[SOLVED] Best $850 PC gaming build?

[Kolfman]

My friend is trying to build a gaming PC for $850. I've helped him research but with AMD now setting the sights for CPU should he be sticking with an AMD graphics card or try to buy up more? Thanks for your help.

 

[Eximo]

Depends on what needs to be included. Any existing parts? Peripherals (Monitor, Keyboard, Mouse, Headphones/Speakers)? OS? Old hard drives, chassis, power supply?

The older RX cards are still a relative bargain at the low end. But Nvidia has more recent low end cards in the form of the 1650 etc. AMDs latest cards are mid/high end and would be a good chunk of the budget.

If it is inclusive it will be capable of 1080p 60hz gaming at least.

 

[Newtonius]

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/BkcnL2

here's an option, and I'd recommend getting a 1660 Super. It provides 1660 Ti performance at a lower price.

I didn't add peripherals so that will add up beyond 850.

Although in the end I recommend saving a bit more money for a mid-tier build. Low tier builds require upgrades sooner rather than later, which will ultimately cost more to maintain 60FPS in time.

 

[Eximo]

Ryzen 2600, 16GB of memory, RX5700, and a 512GB NVMe SSD is within the budget if you don't need a monitor and peripherals.

With it, might drop down to the 1660 Super as suggested above.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core Processor ($109.99 @ Walmart)
Motherboard: ASRock B450M Pro4-F Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($74.49 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Aegis 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Intel 660p Series 512 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($62.99 @ B&H)
Video Card: Asus Radeon RX 5700 8 GB TUF Gaming X3 OC Video Card ($349.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair RMx (2018) 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($99.95 @ Amazon)
Total: $822.39
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-11-22 14:10 EST-0500

 

[cryoburner]

...should he be sticking with an AMD graphics card or try to buy up more?

I guess it depends on how much of the budget you can fit in for the graphics card, and what resolution you are targeting. It would help to know more about what hardware this budget needs to include, and what you currently have in mind.

At the moment, I would say AMD still offers the best performance for the money in the below-$200 price range, with the RX 570, 580 and maybe the RX 590, but you could probably get something a little higher-end than those for an $850 build, assuming that price doesn't include a monitor and peripherals.

Around the $200-$250 range, I would go with Nvidia, either the 1660, 1660 SUPER or maybe one of the lower-priced 1660 Tis, which tend to be slightly faster than a 1660 SUPER, but not enough so to really be worth paying much more than $20 extra for. It's possible you might find something like a VEGA 56 on sale for around the price a 1660 Ti, but I would personally pass on that due to those cards having high power draw and heat output under load, even if they are a little faster.

If you can manage a card within the $300-$400 range, both Nvidia and AMD cards are currently worth considering. AMD's RX 5700 and 5700 XT both tend to offer a little more performance for the money than their similar-priced Nvidia counterparts, though the Nvidia RTX 2060, 2060 SUPER and 2070 do offer some additional features like hardware acceleration for raytraced lighting effects, even if its questionable whether these cards are powerful enough to run those effects effectively. I would just avoid the RX 5700/5700 XT cards that use a blower-style cooler, as those tend to run hot.

 

[1s3ct0wN]

Ryzen 2600, 16GB of memory, RX5700, and a 512GB NVMe SSD is within the budget if you don't need a monitor and peripherals.

With it, might drop down to the 1660 Super as suggested above.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core Processor ($109.99 @ Walmart)
Motherboard: ASRock B450M Pro4-F Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($74.49 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Aegis 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Intel 660p Series 512 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($62.99 @ B&H)
Video Card: Asus Radeon RX 5700 8 GB TUF Gaming X3 OC Video Card ($349.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair RMx (2018) 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($99.95 @ Amazon)
Total: $822.39
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-11-22 14:10 EST-0500

This is excellent build.

Would only swap GPU to sapphire