Here is a really good value setup, and totally upgrade-ready for the future. The G3258 is a pretty sweet value CPU. You mentioned you didnt really want to max out the settings. The Video card is pretty low end, but it fits the bill. I included an SSD, and a 1tb HDD.
In the future, you could swap the Pentium for an i5/i7, and add another stick of 8gb for a total of 16gb, and add a better video card, and this thing could be a monster.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
| Type | Item | Price |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor | $68.98 @ OutletPC |
| Motherboard | MSI H81I Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard | $61.98 @ Newegg |
| Memory | Patriot Signature 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory | $70.43 @ Amazon |
| Storage | Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive | $52.99 @ Amazon |
| Storage | Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | $54.98 @ Directron |
| Video Card | MSI GeForce GT 740 1GB Video Card | $79.99 @ SuperBiiz |
| Case | BitFenix Prodigy (Black) Mini ITX Tower Case | $75.99 @ SuperBiiz |
| Power Supply | Antec 450W ATX Power Supply | $33.98 @ Directron |
| Total | ||
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available | $499.32 | |
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-01-13 22:37 EST-0500 |