How to build a small but powerful gaming computer. How to build an inexpensive but powerful computer

2018 has not yet been very kind to lovers of advanced computer hardware. Prices for RAM are rising, the cost of new processors from Intel is consistently high, and high-performance video cards are being bought en masse by miners. At the same time, solid-state drives, on the contrary, have fallen in price since January of this year.

If you don’t want to wait, you can start assembling a configuration that will delight you with new AAA projects now.

What does Steam say?

The gaming platform Steam regularly collects data on the popularity of components from certain vendors among players.

CPU

Last year, AMD burst into the processor market with its new Ryzen product, displacing Intel. But Steam statistics show that over the past six months, processors from AMD have seriously lost in popularity to solutions from Intel.

AMD is significantly lowering the prices of Ryzen processors in an effort to sell them out ahead of the release of the next generation of Zen+ processors, which are scheduled to hit shelves in April. At the same time, the new Coffee Lake generation processors from Intel are in no hurry to become cheaper.

So now there is a good chance to purchase a processor from AMD at a low price, which will be relevant in the next few years.

Video card

According to research by analysts Jon Peddie Research, AMD video cards won 33.7% of the market from NVIDIA. This is due to the cryptocurrency gold rush - AMD adapters are always popular among miners.

System

Interestingly, the most common language among Steam users is Chinese, spoken by as many as 63.93% of players. Analysts attribute this to the growing popularity of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds in Asia.

What you need to know if you buy a video card second-hand

Online trading platforms, such as Avito, are inundated with offers for the sale of used components. This is due in no small part to cryptocurrency miners. Moreover, among them there are both seasoned miners and newcomers who belatedly joined the general hobby and are now disappointed in this matter.

For the first ones, the hardware worked non-stop and paid for itself long ago, having become rather shabby. The second ones didn’t really use their video cards, and now they are trying to minimize losses.

There is no clear answer to the question of whether it is worth buying used hardware. There are fierce discussions on the forums. Opponents of used components point to wear and tear of equipment and violation of temperature conditions. There are also those who snatched up an excellent video card on the cheap and are now agitating to take the components off-hand. Some even believe that the video card, verified hard work in a mining farm, will withstand anything after that.

What should you pay attention to when buying a used video card?

Buying used electronics is always a risk. If you still decide to save money, you should do the following:

• Check the documents for the video card. Please note the date of purchase and the expiration date of the warranty. Avoid purchasing a video card without documents and packaging.
• Inspect the video card for burnt or broken components, scratches and darkened PCB. Blackened or yellowed PCB is a sign of constant overheating of the video card. This may also signal that the owner of the dying video card tried to revive it with a hairdryer. In this case, you need to refuse the purchase.
• Check the cooling system. If the fans on the adapter are not original, this is a sign that the video card was mercilessly heated and the cooling was replaced before sale.
• A video card that looks normal should be tested using heavy games and benchmarks. The proven FurMark will do. If this causes crashes or graphical artifacts, do not buy the video card.
• Launch GPU-Z and make sure that real characteristics The video cards match those indicated on the manufacturer's website.
• If you suspect that you have been mining with your video card, run any miner on it, such as MultiMiner or NiceHash. If graphic artifacts appear during operation, it means that everything that is possible has already been squeezed out of this video card.

All these manipulations will not give a 100% guarantee that the card will work. Be careful and don't trust suspicious sellers.

Assembling a gaming computer

Starting assembly gaming system, you will first have to decide whose processor and motherboard to use - AMD or Intel, and whose video card - AMD or NVIDIA. Their components are approximately equivalent in performance. So be guided by the prices and availability of certain parts in stores.

The presented configurations for different budgets will allow you to assemble the optimal machine for gaming. The assemblies indicate the main components, excluding the periphery. Parts such as the case, power supply, and cooling are included in the budget, but not mentioned separately.

Budget 35,000 rubles

This build will allow you to play most games in Full HD on medium graphics settings. Budget solution, but you will save a lot of money.

• Processor and motherboard: AMD Ryzen 3 1200 and AMD B350 or Intel Pentium G4600 and Intel H110 Express.
• Video card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti or AMD Radeon RX 470.
• RAM: 1 × 8 GB DDR4-2400/2666.
• Storage: HDD, 1 TB.

Budget 60,000 rubles

The assembly is suitable for games in Full HD with high graphics settings. She won't need major upgrades in the next two years.

• CPU and Motherboard: AMD Ryzen 5 1500X and AMD B350 or Intel Core i3-8100 and Intel Z370 Express.
• Video card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 or AMD Radeon RX 480 Radeon RX 570/580.
• RAM: 2 × 8 GB DDR4-2400.
• Storage: HDD, 1 TB and SSD, 120 GB.

Budget 90,000 rubles

This system is capable of running games in Full HD on maximum settings graphics.

• Processor and motherboard: AMD Ryzen 5 1600X and AMD B350 or Intel Core i5-8400 and Intel Z370 Express.
• Video card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 or AMD Radeon RX 580.
• RAM: 2 × 8 GB DDR4-320.
• Storage: HDD, 1 TB and SSD, 120 GB or more.

Budget from 100,000 rubles

Configuration designed for WQHD games at high and maximum graphics settings.

• Processor and motherboard: AMD Ryzen 7 1700X and AMD B350/X370 or Intel Core i7-8700 and Intel Z370 Express.
• Video card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Ti or AMD Radeon RX Vega 56.
• RAM: 2 × 8 GB DDR4-3200.
• Storage: HDD, 1 TB and SSD, 240 GB or more.

Budget from 170,000 rubles

A configuration for seasoned gamers, capable of running any game in WQHD at maximum graphics settings.

• Processor and motherboard: AMD Ryzen 7 1700X and AMD X370 or Intel Core i7-8700K and Intel Z370 Express.
• Video card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti.
• RAM: 2 × 16 GB DDR4-3000/3200.
• Storage: HDD, 1 TB and SSD, 250 GB or more.

You can create a more powerful system based on AMD Ryzen Threadripper or Intel Core i9-7900X. But this solution is for very advanced and filthy rich gamers and developers. For ordinary users, such power is clearly excessive.

Naturally, solid-state drives are much faster than HDDs. But their prices are higher, and the volumes are inferior to HDDs purchased for the same money. So in the cheapest option you can do without an SSD. In the future it will be possible to purchase additional solid state drive and get a performance upgrade by installing the system on it, increase RAM and replace the processor with a more productive one.

Modern games take up a lot of space; one 120 GB SSD for the system and games will not be enough. If you have some extra money left, it's worth increasing the size of your SSD.

Results of the "PC for 20K" competition - what gamers think a budget gaming PC should be like

One of the goals of this competition was to determine consumer preferences and, based on the data obtained, to reconsider the approach to creating model range PC Impression Electronics.

It was not by chance that the terms of the competition were formulated this way. Based on many years of experience in selling PCs to end customers, the company understood that the most common questions when choosing a gaming computer are the number of FPS in popular games, and the possibilities that the configuration can offer. And if the average price tag of a PC for work and everyday tasks is fixed at $450, then for gaming configurations it is already $700-800, or 20 thousand hryvnia.

For Impression Electronics, as a PC manufacturer, it is important to listen to the opinions of its target audience. Thus, during the competition it was possible to obtain valuable insights and a cross-section of consumer preferences.

Comments on the results of the competition and proposed configurations Vitaly Reznichenko, product manager at Impression Electronics

Over 100 applications for participation in the competition were received, but at the first stage serious filtering was carried out.

The following configurations were not considered:

• Budget exceeded
• Hardware not compatible
• Without specifying required fields (RAM size, etc.)
• With an inaccurate indication of TX (for example, GTX1060 without indicating the amount of memory)

According to the terms of the competition, enthusiasts took the place of the manufacturer and received a task for a specific budget. I would like to note right away that the analysis of the proposed configurations provided enough data to justify one or another component in our assemblies.

If we are talking about maximum FPS on a limited budget, then the obvious way is to determine the most productive combination of processor and video card. Which is exactly what the vast majority did. The main problem turned out to be which of the remaining components to save on.

First What has been saved is the motherboard. Given the difference in cost of about 670 UAH between budget mATX chipsets with 2 RAM slots and full-size chipsets with 4 slots, preference was given to the former.

Second- volume random access memory. In view of the current situation in the RAM market (a shortage that has led to an increase in cost), 83% of participants came to the conclusion that 8 GB is quite sufficient capacity for a budget gaming model.

Third– Case and power supply. The main selection criterion turned out to be only its availability (metal thickness, dimensions, cooling were taken into account due to budget limitations). With power supplies, the situation turned out to be less sad; the vast majority installed a 500W power supply.

Fourth- cooling system. The result is 50/50. BOX was preferred by half of the participants, the other half is inclined to budget cooling systems (not standard and good).

Fifth – HDD. “Joy” that came to us from Europe in the form of a refurbished HDD was not excluded from the overall rating, since it was not announced in the terms of the competition. Some participants took advantage of the loophole and included this used component in the configuration. True, this did not give the expected result: they saved money, but did not take into account the specifics of these HDD series. Freezes when loading the card affected FPS, so even a combination of GeForce 1060 + i5-7400 with a refurbished HDD showed sad results.

And finally– SSD – everything is simple here. He must be. The vast majority chose the budget 120 GB series.

AMD supporters were a bit disappointed. We will not undertake to judge, we will only voice bare numbers.

Percentage of Intel/AMD configurations (CPU)

• Intel – 67%
• AMD – 33%

The largest number of configurations was offered based on the Intel Core i5 processor, the second most popular family was Intel Core i3

Disqualified configurations (socket motherboard does not match the processor)

• Intel – 1 pc.
• AMD – 7 pcs.

We'll chalk it up to the relatively recent release of Ryzen and little awareness of the compatibility of sockets and RAM.

Percentage of NVidia/AMD configurations (GPU)

1. NVidia – 93%
2. AMD – 7%

What can I say here - mining has changed the video card market. The availability of the AMD gaming segment at an acceptable cost is approaching zero.

GeForce GTX 1060 3GB became the absolute leader in frequency of use

Testing methodology

Group testing of video cards in GTA V always causes a lot of controversy among experts due to several points.

First, GTA V DOES NOT HAVE preset graphics quality profiles.

Secondly, testing video cards of different classes (LowEnd-HighEnd) with different amounts of video memory on identical settings becomes biased.

Therefore, for the objectivity of the results, we individually selected the maximum possible settings graphics. Which were often limited by the amount of video memory. The approach turned out to be so customized and containing a huge amount of data that publishing it in this article would be unnecessary.

Testing was carried out using a built-in benchmark. To achieve maximum accuracy, the test was run three times. The final score was the average of three consecutive tests.

Winners

Configuration proposed by user with nickname Den Lys showed 70 FPS and became the winner.

Interestingly, we offered this exact configuration as an exclusive model to a major online retailer and became the best-selling model in our lineup on Black Friday this year.

This suggests that due to the limited number of processor and video card combinations that can show high results in the game, as well as the general situation on the component market and budget restrictions, there are not so many alternatives for both manufacturers and enthusiast gamers a lot of.

Details on the winning configuration

As stated in the terms of the competition, this configuration, which clearly illustrates the same line of thought between the manufacturer and enthusiasts, has already been put into mass production.

Video - configuration testing:

We called the model ULTIMATE I5555 and you can already buy it on the official website impression.ua: http://impression.ua/Impression-Ultimate-I5555

With a slight margin in FPS, 2nd and 3rd places were determined.

PC assembly for gaming can be an expensive pleasure. It's easy to put together a box or two that can cost $2,000 or $3,000. Can everyone afford such a car? Of course not. In fact, many people are on a budget. But that doesn't mean you can't build a car you can be proud of. If you're careful with your parts selection, you can still build an impressive computer that can handle today's games just fine.

A budget gaming PC will usually present more problems than a gaming PC that costs between 1500 dollars and higher. Finding parts for these machines may seem like a nightmare, but this article will help you build a budget PC that won't break the bank.

This build was created with a budget of $800 , not including additional functions, such as: optical drive and big HDD. It basically does not contain unnecessary expensive components such as the case, memory and even the processor, instead spending almost the entire budget on the video card. This build is a good basis for future component improvements. (If you think that $800 dollars for a computer is a big cost, then we suggest that you familiarize yourself with our " " assembly, the cost of which is about $500 )

Performance-wise, you should expect this build to run games very well. 1080p And 1440p, but at an average level in 4K. What is not good is using CPU-intensive tasks such as video editing, streaming, and CPU-intensive games: Civilization VI or Ashes of Singularity, but that's to be expected given the price and ultra-budget processor.

The final price also does not include the purchase of an operating system and any peripherals. Check out our buying guides for the best mouse, keyboard or gaming monitor to fully immerse yourself in the games (link will be available later).

Gaming PC Components

Building a Budget PC

Photo	Name	Price
	Intel Pentium G4560	5600
	Nvidia GTX 1070	26600
	ASRock B250M Pro4	6000
	G.Skill Ripjaws V Series DDR4-2666 16GB (2x8GB)	10200
	Crucial MX300 275GB	5800
	Fractal Design Core 1100	2800
	EVGA 450W 80+ Bronze PSU	2100

We created this list in Q4 2017. Product prices may change greatly by the time you read the article. The prices given here are the average between Russian stores ( DNS, Technopoint, Yulmart) and American ( Amazon, Newegg and Gameseek).

CPU Processor: Intel Pentium G4560

We settled on this particular processor, but the choice was quite difficult. After many hours of searching for problems with kernels, cache, Hyper-Threading And clock frequency, the determining factor that most influenced the purchase was price.

We haven't seen a Hyper-Threaded Pentium since the Pentium 4 and Pentium D in the mid-2000s. A lot has changed over the past ten years, but the budget price limit for Pentium G4560- $65 including Intel heatsink and fan. This makes the processor potentially one of the most interesting budget Intel processors, released over the years.

One of the main reasons we chose this processor is that it is a good budget CPU for the given conditions. We didn't choose the Core i3-7100, which for an extra $60 offers only minor improvements when it comes to gaming. The next step after this would be i3-7350K which will require an unlocked motherboard for overclocking, or i5-7400, which is definitely an upgrade, but also costs a lot more.

In our case, think about G4560 how about an intermediate processor. At $65, it allows us to pour our entire budget into a graphics card. This means you'll be able to play games well at 1080p and 1440p, but you won't be able to handle complex tasks on the CPU with ease.

GPU video card: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070.

Thanks to price reductions on a number of our components, we've built our budget PC around a powerful graphics card GeForce GTX 1070. At launch this card cost $450 or more and was a good value back then. Since then, prices have dropped to $400 and below, sometimes as low as $300. In this price category GTX 1070 is an incredible graphics card. Please note that the cryptocurrency rush has now increased GPU prices, so be patient and visit stores often.

GTX 1070 is capable of delivering 100 FPS at 1080p in most games, and also works well at 1440p. It's worth noting that FPS was measured several months ago, so this estimate is outdated as games have become more optimized and new drivers have been released. Today the card issues 111 frames per second.

Motherboard: ASRock B250M Pro4

Like most of the components in our build, ASRock B250M Pro4- This is a budget motherboard. The motherboard contains dual M.2 slots, four DIMM, as well as USB 3.0 Type C port, everything is mATX. This board allows you to install 4 RAM sticks if you need additional RAM.

RAM: 16GB DDR4 (2x8GB)

You can never have too much RAM. Everyone knows this. In general, with today's requirements, it makes no sense to take less 8GB memory, since 4 and 6 gigabytes are usually used in laptops and desktop computers for work, but not for play. If you need more memory, the motherboard supports 4 RAM sticks.

We're not going to recommend a specific RAM brand or frequency to you as prices fluctuate daily. Quite a lot of tests were carried out, the purpose of which was to study how the frequency of RAM affects it. In most tests, the performance gain was minimal, so overpaying several tens of dollars for speed is pointless. Another piece of advice that professionals give is that if you decide to take 8GB of memory, then split it into 2, rather than take 1 stick.

SSD Memory: Crucial MX300 275GB

Usage SSD for gaming PC has important. In case of installation HDD Without an SSD, you can save a huge amount of money and gain in memory, but you will lose a lot in speed. They usually install on a flash drive operating system and games with programs that will load many times faster than if it were on the HDD. Our choice fell on Crucial MX300 with 275 GB, which is a good option for the first build. In a subsequent improvement, you can add a 500 or 1000GB HDD, on which all images, documents and other files will be stored.

Power supply: EVGA 450W 80+ Bronze PSU

As with memory, most power supplies from major suppliers tend to have high quality, and don't compromise on PSU quality. It's semi modular EVGA 450W 80+ Bronze certified unit that comes with a 3-year warranty.

Case: Fractal Design Core 1100

It's a micro-ATX mini case that gives you plenty of build space and also opens up options for purchasing cheaper mATX motherboards. Fractal Design is one of the most well-known case manufacturers, and the Core 1100 is a great example for a budget build. It has 1x USB 3.0, 1x USB 2.0 and front panel audio ports. It also features a 120mm 1200 RPM fan, along with dust filters on the front and sealed panels on the top and bottom.

Modern powerful solutions for game lovers are not affordable for everyone. Corporations that produce PC components make super-profits, but they don't care about the average user. Therefore, the question of assembling a gaming or simply powerful computer for adequate money arises. Who wants to feed a pack of unscrupulous world-class producers? So, our question can be formulated something like this: “How to collect the most cheap computer for gaming without sacrificing too much performance?" That's what we're talking about.

What is it for?

First of all, you should look at the cost of components for any PC, and you can easily answer this question. Your hair will stand on end when you find out how many percentages manufacturers mark up on their products. Record holders in this regard - Apple company. When the cost of iPhones is $216, they sell them for $900. What is the markup percentage? Manufacturers of computer components do the same. The cheapest computer, assembled from components from well-known brands, will cost about 25,000 rubles. And this is a basic configuration PC.

That is why the urgent question arises about assembling a PC on your own using the cheapest components. They are exactly the same in quality, but there is no increase in price “for the brand”. And if there is no difference, then why pay more? The cheapest computer components behave no worse than their “pedigree” counterparts. So let's talk about selecting the “right” components.

Component #1: Motherboard

This is the basis of any computer. His alpha and omega. It is she who decides what your PC will be capable of. Saving on a motherboard is bad form. But even here you can find cheaper options. For example, a board from MSI called H110M Pro VD. It costs about 3,500 rubles, but has all the characteristics expected of a gaming motherboard. Support high-speed SATA interface and modern video cards are present. The cheapest computer deserves a much more modest base. But why not take this one if finances allow?

There is another good option, but it will cost a little more. Motherboard from the same company, but with improved characteristics. More powerful components can be placed on its base. True, it will cost more. So in terms of savings, it’s better to stick with the first option. The best one will work perfectly with this motherboard.

Component #2: Processor

Another important element of any course is to use “stones” from Intel. They are more productive and reliable. But products from AMD are much cheaper. As a compromise, you can choose Intel Skylake. This is a processor from the latest generation of Intel. So it works as expected. It will cost approximately 3,500 rubles. Quite a normal device for the money. The cheapest computer could have been equipped with something simpler.

In the camp of analogues from AMD, oddly enough, there is no adequate replacement for this “Intel”. All comparable models are either an order of magnitude weaker, or, having comparable power, are much more expensive. Therefore, Intel is the most preferable option, based on practicality considerations.

Component #3: RAM

There is much more variety here. But we need a cheap and productive product. You need to install at least one 8 GB stick. For games you can't do less. And even better - two 8 RAMs - that's something. The Kingston HX421C14FB can be considered as a RAM. One 8 GB stick will cost you 3,600 rubles (approximately). So it’s quite possible to take two at once. It is important that both strips are from the same manufacturer. Otherwise, conflicts may occur.

RAM greatly affects the performance of the entire system as a whole. That's why there's never too much here. For games, it is very important to have a decent number of gigabytes in RAM, because all textures are loaded there.

Component #4: Video Card

It is impossible to imagine a gaming PC without a discrete graphics card. Typically, the graphics adapter is the most expensive component of a computer. But you can save money here too. Eg, ASUS Radeon An R7 360 with two gigabytes of RAM will cost approximately 8,000 rubles. With such a card you can easily play everything modern games. The path is not even at maximum settings.

If you don't want to pay for a video chip, then the selected processor has a built-in graphics chip that can handle some games like Dota or CS Go. But you shouldn’t count on good performance and beautiful graphics in this case.

Other components

The remaining components of a PC do not have such a strong impact on its price and performance. So here you can find your way around. Moreover, the remaining components are usually presented in a very wide range.

Conclusion

So, the above computer configuration (including the components that we ignored) will cost somewhere around 15-20 thousand rubles. Now you know how much the cheapest gaming PC costs, and don't let manufacturers and retailers fool you. Collect everything yourself and you will always be in the black.