Where to cut first.

[jloss1978]

I have a question about where in a new system build to make cuts if you need to lower the cost of the build . For example I am hoping to build a new PC with the following parts. CPU: Ryzen 5 1600, Motherboard: MSI Tomahawk, RAM: G.Skill DDR4 3000mhz 16GB, SanDisk 240 GB SSD.

I will add an RX 480 and an EVGA 600 watt power supply I already own. If I wanted to lower the cost of the build where would I make sacrifices first that would make the least impact on the performance? Drop down to a 1500x? Lower clocked RAM? 8GB of RAM instead of 16GB? Just not sure which of those would make the least impact. I am asking because with those parts I am about $50 over budget.

Also if anyone has a suggestion as to what parts would go well with an RX 480 4gb please let me know. I have a feeling that due to current GPU prices I will be using it for awhile.

 

[Hellfire13]

You can go with 8gb RAM for now and add another 8gb down the line. Ryzen shines with higher RAM speed and cutting down on RAM speed at cost of 16gb lower speed will cripple the performance for long term.
Also 1600 should be good and give you more performance and longevity in the long term over 1500x.

 

[Zerk2012]

I would go with the SSD since you should already have a drive to use.
If you just go with 8gb of memory then buy 8gb more and by chance it doesn't work together your stuck.
The SSD you would just need to migrate your OS to.

 

[Hellfire13]

Usually same kit tends to work more often than not in my years of experience. But yeah, its not 100% guaranteed.

 

[jloss1978]

Thanks for the replies guys. It helped me a lot.

 

[Zerk2012]

Usually same kit tends to work more often than not in my years of experience. But yeah, its not 100% guaranteed.

fine and dandy unless it don't work. I've seem that a lot with experience and the AM4 is even more picky.