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 unlocked – you 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 “mini” GPU 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 is… dubious.

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.