Can You Really Build A Gaming PC For Under $600?
Yes, you can and it’s easier and more fun than you may think!
In this article we’ll discuss:
- How realistic is building a cheap gaming PC?
- The parts needed for a gaming PC.
- Actual parts (and prices) for our $600 gaming PC.
- A guide that shows you step-by-step how to do it.
- A place that will do all the work for you.
Is Building A Cheap Gaming PC Realistic?
Are you good with a screwdriver? Can you tell a video card from a
motherboard? A memory stick from a cooling fan? You may be a good
candidate to build your own gaming PC!
There is no big mystery to building computers. Everything is made to
fit with everything else. It’s called “standards”. The only issue you’ll
run into is compatibility issues. For example, certain types of
processors don’t work with certain motherboards. Once you have all that
out of the way it’s really just a matter of screwing all the parts
together. OK, well there’s a little more to it than that but the manual
below explains all that for you.
Imagine how cool it feels to tell people you built your own PC or
even a gaming PC. I assure you it feels good. Once you know what goes
into the making of a good gaming PC it’s easy to do the needed tweaks
and upgrades for your latest games whenever needed. Even do it for your
family and friends PCs!
So if you’re worried you can’t build your own gaming PC – don’t be. I
got you covered with the below specs for a cheap but high-performances
gaming machine and even a guide that shows you how to do it. No, I
didn’t write the guide, but I did put together the list of parts which
have already been tested for compatibility. Have fun!
What Parts Do You Need?
Let’s have a look at the parts you’ll need for a cheap gaming PC:
- Motherboard – The
motherboard is what everything (Memory, processor, video and sound
cards) screws into. Motherboards are generally made for either Intel or
AMD processors. Intel chips and motherboards have higher performance
specs than AMD. They are also more expensive. AMD components can be
tweaked to match the performance of Intel components. This is called
sometimes called “overclocking.”
- Processor – Pretty
much the brain of the computer. The faster and stronger the processor
the faster it can process data from the hard drives, memory and video
cards. Two major flavors – Intel and AMD.
- Video card –
Obviously this is where your video is processed. The more powerful the
video card the better your games look. High performance video cards come
with their own on board memory and processors to take the load of the
main processor on the motherboard.
- Memory – This is a
measurement of how much work your computer can do at any given time.
Memory is increased by plugging in memory sticks into your motherboard.
The types of memory you use much match each other and the specs for the
motherboard.
- Hard drive – This
is often confused with memory but it’s not. Memory it temporary storage
for whatever your computer is doing at the moment. Hard drive space is
permanent storage space that remains even after your computer is turned
off. Transfer speed of a HD is important to gamers. New SSD or Solid
State hard drives which contain no moving parts and are extremely fast
are now coming down in price and may eventually catch up with and
replace conventional hard drives.
- Power supply – Easy
to overlooks but oh so important. The more high performance parts you
have install into your computer the bigger power supply you need.
- Fans and cooling –
Computer parts which are constantly running at or near there maximum
performance get hot and need to be keep cool or they will degrade in
performance and eventually fail. A good fan and cooling system is one of
most importance investments you can make for a high end gaming system.
- Case – Not much to cover here. Just get one that’s sturdy, looks cool and has a window so you can see all your components in action!
- Keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, optical drives - Optional. You can probably get by with what you have now and upgrade later.
- Operating System –
Not optional. If you have Win7 on a system you’re not using anymore
Microsoft will let you transfer the license from that computer to a new
one for free. Otherwise you’ll have to get another copy. Sorry.
An Actual $600 Gaming PC Build
The budget build is designed to:
- Be a highly capable gaming computer at an affordable price
- Be strong enough to take on any of the latest games
- Out perform many pre-built computers in stores
Motherboard - Asus Socket AM3+ AMD 970 Quad CrossFireX.
Everything you would need in a good quality motherboard for a gaming PC with a budget in mind. (About $95) Check
here for prices.
CPU - AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition
Still a favorite among gamers. Best bang for your buck in terms of gaming performance for a budget build. (About $120) Check
here for prices.
Memory (RAM) - Corsair XMS3 4 GB 1333MHz PC3-10666
RAM is extremely affordable now. 4 GB is the minimum for a gaming
build. 8 GB is ideal. Consider getting 2 of these RAM sticks. (About
$22 each)
Check here for prices.
Video Card - EVGA GeForce GTX 550 Ti SuperClocked (1GB)
For the price the card is a beast! 1 full GB of onboard GDDR5 video
memory to help with the more graphically intensive games. (About $128)
Check here for prices.
No Sound Card. For this build we’ll be using the integrated audio that comes on the board.
Hard Drive - Western Digital Caviar Blue 500 GB SATA III 7200 RPM
Western Digital is a reliable, respected manufacturer. The Caviar
Blue drives are fast and quiet. 500 gigabytes of storage is enough for
most people. (About $75)
Check prices here.
Optical Drive - Sony Nec Optiarc AD-7241S-0B 24X Dual Layer
Great for the price and does everything you would need an optical
drive to do. Run quietly compare to most DVD drives. (About $45)
Check prices here.
Case - Cooler Master RC-430-KWN1 Elite 430
Great value and easy to work with for the novices. Room enough for
all components and good airflow, enough room for all the
components. Sturdy design despite its low price. With an LED-lit fan and
a see-through side panel you can see your components in action. (About
$42) Check for
best prices here.
Power Supply - Cooler Master Elite 460W RS460-PSAR-J3-US ($30)
Enough power to support this budget build. Quiet, easy to
install. Cooler Master is known for quality and reliability. (About $30)
Check
here for prices.
Total Cost: $557 (Give or take) before rebates (USD)
Add your own Operating System, keyboard, mouse and monitor and you have a quality, high performance gaming system.
A Step-By-Step Guide.
Building custom computers is a skill which can pay off in many ways besides building your own gaming computers.
This how-to-guide teaches you everything you need to know from the ground up.
Too Much Work? Have Some Do It For You!
