Build Advice Opinions on first Budget Build

[SmokyOni]

Seeking advice on parts for the idea of a budget build I have going.

- on the lookout for same/better psu's at similar (~$59<) price.

Intel Parts List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/KYmNXy
leaning toward amd
AMD Parts List: https://pcpartpicker.com/user/SmokyOni/saved/JZCK7P
Please note prices told by pcpartpicker isn't accurate for amazon and you'd have to go to the site itself to see it, and it is still within my budget.
Priorities: Future Upgradability, ease for a first time builder.
Timeframe: Planning to make this build real in the next month.
Budget: $350-420 US before shipping, win 11 software excluded

Preferred sellers: Amazon, Original manufacturer, Micro center & shipping only.

I do not buy from newegg.
I apologize if this makes helping me difficult.

Build use: Heavy browsing and content consumption, a little image storing (like 1,000 by 1,000 px art and nature photography), and gaming on titles like roblox and (hopefully) red dead redemption 2, for 4+ hours.
Expectations: I'm looking to achieve around 60fps 720p in games but 30 is fine too. Im mostly trying to avoid terrible lows/lag spikes that would be extremely noticeable.

If anything helpful is missing please lmk

 

[Lafong]

Re the motherboard choice: what is the "preferred number of ports" that forced you to this board. You don't often see an H series board chosen.

I'd certainly consider micro ATX boards if you have not done so. B660M for instance.

What specifically led you to that power supply? Price alone?

 

[thestryker]

Cutting corners due to budget and wanting future upgradability unfortunately don't really go together well. Intel's desktop IGP is utterly atrocious and will not get you playable frame rates in anything remotely graphically intensive. This will be exacerbated by slow DDR4 with high latency.

Buy an OEM key for windows to cut down on how big a percentage of your budget goes to that these should be tops $20.

Depending on how long it will be before you can afford to upgrade it may be best to go with an AMD APU like the 5600G/5700G with an inexpensive B550 motherboard. The price ought to be about the same and it will be held back by the memory, but it's starting significantly ahead graphics wise.

Knowing what you need connectivity/expansion wise would be helpful for giving motherboard recommendations.

 

[SmokyOni]

For the PSU, yes price and because some old budget build article for an AMD budget build suggested it and was the best i personally could find at that price on amazon from what i understood about PSU's (not much)


For Motherboard ports... I just know it has two usb ports compatible with the case, and the two that are faster (3.2), which is ideal for transferring photos to and from the pc
It is simply preference that the case usb headers aren't unusable
I had trouble finding an intel motherboard within my price range on amazon that didn't also require bios updates or certain updates i'm currently not confident in knowing how to do or be able to recognize if done right or wrong and im trying to lessen chances of user error for my first build
that, or defeat my priority of keeping it upgradable for the future, like changing the wifi card.

 

[SmokyOni]

@thestryker
Thank you for the feedback. I think though I like the looks of the i3-12100, especially due to gamer nexus review videos (and others,) and even a review from toms hardware which reassures me it should do well enough fps wise. (With a gpu, I know, but even still.)

It wont be until a very long time I can make significant upgrades to the pc. Like, i don't think I can realistically expect i can do much to it even in the next year. Mostly though, my hold back is the having run ins with bios/updating issues, since certain things seem to play nicer with intel, like windows 11. correct me if im wrong.
I'd like to keep the trouble shooting to a minimum.

I'll keep this in mind though as I continue to consider hypothetical builds to get the most out of what I can spend.

 

[thestryker]

Basically what you'll need to decide is where you want the performance. The 12100 will be faster single threaded, but slower multithreaded. The 12100 is going to be largely better for gaming with a discrete GPU, but a 5600G should be significantly better in most things using integrated.

Here's an example of the differences with integrated: https://www.anandtech.com/show/1726...k-review-high-performance-for-the-mid-range/6

When I have time later I'll look up some hardware recommendations. There isn't any significant difference between AMD (especially AM4) and Intel stability and compatibility wise.

 

[logainofhades]

I would also recommend a 5600g, over the 12100.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600G 3.9 GHz 6-Core Processor ($121.17 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Assassin X 120 Refined SE 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler ($19.89 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte B550M DS3H AC Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($88.00 @ Newegg)
Memory: Silicon Power GAMING 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($49.89 @ Amazon)
Storage: Silicon Power A60 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($35.99 @ Newegg Sellers)
Case: Thermaltake Versa H18 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($44.00 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Thermaltake Smart BX1 650 650 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $418.93
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-06-19 18:31 EDT-0400


You might want to consider a used rig, from a local seller, on FB marketplace, or similar for sale site. Another option to consider is an i7 office refurb, and drop in a gpu.

 

[thestryker]

These would be the only potential changes I'd make to what was suggested above as the rest appear to be the best $/perf/quality options.

Motherboard: MSI B550M PRO-VDH WIFI Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($119.99 @ Amazon)

You'd mentioned wanting wifi so I went with a better quality motherboard which also has wifi (BIOS support for the 5600G was added almost 2 years ago so this shouldn't be a problem).

Memory: TEAMGROUP T-Force Vulcan Z 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory ($57.99 @ Newegg)

You could probably get away with 16GB, but when using an APU some DRAM gets allocated to iGPU so 32GB allows for maximum memory allocation for graphics. If you can afford the extra cost for the faster memory it would be good, but the one suggested by logainofhades is a good baseline.

Storage: Intel 670p 512 GB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($24.99 @ Amazon)

This drive can use the new Solidigm software which can improve performance for the budget drive level.

A 1TB version drive would be better if you can budget it (either is fine, but the Solidigm is technically newer):
Storage: Intel 670p 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Solidigm P41 Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($43.00 @ Newegg)

 

[Lucky_SLS]

going for a slightly more premium look by choosing 16gb ram.
That apevia prestige is listed as a tier C unit. alternate option for 70 USD : https://pcpartpicker.com/product/cT...00-w-80-gold-certified-atx-power-supply-bn901
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600G 3.9 GHz 6-Core Processor ($121.04 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Assassin King SE ARGB 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler ($20.29 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte B550M AORUS ELITE Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: PNY XLR8 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory ($34.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: MSI SPATIUM M461 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($39.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Thermaltake S100 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Apevia Prestige 600 W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply ($51.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $418.27
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-06-20 02:19 EDT-0400

 

[SmokyOni]

I am seeing more of you suggest r5 5600g now, so can I ask what do you guys think would be the most noticeable/immediate differences if i went amd's way versus intels? Is there any specific benefits besides maybe a better balance between browse and play? Is it a myth amd doesn't play as nice with windows 11 or something like that? I don't realize all the benefits

I was worried I'd have to be concerned with more updates/drivers to download from setting up the pc or having to upgrade major components about two-or-so years sooner, to be up to date with the times and still run smooth going amd.

I chose intel initially because it is the brand I'm more familiar looking up information for and I can navigate their site for information and such better, so if I had issues or questions I trusted I could find an answer with more ease.

thank you guys for giving suggestions and advice.

edit: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/rjV2gb
Here's a look at what I'm thinking if I go AMD.

Any comments or suggestions for alternative component welcome of course
Mainly keeping it a lot similar so I hope that's not an issue.

NOTE: The MSI B550M PRO-VDH WIFI Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard was considered but to be sure I used it for reference and there was another on sale close enough to it, so as a back up I'm happy to use either as they do well enough storage wise and usb headers wise. I'll likely use whatever is cheapest when purchasing time comes if I go AMD.

Right now, PSU is out of stock on Amazon, so if anyone knows of any just as good or better PSU's at around $59 max on sale or base price, let me know

Total looking around $395 before tax and shipping all on Amazon.

 

[thestryker]

NOTE: The MSI B550M PRO-VDH WIFI Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard was considered but to be sure I used it for reference and there was another on sale close enough to it, so as a back up I'm happy to use either as they do well enough storage wise and usb headers wise. I'll likely use whatever is cheapest when purchasing time comes if I go AMD.

You picked a $10 cheaper motherboard without wifi and left the wifi card on there at $16.98... Put the more expensive board back, drop the wifi card and save the $6.98.

I am seeing more of you suggest r5 5600g now, so can I ask what do you guys think would be the most noticeable/immediate differences if i went amd's way versus intels? Is there any specific benefits besides maybe a better balance between browse and play? Is it a myth amd doesn't play as nice with windows 11 or something like that? I don't realize all the benefits

I was worried I'd have to be concerned with more updates/drivers to download from setting up the pc or having to upgrade major components about two-or-so years sooner, to be up to date with the times and still run smooth going amd.

I chose intel initially because it is the brand I'm more familiar looking up information for and I can navigate their site for information and such better, so if I had issues or questions I trusted I could find an answer with more ease.

There is nothing to be worried about picking one over the other, especially with how established the AM4 platform has become. People will always complain, but rarely talk about their good experiences so take any complaints with a grain of salt. There is no inherent advantage or disadvantage just from picking one over the other.

 

[SmokyOni]

Right, sorry. I made a mistake and was going to leave it for looking over when it got closer to the time I'm going to buy. I must've accidentally filtered for non-wifi MOBO's.

I think I have both builds situated in a such a way if any significant price drops happen I'll probably go for that. AMD is a little bit of a learning curve for me but this build looks like it'll be just as easy to tackle for me.

Thank you for your help. Keeping an eye out for a keyboard still.
And thanks for looking out for me with the bios update. ^^;

 

[thestryker]

Thank you for your help. Keeping an eye out for a keyboard still.

Honestly keyboards are super personal and can vary from really cheap to really expensive. Pretty much anything will work, but my primary suggestion would be to get something from a known brand if you're going cheap.

This being a budget build nothing I'm familiar with would really fit in (my kb cost more than any single component in this build and that was over 10 years ago). I do have a cheap EVGA RGB KB that came with my video card and it seems good enough so if there's a sale you could always consider one of their models, but that's about all I have experience with.

 

[SmokyOni]

Thank you you've been so helpful and patient, and I see what you mean by them being personal. On the first post I did add what I'm looking for in a keyboard. Quiet keys are the biggest priority! Apologies for not thinking to add info on this before. No worries though I think I could find a keyboard mostly on my own, its up there just incase someone could quicken the search.

Any advice on what I should upgrade first as soon as I have the chance besides RAM to 2x16 (32)GB to help the IGP? I'd like to start a list just to be mindful.

 

[thestryker]

Most cheaper keyboards are going to be membrane and thus be pretty quiet. Cheap. mechanical keyboards will be much louder.

Right now I think the first thing I'd save towards is a video card. The reasoning behind this is that they tend to be a bigger investment so it will give you plenty of time to get used to the new machine and figuring out if there are any shortcomings to your use case. That way if you find something more pressing before you have enough funds for a video card you can get that instead.

 

[SmokyOni]

Have been looking into more psu's since the one in my Parts list is still out of stock, so if anyone could advise me of if either of these are just as good it'd be a major help. I did do reading which lead to look into these ones, but the information is quite overwhelming.

1.) Seasonic S12III 500 80+ Bronze ATX12V https://a.co/d/5G52mbq
same psu: https://seasonic.com/s12iii

2.)SilverStone Technology 550 Watt 80 Plus Bronze ATX

https://a.co/d/1LTnZlZ

Same psu: https://www.silverstonetek.com/en/product/info/power-supplies/ET550-B/

 

[Lafong]

Is Amazon your only available source for the PSU?

Is 60 dollars the absolute max you will pay? If not, what is?

 

[DSzymborski]

I gotta admit, you're hamstringing yourself with too many limiters; you probably need to give up one of the strict budget, the no Newegg, and the prioritization of upgradeability. These PSUs, for example, are the complete opposite of having an upgrade path as all the ones you've looked at would need to go to the recycling center the moment you got a GPU upgrade; they're barely now-proof, let alone future-proof. Logain's suggestion that you look for some used parts or an office refurb so you at least have something competent now seems the better suggestion to me.

 

[SmokyOni]

Thanks for the opinion, I'm trying my best with what I can do. Yes it is a lot of limiters, I think I already addressed this though.

A priority doesn't necessarily mean a necessity. I know not everything here can help build up other parts but that is no bother, I simply intend to lookout for the option if available. If not, I will pay for it all the same, come time to updating the system.

But I'm nearly there anyways and am waiting to purchase at the moment so I see it as completely possible and I'm not worried. Budget is budget, of course there's not much room there, but I know I am not One in a Million in this situation. I see what you are saying and just a while ago I got a break so I can add a little more but it is not much.

What do you think about the build specifically is incompetent? I was under the impression it'd still last awhile before I might change cpu to a R7 5000G series. AM4 doesn't look like it's going to drop off too soon since DDR5 is still expensive.

As for PSU's, If you have anything to speak on their stability, i'd appreciate it. Other than that, I know they do not give much headroom for bigger components.

 

[SmokyOni]

Is Amazon your only available source for the PSU?

Is 60 dollars the absolute max you will pay? If not, what is?

60 is around my max yes,
not necessarily is amazon my only source, but I do have most access there. Micro center may be used, if it not in-store only since I do not live anywhere near one.