Build your PC under Tk50,000

This is probably the worst time in the 21^st century for one to go out looking to build a desktop personal computer. With the shortage of supply of components, the Covid-19 pandemic affecting production lines and the biggest reason of all - cryptocurrency mining - it is all a recipe for disaster to consumers as the prices are well inflated. 

However, all hope is not lost in case you are looking to build a desktop PC on a budget. Today, I will outline my pick for a desktop PC build which does not excel in any particular area strongly, but performs decently for the price in almost every department, including a bit of light gaming.

I am not joking, you read that right, albeit at low settings. Additionally, if you require it, photo and video editing can be handled by this budget rig as long as you can keep your expectations down to earth.

So, what components does this Jack of all trades, master of none PC build require? Let us find out.

CPU: AMD Ryzen 3-3200G Processor with Radeon RX Vega 8 Graphics 

Price: Tk11,500
Whereabout: Tech land

The Ryzen 3-3200G is an APU (Accelerated Processing Unit) which comes with a 4 core, 4 thread CPU with built-in integrated 8 core GPU (Graphics Processing Unit). This is a decent APU for the price and a great one if you consider the fact that it packs in a GPU with it which can handle basic non-AAA gaming titles or esports titles. On a tight budget, it has been a fan favourite go-to choice for gamers as well as consumers with productivity in mind.

Motherboard: MSI B550M-A Pro AM4 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard

Price: Tk9,000
Whereabout: Star Tech

Given the current market, one would be wise to pick a Motherboard which has the option to be future-proof in the sense that it can accommodate upcoming models of APUs by Ryzen in the future. I have picked this one in particular as this one can support both AMD Ryzen 3000 and later 4000 series APUs. So if you plan on upgrading your desktop, next time all you need to do is to invest in a 4000 series Ryzen APU replacing the current 3000 series APU, while keeping all other hardware components in the desktop. 

Ram: 8GB Corsair Vengeance LPX 8GB 3200mhz DDR4 Desktop Ram

Price: Tk4,600
Whereabout: Tech land

Corsair Vengeance is always a reliable line of desktop ram. There is not much to talk about it apart from the fact that this 3200mhz bus speed ram will be superior to your average 2400mhz ones.

Pro tip: Spend a bit more and add another stick of the same ram for much better overall performance. And by doing this you can extend your desktop PC's life a bit more before the next time you decide to upgrade it.

Power Supply: Corsair CV450 Watt 80 Plus Bronze Certified Power Supply

Price: Tk3,500
Whereabouts: AmarPc.com

Now this might be a controversial choice to many. You might question why spend so much on a power supply when you can get cheaper - used, non branded or nameless - power supplies on sale in the market?

My advice is, don't cheap out for the power supply and get a good one which will be future proof for a while. Cheap power supplies might burn out and you might have to go shopping for a new one sooner than you thought.

However, an even more dangerous result of using a cheap power supply is that if it burns out, there is a good risk of it damaging some more expensive components of your PC.

So please don't cheap out on the power supply and live with the risk of saving a few thousand takas only for other components to be exposed to a risk of damage.

Storage 1: WALTON PCIe Gen 3.0X4/NVMe M.2 2280 SSD Without DRAM Cache 

Price: Tk3,500
Whereabout: Walton showroom

The Motherboard I have recommended for this build can support m.2 SSDs. Let me answer why I have picked the infamous Walton's SSD over other brands such as Western Digital and Transcend. Well, due to the shortage of supply and the fact the market is crawling in used SSD's being repackaged and being sold advertised as new. And for this build, the operating system shall be installed on this drive ensuring a speedy boot up time.

Storage 2: Seagate Internal 1TB SATA Barracuda HDD

Price: Tk3,550
Whereabout: Star Tech

I picked this HDD over other ones as this one's 7,200 RPM speeds will be quite noticeable while loading applications and your day-to-day tasks when compared to a regular 5,400 RPM HDD.

Subjective choices

I have intentionally left out recommendations for casing and monitor as I believe these are subjective choices and will vary from consumer to consumer. However, to be complete, my advice is that you pick a casing for the PC which has good airflow. This will help keep the temperature under control when you are stressing out the setup. For the monitor, choose one depending on your needs and the space you have available where you will set it up. I would recommend the following –

Casing: MONTECH X2 MESH BLACK TEMPERED GLASS ATX MID-TOWER GAMING CASE

Price: Tk3,999
Whereabout: Tech land 

Monitor: LG 20MK400A-B 19.5 INCH IPS FULL HD MONITOR

Price: Tk9,000
Whereabout: Tech land

In conclusion, the components I have mentioned here are subject to price fluctuations in the current volatile market. I have tried to keep the price down as much as possible for a reliable PC build with future upgrade options. This should serve you well for years to come at a price of just a hair over Tk35,000 at the time of writing this.

Adding in a decent casing, a monitor, a keyboard, a mouse and a budget speaker or a headset will probably cost you about Tk10,000-15,000 more depending on your choices.