Escapist Entry First Draft

Expensive PCs? Bah! You don't always need a beast of a tower heating your home. Sometimes a smaller, more understated build can attract some attention too.

This article will detail two sets of components, one for AMD and the other for Intel. This is definitely a budget gaming PC, focused mainly at those building their first PC, or upgrading from much older hardware, from at least 5 or so years ago.

Both builds can be viewed in further detail on the PC Part Picker links provided below, and will detail the prices and places each component is available from.

I've elected not to use the absolute cheapest components I could find, as some of them are of dubious quality and usefulness, and instead I've gone for those that have the 'umph' that gamers need, or brands that I personally appreciate.

Motherboard

Intel option – Gigabyte GA-B85M-DS3H
AMD option – Gigabyte GA-F2A78M-D3H

These are two very similar boards to support the two processor choices. With decent amounts of USB ports, in particular two USB 3.0 ports for faster transfer speeds and greater device charging capabilities, these motherboards are perfect for the entry level PC.

While the AMD board will lack some upgradability, as this is the socket used mainly for their older-style CPUs and home theatre minded APUs, the Intel board is more than capable of some major upgrades in the future, most notably the i5 4690k and i7 4790k processors.

Very similar MSI, AsRock and Asus motherboards exist at the same price point, but don't look nearly as appealing and, at least in AsRock's case, may not be the most reliable manufacturers.

Processor

Intel Pentium G3258 – Ever-so-slightly cheaper than the AMD competition in these builds, this is a perfect choice for those on a limited budget who are building their first PC. With rather remarkable single core performance, and some supposedly excellent overclocking capabilities even on stock cooling, this CPU will smash any older game, while still keeping up with the demands newer games might throw at it.

AMD Athlon X4 860K Quad Core – While AMD are generally considered the budget brand, and with their architecture leaning more toward core count than single core performance, there is no doubt that this processor is one of their finest entry-level options. While it uses the FM2+ socket which, as described above doesn't allow for the greatest upgrade paths, if you don't plan on upgrading this CPU can offer great performance on more recent software, with some absolutely incredible benchmarks given its price.

Memory

Corsair XMS3 1x8GB – This RAM has seen much use in nearly every one of my PC builds, and has been truly reliable in every way. It's not the cheapest available, but it sits comfortably between entry and mid-level alternatives, and has a nice looking heat spreader with the XMS3 logo.

In most cases I would recommend going for two sticks, and not even a year ago I would gleefully recommend 2x4GB sticks instead of 1x8GB, however given the memory of the current generation consoles, 8GB is almost mandatory to keep your computer viable in the future. Having that extra slot open for upgrades down the line is essential to keeping your PC running smoothly for years to come.

Graphics Card

Gigabyte GeForce GTX 960 4GB – The last series of nVidia cards, the 700 series, contained a card that was so strangely mind-blowing to me that I am eagerly anticipating a refresh of it in the current series. However, until the 950ti low profile becomes an actual thing, the GTX 960 4GB is a perfect substitute to suite space and budget worries.

With 1024 CUDA cores, it's half the amount of the 980, but it sure packs a mighty punch for its small size and relatively cheap price. It will certainly see you through medium to high settings for most current games, and tackle nearly all of them at the glorious 1920x1080 60 FPS sweetspot that PC gaming demands.

Hard Drive

Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM – Western Digital is a staple of the world of hard disk drives, to the point where when their factory and others near them were flooded, there was an outright drought in precious hard disk space for a month or so, and prices of even low end hard drives shot up to upwards of £100.

Thankfully they made a swift recovery, and to date make some of the best hard drives for the price. While I would nearly always recommend a Caviar Black for performance builds, Blues still offer that much needed performance, while balancing out for better power usage and longevity.

Power Supply

EVGA SuperNOVA GS 550W 80+ Gold – While I would normally swear by the likes of Corsair or Super Flower, I can't justify spending the extra cash when this exists at a little lower price point.

Case

Zalman ZM-T4 – A pleasingly small case with plenty of features ordinarily reserved for the more expensive cases. Sporting a semi-aggressive design, with an angular faceplate and fins down the bottom half, this case is a budget PC builder's dream. Plenty of cable management holes in the motherboard tray help keep airflow in the case up, a bottom mounted PSU placement, and several places to mount hard drives to, this case does for little money what other cases sell at a premium. The metal work may not be fantastic, and may feel a little flimsy compared to the heavier, better built alternatives, it's a great looking case with lots of function.

Final Builds

Intel Build: £414.32
PC Part Picker link: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/FQmXrH

AMD Build price: £424.81
PC Part Picker link: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/DZhhcf

Potential Upgrades

Performance for this build won't be staggering, but honestly, there's not much better you can get in a micro-ATX form factor. Though there are a few ways you can further beef it out, if you have a little extra cash to spend some time after the build is complete.

Samsung 850 EVO 120GB SSD - £51.81 - SSDs are a staple of gaming rigs these days, as they provide blisteringly fast loading times that physical drives could only dream of achieving. While it won't have any impact on your game performance outside of the aforementioned loading times, you will notice that your operating system will feel a hell of a lot more responsive with one of these containing it. While it won't be storing GTA V anytime soon with it's nearly 60 gig install size, it's great for keeping your operating system, most used programs and most played games, especially great for those playing competitive games like CS:GO if you wanna be sure you're first to the game.

Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro - £15.99 - A truly brilliant budget cooler for those who want to squeeze a little extra juice out of their processors. These things help run your CPU much cooler, and while they add a little extra chunk to your overall build, the Zalman case should be plenty big enough to house it. The side-facing cooler is also beneficial to the rest of your build, helping keep airflow directed from the front of the case to the back.

BeQuiet SilentWings 2 PWM - £21 - This is a fairly expensive upgrade for something that would seem utterly peripheral to a PC gamer, but these things really are great.

Any generic optical drive - £20 - Many gaming PCs these days don't even have an optical drive anymore. Bluray is too awkward and limiting to setup, requiring specific software to even play, and plenty of streaming and download services exist for movies and TV shows to not require a DVD player anymore. Even publishers are pushing more toward digital distribution, with the recent Metal Gear Solid V having little more than the Steam installer on its disc. But for those that have some old games on disc, it can't hurt throwing a cheap DVD-ROM drive in.