Post by Potato Senpai on Sept 3, 2014 20:24:24 GMT -8
From now on, updates to the build will be below, in the replies. The link in the post is always right. Last update: 9/12/14
Okay, so some of you may or may not know that I am Minecarft's official ambassador from our pals over at /r/pcmasterrace. Being the sort of PC user I am, I can't stand to see people like Deze constantly griping about frame rate or other issues in-game. So I've been spending the last month and a half or so working together a PC suited for the general gaming needs of the average Minecarft member. Building a PC is by no means hard. If you have built a Lego set before, then you can build a PC. All of the parts you buy will come with manuals and there are countless videos online with detailed installation instructions for any part.
So, first things first, the PC itself would fall somewhere in-between entry level and mid range gaming PC rigs. I've tried to maximize both performance and future-proofness (future upgrading) while sticking to a very strict budget, as close to $550 USD as I can possibly get it. This is where I will note that the build includes the PC ONLY, no monitor, keyboard/mice, headset etc. You only get the computer with this. Incredibly cheap monitors can be found on Amazon anywhere from $90 (1600x900) or $100-130 (full 1080p HD).
Of course you can't talk about a gaming PC without mentioning performance. Now, I have no real benchmarks as of yet, because at the time of writing this I haven't built it yet
. However, I can give strongly educated guesses based on the hardware I've selected. I am absolutely positive that you will be able to play at 45+ fps on High (maybe Ultra, for slightly older games) at 1080p for most fairly recent games (League, Skyrim, pretty much anything before 2012).
Also, this machine is designed to be fairly upgradeable. The motherboard has support for 3 additional sticks of RAM (up to 64 total) and another graphics card for running 3-way crossfire.
ANYWAYS, on to the actual specs of the computer:
apu (processor) : the AMD A8-7600
this is one of AMD's most recent kaveri apu's. The reason I went for a Kaveri apu is that this CPU has a built-in GPU running at the speeds of an R7-esque graphics card. On it's own the card works okay at best (definitely better than what you've got in your laptop or mac mini or whatever) and isn't really able to play high settings in 1080p, but gets a MASSIVE speedboost in tandem with the discrete graphics card later in the build. It's a quad-core, because at the moment anything more doesn't make a lot of sense. the 3.3 Ghz isn't too impressive either, but most certaintly gets the job done. (my intel i5 at home only runs at 2.8 and plays games great)
CPU fan: Cooler Master Hyper TX3
Of course it's not the most impressive fan ever made, but for a little less than $20 this is one KILLER fan for the price. Very quiet, cool, and it allows for a little cpu overclocking if you feel up to it. It is an optional item (the cpu comes with it's own fan), but for $20 why would you not get it?
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A78M-D3H
Okay. I LOVE this mobo. USB 3.0s, 4 RAM slots, 2 PCI x16 and is FM2+. The onboard audio is great (I'd reccomend plugging the headphones into the port on this instead of the front of the case if the cord can reach for a little better sound.) There aren't any real complaints with this board.
Memory (RAM): Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB DDR3 1600Mhz
It's RAM at a decent speed for $80 bucks. It just plain works, and also doesn't look stupid with like flame-red paint or something. I would've gotten only 6GB if it weren't that the CPU is an APU, which requires a little more ram as it converts the DDR3 into the GDDR for graphics processing. Overall solid RAM.
Storage (HDD): Seagate 1TB 3.5'' 7200RPM Hybrid Drive
I certaintly could have gone for a cheaper 1TB drive. But because this fit into the price I had to go with this hybrid drive. It uses a disc just as an HDD, but through some unknown wizardy (A.K.A I don't really know) has the speed closer to an SSD which is an amazing deal for $78 bucks. If you really wanted you could swap this out for a standard HDD and it would cost about $25 less, but this will make loading games SO much faster it isn't worth it.
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R7 260X 2GB
I wasn't stressed too much about choosing a GFX card since I had an apu already, but one is pretty much a necessity for any gaming with good graphics. I mostly just wanted to make sure it had support for AMD's mantle which might possibly let you achieve high framerates on ultra for BF4 if you are into that. When building this PC I would recommend buying this LAST. The PC will be able to function and play a few games fine without it, so if you buy it last you get the PC sooner.
Case: Cooler Master N200
This is a nice case. I like this case. USB3.0s, great front airflow, great support for watercooling in the future, and plenty of drive bays for you hard drive freaks. Also, the case doesn't look like a Transformer's face (A plastic glowing mess which only looks good for 8 year olds.). You don't have to get this particular case, any ATX would work, but this one is FANTASTIC for the money.
Power Supply: EVGA 430W ATX12V / EPS12V
It's a basic power supply. 430 watts (over 100 more than we need) and 80+ efficiency so you don't have a crazy electricity bill.
So, those are all the parts in the build. Links to the parts and where you can buy them all are here.
Also, clicking on any of the names of parts above will show you the specs (pretty neat.)
That's about all there is to it. If you just really don't want to build your own PC, there are some decent ones out there if you look hard enough. Let me warn you though, a lot of PC sites (Dell, Toshiba, etc.) are REALLY bad deals. While they claim there PCs have power if you look directly at the specs you'll find essential pieces missing. I WARN YOU: NEVER BUY ALIENWARE/PRE-BUILT "GAMING" PCS THEY ARE ALL FALSE ADVERTISING AND CAN COST NEARLY TWICE AS MUCH AS THEY SHOULD.
I can only really reccomend this HP machine at the moment for a pre-built pc. It lacks a graphics card, but otherwise is similar to my own build. Graphics cards are REAAAALLLY easy to install, so don't worry about messing it up. If you could afford a card with it it would play games alright. If I find any more I'll add them here.
Thanks,
Tuckie Signing Off.
Okay, so some of you may or may not know that I am Minecarft's official ambassador from our pals over at /r/pcmasterrace. Being the sort of PC user I am, I can't stand to see people like Deze constantly griping about frame rate or other issues in-game. So I've been spending the last month and a half or so working together a PC suited for the general gaming needs of the average Minecarft member. Building a PC is by no means hard. If you have built a Lego set before, then you can build a PC. All of the parts you buy will come with manuals and there are countless videos online with detailed installation instructions for any part.
So, first things first, the PC itself would fall somewhere in-between entry level and mid range gaming PC rigs. I've tried to maximize both performance and future-proofness (future upgrading) while sticking to a very strict budget, as close to $550 USD as I can possibly get it. This is where I will note that the build includes the PC ONLY, no monitor, keyboard/mice, headset etc. You only get the computer with this. Incredibly cheap monitors can be found on Amazon anywhere from $90 (1600x900) or $100-130 (full 1080p HD).
Of course you can't talk about a gaming PC without mentioning performance. Now, I have no real benchmarks as of yet, because at the time of writing this I haven't built it yet
. However, I can give strongly educated guesses based on the hardware I've selected. I am absolutely positive that you will be able to play at 45+ fps on High (maybe Ultra, for slightly older games) at 1080p for most fairly recent games (League, Skyrim, pretty much anything before 2012).Also, this machine is designed to be fairly upgradeable. The motherboard has support for 3 additional sticks of RAM (up to 64 total) and another graphics card for running 3-way crossfire.
ANYWAYS, on to the actual specs of the computer:
apu (processor) : the AMD A8-7600
this is one of AMD's most recent kaveri apu's. The reason I went for a Kaveri apu is that this CPU has a built-in GPU running at the speeds of an R7-esque graphics card. On it's own the card works okay at best (definitely better than what you've got in your laptop or mac mini or whatever) and isn't really able to play high settings in 1080p, but gets a MASSIVE speedboost in tandem with the discrete graphics card later in the build. It's a quad-core, because at the moment anything more doesn't make a lot of sense. the 3.3 Ghz isn't too impressive either, but most certaintly gets the job done. (my intel i5 at home only runs at 2.8 and plays games great)
CPU fan: Cooler Master Hyper TX3
Of course it's not the most impressive fan ever made, but for a little less than $20 this is one KILLER fan for the price. Very quiet, cool, and it allows for a little cpu overclocking if you feel up to it. It is an optional item (the cpu comes with it's own fan), but for $20 why would you not get it?
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A78M-D3H
Okay. I LOVE this mobo. USB 3.0s, 4 RAM slots, 2 PCI x16 and is FM2+. The onboard audio is great (I'd reccomend plugging the headphones into the port on this instead of the front of the case if the cord can reach for a little better sound.) There aren't any real complaints with this board.
Memory (RAM): Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB DDR3 1600Mhz
It's RAM at a decent speed for $80 bucks. It just plain works, and also doesn't look stupid with like flame-red paint or something. I would've gotten only 6GB if it weren't that the CPU is an APU, which requires a little more ram as it converts the DDR3 into the GDDR for graphics processing. Overall solid RAM.
Storage (HDD): Seagate 1TB 3.5'' 7200RPM Hybrid Drive
I certaintly could have gone for a cheaper 1TB drive. But because this fit into the price I had to go with this hybrid drive. It uses a disc just as an HDD, but through some unknown wizardy (A.K.A I don't really know) has the speed closer to an SSD which is an amazing deal for $78 bucks. If you really wanted you could swap this out for a standard HDD and it would cost about $25 less, but this will make loading games SO much faster it isn't worth it.
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R7 260X 2GB
I wasn't stressed too much about choosing a GFX card since I had an apu already, but one is pretty much a necessity for any gaming with good graphics. I mostly just wanted to make sure it had support for AMD's mantle which might possibly let you achieve high framerates on ultra for BF4 if you are into that. When building this PC I would recommend buying this LAST. The PC will be able to function and play a few games fine without it, so if you buy it last you get the PC sooner.
Case: Cooler Master N200
This is a nice case. I like this case. USB3.0s, great front airflow, great support for watercooling in the future, and plenty of drive bays for you hard drive freaks. Also, the case doesn't look like a Transformer's face (A plastic glowing mess which only looks good for 8 year olds.). You don't have to get this particular case, any ATX would work, but this one is FANTASTIC for the money.
Power Supply: EVGA 430W ATX12V / EPS12V
It's a basic power supply. 430 watts (over 100 more than we need) and 80+ efficiency so you don't have a crazy electricity bill.
So, those are all the parts in the build. Links to the parts and where you can buy them all are here.
Also, clicking on any of the names of parts above will show you the specs (pretty neat.)
That's about all there is to it. If you just really don't want to build your own PC, there are some decent ones out there if you look hard enough. Let me warn you though, a lot of PC sites (Dell, Toshiba, etc.) are REALLY bad deals. While they claim there PCs have power if you look directly at the specs you'll find essential pieces missing. I WARN YOU: NEVER BUY ALIENWARE/PRE-BUILT "GAMING" PCS THEY ARE ALL FALSE ADVERTISING AND CAN COST NEARLY TWICE AS MUCH AS THEY SHOULD.
I can only really reccomend this HP machine at the moment for a pre-built pc. It lacks a graphics card, but otherwise is similar to my own build. Graphics cards are REAAAALLLY easy to install, so don't worry about messing it up. If you could afford a card with it it would play games alright. If I find any more I'll add them here.
Thanks,
Tuckie Signing Off.
