Please Critique My Budget Gaming PC Build - Budget $1k

My Budget is actually less than $1k. I only need to play Rocket League. No other games. I will also use it an office PC etc. I selected some nice quality components given I may not need a graphics cards.

What are your thoughts on this one? Thanks!!

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: *AMD Ryzen 5 5600G 3.9 GHz 6-Core Processor ($189.00 @ BPC Technology)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master MASTERLIQUID ML240L RGB V2 65.59 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($95.00 @ MSY Technology)
Motherboard: *MSI B550M PRO-VDH WIFI Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($169.00 @ Amazon Australia)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($59.00 @ Centre Com)
Storage: Samsung 970 Evo Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($119.00 @ Amazon Australia)
Case: *Cooler Master MasterBox Q300L MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($73.02 @ Amazon Australia)
Power Supply: *SeaSonic FOCUS Plus 650 Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($189.00 @ JW Computers)
Total: $893.02

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria

Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-10-13 11:24 AEDT+1100

Comments

  • +2

    Expensive cooler , not sure if it comes with a stock cooler , but if it does the gains are minimal for the money.
    Pretty expensive power supply for no gpu and budget build.

    Not saying what you have picked is bad , just dosnt fit with a budget build , if you have picked for cosmetic reasons ignore.

    • Hmm I can easily drop the cooling. Aesthetics are NOT an issue. this will under my desk. I would like for it to be quiet though. My last build 10 years ago was and still is silent i5 with fanless seasonic power supply; no GPU though!

      • Get quality non rgb fans instead of the aio for quietness, and check cybernetics for power supply noise ratings

      • Don't go liquid, get ID-COOLING SE-224-XT Basic, $35

  • +5

    You're spending $900 on a gaming PC and not putting a GPU in it? That's just silly.

    Integrated GPUs aren't made for gaming, they can do it but you'd be way better off buying a console instead for less and getting much better visuals. But I'd look at some of the prebuilt deals popping up, there was one with a 3060 last month for $700 that would meet your needs.

    • Thanks! Makes sense.

      I can't use console for Rocket league because of lack of various features.

    • Can this even be called a 'gaming machine' if only one game is being played….

  • +1

    I only need to play Rocket League. No other games.

    Why? Why have you constrained yourself so much to a single game?

    There's thousands of new experiences to enjoy out there.

    • Dunno. Only interested in rocket league. It is less likely I will play others but I can't completely discount it. I suppose I can still put in a GPU in the future though…?

    • What about the compulsory 3 hours on OZbargain each day?

      • +1

        That's rookie numbers. Don't we all have a dedicated 24/7 monitor with the /live feed?

        • Yes agreed, thats the non-compulsory "Monitoring" component

  • +4

    This is just a quick respec, and not likely the most optimal parts available but I'd spec down the following to reallocate budget towards a graphics card:

    • Ryzen 5 5500 ($40)
    • Remove CPU Cooler ($95)
    • 1TB Crucial P3 Plus ($40)
    • Antec NX200M ($23)
    • XPG 650W 80+ Gold ($70)

    Total to reallocate from parts is $268
    Add the remainder of your budget: $268+$107= $375

    Reallocate towards this:
    PNY GeForce RTX 3060 VERTO 8GB - $359

    • DAMN. That's great. Thanks. I will have a look at those options.

      I will check whether CPU comes with stock cooler or not.

    • It looks great but where to buy Ryzen 5 5500 for 40 bucks?

      • 40 bucks is money saved by downgrade from 5600

    • Ok I have been investigating. I can't really get those parts for those prices….. :( AntecNX200 for example is $60.

      • Umart and JW Computers have them for $49 and $50.22 respectively. Do you have a Umart close by?

  • +1

    Drop the CPU cooler and get a 2nd hand graphics card, something in the 20 or even 10 series is going to breeze through rocket league and plenty of other casual titles.

    • Noted. Thanks.

  • What’s rocket league

    • It's a soccer game, but played with cars instead of human soccer players. I've played it a few times, quite fun.

  • ITX Arc 750 build, on par with 3060 for $100 more.

    https://www.pccasegear.com/wish_lists/1325167/Oz%20B%20build

    • Thanks! Something I didn't consider….

  • +1

    Further to all the good advice from others, if you need a CPU cooler I would go with the much cheaper and equally capable Thermalright BA120 for $32.
    https://www.amazon.com.au/Thermalright-BA120-Cooler-TL-C12C-…

    If you dont end up going with a graphics card, then cut down on the power supply. You could get away with a 350W PSU.

    • Noted! Thanks.

  • i would just get a gaming laptop and you can go anywhere with it or attach it to a monitor.

    • Unfortunately can't. I need very low lag and high frame rates for rocket league. Resolution doesn't really matter. 720p is ok I guess.

  • +1

    just reiterating on what others have said regarding budget/used gpu - I think there’s a lot of value to be had with a second hand rtx 20 series card, considering how people are upgrading to 40 series now. obviously this isn’t a simple solution because ymmv with the used market, but for example a used 2080ti will outperform a brand new 3060ti

    • Noted thanks.

  • search this site for prebuilts, they offer excellent value

    • I may go that way…. Especially these Nebula deals.

  • +2

    If your going no gpu, go the amd route.
    They have better IGPU

    I’d go different, buy an eBay used dell/hp 6 core 16gb 500gb ssd for around 200-300 and add a gpu. Be aware SFF will need a half height card but gigabyte have a nice 7600 now.

    Full size, I’d just marketplace a 6600XT for $200

    For new builds with better specs OZB has great offers all the time for <1k prebuilt and delivered

  • +2

    Are you sure you want to build it yourself?

    As there are prebuilts that do vastly better on this site. EG: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/805583
    Beware spending more on bits that make negligible actual performance difference - at least for the components you are using elsewhere. (eg: settle for a lower chipset motherboard unless you REALLY need the way more expensive "better" one. The benchmarks make almost no diff, it's the features offered that are the killer on the cheaper ones. If you can cope, it's really worth it for your pocket. A low end CPU on a low end board performs very similar to a low end cpu on a high end board)

    This search and scrolling back shows some awesome ones https://www.ozbargain.com.au/search/node/gaming%20pc%20sort%…

    GET A GPU (and a good one, look at its stats on videocardbenchmark.net- none of the "why is that even a dedicated GPU, it performs worse than the integrated ones?" ones)

    edit. dotnet not dotcom.
    Google the card type with "benchmark" on the end. I use videocardbenchmark because it's passmark and I've used it for years (and userbenchmark seems more complicated than a single figure) and then make myself a page in google sheets comparing "performance per dollar spent" on various things (CPU and GPU are the big factors. Memory is a "16gb is enough, 32 if you want to push, any memory type is good enough as the cost diff between "better" and "more" wins in more every time. At least in those amounts. Cheap as you can - 3200 is the current soft spot. I would recommend a MB with four slots instead of 2 though, in case things change so you have options).

    These two pages also very handy (note you can sort list in order of "performance per price"
    it is slightly out of whack as they include multiple performance figures - render is for work, gaming is for game - and uses USD prices, but a good idea
    https://www.cgdirector.com/amd-graphic-cards-order-of-perfor…
    https://www.cgdirector.com/nvidia-graphics-cards-order-perfo…
    further note: on the 8gb vs 12gb variety cards.. the 12 gig does outperform (def in render stuff) but in practice - look for demo videos on youtube - the actual frame rate diff is rarely more than about 10-15 percent… and they cost more than that in diff. Ask if you want more info.
    Current
    budget budget: amd 6600
    one step up 3060
    one step up: 3060 ti
    one more step up 4060

    I made these notes the other day (passmark score, cheapest cost I could find but not inc postage) yesterday:
    rx 6600 15152 341
    3060 8gb 17117 389
    3070 8gb 22475 599
    3070 ti 23759 655
    4060 8gb 19516 469
    3060 ti 8gb 20593 529

    3080 26737 979
    3090

    you can use "staticice" for cost comparisions (but be aware a lot of the cheaper results will be out of stock, and make sure you factor in postage)

    • +1

      Omfg thanks! I will need to digest this separately from dinner. I shall be back….

      • +1

        How did you go? :)
        looking at current prices I'd recommend an rx 6600 8 gb if you did want to go the video card route. Can get one

        That would give you 15,000 passmark benchmark units for $299
        (and enable you to jump down one level and get the R5 5500 instead - as you don't need the costly integrated GPU addition on the CPU)

        Comparing to the onboard on the 5600G
        Gives
        CPU - passmarks: 19,918
        https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=AMD+Ryzen+5+5600G&i…
        GPU (graphics) - radeon vega 7 - passmarks: 2,574
        https://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu.php?gpu=Ryzen+5+5600G…

        R5 5500
        CPU - passmarks: 19,554
        https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?id=4807&cpu=AMD+Ryzen+5…
        RX 6600
        GPU - passmarks: 15,150
        https://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu.php?gpu=Radeon+RX+660…

        .. and you free up your CPU to just do CPU stuff (instead of having to spare some of its resources to do the gpu side of things. Though it has the additional hardware bits added, it makes a serious hit to have it doing all the GPU asides)

        The way I have seen it put is that the CPU is good at doing one extremely complex thing fast, but rubbish at doing lots of simple things at once.
        The GPU (graphics processing unit) is shit at complex single things… but great at lots of littel simple things at once.
        It's like having one fast guy vs lots of slow ones. If the job is to move one rock somewhere the fast guy wins. If it's moving a LOT of rocks… the army wins.
        And pixels are like a LOT of rocks. Each rock is a task…

        This is a good search to learn more: https://www.google.com/search?q=ryzen+plus+onboard+gpu+vs+de…

        Cost diff would be
        r5 5500 $139
        rx 6600 8gb $299

        r5 5600G $189

        So take 50 and add 249.
        Adds $249 to the price tag but vastly increases all the things. And gives you better outputs (as the video card has much better
        You could even drop back a level or two on the motherboard (A320's are fine and cheap, B450's also. Note that some might need the firmware updated before they will support that generation of CPU - can ask supplier if it does/has) if that doesn't affect your bottom line

        Things I'd consider (the last PC I built, few weeks ago)
        (all from MSY/umart)

        Asus Prime B550M K AM4 mATX Motherboard
        Qty: 1 pcs
        $115.00

        G.Skill 16GB (1x16GB) F4-3200C16S-16GIS Aegis 3200…
        Qty: 2 pcs
        $40.00
        inc $80

        AMD Ryzen 5 5500 6 Core AM4 4.20GHz CPU Processor …
        Qty: 1 pcs
        $139.00

        MSI MAG Forge M100A mATX Case with 600W Power Supp…
        $109 after bundle deal with
        Astrotek Male Wall 240v PC to 3 pin AU Power Socke…
        Qty: 1 pcs
        included in bundle with above

        Note: I did not need wifi, but there are great wifi options about

        I already had spare SSD's so did not need those (but board can handle 2 m.2's)
        and already had a spare video card around (1060 overclock - it's to be my home theatre pc)

        I don't think you need water cooling, but the cpu comes with a cooler included. You could always use that and see how you go/add water later if you want?

        Ask if you want to know more :)

        • +1

          That is a wealth of info. Many thanks.

          I have been very tempted by this ridiculous PC on offer here.

          AMD Ryzen 5 5600 RX 6700XT(techfast.com.au): $888 after 5600-6700XT-OCT
          AMD Ryzen 5 5600 CPU
          RX 6700XT 12GB GPU
          AMD A520 Motherboard (B550 Upgrade available)
          16GB RGB 3200MHz
          500GB M.2 NVMe SSD
          750W PSU
          Antec NX200M Case

          I can even upgrade to 1tb NVME and 750 Gold PSU and only spend $1.1k delivered.

          While the GPU is old gen it will smash rocket league and then some at 1080p. Other people in the house may want to play Read dead redemption 2 which also seems to run well (not that I care).

          Thoughts??

          • +1

            @Naigrabzo: I think it's a good deal. I'd get the B550 upgrade if it's still $50. My main concern with these is that they'd be using some bottom-of-the-barrel PSUs (no idea who the OEM is for "Allied Gaming"), but it's somewhat easy to find a top tier one secondhand if you're worried about it.

            • +2

              @xxBARGAINGODxx: I was almost tempted to get a modular gold or similar when on sale and swap it over in the future….
              I have seen them for $99 on sale at MSY!

              Thanks for your extensive input!

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