So I had an intersting challenge, to set up the specs for a budget gaming PC. Now most people think that you need a huge budget to play those bleeding edge PC games but no you really don't. You can get a pc which can perform way better than any ps3 or xbox360 could ever do. Oh and it already has a monitor too.
Notes: I'm not much of an AMD or ATI fan nor am I too knowledgable on AMD's processor lineup. I prefer Nvidia graphics card because they have great drivers and I never had a problem with it unlike with a few games and ATI drivers. Prices are approximate and gotten from websites from various computer stores. So the price can go a bit cheaper or a tad more expensive depending on where you shop.
Notes: I'm not much of an AMD or ATI fan nor am I too knowledgable on AMD's processor lineup. I prefer Nvidia graphics card because they have great drivers and I never had a problem with it unlike with a few games and ATI drivers. Prices are approximate and gotten from websites from various computer stores. So the price can go a bit cheaper or a tad more expensive depending on where you shop.
Anyway, here it is. A specsheet for a gaming pc for 30k without much of the tech babble.
Processor: Intel Core i3-530 2.93Ghz P 4,800
The core i3 may not be quad core or has Intel's turbo boost technology (correct me if I'm wrong) but its still quite a performer and adaquate for most tasks you'll throw at it. If you're wondering the core i5 is 2,000 more for the dual-core versiona while the i5 4 core is about 9,000 a big gap to say the least.
Graphics Card: Inno3d GTS250 512mb 256bit P 4,600
Since this is a gaming pc the most important aspect is the graphics card. First things first, don't be fooled by bigger memory equals a better card. No, it doesn't work like that. Things to consider are series, bit and third is memory. What the hell am I saying?
Series means what kind of card it is. A quick guide for you. Nvidia's card has 3 numbers (or 4 for older ones) the 1st number signifies the series (ie 400 is newer than 200, duh) the second number IS IMPORTANT. Let me make it easy by doing a simple table.
Number Meaning
2-3 budget-low performance
4 budget-gaming-low performance
5 budget-gaming-mid performance
8 best performance
That's basically to give you an idea. Now the memory, if you have a monitor that's below 21" 512mb is more than enough. Bit, ok simply there are 2 versions 128bit and 256bit its a measure on how fast the data is transfered or something like that. Go with the 256bit everytime because its.. that's what common sense dictates.
Why Inno3d? Well they're affordable and have good quality. You can also go with Palit. I wouldn't go with anything else. Asus, MSI, Gigabyte are better brands but will cost you way more.
The GTS250 is a great card at a great price. If you can't find one in that store find another store or look for a 9800GT much cheaper better performance but slighlty older. Seriously GTS250 or 9800GT or if you really don't have much of a choice a GT240. Remember this is a gaming pc. Other cards have lower performace and isn't worth the cash.
RAM/Memory: 4GB DDR3 P 4,000
You're probably going to install windows 7 on your new fancy pc. There's one philosophy with ram. The more the better. Don't skimp on the ram. It's useful for multitasking, gaming and all your applications. Seriously 3GB or 4GB and nothing lower. As for brand go with Kingston and Corsair are great brands with affordable rams. Why DDR3? It's the only thing thats compatible with your motherboard and your processor. Oh and it's cheaper now.
Motherboard: Anything that's compatible with core i3 P4,000
Since you're not going to overclock the pc (because you are reading this guide or you don't really know what that means) a basic motherboard is enough. Most motherboard has everything you need like a couple of usb ports, all those plugs, etc. If you want to upgrade your speakers to get surround sound (7.1) then find a board that has ports for those since standard boards get the usual pink, green and some other color. Brand is pretty important here though. Don't go with something cheap since some brands are known to be crap quality. I suggest Asus, MSI or Gigabyte. Anything else is up to and some prayers.
HDD: Anything 500GB P2,000
One Terabyte is about 1,000 more. If you really want the 1TB you can choose a lower graphics card and a less reliable brand in motherboard. Or you can stretch the budget to about 31k or ask for a discount on some of the prices. Brand? Seagate or Maxtore. I personally had some trouble with Seagate since my 500gb failed and had to replace it. Just saying.
Monitor: Samsung EX1920X LED 19" P6,500
To be exact its 18.5 but common thats 19". You can drop the price a bit if you switch to LCD. What's the difference? Not much really. LED is said to be more environment friendly and consumes less on the power side. Samsung is a great brand for me it almost always lasts very long. Your choice whether to go with a different brand just don't go with the cheaper brands since known brands have great and proven awesome picture quality.
Current Total: 25,900 lets round that out to 26,000
What else?
DVD Drive 1,200
Generic Casing with PSU 1,500
Keyboard+Mouse 800
Current Total: 29,500 or something close to that.
I'd like to really suggest a branded power supply (PSU) but thats an extra 3,200. A Windows 7 OEM (orig of course) 4,000-4,700 depends on which one you get. Please get a decent keyboard mouse. A4tech as great ones at a cheap price.
So there you have it. A pc that can max out a lot of games with your 19" monitor. To those who may not be familiar with pc specs, It's graphics are prettier than a ps3 or xbox 360 with the right game.
Sit back relax and turn every setting up!
