[SOLVED] Can i build a decent PC with 400 Dollars?

SawmMawia

Great
Jan 17, 2021
180
7
85
Can i build a decent pc for gaming,recording and editing videos( 1080p 60fps) with 400 dollars?What parts would you recommend if i can?
 
Solution
Ouch.
It will be difficult.
You are either looking at a system with solid integrated graphics, or look for a good prebuilt on your used market.
This is something you could build for $500 that should play everything at atleast 30FPS 1080p. But im not sure about streaming unfortunately. I couldn't have built this at $400, but you could probably find the parts here for less on your used market.
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 3 3200G 3.6 GHz Quad-Core Processor ($176.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI A320M-A PRO MAX Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($70.55 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($86.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 860 Evo 500...
Ouch.
It will be difficult.
You are either looking at a system with solid integrated graphics, or look for a good prebuilt on your used market.
This is something you could build for $500 that should play everything at atleast 30FPS 1080p. But im not sure about streaming unfortunately. I couldn't have built this at $400, but you could probably find the parts here for less on your used market.
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 3 3200G 3.6 GHz Quad-Core Processor ($176.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI A320M-A PRO MAX Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($70.55 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($86.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 860 Evo 500 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($59.99 @ Adorama)
Case: Fractal Design Focus G Mini MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($54.99 @ Walmart)
Power Supply: EVGA BR 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($48.00 @ Amazon)
Total: $497.51
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-04-16 07:01 EDT-0400
 
Solution

SawmMawia

Great
Jan 17, 2021
180
7
85
Ouch.
It will be difficult.
You are either looking at a system with solid integrated graphics, or look for a good prebuilt on your used market.
This is something you could build for $500 that should play everything at atleast 30FPS 1080p. But im not sure about streaming unfortunately. I couldn't have built this at $400, but you could probably find the parts here for less on your used market.
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 3 3200G 3.6 GHz Quad-Core Processor ($176.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI A320M-A PRO MAX Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($70.55 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($86.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 860 Evo 500 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($59.99 @ Adorama)
Case: Fractal Design Focus G Mini MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($54.99 @ Walmart)
Power Supply: EVGA BR 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($48.00 @ Amazon)
Total: $497.51
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-04-16 07:01 EDT-0400
How about 500 dollars?
 

punkncat

Champion
Ambassador
Right this moment, probably not. A little over a month ago I started looking to build an inexpensive office computer with a hard $400 budget.
Here are some of the parts ideas I came up with, but even then it was always just a few $ above my limit. Unfortunately, since then, the price on most of these components has gone up, or the part isn't available.

My list consisted of the following parts, and some of them general. The PSU is CRAP.

I was working along the lines of:
i3 10100 and using it's stock fan - it was $99
The absolutely cheapest B4xx motherboard I could find. I was trying to locate one with 4 RAM slots for future needs ~$75
At the time the Ballistix RAM kit was the cheapest I could find for 16GB. also ~$75
Samsung 250GB 2.5" SSD- $40
The topping on this cake of cheapness was a Rosewill case with an included "400W" power supply. Total junk and dangerous, BUT given the system should not pull more than ~130W on load, it seemed a worthwhile risk for this use case. -$50

SO, we come to ~$340 or so (at that time) with no OS. This was also based in shopping at a local MicroCenter.
You will find that most of these prices have gone up in the area of 10-20% in the last couple of weeks and a good portion of it is unavailable via Amazon and the like.

Your use case would CRUSH the poor thing.

I honestly think your only option at that price point is to search used without a video card, and or office refurbs which are also priced out of the market.

GL
 
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