$550 budget gaming pc

[Adamlerma1998]

In this build I got the i3 6100 which is one of the best budget cpu with a MSI H110 motherboard. For ram I chose 1 stick corsair Vengeance LPX 8gb (1) so that later on you can upgrade to 16gb. Storage 1tb western digital blue best for storing games. Gigabyte Geforce Gtx 1050 which is great for 1080p gaming. Powering it with a Thermaltake 500W ATX power supply inside the Phanteks Enthoo Evolv mini iTX Case.

CPU ~ Intel 3.70 GHz Core i3-6100

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B015VPX2EO/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=adamlerma1998-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B015VPX2EO&linkId=a5c960570d8ccdff7465353631683123

Motherboard ~ MSI Intel Skylake H110

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B015VPX2EO/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=adamlerma1998-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B015VPX2EO&linkId=a5c960570d8ccdff7465353631683123

Ram ~ Corsair Vengeance LPX 8GB

https://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Vengeance-2666MHz-PC4-21300-Memory/dp/B0123ZAQJE/ref=as_li_ss_tl?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1508878229&sr=1-6&keywords=DDR4+8gb&linkCode=ll1&tag=adamlerma1998-20&linkId=aaed21b54bbdb46d598275827d41b0f8

Storage ~ WD Blue 1TB

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0088PUEPK/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=adamlerma1998-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B0088PUEPK&linkId=1cf422cbfdefd11e021337f6d7a99e5e

Video Card ~ Geforce GTX 1050 2GB

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MG0733A/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=adamlerma1998-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B01MG0733A&linkId=9f024eedf747aefc80f6c99862deb9e0

Case ~ Phanteks Enthoo Evolv iTX Case

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00U8625HC/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=adamlerma1998-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B00U8625HC&linkId=a157c8a7a88b04c0c8b557967c87243a

Power Supply ~ Corsair VS Series (500W)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N2HRRH4//ref=as_li_ss_tl?&linkCode=ll1&tag=adamlerma1998-20&linkId=63e532be1922ff836c2dddbe5e1bbaf4

 

[Zerk2012]

Better performance with the GTX 1050ti video card. The processors are about equal.
http://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Pentium-G4600-vs-Intel-Core-i3-6100/3894vs3511
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Pentium G4600 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor ($86.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI - B250M PRO-VDH Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($56.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($102.95 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte - GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB Windforce OC Video Card ($177.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill - Line-M MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair - CX (2017) 450W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($43.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $547.87
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-12-18 18:11 EST-0500

 

[gussrtk]

there's also the AMD choice, light overclocking capabilities as well. (might want to bump the GPU to gtx1060 if able to get more budget). I also didn't include a mechanical drive, because there are many hanging around in PC shops/second hand, which will be very cheap and you can pick them up for secondary storage later on.


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 3 1200 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($109.77 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock - AB350M Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: SanDisk - SSD PLUS 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($74.99 @ Adorama)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB SC GAMING ACX 2.0 Video Card ($166.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Rosewill - SRM-01 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($24.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA - 430W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($34.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $581.61
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-12-18 19:27 EST-0500

 

[ScrewySqrl]

another Ryzen build, at your $550 price point:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 3 1200 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($109.77 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI - B350M PRO-VD PLUS Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($59.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws 4 Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($105.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI - GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB Video Card ($157.99 @ B&H)
Case: DIYPC - MA01-R MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($25.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - S12II 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($38.59 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $558.30
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-12-18 21:24 EST-0500

The Seasonic PSU is also higher quality than the other two builds