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  • If you're thinking about building a new PC, you've come to the right place.

  • Howdy howdy guys ponchato here, and welcome to Monthly Builds for December of 2017.

  • In these videos I show you the parts I would use for building gaming PCs at $500, $750,

  • and $1000 budgets.

  • To keep up with changing component prices, new products, and product updates, I put up

  • a new video every month so be sure to subscribe to stay up to date.

  • Before we get into the builds, I just want to cover a bit of industry news.

  • First, Nvidia just released the $3000 Titan V based on their next-generation Volta architecture.

  • As it usually goes with PC components, the ultra-high-end is being released first which

  • means we can probably expect the mainstream level of Volta cards, the GTX 2000 series,

  • sometime in the next few months.

  • Hopefully, anyway.

  • Second: AMD's next Ryzen series, the Ryzen 2000 Pinnacle Ridge chips, are slated for

  • a February or March of 2018 launch.

  • Starting the Ryzen 7 2000 series, we'll see the Zen+ chips on a 12nm node which should

  • come with higher clock speeds and better power efficiency than the first Ryzen chips.

  • Even better, all existing AM4 motherboards will be compatible with the next gen Ryzen

  • CPUs, so if you're building a PC right now you don't have to worry about getting a

  • new motherboard when you decide to upgrade in the future.

  • Starting this month I generally won't be recommending any microATX cases outside the

  • $500 build.

  • With a full ATX case, you won't run into trouble matching the motherboard size to the

  • case, and it's generally easier to work in mid-tower cases anyway, which will be helpful

  • for new builders.

  • That said, let's dive into the builds.

  • First up, the $500 PC.

  • For the CPU I picked Intel's G4560 for about $83.

  • It's a 2 core/4 thread processor running at 3.5GHz and at release was essentially the

  • best budget CPU available.

  • Since then the price has unfortunately gone up, but it's still a great performer and

  • still just about the cheapest processor that works well for gaming.

  • Paired to that I picked the Gigabyte GTX 1050 Ti D5 for around $190.

  • The 1050 Ti is a very capable card for gaming at 1080p and because it doesn't require

  • an extra PCIe power connector, it stays cool and quiet.

  • Technically the vanilla GTX 1050 gives you better price to performance, but inside the

  • $500 budget there's really nothing else you can put that money into to get more FPS

  • in games.

  • These parts will be plugged into the Gigabyte GA-B250M-DS3H motherboard for about $50.

  • The G4560 can't be overclocked so there's no reason to get an overclock-ready motherboard,

  • and this one comes with just about all you'll need: 4 DIMM slots to upgrade memory later,

  • an M.2 slot to add an SSD, and plenty of USB connections on the back panel.

  • For the memory I picked Corsair's Vegeance LPX 8GB DDR4 stick for around $95.

  • It runs at 2400MHz, comes in a little less expensive than a 2x4GB kit, and will leave

  • a free slot on your motherboard for an easy upgrade to dual channel memory in the future.

  • For storage, I went with the tried and true WD Blue 1TB hard drive for around $50.

  • I suppose we're lucky that hard drive prices haven't started climbing unlike other components

  • – 1TB hard drives have been around $50 for quite a while now, and it doesn't look like

  • that will change anytime soon.

  • Power will come from the EVGA 500 W1 power supply for around $42.

  • EVGA is a reliable brand for budget PSUs, this one comes with a 3 year warranty, and

  • 500W will cover just about any upgraded graphics card or CPU you might put into this build

  • in the future.

  • Finally the case comes from Rosewill, their SRM-01 mini tower for around $20.

  • In budget builds like this, you can (and really, should) spend as little as possible on the

  • case.

  • Budget components don't use much power or produce much heat, and so they don't need

  • ridiculously high airflow cases.

  • On top of that, the more money you spend on the case, the less you have for components

  • that do directly affect performance like the CPU or graphics card.

  • Altogether these parts come out to $530.

  • It's a bit over budget because RAM and GPU prices are still inflated, but this will be

  • a great starting point for a gaming PC and will serve you well.

  • Links to pick up these components are in the description below.

  • I want to hear your take on it though, what would you change if you were building a $500

  • PC?

  • Let me know in the comments.

  • Next we'll take a look at the $750 build.

  • Like previous months this is what I'd consider the sweet spot for 1080p gaming, and if you

  • can bump up your budget from $500, this build is well worth it.

  • For the CPU I picked AMD's Ryzen 3 1200 for $110.

  • It's a 3.1GHz processor but comes unlockedyou can overclock it right out of the

  • box.

  • Plus the stock cooler is very capable, with most people being able to hit 3.6-3.8GHz and

  • if you get lucky like I did, as high as 4.0GHz.

  • I chose Zotac to power the graphics, their GTX 1060 6GB AMP Edition for $280.

  • The 1060 is good for ultra settings at 1080p in pretty much every game available today,

  • and will serve you well even at 1440p.

  • Plus, Zotac's dual-fan cooler will keep things cool and quiet even though the 1060

  • is a relatively high power card.

  • The motherboard comes from MSI, their B350M Pro-VDH microATX board for $70.

  • It comes with an M.2 slot, 4 DIMM slots to upgrade memory in the future, and because

  • it's a B350 chipset it allows you to overclock the Ryzen 3 1200.

  • I chose Corsair for the memory, opting for their Vengeance LPX 2x4GB kit for $106.

  • This memory runs at 2400MHz, but since it comes with good heat spreaders and the B350

  • chipset allows you to overclock your memory, you'll probably be able to push these to

  • 2666 or 2800MHz, depending on stability.

  • For the boot drive I picked ADATA's Premier SP550 120GB M.2 SSD for $50.

  • It's a SATA drive so it's not insanely fast, but the cost savings here allow for

  • better components elsewhere and there's very little real-world difference between

  • SATA and NVMe.

  • Bulk storage comes from Western Digital, their 1TB Blue hard drive for $50.

  • You could drop the 1TB hard drive and SSD and get a single 250GB SSD for the same price

  • instead, but you would be very limited on storage space; that's why I typically recommend

  • getting a 1TB drive in addition to a boot SSD.

  • The power supply I chose is Corsair's CX600 for $50.

  • It's 80+ Bronze certified, has a 120mm fan, and comes with a 3 year warranty.

  • 600W will also easily cover components beyond a Ryzen 3 and GTX 1060, so you won't have

  • to get a new power supply the next time you upgrade.

  • Finally, the case I'm recommending is Cooler Master's MasterBox Lite 5 mid-tower for

  • $50.

  • This is the big brother of the MasterBox Lite 3.1, a case I've reviewed previously, and

  • comes upgraded with a power supply shroud.

  • It has an acrylic side panel window, mirrored front panel, and swappable trim pieces.

  • In my opinion this and the 3.1 are some of the best looking cases you can get for under

  • $100.

  • The total for all these parts comes out to $766, and will get you a very capable gaming

  • PC that should have a long usable life.

  • Links to pick up any or all of these parts are in the description below.

  • Last but not least, the $1000 build.

  • If you really want to future proof and not need any upgrades for at least a few years,

  • this is the build you should be aiming for.

  • For the CPU I went with AMD's Ryzen 5 1600 for $200.

  • It's a 6 core, 12 thread processor that runs at 3.2GHz, and like the 1200, it can

  • be overclocked.

  • It comes with AMD's mid-level Wraith Spire cooler, which is very capable and should give

  • you a good bit of overclocking headroom despite being just a stock cooler.

  • For the graphics I went with Zotac's GTX 1070 Mini for around $420.

  • Calling it a “miniGPU is kind of a misnomer because it's still a full size card with

  • a dual fan cooler, but regardless, the 1070 can max out pretty much any current game at

  • 1080p, run high settings at 1440p, and even run games well at 4K.

  • For the motherboard I picked Asus' Prime B350-Plus ATX board for $80.

  • It's a full ATX motherboard with an m.2 slot for an SSD, 4 DIMM slots to expand memory,

  • and a good number of USB ports on the back panel.

  • Since it's equipped with a B350 chipset, it'll allow you to overclock the Ryzen 5

  • and your memory.

  • Speaking of memory, for this build I chose Corsair's Vengeance LPX 2x4GB kit for $112.

  • This particular set is rated for 3000MHz, and because Ryzen processors are so memory-dependent

  • this will make a very real difference in performance.

  • For the boot SSD I picked ADATA's Premier SP550 120GB M.2 drive for $50.

  • For $20 or $30 more you could get an NVMe drive, but NVMe's effect on real world performance

  • like boot and load times isdubious.

  • Bulk storage comes from Western Digital again, their 1TB Blue drive for $50.

  • As hard drive prices continue to go down, the standard may become 2TB drives in the

  • future but for now, this is cheap and provides enough storage for the vast majority of people.

  • Power will come from EVGA's 600 BQ power supply for $60.

  • This is an 80+ Bronze PSU with a fluid dynamic bearing fan and it's semi modular, which

  • makes cable management much easier.

  • It comes with EVGA's standard 3 year warranty, and their power supplies are known for their

  • reliability anyway.

  • The last piece of the puzzle is the case, and this time I'm picking Corsair's Carbide

  • 200R mid tower for $55.

  • It supports 165mm CPU coolers, graphics cards up to 420mm long, comes with front and rear

  • 120mm fans, and has extensive cable management options.

  • It also has room for up to 8 fans and comes with dust filters to keep your components

  • clean.

  • Altogether these parts come out to $1,027, just a little over budget.

  • This build should last several years, and because it has the AM4 socket you're guaranteed

  • to have processor upgrades available through 2020, without needing a new motherboard.

  • Links to all these components are in the description below.

  • If you're thinking about building a gaming PC for the first time, welcome to the community

  • and check out my build videos to see how it's done.

  • If you're a veteran and just needed to catch up, I hope these recommendations helped you.

  • Also be sure to check out the link to my recommended products on Amazon, where I'll be putting

  • all my favorite components and peripherals like mice, keyboards, and monitors.

  • If you want to get notified of new videos as soon as they're up, hit subscribe then

  • click the bell icon to enable notifications.

  • So guys if you liked this video hit the like button, if you want to see more hit subscribe,

  • and if you have any questions on these builds or the parts I chose, leave them in the comments

  • below.

  • Thanks for watching, I hope I helped, and I'll see you in the next video.

If you're thinking about building a new PC, you've come to the right place.

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