[SOLVED] Custom Build ~ $1000

[Earofcorn]

I just talked with the computer department at Best Buy and we tried to throw together a decent gaming pc for around $1000. I'd really appreciate feedback before I go ahead and buy it though... I don't know anything about custom builds so I am going to pay Geek Squad $200 for their support to put it together (that's separate), but I was convinced that the 3 year warranties on the parts (instead of 1 for pre-builds) is worth it. Also, overcharging for things like ram and solid state hard drives on pre-builds makes it seem even more worth it to custom build.

Anyway, here is the rough plan

Processor - i5 9400 - $175
Video Card - GTX 1660 Super - $240
16gb ram - $80
Hard Drive - 860 Evo - 1 TB solid state drive - $140
Power Supply - EVGA 700 watt - $75
Motherboard - Unknown - estimating around $200
Case - Unknown - estimating around $120

Total - Around $1,030 (not including $200 Geek Squad Support to build it)

I'd really appreciate thoughts on places I could save money. Thanks in advance.

 

[larsv8]

This forum will always steer you towards building your own. Does BBS include an OS?

What monitor will you be using?

 

[maxamillionfeettall]

Going for a 6 thread cpu wont pan out in the long haul. If sticking with intel, I'd opt for an i5 10400 instead, it's roughly the same cost and has 12 threads. That, or a AMD ryzen 3600. $200 motherboard paired with a locked budget cpu is a bit much, maybe $140.

Will you be getting the parts from best buy only, or elsewhere?

 

[Earofcorn]

I forgot about the monitor actually, that's going to be extra. I'm open to suggestions...

I will be buying the parts wherever. Best Buy seems to have decent prices though. They recently got looted so their inventory is nearly empty, so they're going to have to order the parts also. Either I order them or they do.

Thanks for the advice for the cpu. I didn't think so many threads were actually utilized in games.

I wasn't sure about the motherboard either. Thank you.

Also, the OS will be extra. I’m pretty sure there’s no getting around that...

Lastly, I’d like to add that I’m building a gaming rig. No streaming, editing, content creation, 4K or VR. I’d like to play modern AAA titles at high graphics, that’s it. If it lasts a few years that’d be perfect.

Thanks for the help so far and thanks in advance for any further advice.

 

[larsv8]

Why don’t you come up with an all in budget for OS , parts, assembly, monitor, etc and we can get you a parts list that is absolute best bang for your buck.

 

[maxamillionfeettall]

Thanks for the advice for the cpu. I didn't think so many threads were actually utilized in games.

Games mostly only utilize 2-4 cores, there are some that can use 8. The thing is, windows, background tasks also use cores, so 6 threads isn't really enough, especially since thread usage will only increase in the future.

I will be buying the parts wherever.

Alright, here's an example intel build:
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-10400 2.9 GHz 6-Core Processor ($189.99 @ B&H)
CPU Cooler: ID-COOLING SE-224-XT Basic 76.16 CFM CPU Cooler ($24.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock H470M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1200 Motherboard ($105.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Intel 660p Series 1.02 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Asus GeForce RTX 2060 6 GB DUAL EVO OC Video Card ($333.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Focus G ATX Mid Tower Case ($64.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Phanteks AMP 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($105.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $995.89
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-06-23 10:20 EDT-0400

The case is a place holder, choose whatever design you like the most.
Reviews on motherboards are sparse, but since the cpu is only a 10400, I wouldn't be too worried.
The psu is a rebadged seasonic focus plus, a quality psu.
The 10400 is a few fps faster then the amd ryzen 3600 in games, but slower in work tasks, but since you stated that work tasks is not a priority, I onlylisted a 10400 build.
Windows 10 is pretty much free, but I doubt geeksquad will think that.
I went for a rtx 2060, its a better gpu, but if you want to save some money, you can go back to a 1660S.

I forgot about the monitor actually, that's going to be extra. I'm open to suggestions

What resolution would you like to use? 1080p, 1440p? 4k is possible, but the fps will be lower. You'll be looking for IPS and VA panels, TN panels are old and the colors are terrible.
Example 24" 1080p display

 

[ocer9999]

I agree with the setup, the only change I would do would be going with a 5700 instead of 2060 for the same price.

 

[Earofcorn]

Games mostly only utilize 2-4 cores, there are some that can use 8. The thing is, windows, background tasks also use cores, so 6 threads isn't really enough, especially since thread usage will only increase in the future.


Alright, here's an example intel build:
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-10400 2.9 GHz 6-Core Processor ($189.99 @ B&H)
CPU Cooler: ID-COOLING SE-224-XT Basic 76.16 CFM CPU Cooler ($24.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock H470M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1200 Motherboard ($105.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Intel 660p Series 1.02 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Asus GeForce RTX 2060 6 GB DUAL EVO OC Video Card ($333.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Focus G ATX Mid Tower Case ($64.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Phanteks AMP 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($105.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $995.89
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-06-23 10:20 EDT-0400

The case is a place holder, choose whatever design you like the most.
Reviews on motherboards are sparse, but since the cpu is only a 10400, I wouldn't be too worried.
The psu is a rebadged seasonic focus plus, a quality psu.
The 10400 is a few fps faster then the amd ryzen 3600 in games, but slower in work tasks, but since you stated that work tasks is not a priority, I onlylisted a 10400 build.
Windows 10 is pretty much free, but I doubt geeksquad will think that.
I went for a rtx 2060, its a better gpu, but if you want to save some money, you can go back to a 1660S.


What resolution would you like to use? 1080p, 1440p? 4k is possible, but the fps will be lower. You'll be looking for IPS and VA panels, TN panels are old and the colors are terrible.
Example 24" 1080p display

Wow, this is awesome! You seem to have saved a lot of money on the case and the motherboard. I was just told that 2 or more fans are good, so as for the case I have no real preference. Price is the main factor for me. That case looks good, I'd just as soon use it than anything else if you think it'll work well. Thanks.

You saved quite a bit of money here and there so a slightly better gpu seems in the budget now. That's great, thank you.

What is ocer9999 referring to? A different Video Card? What does the 5700 offer in comparison to the 2060?

I've never used PC Part Picker, this seems like an extremely handy tool. I'm just not sure how everything will fit together in the end, but that's up to Geek Squad I guess.

For a monitor, I'd really like to keep it cheap. I've never had a nice monitor though so I'm not sure what I'm missing out on. Hopefully, this rig will be able to run the next Bethesda game nicely, that'd be ideal. Could you help me understand the value difference of 1080p vs 1440p? I think I can rule out 4k though. Briefly looking at prices, they seem too expensive.

Overall, I think at the end of the day I'd like to keep things around $1500, after the $200 Geek Squad bill, the monitor, which may be around $150-200 (I guess?), and taxes and shipping. Oh and the OS. I guess I may be going up to $1600 or so. I definitely don't want to go much above that. Any closer to $2000 and I'm going to start thinking about peeling things back a bit.

I'd like to ask a somewhat difficult question... Sorry if it's stupid/difficult. Since I can upgrade the video card, is there a risk of a bottleneck with other components? Like the Ram or the Processor? If it gets me additional longevity with the whole computer, that's great, but if the video card outperforms the capabilities of the rest of the rig, is that a possible reason to stick with a cheaper video card?

 

[maxamillionfeettall]

What is ocer9999 referring to? A different Video Card? What does the 5700 offer in comparison to the 2060?

The rx5700 is a faster gpu built by amd, it doesn't have ray tracing capabilities either, but the rtx 2060 can barely ray trace anyways.

The main problem with the rx5700 is that AMD drivers are terrible. The rx5700 will likely run fine without any bugs, but the rate of driver problems with amd parts in a fair bit higher then nvidia, and from my experience with it, driver problems are incredibly infuriating, especially when it takes hours upon hours to attempt to solve a problem that never ends up solved.

But that may be my bias though.

is there a risk of a bottleneck with other components? Like the Ram or the Processor?

Unless you were to put in a 2080ti, you won't bottleneck anything. Even then, the bottleneck wouldn't be large.

 

[larsv8]

I want to talk you out of paying Geek Squad to do anything. That $200 should be going into parts. It is not hard at all to put a PC together, and the parts all have their own warranties.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gO-V8E9MIBg



Here is something that fits into your all in budget.


PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/FKwhcq

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor ($166.89 @ Walmart)
Motherboard: MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX ATX AM4 Motherboard ($114.99 @ Best Buy)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($47.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Intel 660p Series 1.02 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon RX 5700 XT 8 GB GAMING OC Video Card ($399.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Phanteks Eclipse P400A ATX Mid Tower Case ($70.98 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair RMx (2018) 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($125.99 @ Best Buy)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($109.99 @ B&H)
Monitor: Dell S3220DGF 31.5" 2560x1440 165 Hz Monitor ($359.99 @ Best Buy)
Total: $1506.80
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-06-23 17:40 EDT-0400