How can I build my own cheaper than buying a prebuilt?

[melvinudal]

Hope this is not considered cross posting but I think my questions do not belong in the deals section.
Where can I find the parts to build this cheaper than just buying it?
https://forums.anandtech.com/threads/cyberpowerpc-gamer-xtreme-gxivr8020a5-699.2553251/

Intel Core i5-8400 $180 without cooler or $209 with
MSI B360 GAMING PLUS LGA 1151 $95
ASUS Radeon RX 580 O4G $215
G.SKILL Aegis 8GB 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM $71
WD Blue 1TB Desktop Hard Disk Drive $44


That brings me up to $634 without the power supply, case and the operating system.

 

[Campy]

Something like this:

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/4DqFmq

Quality PSU, 500GB SSD, case with a tempered glass window. Pretty decent build imo.

Maybe a friend can give you a Windows license for cheap?

 

[Ken g6]

That's actually quite difficult to beat if you include all the parts they include. I got close:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: *Intel - Core i5-8400 2.8GHz 6-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: *Gigabyte - B360M DS3H Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($65.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: *Patriot - Signature Line 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2666 Memory ($74.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: *Hitachi - Ultrastar 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($36.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: *Gigabyte - Radeon RX 580 4GB Gaming 4G Video Card ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Case: *Cooler Master - MasterBox Lite 3.1 TG MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($35.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: *EVGA - BT 450W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($9.99 @ B&H)
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($94.89 @ OutletPC)
Wireless Network Adapter: *TP-Link - Archer T2U USB 2.0 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi Adapter ($14.99 @ Newegg Business)
Keyboard: *Redragon - S101 Wired Gaming Keyboard w/Optical Mouse ($29.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $713.79
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-08-30 21:17 EDT-0400

Edit: Which is not to say there aren't better choices for several of those parts. These are just the cheapest halfway-decent parts I could find to match that system.

 

[melvinudal]

Thanks for the replies.
I was afraid I was over looking a cheaper source of parts. I even looked for bare bones deals with no luck. At least everything should be compatible with each other and working if I get this
So it seems it i a good value just in the parts alone?
The only thing I would want to add is a ssd but would need to get if first to see if it has a M.2 ? slot or go with a regular ssd. Thanks again.

 

[Ken g6]

I'd call it an average value. If you want different parts, or rather you don't want some of the parts it comes with, the value gets worse. A regular SSD is just fine and likely cheaper than the M.2 drive.

 

[mikeymikec]

OP, is your aim really to out-cheap people who cheap out and cut corners on costs/quality for a living?

 

[melvinudal]

OP, is your aim really to out-cheap people who cheap out and cut corners on costs/quality for a living?

Good point and yes while I am pretty cheap I hate buying something only to find out there were better deals around after I already over paid for something. So researching the hell out of it before I buy is what I am doing. Plus getting it all over with buying it all together assembled is an attractive plus, not getting frustrated waiting on parts to come in to assemble.

Buuuuut.....

I'd call it an average value. If you want different parts, or rather you don't want some of the parts it comes with, the value gets worse. A regular SSD is just fine and likely cheaper than the M.2 drive.

In researching it I found it has a motherboard with an older B250m chipset.

• Off-brand PSU (ATNG)
• Low-grade RAM
  • Lower quality mouse and keyboard
  • Unknown brand of power supply (may be low quality)
  • Case may run a little hot

So I bit the bullet last night and ordered the shellshocker RX 580 with 2 minutes to spare. Because I doubt that I will be able to find it any cheaper
Over the labor day sales I will keeping a lookout for a B360 motherboard like suggested above and any other parts i may find on sale.
It will take me a bit longer and I will be spending a little more but will hopefully have a better long lasting machine.
Thanks for the guidance guys.

 

[mikeymikec]

I wouldn't cheap out on a power supply, as a poor-quality one can toast your board should a power spike / irregularity occur. There will be a consensus on the wattage you require of a decent PSU (a decent PSU will be able to perform at the level it claims in the long term, whereas a poor quality PSU sometimes even fails to live up to that level in the short term).

One thing I'm unsure about is the lower end chipsets versus a scenario that might require more PCIE lanes / higher throughput, so I'll let others guide you on that score.

Low-end RAM is fine assuming it's compatible with your board and you're not overclocking it. It might be worth asking a few questions about DDR RAM speed and your intended use for the PC.

I personally very rarely spend more than about £30 UKP on a case which is fairly low-end territory. If it has the internal design I want (ie. 12cm chassis mount mounts in desirable places and sufficient amounts of mounting points for storage), I'm fine with it.

Never, ever, go with a PSU that gets thrown in with a low-end case. By all means keep it just in case you need to do some testing with an alternate PSU (assuming it's up to the task), but low-end PSUs can be an absolute liability.

Better PSUs tend to be quieter as well, so there's that. In my experience, good PSUs last as long as you need them.

Windows: One thing you might want to check is that at least in the UK I'm buying Windows licences as electronic-only ones through Amazon UK for about £5-£10 cheaper than a normal OEM licence. The product key gets added to your Amazon software library, and you download the ISO from the MS website. Be careful to only buy Windows licences from legitimate sources; the price should not vary by much. Don't buy from ebay or third parties on Amazon for example.

 

[melvinudal]

I honestly do not know much about the chipsets, I just want newer version due to past experience.
My current MB has a AM3 socket and if I had the later version with the AM3+ I would be able to upgrade to the next level cpu.
I do not want to repeat that mistake and by getting the newer B360 MB I hopefully will be keeping it upgrade able longer.
The power supply was another of the cons of the Cyberpower that I want to upgrade as you suggest
It was also mentioned they us whatever ram they have on hand be it 1 8gb stick or 2 4gbs
I will have to get the MB first to see what ram to get.
I want to start with 2 8gb sticks n a MB with 4 dimm slots because I've never heard anyone complain about too much ram of too much room for more.

I will be keeping an eye on the hot deals thread and the sales for components with good feedback.
ken g6 posted this above, https://pcpartpicker.com/product/GQ...nze-certified-atx-power-supply-100-bt-0450-k1 and the price is very tempting but I've heard all psu's degrade over time and their output goes down, so maybe I should start out with a bigger one and that will help if I decide to maybe go with a bigger I7 cpu.

 

[melvinudal]

I am also open to an AMD Ryzen MB cpu combo which ever is the best deal I come across.
Buying on sale prices like the RX 580 will save me a lot since I am not in a rush.

 

[killster1]

best way to keep cost low would be to take a risk and buy used off ebay. most likely a board/cpu combo to save even more or even board cpu ram combo from someone who just upgraded. What to go with i dont know im partial to intel but the budget rzyen look pretty darn good. (slightly more power and slower encoding is only issue for me)

The barebones are cheaper because the motherboards and cpu are sold by the 100000? the boards only have features needed and nothing extra, usually wont even fit in a standard case and will be slower with less compatibility (tho might be perfect and with no noticeable difference), the ram is usually slower speed oem branded. I love buying older workstations with a good cpu/board combo to give away to non gamers (even comes with a copy of windows)

biggest issue with buying part by part when everything is on sale is how long it will take you and what the time waited is worth to you. If you have a great board and can use the gpu while you wait to upgrade the rest maybe waiting and jumping on shell shockers will be best but dont wait to long or the first good deal with no long be a good deal by the time you wait.

(just built a budget xeon 1235l with used c232 motherboard / ddr4 ram for about 270$) cheaper for me to just purchase a used workstation with a xeon already in but i wanted to use a certain motherboard with optical out)

 

[VirtualLarry]

Never, ever, go with a PSU that gets thrown in with a low-end case. By all means keep it just in case you need to do some testing with an alternate PSU (assuming it's up to the task), but low-end PSUs can be an absolute liability.

Words of wisdom to live by. Been there, done that, got the toasted mobo.

 

[whm1974]

Words of wisdom to live by. Been there, done that, got the toasted mobo.

The 4 parts I wouldn't cheap out, the PSU, motherboard, memory, and of course the case. If you are you building a rig then a nice decent case is a must.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I do not want to repeat that mistake and by getting the newer B360 MB I hopefully will be keeping it upgrade able longer.

Coffee Lake / 1151 300-series, is pretty-much a "one and done" socket. Unlikely that another generation of CPUs will work in it.

 

[melvinudal]

Well this is the route I ended up going.
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/
Case $ 35
motherboard 105
Cpu & cooler 320
Ram 152
PSU* 29 before rebate
Video card* 199 before rebate.
Artic silver & extra case fans 16
1tb harddrive previously bought 42
SSD 256gb 48

Total before rebates and OS = $946
I did get the video card and power supply ken g6 suggested above, but am going to swap the PSU with a 650watt xfx I have in my current machine.
I did opt for a better ssd as Larry suggested with some dram on it
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820009001
And I did go for a cheap case
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811863003
So I went roughly $200 over the $750 the original deal is going for now, but subtract for the SSD and ram I was going to add to that one and I'm only $80 over for what I think will be a much better machine.
All parts should be in by the end of the week

 

[Campy]

Well this is the route I ended up going.
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/

That link no worky. Need the permalink from pcpartpicker

Congrats on the new PC!

 

[melvinudal]

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/hpKnXP
This one work?

 

[Campy]

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/hpKnXP
This one work?

Yes that works. Looks like a great PC