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  Mid-range Gaming PC for about 35K

  Roydon Cerejo, Oct 14, 2009 1230 hrs IST

  A guide to build a mid-range performance PC

  

Page 1 - CPU and Mobo combo Page 2 - Memory Page 3 - Hard Drive Page 4 - Graphics Card Page 5 - Cabinet, SMPS Page 6 - Optical Drive, Monitor Page 7 - Keyboard, Mouse Page 8 - Speakers Page 9 - Final Build

We looked at entry-level PCs only a few days back and today we have a guide on mid-range performance PC that also doubles up as an entry-level gaming PC. Now don't be fazed by the word 'entry-level' as it only means can't play the latest games on high settings.

As a matter of fact the prices of mid-range cards have dropped drastically that they are now pushed into the entry-level category. So for simplicity sake we'll just call it the mid-range gaming PC.

We've tried to use most of the same components from our earlier build and only changed the ones that are really necessary in order to keep the cost as low as possible. Let's go ahead and build it.

CPU and Motherboard Combo

Price: Rs. 11,000

AMD Phenom II X2 550 BE

Gigabyte GA-MA785GM-US2H

 

Once again we had to choose between the Intel E7500/P45 combo and the Phenom II X2/780G combo. After weighing in all the pros and cons we settled on the Phenom II X2 550, which is a Black Edition CPU, so even a novice can overclock it. Instead of the good ol' 780G we went for the 785G, since it's a slightly better chipset with a newer HD4xx series for the onboard graphics plus the new Ultra Durable 3 technology (2oz copper) for lower power draw. If you wish to save some green, then you could opt for the 780G as well without taking much of a performance hit. DDR3 makes very little difference when it comes to gaming really, and that's why we chose the 785G DDR2 version.

The Phenom II X2 550 is a very good performer and runs at a slightly faster 3.1GHz compared to the Intel. Performance wise too they are pretty much on par. The one place where the Intel pulls ahead is video encoding and power consumption. But since we are building a gaming PC, the AMD combo makes a more attractive package.

Page 1 - CPU and Mobo combo Page 2 - Memory Page 3 - Hard Drive Page 4 - Graphics Card Page 5 - Cabinet, SMPS Page 6 - Optical Drive, Monitor Page 7 - Keyboard, Mouse Page 8 - Speakers Page 9 - Final Build

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