Create an awesome rig on a shoestring budget

BUILDING A MONSTER PC and blowing the budget sure is fun, but for most of us, the more realistic challenge right now is constructing something to a lower price. Whether that’s because you’ve got other purchases to worry about, or you can’t source all of the components right now, you might be holding off building something for work, school or pleasure when you really don’t need to.

So we decided to set ourselves a challenge: could we build something we’d be proud to have on our desk to a $600 budget? Something that would not only offer bang-for-buck performance, but also use quality components that will stand the test of time? Something that can handle everyday tasks, while also looking sleek doing it?

In starting our build, we first looked at where we could make obvious savings. We figured that one of the best components to start with would be a CPU that includes an integrated cooler and graphics— in effect, we’re getting three components for the price of one. So, we chose the Intel Core i5-10400 with Intel UHD 630 graphics and a stock cooler. Avoiding the need to pay for an AIO will inevitably save money, leaving a decent chunk of the budget to be allocated to the remaining parts of the build. That’s what we’re aiming for anyway.

When starting a new rig, consider the bigger picture and not just the individual parts. Rather than spending a huge chunk of the budget on a GPU then scraping around for savings elsewhere, choose an even spread of components that complement each other. It’s important to spend the budget wisely and follow your brain, not your heart. You can add and swap out parts further down the line, so bear in mind the longer-term requirements of your build.

So, with a budget of $600 burning a hole in our pocket, a CPU from two generations ago, and a sleek-looking case from NZXT, we kick off our budget build hoping to end up with a decent PC experience. Can we complete this under budget or will we have to break the bank to achieve our goals? Let’s find out.

–SAM LEWIS

HARDWARE

PROCESSOR

Intel Core i5-10400 $149

We’re going back two generations with this sub-$150 Comet Lake CPU, which is a pretty good bet if you’re building on a tight budget. With integrated Intel UHD 630 graphics and a cooler, it’s a wellrounded product for a relatively small outlay. This six-core, 12-thread CPU should handle things pretty well, with up to 4.3GHz clock speed from Intel’s Turbo Boost technology 2.0. For our build, it should be able to play games at a midrange level at 1080p and it should also suit the rest of the rig nicely. intel.com

STORAGE

PNY CS900 480GB 2.5” SSD $44

One of the most popular SSDs from PNY, the CS900 is an ideal price for our budget build. With capacity options ranging from 120GB to a whopping 8TB, the 480GB model was the most suitable for our machine though, annoyingly, we couldn’t grab the 500GB version. This SATA-3 SSD is also backward-compatible with SATA-2 motherboards.