hexa+ 400W, 80+

There's about $33 difference here... do I really need those extra 100W for this specific build?

And then I'm also weighing my motherboard options:

GIGABYTE GA-H81M-S2V (S1150,DDR3,VGA/DVI,USB3.0,LAN,SATAIIII) mATX
MSI B85M-E4 (S1150,DDR3,VGA/DVI,USB3.0,LAN,SATAIIII) mATX

The price gap is roughly $33 between them... are they both fine, or is one significantly better than the other?

thanks 🙂

If I were you, I'd just grab the ASUS since it's on sale anyway 😉

Based on what I put together above, if I go with that 500 W1 power supply and the ASUS motherboard, the total comes to $1312. That’s a bit higher than my initial budget... Is it still a solid deal at that price point, or should I be looking to build something better for under $400?

For a Core i3 + GTX 950 setup, I guess a 400W power supply should be plenty. If you opt for a cheaper motherboard instead of focusing on the essential components, you might lose out on that USB 3.0 header for your case, if that’s even something you care about.

Thanks,

If my plan is to eventually upgrade the processor and grab a new GPU in a year or two, do you think this setup will hold up... or should I just go ahead and grab the ASUS and that 500 W1 now so I don't have to worry about it later?

You don't really need it for the motherboard itself, though I guess you might want to grab an extra power supply just to be safe