One of my hobbies here at Haibane is blogging about computer hardware, and I’ve decided to put some of that hobbyist energy towards creating my own spec sheets for PC builds, mainly because I’ve been asked to do that a few times recently for friends and family anyway. I’ve created a page here at Haibane called the Budget Gamer Build that specs out an entry-level box that should be capable of running most modern games at medium resolution, at a target price of $800. There’s also an upgraded version of the build that comes in at $1200 which offers better graphics performance, audio and an SSD drive.
The writeup goes into detail about why I chose each component, but I also have direct links to Lists at Amazon to facilitate ordering:
- Budget Gamer Box (baseline build)
- Budget Gamer Box (upgrade build)
(I get a few percent back from any purchase at Amazon via those links or the affiliate links on the spec page here at haibane.)
I will probably update that page every quarter so I stay within the price envelope and add new components as applicable. Hopefully I will also find time to spec out a higher-end build in the $2000 range and a home-theater build in the $1000 as well. If you are looking to build a PC, I’d appreciate the opportunity to advise you as well, just drop me a line or comment.
If you have access to Micro Center where you are you can get a Core i5-3570K for $189, which is a decent discount. It’s also been on sale for $20 cheaper than that twice this month. Also, if you buy a motherboard there at the same time, you get $40 off the motherboard.
Their real gem, though is an i7-3770K for only $229, which is about a hundred dollars less than anyone else. The $40 package deal doesn’t apply, though.