Building a cheap PC in 2024

[mikkh]

I deliberately set out to build a new PC for myself as cheaply as possible, but also be a much better spec than if I'd bought a budget PC off the shelf (as if I would!)

Just had the final bits delivered and despite me finding some good bargain buys, it's up to £350 already and I'll be using an old graphics card to get it up and running, so the final cost will be higher if i decide the old graphics card is causing a bottleneck. Should be OK though, I'm not a gamer, but what I'm building would be a half decent gaming machine with the right graphics card.

I normally prefer AMD when building a new PC, but having won a good Intel motherboard for a bargain price at an auction, that was the route I was forced down. It comes with 2.5 GB LAN, the latest 6E wireless and a whole host of goodies you just don't get on motherboards priced at what I paid for this one.

The CPU choice was easy, I just went for the cheapest. The latest few generations of Intel CPU's are pretty impressive and I can always upgrade in the future as this board covers several generations.

Although it will resemble a gaming machine with it's glass panels and 6 preinstalled RGB (pretty lights) fans, I would have only saved a few quid by buying a more standard case, so bring on the bling!

The RGB RAM I bought was the same price as standard boring unlit RAM, so more bling to marvel at! I'll probably get an RGB CPU fan later down the road to complete the light show.

Probably would have cost nearer £500 if I hadn't sourced good buys on virtually every part, so I'm happy to give myself a late Xmas present.

Better get on with building it then, I've already assembled the motherboard with CPU, RAM and M.2 SSD drive and tested it with an old PSU to make sure it actually works.
You never know with auction items but it looked kosher sealed and seems to work fine.

[elvis]

H! Mikkh,

That sounds interesting.

I have just got most of my bits ready to start my build most are new and the case is a game's case just like it at the time.

It is only meant for the storage of Photos and information and such like.

I will only be Linux Mint on it.

More details when I have done it.

[mikkh]

Good luck with your build, it can get frustrating if you haven't done it many times or even at all, but there is a great deal of satisfaction from putting one together and seeing it work.

Mine went without any major issues and the only minor problem was putting the power LED contacts in the wrong way so the little green light doesn't show - something I seem to do quite often.

I installed MX Linux on it (from a USB stick) but it refused to boot with the default setting of secure boot set to on in the BIOS. I turned it off and it booted fine after that.

I don't know if that's a specific MX Linux problem or common to all Linux variants. I've never seen it before and I've installed Linux on dozens of machines, but it's something to watch out for if you encounter a similar problem.

[mikkh]

The finished PC, not the greatest picture but it gives a rough idea

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[mikkh]

The funny thing about that picture and a very similar looking PC I've got in for repair at the moment is that mine is a decent PC built with quality parts and can be further upgraded if required.

And the horrible cowboy build somebody paid £700 for and got absolutely ripped off! And it's their own fault as they've known me for years and didn't think of coming to me first.

The cowboy build has a fairly similar case (less case fans though) and a fairly decent graphics card that will cope with less demanding games - or would if the rest of the system was better.

That's where the good news ends though and the rest is all second hand parts of at least 10 years old. Motherboard, Processor and RAM, all probably repurposed from an old business machine for minimum cost.

Cheap PSU (CIT Builder) I wouldn't give house room to and a slow mechanical 1TB drive. I don't think I've fitted a mechanical drive to a PC in 5 years or more.

Total cost less than £300 I reckon, so not a bad little profit for the person with no morals.

[elvis]

H! Mikkh,

It's a bit Rock "N" Roll looking for you I would of Thort.

I have not got round to building mine yet things keep getting in the way, but tomorrow's another day.

[mikkh]

It is flashier than I would normally have for myself, I invariably end up trading these for an older more boring PC plus cash because this is like using a formula one racing car for going down to the local shops with! But it's also a good showpiece for anyone wanting a new gaming PC built.

Don't put off building yours, it really is much easier to do than most people imagine it to be. Most of it is just following logic and fitting wires/leads that can only physically go in one place.

An ex girlfriend wanted a new PC building, so I ordered the parts and asked her if she wanted to try building it herself. With minimal instructions and help from me, it took less than an hour to do.

It really is the easiest part of being an IT technician and I don't know how these night classes in PC building manage to spread it over 6 or more sessions when one is probably enough for most people, maybe two at most if you cover common troubleshooting and installing an OS afterwards.