Budget build off, $500 cap, post your parts list, build over the next month

[Millie82]

Running a genuine budget build off on this board. Hard cap of 500 dollars total for the entire build, everyone posts their planned parts list, then actually builds and posts progress over the coming month before a final reveal at the end.

The 500 dollar cap includes literally everything. Case, power supply, storage, memory, the works, no exceptions for parts you might already have lying around unless you're genuinely willing to price them in as if bought new specifically for this build.

Post your planned parts list first so people can actually weigh in before you commit to buying anything. Sometimes a second pair of eyes catches an obvious bottleneck or a better value swap before money's actually spent on the wrong specific part.

Once you're building, post progress shots along the way. And at the end we'll do a proper final reveal thread with actual benchmark numbers so everyone can see how differently people approached the exact same tight budget.

This is as much about creative problem solving under a genuine real constraint as it is about raw specs. So don't stress about matching anyone else's build, the actual fun here is seeing how differently ten people solve the exact same $500 problem

[Iconic52]

No exceptions for parts you already own is the right call. Keeps this fair for everyone rather than letting people quietly stack a real advantage using stuff they already had sitting around

[Nina_20]

Wanted actually try building something this budget constrained for a while.

Forces real creative thinking that a bigger budget never quite requires

[Sigma]

Sharing my planned parts list now. Went heavier on the storage side and lighter on the graphics card specifically since my own use case is mostly productivity rather than gaming

[Optimiser Ruby]

Watching this one closely, closely even though I'm not building this round.

Really curious to see how differently everyone approaches the exact same tight $500 limit

[Amy96]

Count me in, always wanted a real excuse to actually plan a build this tight instead of just letting budget creep happen the way it usually does. Solid observation. Still think about it sometimes

[Natalie91]

Will the final benchmarks all run the exact same specific test suite. Or is everyone free to actually benchmark based on whatever their own particular build was optimized for?

[Molly32]

The second pair of eyes before buying point is quite valuable.

Almost bought a mismatched part for my own planned build before someone here caught the actual bottleneck before I committed any real money

[SuperOwen35]

The creative problem solving under constraint framing is the best part of this whole challenge. Way more interesting than just watching everyone build the exact same generic budget rig

[Shane_8]

$500 feels tight but doable with careful used market shopping.

Going to lean heavily on secondhand pricing for a few of the bigger ticket components specifically

[ClusterCrossing]

One thing I'm unsure about, does a build need to actually be brand new hardware throughout.

Or can used parts count as long as the total price particularly stays under the cap?