This is what $500 gets you in 2025!

A $500 PC Build challenge at Microcenter!
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[@TechSource]

The RX 6600 would have been a better choice for gaming however that would have put me over the $500 budget. In the real world, I would recommend making the upgrade because the extra $20 adds more performance which adds more value to the PC. But for the sake of the video I had to stay under the budget.

[@waffles05]

Unfortunately too many people are in this budget range. They want to get into PC gaming and at least you gave them an opportunity to see if it's possible for the price of a PS5.

[@nicolastyler411]

The intel arc a580 is much better than the 3050 and the 6600. Would have highly recommended over the 3050.

[@アクア-o5x]

Is it possible to make a moderately good 200 dollar gaming pc I’m mainly gonna play Minecraft and Roblox because my late 2012 iMac broke today and I need a new pc but my dad said I can only spend 200

[@Dinobigman-17]

Can you make me a pc

[@smokescreen4322]

What do you use to protect your computer from viruses?

[@K1NNN]

Finally not the 5090 topics

[@marioStortuga]

Amen

[@joarnordli]

Shoutout Aria for stepping in. Also much more energy in the content when you have an actual person behind camera to talk to and banter with. You should really look in to elevating your production and hire a videographer. 10/10 episode

[@AriaUSA]

❤️

[@mr.mustang6571]

These kinda videos are much more interesting than the high-end pcs. Working with a low budget and coming out with a sweet build which gives you a decent performance is so cool, especially at current times.

[@LCC.Gaming]

I know people may complain about performance, but $500 builds now look so much better than $500 builds from 10 years ago🤣

[@TechSource]

💯

[@JadenYukiBruceLee]

Ratios have only got worse not better

[@pessiescobar4707]

count inflation its not better you capping

[@LCC.Gaming]

@@JadenYukiBruceLee I’m talking about physical looks, they looked horrible back when I started🤣

[@LCC.Gaming]

@@pessiescobar4707 I’m talking physical looks💀

[@LucidGhostYT]

to the dilemma at 8:00 I say rename it to "what can you get in the $500 price range" which most people would agree 475 to 525 is a good range. most people have a "range" and not an exact budget, and I think that 95% of people on that budget would go for the extra performance for 20 extra bucks.

[@psyccotoxicc]

what a pertinent and viable comment!

[@bone9jdjkaye]

True. But say the perfect system is $5 more. Then it's over budget. At that point, set the budget to $525?

[@xshine3137]

shoutout devin love to see ed meet a fan!

[@plumb3311]

Should of given him a $50 gift card regardless

[@ThemeParkTycoon2Player69]

This actually surprised me, you could have a super good gaming experience with just 500 dollars, and the pc didn't even look that bad too.

[@waffles05]

Bro i literally was there yesterday buying for my mid grade! I buillt it last night thanks to your build video. Thank you Ed! I hope you see this and I want to genuinely say thank you. Made the process so simple. love ya my guy!

[@paultalley2909]

Long time watcher, you taught me how to build a PC. You should make the contest easier. That kid seemed brilliant.

[@rottenearthling]

I’ve been watching this channel for years and it makes me happy to see your success ED, both in your work and with a happy healthy family. Keep it up man

[@XIIFangv2]

I just came across your channel but love to see someone taking a crack at the low end budget PC gaming.

[@miroberghegen2069]

20:15 Did he just say: GTX 3050? i mean, fair enough 😂😂

[@TechSource]

LOL

[@SkyBeyondSkyVM]

22:30 😂 Understandable he went Travel and Shopping then Build the PC and got Home to Record after.

[@coffee5173]

Good job edboy

[@Mr.SanZero]

I built my first PC.. thanks to your videos... They were helpful in figuring out small details while assembling everything together🙌

[@adulterano]

hahahaha! loved the focus group of your password seminar at the starting of the video! I'm immediately sold to purchase LastPass!

[@grizzzlyadamz]

I did a low budget build for my nephew using amazon back at thanksgiving. I’ve got $325 in all the parts except gpu, which I had bought 1.5 years before for $220 off of Amazon. He’s been loving it. Asrock b450-hdv rv4.0 Ryzen 5 5500 Xfx 6650xt (I swapped out of my pc) SP 2tb nvme gen 3 Coolermaster q300l/thermaltake 600w psu bundle SP 2x16 3200cl16

[@1lucky3agle19]

We need a store like this in the UK!!

[@ThePcOrb]

1000%

[@antonyhartley7668]

We can dream 😂😂

[@terrifyingclipss]

maybe in a decade

[@jacobrochester5674]

Honestly, Currys is all we have 😭

[@borecon317]

Boe e of waadel. In Czech to

[@ts-fam513]

I built my son pretty much this exact set up for Christmas, the 3050 Is actually a really good card compared to the others it’s compared to. 1650, 1660, rx 580 etc. then also having dlss, Ray tracing etc. ddr6. He’s pulling 150 fps on direct12 on Fortnite and over 200 fps on performance. Was pulling 300fps with 500fps spikes on seige. For the price of the build, it’s awesome. Dont listen to the others that have never even used a 3050 6gb, there’s a reason nearly every KZbinr has built with 1 recently.

[@ItsAryax]

you are the real one bro

[@TechSource]

Alright give me some more microcenter challenge ideas?! 👇 🔥TS Mousepads: techsourceshop.com Instagram: instagram.com/ed.techsource/ Join our Discord here: discord.gg/techsource

[@lightning4.]

" valorant you can run it on a toaster and be fine" damn bro my PC must be a potato

[@AriaUSA]

have random people at Micro Center each pick out a part for a PC build but they don't know about the parts the people before them picked out. for example: one person picks out a CPU, another picks out the motherboard, another picks out the GPU and so on without knowing what the people before them picked out.

[@shardendusingh4981]

how about a 200$ build (my current pc costs 200$ and its insane for the cost)

[@AriaUSA]

@ that wouldn’t be possible at Micro Center for that price

[@itswage]

I wish Microcenter would open a Las Vegas location. Miss them so much!

[@davidluca112]

hey man, i would love to see a video about a 1000$ Setup in 2025, that includes a pc, monitor, keyboard, and mouse. i tought it would be cool! Love..

[@UncleAnkh]

Always great content Ed!

[@Terphlosion]

Aria had me dying when he put the mousepad on the counter 😂😂

[@beadhub]

The uk needs a store/shop like this I would love this so much

[@usernotfound-h2v]

PC parts are so cheap in the US lol that shitty 3050 GPU is almost 300$ just by itself in Europe

[@Morrodin-WH40K]

I don't know where you live but in Belgium I can get a 3050 for around 200 euro tax included and that is even without looking for the very cheapest but just going on the site of my favorite local store.

[@jmalta8002]

Send me the link I'm in Europe and I'm liking the price 🍻

[@Morrodin-WH40K]

@@jmalta8002 I tried replying two times already but somehow KZbin doesn't seem willing to co-operate much. The company is called Alternate and they are Belgian so just look them up, then search for the cheapest 3050 and you will find it. (tried linking first, then did a post just with their general website... answer seems to be disappearing... )

[@fedfed96]

same in russia. exactly 300 dollars. it's wild

[@Lordmoee]

Im about to move to germany for a few years, what are the prices like? Might invest in a few gpus and bless some of the Europeans. I can get a 3080 for like $450-500 7800xt is like $500

[@Chrzycr]

Great video Man, honestly was surprised that you got it all at micro center and being more real others just shop aliexpress or jawa great work love the videos

[@Nicnakfour20]

Glad i came across this channel. This video is really informative. Good work!

[@Deef1kt]

Bro… why is that 500 dollar pc preforming 50 % better than my 800 dollar pc 😭😭😭

[@Mike21Daisu]

I love these budget builds :) always fun to see what $500 can get you in the current year.

[@nlmbspaz2198]

This is the perfect budget I have and the most updated video I could find on getting the best parts for my budget thank you alot for posting this!

[@ayushshah1777]

Hey @TechSource I love your videos and channel overall since I discovered it. I especially love your unique builds at different ranges and constant updates. I know this is a big ask but if you could consider making a video on pc build for a photographer, coder and an amateur gamer( maybe at 2 price ranges) I would really appreciate it as it would help me tons in planning for budget in the far future and all and even be an interesting content to watch for others. But if not, it’s totally cool man, i know you got tons of cool projects to work on and I still get stoked at some of the unique builds you put out and the access to information from your channel. Just wanted to throw in an idea because you never know.

[@puyolramirez4477]

Poor devin was ready to spell eds name and he hits him with that question 😂

[@tanimjonayed6210]

One of my fav types of videos from you Ed, I hope you make more of these this year

[@ZalotNX]

You’re the best KZbinr ever ed keep up the amazing work! You were my inspiration to build my first pc

[@Sea_arrow]

Always a good day when ed posts

[@Olliinn]

If you are building a budget pc, spend the extra $20-30 for a 1tb m.2, I have put off upgrading to 1tb forever and instead have a hard drive and extra ssd for games and program installs, Documents will fill up super fast on your main drive if you play any game that downloads custom content.

[@haroonachackzad5488]

As someone who has been a fan of u for a while (since u were doing builds with the 980) and also met u at micro center I wish I conversed with u more I was just a bit nervous never expected to meet u at my old workplace so randomly and I was in shock and wanted to approach u but my mind blanked lmao when we started talking. I don’t know if u rremember me I was the tall dude my name was Haroon. I hope to one day meet with u again cuz some of these quiz questions u have done in the past and recently id be able to answer 90% of them confidently. I hope to run into u once again ur so chill and outgoing and from the lil conversation we’ve had and the videos ive watched of u ik u r truly a good dude and in my opinion my favorite and the best tech KZbinr even though your more so focused on pc and pc peripherals. In my mind u surpass the likes of line unbox therapy, jayztwocents, Linustechtips. Ur da goat ed and again i hope to run into u again one day.

[@Olliinn]

Haha the kid fan was a fun moment, I was pretty young the first time I saw this channel, fantasizing about the builds I could get once I made my own money, Now I got a decent build and all corsair peripherals, using tips from the old setup rating videos.

[@StarkzStories]

Ed never fails to surprise me ....W content !!!! 🔥🔥

[@gamerowski2137]

its possible to make this build reasonable. so you can buy ryzen 5 5600 for 70-80 dollars from aliexpress and then you can buy rx 6600 which is 189 dollars on microcenter so by going maybe 40 dollars above the budget i would say this wouldnt be such a bad pc

[@AniketVerma-f7o]

Bro such a nice content but the best thing is your consistency. Even now I'm feeling jealous of you because you have so many of these components (waste) for you but many people can't even imagine to see them in real life!! I also need a cpu for my pc but don't know what to do since I literally have no money to buy some of these which can change my life entirely. So hope you read this comment and understand what I want to say and what you can do to make your audience happier😢😢

[@extroxfps]

3:24 my microcenter was empty too when i went two days ago as well. and i was looking for 4070 supers that whole day lol

[@Hydroxi123]

might wanna wait for 50 series to drop, there will be a lot of 40 series on the 2nd hand market and if microcenter is doing trade up their most likely gonna be re selling the cards for a cheaper price anyways so you could pick it up there if you don't trust 2nd hand market.

[@Wouter-x6f]

Just buy a 6600xt next time

[@horogszegim]

He doesn't buy used parts in the Micro Center vids.

[@stefanpotirniche]

or rx 6600 which is under $200 with great 1080p performance

[@TechSource]

They don’t have that in store, nor was the 6600 in stock at the time.

[@user-uv1ih3nj6p]

4:00

[@Wouter-x6f]

@ this video just felt a bit like you did no research at all and always just bought the cheapest option.

[@sixthwarrior6788]

I would love to see you build a pc with used parts at a $500 budget, play the same games you did in this video and compare to see the performance from getting new to used parts if it's worth the gamble or not

[@Khinh-xq6lx]

the 5600 is best budget option it support pcie 4.0

[@bseider5387]

Just subbed to the channel. Never had one of your videos show up on youtube till today. I liked the video quite a bit. I love the idea of see what you can get new for a limited budget. You did lose points because the cybertruck though.

[@Ryan_editz472-t4z]

Hey ed! I did a lot of research on pcs over the past two years, and I need a suggestion on a build I want to make for editing, gaming, 3d rendering, and game devolvement. My budget is 1k and I chose the 7700xt with the ryzen 5 7600. I used the case you used in the 800$ amazing budget. I just have to convince my parents now even though they might say no 😅. Thanks for your informing and fun videos keep it up!

[@adriandevera9489]

more budget builds like this please hehe

[@grumpygrant4537]

love these vids. already built my pc and it was around 1350 usd. but its really helpful for new builders of different budgets to have vids on 500,100,1200,1500, 2000 dollar builds, and up

[@TechSource]

🙏🏻

[@apatsa_basiteni]

Love this episode. That kid impressed me, at that age already knows what PCIE is.

[@MrAcuta73]

Thing to keep in mind about framegen in competitive games: Yes, it looks and feels smoother, but your input lag is still locked to your base FPS, not the bigger prettier number. Not a "don't use", but something to keep in mind. Might LOOK good, but play janky.

[@poljackph]

Thanks for this video and especially that information on microcenter. I am from Philippines. My parents lives in Sta Clara. I can now ask them to buy me some pc parts when it opens. ❤

[@leoariasyt]

I picked the instead: CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 4500 Renoir 3.6GHz 6-Core AM4 Boxed Processor CPC: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Spectrum V3 CPU Air Cooler PSU: Thermaltake Smart Series 500 Watt 80 Plus GPU: ASRock AMD Radeon RX 6600 Challenger D Dual Fan 8GB GDDR6 PCIe 4.0 Graphics Card TOTAL: 499.92 USD

[@rohanjha7116]

Cabinet and ssd

[@leoariasyt]

@@rohanjha7116 I left the options he picked up, that's why I typed ''Instead''

[@McCoyCJ1987]

Yoooo that kid was 100% right! The only part of the build guide that tripped me up was connecting the fans. 😂, still my new favorite channel tho 💪

[@whitepolarbeargaming9566]

You already know it’s a good day when techsource uploads

[@jafarrezaei798]

any human : hi ed ed : we'll send you a free TechSource mouse pad!!

[@Beaconae]

Just love the way that bro is just good with children💯

[@pizzamann95]

This would be a good rig for a casual gamer. Nice 1080p monitors are very affordable nowadays.

[@christian-313]

Nice video!!! Could you ever make a version for racing simulation games? I think making a high-priced version versus a low-priced version could be interesting. Greetings from Spain

[@GojoSatoru-u9s5e]

i love your microcenter videos:)

[@Nolix-CG]

I see you are a happy father with two daughters wish you happiness

[@adamzorn]

If you make wise judgments and distribute money correctly, you can do something very big👍💪

[@timothyaycock]

I recommend you trying out the bundles next time

[@InadequateSTD]

love this content. Would love to see more.

[@finnbalor1667]

Man i wish the prices were the same worldwide That fps jump in CyperPunk is crazy, love to see it

[@justin2justin14]

i remember like 8 years ago I was 14 watching this guy his channel was so much smaller back then

[@SmallGadgetMan]

That thermaltake psu line is a veteran. I had it in my very first build near 20 years ago

[@ThorntonWillie]

Now it's time to build a 500.00 to a 750.00 used market pc build. Or a 750.00 open box pc build if there is no open box, then the best bang for you buck. But it has to be a gaming and editing rig but more on the editing side and a little streaming.

[@alexbevan3217]

Should have looked to see if any combo deals were in stock for ram mobo and cpu

[@JamesJ7851]

It totally sucks trying to find a decent GPU. I'm stuck with a box of new parts for a build, and GPU are out of stock everywhere, unless you want to overpay.

[@nicoschristiandecd.1740]

I am always looking forward to this content in the mircocenter🥰

[@Landini___]

so excited for santa clara micro center !!!

[@TechSource]

U lucky!

[@willmatic84]

Not bad for $493.00 💪

[@ifallout1990]

i got a b450 mobo, ryzen 5 5600, 1tb ssd, 16gb ram, rx 580, and a tower cooler for under $600. i think its not that bad for 100fps for all of the games i play.

[@jaycelambert09]

Oh man, loved when the dude tried to sneak in the mouse pad lol had me laughing 😂

[@ChaoticKyle..]

Love your videos brother

[@christopherlegg5469]

I wish Microcenter would expand to here in the UK, we don't have anything as good to shop for parts.

[@alimurtaza9141]

A friend of mine recently got a used 6700xt with a new 5600(tray) a gigabyte b450 gaming x, 16gigs of DDR4 ram 3200mhz, a bronze rated 650 watt PSU and a 1tb M.2 SSD, I don't know the case fans or cooler but he got all of this around 600 bucks, so if you ask me I'd rather pay a 100 more for a build like this and get a 1080p gaming beast but then again it really does depend on the kind of budget you have.

[@vinity1137]

i love the micro center videos

[@gijoeljamesmaldonado]

Do one at the end of the year when the tariffs settle.

[@theSuperspeedysloth]

Can you do more budget build videos

[@antonioalbanese8023]

The warning label is for the button battery “if children swallow”. Sadly there’s no recovery for a button battery swallowed by a child. Especially if it’s unknown for 60+ minutes. You have kids, so always be careful.

[@therealericjackdaniels]

I was also just wanting to say about cases... I used to be in the save the money on the case for components and, I still stand by that BUT... After building into a few cheap cases recently, I can say that they weren't disasters but, putting a NICE build into a CHEAP case feels like sin to me lol They just feel like they will just fall apart over time. A good case certainly makes the build easier too.

[@derzool5267]

Honestly, for 500 USD, I'd go second hand, at least for the GPU - you can get a 1-year old RX 6600 for 150, which is MUCH faster than the 6GB RTX3050. I just built a system with R5 5600, RX6600, Gigabyte B550 MB, 32GB DDR4-3600, 500MB M.2 and a bequiet 500W for 450 - I already had the case, so throw in 50-60 for a new half decent case and you have a much more powerful system.

[@Jwhiz24]

Go build a $500 computer with used parts and compare the two. I'd be shocked if you didn't at least double the performance of this microcenter build.

[@shoobadoo123]

It's cool that you can put together a new build for $500, but to anyone considering doing this, don't. Either save up more or, even better, go with used parts especially a used gpu

[@Szycho]

In valorant, you need to use a static crosshair so it doesn't expanded while shooting. also you stop instantly unlike cs so counter strafing can cause you to miss more shots. I can tell you didnt change your sens much for the test but lower that high sens in this game feels accelerated.

[@chrisyang5138]

For that build, you being able to play Cyberpunk is crazy. FSR doing work. Can't wait to see what AMD has to offer next with their RX 9000 GPUs and FSR4! People shouldn't need to spend $1000 for a GPU

[@Ragnarok725]

The trunk space!!!!!!!!!!

[@davidhunsinger1587]

$500 got me an RX7600xt, a 650 watt 80+ gold power supply and a hard drive Cause I'm a smart shopper

[@NicholasOtieno]

That intro advert idea is a great idea 😂👏👏

[@pokemankirito]

nah i can't lie ed that's a well made ad, smart way to make one 3:40 damnn gpu shortage is hella real wtf 12:50 i like arias vibe bro lmaooo 13:40 ohh inland is MC brand i actually never knew that damn 14:30 aria really trying to slip that pad in lmaooo 17:50 fr what kinda hint is that nah this sh funnyyy 21:15 "bam, okkk....." idk why i found that so funny lmaooo 23:30 i mean that quote you just made up seems to be true 26:10 lmaooooo bro you gotta strafe and peak your corners with precision 26:30 waitttt whaaa how is it only 6 frames that's mad

[@stanmanvg21]

even though its a smaller location. I think it would be cool for you to check out the microcenter in minnesota

[@travesm5054]

Wait a second Ed, did you not go over budget when you include the cd key?

[@buschg7106]

Gotta say that this build isn't bad for $500. Also, this is why I like Series S for price to performance and form factor.

[@supuntharusha98]

Dude. I miss your fast paced pc builds.

[@tjsnipergod8037]

i think you should of course stick under the budget but try to ignore people that get mad about money that isnt theres being spent

[@AvistoGaming]

So both Marvel rivals and Fortnite were rough on my 2080 super as of late. When strange opens a portal, it was near unplayable FPS drops, and fortnite chugged so hard It was at ALL times unplayable. Swapped to a 4070 super and have no issues. I'm thinking it's just UE5 problems at this point, and it doesn't function well with older cards

[@tayson786]

I wish i could get this setup, mine is 15 years old, 1st gen i7 870.