BOSSMAC’S NOTES
This build guide does not include the monitor, peripherals and software. If you know what you’re doing, peripherals are easy to choose from. Monitors and software get a bit complicated. Relevant reading information can be seen below:
-
Monitor Buying Guide
-
How To Get Started with Affordable and Legit PC Gaming
-
How to Get Windows Cheap
Related: Php15,000 Budget Gaming PC Build Guide December 2018 (Athlon 200GE)
This is an upgrade for the PhP 25,000 gaming PC build guide for December 2016. We consider this to be the happy medium between price and performance. You can use maximum settings at 1080p and still have a pleasant gaming experience. Consistent 60 FPS on 1080p is possible if you tweak some of the image quality settings. Another great thing about this build is you can pair an affordable Free Sync monitor like the LG 23MP68VQ to eliminate screen-tearing without having to use V-Sync.
Processor:
Intel Core i5 6500 may not have Hyper Threading but it is fast enough to keep up with the Radeon RX 470. This is the minimum CPU we would recommend if you will use a GPU faster than GeForce GTX 1050 Ti.
Price – PhP 9,900
Number of Cores – 4
Number of Threads – 4
CPU Base Speed – 3.2 GHz
CPU Max. Turbo Speed – 3.6 GHz
L3 Cache – 6MB
On-die GPU – Intel HD 530
ALTERNATIVE PRODUCT – Intel Core i5 6600 3.3 GHz
Motherboard:
ASRock B150M Pro4 is the cheapest motherboard we would recommend even for a mainstream gaming PC. It has 4 slots for memory modules, heatsink on the VRM (voltage regulator module), and 4 USB 3.0 ports.
Price – PhP 4,250
Socket – Intel LGA 1151
Chipset – Intel B150
Memory Type Supported – DDR4
Max. Memory Amount Supported – 64GB
Form Factor – Micro ATX (24.4 cm x 24.4 cm)
Heatsink on VRM – Yes
Review: ASRock B150M Pro4
ALTERNATIVE PRODUCT – MSI B150M Bazooka Plus
Memory:
G. Skill Ripjaws V 4GBx2 DDR4 2400 (F4-2400C15D-8GVR) is our 1st choice for memory modules because it has a good track record of motherboard compatibility (based on our experience) and is more affordable than other brands. Many games now use more than 4GB RAM so we highly recommend 8GB RAM as the new minimum for gaming.
Price – PhP 3,180
Memory Type – DDR4
Memory Amount – 4GBx2
Speed – 2,400 MHz
Voltage – 1.20 V
Timings – 15-15-15-35
ALTERNATIVE PRODUCT – G. Skill Aegis 4GBx2 DDR4 2400
Graphics Card:
Sapphire Nitro+ OC RX 470 8GB is the currently the cheapest graphics card with a VRAM more than 4GB. Yes, you can find a GeForce GTX 1060 6GB graphics card for almost the same price but you lose the option of using Free sync. We only recommend getting a GeForce GTX 1060 6GB graphics card if the monitor you will buy or use does not have Free Sync.
Price – PhP 11,800
Number of Cores – 2,048
GPU Base Speed – 1,140 MHz
GPU Turbo Speed – 1,236 MHz
Memory Speed – 7,000 MHz
Memory Amount – 8GB
Memory Type – GDDR5
Memory Bus Width – 256 bit
PCI-E Power Cable Requirement – 1x 6 pin
Graphics Card Length – 230 mm
Display Outputs – 1x DVI-D, 2x HDMI 2.0b, 2x DisplayPort 1.4
Power Supply Unit:
Seasonic S12II 520 is decent upgrade from the Corsair VS450 we used in our PhP 25,000 PC. This PSU (power supply unit) uses components of better quality and has a 5-year manufacturer warranty. We do not recommend overloading a PSU but this PSU can deliver up to 588 watts without exploding.
Price – PhP 2,570
Review – Hardware Secrets, Jonny Guru
Form Factor – ATX
Modular Cables – No
PCI-E Power Cables – 2x 6+2 pin
Dimensions – 140 mm (Depth) x 150 mm (Width) x 86 mm (Height)
Rated Capacity – 520 watts
Input Voltage – 100 V to 240 V
Input Frequency – 50 Hz to 60 Hz
ALTERNATIVE PRODUCT – FSP Raider 550 watts
Case:
Tecware F3 just happens to be an affordable case with a good compatibility for long graphics card and has decent amount of drive bays. Nothing special here.
Price – PhP 1,100
Motherboard Form Factor Compatibility – ATX
Dimensions – 335 mm (Depth) x 185 mm (Width) x 355 mm (Height)
Drive Bays – 2x 3.5-inch, 3x 2.5-inch
Max. Graphics Card Length – 315 mm
Max. CPU Cooler Heigth – 160 mm
Front Fan Provision – 2x 120 mm
Top Fan Provision – 1x 120 mm
Rear Fan Provision – 1x 120 mm
ALTERNATIVE PRODUCT – Sharkoon VS4-W
Storage Drive:
Crucial MX300 525GB (CT525MX300SSD1) is the currently the SSD (solid state drive) with large enough capacity that offers great value for the money. An SSD will cut game loading time and PC boot time by a very large amount. Once you experience the benefits of an SSD, you’ll never go back to an HDD (hard disk drive).
Price – PhP 7,490
Form Factor – 2.5 inch
Interface – SATA 6Gb/s
Capacity – 525GB
Endurance (Terabytes Written) – 160TB
Manufacturer Warranty – 3 years
ALTERNATIVE PRODUCT – Adata SP550 480GB
Part Name | Price (PhP) | |
CPU | Intel Core i5 6500 3.2 GHz | 9,900 |
Motherboard | ASRock B150M Pro4 | 4,250 |
Memory | G. Skill Ripjaws V 4GBx2 DDR4 2400 | 3,180 |
Graphics Card | Sapphire Nitro+ OC RX 470 8GB | 11,800 |
Power Supply | Seasonic S12II 520 watts | 2,570 |
Case | Tecware F3 | 1,100 |
Storage Drive | Crucial MX300 525GB | 7,490 |
TOTAL | 40,290 |
If you want to reduce the cost of the build by a large amount, you can downgrade the graphics card and the storage drive. The alternative parts would be XFX RX 470 4GB RS @ PhP 9,710 and Western Digital Blue 1TB @ PhP 2,270. Those alternative parts would reduce the cost of the build to PhP 32,980. However, just be informed the major drawback of the graphic card downgrade is you might have VRAM insufficiency problems in upcoming games in 2017 and later. Alternatively, another way to optimize the build is to get an XFX RX 480 GTR 8GB @ PhP 13,990 and a Western Digital Blue 1TB @ PhP 2,270. You reduce the total build cost to PhP 37,260 while at the same time increasing gaming performance.
Refer to the chart below for a quick comparison on different options and optimization paths.
If you are wondering if you can get a noticeably better gaming experience by spending more, check our other builds:
3 Comments
7k para sa SSD? Alam mo ba sinasabi mo?
Tama naman diba olol 7k to -7,5k ang Crucial MX300
Any update Bossmac?