Updated on February 3rd 2012.
Is this the right type of PC for me?
If you?re looking for a budget Gaming PC, to play video games, or a PC to browse the web, you?re at the right place. Otherwise, check out our other Do-It-Yourself Computer Systems or The Best Laptops For Your Money instead.
The video card for Tier 0.625 of the Gaming PCs got upgraded to the much more powerful Radeon HD 6750 1GB, while all other Tiers got a nice price cut.
Click on a section to jump to it:
- Five Tiers to choose from
- Recommended parts summary
- Computer Builds FAQs
- Recommended parts in details
- Mainstream/High-End Gaming PCs
- Mainstream/High-End SFF Gaming PCs
About Hardware Revolution?s Budget Gaming Computers:
Performance and reliability at a low-cost
With their low-cost, our Budget DIY(Do-It Yourself) Gaming Computers feature parts that were hand-picked to offer the maximum bang for your buck, or in other terms: to offer the best performance possible at a given price, while fitting within your budget.
However, these low-cost PCs are still designed with reliability in mind. They feature a safe, reliable power supply and a case with good cooling abilities, so that your PC will last you many years and to ensure that it will not overheat.
Instead of having several articles that each cover one specific build, there are Tiers, allowing you to pick one of several systems at broader price points.
The Tiers are color coded as such:
Choose from five Tiers:
Tier 0.5: Web PC (Identified by a Light Blue color): $281
This is our lowest cost Tier that?s perfect if all you want to do is browse the Internet, watch some videos, listen to some music, do some Office work and the like, on a reliable and relatively quiet PC that doesn?t consume much power.
Tier 0.625 (Identified by a Dark Red color): $386
This is our lowest cost Gaming PC, which is fine for older games or more modern games at a low or medium resolution (1600 x 900 or 720p HDTVs).
Tier 0.75 (Identified by a Fuchsia color): $443
Our 2nd lowest cost Gaming PC. Recommended for older games, or for more recent games on a low or medium resolution (1600 x 900 or 720p HDTVs).
Tier 1 (Identified by a Green color): $527
Great entry-level gaming machine, perfect for gaming at a 1680 x 1050 or 720p resolution.
Tier 2 (Identified by an Orange color): $616
This Tier can handle most games at high/maximum settings at 1920 x 1080/1080p.
Need a Tier recommendation for a specific video game?
Ask us on the forums: Tell us about the video game, the level of details that you want (i.e. I just want to be able to play the game, medium, high or maximum details) and the resolution (e.g. 1920 x 1080. NOT the size) of the monitor (HDTVs: 720p or 1080p) that you?ll use.
Recommended Parts Summary:
Main recommendations, upgrades and alternatives:
1. Recommended Components are in Bold, with one or more colors/symbols for the Tier(s).
2. Suggested Alternatives and Upgrades are in Italic. You can upgrade as many parts as you want to, including parts from higher Tiers.
3. All Parts are interchangeable/compatible with each other. Ask us on the forums if you want us to double-check your build.
| Budget Gaming PCs Tiers: Tier 0.5 (in light Blue): Web PC, for web browsing, music, Youtube, Office, etc. Tier 0.625 (in Dark Red): Lowest cost Gaming PC Tier 0.75 (in Fuchsia): Low cost Budget Gaming PC Tier 1 (in Green): Best Bang For Your Buck Tier 2: (in Orange): Higher Performance than Tier 1 Click on a component?s name (e.g. CPU) to jump to the detailed section of it. | Price $281 $386 $443 $527 $589 |
| CPU Tier 0.5: Intel Celeron G530 Dual-Core 2.4GHz  Tier 0.625: Intel Pentium G620 Dual-Core 2.6GHz  Tier 0.75-1: Intel Pentium G860 Dual-Core 3.0GHz  Tier 2: Intel Core i3-2120 Dual-Core + HyperThreading 3.3GHz  Intel Core i5-2400 3.1-3.4GHz Turbo Quad-Core  | - $45 $70 $93 $120 $190 |
| Motherboard All Tiers: BIOSTAR H61MGC Intel H61 LGA1155  ASRock P67 PRO3 LGA1155 USB 3.0 SATA 6.0Gbps  ASRock Z68 PRO3 GEN3 Z68 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155 SATA6Gb/s USB3.0 | - $50 $90 $105 $122 |
| RAM All Tiers: G.Skill 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1333MHz G.Skill 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1333MHz | - $23 $37 |
| Video Card Tier 0.5: Intel HD ? Integrated Tier 0.625: Radeon HD 6750 1GB GDD3 Tier 0.75: Radeon HD 6770 1GB  Tier 1: Radeon HD 6850 1GB Tier 2: Radeon HD 6870 1GB  Gigabyte Geforce GTX 560 Ti Dual fans Radeon HD 6950 2GB  | - Free $80 $110 $140 $165 $210 $258 |
| Storage Tier 0.5-0.625-0.75: Western Digital Caviar Blue 250GB SATA III  Tier 1-2: Seagate Barracuda ST500DM002 500GB SATA III  Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB SATA 6.0Gbps  Seagate Barracuda ST2000DM001 2TB SATA 6.0Gbps  Patriot Torqx 2 2.5? 32GB SATA II SSD  Crucial 64 GB SATA III SSD  SanDisk Ultra 2.5? 120GB SATA II SSD  | - $70 $85 $130 $162 $53 $102 $140 |
| Optical Drive All Tiers: LG SATA 22X DVD Burner ASUS Black 12X BD-ROM SATA Blu-ray Reader Lite-On Black 12X BD-R 2X BD-RE SATA Blu-Ray Burner | - $16 $58 $80 |
| PowerSupply Tier 0.5-0.625: ENERMAX NAXN ENP350AST 350W Tier 0.75: ENERMAX NAXN ENP450AST 450W  Tier 1-2: Silverstone 500W 80PLUS  Rosewill HIVE 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Modular | - $37 $41 $60 $70 |
| Case Tier 0.5-0.625-0.75: NZXT GAMMA Classic 1 x 120mm fan  Tier 1: Cooler Master HAF 912 2 x 120mm case fans  Tier 2: COOLER MASTER CM690 II Advanced 2x120mm + 1x140mm Cooler Master Storm Scout 1 x 120mm, 2 x 140mm Sentey Optimus Extreme 2x120mm 1x140mm 1x180mm fans Rosewill Blackbone 2 x 120mm fans Cooler Master Elite 430 2 x 120mm fans Rosewill Destroyer Mid-Tower, 3 x 120mm fans NZXT Apollo 2 x 120mm fans NZXT M59 2 x 120mm fans NZXT Guardian 921 3 x 120mm fans NZXT Vulcan 2 x 120mm, 1 x 200mm fans + handle LIAN-LI PC-K57 1 x 120mm, 1 x 140mm fans Thermaltake Armor A60 2 x 120mm, 1 x 200mm NZXT Lexa S 3 x 120mm, 1 x 140mm LIAN-LI PC-K57W 1 x 120mm, 1 x 140mm Cooler Master Storm Scout 1 x 120mm, 2 x 140mm Cooler Master Storm Enforcer, 1 x 120mm, 2 x 200mm Cooler Master CM690 II Advanced 1 x 120mm, 2 x 140mm LIAN-LI PC-K7B Aluminium 3 x 120mm Cooler Master HAF 922 Red LEDs 1 x 120mm, 2 x 200mm  LIAN-LI PC-K62 1 x 120mm, 3 x 120mm LIAN-LI PC-K59 1 x 120mm, 2 x 140mm LIAN-LI PC-K59W 1 x 120mm, 2 x 140mm Fractal Design Core 3000 1x140mm 1x120mm Fractal Design Arc Midi 3x140mm NZXT H2 H2-001-WT White 3x120mm NZXT H2 H2-001-BK Black 3x120mm SILVERSTONE Precision PS06B-W 1x180mm 1x120mm Corsair Carbide 400r 3x120mm  Rosewill Challenger Mid-Tower 2 x 120mm, 1 x 140mm fans  Fractal Design Define Mini Micro-ATX 2 x 120mm fans NZXT Phantom 410 Black 1x140mm + 2x120mm fans NZXT Phantom 410 White 1x140mm + 2x120mm fans Antec Eleven Hundred 1 x200mm + 1x120mm fans Antec Three Hundred Two 1x140mm 1x120mm Corsair Carbide Series 300R 1x140mm 1x120mm | - $40 $60 $70 $80 $60 $40 $50 $50 $60 $50 $70 $70 $70 $85 $80 $80 $80 $90 $70 $80 $89 $100 $90 $90 $70 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $65 $110 $100 $100 $130 $70 $85 |
| Cooling All Tiers: Stock Cooler Included with CPU Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus  Cooling fans:  CM Barometric Ball .6k-2k RPM 26-86CFM 13-30dBA PWM Rosewill 1.2k-2.2k RPM 43-87CFM 23-38dBA Blue LED fan contr. AC Fluid Dynamic .3k-1.35k RPM Max 57 CFM w/ 4 Pin PWM Silverstone 2Ball .8k-2.4k RPM Max 110CFM 17-40dBA fan contr. Noctua SSO .9k-1.1k-1.3k RPM 33-54CFM 13-20dBA adj. speed Cooler Master 120mm Red LED Fan  Cooler Master R4 Series Silent 140mm Fan  200mm Red LED fan for Cooler Master HAF cases  | - Free $24 - $17 $9 $10 $17 $25 $9 $9 $14 |
| Sound All Tiers: 5.1/7.1 sound card: Integrated on motherboard ASUS Xonar DG  | - Free $35 |
| Network All Tiers: Ethernet Up to 1000 Mbps: Integrated on motherb. Rosewill 802.11b/g 54Mbps USB2.0 Wireless 2dBi Antenna Rosewill 802.11b/g/n 300Mbps Wireless USB2.0 5dBi Antenna TRENDnet TEW-684UB Dual Band 802.11b/g/n 450Mbps USB2.0  | - Free $10 $20 $57 |
What happened to Tier 1 OC?
Simply put, it got too expensive for me to recommend it anymore. Even overclocked, it?s no longer price competitive and you?re better off with Tier 2 or 3.
Building this System, Got a Question, Need Help?
Computer Builds FAQs:
I often get questions such as:
- Who are you to tell me which parts to choose?
- Can you suggest me a step by step guide to build a computer?
- Why should I build a PC instead of buying one in a store?
- And many more?
1. You will find the answers to all of these questions and more in this article: FAQ: How to Build Your Own Computer
2. Is this your first build? Here are 10 Quick Tips for 1st Time Builders to get you started.
3. Newly built computer won?t start? I invite you to read Help me: Why won?t my newly assembled PC start or boot?
4. Visit our forums here, where you can join our helpful community and ask questions.
Recommended step-by-step guides to build your PC:
1. Arstechnica Outstanding Guide for Hardware (Building the PC)
2. Arstechnica Outstanding Guide for Software (EFI/BIOS, Windows, etc.)
Free Assistance
If you have any question(s) about the build, simply head over to the forums and our community will be there to assist you.
No worries, there are no stupid questions here on Hardware Revolution. We all started from scratch and learned through our mistakes. We?ll just help you make sure to avoid those mistakes
If you want to have your final build double-checked and get my opinion on it before ordering, or for anything else, don?t be shy, just post a thread on the forums.
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Tier 0.5, 0.625, 0.75, 1 and 2:
This motherboard offers Intel LGA1155 support at a great price ($50), making it an excellent choice for the Budget Gaming PCs.
It also comes with video outputs (VGA and DVI), making it a perfect choice for the Web PC.
It also allows you to use the integrated graphic processor (IGP) from the CPU, so that you can use your PC without a dedicated video card if necessary. This is great if you?re waiting to get your dedicated video card or to troubleshoot your PC if your dedicated video card isn?t working.
Note that since it?s based on the Intel H61 chipset, it does not support CPU overclocking. Mind you, none of the CPUs recommended for the Budget Gaming PCs do support overclocking anyway, since their multiplier is locked and that overclocking via the BCLK won?t result in much more than a 5% overclock before you get stability issues.
Ports, expansion slots, features, what?s included in the box, etc.
Ports on the back: Four USB 2.0 ports, two PS/2, VGA and DVI outputs, Gigabit LAN and 6 Channels audio on the back.
Expansion slots: On the board itself, you have one PCI-Express 2.0 16X and two PCI-Express 1X slots.
Other connectors/features on the motherboard: Two fan connectors (One for the CPU Cooler, one for a case fan. Note that all recommended cases either have one 3-pin fan or use Molex connectors for their case fans), four SATA 3.0Gb/s and two USB 2.0 headers.
Included in the box: Motherboard, two SATA cables, manual, CD with drivers/utilities and I/O backplate.
Why Tier 1 and 2 no longer have the $70 ? ASRock H61M/U3S3 Intel H61 LGA1155:
I use to recommend the $70 ? ASRock H61M/U3S3 Intel H61 LGA1155 motherboard for Tier 1 and 2, as it brought USB 3.0 and SATA 6.0Gbps support for only $20 more.
Unfortunately, as time passed by, more and more customers complained about various issues with it and based on that, I no longer recommend it as I don?t consider reliable enough to recommend it now.
The least expensive motherboard with USB 3.0 and SATA 6.0Gbps that?s reliable enough for me to recommend costs $90, $40 over my recommendation above.
In my opinion, I?d say that those features not worth an additional $40 to recommend it by default for Tier 1 and 2, considering that neither of them will be taken advantage of.
Think about it: Hard Drives do not benefit from SATA III, you?re unlikely to get a SSD with that kind of budget, how many devices really take advantage of USB 3.0 and how likely are you to use one?
You?re better off investing that $40 on a better CPU or better video card in my opinion. However, if absolutely want USB 3.0 and SATA 6.0Gbps, check out the alternative motherboards that I recommend below.
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Alternatives:
1. $90 ? ASRock P67 PRO3 LGA1155 USB 3.0 SATA 6.0Gbps
2. $112 ? ASRock Z68 PRO3 GEN3 Z68 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0
- Support for the next generation if Intel?s ?Ivy Bridge? CPUs.
- PCI-Express Generation 3.0 support (with Ivy Bridge CPU, Sandy Bridge CPUs support Gen 2) makes it more future-proof.
- 100% Japan-made high-quality Gold Capacitors with 2.5 times longer life time (according to ASRock).
3. $125- ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155 SATA6Gb/s USB3.0
- Power and Reset buttons on the motherboard, allowing you to easily test your PC outside your case.
- A Clear CMOS button is located on the back of the motherboard. The Clear CMOS button alone is hugely useful when you overclock and need to clear the CMOS. No more need to move a jumper, which is a pain compared to using a simple button.
- Two slots worth of space between the two main PCI-Express 16x slots, which gives the top video card some space to ?breath? in order to stay at a reasonable temperature.
In short, if you intend to invest into your PC and upgrade it as time goes by, the two last motherboards are as future-proof as it gets.
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Tier 0.5
Don?t get fooled by the frequencies:
The Intel Celeron G530 is based on Intel?s Sandy Bridge architecture and despite running at 2.4GHz, it has no problem outperforming the Athlon II X2 260 3.2GHz in about every application.
Lower power consumption:
On top of outperforming the Athlon II X2 260, the Celeron G530 is also more power efficient, consuming about 22W less at load, according to XbitLabs.
Lower cost:
Finally, the Intel Celeron G530 only costs $45, versus $69 for the AMD Athlon II X2 260, a $24 advantage for the more powerful and more efficient Celeron G530.
Ideal for:
Budget builds, if all you want to do is browse the Internet, watch some videos, listen to some music, do some Office work and the like.
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Tier 0.625:
VS the Competition:
AMD?s similarly priced CPU is the Athlon II X3 455 ($80, Triple-Core 3.3GHz, No L3 cache)
I picked the Intel Pentium G620 over the AMD Athlon II X3 455 because:
- The Pentium G620 easily outperforms it in gaming and in most applications.
- The Pentium G850 is way more efficient,consuming 54.7W less at load, according to AnandTech.
Ideal for:
A budget Gaming PC, when you can?t afford the 400MHz faster Pentium G860 below.
The 300MHz faster Pentium G850 is quite faster than the G620, as you can see here.
Tier 0.75 and Tier 1:
VS the Competition:
AMD?s similarly priced CPU is the Athlon II X3 455 ($80, Triple-Core 3.3GHz, No L3 cache)
I picked the Intel Pentium G860 over the AMD Athlon II X3 455 because:
- The slightly slower Pentium G850 easily outperforms it in gaming and pretty much any applications.
- The Pentium G850 is way more efficient,consuming 51.8W less at load, according to AnandTech.
Ideal for:
A budget Gaming PC, when you can?t afford the much faster Core i3-2120.
However, if you have $37 more to invest and can afford that Core i3-2120, then by all means, go for it. AnandTech?s bench tool clearly shows how much more powerful the 200MHz slower Core i3-2100 is versus the Pentium G850, so add a tad more of a lead to the Core i3-2100 performance and you?ll get an idea of the performance of the 200MHz faster Core i3-2120, which is only $5 more or so than the Core i3-2100.
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Tier 2:
VS the Competition:
AMD?s similarly priced CPU is the Phenom II X4 955 (AM3, Quad-Core 3.2GHz).
I picked the Intel Core i3-2100 over the Phenom II X4 965 because:
Don?t let the dual-core part fool you.
Thanks to Hyper-Threading, its high 3.3GHz frequency and the high IPC performance of the SandyBridge architecture, the $130 Core i3-2120 performance is, on average, 13.7% higher than the $120 AMD Phenom II X4 955, when it comes to gaming, according to this Tom?s Hardware article.
Even better, the Core i3-2120 outperforms the Phenom II X4 955 by 25.4% when it comes to minimum frames per second, according to the same Tom?s Hardware article.
Alternative:
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A few important recommendations and notes regarding video cards:
- Get the latest version of the video card drivers directly from AMD or Nvidia. That way, you?ll be sure to get the latest bug fixes as well as the best performance possible from your video card(s).
- Most video cards require one or two PCI-Express 6 or 8 pin power connector(s) to be plugged into them to function properly. Make sure that your power supply comes equipped with enough 6 and/or 8 pin connectors for your video cards. Of course, I double-checked that already for the recommendations in this article, I simply mention it if you decide to modify a build to your own taste.
Tier .05
Free ? Intel HD ? Integrated
Seeing as all you?ll be doing with this Web PC is browsing the web, listen to music, watch videos and other tasks that don?t require a powerful dedicated video card, an onboard video chipset offers plenty enough power, while being free since it?s integrated in the CPU.
The recommended motherboard has a VGA and a DVI output, allowing you to use older or newer monitors or even two monitors at once if you wish to do so! If you?re looking for a low-cost monitor, I recommend the $90 ? Acer G205HV 20?
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Tier 0.625:
Replacing the previously recommended Radeon HD 6670, the Radeon HD 6750 is significantly more powerful and is now the best video card for $80.
Note that this $80 Radeon HD 6750 is equipped with GDDR3 memory, as opposed to the faster GDDR5 found on the standard $100+ Radeon HD 6750 1GB.
This makes it slower than the $100 Radeon HD 6750 equipped with GDDR5, but it still faster than the previously recommended Radeon HD 6670 and the Nvidia competition at this price range.
Recommended monitor to go with it:
The $90 ? Acer G205HV 20?
Tier 0.75:
Replacing the previously recommended Geforce GTX 260
The Radeon HD 6770: A rebranded Radeon HD 5770
That rebranding at least brings with it Bluray 3D decode support.
Performance, DirectX 10/11, power consumption and noise:
The Radeon HD 6770 performs on average on par with the previously recommended Geforce GTX 260, while offering DirectX 11 support (GTX 260 is limited to DirectX 10), consuming less power and being less noisy.
What games can this video card handle?
This card is capable of handling the vast majority of games at 1600 x 900, although you might have to lower details for the most demanding games.
Recommended monitor to go with it:
The $90 ? Acer G205HV 20?
If you can afford it, upgrade to consider:
If you have $30 more in your budget to spend, most definitely spend it on a Radeon HD 6850 (recommended below), which offers a significantly step-up in performance.
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Tier 1:
Performance:
Much faster than a Radeon HD 6770
I?m recommending the Radeon HD 6850 1GB once again, seeing as the Geforce GTX 460 256-bit is no longer available for $130 and also seeing that there?s currently a $25 price gap between the Radeon HD 6850 1GB and the more powerful $165 Radeon HD 6870.
The Radeon HD 6850 1GB supports DirectX 11 and will do the job at 1680 x 1050 and even 1920 x 1080 although you might have to lower details in more recent and more demanding games.
The Radeon HD 6850 1GB also offers a significantly step-up in performance over the Radeon HD 6770 (same performance as Radeon HD 5770), despite costing only $30 more.
Recommended monitor to go with it:
The $130 ? Acer V223WEJbd 22?
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Tier 2
Performance:
A nice step-up over the Geforce GTX 460 1GB
The Radeon HD 6870 has no problem outperforming the Geforce GTX 460 1GB or outperforming the Radeon HD 6850.
It also performs on average almost on par with the $190+ Geforce GTX 560 (Non-Ti).
Recommended monitor to go with it:
The $140 ? Acer S230HLAbii 23?
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Upgrade to a more powerful video card:
$210 ? Gigabyte Geforce GTX 560 Ti Dual fans
The Geforce GTX 560 Ti, which is not to be confused with the Geforce GTX 560 (without the ?Ti?, which is a slower card), is an excellent card for ~$210, that performs nearly on par with the more expensive Radeon HD 6950 ($250+).
Do note that this particular model from Gigabyte comes with a nice dual-fan cooling, giving you some overhead to overclock this video card, if you want to that is.
Rest assured that the GTX 560 Ti has a lot of overclocking potential for you to take advantage of. As a matter of a fact, with a decent overclock, the GTX 560 Ti can perform on par with the more expensive GTX 570
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Alternative: An even more powerful Radeon HD 6950 2GB
The $258 ? Radeon HD 6950 2GB
This card will run pretty much any game at 1920 x 1080, including Crysis Warhead (At Gamer overall settings, with some Enthusiast settings) and other demanding games, with less or more AA/AF, depending on the game.
Want to use a different monitor that the one that I recommend?
That?s not a problem. I simply recommend to go with the same or a lower resolution than that?s what on the monitor that I recommend, for optimal performance.
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Tier 0.5, 0.625, 0.75, 1 and 2
4GB of RAM is pretty much mandatory to handle the latest video games along with Windows and background background such as your anti-virus, web browser, music/video player, etc.
Considering the price of RAM these days and the ever-expending memory use of games and programs, 4GB of high-speed DDR3 memory is a no-brainer.
I went with this particular kit from G.Skill for their mind-blowing low price and excellent reliability.
Is it worth it to get RAM with higher frequencies (e.g. 1600/2000MHz RAM vs 1333MHz RAM)?
In my opinion, there is little incentive to move to faster frequency RAM, as this usually only brings only a small performance increase, nothing noticeable (According to Tom?s Hardware ), while costing quite a bit more in some cases.
Besides, the recommended motherboard only supports up to 1333MHz RAM.
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Is it worth it to get more than 4GB of RAM?
Except for a few exceptions, according to Tom?s Hardware, current games and applications won?t take advantage of more than 4GB.
However, if you intend on keeping this Gaming PC for more than say, 2-3 years, I?d highly consider getting more than 4GB of RAM now, considering that RAM prices have never been this low!
Faster or More RAM?
Can?t decide between getting faster (Higher frequency) RAM, or more (More GB) RAM?
I recommend going with more RAM, as this will allow your PC to be more future-proof and it will improve its responsiveness when you?re using demanding programs/games.
In short: More RAM will give you more performance, in the long run.
Maximum amount of RAM: Motherboards in this guide that supports two sticks of RAM can be equipped with up to 8GB (2 x 4GB) of RAM and the motherboards that support four sticks of RAM, can be equipped with 16GB (4x4GB) of RAM.
If you want more than 4GB of RAM, here?s my recommended upgrade:
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Heatsinks and CPU cooler clearance:
Every kit that I recommend in this guide feature either no heatsinks or small heatsinks that don?t raise too much above the RAM sticks.
Why?
- Because RAM heatsinks barely make any difference when it comes to RAM temperatures. Besides, even if you overclock it/raise the voltage (at your own risk), RAM temperatures aren?t a problem as long as you have decent airflow in your case.
- Tall RAM heatsinks can get in the way of larger aftermarket CPU Coolers, preventing you from installing your aftermarket CPU Cooler!
Important: RAM can require manual configuration within the BIOS to reach its full potential or function properly!
By default, some RAM kits will boot at lower frequencies than they are rated for. This is perfectly normal, it does not mean that your RAM is defective.
You simply have to go within the BIOS (The first thing that you see when your PC starts) and enable XMP, for your RAM to function at its rated speed. If XMP is not available or doesn?t work for some reason, you can adjust the RAM settings manually, such as frequency (In MHz, usually linked to the CPU, look for a CPU:RAM ratio), voltage (e.g. 1.65v) and timings (a series of numbers, such as 9-9-9-24). Refer to your motherboard manual and your RAM specifications for more information.
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Tier 0.5, Tier 0.625 and Tier 0.75:
The Western Digital Caviar Blue 250GB hard drive recently got a price cut and now that it?s available for $70, it?s pretty much the least expensive modern hard drive that?s available on the market right now.
SATA III hard drive on a motherboard with SATA II? Not a problem.
The SATA standard is backward compatible, meaning that SATA III hard drives will work on a motherboard equipped with SATA II.
As I explain below, this will not result in any performance bottleneck, seeing as no hard drive offers performance that?s high enough to be bottlenecked by a SATA II connection.
SATA II 3.0Gb/s vs SATA III 6.0Gb/s: No performance difference for hard drives!
SATA 3.0 Gb/s (SATA II) and SATA 6.0Gb/s (SATA III) refer to the speed of the connection between the drive and the motherboard.
However, the best hard drives reach about 210MB/s (or 1.68Gb/s) in best scenarios. SATA 3.0Gb/s is plenty enough to handle that and for hard drives, SATA 6.0Gb/s does not offer any performance advantage, since the hard drives can?t even max out a SATA II 3.0Gb/s connection.
Only SSDs take advantage of SATA 6.0Gb/s due to their higher transfer rates.
In other words, if you take two otherwise identical hard drives, the SATA III model will not be faster than the SATA II model. SATA III for hard drives is just a marketing scheme
Tier 1 and Tier 2:
Seagate new Barracuda hard drives:
In November, Seagate launched their latest Barracuda line-up of hard drives, featuring higher density, with 1TB per platter.
Performance wise, they simply dominate the competition, as you can see here in this HardwareCanucks review.
The Seagate Barracuda ST500DM002 is one of those new Seagate Barracuda hard drives that offers great performance.
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Hard Drive alternatives:
- $125 ? Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB SATA 6.0Gbps
- $170 ? Seagate Barracuda ST2000DM001 2TB SATA 6.0Gbps
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Following the major flooding in Thailand last fall:
If you were not aware of this yet, there has been a horrible flooding in Thailand last fall, which has resulted in:
A horrible human tragedy and Western Digital/Seagate (who now pretty much owns Samsung hard drive division) been forced to cut down their production of hard drives since October, due to either factories or suppliers of hard drive parts that were affected by the flooding.
While production has resumed in many factories, it will most likely take another 4 to 7 months before availability to return to normal and for prices to return to what we were used to before.
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Recommended alternatives:
Solid State Drives
SSDs dramatically improve storage performance. With their prices coming down and capacities going up, they are getting more and more attractive.
Ideally, what you want to do is get a SSD to store Windows and your favorite (or most demanding) games, with the rest of your media/games on the hard drive.
Here are my recommendations, in order of storage capacity and price:
- $53 ? Patriot Torqx 2 2.5? 32GB SATA II SSD
- $102 ? Crucial 64 GB SATA III SSD
- $140 ? SanDisk Ultra 2.5? 120GB SATA II SSD
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This drive is able to read and burn CDs and DVDs. Silent, compatible with all major formats including DVD-RAM.
The recommended motherboards includes at least two SATA cables (One will be used for the hard drive and one for this DVD Burner), so no need to worry about cables, unless you decide to add a SSD or additional hard drive(s) or additional optical drives.
Also, seeing as DVD Burners often go out of stock, here are a two alternatives that you can use to replace it. Both are SATA based and are compatible with any Tiers.
- $20- LITE-ON Black 24X SATA Black CD/DVD Writer
- $26- HP Black 24X SATA 24X CD/DVD Writer ? Retail
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Upgrades:
If you?d like to watch BluRay movies or TV shows, this $58 ? ASUS Black 12X BD-ROM SATA Blu-ray
If you want the ability to burn Blu-Ray disks as well, then the $80 ? Lite-On Black 12X BD-R 2X BD-RE SATA
Regarding Blu-Ray playback:
As far as I know, you still require a specific software to playback Blu-Ray disks on a PC.
Based on various reviews and feedback on various forums, PowerDVD 12
PowerDVD 12 is fully compatible with Windows 7 and shouldn?t give you any problems.
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Tier 0.5, 0.625 and 0.75:
- Cooling wise, this case includes one 120mm case fan, which is enough for the Web PC and the Gaming PC Tier 0.625/0.75.
You can also add five additional 120mm case fans (Two on the side, two at the top, one in the front) if you wish to.
If you live in warm weather without A/C, adding a front 120mm case fan is recommended. See the cooling section for my case fans recommendations.
Features wise, you get:
- Plenty of ventilation holes, so your parts won?t starve for fresh air.
- 2x USB 2.0, 1x eSATA, Audio out, MIC in at the front.
- Various holes and space to route and hide your wires.
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Tier 1
- Cooling wise, this case includes two 120mm case fans, insuring proper cooling for your Gaming PC. You can also add many more case fans if you wish to. Here?s what possible:
- Front: 120 mm fan x 2, 1200 RPM, 17 dBA (one is included, one is optional, can be swapped for one 200mm fan)
- Top: 120 mm fan x 2 or 200mm fan x 1(optional)
- Rear: 120 mm fan x 1, 1200 RPM, 17 dBA (included)
- Side:120/140 mm fan x 1 (optional)See the cooling section for my recommended case fans.
Features wise, you get:
- Mesh design front panel with dust filters.
- 2x USB 2.0, Audio out, MIC in at the top.
- An unique industrial look.
- An hole on the back panel, to easily install after-market CPU Cooler without having to remove the motherboard from the case.
- Various holes and space to route and hide your wires.
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Tier 2:
Currently $20-$30 off, the Cooler Master CM690 II Advanced case is an excellent case, especially for $70!
- Cooling wise, this case includes two 120mm and one 140mm case fans, ensuring proper cooling for your Gaming PC.
Features wise, you get:
- Mesh design with dust filters.
- An hole on the back panel, to easily install after-market CPU Cooler without having to remove the motherboard from the case.
- Various holes and space to route and hide your wires.
- 2x USB 2.0, E-SATA, Audio out and MIC in on top of the case.
- Support for 1.8? and 2.5? drives.
Recommended alternatives:
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If you a want with a different look, more case fans, a smaller form-factor, an handle (LAN parties anyone?) and/or other features (e.g. fan controller, USB 3.0 front ports, etc.), take a look at my list of other recommended cases.
The vast majority of them are compatible with any Tier, although it?s always good to check the video card length clearance, CPU Cooler height clearance and the accepted motherboard form factors (ATX, Micro-ATX, Mini-ITX, etc.).
Ask us on the forums if you have a doubt about whether a case is compatible or not with your build.
- $40 ? Rosewill Blackbone 3 x 120mm fans
- $50 ? Cooler Master Elite 430 2 x 120mm fans
- $50 ? Rosewill Destroyer Mid-Tower, 3 x 120mm fans
- $60 ? NZXT Apollo 2 x 120mm fans
- $50 ? NZXT M59 2 x 120mm fans
- $70 ? NZXT Guardian 921 3 x 120mm fans
- $70 ? NZXT Vulcan 2 x 120mm, 1 x 200mm fans + handle
- $70 ? LIAN-LI PC-K57 1 x 120mm, 1 x 140mm fans
- $85 ? Thermaltake Armor A60 2 x 120mm, 1 x 200mm
- $80 ? NZXT Lexa S 3 x 120mm, 1 x 140mm
- $80 ? LIAN-LI PC-K57W 1 x 120mm, 1 x 140mm
- $80 ? Cooler Master Storm Scout 1 x 120mm, 2 x 140mm
- $90 ? Cooler Master Storm Enforcer, 1 x 120mm, 2 x 200mm
- $70 ? Cooler Master CM690 II Advanced 1 x 120mm, 2 x 140mm
- $80 ? LIAN-LI PC-K7B Aluminium 3 x 120mm
- $89 ? Cooler Master HAF 922 Red LEDs 1 x 120mm, 2 x 200mm
- $100 ? LIAN-LI PC-K62 1 x 120mm, 3 x 120mm
- $90 ? LIAN-LI PC-K59 1 x 120mm, 2 x 140mm
- $90 ? LIAN-LI PC-K59W 1 x 120mm, 2 x 140mm
- $70 ? Fractal Design Core 3000 1x140mm 1x120mm
- $100 ? Fractal Design Arc Midi 3x140mm
- $100 ? NZXT H2 H2-001-WT White 3x120mm
- $100 ? NZXT H2 H2-001-BK Black 3x120mm
- $100 ? SILVERSTONE Precision PS06B-W 1x180mm 1x120mm
- $100 ? Corsair Carbide 400r 3x120mm
- $65 ? Rosewill Challenger Mid-Tower 2 x 120mm, 1 x 140mm fans
- $110 ? Fractal Design Define Mini Micro-ATX 2 x 120mm fans
- $100 ? NZXT Phantom 410 Black 1x140mm + 2x120mm fans
- $100 ? NZXT Phantom 410 White 1x140mm + 2x120mm fans
- $130 ? Antec Eleven Hundred 1 x200mm + 1x120mm fans
- $70 ? Antec Three Hundred Illusion 3x120mm 1x140mm fans
- $70 ? Antec Three Hundred Two 1x140mm 1x120mm
- $85 ? Corsair Carbide Series 300R 1x140mm 1x120mm
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Tier 0.5 and Tier 0.625:
With Tier 0.5 that uses an IGP and Tier 0.625 that uses a Radeon HD 6750 that doesn?t need much power, you don?t need a power supply that?s very powerful.
However, the power supply is one of the most important components when it comes to the stability and reliability of a PC.
This is why I?m not cutting corners here, by making a recommendation for a fairly high-quality Enermax 350W power supply.
Mind you, at 37$, it is still a very affordable power supply considering its quality.
It is capable of delivering up to 350W, but more importantly, 25A on the 12V line, the most important line for a power supply in a modern PC.
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Tier 0.75:
With Tier 0.75 featuring a Radeon HD 6770, a video card that draws a bit more power, I?m making a recommendation for a 450W unit.
This power supply is capable of delivering up to 450W, not that you should rely on this information only as I often point in posts such as Warning: 6 Surefire Ways of Blowing Up Your Computer Due to an Inadequate Power Supply, but more importantly 30A on the 12V line, the most important factor when it comes to choosing a power supply for a gaming computer.
At only $40 for a reliable 450W power supply, this is one great bargain.
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Tier 1 and 2:
With Tier 1 and 2 featuring more power-hungry dedicated video cards, I?m making a recommendation for a more powerful power supply here, a Silvertstone 500W unit.
This power supply is capable of delivering up to 500W, not that you should rely on this information only as I often point in posts such as Warning: 6 Surefire Ways of Blowing Up Your Computer Due to an Inadequate Power Supply, but more importantly 34A on the 12V line, the most important factor when it comes to choosing a power supply for a gaming computer.
It is also 80PLUS certified, making it fairly efficient, so that you don?t waste money on your electricity bill. Its efficiency also helps it remain fairly cool and quiet, as there is less wasted energy converted to heat to dissipate.
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Power Consumption:
How to calculate power consumption:
I recommend using the eXtreme Power Supply Calculator. Here are the settings that I used:
- CPU depending on the Tier, 90% TDP.
- Video Cards depends on the Tier
- Two sticks sticks of DDR3
- One regular SATA drive
- 1 DVD-RW/DVD+RW Drive
- 4 USB Devices
- 4 x 120mm regular fans
- System Load: 90%
- Capacitor Aging: 20%
A quick note about the eXtreme Powe Source: http://www.hardware-revolution.com/best-budget-gaming-pc-february-2012/ tiger woods one for the money 10 minute trainer sarah burke death etta james funeral erin brockovich dodgeball
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