blueprint a part-by-part guide to building a better pc
THE BUILDS
THIS MONTH’S STREET PRICES...
LAST MONTH, we gave the Intel budget build a slight upgrade from Core i3-10100 to Core i3-10105 with Intel’s UHD Graphics 630. This month, we’re going a step further by ditching the 10105 for the Core i5-10400. It’s a six-core chip, so a 50 percent uptick in the core count for just $25 is a no-brainer. We’re not sure how much longer 10th- Gen chips such as the 10400 will be available. So, if you fancy some cheap Intel six-core action, don’t hesitate—the 10400 may not stay this affordable for long, and it could disappear altogether this year.
To recap from last issue, there were three parts that found their way into both the Intel and AMD budget systems. Due to a stock change last month, we had to change our memory around on the AMD budget build and the Intel budget build. We swapped out the Crucial Ballistix CL16 for GSkills Trident Z Neo CL 16 RAM. This is the same spec as the Crucial Ballistix RAM, so was the most suitable we could find at the price.
The next change was to the PSU’s. For the Intel build, it was previously the 500W Aresgame AGV500 at an 80+ Bronze efficiency. On team AMD, the 500W Evga BA was the choice, also with an 80+ Bronze efficiency rating. These were both swapped around for a slightly more powerful 550W Corsair CV550 unit that has the same 80+ Bronze rating. Both builds also got an upgrade in HDDs from 1TB to 2TB for an increase of $8. With a sale on Newegg bringing these down from $70 to $47, it was impossible to not make the change. SSDs remained the same as they still perform strongly in the rigs and the prices haven’t differed which is always good to see.