1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,720 So you already know from the title that this video is from early 2021 and right now the market 2 00:00:04,720 --> 00:00:10,880 for PC components isn't in a very good way. Supply chain squeezes have made it really difficult to 3 00:00:10,880 --> 00:00:16,720 get your hands on both big ticket graphics cards and processors. But do you really need all that 4 00:00:16,720 --> 00:00:22,160 to build a capable gaming rig? The answer is no. And today on TechWiki we're going to walk you 5 00:00:22,160 --> 00:00:28,800 through how to choose parts to put together a solid system for under $600. Here's hoping that 6 00:00:28,960 --> 00:00:33,440 won't even come close to eating through your tax refund. Let's start by talking about the CPU, 7 00:00:33,440 --> 00:00:38,560 the brain of the computer. Despite the well-publicized chip shortages, it's not too difficult to get 8 00:00:38,560 --> 00:00:44,720 your hands on a modern quad-core processor for around 120 US dollars. Although six-core CPUs 9 00:00:44,720 --> 00:00:50,080 are quickly pushing their way into the mainstream, most modern games will still play just fine on 10 00:00:50,080 --> 00:00:55,360 four cores, as long as you're not trying to stream with CPU encoding or run lots of other things 11 00:00:55,360 --> 00:01:00,400 while you're gaming. And besides, we only have $600 to work with. Of course, you'll need something 12 00:01:00,400 --> 00:01:05,840 to plug that CPU into, so let's quickly talk about motherboards. The good news is that unlike 13 00:01:05,840 --> 00:01:11,440 the old days, raw performance doesn't vary much between models. Higher price boards simply give 14 00:01:11,440 --> 00:01:17,440 you more IO, more features, and perhaps more overclocking headroom. But for a $600 build, 15 00:01:17,440 --> 00:01:22,160 there's nothing wrong with spending around 75 bucks on a simple motherboard from a reputable 16 00:01:22,160 --> 00:01:26,320 manufacturer, especially as you can always connect more powerful components to it later. 17 00:01:26,960 --> 00:01:32,080 Just make sure it's compatible with your CPU. But how much RAM should you pair with your bank 18 00:01:32,080 --> 00:01:37,120 for the buck CPU and motherboard? Although it's becoming more common to see 16 gigabytes recommended 19 00:01:37,120 --> 00:01:43,600 as a sweet spot for mid-range builds, 8 is enough if you're trying to save some money. Although you 20 00:01:43,600 --> 00:01:48,560 won't be doing any extreme multitasking with 8 gigabytes, it's enough for most games and seeing 21 00:01:48,560 --> 00:01:54,160 how it's possible to find 8 gigs of RAM for only about 40 bucks, it's a great starting point for a 22 00:01:54,160 --> 00:01:58,960 cheaper build. Additionally, even though there's been a lot of chatter lately about how AMD processors 23 00:01:58,960 --> 00:02:05,760 specifically can benefit from higher RAM speeds, the difference isn't huge. So don't feel compelled 24 00:02:05,760 --> 00:02:11,440 to go out and blow more money on a faster RAM kit if you went with a CPU from Team Red. Now, 25 00:02:11,440 --> 00:02:17,760 let's get to the most costly item, your graphics card. The shortage of current gen GPUs has driven 26 00:02:17,760 --> 00:02:22,880 up the costs and constraints apply for even older cards, as many people are scrambling just to get 27 00:02:22,880 --> 00:02:27,440 something to game on. But this doesn't mean that you're out of luck, as supply for more 28 00:02:27,440 --> 00:02:32,480 mid-tier products can still be had. As of the time of this writing, you can still get a GTX 29 00:02:32,480 --> 00:02:39,280 1050 Ti for about 200 bucks, and you can even find RTX 570s and 580s on the AMD side for around the 30 00:02:39,280 --> 00:02:45,040 same price if you're willing to buy used. Although you won't be setting any 4K benchmarking records 31 00:02:45,040 --> 00:02:50,960 with these cards, they can play in most modern titles at smooth frame rates at 1080p on high 32 00:02:50,960 --> 00:02:56,880 settings. So if you've been keeping score at home, we're up to 435 bucks now, meaning there's not much 33 00:02:56,880 --> 00:03:01,440 room left to play with, but still some components to buy. So let's look at how we can get the most 34 00:03:01,440 --> 00:03:06,880 value for money out of the last few parts. In terms of storage, we wouldn't want to salve you with a 35 00:03:06,880 --> 00:03:12,720 clunky old mechanical hard drive even at this price point. But fortunately, there are plenty of good 36 00:03:12,720 --> 00:03:18,800 SSDs that will hold around half a terabyte for 50 bucks, and you can even find an NVMe model for only 37 00:03:18,800 --> 00:03:23,680 five or ten dollars more if you have large files to move around frequently. But if you're trying to 38 00:03:23,680 --> 00:03:29,520 save every penny, a good old SATA SSD won't slow you down appreciably when you're gaming or doing 39 00:03:29,520 --> 00:03:36,240 typical tasks in Windows. Next up, a power supply. You've probably heard horror stories about how 40 00:03:36,240 --> 00:03:41,920 cheapo, no-name power supplies can do lovely things like give off sparks and damage your components, 41 00:03:41,920 --> 00:03:46,640 but the good news is that you don't have to spend too much more to get something reliable. 42 00:03:46,640 --> 00:03:52,480 Look for a power supply with an 80 plus bronze certification from a manufacturer you recognize. 43 00:03:52,480 --> 00:03:57,600 Such a unit will set you back around 45 bucks. Don't worry too much about wattage as the components 44 00:03:57,600 --> 00:04:03,040 we're recommending in this video won't come close to pushing your PSU to max capacity. 45 00:04:03,040 --> 00:04:08,720 And finally, you'll need a case to hold it all together unless you just want to expose it to 46 00:04:08,720 --> 00:04:13,840 the elements and the dust. Budget cases are actually the nicest they've ever been, as it's 47 00:04:13,840 --> 00:04:19,280 possible to find painted interiors, cable management grommets, a basement to hide all the mess from 48 00:04:19,280 --> 00:04:24,960 your budget power supply, and even tempered glass and RGB for 60 bucks. Although you'll want to read 49 00:04:24,960 --> 00:04:30,240 reviews and make sure the case you want has good airflow, you won't need the kind of high-end fan 50 00:04:30,240 --> 00:04:35,120 setup that you might see in builds with pricier components that generate more heat. And that's 51 00:04:35,120 --> 00:04:42,880 it. For 590 bucks, you've got yourself a very capable home PC and gaming machine, even in this 52 00:04:42,880 --> 00:04:49,760 economy. But unfortunately, there wasn't room in the budget to squeeze in a built-in chicken chamber, 53 00:04:49,760 --> 00:04:55,040 so the kernel still wins on that one. So thanks for watching guys. If you liked this video, 54 00:04:55,040 --> 00:04:59,920 give us a thumbs up, hit that like button, and go to the comment section with your peers to tell 55 00:04:59,920 --> 00:05:03,440 us your ideas for topics that we should cover in the future.