Question Entry level gaming on budget (for son)

[Wolverine18710]

My 12yr old is getting into gaming (mostly plays on Xbox One X) and wants to build an entry level PC so he can do much more. He's paying for most of this on his own from saving up, so we are trying hard to balance keeping the cost down and allowing for upgrading in a few years. Ideally we get it sub $400 without the GPU, but not sure how. Here's what he has put together.

CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 1600 3.2GHz 6 Core AM4 Boxed Processor with Wraith Spire Cooler	$80.00
Motherboard	Gigabyte B450 AORUS PRO WIFI AM4 ATX AMD Motherboard	$89.99
Memory	Crucial Ballistix Sport AT 8GB DDR4-3000 PC4-24000 CL17 Single Channel Desktop Memory Module - Gray	$45.99
Storage	Inland Professional 512GB 3D NAND M.2 2280 PCIe NVMe Gen 3 x2 Internal Solid State Drive (512G)	$64.99
Storage 1	Seagate BarraCuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA III 6Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive	$54.99
Case	NZXT H500 Tempered Glass ATX Mid-Tower Computer Case - Black	$69.99
Power Supply	Corsair CX650M 650 Watt 80 Plus Bronze ATX Semi-Modular Power Supply	$59.99
Total		$465.94

We have a microcenter close by and they have a lot of items on sale, including the CPU/Motherboard combo.

Here's the GPU he was looking at:

Video Card

PowerColor Red Dragon Radeon RX 580 Dual-Fan 8GB GDDR5 PCIe Video Card

$168.99

I listed it separate because it blows the budget and I have a Geforce GTX 1050 Ti, which seems close in performance to the RX 580. I can give him the 1050 Ti and simply replace it with a cheap card as I don't need to game on the PC it is currently in. He also believes he can buy a windows 10 license for $15 (I'm skeptical).

From all the threads I've read, you guys are great at finding different tweaks and better options, so please let me know any thoughts as I try and help him!

 

[kanewolf]

Your choice of a single 8GB DIMM will limit performance. You will be better off with a matched set of two 4GB DIMMs. With a 500GB SSD, the 2 TB DISK may not be required for a gaming PC. A SATA SSD like an MX500 would also be fine and might save a few $$$.

 

[Wolverine18710]

Thank you. I'll have to look in to the 2 DIMMs vs. 1. It's been a while since I built my own PC, and performance wasn't crucial when I did.

 

[Bearmann]

Immediately sign up for Newegg emails. To take advantage of their coupons you need to be a current email receiver. We'll find something good, I am sure, for you to buy or price match.

 

[Bearmann]

Corsair Carbide Spec-04 Case $19.99 after rebate with Newegg coupon code EMCTYVV35:

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...-_-ComputerCases-_-11139095-S2A4C&ignorebbr=1

Phanteks Eclipse P300 PH-EC300PTG_BK Black Steel Chassis, Tempered Glass Window ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $55.99 after rebate (expires Wednesday):

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...-_-ComputerCases-_-11854068-S1A6A&ignorebbr=1

Seasonic focus 650 is $61.99 after rebate at Newegg. Not cheaper, but better quality.

Are you a human?

www.newegg.com

Corsair 275R $55 today:

https://www.amazon.com/CORSAIR-CARBIDE-Mid-Tower-Tempered-CC-9011132-WW/dp/B079K1W3KB?

I'll keep digging.

 

[Bearmann]

Signing off this thread. Good luck with your build.

 

[Wolverine18710]

Ready to build this with my son. He's been searching and investigating quite a bit and hoping to buy some of the parts tomorrow. Ryzen 5 seems by far the best value in CPU. Not certain on the motherboard (it's good, but perhaps not the best value as the $99 includes a $30 bundle discount for buying CPU). Per Kanewolf's suggestion, looking at a matching set of DIMMs, but he's looking at 16GB total (not certain on the ones chosen). Case is a little expensive, but he really liked it (comes with 3 RGB fans). We missed the Seasonic power supply deal unfortunately.

Latest update.

CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 1600 3.2GHz 6 Core AM4 Boxed Processor with Wraith Spire Cooler	$80.00
Motherboard	Gigabyte B450 AORUS PRO WIFI AM4 ATX AMD Motherboard	$99.99
Memory	Crucial Ballistix Sport AT 8GB DDR4-3000 PC4-24000 CL17 Single Channel Desktop Memory Module - Gray	$43.99 x2
or	HyperX FURY 16GB 2 x 8GB DDR4-3200MHz PC4-25600 CL18 Dual Channel Desktop Memory Kit HX432C18FB2K2/1 - Black	$102.99
Storage	Inland Professional 512GB 3D NAND M.2 2280 PCIe NVMe Gen 3 x2 Internal Solid State Drive (512G)	$54.99
Case	Thermaltake Level 20 MT ARGB ATX Mid-Tower Computer Case - Black	$99.99
Power Supply	Corsair CX650M 650 Watt 80 Plus Bronze ATX Semi-Modular Power Supply	$59.99
Total		~$490

If anyone has any thoughts/ideas, would love to hear them.