This budget build is for those looking to get up and running with a PC capable of gaming and streaming for as little money as possible. I’m constantly updating this kit to make sure all the components selected are giving you the best bang for your buck, hitting that sweet performance spot at a brilliant price point.
All the products included have detailed descriptions justifying why I think they are ideal for someone looking to get into streaming with a high performing setup without breaking the bank. Although prices shown are in US Dollars, all amazon links will automatically take you to your local amazon store, so you can see the component in your local currency.
I’ve included parts for both AMD and Intel builds at this budget. You can toggle between them using the controls below. If you do end up building one of these please make sure you don’t mix an AMD CPU with an Intel Motherboards and vice-versa. When in doubt, please refer to the AMD or Intel Part Lists.
Part List
CPU
You have a couple of options when it comes to CPU which will decide the architecture that you’ll use for the rest of your build. The main decision is between and .
AMD processors typically offer a better price for performance whilst Intel processors perform ever so slightly better in some games due to their higher clock speeds. For that reason, if you’re on a really tight budget I’d recommend choosing AMD, as your build as a whole will be cheaper.
AMD - Ryzen 5 3600
The AMD Ryzen 5 3600 processor has 6 CPU Cores with 12 threads (the same as the 3600X), with clock speeds of 3.6 GHz (4.2 GHz boost). It is one of the best budget friendly CPU’s on the market, offering incredible performance for the price. In this build, I’d definitely recommend using the RTX NVENC chip found in the graphics card to handle the encoding of the stream. That’ll allow you to keep moderately high framerates in games while streaming simultaneously.
The 6 cores/12 threads will come in really useful when it comes to any kind of intensive workloads, be it editing your highlights, rendering out stream graphics or just general heavy multitasking.
- 6 Cores, 12 Threads
- 3.6 GHz (4.2 GHz Boost)
- Included CPU Cooler
Intel - Core i5-9600K
The i5-9600K is from Intel’s Coffee Lake Refresh featuring 6 cores at 3.7 GHz which will be absolutely plenty to get good performance out of even the most CPU intensive games. The “K” at the end of 9600K means that the processor is unlocked, so it can be overclocked if you want to really squeeze everything you can out of the chip.
It’s worth noting that the i5-9600K does not come with a stock cooler like some CPU’s do. You’ll need to pick up an aftermarket cooler to the build. I’ve included one below which should allow a modest overclock without breaking the bank.
- 6 Cores and 6 Processing Threads
- 3.7 GHz up to 4.6 GHz Boost
- Unlocked for Overclocking
CPU Cooler
The Hyper 212 from Cooler Master has been well renowned for several years now as an aftermarket cooler for it’s great cooling performance and relatively quiet operation. This should allow for a modest overclock on any unlocked processors.
This part is only necessary if you are going with the Intel CPU or you want to overclock your AMD CPU. If you are just wanting to use the AMD Ryzen 5 3600 without an overclock, it comes with an included cooler that will adequate.
- 4 heat pipes with direct contact provide excellent heat dissipation
- Precise air flow stacked fin array
Motherboard
Motherboards aren’t the most exciting part of a build, but you do need to ensure that the one you choose is compatible with all your other components. It’s important here to make sure you are choosing the motherboard that matches the CPU you have chosen (AMD or Intel).
AMD - Gigabyte X570 UD ATX AM4 Motherboard
For the AMD Ryzen 5 3600 you’re going to need either an X570 or a B450 chipset motherboard.
The reason I recommend going with the ATX X570 chipset is because it is a newer chipset and should provide better compatibility with the new Ryzen CPU’s. It’s also worth finding a motherboard with 4x DDR4 DIMM slots for the option expanding on your memory capacity later on.
Other things to look out for in a motherboard that you may need are M.2 slots, WiFi compatibility and audio capabilities.
- Dual Channel Non-ECC Unbuffered DDR4, 4 DIMMs
- 10+2 Phases digital VRM solution
- Ultra-fast NVMe PCIe 4.0/3.0 x4 M.2 Connector
Intel - Gigabyte Z390 UD ATX LGA1151 Motherboard
For the Intel i5-9600K you’ll need a motherboard with the Z390 chipset.
This board from Gigabyte has shown it performs well with overclocking these Intel CPU’s if that is something you are looking to take advantage of.
Other features from this board are the 4x DDR4 DIMM slots for the option of memory expansion and high speed M.2 connection for faster storage.
- Supports 9th and 8th Intel Core processors
- Dual channel Non-ECC Unbuffered DDR4, 4 DIMMs
- NVME PCIe Gen3 x4 22110 M.2 Connector
Memory
When streaming, you’re likely to have a few applications open simultaneously that will require some memory. Thankfully RAM prices have been dropping over the last few months, so a 16 GB kit (2x 8 GB sticks) is ideal for streaming and gaming together.
If you’ve used the motherboards from this build you’ll have 2 free slots left afterwards if you ever did want to push to 32 GB, but it’s really not necessary unless you are editing video daily or performing some other RAM intensive tasks.
If you’ve chosen an AMD CPU, Ryzen performs best with higher speed memory, so we’ve chosen their recommended speeds of 3600 MHz.
- AMD Ryzen 3000 and X570 Series; Intel Z390 and newer.
- 16GB kit containing 2 x 8GB modules, DDR4-3600, 288-Pin, CAS Latency CL16 (16-19-19-39) at 1.35V
- ECC: No, Dual Channel Kit, Color: Black, Recommended Use: High Performance or Gaming Memory
Storage
You’ll definitely want to be running Windows, and some key applications from an SSD in this build, and with a little more in your budget I’d recommend getting an M.2 drive. “What’s the difference between M.2 and a traditional SSD drive?” I hear you ask. Essentially, M.2 drives operate directly through the PCIe interface whereas traditional SSD drives use SATA which is slower. So your M.2 drive will be fast (like really fast!).
Since everyone’s storage needs are different, feel free to choose something with more/less capacity and a further mechanical drive should you need it. I’ve recommended a 1TB drive in this build which should allow plenty of space. It can easily be paired with a mechanical harddrive with a higher capacity for you to store your stream VODs and other media on.
- Interface: PCIe NVMe Gen3x4 M.2 2280
- Read/Write speed up to 1800/1200MB/s
- Supports the next-generation platforms of Intel and AMD
Since mechanical harddrives are much cheaper per GB than SSD’s or M.2 drives, it can be worthwhile getting a large mechanical drive for your build to store your stream VODs and other media on. This 2 TB drive from Seagate is still pretty quick at 7200 rpm and is well renowned for it’s reliability.
- Rock-solid reliability built on over 20 years of BarraCuda innovation
- Multi-tier Caching technology for increased performance
- Up to 220 MB/s maximum sustained data transfer rate
Graphics Card
The RTX 2070 SUPER is one of the best price for performance cards on the market. Even in a budget build, the majority of your money will be spent on the graphics card as not only will it be running your game, it’ll be encoding your stream too. Since it is based on NVIDIA’s new Turing architecture, you can take full advantage of the new NVENC encoding chips built into them which you can use for streaming. This takes a massive workload off your CPU so you can achieve higher framerates in game.
To learn more about using the NVENC encoder for you stream, watch my video (shown right) on how it compares to x264 encoding and how you should be using NVENC for your stream.
In terms of graphical performance, the RTX 2070 SUPER will should have no problems keeping a consistent 60-120fps on many demanding games like PUBG, Apex Legends or Fortnite. It can also handle most games at 1440p if you are using a higher resolution display.
- Real Boost Clock: 1770 MHz; Memory Detail: 8192 MB GDDR6.
- Real-time ray tracing in games for cutting-edge, hyper-realistic graphics.
- Dual HDB fans offer higher performance cooling and much quieter acoustic noise.
Case
Cases are largely personal preference, so feel free to shop around for something you prefer aesthetically. Just make sure that it fits our ATX Motherboard and the length of our Graphics Card.
The NZXT H510 is a mid-sized tower case featuring a large tempered glass window, a front-panel USB C port, a shroud to hide your power supply and some great options for cable management to keep your build looking clean.
- Front I/O USB Type-C Port and Tempered glass side panel with single screw installation
- Patented cable routing kit with pre-installed channels and straps makes wiring easy and intuitive
- Builder-Friendly Internal Layout: Simple and intuitive internal layout enables easy and quick building
Power Supply
The most important thing with a power supply is that it’s a well-reviewed product from a trusted brand. It may be tempting to save some money and pick up one of the cheaper power supplies that are available, but this is what is providing power to every component in your build. If it fails there’s a good chance it could cause some damage to the more expensive components.
Corsair are well known for their reliable and efficient power supplies and this one is 650 W which is easily enough for this build and it’s efficiency is rated highly at 80+ Gold certified.
Another great feature of this PSU is that it is fully modular, meaning you only have to plug the cables in that you require. This helps keep the inside of your PC clutter free since you aren’t having to deal with all the extra cables you get with a non-modular power supply. Also, if you wanted to upgrade to custom cables in the future, a fully modular power supply allows you to do that.
- 80+ Gold certified
- Tuned for low noise operation
- Zero RPM fan mode: at low and medium loads, the cooling fan switches off entirely for near-silent operation
Monitors, Peripherals and Streaming Accessories
In the future, we will be adding buyers guides for monitors, peripherals and streaming accessories too. If you want to be among the first to hear when we launch those guides, sign up to our newsletter.
Got a little more in your budget? Be sure to check out our professional and ultimate streaming builds as well.
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