Learn About Budget PC Builds

Wanting to play the latest and greatest games is very understandable. Even if so-called AAA titles cost $60 or more at launch, if you get hundreds or even thousands of hours of entertainment out of a game, then you’re getting an incredible bang for your buck. The cost per hour of great gaming can’t be beaten in times when incomes are faltering and jobs are harder to come by. Of course, that’s just based on the titles you buy. You still need a personal computer to run them, and a budget PC build is usually the best way to go. Keep reading to learn all about this.

What are low-cost PC Builds used for?

A personal computer built on a budget can basically be used for anything that most computer would normally do. These tasks include using the Internet, doing office work like spreadsheeting and typing, or playing video games. However, it’s gaming specifically that many low-cost builds are used for. The intent behind many budget computers is to squeeze as much performance as possible out of the hardware while not going overboard with spending. Quite a few less-powerful machines can handle basic online activity, email, and typing tasks. Yet, they’re more commonly considered starter or basic machines, even if their price range is lower than the ‘cheap’ label.

What Is A Gaming Computer?

These builds are used for gaming computers frequently because gaming PCs or gaming rigs are intended almost purely for playing many video games. These are mainstream computers that have specific components upgraded for more performance. These performance upgrades rely on video cards, processors, and RAM to handle high-demand applications with far less emphasis on energy-efficiency. They use and need a lot more power than a typical desktop or laptop.

What Makes Gaming PCs Different From Other Computers?

Sometimes, you can look at a computer case and know it’s owned by a gamer. While personal tastes vary, flashing lights, window panels, dual video cards, and even water or liquid cooling indicate a serious rig. Gaming PCs are as distinct as their owners, as you can buy one premade, configure a custom order, or build one on your own. Budget computer can be assembled by a company or someone who knows how to put together their own personal computer.

The basic parts that most gaming rigs need aren’t any different than traditional computers. You need a CPU or processor and RAM or memory. These go with the motherboard, but you also need a storage drive and cooling. A PSU or power supply brings juice to all the parts, and the GPU or graphics card puts the images you need to see on your monitor.

The GPU or graphics card is one point of common distinction between gaming rigs and conventional computers. Many basic units will just use onboard video graphics as part of the motherboard. This won’t work for most video games, though, so it’s one part where enthusiasts look for power and performance. Even then, picking the right GPU is a delicate balance of cost versus output.

Gaming rigs, inexpensive or otherwise, distinguish themselves in other ways among the other components. For instance, the motherboard should support a high-end CPU and at least 8 to 16 gigs of RAM. The power supply needs to offer more power than everything needs to leave room for future additions and upgrades, and the cooling needs to be potent enough to keep heat from building up inside the case.

The Advantages Of Budget Computers

Getting an inexpensive computer is something you can do in several ways. First, you can buy one that’s premade or prebuilt and ready to go. Second, you can buy the parts one by one and build it yourself. Third, you can buy the parts one at a time and then pay someone else to put them all together.

Regardless of what path gets you to have a budget gaming rig, there are many advantages you get to enjoy from an affordable computer.

Set Your price range: A low cost build isn’t always about saving money as much as it is making the most of your money. There will always be cheaper computers, and there will always be bigger and better ones than you can afford. A low priced computer is about setting a particular price point you’re comfortable with and then getting the most value possible for that money.

Premium Performance: Gaming rigs usually fall into low-end, mid-range, and high-end levels of performance. Most gamers fall into the first two categories, and to be honest, the mid-range gamers get nearly as much system performance as high-end gamers but at a fraction of the cost. Even those that can spend more than what’s normally considered a budget rig might just know that going past a certain price point starts bringing diminishing returns. The performance can still go up with higher prices, but the value isn’t nearly as much.

Save Time: Having a build done by someone else obviously saves more time than buying parts and assemble the rig yourself. However, just going for cheap parts in the first place saves time. You don’t have to work so many hours to earn the money to buy them, and you don’t have to shop around as much for them either. They’re more readily available.

Customization: Have a specific game you want to play? You can customize a rig just for that title! You can also do the same for a particular number of frames per second or FPS you want to hit or just to hit certain standard benchmarks for bragging rights among your gaming buddies.

A Final Thought

While building your own rig from parts is easy enough to do, that’s just more time before you can start gaming. Consider a prebuilt or custom-order affordable build from a store for even more advantages. You’ll get a warranty that covers the whole system and not just each individual part. They’ll also have fired it up at least once and made sure the operating system is installed and everything works.