Helping Friend with budget build

[Tyler2004]

My friend is trying to build a $400 PC with a red/black color scheme. Here is the build I came up with: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/YYN47h. Any feedback or recommend build is appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[weberdarren97]

The SSD is a nice touch, but the RAM is very underwhelming.

I'm afraid there is little to no hardware balance here. Even that cheap CPU will be held back by such a small amount of RAM, not to mention that it's single channel.

Also, that CPU comes with an Intel stock cooler. No need to buy another CPU cooler that's just as small. It won't be quieter or cooler, it'll just be more money spent.

I recommend going with more RAM and instead of an HDD and SSD, just get an HDD that has fast read/write times.

I also found a case that's a few bucks cheaper.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Pentium G4400 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor ($49.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI - H110M Gaming Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($56.88 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill - NT Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($67.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital - BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($66.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1050 2GB ACX 2.0 Video Card ($104.99 @ Newegg)
Case: VIVO - CASE-V06 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ Newegg Marketplace)
Power Supply: EVGA - B3 450W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($31.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $413.59
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-08-31 16:45 EDT-0400

 

[Tyler2004]

One more thing, he really wants the black and red look so he want to go withthis gpu instead.

 

[Hellfire13]

That cpu is pretty under powered with only 2 threads and wont give much performance, specially for gaming. SSD is not recommended for that price point. Intel stock cooler better than those cheap aft ones. PSU is junk. 4gb RAM is insufficient in 2017.

Optimized the build with better parts all around...

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Pentium G4560 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($78.89 @ B&H)
Motherboard: ASRock - B250M-HDV Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($56.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill - NT Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($68.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($44.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1050 2GB ACX 2.0 Video Card ($104.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Deepcool - TESSERACT BF ATX Mid Tower Case ($25.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair - CXM (2015) 450W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $415.70
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-08-31 16:46 EDT-0400

 

[weberdarren97]

One more thing, he really wants the black and red look so he want to go withthis gpu instead.

Mate, you're not going to get that aesthetic at $400 without compromising performance.

Colored parts cost more. At a budget this low, it's function over form every time. Either that or build a potato.

 

[Tyler2004]

One more thing, he really wants the black and red look so he want to go withthis gpu instead.

Mate, you're not going to get that aesthetic at $400 without compromising performance.

Colored parts cost more. At a budget this low, it's function over form every time. Either that or build a potato.

This is exactly what I've been trying to tell him!

 

[Hellfire13]

One more thing, he really wants the black and red look so he want to go withthis gpu instead.

Mate, you're not going to get that aesthetic at $400 without compromising performance.

Colored parts cost more. At a budget this low, it's function over form every time. Either that or build a potato.

This is exactly what I've been trying to tell him!

Well, you need to convince him harder. Or bring him here. This community knows how to convince people, unless they are downright ignorant.

 

[Tyler2004]

Well, you need to convince him harder. Or bring him here. This community knows how to convince people, unless they are downright ignorant.

I sent him the link. He'll look when he can.

 

[weberdarren97]

This is what happens to the price when you do all black and red.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Pentium G4400 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor ($49.88 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Rosewill - RCX-Z300 CPU Cooler ($12.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI - H110M Gaming Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($56.88 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill - NT Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($67.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital - BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($66.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI - GeForce GTX 1050 2GB GAMING X 2G Video Card ($138.88 @ OutletPC)
Case: Deepcool - TESSERACT SW RED ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA - B3 450W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($31.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $455.37
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-08-31 20:38 EDT-0400

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This is what happens if I try to bring your color coordinated list down to $400. Not only is this still over budget, it's a potato.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Celeron G3900 2.8GHz Dual-Core Processor ($38.99 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Rosewill - RCX-Z300 CPU Cooler ($12.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI - H110M Gaming Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($56.88 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill - NT Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($67.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital - BLACK SERIES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($66.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI - GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Low Profile Video Card ($121.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Deepcool - TESSERACT SW RED ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA - B3 450W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($31.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $427.59
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-08-31 20:44 EDT-0400

 

[Hellfire13]

That cpu is almost equal to a 1st gen. i5, and that too with two less logical cores. We are moving to 8th gen. in a month or two. That certainly is not recommended, specially for gaming. You wont get any performance whatsoever in gaming... http://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Pentium-G4400-vs-Intel-Core-i5-750/3539vs2773
Also, that PSU is pretty mediocre unit.
Adding quality parts in those two segments are going to increase the cost even more. At the end of the day, you dont want a good looking red/black potato which doesnt do anything, or dont wanna see it go up in smoke.

 

[Tyler2004]

http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-3510193/light-gaming-build.html here's a thread he made, I'm going to ask you to go over there for any further feedback.