$525 Budget Gaming PC Build Guide | Step By Step!

Here is a step by step build guide that is quick and easy to learn. The best part is you’ll end up with a $525 gaming PC that will play eSports and AAA titles at 1080P high refresh rate!
GVGMALL Black Friday 25% off code: TB20
Windows 10 Pro ($16): biitt.ly/p5O82
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Windows 11 Home($22): biitt.ly/l6tLM
Windows 10 Home($14): biitt.ly/XvlA8
Office 2016 Pro Plus ($28): biitt.ly/xLagu
Should have gone to gvgmall.com, if you wanted a genuine cheap OEM key!
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i3 12100F
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ASRock RX 5600 6GB
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ASRock B660M Pro RS
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Solidgim P41 1TB Gen 4.0
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16GB TG 3200Mhz RGB
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Zalman gigamax 600W
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ID-Cooling Frozn A410 Black
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DIYPC Q3 Black
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[@SuperPastorgary]

Hi guys, I'm home on medical leave from cancer treatment that ended this past July. By the way, the aftermath of the treatment left me semi-disabled but I'm still happy to be cancer-free!. I was going to buy a low-level gaming PC from Best Buy. It was an HP Omen Ryzen 5. After researching it., the thermals and upgradability did not seem good. Prebuilt PCs seem to have low specs for the money. This video gave me a fun way to do our first build. My wife and I loved your video and thought it would be fun to do together. I'm a Mac user, but I have 70 older games on Steam I have nothing to play them on. This would do that and dually serve in light gaming and as Microsoft Office and Publisher! When we make our final decision to build it ourselves, we'll definitely follow the affiliate links! Thanks and Gary and Melissa...

[@PikoVR1]

show this man respect hes simply him bru 🫡

[@ifo23456]

I'd advise to test boot the computer before cable management, so that you don't need to undo and redo cables in case you need to swap parts during troubleshooting 😉

[@technicallycorrect838]

This was really instructional. I think one thing that I would have done differently is to screw in the SSD before mounting that fan since there is more space for the screwdriver. Would be cool do to a video with an AIO for your next one.

[@thewritebrooke]

So I'm the level below Noobie and still in the 'learning what each part is and what it does' phase. I've been doing A LOT of researching on parts, price ranges, current decent pre-builts, and so on - just trying to figure out how much total I'll have to spend and whether I should try to build a gaming pc myself or buy a pre-built. Honestly, this video is SO HELPFUL! One of the biggest hesitations I've had on building my own pc has been figuring out how to put everything together if I went that path. You guys explain this very well and it makes total sense to me so thank you! I ultimately want to become a narrative designer for a video game company and I'm working on building my knowledge of the development process by of course playing games (on console right now) but I want to be able to download Unity, possibly Unreal too, so I can work with them. I know I'm still at the starting block, dare I say a few steps away, and if anyone has any advice, I'd certainly appreciate it!

[@ultramasterultra5724]

yeah building a pc is really easy I think the hardest part is after building it but that can be easy too

[@twainrocks4771]

I have a few tips you can use. Since you want to use Unreal Engine and Unity I would Recommend an Nvidia GPU over AMD. Since Nvidia does a better job in 3d rendering and hardware accelerated raytracing. For your CPU, you can go either way, AMD or Intel. Though I prefer AMD for CPU's because AM4 motherboards are around 15-20 dollars cheaper than Intel's LGA 1700 motherboards. If you are on a more midrange budget (800-1100 dollars) I would recommend you go for AM5 (AMD's latest motherboard platform) since there are new CPU releases like the 7600f that are coming pretty soon. The GPU market is in a weird spot. Brand new GPU's cost way too much but used GPU's are at a really good price right now. Especially RTX 30 series and RX 6000 series. I would suggest you go for a GPU with 12gb of RAM instead of 8gb. Maybe a used RTX 3060 12gb. Or a used RX 6700 XT. The best priced AM4 CPU is the Ryzen 5 5600. 6 cores, 12 threads and a high boost clock is a great deal. So if you see when new or used for under 120 dollars I would consider you snap it up immediately.

[@younghentaii1772]

wonderful build as always

[@rogerv2785]

Guys, thank you for the great channel. I love the energy and your content. Keep up the great work.

[@lifebetweenthelines8576]

Love the build and the roadkill hoodie

[@2528drevas]

I love using that case in black and white for PC's I build to flip. It's solid enough and while I substitute the fans on the white builds it looks premium and doesn't feel cheap at all.

[@farts6499]

Question, is it lucrative enough to be worth it? Do you only sell online?

[@DarkScythe88]

hey do yk of any other case just like this since its currently out of stock

[@bconyer418]

Did yours feel like it has a dumb amount of extra wiring?? I can BARELY close my case due to the amount of wiring

[@cadenclick6183]

i’d love to work for the computer community so simple yet so beautiful i built my pc last week it’s a little slow cause i couldn’t afford a decent gpu (1650 super off ebay😭) it overheats, but other than that she runs great and i built it first try with no problems. love y’all’s videos

[@Trix209]

Best pc channel on KZbin. Love you guys!

[@Ituquee]

FACTS

[@Unluckyfliccz]

needed this video

[@spongebobgirlfriend]

Very informational vid I enjoyed all the breakdowns and explanations ❤

[@bjcantorne]

might be a atupid question (im a newbie) but can this build operate in windows 11?

[@PixelVanatic1]

i just love watching the bilding part for some reason

[@peyton7563]

Would love to see some of “The Finals” game for benchmarking y’all’s builds. Keep up the good work. Loving the vids! 👍

[@alfiandy4494]

Nice build!

[@volsito]

i love this channel a lot

[@mathew699]

I love you guys' videos and you guys are amazingg mannn

[@unstopable_rob]

26:31 One thing i will say with the case headers for the mobo is make sure they're oriented the correct way as the ones with two wires can't be put in upside down, if you don't have them in right the pc will just shut on and off in 5 second intervals

[@bjcantorne]

might be a atupid question (im a newbie) but can this build operatoe in windows 11?

[@arthuarant2928]

@@bjcantorneif you mean can windows 11 operate with this build the answer is yes

[@whatevenisthisfr]

​@@bjcantorne Windows 11 is an operating system. You don't need special requirements to run it except if your pc is really old

[@itsdeonlol]

Nice PC guide!

[@blazenetwork242]

Honestly, just have to shoutout GVG mall in this comment - 10/10 service.

[@3601christopher]

I think the half pcb asrock does is pretty cool, not sure how effective it is but I would assume the back not being blocked helps with cooling

[@chumbawumba1959]

Starting to hear reference to **BOX BUILD** as name of process to build the pc on top of the mobo box. Long standing best practice among experienced builders. PS Kudos to Jackson his rendition of the "Gritty" :)

[@WittyBros]

Thanks for this video. I have this case and I have been wondering how to get the fans to have rgb so thank you

[@jobanski]

It makes sense that thermostat paste is applied in a straight line instead of a center “pea” shape. I have actually started using a little plastic spreader knife (provided by a previous cooler i bought), and spread the paste leaving about 3mm gap between the paste and edge of CPU. Seems to work so far! Thanks for the video!

[@bjcantorne]

might be a atupid question (im a newbie) but can this build operatoe in windows 11?

[@InaMopar]

@@bjcantorneyes

[@InaMopar]

Thermostat paste is crazy

[@Jwalker76]

This is a good way of buying parts that don't break the bank while almost getting a complete new computer only used part is the GPU, the RX 5600. By buying 12th gen CPU and motherboard you get a good budget while getting better ipc then buying most budget second hand combos. Also the I 3 12100 will out perform older intel i5s and even i7s like 2600, 3770, 4770 as an example. RX 5600 is a good option as it doesn't carry Nvidia tax, and it's less well known than the 5700xt.

[@dylanallen7720]

The lords of pc building have spoken.

[@johnasosajr]

Nice looking I’ll build I’ll be doing a new one soon probably late January to February

[@PhyronRL]

Almost 600k happy early 600k🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉😅😊

[@Lauterec]

Good video, but why didn't you add the additional standoffs? It only takes a second and provides much more support when pressing the 24pin in. It would be worth mentioning in a tutorial vid.

[@jackie001ish]

I love how you push the components you buy to sell your pcs

[@pinakmiku4999]

Never buy from these guys. They are ripping the buyers with low spec builds. Fools will buy anyway and these guys flip to get money

[@mr.assist9962]

this is not true @@pinakmiku4999

[@ultramasterultra5724]

@@pinakmiku4999 well yeah they have to make money and only people with no knowledge buy prebuilts

[@ZenYura]

You knows it’s a good day when toasty bros post

[@poprobotanims]

so like everyday?

[@chumbawumba1959]

I am always impressed with how prolific they are ... post almost every day of the week!

[@t11gredits]

then i guess every day is a good day

[@jordanmntungwa3311]

5:06 these days try and get something with integrated graphics. there are some times issues you may need to trouble shoot. it won't always be on your first boot. something might happen 2 years down the line, you just want to be able to try and fix things or continue browsing the web or continue troubleshooting if you need to

[@MasterJediSean]

The short PCB on the GPU is for air flow through the heat sink. If there was PCB covering this area it would run a 5+ degrees Celsius hotter.

[@thezombiesplayer88]

I just upgraded my r5 3600 stock cooler to the one there a couple of days ago

[@rickfisette5111]

Im new to this and very interested wondering if this will do iracing cause that’s all I really want one for.

[@dianaalyssa8726]

Decent budget build

[@jmakc3541]

Thanks for this video. I'm new to building PCs, but I wonder why a MB manufacturer wouldn't just use hexagonal-shaped stand-offs that could be fastened with a common wrench (and possibly cheaper to manufacture) instead of requiring a special tool for a round threaded insert? Did Snap-On have a hand in this?

[@PapaVanTwee5]

It's always good to see someone screwing with confidence. 😆

[@bclemmer80]

With this case and set-up, is it possible to move the 2 side fans to the bottom and be able to add a display where the fans are located?

[@carter7894]

I just purchased a r5 2600x and rx 5600 xt in the white version of this case. How do you think they’d compare?

[@DaisyHollowBooks]

I’d be curious to know how to build something that can be upgraded down the line. Don’t need all the fancy lights and design considerations either.

[@therecoillife6577]

Did the glass fit back on it again? That cooler looked pretty big.

[@Poor_Man_Arsenal]

How good would this run wow. I want to get back in and I'm not sure what I need

[@ipoopmuffins]

i did a nearly identical build with that exact graphics card. ryzen 4100 ($60), B450 asrock board ($60), same gpu ($110), 16gb 3200mhz ram ($50), 1tb teamgroup nvme ($46), thermaltake smart 700w psu ($50), almost identical cpu cooler ($16) and a $40 case (b-gears matisse i think? looks like a corsair 4000d airflow). and so far its amazing budget build, overclocked the cpu to 4.2ghz. the gpu's with not a full backplate are so the fans blow through the heat sink so thats actually a good thing. my 3080ti has a similar design. that 5600 is a great budget gpu but its been sold out since they lowered the price.

[@AlexHusTech]

Nice, how it the 4100 holding up with newer titles?

[@ipoopmuffins]

@@AlexHusTech haven’t tried anything recent just yet, held up very well in dark souls 3. Going to try Elden ring and armored core soon, among a few others

[@alfy5153]

What a good cheaper or same price alternative gpu that doesn’t have significantly less performance, can’t get my hands on that one

[@ipoopmuffins]

@@alfy5153 i guess the closest you could get to that price point without really sacrificing performance is an intel gpu, theres a lot of them for under $200.

[@ultramasterultra5724]

thats not even nearly identical not same cpu not same motherboard different psu and case nearly identical would be like different gpu

[@Klo_Krxzy]

I don’t know why but I’m more exited abt the build itself than playing on the pc

[@kyledowning6775]

What would you guys recommend for a 700-800 dollar build? Getting my mom and sis a PC and I'm about Halfway there. Need some specs within that price range that'll perform well for web browsing and retro emulation.

[@jetski275]

Is there a list of all toasty bros benchmark scores like 3dmark or price to performace stats? I want to compare all builds price to performance.

[@AlexHusTech]

*Nice build*

[@onemansvideos2134]

i took a drink every time you said cooler haha

[@emmanuelgeorge7199]

Id cooling is really good. My ryzen 5600 with stock cooler was at 84deg C. And the clocks speeds dropped. Tested on cinebench back to back. I used id cooling 224, it would not go above 66deg C. That's back to back runs. In game its like 15 to 20deg C cooler compared to the stock wraith cooler

[@bjcantorne]

might be a atupid question (im a newbie) but can this build operate in windows 11?

[@emmanuelgeorge7199]

@@bjcantorne yes for sure.

[@Gargailer]

Hey just wondering does the cpu or cooler come with thermal paste?

[@marsMayflower]

why not use reverse blade fans for the front intakes?

[@chernobylsurvivr]

So if you don't have a hub do you not use the 3 pin plug on the rear fan? I have the same case and can't figure out what to do with them and you don't show what you did with them either

[@felixfathead1640]

I bought the linked case but it turns out it doesn’t come with the built in fans. I did however buy the frozn fan that’s part of the build. Will I be okay or is there a place to buy the case fans separately?

[@damon3yplymast3r]

Have a question will a ASRock Radeon RX 5600 XT Challenger D OC Edition Dual Fan Graphics Card - 6 GB work with this build

[@user-lw1vm1wt4c]

Hey @toasty bros... I think I found the perfect budget gaming mouse... try out the microkingdom G6 gaming mouse in one of your videos if you can

[@matrixjuggernaut9382]

is it just me or was there a little rainbow pixel scattered across the screen for a good portion of the video? is it my screen or the toasty bros camera?

[@neil2470]

It seems like as soon as you post one of these videos, the cost online just shoots up! I'm trying to put together a £500 build and each video is coming up quite a bit over

[@chrisohare5771]

What software can I use to change the argb on the fans?

[@LuminousAsh]

What is the kitty headset at the end of the video?

[@elementkx]

Great vid, but my biggest concern is the software side. How do you set up the bios, OS, drivers etc? I'm new to PC's so that would be really helpful.

[@GeisellePeredia]

Tech source has a great video doing a tutorial on how to build and how to set it up.

[@dame-wp5bl]

Watch a bunch of tweaking/optimization videos lolll

[@justinbogard6700]

I have a i3 12100f and a 5500xt and i was wondering if it's better to run fortnite in performance or balanced mode? I currently run it in 1080p balanced and capping fps at 60.

[@hellavoxx4753]

Will this build work with an intel i7-3770 3.4Ghz (8mb cache) w/hyperthreading and turbo boost 2.0? I’m trying to get 1440 at 120 or more for games like fortnite and overwatch for my son…I know absolutely nothing about building a pc. Was given a 10 year old Alienware one for parts. It has a 1.5gb gddr5 gtx 660 in it. Just looking for help/advice.

[@chadwhite296]

Good video, watch everyone y"all post, but you forgot 2 of the motherboard standoffs.

[@carsoncassano6805]

How many monitors can this build support?

[@happyboy5271]

hey i have a question do you guys think Ryzen 5 5600 and intel orc arc a750 is good for comp gaming

[@dynamiic6532]

Would it be better or worse with a 1660 super

[@slushyjewel88]

How do you actually set it up? PLS help me!!!

[@Name-it1dt]

Can this alone play Fortnite 120 fps or rust or should I upgrade to I7 looked at some better ram but it’s 200 dollars more for ddr5

[@airsoftjawz1842]

The pc case is out of stock what else is similar to it that I can get

[@bjcantorne]

might be a stupid question (im a newbie) but can this build operate in windows 11?

[@felixfathead1640]

I’m able to install windows fine, but as soon as I install any drivers, (for gpu or the ASRock auto drivers) I get a display driver error and upon restarting it gets sent into a permanent boot loop, and I have to fully reset the pc

[@xpodx]

What's the desk pad?

[@Alleykatsks]

Is there a place that builds them for you? I kno it would kinda defeat the purpose of saving money but i need to hop on Squad asap lol. Would need better than average performance.

[@JJFlores197]

Any decent PC repair shop should be able to build a PC. Whether or not they accept customer-supplied parts is a different story.

[@Ntyyyy_2]

Jack is my favorite

[@johnstancliff7328]

I would have gone all AMD.... its less expensive! I also try to use an APU instead of a regular CPU. its easier to use the onboard graphics unless you need 4GB or more dedicated memory for your video. HAPPY HOLIDAYS GUYS! Love your videos! Oh, BTW, you forgot to show the windows installation step..... games don't run on they're own.....

[@sircartdark]

AMD doesn’t really have a cpu that is equivalent to the 12100f in price to performance right now. The only amd cpu that i can think of right now that is equivalent is ryzen 3600, which performs worse in gaming. If they decided to go with amd’s best APU (Ryzen 5700G) the igpu would perform way worse than the RX 5600 gpu since it’s an 6gb card while costing about the same.

[@ultramasterultra5724]

just because amd is less expensive in gpus doesn't mean it's less expensive in cpus you don't know much

[@kingal89]

Can't play modern titles with 4gb vram

[@brandonmorris6596]

Hey, I’m looking to get into 1440p gaming. What CPU and GPU combo would you recommend getting to get over 60fps all of the time? Also reasonable pricing

[@animebromiiyt7534]

ryzen 7 5700x and rx 6700 xt (basicly the best entry to 1440p)

[@brandonmorris6596]

@@animebromiiyt7534 thank you! I really appreciate it

[@kagura_bachi2122]

Ryzen 5 3600 and 5700 xt

[@user-yt1io9cw5v]

Is there a difference between a three fan and a two fan

[@TurboGaming86]

Can you play games like gta and cod one other games like that on this build

[@Jafar-dr6to]

From what I can tell the Rx 5600 is the Rx 5600xt before the 2nd bios came out from the performance

[@That2jguy]

After saying they eill show us everything they failed to show us how yo install/setup windows 😐.... I've never had a pc before so how I'm i supposed to know?

[@thehorrorzone9739]

I'm totally new to pc building. You said that hard drives are dead technology. So the SSD is your only storage source now when building a gaming pc? I thought gaming pc took both hard drive and SSD

[@AGTGswavy]

Hey I just built the $600 dollar build you guys did, and when I boot it up the ssd isn’t showing in the bios at all. It’s like it’s not plugged in?(It definitely is plugged in, I unplugged and plugged it back in like 4 times and it still acts like it’s not there) I was just wondering if this happened and if y’all know how to fix it. It’s an m.2 with a gigabyte motherboard.

[@tiagogotgamesilva9751]

When I look up aasrock rx 5600 I can't find anything I am a 14 year old boy I'm trying to get into pcs for a better gaming experience but I don't really know hop pcs work and it's really confusing to me so I'm trying to calculate how much money i have to save up to build this pc but when i look up asrock rx 5600 nothing pops up if there is another gpu that's in the budget and still gives good fps i would be happy if you let me know or have any better suggestions for a pre built since I'm really new

[@dadthewomboer5372]

At 25:20 I don’t get what u plug the psu cable into for the rgb

[@THiNK103088]

That psu is listed in the Tier E list on the PSU tier list. Tier E doesn't necessarily mean bad, it could, but it could also mean theirs just not enough reliable info to tier it. There is a decent number of one star reviews on it though to make me wary about it. Anybody else use that psu for more than a year? How's it going?

[@HernasRoom]

Never cheap out on your PSUs. If you have doubts about a unit, don't buy it. Don't ask if "someone has had issues" with it, just delete it from your cart and move on. A lot of KZbinrs make it seem like it's the least important part of your build (love this channel, by the way). It's not... it's actually THE MOST IMPORTANT. Remember: low budget doesn't mean low standards.

[@ultramasterultra5724]

@@HernasRoom As long as it has decent reviews it's fine because even if it breaks your components will be safe

[@Jrr313]

It’s not worth it to buy some janky psu. You can buy a corsair for $100-$200 usd depending on how many watts you need and then you don’t have to worry about quality

[@primelamarvlogger9772]

do you think i could get more fps and if so how

[@gardenofwords914]

Hi guys, first time builder here and I’m using this case and I just wanted to know if anyone found a way to make the colors stay static and stop cycling, my rgbs on the fan cant stay on a single color so I wanna know if this is just how the fans are and will I need to get a hub for better control or can it be fixed by software. Thank you🖤 For those curious here are my specs: Intel i5-12600kf Vetro v5 cooler 32gb 5200mhz corsair ram Gigabyte H610m S2H mobo Samsung 980 pro 1tb

[@-Shifter-14]

Can someone help me, I followed the instructions and the pc works but when I put the hdmi into the monitor it doesn’t work and it’s the pc not the monitor, can someone help me what did I do wrong or miss

[@SKIPTHEAD]

Can anyone tell me if or how you can switch the rgbs in the pc build

[@adrianloreto5537]

Hey guys! I really want to try and build this pc, what other graphics card would you recommend since the Asrock RX 5600 is sold out? I don’t know much about building a pc and idk how to find a good graphics card to pair it with the motherboard

[@ultramasterultra5724]

6600

[@livingretro79]

hard drives are not old!!! lol. i'd like to see a plex, kodi, or even nas setup.

[@swaailen_]

how would this build be if i replaced the 13 with a ryzen 5 3600

[@isaacbouma4955]

does it matter what graphics card you get

[@TheAntarcticanAdvisor]

whats the maximum amount of RAM the motherboard can handle? Im to lazy to do the research myself.

[@isaacbouma4955]

does the asrock hav eto be three fan

[@ImJusSha]

Instead of performance mode use dx11

[@TaxEvasionUS]

Why would you use an aftermarket cooler on an i3? You could have invested the money that the cooler costed into another component, you don't need one for an i3 in my opinion.

[@Issam_Ouiss]

is it better than the xbox series s

[@DazednConfused0]

Isn't it normal to use all the standoff's on the board, I saw two unused near the fans?