Really tight budget for PC

[Viikkis]

Hi all!

So I'm considering to build a new PC and re-use some parts from my current one. Budget is really tight, basically as low as it can get, since I don't want to spend too much of my student loan. Obviously I'm looking at AMD for now.

My current PC is enough for gaming atm because I mostly play Blizzard games and I don't care about ultra graphics + I play at 1080p 60hz. Unreal Engine 4 is where things start to irritate me. C++ compile times with unreal are insanely long like 5-10 minutes for a line or two of new code (using UE 4.17 and Visual Studio 2015).

Just want to hear some opinions and whether there is any compatibility issues (first time building a PC)

New Parts:

Case: BitFenix Nova
MB: AsRock A320M-HDV, mATX
Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 1600, AM4, 3.2 GHz, 6-core
RAM: Kingston 8GB (1x8GB) Hyper X Fury, DDR4 2133MHz, CL14 ( Single channel since I might upgrade it to 2x8GB later on if needed)
SSD: Samsung 250GB 850 EVO SSD, 2.5", SATA III, 540/520 MB/s
HDD: Seagate 1TB BarraCuda, 3.5", SATA III, 7200rpm

I should be able to get Windows 10 for free from my school and I don't need any peripherals.

Also not planning to overclock (that MB won't support OC anyways)

Parts for re-use:

PSU: XFX 550w Core Edition
GPU: GeForce GTX 660 (horrible I know but I'm going to upgrade it later on just to tighten the budget even more. As I said I'm not picky when it comes to graphics)
DVD -drive

This would cost me 570,70€ (euros) in Finland. I don't want to order from foreign sites (To avoid hassle from warranty.)

[Sorshen]

You should consider ordering from amazon.de or mindfactory.de.

https://www.mindfactory.de/shopping_...eaacc515a2386b

Look at what you can get for ~580€: 16Gb @ 3000Mhz (Ryzen likes fast memory, a lot) and a B350.

[Viikkis]

You should consider ordering from amazon.de or mindfactory.de.

https://www.mindfactory.de/shopping_...eaacc515a2386b

Look at what you can get for ~580€: 16Gb @ 3000Mhz (Ryzen likes fast memory, a lot) and a B350.

Thank you but I'd rather order from Finland.

[Kagthul]

a few things:

Youre on a tight budget, but i unsure why that means "im obviously looking at amd", particularly with Coffee Lake launching in like 2 days, especially since you don't want to OC. Im not saying dont choose AMD, just that Intel is/will be totally viable at the same price point.

Do you have an existing HDD you could recycle?

Why the new case if were shaving Euro's?

Also, the price difference between the A320 and B350 for AM4 is very small, and Ryzen really only shines if youre going to OC it.

Edited to repair mispelling caused due to dying iPad Mini screen =)

Might as well add:

What does this computer need to do? Mostly games, or are you doing any productivity heavy-lifting?

- - - Updated - - -

My take on a Ryzen build below. This assumes gaming as the most arduous task youll be undertaking. 4 cores/8 threads is PLENTY for gaming. OC this to 3.7 easily on the included cooler. Yes, its german prices, but PCPartpicker doesnt have a finnish setting.

PCPartPicker part list: https://de.pcpartpicker.com/list/tTxhbj
Price breakdown by merchant: https://de.pcpartpicker.com/list/tTxhbj/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1400 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor (€156.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Motherboard: ASRock - AB350M Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard (€71.89 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Memory: G.Skill - Aegis 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory (€84.84 @ Mindfactory)
Storage: SanDisk - SSD PLUS 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (€84.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Case: BitFenix - Nova ATX Mid Tower Case (€32.90 @ Caseking)
Total: €431.61
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-10-04 00:23 CEST+0200

An Intel build below. Because Coffee Lake parts arent in the system, the current-gen Z270 and i3 7350K are used as placeholders here, but MSI already revealed a Z370 Mortar board for the same price point as the Z270 version, and the upcoming i3 83XXK chip is slated to be about ~10Euro more expensive than the cutrent chip, so the price will be comparable.

The new i3 8-series chips are 4-core parts, and leaks are showing the i3 rather easily OCing to 5.1ghz or higher - it will perform quite a bit better in games.

Contrary to what a lot of people on this forum will tell you, 4 solid cores is still MORE than enough for gaming + daily driving.

PCPartPicker part list: https://de.pcpartpicker.com/list/7KVtzM
Price breakdown by merchant: https://de.pcpartpicker.com/list/7KVtzM/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel - Core i3-7350K 4.2GHz Dual-Core Processor (€147.90 @ Caseking)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG - H7 49.0 CFM CPU Cooler (€38.72 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Motherboard: MSI - Z270M MORTAR Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (€115.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Memory: G.Skill - Aegis 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory (€68.89 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Storage: SanDisk - SSD PLUS 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (€84.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Total: €456.49
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-10-04 00:32 CEST+0200

- - - Updated - - -

Realize i forgot the new case on he 2nd build. Just add that in there, though, honestly, id just save that coin for now and re-use your existing case, and upgrade the case later when you upgrade the GPU. Its not hard to re-case an existing rig (you can lift the entire motherboard with CPU, Cooler, and RAM on it right out and transplant it).

Same wih the HDD - id just recycle whatever you currently have. Add more storage later if you need it. (Hell, if youre REALLY scraping, get a 1TB Seagate FireCUDA SSHD - itll give you SSD-like speeds on the OS boot times and daily operation, and on frequently used non-game apps. Theyre also only about 20$ more than a regular HDD (and id assume about the same in Euros))

[Viikkis]

Hey thanks for the tips. I mentioned earlier that my current computer struggles with Unreal Engine 4 compiling C++. Gaming is secondary to me since I'm learning game development and even my current old PC handles all the games I play. Only Dalaran loading screen tends to annoy me and my raidmates haha. Thus I looked at Ryzen 1600 for that compiling power.

My current PC is an Asus prebuilt from 2011 to which I upgraded PSU and GPU in 2012. And it has really slow 5400rpm hdd. So the case is pretty horrible for building. I guess one could still use it...

[Kagthul]

Hey thanks for the tips. I mentioned earlier that my current computer struggles with Unreal Engine 4 compiling C++. Gaming is secondary to me since I'm learning game development and even my current old PC handles all the games I play. Only Dalaran loading screen tends to annoy me and my raidmates haha. Thus I looked at Ryzen 1600 for that compiling power.

My current PC is an Asus prebuilt from 2011 to which I upgraded PSU and GPU in 2012. And it has really slow 5400rpm hdd. So the case is pretty horrible for building. I guess one could still use it...

Sticking with the R5 1600 is probably a better plan for compiling. You could still re-use the old HDD to save some money for now - the slow speeds wont be that big a deal when it isnt the boot drive and is only for storage.

You can grab a newer HDD later. The case isnt super expensive, i was just offering advice on trying to shave cash. Definitely OC that Ryzen, though. You should be able to get a stable 3.7-3.8ghz on the included cooler.

Ill see about an updated build a little later.

- - - Updated - - -

PCPartPicker part list: https://de.pcpartpicker.com/list/MdMKwV
Price breakdown by merchant: https://de.pcpartpicker.com/list/MdMKwV/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1600 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor (€206.32 @ Mindfactory)
Motherboard: MSI - B350M GAMING PRO Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard (€81.00 @ Mindfactory)
Memory: Crucial - Ballistix Elite 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2666 Memory (€80.89 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Storage: SanDisk - SSD PLUS 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (€84.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Total: €453.20
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-10-04 22:56 CEST+0200

Add a new case of your choice, if you want, or not, to keep the cost lower.

Id re-use the current HDD for storage for now, andd upgrade later.

[Shakadam]

Coffee lake is gonna launch at a high price and severely limited numbers until January, December earliest, in the Nordic region. Basically it's a paper launch with the K models not even being available initially.
Core i3-8350K: 199 €
Core i5-8600K: 299 €
Core i7-8700K: 419 €

That i5-8600K is ~100€ more expensive currently than a Ryzen 5 1600.

Basically just go for Ryzen.

[Kagthul]

Coffee lake is gonna launch at a high price and severely limited numbers until January, December earliest, in the Nordic region. Basically it's a paper launch with the K models not even being available initially.
Core i3-8350K: 199 €
Core i5-8600K: 299 €
Core i7-8700K: 419 €

That i5-8600K is ~100€ more expensive currently than a Ryzen 5 1600.

Basically just go for Ryzen.

Pretty sure we already covered that the moment he said his priority was a CPU intensive non-gaming application. The R5 1600 would be better for that even IF Coffee Lake was available AND price comparable (which it isnt, and wont be).