Fortunately, building a shiny new PC doesn’t need to cost a lot. You don’t need a lakh to build a decent PC and if you are on a very tight budget, there is an option for you. Having said that, a PC build under 40000 INR might not get you a top-of-the-line gaming machine, but it will be capable enough to run most of the games at 1080p with optimized settings.

Since this is a budget build, the primary focus will be on upgradability on the same platform. AMD offers a superior upgrade pathway compared to Intel, so the build will be based on AMD processor, more specifically the AM4 platform.

Build Overview

AMD Ryzen 5 5500

Processor

• Socket: AM4
• Cores/Threads: 6/12
• Base TDP: 65 Watt
• Boost Clock: 4.2 GHz
• Base Clock: 3.6 GHz
• Cache: L1 384KB, L2 3MB, L3 32MB
• Memory: DDR5 3200MHz (PCIe 4.0)
• Overclocking: Unlocked
• Lithography: TSMC 7nm FinFET

AMD has a lot of offerings in the budget segment. Even though the Ryzen 5 5500 is quite old at this point, it is still a great processor to consider at less than 10,000 INR. With 6 cores and 12 threads, it is perfect for 1080p gaming when paired with an entry-level 60-class GPU.

Given the price constraints, the Ryzen 5 5500 is the best choice as you have so many upgrade options if you want a better processor down the line. AMD has recently added new processors for the AM4 platform, keeping it relevant, still.

For this PC build, Intel i3-12100F can be a good choice as well but the motherboards for that platform can be expensive making the build go over 40,000 INR.

Pros

• Unlocked Overclocking
• Good balance of multi-core performance and gaming performance
• Power efficient

Cons

• Might become a bottleneck in some simulation games like Cities Skylines 2.

Also Read: AMD Announces Full Overclocking Support for Ryzen 9000X3D CPUs

Gigabyte B550M K

Motherboard

• Socket: AM4
• Chipset: AMD B550
• Form Factor: Micro-ATX
• Slots: 4x DIMM
• Storage: 1x M.2 Gen3 x4 slots, 4x SATA III ports (6 Gb/s)
• Expansion slots: 1x PCIe 4.0 x16 slot, 1x PCIe 3.0 x1 slots
• USB Ports (Rear): 2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A (10 Gbps), 2x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A (5 Gbps), 4x USB 2.0 Type-A

This is a great motherboard for a budget build and has most of the features one would expect for such a price. It has ample USB ports, storage expansions, and debug LED lights which are handy for troubleshooting.

Intel Arc A380

Graphics Card

• Architecture: RDNA 2
• Lithography: 7nm
• Compute Units: 32
• Ray Accelerators: 32
• Infinity Cache: 32MB
• Boost Clock: 2539 MHz
• VRAM: 8GB GDDR6
• Bandwidth: 256 GB/s
• Bus width: 128-bit
• TDP: 160W

While rough around its edges, Intel has got the right idea with this low-end budget graphics card. Arc A380 is an entry-level 1080p gaming card with 6GB VRAM which is very surprising since more expensive cards from AMD and Nvidia offer only 4GB memory.

It is a good value card and perhaps the only good option in this price range. Intel still needs to figure out the kinks in its software but, it is mostly stable now, so you won’t face any major issues.

It is perfectly capable of playing 1080p in many titles. However, some of the newer AAA titles may not run games at 1080p with the highest settings. Its 6GB of VRAM can come in handy in many games that require more video memory.

Intel XeSS is also slightly better than the AMD FSR upscaling technology but XeSS is limited. You can AMD FSR and Intel XeSS upscaling options to get more out of this card.

Corsair Vengeance 16GB DDR4 3200MHz CL16

Memory (RAM)

• Capacity: 16GB (2 x 16GB)
• Speed: 6000MHz
• Latency: CL16-20-20-38
• Voltage: 1.35V
• Bandwidth: Up to 51.2 GB/s
• RGB: No

For a PC build under 40000, the Corsair Vengeance DDR4 offers a solid performance boost without breaking the bank. 16 GB is the sweet spot for most games at 1080p or even 1440p games. The 3200MHz clock speed and tight CL16 timings translate to smoother, faster-loading applications and a more responsive gaming experience.

Western Digital Blue SN580 500GB M.2 NVMe

Storage (NVMe SSD)

• Type: NVMe PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 SSD
• Capacity: 1TB
• Form Factor: M.2 2280
• Sequential Read Speed: Up to 3500 MB/s
• Sequential Write Speed: Up to 2300 MB/s
• Random Read Speed (4KB, QD32): Up to 360,000 IOPS
• Random Write Speed (4KB, QD32): Up to 390,000 IOPS

This is what I use on my PC and it hasn’t given me one single problem. Even though it is not very fast compared to some other SSDs, it is not bad given the price.

It is reliable and has good read/write speeds. What more do you want from an SSD?

Corsair CV550 80+ Bronze

Power Supply

• Type: Non-Modular ATX Power Supply
• Efficiency: 80+ Bronze
• Form Factor: ATX
• Continuous Power: 550W
• Fan Size: 120mm
• Fan Bearing: Sleeve Bearing

The Corsair CX550 550W 80+ Bronze PSU delivers reliable power at a budget-friendly price, making it a solid option for your gaming PC build under 50000. You might face some headaches during cable management due to its non-modular design, but apart from that, it will give enough juice for Arc A380 + Ryzen 5 5500.

Even if you want to upgrade to something better in the future, you won’t need to upgrade the power supply, given that you upgrade to something like RTX 3060 or similar or lower.

Antec DP31 Mini Tower

PC Cabinet

• Dimensions (L x W x H): 378mm x 200mm x 398mm
• Weight: 3.7kg
• Motherboard Compatibility: Micro-ATX, Mini-ITX
• Drive Bays: 2x 2.5″ SSD, 2x 3.5″ HDD
• Front: 2x 120/140mm fans
• Top: 2x 120mm
• Rear: 1x 120mm (pre-installed)

Antec has some decent budget cases and this one is a good mini-tower PC case. Please note that it doesn’t support ATX motherboards since it is smaller in size. It doesn’t have pre-installed fans in the front, so you might have to pick up some fans.

Given the price, it has decent airflow and enough drive bays for SSDs and HDDs. Since this particular configuration will not generate too much heat, this cabinet will do a good job of keeping your PC cool.

Conclusion

There you go! A budget PC build under 40000 INR. The main focus of this build is upgradability on the same platform that can grant a longer lifecycle. If you are on a very tight budget, and you need to enjoy a lot of games, you can build this and subscribe to PC Game Pass and have a lot of fun!

When you want to upgrade your PC, you can upgrade to something to AMD Ryzen 7 5800X or Ryzen 7 5800X3D for much superior processor performance and upgrade to any GPU that you can.

Enjoy!