Budget PC for Home & Office usage and students under ₹15000-20000

In one of my previous posts, I wrote about PC components but didn't share PC builds. This post will be one of those where I just share the PC builds. 

Cheapest Home/Office use PC

Processor

Athlon 200GE

• 2 cores 4 threads
• 3.2GHz 
• Vega 3 integrated graphics
• Default TDP: 35W
• Average price: ₹3600-3900(if someone is asking more than that consider different sellers or different builds)
  

This little guy is often underestimated. In countries like US and UK, you can find some really powerful used processors at the same price, so they(US based tech youtubers, who have huge following in India too) highly recommend those processors over this. But here in India, things are different, used markets are not for everyone. Try searching Ryzen 5 1600 on OLX. If you remove location(ie nationwide search), even then you'll find hardly 5-10 listings at approximately same price as buying new(new costs around ₹9000-10000). And on top of that, the listing would be from a different city, or even different state. If you add the cost of traveling, buying new will seem more economic. 

That's why I personally think buying new parts would be better. Now some of you might have done some research and found some desktops with 2nd or 3rd gen i5 processors on Amazon and Flipkart. And you might ask, "isn't a 4 core processor better than 2 cores?". Well you're not wrong, those desktops can possibly outperform the Athlon 200GE easily. But look at upgradability options, what if 1 or 2 years later you feel like that the processor is not enough for what tasks you want to do on your PC. Would you go out on a treasure hunt for used 2nd or 3rd gen i7? Or would you change your motherboard, processors and RAM for something new? So unless you're planning to keep it using until it dies, I wouldn't recommend getting one of those. 

That's where the advantage of getting an AMD system now. The motherboard will support upto 3rd gen Ryzen 5 processors. All you have to do is change the the processor and you'll have 2-5 times more horsepower. 

Motherboard

Any A320 motherboard will work. But look out for display output features if you want to connect your PC to a TV or a monitor you already own. My recommendation is Gigabyte GA-A320M-H. Costs around ₹4000-4300 and has a HDMI 1. 4 port.

And if you you're considering future upgrades, look for B450 motherboard instead. They cost more but are better equipped to handle something much more powerful like Ryzen 7.

RAM

Cheapest 4GB DDR4 you can find, buy 2 to get dual channel. Cost: ₹3600-4000. 

You might be tempted to get a single 8GB RAM stick. I don't blame you because you can get something like 3000mHz 8GB stick under ₹4000. Faster RAM is better right? Yes they are, but if you don't plan to buy another 8GB 3000mHz RAM in a month or two, I'd recommend paying a bit extra to get two 2400mhz 4GB RAM sticks. Because slightly slower RAM at dual channel speed can outperform single stick with faster frequency. 

Storage

My recommendation is getting a 240GB SSD for ₹3100-3300. If you like to have more storage then you can get 1TB 7200rpm HDD instead for the same price. Or, if you have the budget for it, get both.

A good quality HDD can give 70-100MBps speeds at best. While it might sound enough for you, it is still much slower than a SSD. SSD easily gives 300+ MBps. Even if you don't copy paste large files a lot to notice the difference, you'll still notice the difference when you turn on or shut down the PC. And when you try to open some application. 

Graphics card

Not required. The integrated Vega 3 graphics is capable enough for all your everyday tasks. You can still consider a dedicated Graphics card for later if you have kids who'll be playing some games on the system. Something like GTX 1030, GTX 1050, RX 550, RX 560, etc are a decent upgrade for playing games. 

PSU

Cheapest one from a reputed brand like Corsair, Cooler Master, Antec, etc. Total power draw of this PC will be below 200W at all case. For peace of your mind, you can consider some like Corsair VS450 or Antec BP450P

But, if you're planning upgrades like getting a different processor or getting a dedicated GPU then you must get a good quality PSU, preferably 80+ Bronze rated. 

Cost: ₹2300-3500

Cabinet

Cheapest one that looks good enough for you. Since the entire system doesn't use too much power, you can even consider ones that come with PSU pre-installed. But consider them only if you don't intend to upgrade the system. 

Cost: ₹1800-2500

Overall system cost: ₹17000-25000(depending on your choice of components). This system is ideal for home usage or for office workers who don't do heavy work, like a receptionist. The system has potential to do more. If you get faster RAM then it can play some lightweight games like Minecraft, CS GO, Rocket league, Dota 2, etc.

That's the cheapest PC build for June 2020 for you. If you want me to suggest a PC build for your specific budget, leave a comment. Thanks for reading.