I’m trying to build an entry level gaming computer for my nephew, he has a pretty small budget ($450)… I went a bit over.
I have a new 1080 IT video card that I never used sitting around and was thinking of using that.
To save more money I was thinking of getting a cheaper motherboard and power supply but I didn’t want to go too cheap.
What do you guys think of this build?
Current price ~640$
Part list:
Alternate case option(s): [keeping in relative price point, with more fans at get-go]
That Cooler is overkill for the build
Thermalright Assassin X 120 Refined SE
Also an SSD based storage is not worth the $4 savings, get an NVME
Rest is great!
I think $450 is going to be really hard. Here is my current bare minimums build:
| Type | Item | Price |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 5 5500 | $88.90 |
| Motherboard | Gigabyte B550M DS3H AC | $88.00 |
| Memory | Silicon Power GAMING 2x16 GB DDR4-3200 CL16 | $49.97 |
| Storage | ADATA Swordfish 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 | $59.50 |
| Case | Fractal Design Focus G Mini | $68.98 |
| Power Supply | Corsair RM750e (2023) 750W | $99.99 |
| Total | $455.34 |
So if your budget is $450, this is what you get. Now, it’s not a bad machine, but if you do have the space to reach, just a little, I do recommend you upgrade to this:
| Type | Item | Price |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 7 5700X | $181.99 |
| CPU Cooler | ARCTIC Freezer 7 X CO | $23.48 |
| Motherboard | Gigabyte B550M DS3H AC | $88.00 |
| Memory | Silicon Power GAMING 2x16 GB DDR4-3200 CL16 | $49.97 |
| Storage | ADATA Swordfish 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 | $59.50 |
| Case | Fractal Design Focus G Mini | $68.98 |
| Power Supply | Corsair RM750e (2023) 750W | $99.99 |
| Total | $571.91 |
This blows the budget by about $120-$150 (some of these are promo items, after all), but it is buying this machine an extra year. Pay $450 now for a 2-3 year system, or $570 for a 3-5 year system? That GPU will probably also need to get upgraded at some point during the system lifetime, but you could probably get away with a $350-$400 upgrade in two years or so. 
[edit]BTW, a slight modern upgrade to the 1080 Ti is the rumored $299 7600 coming out this spring, the $210 6600 is just below the 1080 non-ti in performance but draws a quarter of the power, too. In case someone else reads the above and wonder what GPU is recommended. So the final bill is about $750-$800 for a decent gaming system.[/edit]
At this pricepoint a third party cooler is probably aspirational, the AMD Stealth/Intel Laminar are “fine”, and as @infinitevalence pointed out an NVME drive is going to be a big difference that’ll matter “now”. If you can squeeze an extra $50 and get to $500 you’re in 13400F territory, if you’re not willing to go used then personally I’d go for the i5 over AM4 (I know cause I did 
) but the used AM4 market is almost certainly the best value right now.
I’d splurge on the Fractal Pop, great case and the color options (even full white) help make up for the lack of RGB. FWIW the Black/Orange model is about $10 more, $20 should get you any of the others, much better than loading it up with cheap RGB fans.
| Type | Item | Price |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | Intel Core i5-13400F 2.5 GHz 10-Core Processor | $199.00 @ B&H |
| Motherboard | ASRock B660M Pro RS Micro ATX LGA1700 Motherboard | $94.99 @ Newegg |
| Memory | Crucial CT2K8G4DFRA32A 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL22 Memory | $34.99 @ Amazon |
| Storage | Intel 670p 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive | $44.99 @ Amazon |
| Case | Fractal Design Pop Air ATX Mid Tower Case | $62.98 @ Newegg |
| Power Supply | Corsair CX550M (2021) 550 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply | $66.25 @ Amazon |
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts | ||
| Total | $503.20 | |
in case you did not see them, make sure to check out PC Part Picker’s Complete Builds pages and Build Guides
also do not forget, that you can get parts used on eBay for cheaper. Hell, I am about to start selling some old odds & ends that would probably work perfectly for you, so start scrounging ebay
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