Updated: Gaming PC for 30,000 Pesos

Someone requested an update on this guide so here it is. Once again I must say that I am not too familiar with ATI or AMD as such most of this will revolve around Intel and NVIDIA combinations. That doesn't mean to say that ATI or AMD is any less. You can create something similar or maybe even better. So let's start.

**Processor: Intel Core i3-2100       Price:5,100** If you're confused with Intel's naming scheme. The newer ones have four numbers (in this case 2100) 2 meaning it's second generation and the 100 meaning the model number. The 2100 offers 3mb cache, Intel Graphics and clock speed is set at 3.1GHz. For the full features you can check out [Intel's page on the core i3 2100](http://ark.intel.com/products/53422/Intel-Core-i3-2100-Processor-(3M-Cache-3_10-GHz)). There are cheaper alternatives such as the Core Duo and Core 2 Duo but in my opinion the core i3 is worth the upgrades especially since a lot of newer and future motherboards are now compatible with the 2nd generation of Intel processors. In a sense future proofing or at least easier to replace parts in case it fails. Also, it's pretty feature packed along with the 3.1GHz clock speed, its a pretty darn good choice for the price.

[](http://supermekanismo.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/motherboard2.jpg)

[Source](http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Motherboard.JPG)

**Motherboard: Anything that's compatible 2,600 - 3,300** Now this is where most of the tech is confusing. As a bit of a background Intel Core i3 2nd gen series supports sockets named LGA 1155. What does that mean? the socket is simply where you plug in the processor. Different Intel generations of processors support different kinds of sockets so make sure the ones you're looking at has LGA 1155 in the box. Also, Intel compatible boards have name schemes like X## X meaning a letter and ## numbers. Compatible board models are H61, P67, Z68. The cheapest one H61 will have most of what you'll need. The [ECS H61](http://www.ecs.com.tw/ECSWebSite/Product/Product_Detail.aspx?DetailId=1252&DetailName=Feature&MenuID=1&CategoryID=-1&LanID=0) looks like a good board, or you can upgrade to Asus or MSI ones for a thousand more. Stuff to look out for: Number of USB ports, USB 3.0 Quick Sync support. You can use USB 3.0 ports as regular USB 2.0 so don't worry. Quick Sync is a feature on 2nd gen Intel processors that allows you to speed up video decoding which is a great plus if you have a portable media player like say the Ipod Touch.

Graphics Card:
Most of what I've written before is still applicable so you can read that here. I will put some videocards here along with the price. So pic one according to you're preferred budget.

I wont bore you with a paragraph explaining their specs. Instead I will bore you with a chart straight from the nvidia website.

[](http://supermekanismo.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/vidcard2.png)

[Full Size Image](http://dl.dropbox.com/u/13982581/Blog/vidcard.png)

**Memory/RAM: 4GB/8GB            Price: 1,200/2,400** Remember when I said, more is better? Yeah it still applies. RAM is so cheap it's not even funny. 4GB at 1,200? That's crazy. So in my humble opinion and since you're motherboard will probably support 4 slots for ram. Please get 8GB of RAM and just cry at the sheer awesomeness of having 8GB worth of RAM.

[](http://supermekanismo.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/hdd2.jpg)

[Source](http://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special%3ASearch&redirs=1&search=harddrive&fulltext=Search&ns0=1&ns6=1&ns12=1&ns14=1&ns100=1&ns106=1&uselang=en "Special%3ASearch&redirs=1&search=harddrive&fulltext=Search&ns0=1&ns6=1&ns12=1&ns14=1&ns100=1&ns106=1&uselang=en")

**HDD/Hard Disk:  500GB/1TB        Price 2,000/3,000** Nothing much has changed within the HDD since the past few months. Two things to take note of when choosing HDD: Warranty and Speed. Warranty is of course common sense but you never know when your HDD might be a lemon (defective product). For speed, as far as I know (which isn't very far) older SATA (the connection to the motherboard) has a transfer rate of 3 gigabyte per second while newer are at 6 GB/s.

Monitor
Seriously, everything is so cheap after a few months. I will just give a guide on the screen size relative to the price. You really can't go wrong with a bigger monitor though. You can be more productive with a bigger monitor as it's easier to multi-task or just having a lot of space to place a couple of word documents or browser windows perhaps. For brand, it's up to you as long as it's a big company not some unknown brand. Get the biggest your budget allows.

• 19"  4,500
• 21"  6,100
• 22"  8,000
• 23"  9,000
• 24" 10,000
  Other Components
  It's mostly up to you on this one. I would recommend getting a branded power supply from a notable brand like Antec, CoolerMaster, ThermalTake but it's around 1,300-2,000 for 350-400w. For other stuff like keyboard and mouse it's also up to you but please do spend on something ergonomic and comfortable. A4Tech has some pretty decent "gaming" mice for 700 which has a high dpi (for precision) and more importantly very comfortable. For casing, anything will do. Cheap cases range from 1,100-1,500 and "Branded" ones start from 2,000-3,000 to infinity. Upon searching I saw that thermaltake a casing for 2,000 which looks pretty good. Oh yeah I forgot a dvd drive. You need that one too. A diskette drive? I sure hope not.

Branded PSU:  1,500 (if you so choose)
KB/M: 0-1,000 (you can get a normal one if you haggle)
Case: 1,200
DVD Drive: 900

[](http://supermekanismo.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/gamingpc2.jpg)

[Source](http://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special%3ASearch&search=gaming+computer "Special%3ASearch&search=gaming+computer")

**Approximate Core total** **Cheapest**

• Processor: 5,100
• Motherboard: 2,600
• Graphics: 2,200
• Memory: 1,200
• HDD: 2,000
• Monitor: 4,500
• Case: 1,200
• DVD drive: 900

Total: 19,700
Hey not bad for less than 20,000 you get Core i3 3.1Ghz, 4GB ram, 500GB HDD, and a decent low end graphics card.

MidRange Expensive Budget PC (ironic right?)

• Processor: 5,100
• Motherboard: 3,300
• Graphics: *
• Memory: 2,200
• HDD: 3,000
• Monitor: *
• Case: 2,000
• PSU:
• DVD Drive: 900
• KB/M: 1,000
  SubTotal: 19,200

Graphics card: 3,100/3,800/4,700
Monitor: 6,100/8,000

Total: (3,100+6,100) 28,400
Total: (3,800+6,100) 29,100
Total: (3,100+8,000) 30,300

Okay so maybe the 4,700 goes over budget too much. But anyway there you have it. A complete gaming PC for 30,000 pesos