[SOLVED] New Build/Prebuilt $1200 or less

Neublet

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Sep 23, 2012
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So here I am 6 years later asking for advice on a PC either New Build or Prebuilt doesn't matter. I have a budget of up to $1200 but I would really like to stay below that if I can. So here's what I do, I do play smaller games like Ring of Elysium (not optimized properly yet) Conan Exiles (with several mods so it seems to lag when I get around large player built castles) League of Legends, Overwatch & Starcraft 2 games. In Conan Exiles and Ring of Elysium I have rendering issues, in RoE when the game starts I can go up to 30 seconds before I can actually see the buildings, Conan when I come into an area with a large player build structure it lags until it loads.

I don't play AAA titles so being able to run them at top notch settings isn't a requirement but if it can do it then it can do it. I would rather not deal with liquid cooling as I do not know anything about it. I don't need a monitor or keyboard/mouse. I don't think I need a dvd drive as I don't remember the last time I actually used the one I have. I would like it to be somewhat future proof, I know people have told me my current build is weak (it probably is it was built in 2013 here's the link to the post I made then http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/383200-31-ready-build )

Anyways, would it be cheaper for me to build it myself? I know the answer used to be yes but with prices on GPU's is that still the case? How much more expensive would a prebuilt one be for the same specs? I am ok with paying a little more for the peace of mind of having a "professional" do it.

Thanks for the help!
 
1200 is enough to build a really decent system, yourself. It's enough to buy a good high mid range prebuilt.
GPU prices have normalized somewhat since the mining crash/better equipment for doing so.

IDK what manner of stores you have nearby, but would probably be worth going in a Fry's, Micro Center, Best Buy and see what is available and make your mind up from there. You could do a better system if you feel like taking a chance on your own. Folks around here generally have no issue giving example build lists. PC Parts Picker is full of them as well.
 


I have no stores like that nearby (closest one would be over an hour away). Yea I know the people will help with builds, that's what I was hoping for. I have no issues attempting it on my own but I am not sure what parts are better than other parts. When I look at the GPUs I see so many of what seems to be the same card but just by different manufacturers which then brings the question, whos the better maker? lol

Thank you for the advice
 
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2600X 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor ($194.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock - B450M PRO4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($69.99 @ Newegg Business)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($104.99 @ Newegg Business)
Storage: MyDigitalSSD - SBX 256 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial - MX500 1 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($134.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 3 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Zotac - GeForce RTX 2060 6 GB GAMING Video Card ($349.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design - Define Mini C MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($76.63 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Gold 550 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($74.58 @ Newegg Business)
Total: $1136.14
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-01-15 13:59 EST-0500
 


I don't think I need 3 storage drives. I have 1.5 tb right now and I barely have half used (most of it can probably be deleted too).
 



In truth, based on what you mentioned, I would probably sub in an RX580 or so for the graphics as well. Otherwise, I thought it was a good build idea.
You didn't mention, are you going to need monitors and other peripherals?
 


He stated that he doesn't need a monitor or peripherals. However, is WiFi card needed?
 




The 3 drives were to segregate storage. The 240GB is your OS drive, 1TB is the games drive, and 3TB is bulk storage (music, videos, download, etc...). If it isn't needed then can remove some of it and save the money or put the money towards a better component somewhere else.
 
Monitor keyboard mouse & wifi are not needed. I was thinking a 1060 6gb would be about right for my needs. and probably an i5 but if a i5 with a 1060 gb would run me $1000 and I can get an i7 with a 1070+ for that same price then I'd rather do that, but I am looking for the most bang for my buck. The same goes for prebuilt vs building it myself. If it's $800 for an i5 with a 1060 6gb and I can get a prebuilt for $850, then ill just do the prebuilt.
 
The equivalent i5 to the R5 2600X will run an extra $60 just for the CPU and $20 for the motherboard. That $80 gets your 1/2-2/3 of the way to the 2060 from the cheapest 1060 6GB. The 2060 also has performance like that of the 1070Ti which starts at $430 now. The closest pre-builts that I can quickly find are these: https://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/Syber-Cube-Core-100 (better CPU but worse SSDs) https://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/Syber-XL-Elite-300 (similar CPU, better GPU, worse SSDs) https://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/AMD-Ryzen-7X-Configurator (better CPU, worse GPU, no SSD). When it comes to building a gaming rig you typically are better off building it yourself.
 
 
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/nvidia-geforce-rtx-2060-ray-tracing-turing,5960.html that is a review of the 2060 and it has the 1060 6GB card in the review as well. The benefit of going with the 2060 is that you have more performance right now and it is more future proof. Also the 1060 6GB is based on a design that is 2+ years old, whereas the 2060 was just released. I recommend 16GB RAM for any computer that is doing gaming at all. With the build that I did on pcpartpicker you can remove $80 just by not having the HDD or $130 by going with just the 1TB SSD, and using those savings to have the 16GB RAM & 2060.
 
Oh i just looked at that case, I should've mentioned (my apologies) I would rather atx motherboard not a micro atx along with a little bit fancier case. I have had the same jet black plain case for 6 years. I don't want to pay to much more but i am ok with adding a little more for some flash.
 
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2600X 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor ($194.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock - B450 Pro4 ATX AM4 Motherboard ($76.00 @ Newegg Business)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($104.99 @ Newegg Business)
Storage: MyDigitalSSD - SBX 256 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial - MX500 1 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($134.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Zotac - GeForce RTX 2060 6 GB GAMING Video Card ($349.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design - Define C TG ATX Mid Tower Case ($92.85 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Gold 550 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($74.58 @ Newegg Business)
Case Fan: Rosewill - RGBF-17003 41.9 CFM 120mm Fan ($14.99 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: Rosewill - RGBF-17003 41.9 CFM 120mm Fan ($14.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1108.36
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-01-16 11:23 EST-0500
 
Solution
In the above setup you would move the current rear fan and put it on the front of the case. Then the 2 RGB fans would be installed with one on the rear of the case and the other on the top of the case. If you want even more flash you can spend an extra $20 on RGB RAM as well.
 


I also need the OS, if I look around for another case anything that's an ATX Mid Tower should work with these parts correct?
 
Here is the list:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core Processor ($164.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte - B450 AORUS ELITE ATX AM4 Motherboard ($98.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($104.99 @ Newegg Business)
Storage: Samsung - 970 Evo 500 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($127.93 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte - GeForce RTX 2070 8 GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($498.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: be quiet! - Pure Base 600 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($88.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA G2 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1204.65
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-01-17 07:08 EST-0500

Very decent performance and all high quality components.
 


Using pcpartpicker you can have the compatibility filter turned on and it will weed out parts that don't work together, such as a microATX case being shown when you have a full sized ATX motherboard selected. Figure on ~$100 for the OS if you go Win 10 Home 64bit.