This is the first of a four-part series on building gaming-capable PCs for various budgets and uses. This part focuses on people who use their desktops mainly for office work but want to play games as well.
Let's say you want to get a new desktop for office use - but you are also someone who wants to play games on the off-time. Going to a computer store, you will be confronted by dozens of options, but not all may give you what you want. The solution? Build one yourself. It's generally cheaper, better and you have greater control over the parts that go into the PC.
For this guide, we are offering four potential avenues to pick from when it comes to the Central Processing Unit (CPU) and Graphics Processing Unit (GPU): an AMD/AMD combination, an Intel/AMD combination, an AMD/ Nvidia combination and an Intel/ Nvidia combination. The target cost is Rs 50,000 with a +/- of Rs. 5,000 to ensure a fairly reasonable budget - but the budget ballpark is generally unreliable for low-end builds and flexibility is always recommended.
First, the AMD CPU/ AMD GPU combination: For the purposes of this build, we are using AMD's Ryzen CPUs. Ryzen is AMD's answer to Intel's current CPU architectures and is built on either the 14-nanometer process or the 12-nanometer process. Some Ryzen CPUs come equipped with a GPU on-die - these GPUs are generally competent for light-to-moderate gaming without needing to invest in a dedicated card.
| Type | Item | Price |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | AMD - Ryzen 5 2400G 3.6 GHz Quad-Core Processor | ₹12675.00 |
| Motherboard | MSI - B450M GAMING PLUS Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard | ₹9196.00 |
| Memory | Corsair - Vengeance LPX 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-2400 Memory | ₹6914.58 |
| Storage | Seagate - FireCuda 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Hybrid Internal Hard Drive | ₹6199.00 |
| Case | Deepcool - TESSERACT SW ATX Mid Tower Case | ₹4000.00 |
| Power Supply | Corsair - CX (2017) 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply | ₹4200.00 |
| Total | ₹43184.58 |
Now, for the AMD CPU/ Nvidia GPU combination build. For the purposes of this build, we are keeping the general structure equal to the previous AMD CPU/ AMD GPU build but the CPU will be changed and an Nvidia GPU will be added to it. While Nvidia has released its latest 'Turing' family of GPUs earlier this year, they are currently restricted to the high-end spectrum of the market and hence, we will continue to stick to the 'Pascal' family which comprises the 10xx series of cards. The budget here is slightly higher than the target of Rs. 55,000 but that is expected considering a dedicated GPU being used and the increase in tax since the GST came into effect.
| Type | Item | Price |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | AMD - Ryzen 5 1400 3.2 GHz Quad-Core Processor | ₹11573.00 |
| Motherboard | MSI - B450M GAMING PLUS Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard | ₹9196.00 |
| Memory | Corsair - Vengeance LPX 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-2400 Memory | ₹6914.58 |
| Storage | Seagate - FireCuda 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Hybrid Internal Hard Drive | ₹6199.00 |
| Video Card | Gigabyte - GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4 GB Video Card | ₹13500.00 |
| Case | Deepcool - TESSERACT SW ATX Mid Tower Case | ₹4000.00 |
| Power Supply | Corsair - CX (2017) 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply | ₹4200.00 |
| Total | ₹55582.58 |
Moving on to Intel, both builds featuring their products will have a dedicated GPU owing to the inadequate-for-gaming on-board technology currently by the company. Intel is expected to launch its own GPUs sometime in 2020, but that is pretty far away.
The first build uses an Intel CPU with an AMD GPU. For the purposes of the build, we are going with Intel's Coffee Lake CPUs, which comprise the 8000 series and offer upto 4 cores on their entry-level i3 CPUs and AMD's RX 500-series GPUs, which are part of its 'Polaris' family.
| Type | Item | Price |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | Intel - Core i3-8100 3.6 GHz Quad-Core Processor | ₹10439.00 |
| CPU Cooler | Cooler Master - Hyper 212 LED 66.3 CFM Rifle Bearing CPU Cooler | ₹2884.00 |
| Motherboard | Gigabyte - B360 HD3 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard | ₹9300.21 |
| Memory | Corsair - Vengeance LPX 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-2400 Memory | ₹6914.58 |
| Storage | Seagate - FireCuda 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Hybrid Internal Hard Drive | ₹6199.00 |
| Video Card | MSI - Radeon RX 560 - 1024 4 GB AERO ITX Video Card | ₹14929.09 |
| Case | Deepcool - TESSERACT SW ATX Mid Tower Case | ₹4000.00 |
| Power Supply | Corsair - CX (2017) 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply | ₹4200.00 |
| Total | ₹58865.88 |
The final combination for this guide is the Intel CPU/ Nvidia GPU set. We are retaining the i3 CPU, cooler and motherboard over from the previous set and bringing back the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti as it is a very competent GPU in its price bracket with 4 GB of memory and the very efficient 'Pascal' architecture powering it.
| Type | Item | Price |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | Intel - Core i3-8100 3.6 GHz Quad-Core Processor | ₹10439.00 |
| CPU Cooler | Cooler Master - Hyper 212 LED 66.3 CFM Rifle Bearing CPU Cooler | ₹2884.00 |
| Motherboard | Gigabyte - B360 HD3 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard | ₹9300.21 |
| Memory | Corsair - Vengeance LPX 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-2400 Memory | ₹6914.58 |
| Storage | Seagate - FireCuda 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Hybrid Internal Hard Drive | ₹6199.00 |
| Video Card | Gigabyte - GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4 GB Video Card | ₹13500.00 |
| Case | Deepcool - TESSERACT SW ATX Mid Tower Case | ₹4000.00 |
| Power Supply | Corsair - CX (2017) 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply | ₹4200.00 |
| Total | ₹57436.79 |
Note: This build guide is meant to be used as a general guideline for what to go for when building an office-grade PC that can be used for gaming as well. There is a good chance that the prices might be lower at the local brick and mortar shops than on online markets. Windows licences in India can cost upwards of Rs 10,000 and we have not included it in the part lists. Again, we recommend checking prices in the local market and on e-commerce websites as well.
For a build of this class, we recommend purchasing a monitor with a resolution of no more than 1920x1080 and a refresh rate of no more than 60 Hertz. We also recommend that you never skimp on the power supply. It might be cheaper to begin with. However, a cheap 'local' power supply may not be reliable and could fail anytime. Moreover, if the power regulation is not good, the computer parts might get damaged.
If you are looking for a guide to build a mainstream gaming PC, you can look here instead,