Question Need Help Quick for Last Minute Build Before Christmas

[Paul Allen's Apartment]

Hello all. So I just finished my $2k build last year. A buddy of mine saw it a few months back and said he would like me to build a starter gaming PC for his 13 year old son. Problem is he waited until today (December 4th) to give me his budget of $800. Which means I have just enough time to get it built before Christmas, but I need some component help as I also have to try to fit a monitor, keyboard, mouse and Windows OS into this budget.

I am going to throw around $100 into this myself to beef up the system a bit, but does anyone have a parts list they can help me out with? I of course want to build it with the best possible components I can get, but I understand prices during the holidays are going to be ridiculous. Especially this close to Christmas.

What I know is he just wants something that will run recent steam games and streaming without hiccups and will last his son a few years. It will primarily be used for online gaming and I would like for it to have wifi capability and an Intel CPU/compatible motherboard and enough ram to run without hiccups.

I am familiar with the fractal pop air so if that could be used as the case it would be a plus, but feel free to choose another good looking case if it doesn't fit the budget. I also have a n extra SSD I am going to throw in for a second hard drive to store things on. Again, $800 from him and around $100 from me for a total of $900 is the budget. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I just wanted to make sure I got the best system possible for the budget. Thank you again for your time and help.

 

[Darkbreeze]

At what resolution and in game quality settings is the expectation for this system, and, specifically which games in particular because what will work very well for a certain type of game is going to be more like a low to medium settings build for other titles?

Also, what all is needed? DO you need keyboard, mouse, monitor, Windows license, etc. in addition to the core hardware components?

 

[Paul Allen's Apartment]

Hey there. I think he should be fine in 1080, but if we can do better I'm all for it. Not sure how savvy he is or if he would notice much of a big difference with the in-game setting and they'll have to make due with the budget. I know he plays Mine C., Dragon BZ games, M. Kombat and Fortnight mostly. Other than that he streams movies. Yes, I do need to somehow fit a monitor and keyboard, but I have an extra gaming mouse, USB gaming controllers, speakers etc. to give him for the time being. Would also like a wireless card so he doesn't have to worry about wired connection. I greatly appreciate your help.

 

[Eximo]

Hmm, something like this:

Went a little nicer on the monitor, and there is a little room for a keyboard and mouse, but not much.

An adequate system for today, with upgrade options up to like an i7-14700/13700 in the future, and room for a decent mid-range GPU in a few years.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-12400F 2.5 GHz 6-Core Processor ($139.97 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Assassin X 120 PLUS V2 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler ($22.29 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock B760M-HDV/M.2 D4 Micro ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($91.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory ($66.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Intel 670p 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($48.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: PowerColor Fighter Radeon RX 6600 8 GB Video Card ($189.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Pop Air ATX Mid Tower Case ($86.96 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Thermaltake Toughpower GX2 600 W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($65.98 @ Amazon)
Monitor: Asus TUF Gaming VG249Q1A 23.8" 1920 x 1080 165 Hz Monitor ($157.00 @ Amazon)
Total: $870.15
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-12-04 17:07 EST-0500

 

[Why_Me]

Add this to that build down below. Check around for a better price.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1591690-REG/intel_ax200_ngwg_dtk_wi_fi_6_gig_desktop.html
Intel AX200 Gig+ Wi-Fi 6 Desktop Kit $22.99

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: *Intel Core i5-12400F 2.5 GHz 6-Core Processor ($139.97 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: *Deepcool AG400 75.89 CFM CPU Cooler ($21.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: *ASRock B760 Pro RS/D4 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: *Silicon Power GAMING 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($49.97 @ Amazon)
Storage: *TEAMGROUP T-Force Vulcan Z 1 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($45.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: *XFX Speedster QICK 308 Black Radeon RX 7600 8 GB Video Card ($259.99 @ Best Buy)
Case: *Deepcool CC560 ATX Mid Tower Case ($56.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: *ADATA XPG CORE Reactor 750 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($94.99 @ Amazon)
Monitor: *Asus TUF Gaming VG249Q1A 23.8" 1920 x 1080 165 Hz Monitor ($109.99 @ Best Buy)
Total: $909.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-12-04 17:59 EST-0500

 

[Paul Allen's Apartment]

Hmm, something like this:

Went a little nicer on the monitor, and there is a little room for a keyboard and mouse, but not much.

An adequate system for today, with upgrade options up to like an i7-14700/13700 in the future, and room for a decent mid-range GPU in a few years.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-12400F 2.5 GHz 6-Core Processor ($139.97 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Assassin X 120 PLUS V2 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler ($22.29 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock B760M-HDV/M.2 D4 Micro ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($91.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory ($66.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Intel 670p 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($48.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: PowerColor Fighter Radeon RX 6600 8 GB Video Card ($189.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Pop Air ATX Mid Tower Case ($86.96 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Thermaltake Toughpower GX2 600 W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($65.98 @ Amazon)
Monitor: Asus TUF Gaming VG249Q1A 23.8" 1920 x 1080 165 Hz Monitor ($157.00 @ Amazon)
Total: $870.15
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-12-04 17:07 EST-0500

I greatly appreciate your recommendation. Thank you.

 

[Paul Allen's Apartment]

Add this to that build down below. Check around for a better price.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1591690-REG/intel_ax200_ngwg_dtk_wi_fi_6_gig_desktop.html
Intel AX200 Gig+ Wi-Fi 6 Desktop Kit $22.99

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: *Intel Core i5-12400F 2.5 GHz 6-Core Processor ($139.97 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: *Deepcool AG400 75.89 CFM CPU Cooler ($21.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: *ASRock B760 Pro RS/D4 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: *Silicon Power GAMING 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($49.97 @ Amazon)
Storage: *TEAMGROUP T-Force Vulcan Z 1 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($45.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: *XFX Speedster QICK 308 Black Radeon RX 7600 8 GB Video Card ($259.99 @ Best Buy)
Case: *Deepcool CC560 ATX Mid Tower Case ($56.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: *ADATA XPG CORE Reactor 750 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($94.99 @ Amazon)
Monitor: *Asus TUF Gaming VG249Q1A 23.8" 1920 x 1080 165 Hz Monitor ($109.99 @ Best Buy)
Total: $909.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-12-04 17:59 EST-0500

Thank you very much for your recommendation.

 

[Paul Allen's Apartment]

Hmm, something like this:

Went a little nicer on the monitor, and there is a little room for a keyboard and mouse, but not much.

An adequate system for today, with upgrade options up to like an i7-14700/13700 in the future, and room for a decent mid-range GPU in a few years.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-12400F 2.5 GHz 6-Core Processor ($139.97 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Assassin X 120 PLUS V2 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler ($22.29 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock B760M-HDV/M.2 D4 Micro ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($91.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory ($66.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Intel 670p 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($48.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: PowerColor Fighter Radeon RX 6600 8 GB Video Card ($189.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Pop Air ATX Mid Tower Case ($86.96 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Thermaltake Toughpower GX2 600 W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($65.98 @ Amazon)
Monitor: Asus TUF Gaming VG249Q1A 23.8" 1920 x 1080 165 Hz Monitor ($157.00 @ Amazon)
Total: $870.15
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-12-04 17:07 EST-0500

If you don't mind me asking, what would you recommend for a step up for the GPU? Or will the powercolor you included run some of the newer games without problems? Thank you again for your help.

 

[Zerk2012]

As far as I know you can still run W10 unregistered---- somebody correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[punkncat]

I am going to throw a suggestion based in AMD. Apologies, as I don't do the nifty price list but some things to consider as an instead.

The Ryzen 5 3600 has been priced very competitively. You could find a decent 5xx chipset alongside this with either the Silicone Power sticks listed above, or some Ripjaws, Team Group, etc. I would get as fast as you can ~3200 or more.

The point in the above being to put a little more money into the graphics card option, perhaps even the monitor. Thinking along the likes of the RX 6700/7700, perhaps one of the "50" variants.

It has been widely circulated that AMD is about to release more new CPU on the AM4 platform, so one could assume that with the proper motherboard selection and a BIOS update that moving into a 5xxx, for instance the 5800X we just saw such astounding pricing on may be available a little down the road to upgrade into. Could consider one of the X3D if the main focus is gaming. This would accomplish having aspects of much of a better system in place from the start with an easy selection to be considerably more powerful.

The other end of that stick would be to see if you could squeeze out a budget AM5 build, but I am not sure the price point is there. At least with AM5 there are years of upcoming CPU upgrades much like what happened with AM4. If you get a 12th gen the upgrade path is already set and done for (just like AM4 at this point) but is also full of very high power draw CPU for what many consider dubious performance gains for said power (and heat).

Just figured I would throw that out there for your consideration.

 

[ohio_buckeye]

You could also pick up a ryzen 5 5500 for about 100 bucks and a cheap b550 board. Then as someone above said, a 6700 or 6700xt that would make a decent little pc.

 

[Paul Allen's Apartment]

I am going to throw a suggestion based in AMD. Apologies, as I don't do the nifty price list but some things to consider as an instead.

The Ryzen 5 3600 has been priced very competitively. You could find a decent 5xx chipset alongside this with either the Silicone Power sticks listed above, or some Ripjaws, Team Group, etc. I would get as fast as you can ~3200 or more.

The point in the above being to put a little more money into the graphics card option, perhaps even the monitor. Thinking along the likes of the RX 6700/7700, perhaps one of the "50" variants.

It has been widely circulated that AMD is about to release more new CPU on the AM4 platform, so one could assume that with the proper motherboard selection and a BIOS update that moving into a 5xxx, for instance the 5800X we just saw such astounding pricing on may be available a little down the road to upgrade into. Could consider one of the X3D if the main focus is gaming. This would accomplish having aspects of much of a better system in place from the start with an easy selection to be considerably more powerful.

The other end of that stick would be to see if you could squeeze out a budget AM5 build, but I am not sure the price point is there. At least with AM5 there are years of upcoming CPU upgrades much like what happened with AM4. If you get a 12th gen the upgrade path is already set and done for (just like AM4 at this point) but is also full of very high power draw CPU for what many consider dubious performance gains for said power (and heat).

Just figured I would throw that out there for your consideration.

Thank you. I greatly appreciate your recommendation.