Once more it’s time for our seasonal Budget Gaming PCs. In this recurring feature I assemble two new gaming PCs for gamers on a budget to give you an idea of what’s good to get nowadays.
The Genuine Budget System is built with a maximum budget of 600 euro. For that kind of money you can actually get a very capable gaming PC that is more than able to run any of today’s games in decent resolutions at high visual quality. And this season’s system even comes in drastically below the maximum allotted budget!
On the other hand we have the Quality Budget System, which is almost a high-end gaming PC, but comes at a very good price point. This fall I have assembled an absolute killer rig at surprisingly low cost. No game will bring this one to its knees.
First there are a few things you might wish to take into account when viewing these budget gaming systems:
- The Genuine Budget System is not intended to be a top-notch gaming system. It will play any recent game, often in high-resolution with high detail, but don’t expect to go maxing out everything in sight.
- The Quality Budget System will play any recent game in high detail, but may not be enough to play them in 1920×1080 (full-HD) detail. Do not compare this to your console: your console renders at most 1280×720 pixels, and usually less, even if it stretches to full-HD resolutions. In other words: even the Genuine Budget System is likely to be wholly superior to your Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3.
- Take a look at your current system for components you may be able to scrounge for a new gaming system. The Hard disk drive and DVD-writer can generally be transferred without any problems. Your case may be too small for your new Graphics Card / Power Supply. Your Power Supply may not be powerful enough for your new Graphics Card.
- Accessories are not included. You’d need to purchase a monitor, keyboard, mouse & headset separately.
- You do not have to do home assembly. Most computer shops will do this for you for a minor fee. (40-70 euro)
- Ordering at a single PC shop can save you money: less shipping costs.
- See this article for an assortment of tips on hardware selection and home assembly.
Well then, the past few months have been very positive for the Genuine Budget System. There’s been no need to change the setup (too much) from what it was last time, but most of the prices for the components dropped significantly. As a result the system now packs a better computer case and graphics card and still comes in well under budget.
Genuine Budget System
Motherboard ASUS P5Q SE 70,- EUR Processor Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 92,- EUR Graphics Card XFX HD4870 512 MB 99,- EUR Memory (RAM) 1 + 2 GB Kingston PC2-6400 32,- EUR Hard disk drive Western Digital Caviar Black 640 GB 54,- EUR DVD-Writer ASUS DRW-2014S1T 24,- EUR Power Supply OCZ ModXStream Pro 500Watt 55,- EUR Computer Case Antec Three Hundred 48,- EUR Operating System Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit 93,- EUR Total: 567,- euro
The Quality Budget System has seen similar price drops, but some switch-ups have resulted in a slightly more expensive system. A more capable power supply unit has been installed to cope better with eventual upgrades (extra hard disk drives, etc.).
Also, the Radeon 4870 graphics card was replaced by NVidia’s ENGTX 275 card, featuring better driver support and performance. Lastly, prices for DDR2 memory (only in the 4 GB range) have risen dramatically as of late, which has driven the memory cost up a bit.
Quality Budget System
Motherboard ASUS P5Q SE 70,- EUR Processor Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 130,- EUR Graphics Card ASUS Geforce ENGTX 275 (896 MB) 176,- EUR Memory (RAM) 4 GB Corsair PC2-6400 (DDR2) 67,- EUR Hard disk drive Western Digital Caviar Black 640 GB 54,- EUR DVD-Writer ASUS DRW-2014S1T 24,- EUR Power Supply OCZ ModXStream Pro 600 Watt 69,- EUR Computer Case Antec Three Hundred 48,- EUR Operating System Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit 93,- EUR Total: 731,- euro
Motherboard
ASUS P5Q SE
Still an ideal budget choice with good performance, plenty of connectors for any sort of user and it comes at a decent price. The P5Q SE also comes with ASUS’s EPU energy saving solution, which makes it a relatively power-efficient hardware component.
As a result it’s the motherboard of choice for both systems.
Processor
Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 – Genuine Budget System
The same CPU as in the summer edition. An okay processor with 3 MB cache.
It may not be a match for the E8400, but it’s certainly sufficient for any recent game. Most modern games rely more on your graphics card than your processor anyway.
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 – Quality Budget System
Again the same CPU as the one featured in the summer edition. This is just a very solid choice at 3 GHz with a 6 MB cache.
I picked a dual core processor, because quad cores have yet to become useful for gamers. If you’re looking to do a lot of photo and video editing then you might want to swap this one out for a lower clocked quad core processor.
If you’re only going to need your heavy processing power for games, then there is no reason to opt for a quad core CPU yet. Your higher clocked dual core will outperform a lower clocked quad core in most modern games.
Graphics card
XFX HD4870 512 MB – Genuine Budget System
A sweet upgrade over last time’s HD4850 graphics card. The 4870 offers far superior performance at a mere 19 euro premium.
It should be noted that if you have 40 euro extra to spend then you’d be better off opting for a GTX260 graphics card than the 4870 1GB version. The GTX260 offers better driver support, full PhysX support, 1GB of RAM and plain better performance in a majority of games.
ASUS Geforce ENGTX 275 (896 MB) – Quality Budget System
Almost a full-blown high-end graphics card, with top-notch performance. You might opt for a 285- or 295GTX, but those cards are a lot more expensive for a marginal performance boost.
Memory
1 + 2 GB (2×512 and 2×1) PC2-6400 Kingston – Genuine Budget System
There’s been no need to change this. Memory prices in the 4 GB and 8 GB ranges have risen drastically, but not for this 3 GB solution.
At 3 GB you’re effectively operating at the limits of a 32-bits operating system. Opting for 4 GB instead will offer no notable performance gain, unless you have a 64-bit operating system.
4 GB (2×2) Corsair PC2-6400 – Quality Budget System
Swapped for Corsair because the Kingston modules got too expensive. These DDR2 modules have risen in price drastically.
It’s still worth having 4 GB if you do intend to have a 64-bit operating system for your new system. 64-bit may not be quite mainstream yet, but it’s definitely getting there, and you may want to in ahead of the curve.
Hard disk drive
Western Digital Caviar Black 640 GB
One of the very best 7200rpm hard disk drives available to date. I actually got one myself a few months ago and it’s performance is incredible.
In fact, this drive is so fast that there’s practically no reason to even opt for a Western Digital Raptor. Those top-end drives are much more expensive and only marginally faster.
The noise output is a tad higher than the Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000 I previously featured, but not high enough to be genuinely disruptive.
DVD Drive
ASUS DRW-2014S1T
Inexpensive and decent DVD burner.
Power Supply
OCZ ModXStream Pro 500 Watt – Genuine Budget System
A high quality power supply unit, which is also marked on SLI Zone as a SLI-certified product. This means it’s a high grade PSU featuring optimal (more than 80%) efficiency.
Still a very good choice for a new gaming system, but not if you’re headed to more demanding graphics cards or intending to use a lot of accessories.
OCZ ModXStream Pro 600Watt – Quality Budget System
I decided to upgrade the PSU in the Quality system, because of the new graphics card. The ENGTX 275 is not a major power hug, but a little extra juice can’t hurt.
It also leaves the system open to additional active devices (extra hard disk drives, utilities such as joysticks, gamepads, amBX systems, etc.) without requiring a PSU upgrade when it suddenly becomes too much for 500 Watt to bear.
Computer case
Antec Three Hundred
I’ve opted for the same computer case for both systems and with good reason.
Antec’s Three Hundred case is cheap, has good airflow and leaves plenty of room for additional drives. There’s no need to opt for anything else, unless you have some extra cash to spend on a better Antec case (like the P182).
Operating System
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium
If you get Windows Vista now, then it comes with a Windows 7 upgrade voucher. Make sure you use that voucher to order Windows 7 when it becomes available in October! After it becomes available, switch Vista for 7 in this recommendation!
Windows Vista is hardly as terrible as it’s been made out to be, and nowadays games (at least the ones that run in Vista) tend to perform nearly as good in Vista as they did in XP.
Still, once Windows 7 comes, you will want to hop on over. Windows 7 is just an all-around superior operating system, including superior gaming performance, and it should come free (well, you need to pay shipping costs) with your Windows Vista copy.
Okay, once more:
DO NOT GET VISTA IF YOU CAN GET WINDOWS 7!
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