Today we are piecing together the ultimate “budget” gaming system, featuring some rather impressive hardware. With plenty of storage space, memory, and a quality graphics card, our budget gaming system offers gamers a serious bang for their buck!
Earlier this year we set out to build the ultimate “budget” gaming PC. Using a conservative $900 US budget we were able to build a complete system including LCD monitor and a keyboard/mouse, that was very capable of playing the latest games at the time. Now, just over half a year later, we have decided to re-visit this idea and build another $900 US ultimate budget gaming PC.
The original gaming system featured an Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 processor installed onto a Gigabyte P35-DS3L motherboard, which was also coupled with 2GB of A-DATA DDR2-800 memory. The graphics card of choice at the time for budget systems was the Radeon HD 3870. The system was outfitted with a 500GB WD hard drive and an ASUS 20X DVD±R DVD Burner, which was installed into a Cooler Master Centurion 5 CAC-T05-WW case.
Powering all this hardware was the OCZ StealthXStream OCZ500SXS power supply. Then to make the most of it we included the ASUS VW193D 19" LCD and a set of Logitech X-240 speakers. For the keyboard and mouse we went with a simple option, in the form of the Microsoft Standard Desktop 500 package. All up this hardware was purchased for roughly $900 US, and allowed us to play some pretty impressive games using reasonable quality settings.
For example, Crysis was perfectly playable at 1440x900 using medium quality settings, with an average of 48fps. Other games, such as Unreal Tournament 3, saw an average of over 100fps using maximum in game quality settings, while Company of Heroes also averaged 60fps, which was very impressive. In fact, while this performance was very good for a sub $1000 US system, it is still quite good by today’s standards.
As we predicated this configuration should be good for at least 12 months, after which time it may struggle with the most cutting edge games. Furthermore, the configuration is highly upgradable and for less than $200 US gamers could breathe much more life into this gaming system, with a Radeon HD 4850 for example. In fact, this is the graphics card of choice for today’s ultimate budget gaming PC.
This latest update includes much more memory and hard drive space, while not only the graphics card but also the processor is much more powerful than the previously selected hardware. Furthermore, it is now also possible to purchase a much bigger LCD screen without breaking our budget, which will help us make better use of the Radeon HD 4850. Without wasting any more time, let’s take a look at the selected hardware in more detail.
| |
| The core components of any gaming system include the processor or CPU, motherboard, memory or RAM, and of course the graphics card, which allows us to play all those 3D games. Last time we spent $415 US on these components, this time we spent a little more than that. Building a new gaming computer from the ground up does require a lot of research. Picking the core components such as the processor, motherboard, memory, and graphics card should be done first. These components typically cost the most as well, so it is best to choose them wisely. Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 = $120 US
The reason for once again choosing an Intel Core 2 processor remains the same. These processors offer excellent performance at the asking price and they are easily upgradable. The list of upgrade possibilities is massive, including a huge range of dual-core and quad-core processors. Priced at a reasonable $120 US, the E7200 is incredibly quick. This 2.53GHz dual-core processor features a 3MB L2 cache and runs on the 1066MHz FSB. Furthermore, because this is a 45nm processor, it is also very cool and therefore allows for quiet operation. When looking to spend in the low hundreds for a processor, there are quite a few options to choose from, many of which are built by AMD. While the budget AMD processors are very good, we still tend to favor the Intel processor for gaming orientated systems. The E7200 is the same price as the E4600, and you might recall we used the E4500 in our last budget gaming PC article. That said, we went with the E7200 for the simple reason that it is faster and better in every way. It could be worth spending $20 US more on the E7300, which works at 2.66GHz, though if you do that the E8200 which is another $20 more expensive also works at 2.66GHz, though it sports twice as much L2 cache. In an effort to stick with our set budget the E7200 was selected for its perfect balance of price and performance. Now that we had found a processor that fit the criteria, it was time to select a motherboard to use it on. Recently we published an article titled “Complete Crossfire Chipset Comparison” which compared a number of chipsets running a pair of Radeon HD 4850 graphics cards in Corssfire mode. The flagship Intel X48 chipset was included and compared to the cheaper P45 chipset, and for the most part the X48 was just 5% faster. Therefore the P45 is the real winner, offering similar features and performance even in Crossfire mode, for a much more affordable price. However, there are quite a few Intel P45 motherboards out there, many of which are still very pricey. Therefore we went with the ECS P45T-A, which costs just $90 US making it the cheapest Intel P45 motherboard money can buy. If you were to spend $10 US more it would be possible to purchase the cheapest P45 motherboard that ASUS has on offer for example. However, in many ways the ECS P45T-A is better equipped, featuring the ICH10R south bridge as an example. Really, for $90 US the ECS P45T-A is tremendous value, offering high-end features such as CorssfireX which is also not found on the ASUS P5Q SE as it only offers a single PCI Express 16x slot. Another product that we just recently gave the once over was the G.Skill PI Black PC2-6400 (4GB) memory kit, which can be had for an incredibly low $70 US. This memory kit features two 2GB modules that work using CAS 4-4-4-12 timings at standard voltages. Finally the most exciting component of any gaming system, the graphics card, and as mentioned earlier we went with the Radeon HD 4850. The brand of choice was Palit, as their standard Radeon HD 4850 costs just $170 US and features an upgraded PCB design and cooler. The Radeon HD 4850 is certainly the best value graphics card seen in many years, offering high-end performance for low-end money. This component is what will make this the ultimate budget gaming PC.
Although components such as hard drives, cases, and power supplies are just as essential as processors and motherboards for example, we feel users have more flexibility with these components. This can make buying them both easier and unfortunately more difficult, as there is a much wider range to choose from. Seagate ST3640323AS 640GB = $80 US
Picking a hard drive is not exactly rocket science, as there are typically just a few things you need to decide. First and foremost what size hard drive do you need? This will determine how much you need to spend, mind this can of course go vice-versa as well. Generally I almost always buy a hard drive based on value rather than what I think I might need. For example, the Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 320GB hard drive costs $65 while the 640GB version is just 23% more while offering 100% more capacity. This means the 640GB version offers 8GB’s per $1 compared to the 4.9GB's you get per $1 with the 320GB version. Taking all this into account, if you feel 320GB of storage space is overkill then you might as well save as much as you can and go with a smaller drive. The 640GB Seagate drives feature a 32MB memory buffer while it spins at 7,200-RPM and uses the SATA interface. Another thing you may want to consider is the use of desktop RAID. Given this is a gaming system we imagine users would possibly be interested in RAID0, which is designed to improve performance. That said, our system will not be using RAID as we have gone with a single 640GB hard drive. The optical drive is a key component for installing new software, such as the operating system and of course games! There are hundreds of options out there, with the DVD±RW drives being the most obvious solutions, as they can read and burn CD’s as well as DVD’s, making them the ultimate all in one device. Traditionally optical devices have stuck to using the IDE interface, which has been very disappointing for those wanting to ditch those thick ugly ribbon cables. However, recently a number of optical devices have made the transition to SATA (Serial ATA), which is a significant design improvement in our opinion. The Lite-on DVD±RW drive that we went with costs just $20 US and supports a huge range of medias. For example, DVD writing can be done at 20x with either plus or minus media, while DVD re-writing can be done at 8x for plus media and 6x for minus media. Older writable CD’s can be burnt at 48x, while they can be re-written at 32x. The Lite-on drive also supports dual-layer burning at 8x. Another component that is generally based more on personal taste rather than anything else is the case. While there are all kinds of expensive and elaborate cases to choose from, we had to keep our $900 US budget in mind when selecting this component. Therefore we picked up a Cooler Master Centurion 534 case for just $50 US, which is very similar to the Cooler Master case that we used last time. Keep in mind that this case does not include a power supply and therefore we have selected our own quality power supply. The power supply has become one of the most critical components in today’s computer builds, which is surprising given just a few years ago they never really seemed to matter. The importance of the power supply has come into focus due to the increasing power demands of today’s hardware components. Many processors require over 100 watts of power to work, and can demand even more when overclocked. However the Core 2 Other hardware components, such as the graphics card, can also suck down a serious amount of power, and while the Radeon HD 4850 is not nearly as bad as some, it is still a very hungry graphics card. Under rated or cheap power supplies will struggle to meet the demands of gaming systems and will eventually die trying to meet the demand. This can also cause instability, which is the last thing you want when gaming, and can also really hurt the overclocking performance of the computer. Therefore we have gone with the Cooler Master eXtreme Power Plus RS-500 power supply which is rated for a 500 watt output, which will be more than enough to meet the computers demands.
Other none critical components that are still essential items include the monitor, keyboard, and mouse. Again, while we have suggested one of each to suit a $900 US budget, you are free to choose your own LCD monitor for example, if you think there is a product that better suits your needs. Here are our choices... ASUS VW222U = $210 US
These days it is all about the LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) and with so many brands and models to choose from, picking one is never an easy process. When it comes to LCD monitors I am no expert, but I do have a lot of experience using a wide range of LCD’s of almost all sizes. The main things to look out for are brightness rating, contrast ratio, response time, and whether or not you want to go widescreen, which we recommend doing. Then of course you have to decide on a size, for example 19”, 20”, 22”, 24” and so on. Right now a cheap price for a good quality 19” LCD is around $150 US, while a decent 20” LCD costs about $160 US. Then there are the 22” LCD monitors that start around $170 US, which is very reasonable for a large monitor and shouldn’t blow our budget. Therefore we went with the ASUS VW222U 22" LCD which features a snappy 2ms gray to gray response time. Being a 22” model the native resolution is 1680x1050, which is an ideal resolution for the Radeon HD 4850. For years I have gamed with basic Microsoft and Logitech keyboard and mice combos. Although I do stick mainly to RTS (Real-Time Strategy) gaming, I can hold my own in games such as Quake 3 Rocket Arena, Unreal Tournament 3, and even Call of Duty 4. The more expensive mice, such as the Logitech G5, have never worked the way I would like them to and feel strange to me. Obviously this is all based on personal opinion and preference, for this reason I really dislike mice reviews. Keyboards are really no better, and I am even less concerned with this item when gaming. However, because I do write thousands of words daily, a nice keyboard is appreciated. Therefore we have included something a little more affordable, such as the Logitech Internet 350, a nice cheap keyboard and mouse combo that can stand the test of time. For just $20 US this is a great keyboard and mouse combo that I would highly recommend to anyone not that particular about these basic input devices.
Without overclocking or any other tweaks, this is the kind of performance you can expect from this hardware configuration. Normally we only test at the native resolution of the LCD that is being recommended. However this time we have also included 1440x900 and 1920x1200 performance results, to give you an idea of what kind of performance to expect if you do decide to change the LCD...
 For just $900 US this system certainly holds its own in the latest games, such as Crysis Warhead and Sacred 2. At 1680x1050 the Sacred 2 is highly playable, as is Unreal Tournament 3 and Company of Heroes Opposing Fronts. Although we saw an average of just 28fps in Crysis Warhead, keep in mind all the visual settings were set to the high or gamer level, as they now call it. So really, with a little tweaking the average frame rate in Crysis Warhead could easily be boosted to over 40fps.
Given our reasonably limited budget of just $900 US for a gaming PC, we feel the end result is really very impressive. For example, games such as Sacred 2, Company of Heroes, and Unreal Tournament 3 played in all their glory without a problem at 1680x1050 (22” LCD widescreen resolution). While Crysis Warhead still ran quite well, it will work best with some minor tweaks. Let’s just take a quick look at the full system specifications…
It is worth mentioning that due to the large amount of memory available, relatively powerful processor, and high-end graphics card, this sub-$1000 US computer is also capable of being used for video editing, CAD work, and image editing. Really, within reason this budget gaming PC is capable of just about anything. The hardware that has been selected for this budget gaming system should also cater for future upgrades of the processor, memory, and graphics card. Although we built our first “Ultimate Budget Gaming PC” just over 6 months ago now and we really do understand how fast things can change in this industry, it is still amazing what you can build for just under $1000 US now compared to back then. For example, while we spent just $170 US on the Palit Radeon HD 4850, an equivalent graphics card back then would have cost around $550 - $600 US alone. However, it is not just the graphics cards that have come down in price, imagine buying 4GB of low-latency DDR2 memory, or even a 22” LCD monitor 6 months ago; you would be up for at least twice as much. Right now is a perfect time to build a budget system, and while there is new and exciting hardware on the horizon, it will not be available at the kind of prices we are seeing today, at least not for some time. While we are pretty adamant about the processor, motherboard, memory, and graphics card combination that we have selected, there is more freedom when selecting components such as the case, speakers, keyboard, and mouse. The same also applies to the LCD monitor and even the power supply. Being a gaming system, we recommend a quality 500w power supply, as it will not have a problem dealing with high levels of stress for long periods at a time. The core components, which include the Intel Core 2 Finally, as always, please note that we do not include an operating system, or any software for that matter, in our PC buying guides, as we only include all necessary hardware. This is because there are a number of different versions of Windows out there that vary in price and features, and no one version will suit everyone. Furthermore, many readers will probably already have a copy of the OS they wish to install on their new gaming computer. If not, please be aware that the operating system will be an additional cost. Reviewed By Steven Walton http://www.legionhardware.com | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No comments:
Post a Comment