Building a Budget-Friendly Gaming PC: Tips and Tricks
Is There Such A Thing As A Cheap Gaming PC?
The thing I love about gaming PC is the flexibility and customization available. Unlike game consoles, you can upgrade PCs or build them to a particular specification. Doing so gives you the potential to design a system to meet your specific needs. For example, you might wish to build a powerful beast that will outperform PCs for at least three years. Or you may only want something good enough to play simulators like SIM City. The only reason some folks avoid building PC gaming rigs is the cost. They feel that it will cost a small fortune to build something capable of playing most of today’s games. But, what if I told you that the reverse is true? You could build a gaming PC without going broke! Want to know how? Here are some top tips to help you get started:
Choose a motherboard and CPU with an Intel chipset
AMD has long been a firm favorite with many gamers. Especially when it comes to price. But, I always recommend that people build gaming PCs with Intel architecture. Why? The reason is simple: compatibility. Some games and even software applications don’t seem to work well with AMD processors. Sure, Intel is more expensive. But, you are less likely to have any issues with your system. If you’re on a tight budget, you don’t need to buy the latest Skylake motherboard and CPU. Instead, you could opt even for an Ivy Bridge or Haswell setup.
Repurpose your existing case
You don’t need to go and spend three-figure sums on a brand-new case for your gaming rig. If you’ve already got a PC, it makes sense to repurpose the existing enclosure.
Of course, you don’t have to stick with the same color if you don’t want to. You can mod your case by painting it or even applying different textures. The possibilities are limitless!
Just make sure that the case is big enough for your new motherboard. There’s no point using a mini ATX cube case if you want to get a full-size ATX motherboard!
Consider a barebones PC build
You might be wondering what to do if you’re starting from scratch. If you wish to build a cheap PC for gaming, there’s one cost-effective option open to you. I am, of course, talking about buying a “barebones” PC! In a nutshell, such a system only has the basic components needed to create a computer. You still need to buy an operating system and perhaps even extra RAM for it. This option often works out cheaper than buying the individual parts.
Buy a used solid-state drive
Yes, brand-new hard drives are cheap. But, SSDs are getting much cheaper these days. If you want the best performance from your games, you need an SSD as your boot device. You might not realize it, but many people sell used SSDs on classified websites! Some might be unused and unwanted gifts, for example. Save some cash and get a used large-capacity model.
