Choosing a computer is a difficult and responsible task. Still, at least several tens of thousands of rubles are at stake, and the purchased configuration will spend at least a couple of years on your desk.

Especially for those who are not ready to spend several days studying all the features, pros and cons of computer components, we have prepared this material by collecting configurations for every taste and budget. The suggested builds are current for spring 2018, but if you are going to buy a computer later, then just bookmark this article - we update it regularly after the release of fresh components or price changes.

Briefly about the important

The situation on the iron market is now very interesting, and for buyers it is also profitable. In 2017, AMD performed well with Ryzen processors, pushing Intel in all price segments for the first time in a long time. As a result, the competitor in a hurry had to “roll out” a symmetrical answer in the form of an 8th generation Core on the Coffee Lake architecture with an increased number of cores and threads. The answer from AMD was not long in coming: by the end of April, the company introduced the updated Ryzen. This is not a full-fledged new generation, so you should not expect a sharp jump in performance. Nevertheless, the base frequencies of the new processors have grown, and in overclocking we can expect 4.3-4.4 GHz, which is unattainable for older versions. In addition, the line was replenished with processors with integrated Radeon Vega graphics: Ryzen 3 2200G, Ryzen 5 2400G. The chips are noticeably better than the similar Intel UHD 630 solution, and do a good job with network games like World of Tanks or Overwatch. We are interested in the younger model: on its basis it is quite possible to assemble a starting gaming PC for very little money, which can then be easily expanded with a discrete graphics card.

We will separately touch on the Meltdown and Specter vulnerabilities scandal that broke out at the beginning of 2018, which allow attackers to read memory using the internal functions of processors. As we discussed in , protections against these vulnerabilities really reduce the speed of processors, but this almost does not apply to gaming applications - there the performance drop is a maximum of a few percent. Processors in which the problem will be fixed at the iron level will be released at best in more than a year, so we see no point in postponing the purchase of a gaming computer for such a long time.

There were no major changes in the video card market, but the mining boom significantly raised prices - moreover, they were in short supply for some time in the summer. It comes to paradoxes: the less productive Radeon RX in games are now more expensive than the more successful GeForce. It is because of this that not a single card from AMD was included in the assemblies presented in this material.

There is also sad news: RAM continues to rise in price. Demand is growing very quickly from smartphone manufacturers, which are now equipped with 4-6 gigabytes of RAM, so the lines that produce RAM simply cannot cope.

If we talk about the configurations presented in the text, then we concentrate only on system units - the choice of keyboard, mouse, monitor and other peripherals is up to you. Let's not take into account the cost of assembling a computer: in many stores this service is now free, and if not, then they rarely charge more than a thousand rubles for it. In addition, you can assemble it yourself - the Internet is full of step-by-step instructions.

Gaming computer for 20 with a little thousand rubles

We will build a super-budget computer on the AMD Ryzen 3 2200G processor, which has four cores with a base frequency of 3.5 GHz, as well as integrated Radeon Vega graphics. You won't be able to take a separate video card for such a budget - we postpone its purchase for the near future, but for now we play on the built-in graphics core. We add an inexpensive motherboard based on the B350 ASRock AB350M-HDV chipset. Before buying, be sure to ask to flash a fresh BIOS with support for new processors. We will use a boxed cooler, it adequately copes with cooling (even with a slight overclocking) and does not create noise.

Ryzen requires high frequency memory, so we take 8 gigabytes of DDR4 2400 MHz from Samsung, it can be easily overclocked to 3200 MHz. Please note that in single-channel mode (when there is only one memory bar), the performance is significantly lower, so over time you will have to buy another bar. If the upgrade is not included in your plans, it is better to immediately take two sticks of four gigabytes each, it will be a little more expensive. Please note that there are only two memory slots, and if in the future you still want to install 16 GB, then the old memory will have to be sold.

Next, we buy a budget hard drive per terabyte with a spindle speed of 7200 rpm and a power supply unit with a power of 500 watts. Well, the case is a matter of taste. For this assembly, in order to save money, it is quite possible to look for used options. But if you want something new, then you can pay attention to Aerocool VS-1 for 1600 rubles.

Final configuration:

• Processor: AMD Ryzen 3 2200G BOX (6300 rubles).
• Motherboard: ASRock AB350M-HDV (4000 rubles).
• RAM: Samsung DDR4 2400 MHz 8GB (5200 rubles).
• Drive: Any 1 TB at a price of up to 3000 rubles and c 7200 rpm (Toshiba HDWD110EZSTA, WD10EZEX, Seagate ST1000DM010). In our assembly, we will consider WD10EZEX (2600 rubles).

Total: 22 900 rubles

You should not count on much, but the performance of the integrated graphics core is enough for a comfortable game of World of Tanks, Overwatch and GTA 5 in 1080p at medium-low settings. In heavy games like Rise of the Tomb Raider, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Kingdom Come: Deliverance, you can expect performance in the region of 30fps at 720p and the same mid-low settings. Moreover, with this configuration, you can even drive relatively comfortably in PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds. Over time, we buy a separate graphics card (we recommend GeForce GTX 1050 Ti with 4 GB) - and we get a pretty decent entry-level gaming computer. Almost as productive as in the next chapter, but in some ways worse.

Gaming computer for 40 thousand rubles

So, in the price category for 40 thousand, we already have two assemblies. Intel finally introduced cheap motherboards for Coffee Lake, so you can safely build an inexpensive system, and eventually put something like an i5-8400. With the AMD version, everything is fine too. SocketAM4 will be around for a few more years, so the build can be upgraded to any of the current Ryzen, and with a 99% probability to the next generation of these processors when it comes out.

For Intel, we take a quad-core Core i3-8100 with a frequency of 3.6 GHz. The boxed cooler is quite simple and not worth the overpayment, so we buy the processor in the OEM package. Let's take the motherboard with a margin for the future: MSI B360M PRO-VDH has 7 power phases, an M2 connector and 4 slots for RAM.

The “reds” will have a Ryzen 5 2400G with four cores and eight threads at a frequency of 3.6 GHz and a boost up to 3.9 GHz. The boxed version can be taken if it is not much more expensive than OEM. This time the budget allows you to take a better motherboard - MSI B350M PRO-VDH will do.

Then we add a GeForce GTX 1050 Ti video card with 4 GB of memory - the best price with good quality is traditionally from Palit. Yes, it is tempting to save money and look towards the GTX 1050 with 2 GB of memory or the Radeon RX560 with 4 GB. This is not worth doing. If you still really want to save money, then it is better to postpone the purchase of a discrete video card. The power of the integrated Radeon Vega graphics (approximately equal to the GeForce GT 1030) is enough to sit out for a while and raise money for a normal video card. Intel has a much weaker graphics chip, you can only play Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Dota 2 and other undemanding games.

The hard drive, case and power supply are the same as in the previous assembly, but this time we take the memory with two brackets at once, since both boards have four slots, which will allow increasing the volume in the future.

Final configuration:

• Processors: Intel Core i3-8100 OEM (7,400 rubles) or AMD Ryzen 5 2400G (10,200 rubles).
• Cooling: DeepCool IceBlade 100 (600 rubles).
• Motherboards: MSI B360M PRO-VDH (6200 rubles) for Intel or MSI B350M PRO-VDH (4900 rubles) for AMD.
• Video card: Palit GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 1290 MHz with 4 GB of memory (12,000 rubles).
• RAM: Samsung DDR4 2400 MHz two sticks of 4 GB (5500 rubles).
• Drive: Any 1 TB at a price of up to 3000 rubles and c 7200 rpm (Toshiba HDWD110EZSTA, WD10EZEX, Seagate ST1000DM010).
• Power supply: DeepCool DA500 500 watts (2900 rubles).
• Case: Aerocool VS1 Black (1900 rubles).

Total: 39,100 rubles (Intel) and 40,600 rubles (AMD).

With such a budget, you can only count on compromise gaming in Full HD at medium or high graphics settings with a comfortable amount of fps. And the word "comfortable" in this case means a level higher than 30 frames per second. For example, in Assassin's Creed Origins, our video card produces the coveted figure of 60 only at low settings. On Medium and High we get about 45 or 35 frames per second, respectively. In PUBG on medium you can expect a spread of 40 to 55 fps, and in Project Cars 2 - from 40-42 to 80 fps on high. Far Cry 5 will produce a stable 40-50 frames at maximum.

Gaming computer for 65 thousand rubles

A thousand dollars is, by today's standards, the optimal budget for a modern gaming computer. There are not so many compromises here: there is enough money even for an inexpensive SSD to speed up system boot and install a couple of the most relevant games.

In the case of Intel, it is worth taking the new i5-8400 with six full-fledged cores at a frequency of 2.8 GHz. Let's take the OEM version, and take the cooler Deepcool GAMMAXX 300. With the motherboard, everything is a little more complicated - although the younger chipsets have appeared on sale, their prices are still too high. The current budget allows you to pay a couple of thousand extra and take something on the Z370, for example, the relatively inexpensive ASUS PRIME Z370-P (8600 rubles). Of the benefits, you will get memory overclocking and the ability to install a processor with an index of K, which generally increases the life cycle of the system. Of course, for serious overclocking of the i7-8700k with subsequent verification in stress tests, it will not be enough, but it will cope with gaming tasks where the load is lower, as well as with the rest of the processors. However, if all this is not necessary, expect lower prices for lower motherboards.

In the case of AMD, the Ryzen 5 2600 seems to be the most logical choice. There are also six cores, but twelve threads. The base frequency is only 3.4 GHz, and in the boost it is 3.9 GHz. We take the board from inexpensive ones - for example, ASUS PRIME B350-PLUS for 5600 rubles, it will be enough even for moderate overclocking. We take the OEM version, since the new Ryzen 5 2600 comes with a simple Wraith Stealth cooler, instead of the more advanced Wraith Spire that came with the 1600 model.

We turn to the video card, and there is not much choice here either. GTX 1070 will not be enough money, so buying a GTX 1060 with 6 GB of memory seems like the most rational choice. It is most logical to stop at the most economical dual-fan option - Palit GTX 1060 Dual, which can be bought for about 20,000 rubles.

A significant part of the budget will be eaten by RAM. By today's standards, 8 GB of RAM is not enough even for an operating system, so we focus on two DDR4 sticks, which will give us a total of 16 GB. Both assemblies allow you to install high-frequency memory, this is especially important for AMD, so we take Corsair DDR4 3000 MHz. In order to save money, you can take cheaper memory for overclocking. Intel has no problems in this regard at all, in most cases the frequency of 2666 MHz will be enough, and if you need to squeeze the maximum fps out of the processor, then take the memory faster.

In addition to an inexpensive 1 TB HDD, we add a budget SSD with 128 GB of memory. A heavy-duty power supply is still not required - a decent 600-watt unit will suffice. We take the case a little more expensive: up to 2500 rubles. Our choice is the Aerocool Aero-500, but there are plenty of alternatives.

Final configuration:

• Processors: Intel Core i5-8400 OEM (11,800 rubles) or AMD Ryzen 5 2600 OEM (14,100 rubles).
• Cooling: Deepcool GAMMAXX 300 (1100 rubles).
• Motherboards: ASUS PRIME Z370-P for Intel (8600 rubles) or ASUS PRIME B350-PLUS for AMD (5900 rubles).
• Video card: Palit GeForce GTX 1060 1560 MHz Dual with 6 GB of memory (20,400 rubles).
• RAM: Corsair DDR4 3000 MHz - a set of two 8 GB sticks for AMD (13,500 rubles).
• Drives: Any 1 TB at a price of up to 3000 rubles c 7200 rpm and SSD WD Green 120 GB (3000 rubles).
• Power supply: Chieftek GPE-600S 600 W (2800 rubles).
• Case: AeroCool Aero-500 (2100 rubles).

Total: 65,900 (Intel) and 65,500 (AMD).

But what awaits us in games? You should still focus on Full HD, but already mainly with maximum graphics settings. In Overwatch there will be 100-120 fps, in Battlefield 1 - about 80, in GTA 5 - 80, in Watch Dogs 2 - 50-60, in PUBG - about 60, in Far Cry 5 - 60.

Gaming computer for 90-95 thousand rubles

Do you want to comfortably play in Full HD at maximum settings, at medium and high - in all other resolutions up to 4K? Then you need to mentally prepare to spend under 100 thousand for an assembly with AMD or Intel. However, it's worth it.

In the case of Intel, the list opens with the excellent Intel Core i5-8600K processor. In Coffee Lake, the company has finally expanded the architecture so that the processor now has 6 cores at a base frequency of 3.6 GHz. In Turbo Boost mode, the frequency reaches 4.3 GHz, and this “stone” accelerates up to 5 GHz! However, we recommend limiting yourself to moderate 4.2-4.5 GHz - they will be enough for all gaming tasks, and the processor will not heat up so much and consume less electricity. For such tasks, one of the most budget motherboards with the Z370 chipset and a cooler like the Deepcool Gammaxx 400 will suffice.

It would be logical for AMD to stop at a similarly priced Ryzen 5 2600X, but we will not recommend it. All Ryzen processors have an unlocked multiplier, so it makes no sense to buy versions with higher frequencies. With the exception of top models in expensive assemblies, when you don’t need to save. The usual Ryzen 5 2600 overclocking will be no worse than its older brother, only cheaper. Let's dwell on the Ryzen 7 2700. It is worth noting that in games the Ryzen 7 2700 does not have a significant advantage over the six-core Ryzen, so the assembly can only be recommended to those who not only play, but also stream, render video or work in professional applications.

Let's move on to the video card. The GTX 1070 just asks for this configuration, and even better - its more powerful modification 1070Ti. For now, we will focus on the GTX 1070Ti from Palit - you can now find it for about 35 thousand rubles. Take the JetStream version, it costs a little more, but the cooling is better than on the basic modification.

Due to the high price of RAM, you still have to limit yourself to the optimal 16 GB for games in the form of two 8 GB sticks. For Ryzen, its high frequency is important (3200 MHz is good), but in the Intel assembly, you can save money and take more budget options from 2666 MHz.

The designated budget allows you to get a more capacious SSD than in the previous assembly: buy 240-256 GB instead of 120-128. We again take the power supply for 600 W, but more expensive - Cooler Master B600 v2. The case is again up to your taste, but you can take one of the best solutions at a price of up to 3500 rubles - Deepcool Kendomen.

Final configuration:

• Processors: Intel Core i5-8600K OEM (16,500 rubles) or AMD Ryzen 7 2700 (22,000 rubles).
• Cooling: Deepcool Gammaxx 400 (1500 rubles).
• Motherboards: MSI Z370 Gaming Plus for Intel (8800 rubles) or ASUS PRIME X370-PRO (9700 rubles).
• Video card: Palit GeForce GTX 1070Ti with 8 GB of memory (36,000 rubles).
• Power supply: Cooler Master B600 v.2 600 W (3400 rubles).
• Case: Deepcool Kendomen (3000 rubles).

Total: 90,300 rubles (Intel) and 96,700 rubles (AMD).

With such assemblies, almost all modern games will give out much more than 60 fps in Full HD resolution at maximum settings. In the case of a resolution of 2560x1440, you will get from 35-40 to 60-80 fps with rare dips up to 25-27 fps on ultra quality in the most demanding projects.

Gaming computer for 120-130 thousand rubles

Despite the fact that a little later in the text the ideal dream computer will be considered, it is 120-130 thousand, in our opinion, the maximum amount that is reasonable to spend on a gaming computer. For this money, you will get a top-end assembly that will easily cope with graphics, video editing, and games at almost maximum resolution. You can do it a little faster and much more expensive, but if you wait a couple of years, then by upgrading the same system, for a smaller amount you will get a much better option.

In the assembly based on the Intel processor, we will take the company's new flagship - the 6-core Core i7-8700K with a base clock speed of 3.7 GHz. It makes sense to overclock such a processor to 4.5 GHz and even more, so we take a good cooling system - for example, a water Cooler Master MasterLiquid 240. And, of course, we buy an expensive motherboard based on the Z370 chipset.

In the case of the AMD processor, we will focus on the Ryzen 7 2700X, a good Noctua cooler, and an X370-based board. In the latter, you can later add a second graphics accelerator, since it has support for CrossFire and SLI.

You will have to save on RAM. I would like to put 32 GB here, but for games this is still an excess volume, and the price of such a kit is very high. Therefore, we will take only 16 GB, and we will better invest the rest of the money in a video card.

There is not enough money for expensive options, so let's take the Palit GeForce GTX 1080 Ti JetStream, which can be found on sale at a price of 56-60 thousand rubles.

The story with data storage is exactly the same as in the previous build: a terabyte hard drive plus an SSD with 240-256 GB of memory. As an option, you can consider buying a 480-512 GB SSD.

Given the prospect of upgrading to SLI, it is logical to take a more powerful power supply. If you want to save money, you can buy Aerocool Higgs 850W. He has no certificates, but he is almost as good as more expensive analogues with them, and the declared characteristics do not differ from reality - the author personally checked it on a bunch of GTX1070 and i7-7700K.

The choice of the case is again yours, the approximate budget is 4000 rubles. Considering the same upcoming SLI and the large size of three-fan cards, it is logical to take a spacious "box". Among them, for example, Zalman Z11 Plus.

Final configuration:

• Processors: Intel Core i7-8700K (23,000 rubles) or AMD Ryzen 7 2700X (23,000 rubles).
• Cooling: Cooler Master MasterLiquid 240 for Intel (5000 rubles) or Noctua NH-L9X65 SE-AM4 for AMD (3500 rubles).
• Motherboards: Asus Prime Z370-A for Intel (11,000 rubles) or Asus Prime X370-Pro for AMD (9,700 rubles).
• Video card: Palit GeForce GTX 1080 Ti JetStream with 11 GB of memory (56,000 rubles).
• RAM: Patriot Viper DDR 4 3400 MHz - two sticks of 8 GB each (13,900 rubles).
• Drives: Any 1 TB at a price of up to 3000 rubles with 7200 rpm and SanDisk 240 GB SSD (4600 rubles).
• Power supply: Aerocool Higgs 850W (5600 rubles).
• Case: Zalman Z11 Plus (4300 rubles).

Total: 126,000 rubles (Intel) and 123,200 rubles (AMD).

It makes no sense to give detailed data on fps here. You can simply rely on the fact that the GTX 1080Ti is about 20-30% more powerful than the GTX 1080. Even without overclocking the performance of such a card in conjunction with an excellent processor, it will be enough for comfortable gaming in absolutely anything at ultra settings in resolutions up to 2560x1440. But with 4K, everything is already more complicated. In especially heavy games, you will have to lower the graphics settings and be content with performance in the region of 30-40 frames per second. Less demanding projects will have around 60 frames.

Dream computer for 4K

Friends! The information in this section is very outdated, so for those who are ready to shell out more than 200 thousand rubles for a dream gaming computer, we have prepared.

We figured out the assemblies for mere mortals who count money, and now we are flying into space - to beautiful 4K with stable 60 fps. At the same time, we will not advise you on expensive multi-core processors like the Intel Core i9-7900X or AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1920X. In games, they are of no use, and the two cherished GTX 1080 Ti in SLI mode will easily shake the "regular" i7-8700K. We do not skimp on the motherboard: the chipsets are the same, but the solutions are already more expensive and more reliable. To cool the chips, let's take the "dropsy" again - Deepcool Captain 240EX. And for 64 GB of RAM with a good frequency, you will have to lay out - a terrible thing! -62 000 rubles.

Video cards - two GTX 1080 Ti in SLI mode. In fact, even one such card is your ticket to 4K and VR. But we do not save money, so we take a complete set.

A separate interesting item of the program is the Samsung V6P1T0BW terabyte SSD drive with an M.2 PCI-E NVMe interface. Yes, 34,000 rubles, but this is the fastest mass-produced SSD in the world! If the budget is not limited, then why not treat yourself a little?

Let's take a 1000-watt Cooler Master V1000 as a power supply. It is quiet, with excellent efficiency, modular design and good stabilization. Well, on the body, finally, you can not skimp at all. Personally, I would take Cooler Master HAF X, but for 10-15 thousand rubles you may prefer something else.

Final configuration:

• Processor: Intel Core i7-8700K (23,000 rubles)
• CPU cooling: DeepCool Captain 240EX (5500 rubles).
• Motherboard: Asus ROG Strix Z370-E Gaming for Intel (15,000 rubles)
• Video cards: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1080 Ti - two pieces (140,000 rubles).
• RAM: Corsair DDR4 3200 MHz - four bars of 16 GB (62,000 rubles).
• Drive: M.2 SSD Samsung V6P1T0BW 1 TB (34,000 rubles).
• Power supply: Cooler Master V1000 1000 W (13,500 rubles).
• Case: Cooler Master HAF X (13,000 rubles).

Total: 306,000 rubles.

The values ​​of the frame rate per second cannot but rejoice. Judge for yourself. In Far Cry: Primal it is more than 100 fps, and For Honor - 80 fps, in Tom Clancy's The Division - about 90 fps, in The Witcher 3 - about 80 fps, in Deus Ex Mankind Divided - around 60 fps, in GTA 5 - 85 fps. In a word, in some projects you will see less than 60 frames per second on the counter. And if you suddenly see it, it's not because of the hardware, but because of poor optimization for the SLI mode. Alas, this is still a very common problem.

An interesting observation: if a year ago, when choosing computer configurations, due to the limitations of hardware, 4K is not always possible to achieve even in a super-expensive computer. Now the situation has changed - top-end resolution is quite available on a top-end computer. However, we would not recommend paying 300 thousand for this: the text lists more adequate assemblies, which in a couple of years can be upgraded to a 4K system for reasonable money.

Modern powerful solutions for gamers are far from affordable for everyone. Corporations that produce PC components make super profits, but they don't give a damn about the average user. Therefore, the question arises of assembling a gaming or just a powerful computer for adequate money. Who wants to feed a pack of unscrupulous world-class manufacturers? So, our question can be formulated something like this: "How to build the cheapest computer for games without sacrificing much performance?" That's what we'll talk about.

What is it for?

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

That is why the question of assembling a PC on its own using the cheapest components is acute. In terms of quality, they are exactly the same, but there is no “per brand” price markup. And if there is no difference, then why pay more? The cheapest components for a computer behave just as well as their "pedigree" counterparts. So let's talk about the selection of the "right" components.

Component #1: Motherboard

It is the basis of any computer. His alpha and omega. It is she who decides what your PC will be capable of. Saving on the motherboard is a bad form. But even here you can dig out cheaper options. For example, a board from MSI called H110M Pro VD. It costs about 3,500 rubles, but it has all the characteristics required for a gaming motherboard. Support for high-speed SATA-interface and modern video cards is present. The cheapest computer deserves a much more modest foundation. 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 office, 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 stop at the first option. The most perfectly assembled with this motherboard.

Component #2: Processor

Another essential element of any course is to use "gems" from Intel. They are more productive and more reliable. But products from AMD are much cheaper. As a compromise, you can choose Intel Skylake. This is the latest generation Intel processor. So it works as it should. It will cost about 3500 rubles. Quite a normal device for such money. In the cheapest computer, you could put 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" - the most preferred option, based on practical 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 bar for 8 gigabytes. For games it is impossible less. And even better - two 8 RAM each - this is something. Kingston HX421C14FB can be considered as a RAM. One bar for 8 gigabytes will cost you 3600 rubles (approximately). So it is quite possible to take two at once. It is important that both bars are from the same manufacturer. Otherwise, conflicts are possible.

RAM greatly affects the performance of the entire system as a whole. Therefore, there is not much here. For games, it is very important to have a decent amount of gigabytes in RAM, because all the textures are loaded there.

Component #4: Graphics Card

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

If you do not want to pay for a video chip, then the selected processor has an integrated graphics chip that can run some games like Dota or CS Go. But in this case, you should not count on good performance and beautiful graphics.

Other components

The rest of the PC components do not affect its price and performance as much. So here it will be possible to orientate on the spot. 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 pull somewhere in the 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.

Is it realistic to build a $200 gaming PC or a budget gaming PC. How to build a budget computer for games and not lose money? I'll build a good gaming PC for you and walk you through every aspect of choosing a gaming PC.

What to focus on when choosing a budget computer for games?

A budget computer for games can not always be called a budget one. Having a good SSD and a good processor are the 2 most important things when choosing a budget PC. From an old PC, you can remove the usual hard drive HDD, where you can store files.

Briefly about assembling a budget computer

The most important trump card in assembling a good budget PC for games is the processor. The processor - and therefore costs a good $ 120-400. It is half the speed of a PC. RAM, in 2016, is no longer such an important matter (yet) The use of 8 GB and more RAM is extremely rare.
Therefore, do not skimp on the choice of processor. Yes, it must be i5 or i7. Yes, you can score on the mother (motherboard). Yes, you can score on the operative (to me the cheapest one) Yes, you can take it without a video card. But the processor is our trump card. It's clear?

We select the processor. Preferably not worse than i3

So, we buy the first part. Price: 60$ — 250$
A copy for $60. 2-nuclear 3.2 costs $60. This model for 3.5 is about $75
Also Read: Windows 10 Activation

A copy for $120. 2-nuclear, according to 3.6. Even such an i3 is already the first step towards a good budget computer.


Of course, i5 is cooler, but it costs $190 and it goes beyond our budget.


Processor: $60-190

Budget computer case + power supply

When choosing a budget computer, any case will do. It is advisable to look immediately with a power supply. 400 watts is enough for us.


Case: $25

The motherboard can be bought cut down (shortened version). The mother card will cost us $40. +-10 dollars.
We look to have support for our processor !!! This is an important step!

$40 budget computer motherboard
Motherboard: $40

RAM budget computer

Any RAM will do. The main thing is to take the one recommended in the motherboard. In the description for the motherboard we find approximately the following lines


In our case, it is NOT WRITTEN which frequency is suitable. But, I found, this is 1066 - 1600. 1-2 slats of RAM, 4 gigabytes each, are suitable for us. We can take 1 bar for 8 and then, if necessary, buy another 1. The minimum frequency is 1066, the maximum is 1600. We are looking for a cheap but high-quality one)


RAM: $20-40 (1-2 sticks)

Winchester budget computer

In principle, if you had a laptop or a previous PC, you can remove the broom from it (hard drive). Then it will cost us 0 bucks. If there is such an opportunity, it is better to buy the cheapest (but good, find) SSD. And then your budget PC will punish your friends' PCs. It will be inexpensive, but su .. tough. I give you a guarantee! believe me
So, I've gone off topic. I recommend taking 120 gigs. We've had enough.


Winchester: If you have an old laptop or PC - $0, regular HDD - $25, SSD (recommended) - $60

Budget computer video card - is it needed?

Let's get to the video card. So, the built-in vidyuha in i3 Intel HD Graphics 4400. Let's look at the tests of this video card. Almost all games will run on the built-in video card (on medium graphics). The built-in video card will work like a budget video card, in no way inferior to it.
You can buy a video card in the future (if you wish), but when considering whether to buy a video card for you, I will give advice. Buy the best SSD and enjoy integrated mobile graphics.
It will be much better than buying a cheap graphics card.
Video card: 0 - 800$

The total cost of a budget computer for games

The most budget gaming PC without SSD: $159 - COOL!

Specifications:

• RAM: Kingston DDR3-1600 4096MB PC3-12800 —$20
  
• Winchester: Taken from another PC/Laptop
• Total: $159

The most budget with SSD: 219$ - I RECOMMEND TO START WITH THIS!

Specifications:

• Chassis: GameMax ET-207 400W - $29
• Motherboard: ASRock H81M-DG4 - $44
• Processor: Intel Pentium G4400 3.3GHz/8GT/s/3MB — $66
• RAM: 2x Kingston DDR3-1600 4096MB PC3-12800 —$20
  
• Winchester: SSD Intel 540s 120GB 2.5″ SATAIII TLC - $60
• Total: $219

I hope you understand how to build a budget computer for games. Such a budget computer (with SSD) will work fine, not get warm (there is no video card), there will be practically no noise. At the same time, its speed will be very high. What a pity there is no way to assemble it for you and show the speed of such a PC.
P.S. You can assemble from cheaper parts. In this manual, I showed how to build a budget computer that WILL NOT be inferior in speed to an expensive PC. A high-quality computer assembled according to this manual will serve you for many, many years.

You can also read other articles on the topic "Windows 8.1, 7, XP"

Introduction

The school year is coming to an end, summer is approaching, and the dollar/ruble exchange rate has stabilized. That means it's time for PC gaming builds. This article is about a mid-range computer with a budget of $1,000 or 50,000 rubles. The final high-end build will be released within a few days.

But not all readers have a desire to select components. In this case, our article on assembling a computer for a gamer will help you. We specifically target the category of gamers, as these users are demanding on computer performance. But no one bothers to use our assemblies for any other tasks.

Gaming PCs have a powerful graphics card and CPU, but when idle (such as office work), these components go into power-saving mode, consuming very little power. And the noise level of the computer is noticeably reduced. Therefore, if you assemble a computer based on our recommendations, you will not lose in any case.

Mid-range computer

Our first articles in the series of gaming PC assemblies were devoted to computers of the lower and lower / middle price level with a budget of up to 36 thousand rubles, this article is already devoted to a fairly powerful gaming assembly with a budget of about 50 thousand rubles (based on 50 rubles per dollar). We will soon publish the final article on the top build and high-end level. Links to these articles are provided below.

To select components, we used the online price database on Yandex.Market. Prices are constantly changing, especially considering the current situation with the ruble exchange rate, so we have provided links to our article with which you can always see the current prices. The prices in the article are indicated at the time of publication, and the assembly itself was compiled taking into account the dollar exchange rate of 50 rubles.

Computer for the gamer of the lower price level
CPU	Intel Core i5-4460 Haswell	11 000 rub.
Motherboard	ASUS B85M-G	3 200 rub.
video card	GIGABYTE Radeon R9 290X	20 000 rub.
Monitor	BenQ GL2450HM	8 000 rub.
Memory	Kingston HX316C10F*K2/8	3 700 rub.
SSD	Samsung 840 EVO 120 GB	4 000 rub.
HDD	Western Digital WD10EZRX	2 900 rub.
Frame	Zalman Z3 Plus Black	2 600 rub.
Power Supply	Chieftec APS-650CB 650W	4 000 rub.
CPU cooler	Deepcool THETA 31 PWM	400 rub.
Total		59 800 rub. with monitor RUB 51,800 without monitor

The situation with the exchange rate did not affect the prices of hardware in the best way, processors became especially expensive. In particular, the Intel Core i5-4460 processor, which we chose for our assembly for 50 thousand rubles, now costs more than 10 thousand. Nevertheless, the Intel Core i5 remains the best solution for a gaming PC, providing excellent performance: four physical cores are enough for all games, and it is almost indistinguishable from the Core i7 in terms of gaming performance due to the poor edibility of HyperThreading in most games.

Since we have provided for the installation of a solid state drive in this assembly, we had to save on some components, including the motherboard. We took the ASUS B85M-G: there are enough SATA 3G and USB 3.0 ports, the Core i5 does not require serious power circuits, and there are also four DIMM slots for increasing the amount of RAM.

In this build, as in all the others, we installed 8 GB of RAM, which will be plenty for games and applications. Some games are already starting to get close to 6 GB of RAM, which, together with the OS and running background applications, eats up all available memory, so we have provided alternative options.

As a video card, we installed the Radeon R9 290X model from Gigabyte. This model will cope with all modern games in Full HD at maximum settings. Literally, you can not deny yourself anything until games come out that can load the video card (poorly optimized games are not taken into account). Many people may not like the high heat, and as a result, the noise level of the video card on the Hawaii GPU, so we provided an alternative in the form of the GeForce GTX 970 - it is a little slower, but cooler and quieter.

We decided to place our components in an inexpensive but high-quality Zalman Z3 Plus case, which boasts excellent functionality for its money: many built-in fans, a large number of USB on the front panel, including USB 3.0. Many people will like the Zalman Z3 Plus, and for special aesthetes there is a window on the side panel.

This time our system will be powered by a 650W Chieftec 80 Plus Bronze certified PSU, namely the Chieftec APS-650CB with modular cabling. The model has been on the market for quite a long time and has gained popularity as a good PSU for its money. If you decide to install an economical GeForce GTX 970, then the Corsair CX500M is indicated as an alternative.

We decided that it’s hard to imagine a computer for 50 thousand rubles without a solid state drive, so our gaming PC also has it. The Samsung 840 EVO is a popular SSD model with good performance and low price. We have had such a model in our own test bench for more than a year now and there are no complaints about the work, so we recommend it, relying on our own experience of use. Well, to provide more space for movies, music and photos, our computer will also be familiar to us HDD WD Green 1 TB with a reduced spindle speed.

We chose the Deepcool THETA 31 PWM as cooling for the cold Intel processor, which we used in the assembly for 25 thousand rubles. Serious cooling for a non-overclockable CPU without the need, and the saved money came in handy on the SSD.

In the assembly of the lower / middle price level, we decided to get by with an integrated sound card and not include a discrete "zvukovuha" in the assembly. Choose headphones or a speaker system to your taste, depending on whether you need high-quality sound (in this case, you should purchase a good discrete sound card) or deep immersion in games and movies. In we reviewed several sound cards and gave a couple of models as recommendations.

Let's start a detailed study of our assembly.

If you want to add something to our build for the gamer - feel free to leave comments after the article. And don't forget that Chekanov's Lab has also prepared an article for you on choosing a PC for a high-end gamer. They will be published in the coming days.

Processor: Intel Core i5-4460 (Haswell, 1150) for 11,000 rubles.

Chip giant Intel on June 1, 2013 introduced a new platform called Haswell. A step below the Core i7 are the processors of the Core i5 family. Their L3 cache is slightly reduced to 6 MB, the fastest model in the line operates at 3.4 GHz. The cheapest model called Core i5-4430 relies on four cores without Hyper-Threading. In Turbo mode, the processor accelerates to 3.2 GHz from the stock frequency of 3.0 GHz, the TDP is the same 84 watts. In the fall of 2014, the Core i5-4460 processor dropped to the 4430 level, displacing the "younger" 4-core Haswell model from our recommendations - it still works 200 MHz faster.

The difference at equal clock speeds compared to its predecessor is small. So owners of high-performance Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge platforms have little reason to worry about upgrading to Haswell. But if you are buying a platform from scratch, then it is better to take a Socket 1150 motherboard and a Haswell processor.

Verdict: a good processor for productive assemblies, including gaming PCs.

You can get more information about Haswell processors in the following reviews:

Motherboard: ASUS B85M-G for 3,200 rubles.

The Intel Core i5-4460 processor does not require any serious power supply because it does not consume much power and does not have an unlocked multiplier, so we chose a not very expensive motherboard with a sufficient set of interfaces and four DIMM slots for future memory expansion.

Alternative option: ASRock Z97 Pro4 for 6,000 rubles.

The motherboard is already based on a more modern Z97 chipset with support for the M.2 standard for connecting appropriate SSD drives to PCI-E lanes. In terms of interfaces, we get a standard set of 6 USB 3.0 and the same number of SATA 6 Gb / s. If you're looking to get an unlocked processor, the ASRock Z97 Pro4 is a very good entry-level model that supports overclocking.

Video card: integrated graphics core

If you are not going to run games on a PC, then the performance of the graphics core integrated into the CPU (if any, of course) will be enough to watch movies (including Blu-ray and MKV), work in office applications and surf the Internet. Yes, and you can also run games, but not the most modern and demanding ones; in some games, you will have to reduce the resolution and level of detail to a minimum. In general, for gaming, we still strongly recommend installing a discrete graphics card.

But if you are building a computer for the Internet and office applications, or plan to buy a video card later, then an integrated graphics core is also suitable. And it will cost you absolutely free!

Video card: GIGABYTE Radeon R9 290X WindForce 3X OC for 20,000 rubles.

GIGABYTE Radeon R9 290X WindForce 3XOC
Link to test and review	Test and Review: GIGABYTE Radeon R9 290X WindForce 3X OC
code name	Hawaii XT
Process technology	28 nm
Stream Processors	2816
texture blocks	176
	64
Memory bus width	512 bit
GPU frequency	Boost: 1040 MHz
Memory frequency	1250 MHz (5000 MHz effective)
DirectX/Shader Model	DX 11.2/SM 5.0
thermal package	More than 250W

The Radeon R9 290X graphics card is based on the new "Hawaii" GPU and represents a further development of the GCN architecture. As in the case of "younger" video cards, AMD provides not only higher performance of new GPUs, but also offers an updated set of features. The Radeon R9 290X graphics card is the only new development in the "Volcanic Islands" generation, and it differs significantly from the Radeon R9 280X. The GPU is built on a new architecture that supports more memory capacity, a wider memory interface, and TrueAudio, DirectX 11.2 Tier 2, and Crossfire technologies without a bridge.

The AMD Radeon R9 290X graphics card uses the "Hawaii" GPU with 6.2 billion transistors, which is manufactured using a 28nm process technology. The chip area is 438 mm². For comparison, the "Tahiti XT2" we get an area of ​​352 mm² and 4.3 billion transistors. AMD does not specify the base frequency, but in Boost mode via PowerTune, a frequency of 1.000 MHz is provided. AMD set the memory frequency more conservatively, only 1250 MHz. With a 512-bit memory interface, the throughput was 320 GB/s. The Radeon R9 290X is equipped with 4.096 MB of GDDR5 memory.

In terms of performance, the Radeon R9 290X is on par with the GeForce GTX 780 Ti. Quiet or Uber mode turns out to be the decisive factor. If we take the Quiet mode, the new GeForce GTX 780 Ti almost always outperforms the competitor, which cannot be said about the Uber mode of the Radeon R9 290X. At high resolutions and anti-aliasing modes, the Radeon R9 290X often performs noticeably better. If we take the Radeon R9 290X only in Quiet mode, then the GeForce GTX 780 Ti will lead by a noticeable margin. In tests, the new AMD graphics card showed impressive performance in CrossFire mode, as well as in UltraHD and 4K resolutions. Slowly but surely, we are approaching the bar where single-GPU graphics cards will be enough to play at 4K resolution.

The Radeon R9 290X graphics card is much cheaper than the GTX 780 Ti with comparable performance, so it is more profitable to choose an AMD graphics card.

Alternative 1: MSI GeForce GTX 970 Gaming for 20,000 rubles.

Suitable for resolutions 1280 x 1024, 1440 x 900, 1680 x 1050, 1920 x 1080 with maximum settings, including demanding games. Suitable for 2560 x 1600 resolution, although some games will require lower detail levels. Suitable for 5760 x 1080/1200 resolutions.

MSI GeForce GTX 970 Gaming
Link to test and review	Test and review: MSI GeForce GTX 970 Gaming - graphics card with new TwinFrozr V cooler
code name	GM204
Process technology	28 nm
Stream Processors	1.664
texture blocks	104
Raster Operations Pipelines (ROPs)	64
Memory bus width	256 bit
GPU frequency	1.140 MHz
Memory frequency	1.750 MHz (7000 MHz effective)
DirectX/Shader Model	DX12/SM5.0
thermal package	145 W

In September 2014, NVIDIA introduced the second generation of the Maxwell architecture with two GeForce GTX 970 and GTX 980 graphics cards. Compared to the GeForce GTX 980, the GeForce GTX 970 has noticeably fewer stream processors and other components, especially for high resolution. However, this is true only when compared with the GeForce GTX 980, since the GeForce GTX 970 easily competes with the GeForce GTX 780 and Radeon R9 290 in tests.

NVIDIA acknowledged that there were several errors in the original specifications of the GeForce GTX 970. Among other things, only 3.5 GB of memory out of 4 GB can run at full speed, and the video card also has less L2 cache and ROP number. If you are interested in more detailed information, we recommend that you refer to the corresponding article.

The price of the Radeon R9 290X is comparable to the GTX 970, and the performance of the AMD graphics card is higher. Therefore, buying a Radeon R9 290X will be more profitable than a GTX 970. However, the power consumption of the NVIDIA graphics card is much lower, which is why the noise level and temperature are lower.

Monitor: BenQ GL2450HM for 8,000 rubles.

BenQ is well known to many users for its monitors, and for this assembly we decided to take the GL2450HM model, which is based on a high-quality TN panel with uniform backlight and a low response time of 2ms, which will allow you to comfortably play your favorite shooters.

Alternative option: AOC i2267Fwh for 8,000 rubles.

If you are a fan of high-quality pictures, then we can recommend an AOC monitor on an IPS panel with good color reproduction and wide viewing angles. Also, many will appreciate the monitor with a thin frame around the display.

Memory: Kingston HX316C10F*K2/8 for 3,700 rubles.

Let's start with a legitimate question: Do I need 8 GB of memory in a computer? Yet most modern games and applications can not use more than 4 GB. But as time goes on, some games start using more than 4 GB of RAM.

Also, do not forget that 8 GB of memory will significantly improve the responsiveness of your computer when you pause the game, for example, to check the news on a social network or read mail. Switching between applications is done using the keys (Alt + Tab or Alt + Esc), you are unlikely to close the game at the same time, and 8 GB in this situation greatly improves the responsiveness of your computer.

And if you want to use a gaming PC for 2-3 years, then 8 GB of memory will justify itself. Moreover, memory prices have dropped significantly.

All in all, our verdict is that 8 GB of memory is needed to quickly switch between the game and other tasks, and is also a reasonable investment for future games and applications.

Do I need to take memory with higher clock speeds, for example, 2000 MHz? As numerous tests show, switching to memory for overclockers (which is declared with modes of 2000 MHz and higher) gives a minimal increase in performance, and the price often increases several times. It seems to us that it is better to invest in a faster graphics card, a larger SSD, a different case, and so on.

Why not take memory with high heatsinks? As experience shows, high heatsinks have little effect on the efficiency of memory cooling. Even if you are going to overclock the modules by increasing the frequency and voltage, it will be enough to ensure good airflow in the case for cooling. Memory doesn't generate enough heat for tall heatsinks to matter. On the other hand, what do they interfere with? Here's where you have to be careful: tall heatsinks can get in the way of a massive CPU cooler, and you just won't be able to install it! Therefore, we recommend modules with low memory heatsinks.

Customize your memory in the BIOS! By default, memory modules set "safe" modes of frequencies and voltages for the reason that as many systems as possible can start with them at standard settings. And the declared speed modes must be activated manually - as a rule, they are stored in modules in the form of XMP profiles. Therefore, you should go into the BIOS and select XMP mode support. If for some reason XMP profiles are not supported in the BIOS, then you will have to set all the parameters manually. For example, the operating frequency is 1600 MHz, the voltage is 1.5 V, and the Cas Latency (CL) is set to 9. All other memory settings can be left in the BIOS by default if you are not familiar with their meaning.

8 GB of memory is enough for more than one year, and it can switch from the old system unit to the new one more than once, and looking at the cost of memory, “the toad will not strangle” for sure.

Two 4 GB memory modules are perfect for a dual-channel LGA 1150 processor controller. The memory operates normally at a frequency of 1866 MHz at a voltage of 1.5 V, the delays are acceptable: 10-11-10-27.

8 GB will be enough to run all modern games and turn off your favorite shooter to reply to a message on a social network without sagging and glitches. Although we also provide an alternative option "for the future" in 16 GB of RAM.

Alternative option: Kingston HX318C10F*K2/16 for 6,600 rubles.

If 8 GB of RAM seems insufficient for you, then you can take two 8 GB modules, although we would prefer the option of expanding the memory in the future by adding a couple more 4 GB sticks - there are free slots on the motherboard in stock.

SSD: Samsung 840 EVO 120 GB (MZ-7TE120BW) for 4,000 rubles.

As the name suggests, the Samsung SSD 840 EVO (lution) is a further improvement of the 840 Basic. But instead of a complete upgrade of the drives, Samsung left the 840 Pro in the high-end SSD segment, replacing only the mainstream model. The updated drive has received the latest technology and features, which should increase its attractiveness in the market.

Looking at the test results, one wonders why Samsung would want an 840 Pro SSD lineup after the new 840 EVO is released, since the results are very close in many tests, and the 840 EVO's 500 GB model often outperforms the 840 Pro. But first impressions are misleading, as the 840 EVO drives get a significant performance boost from the optional TurboWrite cache, which is based on pseudo-SLC. If data is written to this cache, which ranges from three to 12 GB depending on the model, then the performance is very high. However, 840 EVO drives often turn out to be faster than their predecessors also due to a third higher controller clock speed.

How much faster is the Samsung SSD 840 EVO in everyday work? The answer largely depends on the use case. If you copy/move large amounts of data, such as when editing videos, then TurboWrite will not be able to fit all the data, and the performance of the 840 EVO will drop almost to the level of its predecessor. However, in everyday scenarios, the 840 EVO remains significantly faster than the previous generation, as can be seen from the same PCMark test results. In addition, most often the files needed for daily work are no more than a few gigabytes in volume, so they completely fit in the TurboWrite cache.

Alternative 1: Crucial M550 128 GB (CT128M550SSD1) for 4,400 rubles.

Crucial's new mass market SSD series, the M550, replaces the previous generation M500. The new SSD is based on the updated Marvell 88SS9189 controller when the M500 used the Marvell 88SS9187, which is why we get a performance boost compared to the previous generation. For the memory, Crucial used Micron's 20nm MLC memory. The firmware has also improved, according to Crucial. Overall, the performance is at a fairly high level, according to the tests, and the Crucial M550 can be recommended as an inexpensive SSD for the average user who does not have any specific or professional tasks.

Alternative 2: Samsung 840 EVO 250 GB (MZ-7TE250BW) for 7,000 rubles.

Everything said above about the Samsung 840 EVO (MZ-7TE120BW) will be true here, except for the doubled memory size.

The Samsung SSD 840 EVO Series is aimed at home users and desktop systems. And for this scenario, the EVO 840 can be called an almost ideal SSD.

You can read the full review of the new family: Test and Review: Samsung SSD 840 EVO 120, 250 and 500 GB

Hard drive: WD WD10EZRX (1 TB) for 2,900 rubles.

The hard drive from WD Green proved to be the best in our tests. With a slower spindle speed of (5200-5800 rpm), temperatures, noise levels and power consumption remain at a pleasantly low level, while HDD performance is not so far behind faster counterparts, so WD Green can easily be recommended to owners of media players, where low heat dissipation is important, as well as a second drive in the system. You can install the OS and frequently run programs on the SSD, and use the hard drive to store regular programs and data.

It should also be taken into account that with a lower spindle speed in the HDD, the mechanical wear of parts is also reduced, so the WD Green HDD will potentially last longer than high-speed hard drives. Promotes long life and lower temperature. All this makes it easy to recommend WD Green for purchase.

Alternative 1: WD WD20EZRX (2 TB) for 4,400 rubles.

An alternative option for those who find the volume of 1 TB insufficient. You can read the details in our hard drive test and review.

Alternative 2: WD WD30EZRX (3 TB) for 5,800 rubles.

An alternative option for those who find the volume of 2 TB insufficient. You can read the details in our hard drive test and review.

Case: Zalman Z3 Plus Black (ATX) for 2,600 rubles.

A decent gaming case for the price, with a front-mounted USB 3.0 port and three built-in 120mm fans to keep your system from suffocating. Zalman Z3 Plus Black is a well-balanced model that has good equipment, including a window on the side panel. Of the minuses, one can only single out a small space behind the motherboard tray, however, modular cable connection and competent cable routing compensate for this shortcoming.

Alternative 1: Corsair Carbide Series 200R Black for Rs.

Choosing a not very expensive, but effective case is really not an easy task. With the Carbide Series 200R case, Corsair has solved this problem by releasing a model that provides decent component cooling and easy configuration. I would like to note the toolless assembly in all bays and four separate bays for 2.5″ drives, which many users will appreciate. Unfortunately, there were some drawbacks, and we did not see vibration isolation in the drive bays, rubber bushings at the front fan and a removable filter on the front panel, and the case is relatively noisy. Nevertheless, the case copes with its main tasks, so it can be safely recommended.

Power supply: Chieftec APS-650CB 650W for 4,000 rubles.

The power supply in the computer is very important, because a lot depends on its correct and stable operation. A bad power supply can cause other components to fail and malfunction, and finding this cause can be very problematic.

Alternative 1: Corsair CX500M for 4,200 rubles.

Power supplies from Corsair CX-Builder series please with an excellent price / quality ratio. The user will get everything they need. There is 80 Plus Bronze certification, as well as all the necessary protection schemes (OCP, OPP, OVP, UVP, SCP), and you can also note the modular connection of some cables, which will get rid of unnecessary "hash" in the case. 500W of power will be more than enough to build with an economical Maxwell GPU from NVIDIA. You can read more about Corsair's CX-Builder series power supplies in the Hardwareluxx review.

Cooler: Deepcool THETA 31 PWM for 400 rubles.

Since our non-overclockable Core i5 doesn't generate much heat, we don't have to worry too much about cooling either. We decided to get an inexpensive cooler from Deepcool, which will do its job perfectly, and also will not make too much noise when idle thanks to PWM fan speed control. And the price of this model is very "democratic".

Alternative 1: Zalman CNPS7X LED for 1,400 rubles.

By its type, this model already belongs to tower coolers, so both the cost and cooling performance are already higher. We can note a good complete fan that will not bother the user with excessive noise. On the whole, the cooler corresponds well to the price/quality ratio.

Optical drive: no

In order to save the budget, we decided to abandon the optical drive.

Sound card: built into the motherboard

Network: Built in motherboard

1 Gbps LAN adapters have been installed on motherboards for many years, so you don't need to buy an additional network card.

Speakers: choose as you wish

We won't be adding acoustics to the budget of a gaming PC, as in many cases users already have speakers of some kind. But if you want to update the columns too, then the recommendations are presented.

Headphones: choose as you wish

We will not add headphones to the budget of a gaming PC, as many users already have a decent set. But if you want to upgrade your headphones too, then recommendations are presented.

And in order to immediately avoid unnecessary disputes in the comments, I want to clarify one important point: this post represents my personal subjective vision, based on my own 15 years of friendship with PCs and games.

Processor: Intel or AMD?

I will give a very recent example with a toy that sunk into my soul. We're talking about Dying Light, an open-world parkour zombie action game. So, the main complaint about this game sounded something like this: "Dying Light is not optimized for AMD processors at all." Intel people played comfortably, while AMD owners suffered and waited for patches. The patches eventually came out, but the sediment remained.

Why is this happening? Answered by a poll conducted monthly on Steam. Tens of millions of gamers participate in it. What do the statistics on processors show us?

This is business. Just put yourself in the shoes of a developer. You can only focus on one product and satisfy 75% of users. Does it make sense to invest time and effort for the remaining 25%? Of course there is, but not in the first place. The harsh truth of life, for which you have to pay in the most direct sense. Intel is more expensive.

But it's also colder. Somehow I went to a friend, he just made an upgrade, but chose AMD. Launched Battlefield 3 on ultras, and then something interesting began. It felt like a Boeing 747 was taking off in the room (not in the game), even though there wasn't a single airfield around. In general, once I decided for myself that the overpayment for Intel was justified, and since then I have never regretted my choice.

Core i5 or Core i7? Now I choose i7 because of the desire to get the newest promising standards that will not lose relevance and will not become obsolete for a very long time, namely DDR4 memory, which is only found in motherboards with the Intel X99 chipset. Motherboards with such a chipset are only available for the LGA 2011-3 socket, which, in turn, only supports i7 processors and not a single i5.

The manufacturer of the motherboard, unlike the same video card, does not play a role in this case. As well as the positioning of a specific motherboard model. All motherboards based on Intel X99 are gaming by default, there are no budget ones among them. Take any - you will not lose.

video card

And here I am again not on AMD's side. Why? Because drivers. Among gamers, they often joke about this: “Normal drivers from AMD? You must be from a parallel universe." This causes performance and stability issues. According to the same Steam survey, the following statistics for video cards are obtained:

The advantage in favor of NVIDIA is almost twofold. People overpay and are satisfied. Do an experiment and ask any gamer you know what they would prefer. In response, you will hear: "If you have money, it's better to take NVIDIA."

Which one? Given the changed prices, the previously more or less affordable GTX 970 video cards are now perceived as tops, and the GTX 980 is generally something beyond. Not everyone is ready to pay more than thirty thousand for them.

The recently released budget GTX 960 is only partly considered budget. That is, for the price it is really in the lowest range of gaming cards. But it's still a GAMING card, with the latest Maxwell architecture, tons of technology, and a lot of performance. If you are not one of those people who “fundamentally want everything on ultra at 60 fps”, then the power of the GTX 960 will be enough for you for any, absolutely any modern game: GTA 5, FarCry 4, The Witcher 3, Battlefield 4, Battlefield Hardline and others.

Which manufacturer to choose? Anyone. Most likely, it will take you at least five years to experience in your own skin the quality of a particular company, as well as your own luck. Once I was a fan of one extremely popular manufacturer. And then, one after another, two of his video cards were covered with me.

The expression "not the same" is perfect here. Then I stupidly took Palit because of the promotion at a discount and did not regret it. This is the very personal experience, because of which some people call brand “A” the best, the second - brand “B”, and still others - brand “C”. Maybe I was unlucky, maybe it really is “not the same”, but now I have the third card from Palit, and it works like a Swiss mechanical watch. I sold the past video cards as they became obsolete on the secondary market.

Budget Palit GTX 960 exists in three variations:

• younger GTX 960 OC Edition with a little factory overclocking;
• medium GTX 960 JetStream with even more factory overclocking;
• older GTX 960 Super JetStream with even more factory overclocking.

According to the tests of the same specialized Internet resources, all three variations, despite the presence of factory overclocking, perfectly “overclock” on their own (unless, of course, there is a desire to plunge into the wondrous world of overclocking), but for an ordinary user (and me too, I don’t like experiments over your computer) this is unlikely to be interesting.

Another significant plus GTX 9xx and GTX 960 in particular is to optimize power consumption. The card heats up so little that without a noticeable load (that is, in office applications, in a browser, when watching movies, and so on) it stops the fans altogether, creating a zero noise level. This technology is called 0 dB Tech.

The GTX 960 shows an average performance boost of 60% over the GTX 660.

Taking into account the factory overclocking, the gap increases. To perceive the GTX 960 simply as an evolutionary continuation of the younger series is completely incorrect. This is a gaming video card of a completely different level.

RAM

Everything related to memory and data storage, I call in one word - Kingston. For me, there is no other manufacturer, and again I rely on personal experience. You can prove to me the advantages of your favorite as much as you like, and I will only say one thing in response: years of flawless work without a hint of any malfunction.

If you build or upgrade your gaming computer now, then the number one candidate for a new RAM is Kingston HyperX Fury DDR4. A non-alternative thing for those who want to get a gaming RAM with low timings, effective passive cooling and no need for an upgrade in the foreseeable future.

DDR3 has long been the standard for RAM in current PC configurations, but nothing lasts forever, and now it's time to upgrade to DDR4.

DDR4 is the new standard for the next few years. In the context of a gaming computer, the evolution is just perfect: higher frequency, higher bandwidth, higher reliability, lower power consumption.

In short, the situation with memory is as follows: say goodbye to DDR3 and remember that now DDR4 is at the helm. Everything. We put 16 GB and forget.

SSD

Not every person has yet discovered the charms of a solid state drive, and SSD technology has already managed to make a new leap within itself. Previously, 100% of SSDs worked through the SATA interface and were very, very fast. And even now, replacing an HDD with an SSD is the best way to upgrade an existing computer in terms of cost-benefit ratio. But the gaming world always has its own atmosphere, and what seems too fast for a regular computer is no longer so for a gaming one.

If you upgrade the data storage now, then you need to look not in the direction of classic SSDs working via SATA, but on the new generation SSDs working via PCI Express.

I am salivating profusely on a HyperX Predator PCIe SSD. It's just a monster. Definitely my next purchase.

1,400 MB/s read, 1,000 MB/s write, Marvell 88SS9293 top controller, installable via M.2 and HHHL adapter. The older model currently has a capacity of 480 GB, and a nearly terabyte version is on the way.

Why such wild volumes? And you look at how much space GTA 5 takes after installation. Yes, 65 GB. And this is clearly not the limit for the games of the near future. It remains to be hoped that such solutions will become at least a little more accessible.

Body, power supply, accessories and more

Do not pinch an extra thousand on a good case. Take a spacious one so as not to think “whether this vidyuha will fit”, with meshes against dust. Then thank yourself. I now have a fairly budget ThermalTake Element T , I'm happy with it.

Among the power supplies, I also like ThermalTake. In terms of power, it is better to take with some margin.

The keyboard, mouse, pad - it's so individual that you don't even want to express your own opinion. Someone plays on Razer or SteelSeries with a total value of 15 thousand or more. Someone on a Genius kit for 300 rubles. Someone generally on gamepads from consoles. There is nothing to recommend here.

Gaming headphones with a microphone are a must-have accessory for a gamer. The reality is that "full immersion" gameplay requires isolation from everything around. Surrounding, in turn, will thank you for not having to listen to furniture vibrating in the apartment, shaking with deep bass from exploding shells and other charms of modern shooters.

Closed gaming headphones do this perfectly. Closed type - necessarily, like a microphone. Any more or less serious network game involves voice communication. Just try to play with a well-coordinated squad in the same Battlefield 4. A completely different level of sensations.

I started with very simple headphones, then the money came for Sennheiser, but they are not gaming at all. From specifically gaming headsets, I got the sequence SteelSeries Siberia v1 → Razer Kraken with USB → HyperX Cloud II with USB. Connecting via USB makes it possible to implement an imitation of multi-channel sound, that is, virtual 7.1. It helps a lot to understand the position of the enemy in online shooters.

At first, on a subconscious level, I rejected the headset from HyperX, because for me it is primarily a memory and storage company. In practice, Cloud II proved to be convenient. Fits snugly, does not press, well isolates external noise and does not let sound out. Most gaming headsets give excessively powerful bottoms, and swallow mids and highs. Here the sound is more even throughout the range. Detachable microphone is good. Teammates can hear me clearly and without distortion. With the first May heat, I managed to realize all the charm of the velor ear cushions included in the kit. By the way, the headset is described quite well on YouTube channel manufacturer.

Let's discuss?

Actually, everything. The above general configuration will allow you to comfortably play all new games at high graphics settings and, with the exception of the video card, will not require an upgrade for several years. Due to the fancy SSD, the system will have time to boot before you pronounce the word “otolaryngological” without errors and hesitation. The same disk will be a joy if you are a designer or work with video or other heavy data. When free money appears, it makes sense to look towards upgrading the video card to a more powerful GTX 970 or, if life is good, then to the GTX 980.