Looking for guidance on choosing a budget CPU?
Looking for guidance on choosing a budget CPU?
You can still create a solid setup... Consider a 3400g or 3200g model, opt for a 500gb (or 1TB) HDD, add 8gb RAM and a budget m.2 SSD for the operating system. That should fit within an $800 budget unless prices are unusually high. If you struggle to locate a suitable SSD in that range, a HDD will be perfectly adequate at the moment.
Just remember, you’ll need to transfer your OS onto the SSD later. It might be tricky in certain situations unless you’re ready for a complete reinstall.
You might also try boosting the RAM speed to 2800MHz. Ryzen processors perform well with quick RAM. But if you're unsure, it's safer to skip it.
Separate the HDD into parts for Windows and other uses. This way, during a fresh Windows install you won’t have to format the entire drive.
Have you ever experimented with running Windows 10 on a mechanical hard drive? The game size consideration is certainly relevant, but I believe opting for an SSD now and adding a bigger hard drive later would be a far superior choice rather than starting with just an HDD and installing Windows afterward.