Why you should build your own gaming PC, instead of relying on PlayStation and Xbox
With silicon technology improving, and laptops and smartphones becoming faster than ever, full-fledged PCs are fast becoming niche commodities. Yet, for enthusiasts and gamers, the thrill and benefits of building a PC from scratch remain unrivalled. Add to that the fact that a well-built PC can knock any console out of the water in terms of gaming performance.
There is no denying that building a rig on a tight budget is a headache-inducing task, yet its benefits far outweigh the negatives. As opposed to buying a pre-assembled rig, building your own computer makes sense too. Its extremely cost-effective, and can be customised to the buyer's preference and budget.
There's no limit to the amount you can pour in building your new gaming rig, but for most buyers, the Rs 70,000 mark is the sweet spot for building a PC that can handle all their gaming, multimedia and productivity needs. So with that in mind, here's our guide to building a PC – display not included – for under Rs 70,000.
CPU- Ryzen 5 1600 ( Rs 15,000)
For every budget segment in the market, the two big processor manufacturers – Intel and AMD – have multiple options. But since we are on a tight budget, we will be using AMD's latest line-up of Ryzen processors to form the backbone of our PC. Ryzen processors in the mid-budget segment of the spectrum offer great value for money and unlike the FX series from the past offer above par performance without leaving a heavy thermal footprint.
Having dealt with the initial teething issues, the Ryzen line-ups of CPUs introduced in early 2017, have emerged as really great options. Built using the 14nm process and based on AMD's latest Zen microarchitecture, these processors promise good thermal efficiency.
The processor of choice from the line-up is the Ryzen 5 1600 which comes with six cores and 12 virtual threads running at a base clock of 3.2Ghz and a precision boost frequency of 3.6GHz. Unlike the 1600X which comes with a factory overclock, the Ryzen 1600 with its unlocked multipliers affords enough leg room to be overclocked by the user and match the Ryzen 1600X's stock performance.
But, with or without the overclock, whether you’re streaming, gaming or video editing, this processor has enough firepower to deliver fast and reliable performance for years to come.
The processor also provides a thermal wattage of 65W which is 30W shy of the 1600X and above all comes at a slightly lower price with a Ryzen Wraith Spire cooler in the box.
The Ryzen 5 1600 was launched in India in April 2017 at a price of Rs 15,799, but depending on where you procure it from can now be bought for as low as Rs 15,000.
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-AB350 (Rs 8,500)
With the AMD Ryzen processors, getting the motherboard right becomes more crucial than ever. Thankfully though, with the Ryzen line-up, AMD makes the task a bit easier by doing away with the confusing line-up of motherboard platforms as all its new processors run on the AM4 socket. Additionally, AMD has announced that the socket will stay relevant at least till 2020 with future processors supporting the particular socket.
The AM4 platform currently features a line-up consisting of the entry-level A320, mid-level B350 and enthusiast level X370 motherboards. For our rig here, we recommend choosing a B350 board as it provides a substantial upgrade over the A320 and depending on the manufacturer can even come with specs that at times give some of the X370 line-up motherboards good run for their money.
Case in point, the Gigabyte GA-AB350 Gaming 3. The motherboard hits the sweet spot for users who want to stick to single GPU setups – the B350 series doesn't officially support SLI over high bandwidth PCIe 3.0 channel. There's also a whole host of ports and 10Gbps USB 3.1 Gen 2, Realtek ALC1220 audio, and RGB LED support.
There are four slots with up to 64GB of DDR4 memory. The motherboard supports overclocking and Gigabyte claims frequency support of up to 3200MHz for the RAM sticks. There are two steel-reinforced x16 PCIe slots, however, only one of these can make use of all the 16 memory lanes.
Overall, the Gigabyte here has brought a very well rounded offering which is available at retailers for as low as Rs 8,500.
GPU: MSI GTX 1060 3GB (Rs 20,000)
Next up is arguably the most important component in a PC for any gamer, the GPU. This is the heart of any gaming rig, and is usually recommended to overstreach your budget here a bit in order to get a GPU that not only works today, but also proves to be good enough in the near future.
Though both Nvidia and AMD have good GPU's in the budget segment, we'd recommend going with Nvidia's GTX 1060 3GB line-up as it promises stable performance. Though we would ideally like to suggest the 6GB memory variant of the GTX 1060, as it not only comes with extra VRAM but also 10 per cent more CUDA cores, for PC builders in India the MSI's 1060 3GB OC is a great option as it can be bought for around Rs 20,000.
Built on a highly efficient 16nm process, it comes with a 120W power consumption rating and a base clock of 1544MHz and a boost of 1759MHz. The 3GB of VRAM is DDR5 in configuration running at a speeds of 8000MHz. In benchmark tests, MSI's graphics card has shown to provide more than enough punch for 1080p gaming and even decent frame rates on higher resolutions.
RAM: ADATA 8GB DDR4-3000 Mhz ( Rs 6,500)
The AMD Ryzen platform loves fast RAM and as such the DDR4 memory it supports gives users a more than good enough reason to invest in a fast RAM. Unlike Intel's processor configuration, Ryzen CPUs show improved performance when paired with memory modules that clock over 3000MHz.
For our build, we suggest 8GB stick of ADATA's RGB XPG DDR4 U-DIMM which can be overclocked to over 3200MHz. ADATA also provides lifetime warranty on the RAM it sells in India, thus making it a safe choice for your new PC.
The RAM can be procured for around Rs 6,500.
Storage: 1TB HDD + 256GB SSD ( Approx Rs 9,000)
The next piece of hardware your need for your new system is a storage tool to hold your operating system, programs and other software. For this, we recommend going with a setup of a fast HDD and a faster 256GB solid state drive (SSD) for your OS and other programs.
Your best bet here is buying a Western Digital Blue 1TB HDD running at 7200RPM which will set you back by approx Rs 3000 and for the SSD, a Samsung 850 EVO 256GB selling for approx Rs 6,000. The Samsung SSD not only promises superior performance for your new build but also good endurance.
Alternatively, as a buyer, you can also look at the faster – albeit more expensive – M.2 SSD drives that the GigaByte GA-AB350 supports.
Cabinet and PSU (Approx Rs 10,000)
One of the more important, yet, underrated components in a PC, is the power supply unit (PSU). For the current build, we recommend the Antec TP 650 Gold. Though for the build we are creating – Ryzen 5 1600 + GTX 1060 – a 450-500W PSU would also suffice, but it's always nice to have a little headroom for future upgrades, or in case you want to pop in a secondary GPU at a later date.
The cabinet to fit all this in should ideally be Corsair's Carbide Series CC-9011050. The particular cabinet comes in the mid-tower form factor and looks beautiful with the red led lights. However, users can choose a cabinet of their liking in the budget (approx Rs 3,000) to use as the skin for their PC.