Budget PC build under $450?

So, here is my situation. I am looking to put together a build with a budget of about $1000, though I don't plan on buying a new graphics card. My current power supply is 400W, which I assume is sufficient—I certainly wouldn't want to buy anything too overkill. While my GPU isn't exactly cutting-edge, I suspect there might not be a pressing need to upgrade it just yet. Right now, I'm running an AMD Radeon Sapphire X 5750 DDR5 OC with DirectX 11 support. I guess I was wondering if you all think it would be possible to build something compatible with that setup? Also, I would ideally prefer to look into some monthly installment options...

Carl Nelson5 said:Here's the deal. I want to put together a build with a budget of up to $1000 but I don't need a new graphics card. I currently have a 400W power supply. It isn't high-end, but it should be fine. My GPU isn't brand new either, but I don't think there's any reason to swap it out. I'm running an AMD Radeon Sapphire X 5750 DDR5 OC with DirectX 11 support. What do you guys think—could I pull something together with this? Also, I'd be looking to pay in installments...

You need to specify the exact model of your power supply, what you plan on using the PC for, and how many monthly payments you're looking at.

Adam Moore3 said:I think you should specify the exact power supply model, what you plan to use the PC for, and how many monthly installments you're looking at.

I'm actually away from my desk right now. I don't recall the exact specs of the power supply off the top of my head, though I believe it might be around 450W. I should be able to check on that and get back to you in about half an hour. As for usage, it's mostly for gaming, so I suppose a powerful processor and a compatible motherboard would be ideal. If it’s possible to include 8GB of RAM within that budget, I'd certainly prefer that. Regarding payments, I was thinking maybe 12 monthly installments.

Carl Nelson5 said:I'm out of the house right now. Can't recall the exact wattage on the power supply off the top of my head, but I think it's at least 450W. I'll check and let you know in about half an hour. Mostly using it for gaming, so I need a solid processor and a motherboard that can actually handle it. If I can squeeze 8GB of RAM into the budget, I'd definitely take it. I'd probably just put it on a 12-month installment plan.

Well, it really depends on what kind of games you're playing. Your graphics card is alright, I guess—though by today's standards, an R7 250 is pretty much the bare minimum, and even that beats what you have. Are you looking to play high-end stuff, like some next-gen titles?

Adam Moore3 said:Well, I suppose it really depends on what kind of games you are looking to play. Your graphics card is okay, I guess, though by today's standards an AMD Radeon R7 250 would be considered the absolute bare minimum, and even that might be slightly more powerful than yours. Are you planning on playing high-end titles or perhaps some next-gen releases?

My graphics card is an AMD Radeon 5750 Sapphire X DDR5 1GB OC. For the power supply, I am using a Chieftec GPS-550AB-A, which is 550W. As for the newer games and next-gen stuff...

Carl Nelson5 said:The GPU is an AMD Radeon 5750 Sapphire X DDR5 1GB OC. Power supply is a Chieftec GPS-550AB-A, 550W. For those next-gen games and stuff...

Alright, the power supply is fine; no need to swap that out. Are you keeping the HDD from the old build? Basically, what else are you pulling from the old rig besides the PSU, the graphics card, and the optical drive?

Adam Moore3 said:Alright, if the power supply is working well, there probably isn't a need to swap it out. I guess you might want to check if you have an HDD from your previous setup? Basically, what components are you keeping from the old build besides the power supply, graphics card, and optical drive?

I have the entire tower. I suppose I would look at replacing the motherboard, processor, RAM, cooler, and perhaps a different hard drive. So, essentially the whole unit except for the power supply, the GPU, and the DVD drive or burner. My current motherboard is an older Gigabyte DDR2 model. The processor is an Intel Core 2 Duo 2.600 and the RAM consists of Mushkin 800 MHz modules.

Carl Nelson5 said:Alright, here’s the deal. I’m looking to put together a build around the $1000 mark, but I want to skip the graphics card for now. I currently have a 400W power supply—not exactly a powerhouse, but it should handle more than a toaster. My current GPU isn't exactly cutting-edge, but I don't see much point in upgrading it just yet. It's an AMD Radeon Sapphire X 5750 DDR5 OC with DirectX 11 support. What do you guys think? Is it possible to build something viable with this? Also, I'd prefer to pay in installments if possible...

To build a truly solid setup:

1 x Intel Core i7,
1 x ASUS Motherboard,
1 x Cooler Master Hyper 212,
2 x DDR3 4GB (1x4GB) Crucial, 1600MHz CL11
1 x Seagate Barracuda 1TB, Caviar Blue 10EZEX, 1000 GB, SATA3, 64 MB, 3.5", 24ms

Total:$1013 the price for the components, though for cash it would be $921. Plus, free shipping from google.com!
Just let me know which case you're using so we can check if the motherboard fits; otherwise, this is a fantastic platform for you—an 8-core processor paired with a quality motherboard and 8GB of RAM. Later on, you can just drop in a high-end graphics card and play whatever you want like a king!

I suppose it might be smarter to just grab a newer, higher-quality power supply now, just so you don't have to worry about upgrading to a beefier graphics card down the road.

1 x Intel Core i5 3.5GHz,14MB,95W,AM3+, FD6300WMHK
1 x ASUS Motherboard, AM3+, AMD 970 SB950, 4x DDR3 2000(O.C.)/1866
1 x Seagate Barracuda 1TB, 7200rpm, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB
1 x Spire Kepler Rev.2 ,hladnjak, 1156/775/FM1, 96.5×51×125 mm ,92mm
1 x DDR3 4GB (1x4GB) Crucial, 1600MHz CL11
1 x XFX TS Series 550W PSU -P1550S-XXB9

$863 cash
google.com

Hmm, your GPU is definitely a bit underwhelming. Dennis Carter3 paired it with an eight-core processor, but that graphics card is always going to be your bottleneck because, like I said before, it’s just too weak by today's standards. Don't expect to run any of those next-gen titles at high settings. And btw, I didn't ask—what resolution are you playing at?

I guess you could mount a Corsair Quiet Series 120x120x25mm fan with Ball Bearing Technology on the back side.
NZXT H Series Tower ATX case, black, no power supply included.
I guess the Zalman CNPS10X OPTIMA CPU cooler is worth looking at. Maybe.
It looks like we're looking at a Seagate Barracuda, a 500GB hard drive spinning at 7200rpm. Maybe that'll do the trick.
I guess there's the Transcend DDR3 8GB 1333MHz module to consider—specifically the JM1333KLH-8G model with its CL9 latency. Maybe it’ll do the job.
ASUS Motherboard
ASUS Motherboard paired with an Intel Core i7.

Price: $1005 Amazon.com

ASRock B85M - Intel Core i5 System
It looks like we're looking at an Intel Core i5 System featuring an Intel Core i5 CPU.
The Corsair Quiet Series 120x120x25mm case fan uses Ball Bearing Technology.
NZXT H Series tower case, black, no power supply included.
Seagate Barracuda, 500GB HDD, 7200rpm.
Transcend DDR3 8GB 1333MHz RAM (JM1333KLH-8G), CL9 latency.

Total amount: $1014 amazon.com

EDIT: Graphics cards 🤦

Then you just grab 4GB of RAM: I guess there might be some interesting stuff on this page if you're looking through the catalog. Maybe worth a quick look.

EDIT2: Do you need a case? 🤣

Ryan Hayes82 said:It’s probably smarter to just grab a new, higher-quality power supply now—that way, you won't have to worry about it when you decide to drop in a beefier graphics card later.

1 x Intel Core i5 6300 3.5GHz, 14MB, 95W, AM3+, FD6300WMHK
1 x ASUS Motherboard, AM3+, AMD 970 SB950, 4x DDR3 2000(O.C.)/1886
1 x Seagate Barracuda 1TB, 7200rpm, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB, DT01ACA100
1 x Spire Kepler Rev.2, cooler, 1156/775/FM1, 96.5×51×125 mm, 92mm
1 x DDR3 4GB (1x4GB) Crucial, 1600MHz CL11
1 x XFX TS Series 550W PSU -P1550S-XXB9

$863cash
google.com

Personally, I think it might be better to just bite the bullet and get the Intel Core i7 right away to future-proof things for the long haul—as for the power supply, he can always pick up a new one whenever he upgrades his GPU; buying a new PSU now doesn't really change much, other than potentially eating into the budget meant for a significantly stronger processor.

It all boils down to what he actually plans on playing. If he’s just looking to kick things off with some lighter titles—something like Skyrim—while he saves up for a beefier GPU, then that graphics card is perfectly usable. However, if his goal is to tackle the most demanding modern AAA titles, like the latest Assassin's Creed, there is zero chance he'll even be able to boot them up. In that scenario, he'd be better off selling the entire rig, adding some extra cash to the pile, and just building something brand new. I'm only mentioning this because I don't want him to end up disappointed; I just don't know what his expectations are.

crimsonstag84 said:Corsair Quiet Series case fan 120×120×25mm, Ball Bearing Technology (you would mount this on the back)
NZXT H Series Tower ATX case, no power supply included, black
Cooler Master Hyper 212 CPU cooler
Seagate Barracuda, 500GB HDD, 7200rpm
Transcend DDR3 8GB 1333MHz Memory, JM1333KLH-8G DDR3 8GB 1333MHz, CL9 Latency
ASUS Motherboard
Intel Core i7 CPU

Total: $1005google.com

Asrock B85M - Intel Core i5 System
Intel Core i5 CPU

Corsair Quiet Series case fan 120×120×25mm, Ball Bearing Technology
NZXT H Series Tower ATX case, no power supply included, black

Seagate Barracuda, 500GB HDD, 7200rpm
$1014Transcend DDR3 8GB 1333MHz Memory, JM1333KLH-8G DDR3 8GB 1333MHz, CL9 Latency

🤦EDIT: Graphics cards

In that case, you could just grab 4GB of RAM: http://google.com/product.php?pro...cat=379&page=1

🤣EDIT2: Do you need a case?

I suppose I am not quite sure which solution would be better, the first one or the second. I wonder if that i7 processor is actually superior to the i5, and I am curious about the specific differences there. I imagine my current 550W power supply should be more than enough for all of this. As for the case, I am not entirely certain. If I need to squeeze a new graphics card in there as well, perhaps you could put together a build that includes one, ideally with $1333 monthly installment options. I won't need a power supply or a CD drive, since I already have those items available.....

You’re the best judge of whether you actually need a new GPU—what kind of games are we talking about here? Are you currently happy with how your current card handles your library?

Are those cards available on a 12-month installment plan?

Timothy Kim60 said:Since you probably know better than anyone whether a new graphics card is actually necessary—what kind of games would you be looking to play? I suppose I'm curious if you're currently satisfied with its gaming performance?

Which credit cards offer a 12-month installment plan?

I have generally played most of my games on high settings. For instance, I ended up playing Call of Duty: Black Ops II on medium because I was experiencing some stuttering. I suspect that might have been due to a somewhat weak processor. On the other hand, I ran Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag at maximum settings, and Far Cry 3 ran quite smoothly for me at 1650x1050 resolution. I think it might be wise for me to wait a little longer before purchasing a graphics card until I can save up a bit more money. Once I have enough, I can just install it and call it a day. To give you an idea of my current setup, let’s say I have an Intel Core i7-3770K processor. I suppose the motherboard supporting that CPU doesn't necessarily need to be expensive, provided it isn't total junk. Beyond that, I would look for the rest of the components. So, I am looking for that specific processor and everything else, excluding the GPU, the power supply, and the optical drive. I could probably use a different case as well.