Question Good value for ~600 USD?

[YourPetGoldfish]

Hi everyone, sorry if this is the wrong place to post or whatnot, as I am new. I just wanted a second opinion on this build. I'm using it for older and lower spec games such as Xdefiant, worldbox, SuperTuxKart, Fortnite, Etc. (1080p 100hz). I understand that this build is slightly overkill for such games. Anyhow, the prices of the parts fluctuate between $590-610. I just want to know if this is good value for the money. I am in the United States.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/ffkqkf

A few problems that would hurt the value of this build are: I am a "child" with no control over the money being spent, so I cannot buy off of Aliexpress, for say, an am5 cpu for a similar price, like an 8400f. I also can't buy Intel Arc, and I can't buy a windows key from a third party.

sorry if this came off a bit weird, just trying to put my situation in words.

Thanks!

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Welcome to the forums.

That's a solid build. You can use linux to avoid an expensive windows license. You will have to verify your games run okay but Bazzite will probably play them fine. https://bazzite.gg/

Getting rid of windows bloat will help you maximize your limited storage too. Or for those older and easy to run games, you can throw a cheap used 1TB HDD in there. If your parents will do Ebay buy it now for you, they can be had for under $10.

 

[YourPetGoldfish]

Welcome to the forums.

That's a solid build. You can use linux to avoid an expensive windows license. You will have to verify your games run okay but Bazzite will probably play them fine. https://bazzite.gg/

Getting rid of windows bloat will help you maximize your limited storage too. Or for those older and easy to run games, you can throw a cheap used 1TB HDD in there. If your parents will do Ebay buy it now for you, they can be had for under $10.

I appreciate the response! Storage isn't an issue for me, since the nvme is just the boot drive, and i have a sata ssd and external hdd for games. I use Fedora right now, but i most likely am still going to use Windows. I just wish linux wasn't such a pain sometimes, and windows wouldn't be bloated spyware, but i guess you can't win them all. And bazzite is basically fedora, so that a good idea. I could probably use ebay for used hhd, so thanks for the suggestions.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

You are good to go then. I just built and gave one of the neighbor's sons a 5600X+GTX 1080 PC from my parts bin to welcome him to the PCMR. His dad is one of the many unlucky people laid off during the holiday season.

If you go in the UEFI you can use ECO mode with a +200MHz PBO boost for extra performance with lower power and heat. The stock cooler will get the job done. Heck, with those old games it shouldn't break a sweat regardless. Just something fun to tweak without any cause for concern or potential damage.

Have fun with the new build.

 

[YourPetGoldfish]

Price went up by $150 overnight, any suggestions what i should do?

 

[Ken g6]

I suggest using parametric filters on pcpartpicker to identify the lowest-cost parts that meet your needs. Lowering everything to the bare essentials (except the PSU) here's what I came up with right now:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: *AMD Ryzen 5 5500 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor ($83.49 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: *ASRock B550M Pro4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($79.98 @ Amazon)
Memory: *TEAMGROUP T-Create Expert 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory ($28.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: *Patriot P310 480 GB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($27.49 @ Amazon)
Video Card: *XFX Speedster SWFT 210 Core Radeon RX 6650 XT 8 GB Video Card ($230.62 @ Amazon)
Case: *Thermaltake S100 Snow Edition MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($28.85 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: MSI MAG A650BN 650 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($67.98 @ Amazon)
Total: $547.40
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-12-04 02:33 EST-0500

You can then decide what's important to you that you want to put any extra money into.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

I did a couple of builds that stay in budget, and this first one gets you a 5700X with a 32GB kit of CL16 3200. The ram is bundled with the CPU so it does not show up in the parts list. This one is the most bang for buck.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/RKFrVF

This one is much closer to your OG and uses the 5600, which is basically the same CPU as the X. With the PBO 200MHz boost it runs stock 5600X speed.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/Cb7q3w

I know cases are super personal, so pick one that has the cooling, features, and aesthetics you want in your price range.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Crikey, they upped the price on the Corsair PSU and ram since I posted. You'd better talk to them about being ready to pull the trigger ASAP when you get the right pricing. Or you will have to downgrade parts to stay near $600.

 

[YourPetGoldfish]

Thank y'all so much. I'll probably pull the trigger on the 5700x build as soon as i can, unless the price drops.
Much appreciation.
Edit: the price went up on my original build again, thats insane.

 

[Tech Junky]

Prices this time of year are always going to be chaotic. I would wait it out. My current build has a variance of maybe $50 when purchasing parts in September vs BF sales. With the older stuff though it should be more stable. Seeing a $200 swing doesn't seem right at all.

 

[manly]

Has nothing to do with chaotic. Merchants target BF/CM for some of the best deals of the year (although biannual Prime days are now in the mix as well). Unfortunately we're past that window so most prices will be higher for the foreseeable future.

Although I do agree with the general sentiment above that for a $600ish build, there shouldn't be an extreme difference just two days later (outside of sales, prices of last-gen parts don't move so much in the short term).

 

[Seba]

For me the price for the configuration from the first post right now is listed as $598.25.

 

[Seba]

And the 5700X configuration is listed at $643.91.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Look closer, the first build lacks a price for the case as it's OOS. Add it and it's more than the 8 core build with double the ram.

 

[Seba]

Ah. I don't use PCPartPicker. I only looked at the total price. I wrongly assumed it would deal with issues like out of stock parts (and not give total prices for lists with partial availability).

 

[YourPetGoldfish]

Thanks all for the replies.
Yeah, I didnt realize that case price at first, and i thought it was the same price as last i checked, but it turned out the price of the case was negated, and the rest of the components went up marginally, so it was the same. At least now its around the same price for the original 5600x 6650xt build, and the r7 5700x, which isnt too far from the 5800X3D, 16gbs MORE ram, a less explosive psu, a better cooler, and a possibly better case. Still def worth it even with the "worse" ram and nvme. Anyway, I probably won't even think about an am5 cpu, ill just try to make it to the next socket without an upgrade, even though some are cheap on Aliexpress.
sorry if that made zero sense. Im a bit tired lol.
thanks

 

[Seba]

r7 5700x, which isnt too far from the 5800X3D

In games, the difference between these two CPUs is considerable.

Maybe you are thinking about 5700X3D.

 

[GodisanAtheist]

No one asked I think but I'm assuming this is for gaming on a 1080p monitor? If so you're fine.

4K TV? Going to have to upscale out the wazoo.

Edit: ah see it's for 1080p/100hz in OP's post.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

No one asked I think but I'm assuming this is for gaming on a 1080p monitor? If so you're fine.

4K TV? Going to have to upscale out the wazoo.

Edit: ah see it's for 1080p/100hz in OP's post.

For the games being played the 6650XT can probably do 4K no problemo. And Fortnite competitive is usually 1080 min with epic view distance anyways.

Tangent on the 4K TV. I am finding this cheap U7N mini-LED does a surprisingly good job with non native content.

 

[YourPetGoldfish]

In games, the difference between these two CPUs is considerable.

Maybe you are thinking about 5700X3D.

yeah typo

 

[YourPetGoldfish]

hopefully about to buy it now... the price to performance isn't as great now, but i have a "better" case, better MB, more reputable ram with a lower latency. However, I do have a spicier power supply. (the cpu comes with corsair 3200 cl16 ddr4)

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/YFC9Nz

thanks all for helping!

 

[Seba]

You can get Windows at cheaper prices. Use the difference for a better power supply (better quality and higher power for future graphics card upgrades).

 

[Shmee]

Yeah, a lot of times you can find Windows 10/11 Pro for under $10 at discount key sites, just like you can buy discount steam keys.

Edit: I see in OP you mentioned that you cannot do this do to not having full financial control. I understand, but perhaps you could help explain to your parents/guardians that you are trying to help save you and them money, which could show financial responsibility and impress them. Talk to them and show that you are trying to learn, be mature, and make smart financial moves. Parents usually like this.

 

[lakedude]

Prices are higher now than when we built earlier this year.

Christmas and the possibility of tarrifs is driving prices up.

There might be a window after Christmas but before the tarrifs kick in. Tarrifs might not materialize or might be lower (or higher) than expected. No way to know except they won't kick in till January 20 at the earliest.

 

[manly]

Medium term trends notwithstanding, Black Friday/Cyber Monday* is usually the optimal time to buy consumer goods because they are discounted heavily to drive sales. According to Adobe analytics (I have no idea why they are into market research), Christmas deals on computers will continue at a bit higher cost relative to two weeks ago. Unless something strange happens, I don't expect a narrow window of deals to re-open after Christmas.

Zen 3 and RDNA 2 are by now ancient, so I haven't seen much price movement over the course of 2024. I'm not sure I would characterize prices as "higher now" than earlier this year but it's possible if you have the receipts to prove it. NVMe and GPUs are almost certainly a bit cheaper than 7 months ago.

* IIRC there were some fantastic deals at the time. Unfortunately, nobody has a time machine.

AMD Ryzen 5700X 8-Core/16-Thread Processor.......$130 @Amazon

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