Where do you cut if you are really on a budget for a new PC ?

[PLAfiller]

Hi everyone,

I was asking myself where do I really cut when I am on a budget when I build a new PC. I can't really give up on anything. Is it the MB? is the CPU ? Where do you cut. I tend to think cheaper motherboard with better CPU is better than a feature rich MB with average CPU. GPU is always a second hand for me.

 

[ERazer]

I never skip on good quality PSU, foundation of a good build and future builds

 

[Derek12]

In my case, in everything just to have all stuff balanced
but I would cheap on SSD, case and cooler

 

[Bill_Bright]

You failed to state the purpose of this computer.

You never cut corners on the PSU. You sure don't need to buy more power than you need, but don't get a budget supply.

I think a quality case along with a quality PSU form the foundation for a quality, reliable, and properly cooled computer. You don't have to spend a fortune on a fancy case to get a good case. And a good case will support many years of upgrades saving money down the road too.

If you buy a budget (not entry level, but not high-end) motherboard that support a CPU with integrated graphics, you don't need to spend money on a graphics card. That will likely let you get a smaller PSU too. Then you have more time to rebuild the budget and can add a graphics card later.

It is near impossible to find RAM that is not warrantied for life. So you can save money by getting RAM from a lessor known brand.

If the budget allows, I sure would get an SSD. Otherwise, if the budget is the priority, a HD is the way to go.

And if on a budget you should not be buying a high-end CPU. That means you most likely will get an OEM cooler. And that's just fine. OEM coolers are more than capable of keeping their CPUs properly cooled in a properly cooled case even with mild to moderate overclocking. So no need to spend money on an aftermarket cooler.

 

[Grings]

The introduction of k processors stopped me skimping on cpu (and mobo to a degree), but ryzen 5, and kaby pentium have made lower price points more interesting

And with ram prices going up even the lowest spec stuff is barely any cheaper than 3000ish stuff from corsair, g.skill etc

For Ssd's i just got the cheapest i could find with mlc flash from top tier brands, as with ram i would avoid dubious asian brands on amazon marketplace etc

And never skimp on psu, im not saying you must get a seasonic or superflower gold or higher, but at least get something one of the better reviewers has looked at and confirmed to be decent

 

[ZenZimZaliben]

Even cheap cases are pretty good these days. So a case would be the first cost cutting I would do. Then the RAM. Finally storage.

 

[Frick]

You never cut corners on the PSU. You sure don't need to buy more power than you need, but don't get a budget supply.

I think a quality case along with a quality PSU form the foundation for a quality, reliable, and properly cooled computer. You don't have to spend a fortune on a fancy case to get a good case. And a good case will support many years of upgrades saving money down the road too.

This depends on your definition of "budget". If you mean Huntkey 800W for €20 on ebay ... yes. If you mean Corsair CX, then no. There are tons of good PSUs for little money.

The same goes for cases really, but even more so. A cheap case will work just as fine as an expensive case, it just won't be as nice to look at or work with and it will probably be louder. Especially if you have a tight budget, a case can be a pizza box and the components will not care one iota.

I voted everything, because that's what I do because I have no reason to not skimp. Honestly even if I did have money I'd skimp on everything.

 

[jaggerwild]

Cases are optional, a card board box will work in a pinch. Or even better no case open air computer.

 

[NdMk2o1o]

I bought 2x8GB DDR4 from CEX for £45 each saving £40, I bought an used RX 290x for £110 instead of a 480/580 £120 saving right there, I bought the low end Asrock B350 board albeit I meant to order the AB350 pro 4 and ordered the AB350m it's a teeny weeny board but I have still run 4.0ghz with it as it has the same phases as most of their other boards (6+3) another £30+ saving, I bought a refurbed Seagate barracuda 1tb and Corsair VS 550w for £65 combined saving £40 (both from Scan with warranty) I'm using the 1600 Wraith Spire which does an excellent job, another £30 saving and a value case for £30 again another £20-£30 saving there also, pretty much everything was budget apart from the actual 1600, total savings: £280-£290

 

[dirtyferret]

If you know the difference between what you want for performance and what the extra bells and whistles are, then it can go a long way to saving money.

CPU - understand the price - performance for your needs

MB - for the vast majority of people, mATX will do the job

RAM - 8GB currently does the job

PSU - understand the difference between a solid unit and one mad efor fan boys to go goo goo ga ga over. Also don't buy more power then you actually need, just a waste of money.

GPU - understand the price - performance for your needs

case - you don't need to spend $100 on a case. Find one that is easy to build in with a solid quality so you don't cut yourself. I don't need drive sleds (they are nice) but thumb screws work just as well. I don't need to stick a fan in every single possible location (makes your case a dust magnet) and I don't need seven fans to come with my case, I have plenty of spare ones.

Storage - don't get a huge SSD

CPU cooler - I hate stock coolers, they are too loud. Avoid water coolers as they are over priced.

 

[Countryside]

There is no need to cheap out you just need to find the right price tag.

Good quality components are the foundation of a long lasting PC

I do not need a expensive Case but it must have a decent availability for cable management.

Like said before never cheap out on PSU its the hart that bumps blood.

Having a SSD is like driving a Mustang but a regular HDD is like a Prius.

Decent coolers are not that expensive like one of my all time favorite Hyper 212 EVO its only 35$

 

[Totally]

Just look at the parts and decided which ones are you willing to cheap out on now, knowing that you'll have to upgrade later and will doing so be worth it.

 

[peche]

i preffer to re-use and just swap motherboard, processor and video card....

 

[phanbuey]

also depends what the rig is for but usually memory (the speed not quantity) and the mobo (if its a budget PC you will never use SLI or any of that stuff anyways) are easy to skimp on... CPU and GPU are the two core components, and a Decent PSU is like $65 bucks for a budget pc.

 

[P4-630]

Well, when I built my Skylake system last year I bought a cheap though IPS 1080p monitor.
Bought a 1440p G-Sync monitor this month.

 

[GoldenX]

Ram (easy to just overclock), motherboard (no bling), case (same one for the last 12 years), cooler (fans can help and usually I don't have such a good overclocking chip).

 

[AsRock]

Case, and CPU cooler, all so keyboard and Mouse and GPU if need be. Maybe the motherboard too but depends on whats available, ASRock released some nice good over clocking mobo's for less than $120.

Never the PSU, i get what the end build is going require.

 

[P4-630]

Oh yeah bought a cheap mouse/keyboard combo but replaced it later-on when I had some more cash..

 

[jboydgolfer]

I look at it like this.

Certain components are "the backbone" of a computer. Things like motherboard processor and power supply, are things that greatly affect the performance and lifespan of your computer in varying ways(Lifespan not really with the CPU). Then you have things like ram ,video card ,case, accessories, these are all things that do affect performance but not necessarily lifespan like the other listed items above (short of the cpu).

Since a case doesn't offer anything functional other than a housing for components and cooling it is the first place were a corner can we cut. Just about every ram made out there has a lifetime warranty so always grab the cheapest you can find if you're on a budget ,heat spreaders are nothing but Eye candy ime. Video cards can be another place to save money. Since after the mid range $200-$300 video cards the only thing the top-tier ones offer is a 15% or 20% boost in performance which isn't going to make a difference between being able to and not able to play a game ,it's all luxury at that end. Accessories are another thing that can be saved on. This culture of buying nothing but the most expensive chocolate milk colored fans is very elitist and silly. They're expensive and in my opinion overpriced and don't offer anything that other fans at reasonable prices offer. Coolers are something i forgot to add. IME/IMO they Do effect perf, and Can effect Lifespan, but its not the PC that dictates what cooler You need, but rather the user. (example: if you run everything at stock, a expensive cooler is not a requirement & stock will do)

Obviously these are all my opinions and not fact (also im not judging anyone who thinks differently)but, I think you'll find if you build the computer you need and not the computer you want you'll save a lot of money

 

[DeathtoGnomes]

Save a penny wherever you can. If it suits your needs, go with it.

 

[Eric3988]

Never skimp on the essentials! CPU, Mobo, PSU, case and GPU are easily the important parts. Buy a better version of one of these parts and it will serve you for years to come! RAM on the other hand is volatile in price and even if you do shell out for a good kit you may find it cheaper sooner than later. Storage is always expandable, therefore you needn't start out with a bunch of terabytes you're not going to immediately use in all likelihood. I also voted to get cheaper cooling too because you needn't invest in water cooling right off the bat either. A Cooler Master 212 will serve most needs for a modest price.

 

[R-T-B]

Probably storage honestly. You can still game well on an HDD, and they are still fast enough to function. They won't really hurt your FPS, etc. Just have to deal with more loading screens.

 

[NdMk2o1o]

Probably storage honestly. You can still game well on an HDD, and they are still fast enough to function. They won't really hurt your FPS, etc. Just have to deal with more loading screens.

This is true. I always build on a budget and incrementally upgrade unfortunately 9/10 times this means starting out with just a HDD (as I am currently running) and whilst it definitely is the weakest link in my system and boot times/load times are noticeably longer in most things, it's not the same as back in the days where you might be running a 160GB IDE/SATA1 drive and it completely bogs down your whole system when anything even slightly taxing is going on in the background, but an SSD/M2 NVME drive will be the very first thing I add to my current system as they just seem to be the final link in having a modern, fast multicore system with lots of RAM and bring everything together nicely.

 

[peche]

i see people listin' parts, but no one tell something pretty important? Back up batteries? no body uses them ?
when do my last build (yes this 3770 and all the parts i've replaced ) i did skipped SSD, Ram upgrade and also Case, started this build on a older Thermaltake V3 i had, cheap GPU and decent board with decent processor, then upgraded case.... then upgraded the video card, which has been replaced several times... sometimes its not about how kickass the rig starts... its how kickass you keep it!

Regards,

 

[R-T-B]

i see people listin' parts, but no one tell something pretty important? Back up batteries? no body uses them ?

I have one, but you tend to buy one, and besides replacing batteries, keep it forever.