Budget pc specs

[Ryzenhasrisen]

Im looking at building a new system for light gaming and schoolwork. Ive made a few sketches for a wooden case probably going for mini itx or micro atx, but apart from that i have no idea what to look into because of the crazy prices right now. Any suggestions? I'm open to refurb parts, and im trying to keep it around $400-500. As long as it can play Civilazation V, Warframe, Farm Sim 15, and csgo at ok settings its fine by me. Thanks for any help.

 

[quilciri]

You can pick up a GTX 960 for $60 on ebay right now. It performs similarly to a 1050 Ti.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/PCI-E-Extended-Port-Game-Gaming-Graphics-Card-HDMI-for-GTX960-4GB-GDDR5-128Bit/222808609770?hash=item33e06d93ea:g:uLIAAOSw401aD~0O

 

[Hellfire13]

Something like this should be able to play those games at low to medium settings, medium mostly...

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 3 1200 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($107.72 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI - B350M GAMING PRO Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($55.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill - Trident Z 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2800 Memory ($101.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($46.55 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Zotac - GeForce GTX 1050 2GB Mini Video Card ($139.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair - SPEC-01 RED ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - S12II 620W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($34.90 @ Newegg)
Total: $527.11
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-01-30 15:04 EST-0500

 

[Ryzenhasrisen]

You can pick up a GTX 960 for $60 on ebay right now. It performs similarly to a 1050 Ti.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/PCI-E-Extended-Port-Game-Gaming-Graphics-Card-HDMI-for-GTX960-4GB-GDDR5-128Bit/222808609770?hash=item33e06d93ea:g:uLIAAOSw401aD~0O

Thanks for the quick response, I’ll definitely look for a 960, but the one you linked looks like one of the fake cards that are actually an old fermi card. No disrespect, those people can be tricky

 

[quilciri]

You can pick up a GTX 960 for $60 on ebay right now. It performs similarly to a 1050 Ti.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/PCI-E-Extended-Port-Game-Gaming-Graphics-Card-HDMI-for-GTX960-4GB-GDDR5-128Bit/222808609770?hash=item33e06d93ea:g:uLIAAOSw401aD~0O

Thanks for the quick response, I’ll definitely look for a 960, but the one you linked looks like one of the fake cards that are actually an old fermi card. No disrespect, those people can be tricky

Possibly, but between ebay and paypal buyer protection I feel pretty safe if it turns out to be a fraudulent listing.

 

[Eximo]

You can get used office systems for quite the bargain.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIAAJ26T72314

Don't normally see SSDs in them, an interesting choice. Also a good way to get cheap memory right now (They don't appear to have figured out it has doubled)

 

[quilciri]

lol, I'm pretty sure you're right now.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ved84d_6occ

 

[rgd1101]

MERGED QUESTION
Question from Ryzenhasrisen : "Specs for a budget pc?"

Hello, I'm working on a new system. I plan to create a wooden case with some of my woodworking tools, and build the computer inside. I aim for micro atx or mini itx, as im trying to keep it compact. My problem is with all these high prices recently, I have no clue where to start and what parts to use. Any ideas? It'd be mainly for schoolwork and light games. I found a 2 tb seagate barracuda for $65, and I have a cooler master 500 watt thats not being used, but what should I get for everything else?
Games I'd like to play:
Minecraft
CSGO
Dota 2
Warframe
Skyrim
Civilazation V

Im ok with Ebay parts as long as they're Buy it now and refurbed/new. Thanks for your answers.

what budget?

what budget?

I'm trying to keep it around 400-500, but if its a good deal i could go over

 

[Ryzenhasrisen]

You can get used office systems for quite the bargain.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIAAJ26T72314

Don't normally see SSDs in them, an interesting choice. Also a good way to get cheap memory right now (They don't appear to have figured out it has doubled)

I think that would be perfect. I have a spare 500watt power supply and 2tb hard drive to add into that. just a few questions.
What GPU should i get then?
And could i remove this from its case and put it in this custom one Ive been working on?
is it a standard size or is it proprietary ?
Its definitely a tempting offer. but if it cant be removed is it worth buying an old lga 1155 motherboard for it and putting the parts in that, then putting that board in my wooden case?

 

[R_1]

the motherboard for that particular system is BTX and will not fit in a standard case.
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51bDic9IFNL.jpg
note the layout. you will also be limited to low profile GPU's. a standard ATX power will not need an adapter to power the motherboard though.

look to a system with a mini tower case, they are usually standard ATX and can be transplanted to/from.

as an example of a standard case that will house a full height video card with the proper PSU installed
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIAAJ266F2911

 

[Eximo]

From everything I can tell they are basically standard MicroATX boards with SFF power supplies. All looks to be standard ATX stuff.

Front panel connectors are sometime slightly custom in OEM computers, usually just a matter of re-wiring. Though if you are building a case, then you could just use the case's front panel headers as is.

For such a system, I would say a GTX1050. But really anything you want to spend is pretty well supported. Maybe not something like a 1080Ti, but a 1060 wouldn't be a bad match for 1080p gaming.

 

[Eximo]

That isn't BTX. This is BTX: https://www.google.com/search?q=btx+motherboard&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi0rJur4oDZAhVB0mMKHRo_C04Q_AUICygC&biw=1458&bih=689#imgrc=BrwkYTCqFq8F2M:

BTX has the slots above the I/O (When the I/O ports are facing left). This Dell has the slots in the standard ATX layout with them below.

I have some very similar models at work, and they are quite typical. BTX was more or less abandoned back in the Core 2 Duo days.

Additionally the OP is talking about making a case, so that wouldn't really be a big deal anyway.

 

[Ryzenhasrisen]

From everything I can tell they are basically standard MicroATX boards with SFF power supplies. All looks to be standard ATX stuff.

Front panel connectors are sometime slightly custom in OEM computers, usually just a matter of re-wiring. Though if you are building a case, then you could just use the case's front panel headers as is.

For such a system, I would say a GTX1050. But really anything you want to spend is pretty well supported. Maybe not something like a 1080Ti, but a 1060 wouldn't be a bad match for 1080p gaming.

I'm not very familiar with them because i just recently got into building pcs. but are refurb kepler cards worth a look?

 

[Eximo]

From everything I can tell they are basically standard MicroATX boards with SFF power supplies. All looks to be standard ATX stuff.

Front panel connectors are sometime slightly custom in OEM computers, usually just a matter of re-wiring. Though if you are building a case, then you could just use the case's front panel headers as is.

For such a system, I would say a GTX1050. But really anything you want to spend is pretty well supported. Maybe not something like a 1080Ti, but a 1060 wouldn't be a bad match for 1080p gaming.

I'm not very familiar with them because i just recently got into building pcs. but are refurb kepler cards worth a look?

Well that includes a lot of cards. Some are still pretty decent. 780Ti and down to the GTX650. All depends on the cost/performance. I've seen a few people picking up GTX770 for quite reasonable sums, those are a little faster than a GTX1050Ti. GTX750 and GTX750ti are actually 1st gen Maxwell cards, so there is a significant technology gain there.

Just keep in mind when buying older cards, there might come a time when you want to run something new and won't be able to. You can always upgrade.

 

[Ryzenhasrisen]

From everything I can tell they are basically standard MicroATX boards with SFF power supplies. All looks to be standard ATX stuff.

Front panel connectors are sometime slightly custom in OEM computers, usually just a matter of re-wiring. Though if you are building a case, then you could just use the case's front panel headers as is.

For such a system, I would say a GTX1050. But really anything you want to spend is pretty well supported. Maybe not something like a 1080Ti, but a 1060 wouldn't be a bad match for 1080p gaming.

I'm not very familiar with them because i just recently got into building pcs. but are refurb kepler cards worth a look?

Well that includes a lot of cards. Some are still pretty decent. 780Ti and down to the GTX650. All depends on the cost/performance. I've seen a few people picking up GTX770 for quite reasonable sums, those are a little faster than a GTX1050Ti. GTX750 and GTX750ti are actually 1st gen Maxwell cards, so there is a significant technology gain there.

Just keep in mind when buying older cards, there might come a time when you want to run something new and won't be able to. You can always upgrade.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/ZOTAC-GeForce-GTX-760-1-5GB-GDDR5-PCIe-Video-Card-w-Dual-DVI-HDMI-DisplayPort/372188512417?epid=5013600298&hash=item56a82a00a1:g:VhwAAOSwp7taU7a8
a 760 for $80? ive heard some people say its similar to a normal 1050

 

[Eximo]

Seems high to me. Also that isn't a complete GTX760, that is one of those OEM cripple cards. Should be 1GB or 2GB for a retail card. In this case they lasered off a non-working memory channel, so it doesn't have quite the bandwidth (192 vs 256 bit) of the cards you'll see reviews for.