To Game, Or Not To Game.

[Michael Hartman]

I know the AMD Ryzen chips are all the rage, lately, but it seems to me that if there's no igpu with Ryzen, then I need to simultaneously purchase a graphics card - which I think I probably don't need. If I get an Intel motherboard and cpu, I could add a discrete GPU later, much later, or not-at-all, and proceed with my basic, uninspired computer usage. (Right now all I have is a Chromebook. Basically what I want is a bit more power, a bigger monitor, better audio, etc. Keyboard, mouse. Maybe one of these snowball mics.)

My needs are so basic that I'm not even sure I really need a quad-core cpu. But the Kaby Lake Pentiums are hyperthreaded, so maybe I could get that and have four (logical) cores for $85. Or maybe I'll get a Celeron for less than $40?

I get that the G4600 probably doesn't match the Ryzen 3, especially for gaming, but when I started adding up all my gaming needs (which I don't really need) the price of this system started really skyrocketing. My new hobby sounds too expensive. I thought I would join the gaming sensation, but now I'm considering whether I might like to take vacations or buy groceries this winter, 2017-18.

I'd rather not have to purchase Windows 10. Or even use Windows 10. I was happy with this linux distro I had been using.

I bought a case - Corsair 200R which looks pretty nice, and a PSU: Seasonic M12II 520W... both of which I think I might not have opted for had I not been thinking of a little more exotic gaming build.

I guess I'm finding myself at crossroads in the land of do-it-urself computers, maybe I got off on the wrong foot. But the PSU was a great deal, regardless, that couldn't have been wrong. And the case is pretty slick, so what the heck...

Any thoughts?

 

[USAFRet]

What hardware you need is dictated by what you propose to do with it, and how much you want to spend.

You are the only one that knows this.

 

[elbert]

Use your case and power supply. This build should get you entry level gaming at 1080p. Do you also need a monitor, mouse, keyboard, and headset?
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 3 1200 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock - AB350 Pro4 ATX AM4 Motherboard ($73.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2666 Memory ($68.71 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($45.69 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte - GeForce GT 1030 2GB Low Profile Video Card ($72.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $371.36
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-09-29 22:41 EDT-0400

 

[Michael Hartman]

Use your case and power supply. This build should get you entry level gaming at 1080p. Do you also need a monitor, mouse, keyboard, and headset?
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 3 1200 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock - AB350 Pro4 ATX AM4 Motherboard ($73.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2666 Memory ($68.71 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($45.69 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte - GeForce GT 1030 2GB Low Profile Video Card ($72.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $371.36
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-09-29 22:41 EDT-0400

Thanks. I'm breathing a sigh of relief, here, man... hah hah. Maybe that'll put me back on track. I got carried away with upgrading the thing and the thing was starting to scare me. I think my budget was starting to come unhinged or something. Yeah, I do need the mouse, keyboard, monitor, etc. Speakers or headset, I guess.

 

[Michael Hartman]

What hardware you need is dictated by what you propose to do with it, and how much you want to spend.

You are the only one that knows this.

Yep. True dat. I guess I need to pause to think and refocus.

 

[elbert]

Here is the added monitor, keyboard, mouse, and headset. The monitor has build in speakers.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 3 1200 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock - AB350 Pro4 ATX AM4 Motherboard ($73.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2666 Memory ($68.71 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($45.69 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte - GeForce GT 1030 2GB Low Profile Video Card ($72.99 @ Amazon)
Monitor: Asus - VP228H 21.5" 1920x1080 60Hz Monitor ($109.00 @ Best Buy)
Keyboard: Redragon - K552 Wired Gaming Keyboard ($30.99 @ Amazon)
Mouse: Logitech - G300S Wired Optical Mouse ($23.76 @ Amazon)
Headphones: Logitech - G430 7.1 Channel Headset ($39.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $575.10
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-09-29 23:03 EDT-0400

 

[Michael Hartman]

Here is the added monitor, keyboard, mouse, and headset. The monitor has build in speakers.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 3 1200 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock - AB350 Pro4 ATX AM4 Motherboard ($73.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2666 Memory ($68.71 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($45.69 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte - GeForce GT 1030 2GB Low Profile Video Card ($72.99 @ Amazon)
Monitor: Asus - VP228H 21.5" 1920x1080 60Hz Monitor ($109.00 @ Best Buy)
Keyboard: Redragon - K552 Wired Gaming Keyboard ($30.99 @ Amazon)
Mouse: Logitech - G300S Wired Optical Mouse ($23.76 @ Amazon)
Headphones: Logitech - G430 7.1 Channel Headset ($39.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $575.10
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-09-29 23:03 EDT-0400

Cool, thanks. This is starting to look a little more manageable...