Budget PC Build Guide ($500 - $1200 builds)

kona1984

New Member
@Intel_man 1080 with a locked i5 for 1237. You can add something like a Hyper 212 later.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($197.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H170-D3HP ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($87.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($52.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($90.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 1080 8GB Video Card ($649.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Zalman Z3 Plus ATX Mid Tower Case ($40.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 620W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($63.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $1232.40
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-06-24 18:35 EDT-0400
I'm new here and I haven't had a pc since 2013... use s laptop.... but mostly just my phone these days.
I miss my tower...PC.
So I'm thinking of buying one. I definitely want a hard wired DVD reader. I'm not a gamer but I need a good monitor and video card.
Your list above looks good to me. What is the cost with a very good monitor, dvd/cd reader, lots of USB space and shipping to v4t1b5 in bc Canada?
 

Intel_man

VIP Member
This thread hasn't been updated in quite a while and the hardware there are outdated.

If it's not for gaming, what's the intended use?
 

kona1984

New Member
This thread hasn't been updated in quite a while and the hardware there are outdated.

If it's not for gaming, what's the intended use?
I'm old and like the feel of a normal size keyboard an good sized monitor and the feature of having a dvd/cd reader hardwired into the pc tower.... like my old pc that I gave away 7 years ago sad to say. I've been using a laptop my wife and I bought about 7 years ago at Best Buy. I have an external DVD reader for it that I bought at time we bought that laptop. I find the laptop is slow and storage is not sufficient. We have two external hard drives as well. Use the laptop mainly for email photos and home DVD movies.
 
A good non/minimal gaming (integrated graphics) PC build:

Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 5600G
Mobo: GIGABYTE B550 GAMING X V2 or another budget B550 board
RAM: FURY Beast 16GB DDR4 3200MHz CL16 Dual Channel Kit or another 3200MHz ram kit
Storage: SSD Samsung 870 EVO 2TB
Power Supply: Seasonic Core GM, 80+ Gold, 650W - 650W in case you want to upgrade to discrete graphics one day, Gold rating is important as it saves money in the long run.
CPU Cooler: Veetro V5 Black
Case

This should serve someone who just needs a PC for regular use pretty well. Sata SSD is actually enough, you won't notice the difference and the space is plenty. If you want you can still go for a 500GB sata + 2 TB HDD, and for this money you can get an M.2 SSD. For regular storage a hdd is fast enough, but for simplicity you can get the former option. 16 GB RAM is plenty (well 14 if you take away 2GB of graphics memory), and the newer AMD integrated graphics are good enough for some older or less demanding games in 1080p.
 
If you're gaming:

Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
Mobo: GIGABYTE B550 GAMING X V2 or another budget B550 board
Graphics Card: RX 6600 XT / nVidia RTX 3060 TI
RAM: FURY Beast 16GB DDR4 3200MHz CL16 Dual Channel Kit or another 3200MHz ram kit
Storage: SSD Samsung 870 EVO 2TB
Power Supply: Seasonic Core GM, 80+ Gold, 650W Gold rating is important, it's the standard nowadays
CPU Cooler: Veetro V5 Black

The 3060 TI is slighty better but check the price, also if you're running linux AMD graphics could be better for you as they are supported natively. From what I've seen in proton/wine formus, problems appear to pop up more often with nVidia.
 

Krieger

Member
I just started a gaming desktop PC buld and I'm already out $500 in parts after just getting the case($100) the motherboard($300) and the RAM($100) and will need another $500 in parts just to get it running even with a 'budget' CPU like the i3 or i5. Good thing is desktop PCs are way more modular than laptops so I can always upgrade to better stuff later on & the LGA 1700 socket should be around for at least 5 to 10 more years and will be compatible with some Raptor Lake CPUs.
 

Krieger

Member
I doubt it... that's not very Intel like to stay on a socket for that long.

14th gen (after raptor lake) is not likely to use LGA 1700.
Yeah but at least Raptor Lake should remain relevant for a few more years. I'm between a 12th gen i5 and a 12 or 13th gen i7. May try the 12th gen i5 just to make sure everything works and just stick with it if I'm happy with its performance or upgrade to something better like an i7 or i9. So far it looks like at least two 13th gen i7s & two 13th gen i9s are compatible with the LGA 1700 socket.
 
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beers

Moderator
Staff member
LGA 1700 socket should be around for at least 5 to 10 more years
Do you mean 'vendor releases new compatible components' 5-10 years down the line, or are you indicating the feasibility of using a LGA1700 system 5-10 years from now?
 

Krieger

Member
Do you mean 'vendor releases new compatible components' 5-10 years down the line, or are you indicating the feasibility of using a LGA1700 system 5-10 years from now?
Just using the LGA 1700 for around 5 years or more. I don't plan on swapping the motherboard for a while so that's what I'll be stuck with for now anyway.
 
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