Cheapest Amazon PC Build Cheat Sheet
This guide was written on 5/2/2025. Over time, this may become out of date and we make no guarantees to keep it updated. This is meant to be used as a tool to go along with the YouTube video, not to be a relevant reference material for years to come.
Parts List
Part Notes and Alternatives
  • Please reference the YouTube video for my main thoughts about the part selections. These are additional notes to go along with that.
  • Most importantly, understand that this is NOT a build guide that I recommend copying, unless you’re specifically hunting for a brand new parts build, exclusively from Amazon, for less than $500. You can get MUCH better value by shopping on the used market, specifically for the GPU.
CPU:
  • For this type of build I was hunting for the cheapest possible CPU that was available on Amazon. There are some models cheaper than my selection, but they’re Intel Celerons, dual cores, and non-gaming specific chips. The Ryzen 3 4100 is the cheapest option that I’d even consider for a gaming PC. It’s not fast, only has 4 cores and 8 threads, but it’s at least built on a solid AMD architecture and it’s on the AM4 socket so there’s room for easy upgradeability.
  • If you rather spend a little more money to get a higher quality product, then I’d recommend the Ryzen 5 5500, or the Ryzen 5 5600. I would personally much rather have those and go a bit over budget, then get the Ryzen 3 4100.
CPU Cooler:
  • If you buy any of the CPUs that I mentioned above from Amazon or Newegg, they will come with a stock Ryzen cooler. For this type of build, that’s all I’d really recommend using. It works good enough, and it allows us to spend more of this small budget towards higher performance impacting components.
Motherboard:
  • I used the Gigabyte A520M K V2, but the only reason was because it was the cheapest option at the time I was buying for my search filter.
  • If you’re following a similar style of build, I would go to PC Part Picker, chose Motherboard, AM4, mATX, and then sort by the cheapest price. This is how I got my selection, but feel free to go with an alternative if there’s a better deal. A B450M or B550M would be preferred, but they’re more expensive.
RAM:
  • This might be the worst RAM kit that I’ve used on the channel in multiple years. The Silicon Power 2x8GB DDR4 3200MHz CL22 kit is nothing to write home about, but again, it was the cheapest available option at the time of filming.
  • If you want to spend some more money for a better kit, then I’d recommend searching for a 2x16GB DDR4 3200MHz CL16 kit. Any will do. With RAM it’s more about the specs than the specific model in my opinion.
GPU:
  • I’ve trashed on the RTX 3050, specifically the 6GB version for a long time now. I don’t think Nvidia should be producing 6GB graphics cards, especially at this price point. There are some much better alternatives with higher price to performance value, but this MSI RTX 3050 Ventus 2X 6GB card got the job done for this sort of project.
  • Make no mistake though, I never trash the RTX 3050 because of its performance, build quality, or any physical feature (other than lack of VRAM). It’s about the price to performance value compared to the alternatives. As you can see from the benchmarks in the video, it still ran games perfectly fine in 1080p, so if that’s what you prefer, then it’ll work for you.
  • Personally, I’d rather get an RX 6600 for just a few bucks more. It has more VRAM which is definitely needed in 2025, and significantly better performance.
SSD:
  • Here’s the first component that’s a model I would actually recommend, but I only got the 512GB version to save some money. The Teamgroup MP33 512GB NVMe is a fantastic and very affordable budget drive, but I’d strongly recommend at least 1TB for most gamers.
  • If you don’t see that one available, some other budget alternatives that are my favorites are the Patriot P310 and the SIlicon Power A60. All options above are Gen 3 because they are still a bit cheaper than Gen 4.
PSU:
  • The Apevia Prestige 600W is actually a very solid choice for this type of build. You will almost never be able to beat this value at just over $50 and it’s consistently available every day of the week. Apevia isn’t widely known as a reputable PSU choice, but this specific Prestige model is rated Tier C on the PSU Tier List, which is what really matters.
Case:
  • The case is always the most subjective option in a gaming PC, and you absolutely do not need to go with the one I used in the video. If you choose an alternative, you may need to make some tweaks to the cooling solution, as well as the motherboard size.
  • The case I chose was the Okinos Aqua 3 Air Black. It’s mATX, comes preinstalled with 3 120mm fans, and has a modern fish tank design to it. I’ve been a big fan of Okinos in this last year, specifically for their budget models that are always packing some extremely competitive value.
  • With the 3 fans preinstalled, they’re all set to the exhaust position, meaning there’s no forced intake coming into the case. This creates a negative airflow setup, but with budget hardware like this our temperatures were perfectly fine.
How to Assemble
You can watch my full step-by-step PC building video below. This was extracted from the Twitch livestream when I built this PC to only include the relevant PC building steps.
If that video doesn’t provide enough support for building a PC, then I would recommend watching this “How to Build a PC, the last guide you’ll ever need! (2024 Update)” video from Linus Tech Tips. This is a generic build guide tutorial that will help no matter which parts you choose to go with.
Cable Management Guide
  • Before even getting the Okinos Aqua 3 Air case out, the first step of cable management for a build like this is managing the non-modular power supply. With our MSI Ventus RTX 3050, we don’t require a 6+2 power connector, so the only 2 cables we need from the PSU are the 24-pin and the 4+4 pin. With a non-modular unit like this, I’d highly recommend using a Velcro strap or twist tie on all the extra cables that we won’t be using. Reference the photo below.
  • Before installing the motherboard, you’ll also want to pry out the PCIe brackets on the case to avoid the problem that I encountered. With the motherboard I chose, there are some inconveniently placed capacitors right where you’d typically “wiggle” out the bracket. With the motherboard installed, this made it incredibly difficult to remove while trying to not damage those capacitors.
  • I would strongly recommend removing the 2nd and 3rd bracket from the top before installing the motherboard.
  • I forgot to take a picture of the back of the case during the livestream, but the starting point of the Okinos Aqua 3 Air is just like the rest of the budget Okinos lineup. It doesn’t provide any favors to make cable management easy, but it’s not terribly difficult.
  • In the picture below I’m showcasing the case connectors that you’ll need to plug into the motherboard, but one thing noteworthy is the USB C connection. I love how Okinos has been putting a USB C port on the front panel of their affordable cases, but unfortunately our motherboard choice doesn’t have a header to use this. Most ultra budget motherboards won’t have one.
  • You do have the ability to use an adapter from the USB 3.0 or USB 2.0 ports, but that will limit the speed. I decided to just not plug in that connector, so the USB C port on the front of the case will be non functional.
Here is what the back of the case looked like after installing the motherboard. I bundled the daisy-chained fan connectors up at the top, and then used a zip tie down the middle to secure the cables. Not a lot of work was required for this step.
  • And finally after the power supply was installed here’s what the cable management is looking like. When using a GPU without a power cable requirement, and no cable extensions, cable managing is a complete breeze. I used a couple more zip ties which are highlighted in red, and everything else should be self explanatory.
  • Most of the excess cables are stored in the PSU basement and you’ll notice the green rectangle is showcasing the USB C connector from the case which we couldn’t plug into the motherboard.
BIOS Setting Adjustments
BIOS updated to the latest version - F5h (3/11/25)
Secure Boot Standard/Enabled
CSM Support Disabled
TPM 2.0 Enabled
Re-BAR Enabled
4G Encoding Enabled
APP Center Auto Downloader Disabled
RAM didn’t allow XMP to be enabled, but it was tuned by default to 3200MHz
Monitor Recommendations
  • For any sub $500 gaming PC, I think a 1080p 144Hz+ display is what you should shoot for. This build isn’t close to hitting 1440p numbers, so I would stay in 1080p for this one.
  • Here are some of my favorite options:
  • 1080p Monitors
Windows Installation Guide
Standard Installation
Windows installation is the same process from PC to PC. There isn’t anything specific about this PC
Creating the USB Drive
I always recommend setting up a Windows 11 USB thumb drive, but you’ll need to utilize a working computer.
Here is a video explaining how to set up the USB thumb drive.
Installing Windows 11
Here is a video explaining how to install Windows 11 after the thumb drive is set up.
Additionally, here is another tutorial from the YouTube channel Crater.
Post-Installation Steps
Once Windows is installed, I recommend:
  • Removing bloatware
  • Updating GPU drivers manually
  • Fully updating Windows
Performance Metrics
For detailed benchmarking results, including gameplay footage from various games, please see the full benchmarking video linked in the description of the main YouTube video. The synthetic/canned benchmarking scores below provide additional information:
  • 3DMark Time Spy: 4,891
  • 3DMark Steel Nomad: 1,005
  • Superposition (DirectX, 1080p High): 8,734
  • Cinebench 2024 CPU Multi: 354
  • Cinebench 2024 GPU: 4,091
Note: The links above may be affiliate links, and we earn a small commission at no extra charge to you. This is a fantastic way to support ZTT!
Made with