I need help improving my $850 gaming desktop with the following criteria:
- CPU
- minimum: R5-1200 or i5-7400 level of performance (note: i3-8100 > i5-7400)
- If Intel CPU w/Turbo Boost of 4.0+ GHz, then a CPU cooler equivalent of the Cooler Master Hyper T2 (or better) to replace stock should be included
- Both OC and Non-OC builds are valid; whatever extracts more performance within budget (ex. this is where the R5-1600 on cheap motherboards with the stock Wraith Spire shines)
- Motherboard
- GPU
- minimum: RX 480 4GB or GTX 1060 3GB level of performance
- I respect the special value added by 8-pin power connector variants of the GTX 1060 cards if within budget, especially if the premium is low enough that a guaranteed overclock would enhance actual value
- AMD cards are strongly preferred for Freesync capability
- RAM
- minimum: 16GB DDR4
- optimal: 4 slots; DDR4-3200 CAS16 or DDR4-3000 CAS15 level of performance (or better)
- Drives
- minimum: 240GB SSD for OS
- minimum: 1TB 7200RPM+ HDD (3TB tends to win on value right now)
- PSU
- minimum: 550W, 80+ Bronze (or better), Semi-Modular (or better)
- Case
- Let's set the Cooler Master N200 as a spiritual minimum to avoid the shitboxes (i.e. no pre-installed fans, crap front port panel, zero airflow or noise dampening, cramped and incapable of housing any CPU cooling, or barely any drives, etc.)
- Misc
- Sacramento, CA is destination if you want to set a zip code for automatic shipping/tax considerations
- No OS, WiFi, optical drive, or KB+M is required.
- Rebate value is recognized, but not as much as up-front savings
The reason this is so challenging is because I really want to put together a Freesync build, obviously, but the AMD RX 580 4GB cards are starkly overpriced compared to the GTX 1060 3GB cards right now, and the 8GB entry is running ~$330 which effectively breaks this budget unless I: (a) go with an R3-1200 or i3-8100, (b) sacrifice/nerf drives, or (c) troll myself with cute PSU/Case substitutes. I don't
really want to do any of those things, but I've peeled through /buildapcsales, Slickdeals, Jet, Techbargains, eBay, and a few others because I was really hoping to see some better prices on an RX 480 8GB or RX 580 8GB below $330, but I didn't see anything.
The need for Displayport connectivity in addition to HDMI also wipes the entire economy class of AMD motherboards off the table, too, with the sole exception of the ASRock A320M, requiring another ~$40 invested there with R5-1600 builds. I think this is where I might be overlooking some of the best values though because a lot of the best deals I've seen have been CPU + Motherboard and Motherboard + RAM sale combos.
GTX 1060 3GB Build
PCPartPicker part list /
Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1600 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor ($175.69 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock - AB350M Pro4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($59.99 @ Newegg Business)
Storage: Hitachi - Ultrastar 7K3000 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($62.51 @ Amazon)
Case: Cooler Master - N200 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($46.21 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - EVO Edition 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($64.48 @ Newegg)
Other: Team Group L5 LITE 2.5" 240GB SATA III 2D NAND Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) T2535T240G0C101 ($49.99)
Other: EVGA GeForce GTX 1060 GAMING 1.51GHz, 03G-P4-5160-RX, 3GB GDDR5 ($199.99)
Other: Patriot Viper Elite 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 2400 (PC4 19200) Desktop Memory Model (Coupon Code: APPSPECIAL) ($124.99)
Total: $783.85
*
*$768.85 when rebates applied
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-05-20 05:36 EDT-0400
There is considerable headroom there, but not much to be done with it in that budget.
-- the most pressing upgrade is to reject the Fry sale on the RAM and get the G. Skill DDR4-3200MHz CAS16 sticks for $165 (+$40); more critical for Ryzen CPU builds than Intel builds.
-- otherwise, the most serious upgrade option would be conversion to an i5-8600K (+$62), without ambitions of overclocking, since that would incur an additional ~$50 Z370 motherboard premium, but it would still be worth it for the Turbo alone; there happens to be a $16 sale on the Cooler Master Hyper 212 LED running, so this just about works.
-- alternatively, it's $100 more for the EVGA GTX 1060 6GB, also slightly exceeding budget, but for the most significant upgrade to raw gaming power.
-- I'm not too hung up on the overages since I have $15 in the rebate tank, and because I
could knock $15 off the PSU, $10 off the motherboard, and $15 off the case within criteria if necessary, but I like these choices because the market clearly regards this $40 as unworthy & unvaluable savings.
I'm really depressed that this is likely my best option. I want that Freesync like Rick wants his Szechuan Sauce. What's the best anyone can do on an R5-1600 Freesync build with an RX 480 8GB or RX 580 8GB that meets my criteria?
