Skip to main content
Tech Radar TechRadar the technology experts
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
RSS
Asia
flag of Singapore
Singapore
Europe
flag of Danmark
Danmark
flag of Suomi
Suomi
flag of Norge
Norge
flag of Sverige
Sverige
flag of UK
UK
flag of Italia
Italia
flag of Nederland
Nederland
flag of België (Nederlands)
België (Nederlands)
flag of France
France
flag of Deutschland
Deutschland
flag of España
España
North America
flag of US (English)
US (English)
flag of Canada
Canada
flag of México
México
Australasia
flag of Australia
Australia
flag of New Zealand
New Zealand
  • Phones
  • Computing
  • TVs
  • AI
  • Streaming
  • Health
  • Audio
  • VPN
  • More
    • Cameras
    • Home
    • News
    • Reviews
    • Opinion
    • How to
    • Versus
    • Deals
    • Coupons
    • Best
Tech Radar Pro
Tech Radar Gaming
Trending
  • Amazon Prime Day
  • Back to school
  • Nintendo Switch 2
  • Best VPN
  • ChatGPT
  • NYT Wordle today
  • Best laptop
  • Best web hosting
Recommended reading
Tuxedo InfinityBook Pro 14 Gen10
Pro This is probably the fastest Linux laptop you can buy right now - but while I love the open source creds, it's far too expensive compared to the competition
Geekom Mini PC AX8 Pro Review
Pro Best mini PC of 2025
framework Laptop 13 DIY Edition 2025
Computing Framework Laptop 13 DIY Edition (2025) review
AMD EPYC 4005 CPU
Pro 16-Core AMD EPYC 4005 CPU is almost 3X faster than AMD's first server flagship - and I can't believe what a bargain that is
Linux
Software & Services Best USB bootable distro of 2025
OWC Express 1M2 SSD enclosure on a table beside Apple Mac mini M4 and Apple Magic Keyboard
Macs I upgraded my Mac mini M4 with a 4TB SSD and avoided paying Apple's ridiculous storage prices – here’s how
Minisforum MS-A2
Pro This mini PC single-handedly shows how ridiculously bad the current crop of desktop PCs are
  1. Computing
  2. Software

How to build the fastest Linux PC possible on a budget

How-to
By Zak Storey published 21 February 2017

Using affordable performance-orientated components

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Introduction

Introduction

There’s nothing more satisfying than watching a system boot up almost instantaneously when the power switch is hit. Long gone are the days of going to make yourself a brew while those spinning platters buzz and the display kicks into life, lazily dragging you into the GUI you call home.

But surely that luxury of speed is reserved for those who are willing to drop £1,000+ on a new system? Fortunately, this is not the case anymore. With advancements in technology over the last six years, and Intel’s aggressive push to keep reinvigorating its chipsets each and every generation, we’re starting to see more and more affordable budget, speed-oriented components finally making it to market.

The SSD has succeeded the hard drive with sub 10-second boot times and lightning quick file transfers. However, three years on and we’ve seen both the rise and fall of the SATA III bus. This was a standard that was supposed to last us until 2020, but now lies completely saturated, with only the ever enduring HDD still making good use of the connectivity.

Fortunately for us, workarounds have been found in the search for ever increasing performance and ever increasing speed. Utilising the PCIe bus to transfer data to and from any hard drive to the processor has proved to provide almost limitless potential when it comes to file transfer speeds – at least for the time being. And as  M.2 and U.2 PCIe SSDs have matured, so too  have their sequential read and writes, alongside a continual plummet in cost to  produce them. What this has led to is the potential to piece together a system for just over £400. 

And that’s a system we intend to walk you through today. A system including an Intel Core i5-6500 quad-core processor, one of the latest chipsets featuring the lightning fast and insanely energy efficient DDR4 memory standard, alongside a PCIe M.2 SSD. In our case, we’ve opted for one of Samsung’s OEM PM961 M.2 drives, specifically the 128GB variant.

  • These are the best Linux training providers and online courses in 2017
  • 10 of the best Linux distros for privacy fiends and security buffs
  • 5 of the most popular Linux gaming distros
  • 10 best Linux distros: which one is right for you?
  • What's the best Linux distro for beginners?
  • How to choose the best Linux distro for laptops
Page 1 of 8
Page 1 of 8
Choosing the right hardware

Choosing the right hardware

Sorting out hardware for a new system is a pretty daunting prospect for anyone and especially so if you’ve been out of the hardware game for any period of time as the progress never stops. Platforms, processors, sockets, connectivity standards change so often it can be hard to keep up.

A good place to start is with a budget. Once you’ve set out just how much you want to spend on a new system, head over to www.pcpartpicker.com, change the language to your country, hit ‘View Your System Build’ and begin work on piecing together just exactly what you want. You should always base it around a few key components.

For this build, we knew we wanted one of Intel’s latest quad-core processors and an M.2 SSD of some description. The beauty of PC Part Picker is that once you have a certain product selected, it’ll isolate the compatible components compatible from the other lists. Choose a processor that fits into an 1151 socket, and the website will make sure that you only see motherboards that are compatible with that chip.

Page 2 of 8
Page 2 of 8
Initial preparation and PSU installation

Initial preparation and PSU installation

So you’re ready to build your new speedy system. The first thing you’ll want to do is prepare your work area. It goes without saying you’ll need a few tools. We suggest a range of Phillips head screwdrivers, some cable ties and a pair of scissors. Next, you’ll want to make sure you’re building your system in a static-free place. Avoid wearing woollen socks and jumpers for this.

Now unbox your case, take off the side panels and pull out the included cardboard box with the screws and cable ties inside. You’ll then want to insert your power supply with the fan facing upwards if you wish to draw warm air out of your chassis or with the fan facing down, if airflow is going to be less of an issue. Secure the PSU with four screws. Then tuck the cables inside the chassis.

Page 3 of 8
Page 3 of 8
Motherboard installation

Motherboard installation

Next up on the list is the motherboard. Pull the Asus B150M-A out of its antistatic bag and place it down on your workplace. Next, find the rear I/O plate still inside the motherboard box. You’ll want to line this up correctly and install it into the rear of your chassis. This will help protect your system from any excess dust.

Today's best Asus B150M-A deals
101 Amazon customer reviews
☆☆☆☆☆
View Similar Amazon US
Amazon
No price information
Check Amazon
Walmart - View Similar
Walmart
No price information
Check Walmart
We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices

Word of advice, the cheaper I/O plates are a bit of a nuisance to install, we suggest bending or cutting off the metal clips blocking each of the rear I/O port covers off of the plate. Then, once that’s in, lay your chassis down on its side, and place your motherboard into the case.

Next, you’ll want to secure the motherboard onto the stand-offs preinstalled in the chassis. Take the screws from out of the cardboard box that came inside the Nova case and gently screw the board down into place. This will require some gentle pressure to line up correctly, but once two are in you’ll be fine.

Page 4 of 8
Page 4 of 8
Processor installation and cooling

Processor installation and cooling

Next up is the processor. Lift the retention arm holding the socket down located in the middle of your motherboard. Leave the plastic cover in place and don’t touch any of the pins. Take your CPU and identify the golden triangle located on the corner of the top of the processor. Line this triangle up with the triangle on the motherboard’s retention bracket and gently place the processor into the socket. Next, place the retention bracket back down underneath the screw and re-lock the retention arm. The plastic cover will pop off.

Today's best Intel Core i5-6500 deals
1 Amazon customer review
☆☆☆☆☆
Intel Core i5-6500 - Core i5...
Newegg
$109
View Deal
Low Stock
Intel Core i5 6500 3.20 GHz...
Walmart
$174.69
View Deal
View Similar Amazon US
Amazon
No price information
Check Amazon
Show more
We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices

Next, you’ll need to add sufficient cooling. To install this, simply take the bottom cover off of the CPU heatsink (located inside your CPU box). You’ll need to make sure not to damage the thermal paste, ensure the four locking pins on the outside of the fan are set to unlock.

Then, line up the fan with the processor and gently slot the fan mounting pins into the four holes located on the motherboard. Push each corner down until you hear a pop, then lock all four of the locking pins. Then it’s just a case of routing the cable to the CPU fan header located at the top of the motherboard and you’re good to go.

The future is Zen?

We’ve used a Skylake CPU here, but what about AMD? Well, the old mantra goes, if you want a cheap and cheerful core, go AMD. If you want a powerful core, go Intel. At least, that’s how it used to be around seven to eight years ago. Alas, the game has changed and AMD’s ageing architecture just cannot keep up with the powerhouse that is Intel.

Intel dominates the field when it comes to performance per watt and AMD just can’t keep up because of it. With an ageing architecture and chipsets that just don’t provide any of the modern features natively, AMD is sorely in need of an update.  

That’s where Zen comes in. Ryzen processors are about to be launched and will fit into the AM4+ socket, consolidating all the previous motherboard choices down into a singular board. On top of that, AMD will be moving down from the 32nm manufacturing process to 14nm.

So far, leaked performance numbers look good, with AMD’s high-end chips easily competing with Intel. This should drive down the price of Intel’s processors and reinvigorate the market, and mean better performance at more affordable prices all-round.

Page 5 of 8
Page 5 of 8
Installing hard drives

Installing hard drives

Now we move on to storage. First off, you’re going to want to get your Samsung PM961 128GB SSD. As this is an OEM drive it should be just wrapped up in a small amount of bubble wrap inside your order. It’s worth noting it’s quite a small device.

Identify the M.2 slot on the motherboard (in our case, just below the processor) and unscrew the top screw on the furthest side away from the M.2 slot. This is tiny and silver. Next, place your M.2 drive into the port, making sure to line up the connectors with the notch on the drive. The drive should stick up at an odd angle but this is fine. Gently push the drive down, and secure the screw we took out earlier back into its position, securing the M.2 drive in the process.

Today's best Samsung PM961 128GB SSD deals
View Similar Amazon US
Amazon
No price information
Check Amazon
Walmart - View Similar
Walmart
No price information
Check Walmart
We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices

Let’s move on to the 2TB hard drive. Simply slide it into the drive cage located below the 5.25-inch bay with the connectors facing towards your power supply. Then secure this down with two screws from either side. Next, connect one of the SATA cables included with the motherboard into the L-shaped connector in the back of the drive and plug it into the uppermost matching L-shaped SATA port on the board.

Page 6 of 8
Page 6 of 8
Memory and cables

Memory and cables

Your next key component to install is your RAM. To do this, unlock the latches on the memory slots located to the right of your processor. Make sure you line up each stick with the notches on the board and firmly slot each stick into place, pushing down on both ends until you hear a satisfying click sound.

Then it’s onto cabling. You’ll want to plug in the largest 24-pin ATX cable into the motherboard. Install the 8-pin CPU power at the top of the board. (These look similar to those used with add-in cards and GPUs, however, each pin is shaped differently to ensure you don’t plug it into the wrong place). Next, you’ll want to plug SATA power into your hard drive. Find the one that looks like a slightly longer L-shaped SATA cable and install that next to the SATA cable you installed earlier.

And finally, let’s deal with the front panel I/O. Locate the cables tucked away in the 5.25-inch bay and drag them out of the enclosure. You’re looking for the ones with the tiny small rectangular pins. These should have the words ‘Power’, ‘Reset’, ‘LED +’, ‘LED -’ and ‘HDD LED’ on them.

Now open up your motherboard manual and look for the section explaining the front I/O connectors. Connect the cables to the correct pins on the motherboard, connect the USB 3.0 front panel header to the USB connector on the board and the front audio pass through as well and you’ve got yourself one sweet system.

Page 7 of 8
Page 7 of 8
If gaming is on your mind…

If gaming is on your mind…

The four cores held within Intel’s Core i5-6500 provide plenty of computational power when it comes to modern workloads, but if you’re looking to game, you’re going to need to push the boat out a bit further than our £500 budget and invest in a discrete graphics card. 

In short, there’s never been a better time to buy a graphics card than right now. With both AMD and Nvidia making the jump from a 28nm processing node down to 14nm and 16nm respectively, the power gains in graphical horsepower have seen an exponential jump, with both AMD’s RX 480 and Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 1060 providing phenomenal value for money.

In our testing the GTX 1060 3GB is by far the best value card you can buy right now. If you’re looking to game at 1080p, these are the two cards to buy today, with the best price to performance ratios out there. That said, if you’re looking to use this as a home theatre PC, the Core i5-6500 will be more than powerful enough to keep your 4K dreams happy.

Today's best Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 deals
176 Amazon customer reviews
☆☆☆☆☆
MSI GAMING GeForce GTX 1060...
Amazon
$239
View Deal
EVGA GeForce GTX 1060 SSCC DT...
Amazon
$319.99
View Deal
Walmart - View Similar
Walmart
No price information
Check Walmart
Show more
We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
  • Enjoyed this article? Expand your knowledge of Linux, get more from your code, and discover the latest open source developments inside Linux Format. Read our sampler today and take advantage of the offer inside.
Page 8 of 8
Page 8 of 8
TOPICS
Linux Intel
Zak Storey
Zak Storey
Freelance contributor

Zak is one of TechRadar's multi-faceted freelance tech journalists. He's written for an absolute plethora of tech publications over the years and has worked for Techradar on and off since 2015. Most famously, Zak led Maximum PC as its Editor-in-Chief from 2020 through to the end of 2021, having worked his way up from Staff Writer. Zak currently writes for Maximum PC, TechRadar, PCGamesN, and Trusted Reviews. He also had a stint working as Corsair's Public Relations Specialist in the UK, which has given him a particularly good insight into the inner workings of larger companies in the industry. He left in 2023, coming back to journalism once more. When he's not building PCs, reviewing hardware, or gaming, you can often find Zak working at his local coffee shop as First Barista, or out in the Wye Valley shooting American Flat Bows.

See more Computing How Tos
Read more
Tuxedo InfinityBook Pro 14 Gen10
This is probably the fastest Linux laptop you can buy right now - but while I love the open source creds, it's far too expensive compared to the competition
Geekom Mini PC AX8 Pro Review
Best mini PC of 2025
framework Laptop 13 DIY Edition 2025
Framework Laptop 13 DIY Edition (2025) review
AMD EPYC 4005 CPU
16-Core AMD EPYC 4005 CPU is almost 3X faster than AMD's first server flagship - and I can't believe what a bargain that is
Linux
Best USB bootable distro of 2025
OWC Express 1M2 SSD enclosure on a table beside Apple Mac mini M4 and Apple Magic Keyboard
I upgraded my Mac mini M4 with a 4TB SSD and avoided paying Apple's ridiculous storage prices – here’s how
Latest in Software
Gemini Live
Google just announced 5 new Gemini features coming to Android, and it’s good news for fans of foldable smartphones
Using Zipped files and folders in Windows 11
New Windows 11 update delivers a host of new features and fixes - here are 4 things I'm looking forward to
D.J. Warren, center, of Houston talks to an Apple Store associate as he visits the Genius Bar at Highland Village shopping mall Monday, March 19, 2012, in Houston. ( Nick de la Torre / Houston Chronicle )
I used to work at the Apple Store – and the rumored AI-powered Support app sounds genius
AI Chess
Atari Video Chess checkmates Copilot after knocking over ChatGPT's king
Xreal One glasses on a green background
I test AR glasses for a living and this is the best Prime Day deal I've seen for a pair this year
Kylian Mbappé Instagram post with edited fans
AI-generated or just poorly edited? Kylian Mbappé’s latest Instagram post rams home how hard it is to know what's real these days
Latest in How Tos
The Amazing Race Canada presenter standing in front of the season 11 cast in an American Football stadium.
How to watch The Amazing Race Canada season 11 online FREE from anywhere
Jonas Vingegaard riding in the 2024 Tour de France time trial at Stage 7
Tour de France 2025 Stage 5 live stream: How to watch cycling for FREE from anywhere
Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar sprint to the finish line at Stage 12 of the 2024 Tour de France.
How to watch Tour de France 2025 Stage 5 for FREE
Danny DeVito as Frank in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
How to watch It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia season 17 online and from anywhere
Henry Lloyd-Hughes as DS Nathan Rose in Ragdoll
How to watch Ragdoll on BBC iPlayer (it's free)
Finn Russell of British & Irish Lions makes a break in the lead up to his side's third try, scored by Elliot Daly, left, during the tour match between Western Force and the British & Irish Lions at Optus Stadium in Perth, Australia.
Waratahs vs Lions FREE streams: How to watch British & Irish Lions tour live online from anywhere
LATEST ARTICLES
  1. 1
    If you have a garage door, this $22 Prime Day deal is the smart upgrade you need
  2. 2
    Walmart has a rival Prime Day sale, and I've rounded up 29 deals I'd buy from just $17
  3. 3
    Even my dog found Amazon Prime Day deals worth buying, here's what she recommends for furry friends
  4. 4
    5 Dyson deals you should absolutely, definitely buy for Prime Day – plus 2 more you should avoid
  5. 5
    This vomit green Xbox keyboard is one of the ugliest things I've ever seen – and it could be yours for a record low price this Prime Day

TechRadar is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Contact Us
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Web notifications
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...