Budget Build for light gaming/streaming

[grmius]

Before I buy the parts, I was wondering if anybody had other suggestions. I'm going to be using this computer for streaming, and some gaming, and want it to be somewhat upgradeable in case my sons want to play more intense games in the future(they are 12 and 14). I was planning on using $400 as the budget, but it seemed that $500 gave me quite a bit more.

I understand the more money I spend the better parts I can get, but if anybody has suggestions, like for another couple dollars I can get a much better component, or maybe you've used one of these components and you ended up regretting buying it.

EVGA 450 B1, 80+ BRONZE 450W - $37.89
Crucial BX300 240GB SATA 2.5 Inch Internal Solid State Drive - $87.99
Ballistix Sport LT 8GB Single DDR4 2400 MT/s (PC4-19200) SR x8 DIMM 288-Pin Memory - $87.95
Intel Pentium G4600 3.6 LGA 1151 GHz Dual-Core Desktop Processor - $86.99
MSI Gaming Intel B250 LGA 1151 micro-ATX Motherboard (B250M MORTAR) - $84.99
EVGA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti GAMING Graphics Card 04G-P4-6251-KR - $139.99

Thanks.

 

[blazeaglory]

I would get used RAM/CPU/MOTHERBOARD. Upgrade the CPU to a "K"model if you can and try to get at least a 1070 GPU (to future proof you game rig but not totally necessary) and a slightly better PSU (500w to 600w GOLD model).

If you wait and watch on ebay you can find some really good deals. But really it depends on how hard you or your son are going to game. If its just moderate, the 1050ti should be fine but I would at least upgrade the CPU and PSU.

Do you absolutely need the mATX mobo?

 

[FD2Raptor]

Before I buy the parts, I was wondering if anybody had other suggestions. I'm going to be using this computer for streaming, and some gaming, and want it to be somewhat upgradeable in case my sons want to play more intense games in the future(they are 12 and 14). I was planning on using $400 as the budget, but it seemed that $500 gave me quite a bit more.

I understand the more money I spend the better parts I can get, but if anybody has suggestions, like for another couple dollars I can get a much better component, or maybe you've used one of these components and you ended up regretting buying it.

EVGA 450 B1, 80+ BRONZE 450W - $37.89
Crucial BX300 240GB SATA 2.5 Inch Internal Solid State Drive - $87.99
Ballistix Sport LT 8GB Single DDR4 2400 MT/s (PC4-19200) SR x8 DIMM 288-Pin Memory - $87.95
Intel Pentium G4600 3.6 LGA 1151 GHz Dual-Core Desktop Processor - $86.99
MSI Gaming Intel B250 LGA 1151 micro-ATX Motherboard (B250M MORTAR) - $84.99
EVGA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti GAMING Graphics Card 04G-P4-6251-KR - $139.99

Thanks.

If you're looking at upgradability to higher end parts further down the line, then do not cheap out on the PSU or you'll be paying more to replace dead components.

For your budget range, I'll advise you to go with socket AM4 AMD Ryzen config instead:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 3 1200 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($109.92 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte - GA-AB350-GAMING 3 ATX AM4 Motherboard ($70.98 @ Newegg after $15 rebate)
Memory: G.Skill - NT Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($80.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($45.69 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI - GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB Video Card ($143.71 @ Amazon)
Case: DIYPC - DIY-BG01 ATX Mid Tower Case ($36.96 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - S12II 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($36.98 @ Newegg after $15 rebate)
Total: $525.23 (after $30 rebate)
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-10-28 16:47 EDT-0400


This will get you a quad cores that can perform with games; streaming said games however will require at least 6/8threads CPU (R5 1600 6c/12t ~$100 more than the 1200 4c/4t) and they're all a fair bit above your budget though.

DIYPC BG01 has enough room for almost any upgrades you could possibly make for a gaming PC, and the Seasonic S12II 520W will serve those components with good and stable power (it can't support the top-of-the-line stuff, but I don't think that you are or will be looking at adding a $700 GTX1080Ti into a build in this budget range).

 

[grmius]

I would get used RAM/CPU/MOTHERBOARD. Upgrade the CPU to a "K"model if you can and try to get at least a 1070 GPU (to future proof you game rig but not totally necessary) and a slightly better PSU (500w to 600w GOLD model).

If you wait and watch on ebay you can find some really good deals. But really it depends on how hard you or your son are going to game. If its just moderate, the 1050ti should be fine but I would at least upgrade the CPU and PSU.

Do you absolutely need the mATX mobo?

At this point it is moderate gaming. I have a case that is for ATX, microATX, and Full AT...the motherboard has HDMI which is one of the items I want.

When you say a K series cpu instead of the G4600...which one would you recommend that would be close to the same price as the G4600. What advantage would the K series give me...just speed?

 

[blazeaglory]

I would get used RAM/CPU/MOTHERBOARD. Upgrade the CPU to a "K"model if you can and try to get at least a 1070 GPU (to future proof you game rig but not totally necessary) and a slightly better PSU (500w to 600w GOLD model).

If you wait and watch on ebay you can find some really good deals. But really it depends on how hard you or your son are going to game. If its just moderate, the 1050ti should be fine but I would at least upgrade the CPU and PSU.

Do you absolutely need the mATX mobo?

At this point it is moderate gaming. I have a case that is for ATX, microATX, and Full AT...the motherboard has HDMI which is one of the items I want.

When you say a K series cpu instead of the G4600...which one would you recommend that would be close to the same price as the G4600. What advantage would the K series give me...just speed?

Yeah K for speed and flexibility but the more I think about it, if you're not going to be hardcore gaming or tweaking on your comp all the time, I think that your current list should be fine. Great prices!

Maybe just upgrade the PSU in case you wanted to upgrade in the future? Find a decent 600w GOLD. You put together a pretty good list otherwise.

Heres a really nice Newegg refurbished deal on a 750w Platinum PSU.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Corsair-Certified-HXi-Series-HX750i-750W-High-Performance-80Plus-Platinum-Full-M/302282053690?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649

 

[FD2Raptor]

I would get used RAM/CPU/MOTHERBOARD. Upgrade the CPU to a "K"model if you can and try to get at least a 1070 GPU (to future proof you game rig but not totally necessary) and a slightly better PSU (500w to 600w GOLD model).

If you wait and watch on ebay you can find some really good deals. But really it depends on how hard you or your son are going to game. If its just moderate, the 1050ti should be fine but I would at least upgrade the CPU and PSU.

Do you absolutely need the mATX mobo?

At this point it is moderate gaming. I have a case that is for ATX, microATX, and Full AT...the motherboard has HDMI which is one of the items I want.

When you say a K series cpu instead of the G4600...which one would you recommend that would be close to the same price as the G4600. What advantage would the K series give me...just speed?

1> You'll be using the ports from your graphic card not the one on your MB which will be powered by the integrated graphic which is several times slower than the dedicated one; activate the integrated graphics to operate the HDMI port on the MB will cause it to take some of your limited RAM that really should be fully dedicated to games (plus the OS and whatnot).

2> "K" CPU refers to Intel unlocked one, ex: i5 7600K, i7 8700K, etc... They are practically the top-of-the-line CPU and always command a premium $$$ compare to Intel other "non-K", locked, CPU. From the 6000-series Core CPU on, the K CPU also do not come with the Intel stock cooler which mean they require the end-user to buy a CPU cooler separately.

And to fully exploit them would also require MB with the appropriate Z-series chipset (Z97 for 4000-series Core CPU, Z170/270 for 6000/7000 series, Z370 for 8000 series), and again, as Intel top-of-the-line chipset for the general consumer space, they also command a premium compare to B/H series chipset equipped MB.

the tl;dr is that: the whole get the "K" CPU is completely nonsense for your budget. Not to mention the GTX1070 is already a $400 GPU that would never fit into that $500 build budget.

3>

Yeah K for speed and flexibility but the more I think about it, if you're not going to be hardcore gaming or tweaking on your comp all the time, I think that your current list should be fine. Great prices!

Maybe just upgrade the PSU in case you wanted to upgrade in the future? Find a decent 600w GOLD. You put together a pretty good list otherwise.

Heres a really nice Newegg refurbished deal on a 750w Platinum PSU.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Corsair-Certified-HXi-Series-HX750i-750W-High-Performance-80Plus-Platinum-Full-M/302282053690?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649

Fine? It's a dead-end solution. Intel already released 8th gen Coffeelake with big improvements on performance over 7th gen Kabylake and is expected to be on the path for a future of even more cores on 9th gen Icelake, saying that getting a 2cores/4threads on a platform that will only max out at 4c/8t for future upgrades as "fine" is not a good recommendation at all.

The 7th gen Intel CPU are already on the path to become obsolete by both Intel and AMD newer CPUs. Anyone can do a simple search and see that an 8th gen i3 8100, all 4 cores clocked at 3.6Ghz, at ~$110-120 is way better value than a ~$170 7th gen i5 7400, 3Ghz base clock with 1-2cores Turbo Boost to 3.5Ghz and lower boost clock if all 4 cores are taxed; and the same value argument go up the chain with the 6 cores 8th gen i5 performing exceptionally well against the older i5/i7.

And no, you didn't just recommend a Refurbished, i.e. it failed/died but was repaired, PSU for a critical cornerstone of the system stability component. Especially one with a "Package must be unopened" for its return policy.

There are enough trash "GOLD" PSU out there for that vague recommendation to be practically useless noise to lesser informed buyers.

 

[blazeaglory]

I would get used RAM/CPU/MOTHERBOARD. Upgrade the CPU to a "K"model if you can and try to get at least a 1070 GPU (to future proof you game rig but not totally necessary) and a slightly better PSU (500w to 600w GOLD model).

If you wait and watch on ebay you can find some really good deals. But really it depends on how hard you or your son are going to game. If its just moderate, the 1050ti should be fine but I would at least upgrade the CPU and PSU.

Do you absolutely need the mATX mobo?

At this point it is moderate gaming. I have a case that is for ATX, microATX, and Full AT...the motherboard has HDMI which is one of the items I want.

When you say a K series cpu instead of the G4600...which one would you recommend that would be close to the same price as the G4600. What advantage would the K series give me...just speed?

1> You'll be using the ports from your graphic card not the one on your MB which will be powered by the integrated graphic which is several times slower than the dedicated one; activate the integrated graphics to operate the HDMI port on the MB will cause it to take some of your limited RAM that really should be fully dedicated to games (plus the OS and whatnot).

2> "K" CPU refers to Intel unlocked one, ex: i5 7600K, i7 8700K, etc... They are practically the top-of-the-line CPU and always command a premium $$$ compare to Intel other "non-K", locked, CPU. From the 6000-series Core CPU on, the K CPU also do not come with the Intel stock cooler which mean they require the end-user to buy a CPU cooler separately.

And to fully exploit them would also require MB with the appropriate Z-series chipset (Z97 for 4000-series Core CPU, Z170/270 for 6000/7000 series, Z370 for 8000 series), and again, as Intel top-of-the-line chipset for the general consumer space, they also command a premium compare to B/H series chipset equipped MB.

the tl;dr is that: the whole get the "K" CPU is completely nonsense for your budget. Not to mention the GTX1070 is already a $400 GPU that would never fit into that $500 build budget.

3>

Yeah K for speed and flexibility but the more I think about it, if you're not going to be hardcore gaming or tweaking on your comp all the time, I think that your current list should be fine. Great prices!

Maybe just upgrade the PSU in case you wanted to upgrade in the future? Find a decent 600w GOLD. You put together a pretty good list otherwise.

Heres a really nice Newegg refurbished deal on a 750w Platinum PSU.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Corsair-Certified-HXi-Series-HX750i-750W-High-Performance-80Plus-Platinum-Full-M/302282053690?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649

Fine? It's a dead-end solution. Intel already released 8th gen Coffeelake with big improvements on performance over 7th gen Kabylake and is expected to be on the path for a future of even more cores on 9th gen Icelake, saying that getting a 2cores/4threads on a platform that will only max out at 4c/8t for future upgrades as "fine" is not a good recommendation at all.

The 7th gen Intel CPU are already on the path to become obsolete by both Intel and AMD newer CPUs. Anyone can do a simple search and see that an 8th gen i3 8100, all 4 cores clocked at 3.6Ghz, at ~$110-120 is way better value than a ~$170 7th gen i5 7400, 3Ghz base clock with 1-2cores Turbo Boost to 3.5Ghz and lower boost clock if all 4 cores are taxed; and the same value argument go up the chain with the 6 cores 8th gen i5 performing exceptionally well against the older i5/i7.

And no, you didn't just recommend a Refurbished, i.e. it failed/died but was repaired, PSU for a critical cornerstone of the system stability component. Especially one with a "Package must be unopened" for its return policy.

There are enough trash "GOLD" PSU out there for that vague recommendation to be practically useless noise to lesser informed buyers.

Ok. Way to split hairs on the CPU considering people are still using 10 year old CPUs just fine. There is no problem with the choice of his/her CPU for her/his needs. I was using an i3 2100 for years with no problems, including many new games. The i3 is still being used by my younger brother, still, with no issues.

And I didnt say a 1070 would fit into his/her budget now did I? Nowhere did I say that the 1070 was "budget", quite the opposite. I said if you spend a little more, and you can find 1070s for way under $400 at times, they could future proof their rig with the possibility of SLI in the future. Like I said in a later reply, it would probably be more than they need.

As for the graphics through the motherboard/CPU, for that persons needs it should be enough. But they said they are going to be buying a 1050ti, so that makes the argument moot now doesnt it? Theyll be using the GPU, not the motherboard

Also, a refurbished item is just fine. Ive never had any problems with any refurbished item I have ever bought. And the "return must be unopened package" is for an item that was NOT USED after purchase. If you have a problem with an item on ebay, ie; it stops working, you can return it within 30 days (180 days through paypal). Also, Its through NEWEGG and carries neweggs warranty as well. That PSU is a great deal. Well a great deal for people who dont feel the need to buy the latest "greatest" new item. My 4th gen i7 blows anything out of the water made today, at least it is equal (but Im sure you'll have some hair splitting to do about that huh?)

Sounds like you're just looking for an argument and trying to find something where there is nothing. So if you reply, Ill just leave it at that...So nice "typing" with you

 

[assasin32]

Built a computer around 10-11 years ago, it was a core 2 duo and 8800gts. Buddy of mine had a build shortly before mine but a high end setup that ended up being core 2 duo and sli 8800gtx cards. A CPU from 10 years ago isn't cutting it now days, I had a 50% overclock on mine and it was feeling long in the tooth for gaming when I ended up replacing it 5 years ago. And the i3 2100 you said your having no problems with came out 4 years ago it's not ancient and completely useless yet for gaming but getting near it, it definitely won't last anywhere near 10 years of usefulness I can guarantee you that.


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Pentium G4600 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor ($86.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI - B250M PRO-VD Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($48.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: AMD - R7 Performance 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($56.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($45.69 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1060 3GB 3GB SC GAMING Video Card ($189.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Zalman - Z3 ATX Mid Tower Case ($35.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - S12II 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($36.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $501.49
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-10-29 13:50 EDT-0400

I left a ram slot open for a future upgrade of 16gb of RAM, if you can find the budget to do so I would do that now and I would be pretty comfortable in saying that when something feels slows for gaming it's time to do a full upgrade of Motherboard, Ram, CPU, GPU. The upgrade to 2 sticks will also make it dual channel and give you a slight performance boost on top of future proofing you for a little while longer.

 

[FD2Raptor]

Ok. Way to split hairs on the CPU considering people are still using 10 year old CPUs just fine. There is no problem with the choice of his/her CPU for her/his needs. I was using an i3 2100 for years with no problems, including many new games. The i3 is still being used by my younger brother, still, with no issues.

You picked the wrong guy to spread your fantasy world view. Want me to take a photo of the innards of my 10 years old (released by Intel Q2 2007) Core2Duo E6320 on an ASUS P5LD2 -Intel945chipset- with 2GB DDR2 533 that I still have around?

I still remember how the thing choked on a h264-AVC 1080p official trailer of Battlefield 3, yes the darn advertisement movie; not the C2D E6320 nor the graphic card originally used with it, the 8500GT, can decode the darn video fast enough for smooth playback so I'm not going to let you get away with saying stupid BS like that.

Why your i3 served you well? Because CPU performance practically stay stagnated for all the period of SandyBridge till Kabylake, i.e. only small 5-10% incremental gen-on-gen increase over the entire 5-6 years. But not this gen. First AMD Ryzen then Intel Coffeelake has brought more cores to the mass market greatly increasing multi-threaded performance. And with a future where even more cores are arriving, betting to stay on the old 4cores max is not going to be a smart move no matter how anybody slice it.

As for the graphics through the motherboard/CPU, for that persons needs it should be enough. But they said they are going to be buying a 1050ti, so that makes the argument moot now doesnt it? Theyll be using the GPU, not the motherboard

That's not a moot point as long as he still said that the HDMI on the MB is a feature that he is looking for i.e. will be using.

And I didnt say a 1070 would fit into his/her budget now did I? Nowhere did I say that the 1070 was "budget", quite the opposite. I said if you spend a little more, and you can find 1070s for way under $400 at times, they could future proof their rig with the possibility of SLI in the future. Like I said in a later reply, it would probably be more than they need.

Then why the hell did you even mention it. With next gen Volta expected in Q1 2018, mention the 1070 now could only mean you're thinking that he'll replace the 1050Ti within the next 3 months or he should be getting the 1070 now regardless of his budget, and they are both ridiculous thinking. Why are there some 1070 for cheap? They are used mining cards, some with as little as a month of lifetime left. Some cryptocurrency miners have the components life of a card down pat that they can "release" the card back to the 2nd hand market before the lifespan of the components on the board fully expired.

And SLI-ing? Another assumingly ~$300 down for the then older card for maybe 30-50% improvement only on titles that support SLI? How does that even make sense from a value perspective?


@assassin32: Don't trust PCPP to verify for availability. The AMD R7 RAM is not available at Amazon at least at this time.

 

[grmius]

I would get used RAM/CPU/MOTHERBOARD. Upgrade the CPU to a "K"model if you can and try to get at least a 1070 GPU (to future proof you game rig but not totally necessary) and a slightly better PSU (500w to 600w GOLD model).

If you wait and watch on ebay you can find some really good deals. But really it depends on how hard you or your son are going to game. If its just moderate, the 1050ti should be fine but I would at least upgrade the CPU and PSU.

Do you absolutely need the mATX mobo?

At this point it is moderate gaming. I have a case that is for ATX, microATX, and Full AT...the motherboard has HDMI which is one of the items I want.

When you say a K series cpu instead of the G4600...which one would you recommend that would be close to the same price as the G4600. What advantage would the K series give me...just speed?

1> You'll be using the ports from your graphic card not the one on your MB which will be powered by the integrated graphic which is several times slower than the dedicated one; activate the integrated graphics to operate the HDMI port on the MB will cause it to take some of your limited RAM that really should be fully dedicated to games (plus the OS and whatnot).

2> "K" CPU refers to Intel unlocked one, ex: i5 7600K, i7 8700K, etc... They are practically the top-of-the-line CPU and always command a premium $$$ compare to Intel other "non-K", locked, CPU. From the 6000-series Core CPU on, the K CPU also do not come with the Intel stock cooler which mean they require the end-user to buy a CPU cooler separately.

And to fully exploit them would also require MB with the appropriate Z-series chipset (Z97 for 4000-series Core CPU, Z170/270 for 6000/7000 series, Z370 for 8000 series), and again, as Intel top-of-the-line chipset for the general consumer space, they also command a premium compare to B/H series chipset equipped MB.

the tl;dr is that: the whole get the "K" CPU is completely nonsense for your budget. Not to mention the GTX1070 is already a $400 GPU that would never fit into that $500 build budget.

3>

Yeah K for speed and flexibility but the more I think about it, if you're not going to be hardcore gaming or tweaking on your comp all the time, I think that your current list should be fine. Great prices!

Maybe just upgrade the PSU in case you wanted to upgrade in the future? Find a decent 600w GOLD. You put together a pretty good list otherwise.

Heres a really nice Newegg refurbished deal on a 750w Platinum PSU.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Corsair-Certified-HXi-Series-HX750i-750W-High-Performance-80Plus-Platinum-Full-M/302282053690?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649

Fine? It's a dead-end solution. Intel already released 8th gen Coffeelake with big improvements on performance over 7th gen Kabylake and is expected to be on the path for a future of even more cores on 9th gen Icelake, saying that getting a 2cores/4threads on a platform that will only max out at 4c/8t for future upgrades as "fine" is not a good recommendation at all.

The 7th gen Intel CPU are already on the path to become obsolete by both Intel and AMD newer CPUs. Anyone can do a simple search and see that an 8th gen i3 8100, all 4 cores clocked at 3.6Ghz, at ~$110-120 is way better value than a ~$170 7th gen i5 7400, 3Ghz base clock with 1-2cores Turbo Boost to 3.5Ghz and lower boost clock if all 4 cores are taxed; and the same value argument go up the chain with the 6 cores 8th gen i5 performing exceptionally well against the older i5/i7.

And no, you didn't just recommend a Refurbished, i.e. it failed/died but was repaired, PSU for a critical cornerstone of the system stability component. Especially one with a "Package must be unopened" for its return policy.

There are enough trash "GOLD" PSU out there for that vague recommendation to be practically useless noise to lesser informed buyers.

Thank you FDTRaptor.....what you've said makes sense, and your reasoning with the G4600 being a dead end solution is exactly what I was trying to avoid. Blazeaglory, I appreciate your input, but I have to agree wtih FDTRaptor with his suggestion about the Ryzen 3 for future proofing.