Gamers by Nature: You could build a gaming PC for as little as $430 today!

Branchedout At Gamers by Nature writes: "Okay, you see comments that computer gaming is cheaper by far! While for single player, this is true (as many games do not have local play. But pretty much all have online play, which is the preferred way as of this generation) because games are usually $10 cheaper NEW, Steam has plenty of amazing sales unlike anything consoles have seen. And upgrading is NOT expensive. 5 years from now you’ll pick up a new video card. IF you want to play the newest games on HIGH. It’s something to consider!" Though do be warned, he urges you to do research on the subject before diving into it.

[Al Bundy]

This should debunk the myth that it cost $2,000 to build a gaming PC.

[8800gtx]

Ouch that gpu would run circles around me, the massacre would be worse then what i can do with hardware marketed as next gen.

8800gtx.

[XxRoosterxX]

loser pretends to an out-dated video card?

[MexicanAppleThief]

My guess would be that he is trying to convince console owners to be PC owners. Truth be told, I'd doubt they'd be interested.

I myself was going to make a gaming rig because of Valve games on PC, but now they annouced that they are coming to the PS3. No point really to invest hundreds of $/£ just to play a few games in higher rez and frames imo.

[evrfighter]

@beanerapplethief

Have fun with that. You never really read into what steamplay is have you?
It's not steam.

[MexicanAppleThief]

I know what Steam is, and what Steamworks is.

What I was trying to say was that if Valve is making Portal 2 for the PS3, other games like the Left 4 Dead Franchise, Half Life etc would obviously follow. Why so much diagrees for my earlier comment?

[Newtype]

A low end gaming PC would be cheap, a high end would be 2,000+. O.C RAM is like $500 if you were to get about 24GB (Corsair Dominators). A SSD (Intel x25 or OCZ) (A fast one) for fast boot up times would be around $800-1000 (depending upon if you get 40GB or 256GB). A high end GPU in xfire or SLI would be around 1.5k-2k (5970 or 480 fermi). Mobo would be $150-300. (ASUS mobo with USB 3.0, or EVGA with 3 way SLI.) A SATA 3.5 would be pretty cheap, 2TB for like $150. A high end Lian-Li Full tower would be like $400-500. PSU would be like $220 (750-1000 WATT). OS for like Windows 7 Ultimate would be like $300. Monitor 24', 1200p would be like 150-300. (1200p IS GOOD for high resolution games) Or you can use your TV. A high end Intel CPU would be around $300-999. (i7 860-980x) Opti drives are cheap, $50-100.

High end IS expensive.

[DJKGBYF]

All you did was go and list the most expensive parts you can buy. I've never spent that much on a PC and I don't know anyone that has.

[SOAD]

24 gigs of RAM would be expensive, yes. If you were to build a rig that matches PS3 specs, would you need 24 gigs of RAM?

[iamgoatman]

You'd have to have more money than sense to buy something like that.

Sensible high end isn't exactly cheap, but It's not as ridiculous as what you posted. If you want to be nuts, that's nothing, I remember playing around on the Alienware site putting together a PC which totaled £16,000+, but would it have given a different gaming experience over a PC 1/16th of that price? Not really, no.

Posting the most expensive hardware you can doesn't justify that high end has to be incredibly expensive.

[STONEY4]

Whoever agreed with this guy is dumb. This guy just posted the most expensive stuff he could find. And he pulls prices out of his arse.

"O.C RAM is like $500 if you were to get about 24GB (Corsair Dominators)"

6GB is more than enough, and Corsair RAM imo costs more than it's worth. 6GB DDR3 RAM doesn't even hit the $300 mark.

"A SSD (Intel x25 or OCZ) (A fast one) for fast boot up times would be around $800-1000 (depending upon if you get 40GB or 256GB)."

At this point, HDDs boot up fast enough, SSDs aren't necessary at all. And even 40GB SSDs don't cost that much, try more like $125-150. Btw, still overpriced.

"A high end GPU in xfire or SLI would be around 1.5k-2k (5970 or 480 fermi)."

Ugh, even those 2 cards SLId or Crossfired wouldn't cost that much, plus 5770s are way more than enough for anything today, and cost not even a tenth of the price you listed.

"Mobo would be $150-300. (ASUS mobo with USB 3.0, or EVGA with 3 way SLI."

USB 3.0 isn't coming anywhere near as universal as 2.0 right now, and 3 way SLI motherboards are pointless since 3 cards result in microstuttering most of the time. Unless you have an I7, motherboards don't cost that much.

"A high end Lian-Li Full tower would be like $400-500."

Lian-Lis are overpriced, and they don't even cost THAT much. Antec 1200s and HAF 932s cost less than half of that, and are the most popular and widely regarded best full-tower cases for high-end rigs.

"OS for like Windows 7 Ultimate would be like $300."

Once again, random numbers. W7 Ultimate is $170-200, not $300. And, once again, it's not necessary.

"Monitor 24', 1200p would be like 150-300. (1200p IS GOOD for high resolution games)"

One place where you're somewhat correct on the price, but you don't know about PC gaming if you're calling it 1200p. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS P ON PC. It's simply 1920x1200, because we don't have the progressive/interlacing thing going on. It's also almost the same as 1920x1080, but at a different aspect ratio.

"A high end Intel CPU would be around $300-999. (i7 860-980x)"

Overclock a I7 920, voila, you have a CPU that make the more expensive models look like a ripoff (because they are). And that costs less than $300.

"Opti drives are cheap, $50-100."

More like $20.

"High end IS expensive."

My computer would be considered high-end (I7 920, 2 GTX275s in SLI, 6GB DDR3) and it definitely wasn't $2000+, not even with the price of the OS and 28 inch monitor included.

[GrilledCheeseBook]

no games would need that
seeing as games don't even use a full 4gb of ram; why buy 24GB
most cases over $150 are just for the aesthetics
windows 7 ultimate isn't aimed at gamers
an SSD gives almost no benefit to games as with USB 3.0
the most expensive Intel cpu's are always overpriced by hundreds of dollars

what you picked is overkill in every aspect outside of the Monitor

[dirthurts]

You just made yourself look ridiculous. No one in the right mind would blow all that money on a gaming pc. You wouldn't even see the difference in performance past 4gb of ram (may 6, pushing it).
SSD not needed, just for impatient people (I'll admit I have one though).

[TheIneffableBob]

I'm building a new computer for college right now. Gonna need the extra processing power.

Core i7-930, HD 5870, 6GB DDR3, ASUS X58 mobo, Corsair 750W, 1TB Samsung F3, Lian-Li PC-9F.

That's pretty high end as far as I'm concerned, and it's "only" around $1,000.

[jakethesnake]

Calling that a 'High End PC' is like calling a stadium jumbotron a high end TV. What you just described there is only a few pegs below a super computer. Anyone who spends that much money on a gaming computer deserves to be poor.

[JsonHenry]

The 8800GTX video card alone is more powerful than the PS3 or 360 AND has faster/double the RAM. Outdated? Yes. But can play everything out currently maxed @ at least 1280*1024 (native) which is a higher rez than your consoles.

And there is a difference between high end and mainstream. The point is even the mainstream lower cost PC can provide MORE uses and better gaming fidelity than consoles currently can.

[Xfanboy]

ok how can I explain this??

My personal fanboy recovery program. (Don't worry it's free)

Stage:1 Circumstance

This
http://www.toysrus.com/prod...
+
this
http://www.onecall.com/prod...
= $2,188

(hold on let me finish)
Now I know what your thinking...

Stage:2 Confrontation & Objection

Now you should hear a mini fanboy (objecting any comment & shaping your perception of what is true)inside your head telling you!!

"buh buh" - mini fanboy said

"that's becuz he wanted the highest end stuff (see my point now but keep going) you don't need to buy the most expensive thing to play a high quality game" - mini fanboy said
http://24.media.tumblr.com/...

Stage:3 Realization

Now thank that mini fanboy inside you for reveling to you the truth..

Final stage now avoid Sony, M$ or Nintendo Ads for 2 days ok?

Then you will be free from the 2 evil black & white armies!! (yay you did it no cake though!)

Repeat all stages twice a week to maintain your freedom & to make sure you get it through your head...

http://img188.imageshack.us...

This was not joke!!

[karan8624]

Mine cost $2,300

Worth it though, I wont have to upgrade for year and years. And when I do, Ill just get another GPU, go crossifre and Ill be good for another few years. Then add some RAM, 2 years more. Nah mean?

[Trroy]

Where is the keyboard, mouse, and high rez monitor in that price?

How about a copy of Windows 7?

PC Speakers?

cheap USB kb ($20)
cheap USB mouse ($15)
(lets pretend you have a decent monitor)
Windoze 7 Upgrade ($160)
(Cheap PC Speakers ($50) -- lets assume u have)

That's looking like $625 now, assuming you've got a monitor and PC speakers, and you owned a copy of Win XP or later too. Last time I checked, that's over 2x the cost of a PS3, and that's assuming you're fine with built-in motherboard sound (which often sucks).

What a silly article/comparison.

[SOAD]

most people already have the mouse, the keyboard, the speakers, etc.

those are superfluous costs.

[Trroy]

And how about the OS? You know, the major expense -- the one that's legally licensed for just one PC.

@SOAD (below):

I think any machine even capable of running Windows 7 decently would qualify as a "gaming machine" by nature. So.. you'd already have one, if that was the case.

Building a PC is fricking expensive for someone who doesn't have a clue, or spare parts, which is the majority. Even maintaining a PC costs a truckload, if you don't know how to do it yourself... again, the majority.

Console gaming is cheaper, simpler, better suited to the masses. Hell, even I hate installing a game and playing it on a tiny screen, with a desk for KB+mouse, when I have a couch and giant LCD TV, and I'm a computer pro.

Console games also have higher resale value. There is no way PC gaming is even as remotely as cheap.

Couch + cheapness + big TV + controller >> PC gaming, for the vast, vast majority.

[SOAD]

Reinstall the OS using the disc from your last rig.

Windows 7 premium comes with 3 licenses. That means you can install the OS onto three rigs.

The most basic version has one license, but if you call MS they re-active your license if you explain to them the situation.

See? It's not that hard. All this bullshit about the cost of building a PC is FUD that is spread by ignorant morons who would rather a shady company hold their hands and charge them more money and who I wouldn't trust to set a microwave timer.

Edit:

"I think any machine even capable of running Windows 7 decently would qualify as a "gaming machine" by nature."

My netbook runs win 7 home premium very well, and does not qualify as a gamin PC.

[ruiner4482]

If you read the article you would see it addresses that at a cost of $26.00

[GrilledCheeseBook]

yet a pc can do much more than a ps3 and the games are cheaper

you don't just game on a pc

if you ask about monitor, speakers then you would have to add in the price of an HDTV and sound system.

[SaiyanFury]

@ Trroy

Me and my wife bought a Sony Vaio laptop last year. Just today I installed Oblivion on it to gauge it's performance. It's actually not too bad. It processes the game pretty well considering it's just a laptop. My PC far out-performs it, but seeing how well our laptopl can process Oblivion, it's pretty good. A decent PC doesn't cost very much to process 3D graphics.

[hoops]

Al Bundy it won't. You will still have people saying it will cost 2 g's or more to build a PC even with evidence like this

[Imperator]

PC gaming is awesome. I just bought the THQ pack on steam, 20 something games for 50 bucks. And they're quality games to so it's a steal.

[HolyOrangeCows]

"This is an Alienware Desktop Pc.
Never buy one"
LOL, I love the intro.

"$430 assumes you can find your own DVD drive, or go without one, can get an old harddrive from another computer, AND have a copy of Windows already. Also, it assumes you have a monitor"
"That rounds out to about $535"
"I apologize to you guys for the misleading title, though."
Lovely.

I was going to build a PC back in spring, but when I found out about the Bioshock 2 and BF:BC2 DRM, it was a real 1, 2 punch to the face.
Make the DRM and Steam tether go away and I'll be a PC gamer. Just stop screwing the legit customers. Let me own my game and not be limited and held down by the publishers.

[eggbert]

is they often have very good deals.

[HolyOrangeCows]

Still, I don't like the idea of my purchases being tethered to a company. I want to buy a product and not have to verify it when I play or redownload it. Not at any price.

[Imperator]

True becuase what happens if Steam goes out of business (which they obviously won't, but just hypothetically), would you loose all those games?

[evrfighter]

Lern2burnadvd

you can burn your games to disc if you want.

[MRMagoo123]

learn to spell

[jjesso1993]

Steam is best thing that ever happen to pc gaming $430 to could easily build a pc with dvd drive dvd drive cost avout $19.99 on amazon. windows easy to get your hands on oem copy. even did spend $535 looking steam sales this week you saving about grand on games.

[Imperator]

Yep, Heck, with 125 bucks you can buy the SE-Eidos Pack and the THQ pack. That's around 50 games (most of them pretty good), or 1000 dollars worth of games.

[TheIneffableBob]

What's wrong with Bad Company 2's DRM? It seems very lenient to me. It lets you activate online and not have to have the disc in the drive to play. You also get 10 activations before having to request more which is more than most people need.

I don't remember BioShock 2's DRM but I don't remember it bothering me.

[Gran Touring]

Well it's a functional rig, but don't expect much out a 3.2 ghz dual or 2gb RAM (even if it is @1333mhz) While you could certainly handle Bad Company 2, Arkham Asylum or COD 4/MW2 in good shape, don't even think about trying to play games like GTA4 or Assassin's Creed 1/2.

[JsonHenry]

My old PC was a 8800GTS 640meg, AM2 6000+, and 8gigs of RAM. VERY similiar to this rig and I could easily play GTA4 and Assassin's Creed MAXED.

[SOAD]

Lies. GTA4 is an unoptimized turd on PC. NASA can't run it. jk

[iamgoatman]

"but don't expect much out a 3.2 ghz dual"

Most games still only use 2 cores, and although games that are properly optimised for quads are becoming more frequent, it's not like a dual is going to be unplayable, especially at that clock.

I'm running an Intel E8400 c2d, OC to 3.9Ghz, only played a couple of games that had a CPU bottleneck, and normally only a small FPS drop with LOTS of AI on screen. The only game I can think of that you may have a hard time running on a dual is GTA4, but that's because it was coded by a bunch of retards.

Also funny how you say you could handle games like BC2 but not Assassins Creed, considering BC2 IS optimised for quads, and AC isn't and is a piece of cake to run.

[Gran Touring]

I had an E8400 running @ 3.6ghz stable on air for about a year, until I upgraded to a Q9550. Before I did, I had to downclock the processor (and re-clock my RAM) and at 3.0ghz, I had a hard time playing with an acceptable, stable frame rate. I understand you're running C2D at a high overclock, but having a quad-core or higher multi-thread processor today is the way to go. All the tech forums will tell you the same.

I don't know; maybe I've been spoiled by having my games run at high refresh rates on high settings/resolutions. But if I wanted to play my games at 720p 30 frames a second, maybe I would have got Batman, Bad Company or Ass. Creed for console. GTA 4, as poorly coded as it is, for me is running on highest settings at 1920X1080 at 40-60 frames. (Not the benchmark)

[iamgoatman]

I don't doubt that a quad is the way to go, but my point was the dual core mentioned in the article is easily enough for the PC in question.

As for your past experiences, unless the game is actually optimised to use quad cores, and very few are, having a quad won't magically boast or smooth out your frame rates. Something like a Q6600 will actually perform worse compared to a E8400 if both are at stock speeds, if the game doesn't make use of the extra 2 cores that is.

I'll probably pick up a cheap Q9650 of ebay at the end of this year myself, as more games are using quads (some better than others), and although my C2D does the job fine for now, I don't want to bottleneck my 5850 in the future. Like you said, I like 1080p, 60FPS and lots of glorious AA.

[Mista T]

so with the graphics card he showed, can you run crysis on max settings with it?
http://www.newegg.com/Produ...

edit: so if someone could find a graphics card on newegg that can run crysis on max with 60fps but for a good price that would be great :)

[XxRoosterxX]

if you care about framerates.

[jjesso1993]

4850 can easily run cryis at maybe at 3rd grahpics mode i thinks gamer mode and you will get 30fps at 1080p with quad core amd 2-4gb ram

rams not terrible buts its not good depends usage

i have at the momment

AMD Phenom II X6 1090T

£120 over weekend as the compyter shop round where live had to be shut down and he had ordered a 9 and had get rid might sell as i only really care about gaming and diffrence is little

6gb drr3 ram 1600mhz corsair bargain from play in dec £60

coolermaster case

5750 £109 novatech

my pc cost £352 in december and have only upgraded the the processor becuase of bargain I know lot people that spent more on hardware on the 360 than i have on my pc and get 10 times better performace and games.

[Newtype]

gunbound on it, or Starcraft I.

@jjesso1993
AMD or Intel?

Also, the RAM and mobo he used sucks. ASRock...wtf? Crap will die.

Edit: Why did you get the 6 core Phenom? AMD has a bottleneck.

@Mista T
Get a 5870, good price and can handle Crysis 2.

[jjesso1993]

amd are find for games intel just tend to be very overpriced these days they change sockets alot its really not worth little extra in gaming the amd six core processor dose help in compression and converting and making micro hd movies and stuff for me. and gives boost in frames in certain games and makes gta run amazing. its performace is compareable to some of the i7's acording to certain reviews. it dose sell for £250 so i did get bargain i could not refuse.

Johnny_Cojones

thats what i do i started of making little profit but me and mates are making good £1500 profit a month to share not bad with EMA and part time job on the go.

[ruiner4482]

My brother has an asrock mobo and that thing has been running strong for a few years. He has a cheap build like the one in the article, maybe not as cheap but certainly not over $750 bucks.

[JsonHenry]

The point is that even running medium-high settings at 1280*1024 is a better visual feast than what the consoles provide.

Asking if it can play Crysis maxed does nothing for the argument as the consoles sure as hell can't do it.

@newtype - I've had two ASRock MBs over the years and they are still going strong with the people I sell my old rigs to. Also I don't know what you are talking about AMD having a bottleneck problem. The i7 only beats it by a hair in gaming applications and costs a couple hundred bucks more.

[Newtype]

Check benchmarks.
http://www.cpubenchmark.net...

[Mista T]

would the ATI Radeon HD 5770 be good?

[hoops]

Good card for the money Mista T.
DX11 capable and eyefinity support of 3 monitors. Will run almost every game out at 1080p@40+fps with some sort of AA.

[STONEY4]

I'll tell you right now that it won't get you 60fps+ on Crysis maxed, you'll get around 30 at a good resolution, but you don't get a card like that just for Crysis, right? Pretty much any other game, you'll be maxing out like a breeze at over 60fps. And Crysis is one of those games that looks very smooth even at 30fps, probably has to do with the motion blur. A 5870 (if you have the money though) would bring you alot closer to the desired framerates though.

[Skynetone]

hell they might even give you a free game for your 500 pounds

[Johnny_Cojones]

i7-920 at stock speed
Corsair H50 CPU cooler
12GB Corsair DDR3 1600
EVGA 3 WAY SLI MOBO
2 GTX 480s in SLI
LG blu-ray burner
300GB WD 10k RPM Raptor OS & game drive
1.5 TB Samsung media storage drive
Thermaltake Xaser VI full tower case
Corsair 850TX PSU
Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit
Samsung 25.5" 1920x1200 ToC HDTV/monitor

I've built & sold several rigs for a profit. Not a great profit, but I like building rigs anyway.

About to get(hopefully) the Alienware OptX AW2310 23" 1080p 3D monitor, then the Nvidia 3D Vision kit a couple of weeks later.

I wouldn't want to have to settle for a PC that cost less than 600-700 to build out of new parts at their everyday prices.

[Xfanboy]

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

[iamgoatman]

Not bad, if someone was just getting into PC gaming and didn't want to go overboard on hardware, this would be a nice setup.

One thing I would change though is the PSU, 430W is cutting it a little fine, and leaves no room if you decide to upgrade to a more powerful GPU down the line. I'd go with 500W minimum if you plan on gaming, but I'd still recommend a decent 600W just so you don't end up having to buy another PSU down the line, I've done it in the past and it's bloody annoying.

[Trroy]

Wow.

Do gaming PCs work good without keyboards, mice, and operating systems? Everyone has a VGA-capable TV, and speaker systems with PC input jacks? Good sound built-in on those motherboards too, huh? I guess the card listed has some... "special" built in sound and HDMI.

I guess gaming has PC gotten cheaper, without all that silly input and OS junk, and everyone owning all the other supporting gear as well. I guess I could "build a gaming PC" with parts lying around my house, for free. It just wouldn't be very cool, and the games would have to run under Linux.

PC gaming is for nerds (like myself... at least when I wasn't so lazy, and didn't prefer my couch), and its expensive as heck once you consider the knowledge necessary to actually function decently as a PC gamer.

[Gago]

AMD Athlon II X4 630 Propus 2.8GHz
XFX Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB
A-DATA 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1333
ASUS M4A77TD AM3 AMD 770
Western Digital Caviar Blue 320GB 7200RPM
ASUS 24X DVD Burner
Antec BP550 Plus 550W
COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 Black Aluminum Bezel
Windows 7 Pro 64 bit - I got this free since im a college student
Logitech MX518 Gaming Mouse
Creative Wireless Keyboard

I use my sharp aquos 52" 1080p as a monitor

[Drazz]

Tiger direct FTW!

[Paradise Lost]

I have a gaming pc but it's starting to suck because ...i don't know actually. It's running slower, can't run games like Call of duty Properly and freezes all the time.

At least with consoles A) Freezes very little B) Don't have to install New drives C) Graphics are optimized for every console.

[ruiner4482]

"C) Graphics optimized for every console" Tell that to all the half a$$ed ports to the ps3.

If you are having slow downs you more than likely have too many things eating all your memory. The other thing is you have a virus/spyware/malware. In either case this is 2010 and most everyone should know how to use and secure a computer. If you don't that is your own fault because information regarding computers is readily available on the internet.

[itsralf]

You could build a gaming PC for as little as $0 today! (assuming you can magically find all the parts you need.)

[Ironfungus]

"Now, you saw the title and thought, “$430!? That’s cheaper than what I paid for my console! (before the move to the $300 price point, that is."

That, and the cost of the countless repairs to Microsuck. Yeah I'm pretty sure console gaming is more expensive than PC gaming. Unstable piles of shit, and there's nothing a console (mini-PC?) can do that a PC can't.

[LittleBigSackBoy]

I'm still using a AMD 4400+ dual core, 2gb ram and a 8800GT.And i can play mass effect 2 at 1080p with 4xAA, no slow down.

[thehitman]

you need at least 700 dollars not including monitor/OS and other accessories. Consoles have lower specs because there only purpose is to run games not to run windows and all the programs that you have on it but solely games even if you have a gaming rig your still dedicating 30-40% of your memory for browser and other things that people normally run like messengers etc. You need a really good comp to run games at stable high frame rates along with high settings.

Also any tech person would tell you that you cant do much with that 2gigs of ram wont get you anywhere the vid card would be good if you had two of them for crossfire mode processor is decent but I still go for a quad or better and just those slight improvements would bump the price up another 200-300 dollars at least and like I said still not counting price of monitor/OS/Keyboard/Mouse that you need to actually run the computer, even though most people do already have 1 who make their own comps.

[Paradise Lost]

Tell that to all the half a$$ed ports to the ps3.

At least you can play the game fully even with the glitches. Some games i own on pc can't even work at all and they are brand new. XPS PC BTW it was amazing at first , now it's a disaster and i spent alot of money on it.

[yamzilla]

be it known throughout the kingdom that ye have proven your ineptness ( Displaying a lack of judgment, sense, or reason )......

what are all these morons who are crying about needing to purchase mice and keyboards typing on....the iphone they have installed in their asses?

Buy any pc today at bestbuy.....rip out the crapware and the nvidia 220 or ati 4200 or whatever diarrhea ( the condition of having three or more loose or liquid bowel movements per day. It is a common cause of death in developing countries {poor people} and the second most common cause of infant deaths worldwide ) card they have installed and put a $80 to $150 dollar card in and you have a PC twice as strong as the ps3, xbox360 and wii combined.....

iphones are gay