Building a Console Killer is easy and cheap

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A lot of rumors have circulated throughout the internet, often propagating the idea that building a gaming PC is both expensive and difficult. Well, the fact is… it really is not. So lets break down what you would have to do to build yourself a proper console killer.

So here you are, feeling the hype increasing as the end of the year come closer. As all the new games start to come out. You feel the heat coming from your wallet as Christmas holidays approach.

But, there is a major problem… You don’t have any machine to play the upcoming games on. What you have is a modest laptop from your work, or a simple Wii, from Christmas of three years ago.

 

You pretty much have two choices from this point. Going for one of the next gen consoles (Wii U, PS4, Xbox One).

Or you can build yourself a PC. And that’s where it becomes a little more difficult and maybe a little more prompt to misinterpretation. Yes – and I’ll state it here – you CAN build a PC for the price of a console. And, yes, that PC will be more powerful than the console (be it in graphical treatment capacity, as well as in simple multitasking efficiency). But it will often be considered more laborious than it really is.

 

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First, you will need to buy yourself all the components. Now let say we have a budget of roughely 500USD. Here is a list of all the components we will need to make a working computer:

• A Power Supply to provide power to your beast.
• A Motherboard to support your components (GPU and CPU).
• A Processor (CPU) to… make your machine work.
• A Graphic Processor (GPU or Graphic Card) to be able to play your games.
• Some RAM (Random Access Memory) to stock  and deliver temporary information necessary to your treatment processes.
• A Hard Drive to stock your games and movies (or pretty much any informations).
• A Case to fit your components inside.
• A CPU Cooler to eliminate the heat coming from your Processor.

And that’s all you need. A bit scary to read for someone who never looked inside its computer before. But bear with me, it is not that hard.

Now, let’s see what kind of build you can get for no more than, let’s say, 500USD. And we need each one of these components.

• CPU: AMD Athlon X4 860K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor ($88.78 @ Amazon)
• CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Seidon 120V 86.2 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Newegg)
• Motherboard: ASRock FM2A55M-VG3+ Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($44.98 @ SuperBiiz)
• Memory: Crucial 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($36.87 @ Adorama)
• Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5″ 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($53.98 @ OutletPC)
• Video Card: HIS Radeon R9 280 3GB IceQ OC Video Card ($189.99 @ Amazon)
• Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($35.99 @ Amazon)
• Power Supply: EVGA 430W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($30.98 @ Newegg)

Total: $511.56

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-11-02 12:57 EST-0500

This build was easily done, thanks to PCPartPicker. You can find here the complete part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/wpfrt6.

The CPU Cooler is optional as you can use the stock CPU cooler. This CPU cooler is appropriate if you want to overclock safely your CPU.

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Now that we have the parts selection out of the way, and we are sure to have successfully received all of them, it’s time to build the PC. And it’s not difficult at all, taking one hour and a half of your time at most.

What skill set do you need to actually build the PC? Pretty much the same you would need to build a shelf with a plan and a couple of screwdrivers.

Now we just need a plan to direct us during the construction. And there’s a lot of tutorials over the internet, most of them being videos. For example, the video below comes from the Newegg Youtube channel. It is perfect for you to learn easily how to build your PC step by step.

 

 

It is a little more time consuming. And maybe a bit harder for the ones who don’t feel like building something themselves, but it certainly is a not really difficult.

After that part, your PC is ready to start and you’ll just need an Operating System to run it. And then, you’re set.

 

But do I want to go through so much trouble just to build myself a PC when there’s the consoles out there?

This build will be able to run flawlessly most of the latest games in high graphics settings at resolutions up to 1080p and frame rate up to 60FPS (which next gen console does not manage so flawlessly after all). And what better way to game, than knowing that you have the all PC library at your disposal on the Internet, one click away from thousands of exclusives. PC Games are most of the time cheaper too, so you’ll see yourself saving money in the long run. You can use your controllers exactly as you would do with your console. And last, but not least, your PC is timeproof. You won’t have to worry about being able to buy another one because you’ll be able to upgrade it part after part.

 

Even more, if you do really miss your console experience, you can go take a look at Steam OS, an operating system provided by Valve’s steam that will bring back to you the comfort from consoles.

 

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What would I walk you through all of this? I do not own shares in any computer manufacturers companies. But I felt the need to break a few of the most resistant misconceptions plaguing the internet. To bring PC gaming to its rightful place, as a proper alternative to consoles.

 

Now let’s take a few moment to look at some works of art, when PC building join the creation of a masterpiece. The price tag is not the same, but I think gamers from all horizons will like them all the same.

 

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