Budget PC build under $600

Greetings to everyone,
I am reaching out because I am in desperate need of some configuration recommendations for a budget of $1333. For that amount, I’m expecting a complete setup including the tower, a mouse, a keyboard, and a wireless internet adapter. I already own a monitor. Now, let me be clear: this isn't strictly a gaming rig, though I would certainly appreciate the ability to play a few titles occasionally—think along the lines of Grand Theft Auto IV or perhaps one of the more recent Need for Speed entries from the last couple of years. I don't need to crank everything up to ultra settings; my primary goal is simply ensuring they are playable. My heavy lifting will involve photo editing using Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop, streaming high-definition films, and listening to music (I maintain an extensive library of high-resolution albums). Additionally, I'll be running GIS software like Esri ArcGIS. I plan on making my purchase locally here in Washington, D.C., paying in cash.

1 x AMD Radeon R7 250, 1GB GDDR5, 128-bit, DVI + HDMI + DisplayPort
1 x 8GB Crucial DDR3, 1600MHz CL11
1 x 2TB Seagate Barracuda HDD, SATA III, 7200 rpm
1 x Corsair Builder Series 430W, 80+ Bronze, EPS12V v2.3
1 x LG GH24NS DVD Writer, DVD±RW, 24x DVD±R, 8x DL, 40x CD-R
1 x Intel Core i3-4130 Processor, 3.40GHz
1 x Asrock H81M-DGS - Intel H81, M-ATX, Dual Channel DDR3 - 1600
1 x Logitech Desktop PC Bundle, Keyboard + Mouse, USB
1 x Airlive OVL-WN-380USB, Long Range Wireless-B/G/N Palm Size USB
1 x MS LOGIC A32 Midi Tower, ATX, 5.25"

$1342
adm

Intel Core i5 4440
Crucial RAM 8GB, 240-pin DIMM, DDR3 PC3-12800, CL=11, Unbuffered, NON-ECC
Corsair Builder Series CX 80+ Bronze Power Supply, 430 Watt, ATX, EPS12V, PS/2, US version
MS PHOENIX case without power supply
AMD Radeon R7 250 1GB GD5-HE graphics card
WD Caviar Blue 1TB SATA 3 WD10EZEX Hard Drive
Genius SlimStar i222, Ultra Slim, USB
MS ASTRONAUT wired mouse
Gigabyte Motherboard with TP-Link Adapter
TP-Link 150Mbps Wireless N PCI Express Adapter, TPL-TL-WN781ND

Total: $1345 centro

Ryan Hayes82, are you seriously suggesting that an Intel Core i3-4130 has enough muscle to pull all of this off without choking?

It’s frankly baffling to me that neither of you two bothered to mention an SSD, when it seems to me—and anyone with a shred of common sense—that a solid-state drive would be the single most impactful upgrade for the overall responsiveness of the entire system.

Furthermore, I see both of you are pushing for a dedicated graphics card, yet I was under the impression that the Intel HD 4600 might actually be sufficient to handle my specific workload?

That Intel graphics chip is fine for basic stuff, but it’s definitely not built for gaming... Personally, I tried running GRID 2 at a lower resolution than my monitor's native setting—with the settings turned down, too—and it was still stuttering quite a bit. Can you imagine how it would handle newer, more demanding titles?

An SSD would be a massive upgrade for you, but you'll need to stretch your budget by about $167 if you want to pick up something like a 120GB Intel or Samsung drive.

Look, you just can't have it all—a top-tier processor, heaps of RAM, a dedicated GPU, and an SSD all at once. Your budget is the ultimate bottleneck here. You could opt for the SSD instead of a graphics card, but don't expect to get much gaming done on integrated graphics; even though the Intel HD 4600 is a decent little chip, it won't cut it for titles like Grand Theft Auto IV. On the bright side, picking the SSD now makes it much easier to pick up a real graphics card down the road.

Based on all those tasks you mentioned, an APU is definitely your best bet—specifically the latest AMD Kaveri since that boosted integrated graphics will help you out big time, both for gaming and when you're running stuff from the Adobe suite thanks to the OpenCL support.

You've got plenty of RAM headroom here, so you can easily toss 1-2 GB over to the graphics, and hitting speeds above 2133 MHz will give that integrated chip a nice little performance boost too.

The processor itself is a decent quad-core that sits right in the same ballpark as an i3-ice, and honestly, I don't think you'll need anything beefier than that—plus, you've got an SSD included, which is going to be a lifesaver for your workflow, so definitely don't skip it. If you find yourself wanting to play more demanding games down the road, you can always just pop in a dedicated GPU later. Just let me know what resolution you're aiming for and I can give you a better idea of how things will run.

A8 X4 7600
LC CC 95
GIGABYTE FM2+ A78M DS2
KINGMAX 8GB 2133 MHZ
INTEL 520 120 GB SSD SATA 3
TOSHIBA 3,5 1TB SATA 3
LG GH24NS95 SATA
FORTRON HEXA+ 400W 80+ ACTIVE
ZALMAN T2+ USB 3.0 MATX

GENIUS SLIMSTAR MIS + TIP.
Wifi USB

= $1247.

Since there’s actually a little breathing room left in the budget, you might as well go with Dual Channel DDR3—it makes a world of difference for integrated graphics performance. Grab two of these and pair them with a motherboard that has four RAM slots, like this one or even this one which features a dedicated VRM cooler.

I think the Skylake configuration is a solid way to go. Honestly, he might not even need an extra cooler since it's just a 65W processor. If there's enough room left in the budget, I'd suggest picking up a better motherboard and some faster 2400MHz RAM, because that really matters for an APU setup like this.

1 x Airlive OVL-WN-380USB, Long Range Wireless-B/G/N Palm Size USB
1 x Logitech Desktop MK120, Keyboard + Mouse, USB
1 x Asrock FM2+ FM2A75 PRO4+ - Intel Core i5, ATX, Dual-channel memory
1 x DDR3 8GB (2x4GB) Kingston, 2400MHz, CL11, HyperX Beast
1 x TOSHIBA 1TB, 7200rpm, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB, DT01ACA100
1 x Power Supply CORSAIR 430W, CX Series 80+ Bronze, EPS12V v2.3, 80+
1 x Processor Intel Core i3 A8-Series X4 7600 (3.8GHz,4MB,65W,FM2+) box
1 x Cooler Master Hyper 212 mid tower case. 192(W)x465(H)x430(D)mm. MB standard
1 x Samsung DVD writer, DVD±RW, 24x DVD±R ,8x DL , 40x CD-R
1 x Intel 120GB SSD 520, 2.5", SATA III-600, R/W:550/520MB/s

$1337
adm

It can even run in 45W mode

We tested the Intel Core i3 today, and it’s capable of running in both 45W and 65W TDP configurations—plus any specific value in between those two points, since you can manually adjust it in 1W increments via the UEFI. It features four x86 CPU cores (two modules) and six GPU cores (384 shaders). Based on these results, it's clearly a bit weaker than the higher-end A10 series due to having fewer GPU cores. In the 65W TDP setting, the CPU base clock sits at 3.3GHz with a max Turbo frequency of 3.8GHz. When dropped to the lowest 45W TDP setting, the CPU runs at a 3.1GHz base clock with a 3.3GHz Turbo peak. The GPU frequency stays locked at 720MHz. With a suggested retail price of $119, it's positioned to go head-to-head with the Intel Core i3-4330.

Source

If I were handling this, I'd just disable turbo boost and undervolt it; then even a stock cooler would handle it easily.

I want to extend my sincere gratitude to everyone for the thoughtful suggestions and for taking the time to weigh in. After digging through the data, that Skylake option strikes me as a perfectly reasonable path forward; based on what I’ve gathered, that GPU isn't actually half bad, especially if I pair it with a more modest, budget-friendly card later on to squeeze out even more performance.
In my estimation, I'll derive far more tangible satisfaction from the snappiness of an SSD and high-speed Dual-channel memory than I ever would from pairing an Intel Core i5 with a standard hard drive and sluggish 1600 MHz RAM.

I still have two more questions left to toss out there 🙂
Regarding this specific setup, am I honestly going to need a 400W power supply? It just doesn't pass the smell test to me; looking at the power draw for all these individual components, it feels like we aren't even coming close to hitting that 400W ceiling.
Also, I noticed in the previous suggestion that Ryan Hayes82 recommended the Cooler Master Hyper 212 case, which is a style I really dig and seems like a solid, high-quality choice. But tell me, does opting for a midi tower over a microtower actually yield any tangible benefits for a build like this?

You’ll get support for ATX motherboards, plus that Z3 case comes pre-installed with three fans, offers more breathing room, fits beefier coolers, and accommodates massive GPUs (though that shouldn't matter to you right now). By the way, you don't actually need 400W, but you should definitely grab a reliable entry-level unit like an EVGA 430W or a Corsair CX series—especially if you're planning on upgrading your graphics card down the road. You don't have much of a choice here; you could go with a cheap 350W Fortron unit, but everything else at that price point is just straight-up junk when it comes to build quality.

Ryan Cruz68

Look, if you're dead set on going the APU route, stick to the build I laid out for you—there’s a reason I put it together that way. If you aren't careful, it's way too easy to overspend on an all-in-one setup and end up with something that's actually more expensive AND weaker than just grabbing a dedicated GPU instead. For example:

Intel Core i3
MSI A78M E35
KINGSTON 8GB 1600 MHZ
INTEL 520 120 GB SSD SATA 3
TOSHIBA 3,5 1TB SATA 3
SAPPHIRE R7 250X 1GB DDR5
FORTRON HEXA+ 400W 80+ ACTIVE
Cooler Master Hyper 212 MIDI USB 3.0 ATX

GENIUS SLIMSTAR TIP + MIS
Wifi usb

= $1330.

The AMD Radeon R7 250...
ASUS GA-970A-DS3P motherboard, AM3...
The Corsair VS series 450W with 80+ certification... It's a decent entry-level option for basic builds. Reliable enough for light tasks...
The Spire Kepler Rev.2 cooler...
The MSI Phoenix case...
Intel Core i5 FX-6300...
Crucial 8GB DDR3 module...
DDR3 Intel 520 Series 2.5", 120 GB
Seagate BarraCuda 1 TB 3.5...
The TP-Link Wireless N USB mini adapter delivers speeds up to 150Mbps... quite compact for its performance.
The Genius KB-8000 keyboard and mouse combo... quite a classic set...

$4,068.69 on the balance...
Free assembly included...