January 2019 Build Guides

$750 - https://pcpartpicker.com/list/ZP6xdX

Capitalizing on multiple cores the Ryzen 5 2600 will provide you with plenty of flexibility.  The 3.9GHz boost will help making applications that require some oomph running, too.  The B450M Pro4 board doesn't have a bunch of bells and whistles, but is a solid board for entry level non-overclockers.  A small SSD with the OS and essential programs really goes a long way and while 5900RPM seems weird for a hard drive, the tech in hard drives has drastically improved and a drive desired for constant usage is infinitely more reliable than the standard drive.  The Versa case is relatively small and not very flashy, but it fits everything in this rig and won't break the bank. Spending a few more bucks could net you some faster RAM that might help out, but for an entry level gaming machine this will get it done at 1080p!

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core Processor
Mobo: ASRock - B450M PRO4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard
RAM: G.Skill - FORTIS 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-2400 Memory 
SSD: Patriot - Burst 240 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  
HDD: Seagate - SkyHawk 3 TB 3.5" 5900RPM Internal Hard Drive  
GPU: XFX - Radeon RX 580 8 GB GTS Black Core Edition Video Card  
Case: Thermaltake - Versa H15 MicroATX Mid Tower Case  
PSU: EVGA - BR 600 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply


$1250 - https://pcpartpicker.com/list/c8Yq8Y

Another Ryzen build.  Crazy, right?  Still leaning on core count, with an even higher boost clock.  The 1070Ti is no slouch and can easily be overclocked to get performance equal to or greater than that of a 1080.  An m.2 takes the place of traditional SSD and storage is handled by the video recording monster from Seagate.  The Cougar case is nice and subdued with an interesting aesthetic.  Some quick upgrades like a large SSD drive and a water cooler for higher boosts or overclocking would instantly make this a more powerful machine, but alas, that isn't how budgets work.  Still a very good machine for the price.

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 2700X 3.7 GHz 8-Core Processor  
Mobo: ASRock - Fatal1ty X470 Gaming K4 ATX AM4 Motherboard 
RAM: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory  
SSD: Samsung - 970 Evo 250 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive 
HDD: Seagate - SkyHawk 3 TB 3.5" 5900RPM Internal Hard Drive 
GPU: Asus - GeForce GTX 1070 Ti 8 GB TURBO Video Card  
Case: Cougar - MX330-G ATX Mid Tower Case  
PSU: EVGA - BR 600 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  


$2500 - https://pcpartpicker.com/list/TDjgyX

The mesh version of the H500P might be one of my favorite cases.  Not the prettiest and plenty of RGB rainbow vomit, but it sure breathes well.  Combine that with the RIING RGB fans on the Thermaltake Water 3.0 water cooler and you have unicorn rave right inside your PC!  32GB of low profile RAM on a Strix-series gaming motherboard means that your VRMs should be cool and your overclocks should be stable.  You will likely want to push the boundaries on the 9700K, too, they seem to get to 5GHz pretty easily.  I wish I could fit a 2080Ti in, but you'd need an extra 500 in the budget for it.  You could always drop HDD storage and save some cash there for that upgrade, but the true power of ray tracing still has not been revealed.

CPU: Intel - Core i7-9700K 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor  
Cool: Thermaltake - Water 3.0 Riing RGB 240 40.6 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  
Mobo: Asus - ROG STRIX Z390-H GAMING ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  
RAM: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 32 GB (4 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory  
m.2: Samsung - 970 Evo 250 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive  )
SSD: Samsung - 860 Evo 2 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive  )
HDD: Seagate - SkyHawk 3 TB 3.5" 5900RPM Internal Hard Drive  
GPU: Zotac - GeForce RTX 2080 8 GB GAMING AMP Video Card  
Case: Cooler Master - MasterCase H500P Mesh White ATX Mid Tower Case  
PSU: EVGA - SuperNOVA G2 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply