Building and Customizing an Ultra Budget Gaming PC

Introduction

• Aim: Building a budget gaming PC and discussing performance adjustments
• Focus: How to find, build, and customize a budget gaming PC
• Sponsorship: GVGMaul (Windows activation keys and other software)

Aesthetics and Design

• Collaboration with wife’s custom vinyl cutting skills
• Use of wood vinyl front on a budget PC case
• Painting and vinyl installation process

Vinyl Installation Steps

1. Measure dimensions on the panel, ports, and distances using a tape measure
2. Model the design in software
3. Paint outer edges of the panel
   • Use tape to block the center
   • Apply multiple coats (approx. 7) with intervals between them

Performance

• Initial Build
  • HP Pavilion bought for $220 on eBay
  • Specs: Intel i5 10400F, 12GB DDR4 RAM, 256GB NVMe, RX 550 GPU
  • Poor performance with RX 550 GPU

Upgrades

• Graphics: Upgraded to MSI Mech RTX 2060 (~$100 on eBay)
• Storage: Added 500GB SK Hynix SATA drive

Recommendations

• For finding an OEM starting point
  • Target i5 or i7 CPUs (8th Gen or newer)
  • Minimum 12GB RAM, ideally 16GB
  • Search terms suggested: “Intel i5 8400 + 16GB desktop”

Benchmarking and Performance Analysis

• RX 550 Performance

  • Poor performance in games: Starfield, Cyberpunk 2077, Helldivers 2
  • Example: Starfield was unplayable at 1080p, Cyberpunk 2077 at 23 FPS at 720p

• RTX 2060 Performance

  • Improved gaming performance significantly
  • Starfield: Close to 60 FPS at 1080p
  • Cyberpunk 2077: 65 FPS at high settings
  • Helldivers 2: 59 FPS at 1080p
  • 3D Mark’s Time Spy: Performance increased by 648

Conclusion and Giveaway

• Decision to sell the build with RTX 2060 for $150
• Giveaway of RX 550 GPU on Twitter (US only)

Additional Resources

• Link to related YouTube video