The GPU crisis has been in full flood for months now, with a near perfect storm of production issues, supply shortages and peak demand meaning that graphics cards are almost impossible to purchase at anywhere near sane prices. In turn this means that if you’re looking to build a PC now, you might be put off because this key component is out of reach.

But there are options. 

In this article we’ll show you a couple of builds that don’t need a graphics card for general use and basic gaming. We’ll also explain how you can use them to play high end titles right now, without a graphics card so you can get gaming without paying outrageous prices. As an added bonus, they form a fantastic basis for a PC without compromises, meaning that when the market corrects itself you can slot a graphics card right in and enjoy all the advantages a GPU brings to a true gaming PC. 

Sit tight for the Premiumbuilds guide to beating the GPU crisis!

Why do you need graphics anyway?

A PC needs some form of graphics adaptor to process a video signal and output it. A discreet graphics card does this job for you in a standard gaming PC, but of course, we’re in a situation where they’re exceptionally hard to buy and vastly inflated in price. Most motherboards have an HDMI and sometimes a Displayport video output but this is driven by the CPU itself, via an integrated graphics processor or ‘iGPU’. This small section of the CPU allows for basic display output but lacks the power and versatility to render game graphics with anything like the performance of even a basic of dedicated GPU. Most AMD CPUs lack an integrated graphics processor, whilst Intel CPUs have traditionally only been capable of the most basic office desktop output and cannot run games.

However, things have changed a little recently. AMD pioneered 3D Capable CPU’s, or ‘APU’s’ as they are known with their Zen+ CPUs and the Ryzen 2200G and 2400G. They were later refreshed to as the 3200G and 3400G but these are still Zen+ designs. They incorporate 8 or 11 ‘Vega’ graphics cores respectively and offered surprisingly capable gaming performance, particularly when paired with fast RAM and a motherboard flexible enough to allow overclocking of the memory and iGPU core. But that isn’t the end of the Ryzen APU story as you’ll discover in our build guide below.

Intel have also enhanced the capabilities of their CPUs, with the most recent ‘Rocket Lake’ 11^th Generation CPUs incorporating the updated Intel Xe graphics architectures into UHD750 graphics. These aren’t as capable as the Vega units found in AMD CPUs, but they do allow passable gaming performance in some more basic games.

Importantly, either of these solutions enables you to build a viable PC with no graphics card at all, and that in turn lets you exploit a service to get gaming in high fidelity right now. 

GeForce Now – is now the time?

Of course, we’ve long been advocates of building a stand-alone gaming PC. However the joy of PCs is their flexibility, and it’s that versatility we’re leveraging to get you gaming without a GPU. Nvidia launched its ‘GeForce Now’ service several years ago, but this is a golden opportunity to revisit it. It is a subscription-based service, where for $10 a month you can run games on their data centre, streaming to your PC. It connects to a number of game stores including Steam, Epic Games, and Ubisoft so if you own a game already, you’ll be able to play it without re-purchasing it. There’s also a huge library of free-to-play titles. All the favourites are covered –CS:GO, Rocketleague, Fortnite, CyberPunk 2077, Tomb Raider, Watchdogs:Legion – Enough top-tier titles are available so that you can game in high fidelity on a PC without a GPU for months, whilst you wait for the opportunity to get the GPU of your dreams. 

Given the performance and cost, we consider this the best way to keep PC gaming through this crisis, whilst still enjoying the benefits of your own PC for general use, media consumption and more. $10 per month is an easier price to bear when a GPU capable of an equivalent experience would be $500 or more and take a great deal of heartache to obtain. The fact that you can buy games on Steam or other platforms to experience offline for as long as you want, and are not locked into purchases within GeForce now is an important factor. The primary downsides are the requirement for a high-quality internet connection and very light latency penalty of having the game rendered remotely and streamed back to your PC. We’d call those acceptable trade-offs in the circumstances. 

So, with that ‘one weird trick’ revealed, let’s look at a couple of PC’s you can build right now and get gaming on both offline and via GeForce now. Both of these builds have been uploaded into our PC builder tool, which can be found here.

1. AMD Ryzen ‘Renoir’ APU build

AMD CPUs seem to be at a major disadvantage in this market owing to their lack of integrated graphics. Only a select few options suffixed with a ‘G’ have integrated GPUs, allowing you to get graphics output from the CPU itself. Earlier we mentioned the Ryzen 3200G and 3400G, but these 4 core parts lack the performance and versatility we strive for as the basis for a strong PC. 

AMD have another option though – so long as you’re prepared to go off the beaten path. The Ryzen 4650G and 4750G are 6 and 8 core CPUs that are available to OEMs only. However, they’re available to buy via sites such as Aliexpress for around $250/$350 respectively. Just be mindful of longer shipping times and the lack of a direct warranty, as these parts are not meant to be sold to consumers directly. Keep an eye out also for the higher performance 5600G and 5700G – the more recent versions of these CPUs that have yet to land with OEMs but will no doubt trickle onto the grey market soon. 

These ‘Renoir’ APU’s are really special bits of kit. They pair Zen 2 architecture with Vega Graphics cores, essentially making them a Ryzen 5 3600 or 3700 with an entry-level graphics card built-in. Whilst you can’t expect miracles, the 7 or 8 Vega cores do a great job of rendering 3D graphics, and many games are playable at lower settings and resolutions. Meanwhile, the underlying 6/12 or 8/16 core CPU specification makes them powerful and versatile all-rounders capable of all normal tasks including basic video editing and productivity work.

Motherboard

This build pairs the Renoir APU of your choice with the MSI B550M PRO-VDH WiFi motherboard. This board has a BIOS flashback button that allows you to flash the most recent AMD BIOS even without a compatible CPU. This ensures it will accept the Renoir CPU as old BIOS revisions may not recognise it. It’s a full-featured but good value B550 motherboard with HDMI and Displayport out, integrated WiFi, 4 RAM slots and 2 M.2 slots. It’s fully compatible with the high-performance Zen 3 CPUs for future upgrades. The 4650G is the better value of the two potential CPU options, offering 6 cores, 12 threads and solid underlying gaming performance. If you have a more varied workload, the 4750G offers 8 cores, one more VEGA GPU core, and slightly higher iGPU speeds for better graphics performance, but it is more expensive. 

RAM

RAM speed is really important to help the APU perform: It is used as both system and video RAM. For that reason, we’ve opted for this 3600MHz CL16 kit from Crucial. Using their E-Die Integrated circuits, this RAM has high speed and tight timings, and it’s receptive to overclocking so you can boost performance further if you like to optimise manually. The two stick kit allows operation in dual channel mode, essential for performance, whilst 16GB is ample for both system memory and video memory and forms the basis of a versatile PC. This RAM helps you get the most from your APU in the meantime, for just a few dollars more than slower kits. 

Storage

For storage we’ve opted for the Adata Swordfish. This entry level NVMe drive gives good performance and 1Tb of space at just over $100. It’s a great starting point and since this system doesn’t force you to download large AAA titles to be able to play them, it’ll go a long way. It fits in the primary M.2 slot with no additional cables required. 

Case

For the case, we’ve chosen the great value Cooler Master MB311L. This compact mATX case comes with a mesh front panel and two large RGB fans, reducing the cost if you want a bit of bling. It has a good balance of airflow, build quality and looks and is a cost-effective case. You can of course choose any case you like for this build including the non-RGB version of this one.

Cooler

To further aid cooling and because the Ryzen APU’s are generally sold without a bundled cooler, we’ve opted for the great value and high-performance ID-Cooling SE-224 XT. This four-heat pipe cooler keeps noise to a minimum and by cooling the APU effectively you can get maximum performance without thermal throttling.  

Power Supply

Finally, we’ve selected the Cooler Master MasterWatt 650W 80+ Bronze PSU for the build. This power supply has ample power to add a GPU later and is a lower cost but good quality option. It has zero fan mode so at light loads the fan does not spin meaning it’s silent. The semi-modular design lets you keep the build really clean and simple with no superfluous cables and it comes with a 5-year warranty so you can expect long and trouble-free service.

Performance expectations

This AMD ‘Renoir’ APU build will get you gaming straight away. You can play lighter weight titles at reduced settings and 1080p without a problem as well as ‘desktop’ games. You’ll be able to use the GeForce Now service to play more demanding titles right away. When you can get a GPU, this system is capable of gaming in the most demanding games at moderate to high frame rates and is an excellent all-rounder with equivalent performance to a Ryzen 5 3600. For $750, we think this represents the best possible value at the moment. 

2. Intel i5 Rocket Lake UHD 750 build

Intel’s 11^th Generation ‘Rocket Lake’ CPUs have brought the capability of the inbuilt GPU a long way. Using their newer ‘Xe’ architecture, these iGPUs are particularly adept at accelerating transcoding and some video manipulation tasks, but they’ll also turn their hand to light gaming. Performance still isn’t close to matching the Ryzen APU, with UHD 750 graphics about half as capable as AMD’s Vega 8 iGPU – but it will work to an extent. It will of course also allow you to access the Geforce Now service, giving you a PC that will punch well above its weight whilst the stock shortages persist. 

You can choose between the i5-11400, i5-11500 or i5-11600, and even the i5-11600K if you aim to make a very high-performance machine once you can get a GPU. The i5-11400 makes do with UHD 730 graphics, so if you do intend on running games we’d certainly recommend the 11500 or 11600 both of which include UHD750 graphics, a markedly more powerful iGPU owing to 32 execution units instead of 24. The small lift to clock speeds in the higher tier parts will also aid general performance. If you intend on doing more demanding work, you could also consider the 8 core i7-11700 or i7-11700K. Just make sure whichever CPU you choose it isn’t the ‘F’ version – these lack any iGPU at all so the PC won’t be functional! 

Motherboard

For the motherboard, we’ve chosen the Asus TUF Gaming B560M WiFi. This compact but full-featured motherboard allows memory overclocking even on non-K series CPUs boosting the performance of both the CPU and iGPU. There’s inbuilt Wifi, HDMI and Displayport outputs, and good USB connectivity. You can use the 2.5Gb Ethernet or Wifi 6 for connection to online services.

Storage

We’ve opted for the Adata Swordfish 1Tb NVMe SSD for storage for its great value and decent entry-level performance, but you could spend a little more on the Western Digital SN550 or Kingston A2000 if you prefer.

RAM

For RAM, we’ve chosen the matching ‘TUF’ branded memory from Team Alliance, 16Gb in a 2x8Gb 3000MHz configuration. It’s fast enough to let the iGPU perform and can be set to the XMP profile with one click in BIOS, simplifying the setup.

Case

For the case the Cooler Master MB311 ARGB shines through as the best value offering although it does lack USB 3.2×2 on the front panel, you can still access this via the motherboard IO panel. It has good airflow, is supplied with two fans and is easy to build in. We’ve partnered it with the be quiet! Pure Power 11 Gold-rated 600W PSU, an efficient unit with a low noise profile. Again, we’ve ensured there’s ample power to run a GPU when you’re able to obtain one without further upgrades. 

Power Supply

We’ve partnered it with the be quiet! Pure Power 11 Gold-rated 600W PSU, an efficient unit with a low noise profile. Again, we’ve ensured there’s ample power to run a GPU when you’re able to obtain one without further upgrades. 

CPU Cooler

Finally, we’ve added an ID-Cooling SE224-XT Tower CPU cooler, for both lower noise and lower running temperatures, letting the CPU perform to its full potential. 

Performance expectations

This PC will be an excellent general-purpose PC, capable of office work, photo manipulation, media browsing and even light video editing. It will play more basic games and will allow some simple 3D games to run acceptably well at lowered settings. As with the AMD system, we’d recommend making use of Geforce Now for demanding games until such time as you can find your own dedicated GPU – at which point this $750 starter PC becomes a gaming champ and a great way to bridge the gap until you get your own GPU.

So, there we have it: A choice of two PCs that give you a pathway to gaming and all-round use without breaking the bank, or forcing you to pay over the odds for GPU. Enjoy!

*This article is not sponsored by Nvidia GeForce Now and was written independently of any influence from Nvidia*

The post Best Intel & AMD PC Builds Without GPUs – 2 Gaming Builds for under $800 appeared first on PremiumBuilds.

Here at PremiumBuilds, we’re all about pushing the envelope of what performance your money can buy in the PC world. We’re living some exciting times in the components market thanks to the high levels of competition on every component a PC build needs. This $600 part list that we’re presenting here is an indirect follow up to a $700 one we’ve did at the start of this year; we’re talking about a Ryzen 5 2600 CPU paired with 16 GB of fast Dual Channel RAM and a graphics card that laughs at anything 1080p while putting really good numbers even in higher resolutions. With this $600 build and 8 to 9 months later, we’re trying to slightly exceed those performance levels of the previous $700 build with a new build planned around the $600 price mark.

A new exciting CPU has been launched a few months ago which, on paper, isn’t something really exciting or some kind of performance king. The unlocked 4 core / 8 threads Ryzen 3 3300X is an entry-level CPU that puts out a heavy fight in the gaming department thanks to its single CCX design. Launched together with it, the Ryzen 3 3100 has the disadvantage of having 4 cores enabled on two different Core Complexes (CCXs) and this slightly affects gaming performance due to the introduced latency of cores communicating with one another. The Ryzen 3 3300X is the first AMD Ryzen 3000 CPU that has all its cores on the same CCX and it makes a sizable difference; gaming performance is up to 10% faster than its very similar brother, the Ryzen 3 3100. This aspect gives us a lot of prospects and insight into the performance of upcoming Ryzen CPUs with cores on the same CCX and its also why this 3300X CPU makes this list in favor of the 6 core / 8 thread Ryzen 5 2600 featured on our $700 list. We’re building a gaming machine here and when compared with the Ryzen 5 2600, the 20% higher single-core performance and comparable multi-core performance of the Ryzen 3300X feels one or more steps ahead, at least in the gaming department.

We promised we would beat the performance of the previous $700 high-value build and we will do so because even if this $600 build has a slightly slower GTX 1660 SUPER (2-3% slower than GTX 1660 Ti), the difference is more than made up for it with the added CPU performance of the new Ryzen 3 3300X. eSports games like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, CoD Warzone, Valorant, or Fortnite will heavily benefit from the much better single-core performance and heavily GPU bound titles will perform about the same in average FPS but with better minimum frame rates which leads to a smoother experience. This $600 price point is also very important for the PC market because it fits right around the launch price of the upcoming Play Station and Xbox generations.

Enough with the talk, lets get on with the list!

Best $600 Gaming PC – The Parts List

CPU: Ryzen 3 3300X

We’ve rambled about what this little powerhouse of a CPU can do and rightly so; many people will remember that 3 years ago the 4 core / 8 thread CPU was the top consumer processor, in the form of the Intel Core i7 7700K. Today, we consider a 4 core / 8 thread CPU tiny thanks to how the market has evolved and how the mainstream market now offers AMD’s 16 cores / 32 threads 3950X and Intel’s 10 cores / 20 threads in a mainstream consumer platform. Those CPUs are also very workstation focused and cost themselves around the price of this full build.
We won’t need them in our $600 list thanks to how the Ryzen 3 3300X is capable of offering stellar 1080p performance at the low price of ~$130. And that’s our focus, right? High and stable frame rates when paired with a midrange GPU like the GTX 1660 SUPER.

Motherboard: ASRock B550M-HDV

This build features the latest iteration of AM4’s chipsets, the midrange B550. Nothing special here but a motherboard that will easily handle the Ryzen 3 3300X and any upgrade you have planned for the future thanks to its compatibility across the whole Ryzen stack.

The board features the mandatory 24-pin ATX power connector, 4 x SATA ports for your storage, and a USB 3.0 header. The audio, CMOS, TPM, and COM headers are all present on the bottom of the board and the I/O is good for this price; on the rear panel, we get 2 x USB 2.0 ports, a shared PS/2 port, HDMI, DVI-D, and D-sub video output, 4 x USB 3.2 ports, audio jacks, and a gigabit fast ethernet port.

Memory: ADATA XPG Z1 16 GB (2 x 8GB)

Thanks to the high competition in the RAM market, we can get good memory kits for a fraction of previous years’ DDR4 prices. This RAM kit is an example of that and it offers very good capacity at 16GB and great bandwidth thanks to Dual Channel (two RAM sticks). One well known recommendation is to buy two memory sticks over a single one in order to get the full bandwidth which, for our interests, translates to smoother performance in gaming situations.

If you can’t find this exact same 3000 MHz CL 16 kit, you can swap it with a different 2 x 8GB one but be sure to aim for similar speeds and latencies. Such a memory kit or even a 3200 MHz one shouldn’t exceed $60-65 as it perfectly fits this price range.

SSD: ADATA SU635 240 GB

This may be the most unexciting component in this build because its simply just a basic solid state drive with average rated speeds. Its enough for most gaming builds though if you want more storage for your files or game library, consider looking for more capacity or getting an additional SSD from an older build. We highly recommend having an SSD for the boot drive because it takes the whole PC experience and snappiness to a new level.

Older HDDs can be easily added in order to store rarely accessed files like documents or movies so feel free to use those as well if you desire; 4 SATA ports is usually enough for anyone!

Graphics Card: GTX 1660 Super

Even if its now almost an year old, this 6GB card sits right under the RTX 2060 GPU, neck and neck with the GTX 1660 Ti in raw performance. You can’t expect a lot of ray-tracing capability at this price point from the likes of the RTX 2060 so that shouldn’t be your focus; what it should interest you though, especially in a $600 build is how capable the 1660 SUPER is for $229. The closest in performance you can get is a Radeon RX 590 which is around 15% slower, more power hungry and priced around the same. That makes the GTX 1660 SUPER a great opportunity and the best value in the Turing line-up.

Around 30% better than one of the most popular 1080p cards, the GTX 1060, the 1660 Super will crush 1080p gaming in both ultra graphics AAA titles and high refresh rate eSports games. Paired with the Ryzen 3 3300X, you’ll be able to play any eSport game from the likes of CS:GO, Valorant, Fortnite, CoD Warzone, Rainbow Six Siege and others always above the refresh rate of a 144Hz monitor and that’s a great level of performance to have from such a mid range build.

Its also important to note that even if the ASUS variant we’re recommending here is a great implementation of the GTX 1660 Super (silent operation, good form factor and cool temps), if you can’t find this in stock where you live, other similar priced options will do the job just as well. It would be best if you’d check our list of all GTX 1660 SUPER custom graphics card implementations.

By using the SUPER variant of the GTX 1660 we are able to fit in the $600 budget and remain very close in raw graphics performance to the GTX 1660Ti.

PC Case: Deepcool Matrexx 30 Mini ATX case

The Matrexx 30 case has a rather spacious feel to it and designed around an open style layout. An ODD bay is present with minimal intrusion in the top of the case. A power supply shroud is not present so you’ll have to do the majority of the cable management around the back of your motherboard but if you feel like you need a PSU shroud then you’ll have to take a look at other cases with a higher price point. Deepcool however has designed the steel side panel to allow for extra cable management space; the Tempered Glass front side panel is also a rarity at this price point.

Temperatures are kept under control by a 120mm pre-installed rear exhaust fan; the case also has an additional slot for a 120mm case fan on the front panel. The honeycomb style mesh vent together with the very efficient components in this build means you’ll experience a silent build that will not get hot even in the most intensive gaming sessions.

Power Supply: EVGA BR 450 W 80+ Bronze

The power requirements of this PC are taken care of an EVGA unit that can output 450W with 80+ efficiency. Don’t be fooled by the lower price point of this power supply because EVGA still takes seriously every safety aspect of this product.

With its sleeved cables, silent operation, and simple but sleek looks, this power supply fits this build very well in both budget and power requirements. The build won’t even come close to the 450W this PSU can output thanks to the efficient Ryzen 3 3300X & GTX 1660 SUPER.

Conclusion

If you’re not a big fan of console gaming and would like to find something with high performance which at the same time, doesn’t break the bank, then this $600 build might just be for you! We’ve focused on balanced CPU & GPU performance in order to get the best possible performance in both eSports and Triple A games. If you plan to game on Ultra 1080p, high refresh rate 1080p or entry level 1440p this build will definitely not disappoint. On the contrary, you’ll probably be amazed how this little beast handles everything with ease.

Last year we’ve put up a $700 build that crushed 1080p gaming but this year, you can get even better performance out of a $600 build; that’s progress for us consumers and we’re very happy to be able to give you more and more builds similar to this one.

There are some areas where you could spend a little more money in order to upgrade a few components. One of them is the SSD; you can get a larger one, with more capacity for your files, OS and game library or a faster one like an NVMe drive (the motherboard supports it). The other area would be the PSU if you plan on upgrading to a more powerful graphics card or processor in the future.

The great thing about getting a Ryzen 3 3300X together with a B550 (or even a B450 board) is that you’ll be able to upgrade your CPU on the same motherboard with no additional stress; just BIOS update, swap the CPUs and you’re ready to go!

We hope that the sections in this article have been informative enough for you to go ahead and make your dream PC come true, regardless of your price range. Any further questions can be easily addressed in the comment section below. We will also be doing complete building video guides in the future so stay tuned for that!

The post Best Gaming PC Build under $600 – 2021 Edition appeared first on PremiumBuilds.

The latest iteration of Microsoft flight 2020 releases on the 18^th August 2020 and it looks like it’ll be huge. The developers Asobo Studios have pulled out all the stops to make this the definitive flight simulator. Technologies include live terrain mapping using over 3 Petabytes of global imagery, the most advanced flight modelling currently available, real-time weather and of course flight sim requirements like accurately modelled aircraft and cockpits. If you don’t quite ‘get it’ then we strongly recommend that you have a look at the feature discovery series on YouTube to whet your appetite for this landmark sim. And lest you think Microsoft is feeding us their highlights reel, an army of private alpha and beta testers have been producing eye-watering gorgeous screenshots of aircraft and locations all over the world. Flight 2020 is going to be fantastic!

But will you need a monstrous PC to run it? 

Well, yes and no. There is no doubt that experiencing this game at its best will require heavyweight hardware but Microsoft and Asosbo have clearly kept their eye on the specifications to make this game inclusive for all. A mid-range gaming PC at around $1000 will allow you to enjoy this huge flight simulator experience. Delving into the recommended system specs however, indicates that this is a game that will utilise the latest hardware to its fullest and scale well with more powerful CPUs and GPUs. There’s also the streamed global data to consider; it’s recommended that you have a 50Mbs internet connection an unlimited data cap so that should be one of your considerations to enhance your experience of this game.

In this article, we’ll recommend 3 PC builds that will make the most of your budget to deliver the best possible experience in Microsoft Flight 2020. They aren’t just one-trick ponies though: A PC that runs Flight 2020 well will excel with a wide catalogue of games. We’ll also recommend pairings with monitors and flight sticks appropriate to the budget that will extract the full potential of these powerful PC builds. 

Entry-level Flight Simulator PC Build – The Parts List:

Get flying without spending like you’ve bought an actual aircraft

This system is aimed at getting you the core Flight 2020 experience without breaking the bank. It meets or exceeds recommended specifications in all areas and includes some quality of life features such as Wifi and Bluetooth and a 1Tb of SSD storage.

CPU

AMD’s most recent Zen 2 CPU the Ryzen 5 3600 is an excellent value 6-core CPU with great gaming performance. Multithreading and high single-core speeds helps ensure it can keep pace with complex physics modelling. It is supplied with a cooler and thermal paste which keeps costs down.

Motherboard

The motherboard is from ASUS with their Prime B550M-A WiFi and is a B550 chipset board meaning it is fully Ryzen 3000 compatible. It has inbuilt Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth and six USB ports at the rear, important for connecting peripherals like flight sticks. Dual M.2 drive slots make future upgrades simple.

RAM

32GB of G.Skill Trident Z memory satisfies Flight 2020’s RAM demands and is approved on the Motherboard compatibility list. 2x16GB sticks at 3200Mhz means excellent memory transfer speeds thanks to dual-channel operation. Whilst 3600mhz ram is optimal for Ryzen 2 CPUs the cost of QVL certified ram in 32GB capacity becomes prohibitive at this price point, and the performance impact is minimal.

Storage

Storage is courtesy of a 1Tb NVME SSD with the Crucial P1. This drive uses denser ‘QLC’ NAND for data storage so it’s not as fast as more expensive thoroughbred SSDs but it’s plenty fast enough for gaming and means your storage is entirely on SSD. This has significant performance benefits across the system as a whole.

GPU

To enhance the spectacular visuals of MS flight we’ve opted for the Nvidia RTX 2060 and we’d suggest that this is the sensible entry point to running this game well. With lifelike cockpits, landscapes and weather to render all at once you want a top tier graphics card in your system. The RTX 2060 has consistently impressed at 1080p even in demanding AAA titles.

Case & Power Supply

Wrapping this build up there’s a good quality compact micro-ATX case from CoolerMaster with the NR400, and a quiet, high-efficiency, 600W power supply in the form of the Be quiet! Pure Power 80+ Gold.

Recommended Accessories

Monitor

We’d suggest pairing this budget MS2020 build with the LG 29UM69G-B for a wrap around 29” gaming experience in ultrawide. This 75hz monitor uses FreeSync to smooth out frame rates and will deliver rich vibrant colour thanks to its IPS panel, and is well matched to the RTX 2060 graphics card.

Flight Stick

The Thrustmaster T.Flight HOTAS X is a $65 throttle and stick with all the features you need to get flying. You can separate the two components to find your most comfortable positioning and with a multitude of customisable buttons as well as Z axis rotation on the stick and a simple 8 way thumb hat it gives you full control as you embark on your journey to flight.

Mid-Range Flight Simulator PC Build – The Parts List:

Getting the best from Flight 2020 without a phone call to the bank manager

This PC strikes the balance between performance and price. It comfortably exceeds the ‘ideal’ specifications and can be relied upon to give excellent performance. It comes in at under $2000 with a high quality flight stick included. This system will impress in Microsoft Flight 2020 and any other games you care to try.

CPU

The ideal specs for Flight 2020 strongly hint that an 8 core CPU is optimal, and with complex physics simulations being performed it’s easy to understand why. The Core i7-10700K is Intel’s high performance ‘Comet Lake’ 10^th gen CPU and excels in high frame rate gaming. The i7-10700K uses hyperthreading to provide 16 logical cores meaning it can process complex tasks in parallel at great speed. It is overclockable allowing you to squeeze even more performance from it although we’re confident it will perform excellently right out of the box.

CPU Cooler

The Intel Core i7-10700K is a power-hungry processor and that means there’s heat to be dissipated. The Dark Rock Pro 4 is a high quality cooler from Be Quiet! Has a 200W cooling capacity and blends discreet looks with a very low volume operation thanks to a single 135mm fan. A tower cooler provides excellent reliability and lower noise than a comparable liquid cooler.

Motherboard

Gigabyte made their reputation in the last generation with very solid motherboards well suited to getting the most out of Intel CPU’s. The Gigabyte Z490 Aorus PRO AX continues this legacy with a 12+1 phase voltage delivery circuitry with 55Amp MOSFETS and VRM heatsinks ensuring the i7 CPU can run at full capacity. It also has inbuilt Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth, a high quality ALC1220 audio codec chip, and a good range of input/output options on the backplate.

RAM

We have again opted for 32GB of DRR4 3000Mhz RAM to meet the recommended specification. The Trident Z kit from G.Skill – which we opted for – includes RGB heat spreaders for a touch of visual flare.

Storage

The 1Tb Western Digital SN550 is an NVME drive that utilises TLC NAND memory and a high-performance controller chip to deliver full NVME speeds. The attractive price belies the speeds on offer here, whilst TLC memory eliminates any concerns over performance and longevity. This drive ensures the game will run sweetly without constraints from slow storage.

GPU

To experience the gorgeous visuals offered by MS2020 you’ll need a top-flight graphics card. The RTX 2070 Super has earned its place as the preferred 1440p gaming GPU. Utilising Nvidias current ‘Turing’ core and 8Gb VRAM the RTX 2070 Super packs a few tricks under its sleeve with real-time ray tracing cores and ‘tensor’ cores aimed at optimising AI workloads. This EVGA version carries their strong reputation for customer support as well as three DisplayPort outputs for controlling multi-screen setups.

Case & Power Supply

To ensure good cooling we’ve opted for the mesh fronted Phanteks P400A case. This mid-tower case has good build quality and comes with a pair of case fans for cooling. On the power supply side, the Cooler Master MWE 650W Gold is a high-efficiency PSU with modular cables to reduce clutter and a 5-year warranty gives peace of mind.

Recommended Accessories

Monitor

This PC is aimed at 1440p resolution so this 1440p monitor, the ASUS TUF Gaming VG27AQ, is a perfect fit. It offers excellent picture quality and very high refresh rate along with adaptive sync to remove tearing and improve fluidity.

Flight Stick

The Thrustmaster T.1600M FCS HOTAS is a flight stick and throttle combination that doesn’t cost the earth provides full 4-axis functionality including a sliding throttle and 16 action buttons with an 8-way hat on the stick itself. The stick twists to give rudder control although there is a model with included rudder pedals if you prefer the full set up. 

High-end Flight Simulator PC Build – The Parts List:

Experience MS Flight Simulator 2020 at its very best.

If you’re looking for a no-compromises build that delivers the absolute best performance from current leading edge technology, this is it:

CPU

Intel may be facing a strong challenge from AMD but they still hold the gaming crown. The 10^th generation Core i9-10900K is a 10-core self-overclocking monster of a chip and there is no CPU with higher gaming performance on the market today. Rest assured it will provide astounding performance not just in Flight 2020 but in any game you care to test it with.

CPU Cooler

One side effect of the power of this CPU is the amount of heat it dissipates. We’ve covered that with a 360mm water loop from Corsair with their H150i Pro XT cooler. This all-in-one cooler integrates with our chosen case and delivers maximum cooling power to keep the CPU cool and fast running. 

Motherboard

The MSI MEG Z490 Unify is a high-end Z490 motherboard with excellent voltage delivery circuitry to support the CPU. With 90 Amp power stages and 16 phase VRM the i9 will not want for power. It supports a wide variety of connectivity options with Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth, 2.5Gb Lan and high-speed USB, whilst 3 M.2 slots and 6 SATA ports cover storage options. It boasts high-quality sound output.

RAM

Whilst 32GB of RAM is adequate flight sims are ripe for modification. 64GB ensures that you can run the highest textures and most complex mods with ease, as well as guaranteeing a smooth multi-tasking experience. This G.Skill Trident Z kit is fast at 3200mhz with tight timings to lower memory access latency. The RGB helps set the case and motherboard off (but you can switch it off if you like). If you don’t want to bust the budget we’re confident you can drop this to 32Gb without adverse effect on core gameplay.

Storage

We’re nearing the end of the mechanical hard disc era and with NVMe SSD’s like the Adata SX8200 Pro on the market it’s easy to see why. This 2Tb drive performs amongst the very best SSD’s and has huge capacity. There’s no need to choose which games or software gets the fast drive here: they all can. The price at $240 is actually very reasonable considering the most basic 1Tb SSD’s cost around $100.

GPU

Right now there is still no GPU to challenge the RTX 2080 Ti. If you want the best possible visuals in a game as gorgeous as MS Flight 2020 you need a GPU of this calibre. With 11Gb of VRAM and an unrivalled 4352 CUDA cores rendering in parallel, this is the fastest gaming GPU on the planet. This GPU boasts the latest graphics processing technology Nvidia has to offer with hardware ray tracing and ‘tensor’ AI cores. It will excel at 1440p or 1440p ultrawide in even the most demanding AAA titles, Microsoft flight 2020 included. 

Case & Power Supply

We’ve opted for the Corsair Obsidian 500D to house this build. This is a premium case with tempered glass hinged sides. It integrates with the Corsair CPU cooler perfectly and lends a high-quality monolithic look to this build. The power supply is a well-reviewed 750W unit from Seasonic with the FOCUS 750W Gold 80+. It’s fully modular to keep cable clutter to a minimum and ease install and has a 10-year warranty signalling Seasonics faith in their build quality.

Recommended Accessories

Monitor

A high-resolution ultra-wide monitor is ideal for flight sims: this 34” monitor from LG, the LG 34GN850-B, has wrap-around screen that gives a wide field of view and enhances immersion. It isn’t as demanding of desk space or GPU power as three 1440p screens and eliminates distracting bezels. There’s a vibrant IPS panel and 144hz refresh rate to really wow, whilst adaptive sync technology eliminates tearing and smooths out the gameplay. This monitor is an excellent pairing with the RTX 2080 Ti ensuring gorgeous visuals at high frame rates.

Flight Stick

The Logitech GX56 HOTAS throttle and stick combination takes a step up from the entry-level Thrustmaster to offer better build quality and more functionality. Its festooned with mappable buttons and has 2 analogue control thumbsticks – ideal for looking around at the world laid out beneath you from the cockpit.

Conclusion: Get ready to take flight!

With two weeks until launch there’s still time to get your fantastic rig in order for Flight 2020. In this article I’ve demonstrated three builds that are sure to handle the rigors of this demanding game and reward you with unlimited flight possibilities, whether you’ve got $1000 or $4000 to spend. Happy flying!

The post 3 Best PC Builds for MS Flight Simulator 2021 (Entry, Mid-Range & Enthusiast) appeared first on PremiumBuilds.

So you want a gaming PC but cash is tight… No Problem! In this article, I’ll run you through a build specification that gets you a fully functional gaming PC for just $400. We’ve done the leg work to find affordable parts that provide an easy upgrade path as your tastes and means develop over time.

The build ethos

This build is aimed firstly at getting a functional PC that will let you explore the versatility of a PC: That means it will be happy to let you browse, edit photos and simple video, and of course play the vast majority of games. Due to the budget constraints, we’re going to make the fullest use of AMD’s 3200G CPU. This is technically an ‘APU’ in that it combines a 4 core CPU with 8 AMD ‘VEGA’ graphics cores – the result is that this single component provides an all in one processor and graphics solution to get you started. However, it doesn’t stop there. For every component, we’ve considered not just how it will work in this build, but how it will support you over time as you inevitably upgrade and modify this system to meet your needs. Every part has been chosen to smooth your path in future so that this PC isn’t just a computer, it’s a platform towards your very own premium build. We’ve adopted a ‘keep it simple’ approach to minimise the components you need to buy and therefore maximise the value in the build but this list includes everything you’ll need to get a working PC except a Philips size 2 screwdriver and a  monitor or TV to output to.

Performance expectations from the Ryzen 3200G

The 3200G utilises AMD’s ‘VEGA’ architecture on the CPU die in order to provide 8 Vega Cores. These specialist cores focus on 3D graphics rendering and the APU uses the system RAM as video RAM as well. This is an impressive amount of functionality from an $87 part but it does carry some inherent limitations. 3D performance is remarkably good, but it is limited. Demanding AAA games like Grand Theft Auto V will be playable on low settings only, whilst titles like Red Dead Redemption 2 will demand that you drop settings AND resolution to 720p to have the game run at around 30fps – you won’t be experiencing it in all it’s glory using this set up. However, e-sports titles and well optimised games will run with remarkable visual fidelity and fluidity and the vast majority of the PC game catalogue will run with pleasing results. This lets you delve into all manner of gaming experiences at a very low price point. You can find videos on youtube documenting the 3200G’s performance across a range of titles so have a look to ensure you’ll be happy with the performance in the games you want to play.

Let’s get into the part by part breakdown of this system:

$400 Gaming PC Build – The Parts List

Component	Selection	Design	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 3 3200G		$99
Motherboard	Gigabyte B450M DS3H		$72
Memory	G.Skill Aegis 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 CL16		$61
Storage	Crucial P1 500GB M2 NVMe SSD		$62
PC Case	Cooler Master MasterBox Q300L TUF Edition		$47
Power Supply	Thermaltake Smart BX1 RGB 550W 80+ Bronze		$59
		Total	$398

CPU

This system is built around the incredible value offered by the Ryzen 3 3200G ‘APU’. This $87 processor uses AMD’s ‘Zen+’ Architecture, using a 12nm fabrication process. It is a quad-core CPU without multithreading but also packs 8 Vega Graphics processing cores to provide video output. Along with the 3400G, It’s somewhat unique in the AMD line up – only CPU’s with the ‘G’ suffix have inbuilt graphics and any other AMD CPU’s require a dedicated Graphics card to obtain a functional PC. The 4 cores self boost to 3.6Ghz but those of you who enjoy tinkering will be able to achieve mild overclocks for a little more performance. It’s plenty of CPU power for general tasks and gaming and it’ll happily support a mid-range GPU if you choose to upgrade in future. The quirks and nuances of the CPU are that it needs fast RAM to allow the VEGA cores quick access to the information they need to render out images – your system RAM doubles as video RAM and RAM speed has a dramatic impact on performance in this setup. It also ships with a basic CPU cooler – the wraith stealth which has thermal paste pre-applied, so there’s no need to spend any more on those items.

Motherboard

This motherboard, the Gigabyte B450M DS3H, is amongst the cheapest B450 motherboards on offer. We’ve opted for this over the cheaper A320 motherboard options because it allows for overclocking meaning you can get the best performance out of your CPU, and it has markedly better build and feature sets than those rock bottom boards. It includes HDMI and DVI-D video output, onboard Ethernet and sound output, and 2 full-length PCIe slots and one x1 PCIe slot to make fitting a WiFi PCIe card simple. There’s an M.2 connector that we’ll populate with the main SSD for this system. The CPU power delivery is a 4+3 phase set up which is nothing to write home about but it will happily support the demands of a 3200G or for example, the 6 core Ryzen 5 3600 if you choose to upgrade in future. The BIOS is compatible with this ‘3000’ series CPU since BIOS revision F40 so you’ll have no issues booting right out of the box. But, if you’re in doubt check with the Vendor that you’re getting up-to-date BIOSwith the board you’re buying. In the box, you’ll find a SATA cable and m.2 mounting hardware. Overall this motherboard is a no-frills option that gets you what you need without overspending.

RAM

RAM performs an important dual role in this system which is why I’ve chosen a kit, the G.Skill Aegis, with the following features: 16 Gb in 2 matched 8Gb Sticks, 3200mhz speed, and tight CL16 timings. RAM specification has a huge impact on the systems ability to process and render 3D imagery because using an APU means that the VEGA cores use system RAM as video RAM. In a dedicated graphics card, there is usually 4-8gb or more of very high specification video memory with ‘GDDR6’ being the current specification. System RAM is DDR4 or 4^th generation and has much lower bandwidth. To combat this disadvantage we need to ensure 2 things: First that the RAM is a matched 2 stick kit to operate in ‘dual-channel mode’. This pairing of sticks effectively doubles the throughput of the RAM with a dedicated channel from the CPU memory controller talking to each ram stick. Secondly, we want the ram to operate at a higher frequency, increasing throughput. This 3200mhz kit should have no problems operating at its rated speed, which is activated simply by selecting the predefined overclock profile in BIOS settings.

Further, because 2Gb of ram is partitioned off for video use, the system loses that for general use. This is why 8Gb (2x4Gb) is unsatisfactory in an APU system, with 2Gb hived off only 6Gb is available for the operating system and game code and this is small enough to trigger performance problems in resource-hungry games. With 14Gb available, however, you’ll experience no such problems. To cap it off, if and when you do decide to add in a dedicated GPU you’ll have the full 16Gb RAM at your systems disposal which is plenty for all normal PC tasks and gaming.

Storage

Any PC requires an SSD to ensure it’s snappy to boot and load programmes. To keep thing simple and reduce cost we’ve chosen the excellent Crucial P1 500Gb M.2 SSD.

This is a high speed ‘NVME’ drive and uses ‘QLC’ flash memory. This quad-layer memory allows manufacturers to cram more storage onto each chip keeping costs low, but it does negatively impact speed: this NVME drive is not as fast as more expensive ‘TLC’ drives. That said it’s an order of magnitude faster than any mechanical disc drive and provides a snappy responsive experience when booting up and in use.

500Gb is plenty of space for an operating system, several large games and a good number of smaller games. It might be tempting to opt for a larger 2Tb HDD initially, but we advise against it: It’s FAR easier to add a hard disk to this system later for more storage than it is to clone a hard drive onto a smaller SSD or re-install the operating system onto an SSD and reconfigure the system come upgrade time. This drive gets you started with fast, reliable storage space and can then continue to operate as your core OS drive in future. The m.2 form factor means no cables are required for fitment, it slots straight into the motherboard and is held in place by a single screw and standoff.

PC Case

We’ve chosen the very popular Q300L mini-tower case from Cooler Master. This version has the ‘TUF Gaming’ branding and works out a few dollars cheaper than the standard version at the time of writing. It’s a versatile mATX case which can be laid flat or stood on its side, and it provides plenty of space and a window to view components. It’s no secret that this isn’t the best thermally performing case on the market but we’re only loading it with a 65W CPU and little else to make heat: it’ll perform fine in this configuration or with a mid-range GPU in future. It will accept GPU’s up to 4-slots deep and 360mm long meaning that virtually any GPU you choose in future will fit without a problem. It ships with an exhaust fan, and cabling and hardware to hook up the USB ports and buttons.

Power Supply

Finally, we come to the power supply which is a critical part of any PC build. Unfortunately at the moment, we’re suffering the compounded effects of the trade wars with China and supply issues due to COVID-19 meaning that the choice and price of PSU’s has been haywire for a while. It’s really a case of finding any available reputable brand PSU with an output of 450W or more. Currently, the Thermaltake Smart BX1 Bronze 550W PSU is available at a reasonable $59. This 550W PSU has ample power for this system as is, but will also happily power an additional GPU in a future upgrade, minimising the cost and trouble of upgrading. It has a 5-year warranty and the full suite of thermal and overcurrent protection. 

Suggested upgrade path for the future

As stated, this PC has been specified with upgrades in mind. The first item should definitely be a dedicated GPU, and the PC is ready to accept and power any mid-range GPU without additional purchases or modification.  A suitable good value GPU for 1080p gaming would be an AMD Radeon RX580 at around $150 or a Nvidia GTX 1660 Super at around $220. Either of these options would transform this PC from an entry-level gaming PC to a very capable 1080p gamer, with demanding titles running well at high settings.
Other upgrades could include a 2Tb or larger hard disk, or SATA SSD to improve the storage capacity and either of these options are plug and play, with the original operating system already on the main SSD from the initial build.

If you want wi-fi connectivity we’d recommend a simple PCIe WiFi add-in card such as the TP-Link TL-WN881ND at $16.

Finally, following the addition of a GPU, a Ryzen 2600 or 3600 CPU would be a substantial upgrade for productivity tasks or more demanding games and will be a tempting option when these CPUs are available on the second-hand market.

I hope in this article we’ve demonstrated that with $400 you can get a great starter system that will impress you right from the start, but moreover, one that gives a basis to grow with your needs as they develop.

Related Builds

The post Best $400 Gaming PC Build for 2021 appeared first on PremiumBuilds.

The $1000 price point for a gaming PC build may just be one of the most contested out there easily, because of how many different combinations of components you can fit in such a budget. It all depends on the use really. For example, if you want to get the best performance for triple-A Ultra graphics gaming you will need to get the most powerful GPU since even lower-end CPUs can handle 60 fps easily nowadays; on a different perspective, if you’d like to use your system for productivity, editing, rendering or general number-crunching tasks, you’ll need to get the most powerful multi-core CPU you can a cheap GPU that will handle the display capabilities.

Today though we’re going to be focusing on something else. High refresh rate gaming is getting more and more popular, many console users coming to PC just for the experience of smooth gameplay with no compromises. If you’re among them, that’s great because we have the right build just for you! We’re going to recommend a list of parts that assembled together will result in one of the most compelling $1000 high refresh rate gaming builds on the market. Our main benchmark will be Call of Duty: Warzone as its one of the most popular shooters out there with fast gameplay and good graphics; we will be aiming to get 144+ FPS in this game with the build coming ahead.

$1000 Warzone High FPS (144+) Gaming PC Build – The Parts List

Component	Design	Item	Price
CPU		AMD Ryzen 5 3600	$166
Motherboard		MSI B450 Tomahawk Max	$114
Memory		Team T-FORCE DARK Z 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16	$59
Storage		Samsung 970 Evo 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME SSD	$99
Storage (Additional)		Crucial MX500 1 TB 2.5" SSD	$114
Graphics Card		MSI Radeon RX 5700 8 GB MECH OC	$304
Case		Phanteks Eclipse P300A Mesh	$68
Power Supply		Corsair CXM 550 W 80+ Bronze	$66
		Total:	$990

At PremiumBuilds we thrive to give you the best-intended performance for your money. We take pride in offering you an informed look at what your next system should look like; research is done continuously in our team in order to be able to pass as much relevant information to our readers as possible. We write these build guides in such a way for our readers to understand the decisions we take at each step. We’re certainly not leaving you in the dust with scattered information that you may or may not find informative; we’re your building buddy for the whole journey of you accomplishing the building of your dream system, whichever that may be!

In the following sections, we will show you each chosen component for this high FPS Warzone build and why it’s earnt its place.

CPU

Every so often there comes a processor that captures the market. AMD’s Ryzen 5 3600 is really that right combination of price, cores, efficiency, frequency, performance, features and compatibility that combined with the right motherboard is something of undeniable value to the market. The Ryzen 5 3600 is Amazon’s best seller CPU and it really does have the right to fly off the shelves like that. It offers six high-performance Zen 2 cores, 24 PCIe 4.0 lanes and it debuted at just $199; you can get it around $169 now . The hype with this CPU is real as it allows tighter budgets to build incredibly strong systems with it.

Just three years ago, the Ryzen 5 3600 would have been the best consumer CPU on the market and today you can have that kind of performance for just $166. AMD’s new Zen 2 microarchitecture allows this to happen with its incredible versatility, efficiency and powerful IPC; it pushes the performance boundaries clock for clock against Intel’s other desktop offerings.

Some of you may remember of the popularity of Intel’s Sandy Bridge i5 2500K; it was essentially such a good leap forward by the blue team that people still use it in their PCs as a decent performer. We see the R5 3600 ageing the same or even better than the 2500K with its 6 unlocked cores and 12 threads. The majority of the market will still be thoroughly satisfied with the incredible performance and stellar value the Ryzen 5 3600 offers years and years after its summer 2019 launch.

Motherboard

This versatile B450 motherboard, the MSI B450 Tomahawk Max, can be easily recommended in a wide variety of PC builds due to its excellent value, VRMs, build quality and all-around features. It strikes the balance absolutely perfectly and only boards that are twice and upwards more expensive will offer you additional features; it’s that good.

The rear IO panel features a BIOS Flashback button with which you can safely roll back the default BIOS in case of an update or tweak failure, two USB 2.0 ports, PS/2 keyboard/mouse, DVI port, HDMI port, two USB 3.0 ports, USB 3.1 type-A, USB 3.1 type-C, Gigabit LAN, and 7.1 channel gold plated audio jacks. Its a solid I/O and I can’t see people other than true enthusiasts needing more than this on the back of their systems. Considering the price of the motherboard you can’t expect to find six fan headers on board but MSI made an effort to add in the headers and they are all hybrid! The Tomahawk also has some awesome aesthetics, the grey heat sinks on the motherboard looking really high-end; the matte black PCB with the silkscreen make the motherboard look durable.

The MSI B450 Tomahawk is actually a very impressive motherboard for a product that comes in just under $100. It has a very color neutral look, which adds a lot of value in this price segment. The large VRM heat sink is also very effective in lowering VRM temperatures and that means the Tomahawk is also great if you think about upgrading your CPU in the future.

Memory

We love our systems to have plenty of memory for their intended use. People don’t realize the importance of RAM until the operating system maxes it out and you then get a freezing and slow system. What’s also important is the speed of the RAM which you might not notice in daily tasks such as browsing or watching videos but during games and productivity tasks, each and every additional drop of speed from the memory modules help performance.

These Team T-Force Dark 2 x 8GB modules come in at just $60 and are an incredible bargain considering their 3200MHz tuned clock speed and respectable CL 16. Especially with Ryzen builds, RAM plays an important role in providing consistent frame times and FPS smoothness by keeping the 1% and 0.1% lows in check; in other words, fast RAM like this kit we’re using here will not allow games to jump between high and low FPS values thus ruining your game experience by stuttering.

Dual Channel 2 x 8GB is incredibly important for having double the bandwidth of a single 1 x 16GB RAM stick so we highly recommend always getting two or more sticks instead of just one, especially at this great price! This RAM kit that we’re using is also highly tweakable thanks to its great factory binning; anyone will be able to understand the uses for his system and adapt RAM for specific applications. If that seems hard to you, check out our memory tweaking guide! Changing memory latencies and speeds is very easy through the motherboard’s BIOS and will definitely impact your overall user experience.

Storage

Thanks to the incredible value the Ryzen 5 3600 CPU and RX 5700 GPU offers, we also have the budget to splurge into superior storage devices. For this build we chose the Samsung 970 EVO 500GB for the system device since operating system speed is of utmost importance for the user experience. Its still one of the fastest NVMe drives out there with speeds around 3.5 GB/s read and 3.3 GB/s write; those are insane numbers for such a small footprint device and we can easily fit it into this $1000 gaming build! We are not joking around, this drive will contribute to the highest level of responsiveness you ever felt in a system and your PC will be faster than you can think; it will be done with any task you’ve assigned it before you even decide for the next move. That is the power of going from SATA to M.2.

But we’re not done yet! We do realize 500 GB is far from the amount of space many of you will eventually use on your systems and this is why we chose the Crucial MX500 SATA SSD for an additional 1 Tb of fast storage. This drive may not have all the bells and whistles of the 970 Evo but its a sturdy and consistently fast storage device that doesn’t slow down during high load operations thanks to its added cache. The MX500 will make for a great secondary disk where it will work together with the main system NVMe to store your other applications, files and games that won’t fit on the OS drive. 1.5 Tb of disk space split into an ultra fast 500 GB for the OS and fast 1 Tb extra SSD should be enough for the majority of people and their virtual needs.

Graphics Card

For this build, we chose the best GPU we could fit in a $1000 budget without compromising too much on the other components. The RX 5700 is based on AMD’s new NAVI architecture and is built on 7nm. Its good value, great performance and stellar efficiency are some of the advantages AMD has over the other mid-range competitors like the RTX 2060 Super. As stated in other reviews already, RX 5700 sits at the Vega performance level, the improved architecture being sound and pretty fast. The realm AMD is sitting in performance-wise with the RX 5700 series is the models 2060 and 2070 with exceptions here and there; while the RX 5700 doesn’t come with Ray Tracing features, it still outperforms the Nvidia cards by 10 to 15%.

The AMD RX 5700 AIB implementation we’re using in the build comes in the form of the MSI Mech OC series, which carries a dual-slot, dual-fan configuration – very similar to MSI’s Ventus graphics cards but with a darker color palette. The design is appealing, even if fully in plastic save for the backplate, which is full black and has some white strips to add a little more interest to the otherwise blank surface.

The MSI Radeon RX 5700 Mech OC graphics card ships with 3 x DisplayPort 1.4 and 1 x HDMI 2.0 ports, and will join other MSI custom design mainstays in the company’s portfolio for AMD-based hardware. Its cooling performance is sufficient and properly silent for the money you’re paying.

Gaming performance will definitely leave you satisfied, this card being able to easily hold above 144 fps in any current eSport game, at 1080p. The main focus of this build though is Call of Duty Warzone and this card performs especially well in this title thanks to it being AMD Optimized. You can say goodbye to sluggish performance and stuttery gunfights because you’ll be in for a treat.

PC Case

A rather new mid-tower case from Phanteks, the Eclipse P300A Mesh, features a much-improved airflow over other similarly priced competitors in its price range; the letter A in the P300A name stands for airflow so we know Phanteks means business! This case is packed with quality materials and features that you will find only in much more expensive cases. Its edge to edge tempered glass side panel, PSU shroud and mesh front are just some of them. Space for additional fans, easy cable management with lots of tie-down points, great airflow and a solid metal build; really, what’s not to like?

While many manufacturers took the route of giving edgy aesthetics & RGB to people interested in mid-range cases, Phanteks focuses on functionality and a simple trusty design where performance and cooling power are of utmost importance. This case is a great example of an evolutionary case design packed with quality components and a well thought out layout. The mesh material in the front paired with the dust filters around the case allows the air to pass freely through the build while doing a great job at keeping it as clean as possible. During performance testing, this case maintained one of the most consistent temperatures in its price range and this is why we’re going to be using it in our build!

Power Supply

The RX 5700 GPU we are using pulls around 165W in the most heavy gaming situations while the Ryzen 5 3600 pulls a max of 88W during heavy so we will be very safe to use a 550W PSU that may also host another system upgrade down the line.

Introducing the Corsair CXM 550W, a very popular PSU that stands out as a high quality and well-revised product from a reputable company. Its good efficiency and semi modularity are great features at this price range, allowing you to keep your case tidy by only using the cables that you really do need; all the others can go back in the box for future use. The 24 PIN is not modular but that’s not a problem because you’re inevitably going to use to power the motherboard.

The presence of 2 x 6+2 PCIe cables means that you can easily upgrade your GPU in the future without the need to get a new PSU if the wattage capacity is within limits. The Corsair CXM 550W consists of quality sleeved cables, modularity, 80+ efficiency and a reputable brand name with a great track record and warranty. There are other decent PSUs at this price range that you may use instead of the CXM, especially if you can’t find it but try to compare features and get something similar for the money.

How will this build perform on Warzone and other eSports games?

Finally, we can get down to the performance figures after planning out our build. Lets see if it was worth it! From the get go and from our testing we can see that the Ryzen 5 3600 and RX 5700 combo is a strong one, all high refresh rate games in our list performing smoothly like they should. We guarantee you’ll be thoroughly impressed with the capabilities of this $1000 build. You may find other similarly priced builds out there from OEMs like Dell/HP that claim great performance out of their overpriced systems but if we break down the components, you will undeniably realize that they use cheaper parts in order to get as much margin back from their sales. We don’t do that here!

This build is just another researched build from us that will definitely put a smile on your face; and we do it free of charge! What’s left for you is to just buy the parts and assemble them, which is most of the time an easy but intriguing process.

With every build that we plan and recommend, we prepare a set of helpful benchmarks in order for you to understand the performance of the build and to be able to compare it with other performance figures online. We know that you’re most likely using other resources besides Premium Builds but we thrive to be as complete as we can! Here’s some helpful benchmarks of this very system, with its Ryzen 5 3600 + RX 5700 combo:

Solid performance numbers all around. Besides the build, we would also recommend getting a 1080p 144hz+ monitor in order to take advantage of this high-performance build. If your monitor is stuck at 60hz, you won’t be allowed to profit and lose some of the smooth experience.

Conclusion & After Thoughts

When planning to do this build we were deciding between the Ryzen 5 3600 + RX 5700 combo and the new Intel Core i5 10600K + GTX 1660 Super. We ultimately came to the conclusion that the first CPU-GPU combo would perform better in the majority of situations; and it also comes at a cheaper price because of the more expensive CPU and the need for both a higher end motherboard and a cooler heatsink capable of dealing with the 10600K when overclocked.

While the second combo you may have gotten better performance out of lightly threaded games like CS:GO but ultimately, performance would’ve been bottlenecked by the GTX 1660 Super which is essentially 20% slower than the RX 5700 we’re using in our build of choice. You can, of course, go for either combo but in our testing, the upper build performed better and more consistent overall.

We appreciate that you stuck with us till the conclusions; that means we didn’t do this boringly and we thank you! Now its probably time to start to order your parts because its a very good time to do so; the market is more competitive than ever and pricing offers good value. We also hope that the sections and explanations we chose to include in this article were helpful to you and you weren’t left with many unanswered questions; if you’d like further help, we love to help in the comment section below!

Complete building video guides are coming in the near future so definitely stay tuned for them!

The post Best $1000 Warzone PC Build for High (144+) FPS Gaming appeared first on PremiumBuilds.

Today we will be focusing on you people that happen to want a system that can run one of the hottest new eSports games out there; that’s right, we’re talking about Riot’s Valorant. Freshly out of Open Beta, this game took the world by storm with its good gun play (similar to CS:GO) and ability use. Many FPS players and streamers tried playing during beta and recommend it to everyone, especially because Riot put in all their efforts to polish and refine the game in such a short time. The game is so popular due to how great of an impact it had on the First Person Shooter community as it promises nothing too revolutionary but an evolution to the FPS genre.

This budget, high-FPS PC build doesn’t contain some kind of Valorant witchcraft and will certainly be a great system for other eSports games that focus a lot on CPU single-core performance. The Ryzen 3 3300X punches well above its price due to the fact that its a 4 core 8 thread unlocked CPU with incredible single core performance. As a matter of fact, this CPU will beat even a heavily overclocked 7700K in single core performance thanks to better IPC on the Ryzen CPU and because AMD opted for a single CCX setup. That’s right, the 3300X features only one CCX which is good for gaming, latency between the core complexes being non-existent. This will often permit the 3300X to game better than more expensive, higher core CPUs thanks to the low core to core latency, especially in games that don’t use more than 4 cores.

We are focusing on an emerging eSport game here which needs smooth and stable high FPS in order for you to have a competitive advantage; that means at least 144 FPS at all times in order to enjoy the benefits of a 144 Hz panel. The 3300X is not only stellar at its good $130 price, it is also the only sane pick if you want the best gaming performance at this price range. There’s no other CPU at this price, not even second hand, that will beat this chip in single thread and general gaming performance.

Lets go ahead and describe our build choices for the best performing eSport Valorant build on a budget:

Budget Valorant High FPS Gaming PC Build – The Parts List

While our primary focus at PremiumBuilds is build planning for your ease, we also heavily focus on how to pass on this information to our readers in order for them to understand the decisions we took in each and every one of our building lists. We’re not leaving you in the dust with some scattered information that you may or may not find informative; we’re here for the whole journey of helping you plan and accomplish your dream build so stick with us further!

CPU

As you could already figure during the introduction, we couldn’t wait to talk about this ‘little’ CPU here. It’s special because unlike the Ryzen 3 3100 which is the same 4 core and 8 threads, the Ryzen 3 3300X features all of its cores on a single CCX (core complex) while the 3100 and all other Ryzen consumer CPUs feature two core complexes. This is AMD’s fine way to prove what they can do in gaming without the latency that’s introduced by CCX to CCX communication.

With this CPU, AMD essentially gives to the low end market a better gaming processor than the 7700K which only three years ago was the best gaming processor on the market. If that doesn’t weigh a lot in favor of this little $130 beast, then we don’t know what will. The CPU can boost itself with an algorithm that will provide the best performance based on workload be it productivity tasks or pure gaming and while overclocking is indeed possible, AMD’s algorithm is so good, you won’t get much more out of the chip with manual old school tweaking; we mainly suggest to leave it at stock. Power consumption is also well handled by the bundled cooler which won’t get too loud.

Besides great gaming performance, this processor is still an 8 thread CPU that can handle productivity pretty well. Streaming in the highest of details is likely not possible but streaming with the GPU is always an option as Nvidia’s NVENC on the 1660 Super graphics card that we’re using is getting better and better with compression and image quality. Content creation like editing your gameplay videos is handled well with software like Premiere Pro or Blender.

Motherboard

This CPU can stretch its legs on any AM4 motherboard that supports overclocking and that includes any B350, B450, X370, X470 and X570; god bless AMD’s platform compatibility! You can find B450 motherboard with decent features for $30 less than this motherboard but we’re still recommending the MSI B450 Tomahawk MAX, thanks to its over engineered VRMs (voltage regulator modules), good I/O and additional flash memory for the BIOS. This additional flash memory allows MSI to provide you with solid updates in the future in order to be able to upgrade to a better CPU if you like. AMD says that the AM4 socket will be supported through 2020 while in 2021 we will get a new one, most likely AM5.

This opens up a world of possibilities. Buying a Ryzen 3 3300X now when you’re on a budget and upgrading next generation to the processor of your dreams is a solid option and also a big reason why we’re choosing this $30 more expensive motherboard in favor of cheaper ones with just decent VRM and a smaller BIOS storage chip.

The I/O offered on this board is also good. B450 Tomahawk’s rear panel offers a total of five USB ports: two USB 3.1 Gen2 ports, a Type-A and a Type-C. Other connections include a DVI-D port and a HDMI 1.4 port, a single PS/2 combination keyboard/mouse port, and a Realtek RTL8111H Gigabit networking controller.

MSI has also included a great tool in the form of BIOS Flashback+. This means that whenever you want to update your motherboard, you can do it with peace of mind because even if it somehow bricks from something like a power outage, the BIOS Flashback+ feature will revert to the basic BIOS the motherboard came with, essentially freeing you from a trip to the local shop and money spend on a BIOS flash at the local tech store.

Graphics Card

This card, the GTX 1660 Super, stands as Nvidia’s fastest Turing GPU that doesn’t have the Ray Tracing cores. Based on the GTX 1660, Nvidia made a series of small tweaks to its already successful 1660 in order to be very competitive against AMD value and performance wise. Its the ultimate 1080p graphics card and rivals the performance of the previous generation GTX 1070.

In other words, it’s the exact same 12nm 284mm2 die comprised of 6.6 billion transistors as the GTX 1660. It also has the same 6GB VRAM buffer but it’s here where the changes begin to be seen. Nvidia has upgraded the 8 Gb/s GDDR5 memory of the standard 1660 to 14 Gb/s GDDR6 memory and this sees a massive 75% increase in memory bandwidth. In fact, this provides the 1660 Super with even more memory bandwidth than the 1660 Ti model.

For $230, this card, the ASUS 1660 Super TUF Gaming OC, has one of the best performance per dollar showings and can easily hold above 144 fps in every eSport game, which is exactly the focus of this Valorant build and why we’re so excited about it. Its closest performance competitor would be AMD’s RX 5600 XT which is indeed around 20% faster but its a $300 card which doesn’t scream budget anymore. If you can afford to get a faster GPU, and AMD RX 5600XT or RX 5700 would be our next recommendations, but we’re going to stick with the GTX 1660 Super for the Valorant build – thanks to its great performance for the accessible price tag.

Memory

G.Skill’s Aegis lineup is purposefully built for customer value as it comes at friendly price tags with great performance. For $60 you are getting 2 x 8GB Dual Channel memory binned to 3000MHz and a CAS Latency (CL) of 16. That’s insane value considering that for double the money, you’re likely looking at similar 3200MHz RAM sticks with maybe less latency. For this system, this RAM kit is perfectly suitable as it allows you to just plug into the motherboard, set BIOS XMP in order for the sticks to run at their rated speeds and just forget about them; they will deliver great performance over and over again.

If you are a tweaker and want to test your luck, some of these sticks can be tweaked to higher MHz and lower CLs by increasing the voltage; but we repeat, its down to luck. For example, out of the 5 G.Skills Aegis kits we had on hands, 3 of them managed to clock to 3466MHz CL 15 or 3133MHz CL 14 with tightened timings. That’s free performance and it might be worth taking a look into; don’t worry, we have an in depth article coming on that soon! Stay tuned!

The 16 GB capacity that the 2 x 8GB sticks offer is definitely enough for this kind of build and you’ll only need more if you’ll be doing heavy editing on your system; light editing will still be handled very well by this system’s 16GB of RAM. Also, the Ryzen 3300X CPU will definitely profit from these higher clocked modules as its Infinity Fabric clock speed benefit from memory speed; because of this, 3000MHz RAM modules like the ones in the list are the sweet spot for our build right here.

Storage

One of the best SSDs out there, the Crucial MX500, makes way into this build its main difference from a classic SSD drive being the presence of 512MB of Cache. This benefits both the reading and writing speeds of this device in heavy use situations like video editing previews, rendering or even game loadings. This SSD’s main advantage over the other traditional SATA ones is to never slow down, independent on load and capacity used.

We’re only going for 500GB of storage for budget constraints and that should be enough for your OS and a large library of games but if you need more storage we assume that you have an HDD around that you can use in this build. If you don’t, just pay some extra money and upgrade this MX500 to the 1Tb version because it still remains a solid value proposition for its performance.

PC Case

This mid-tower enclosure, the Phanteks Eclipse P300A Mesh, is a new case from Phanteks that drastically improves on airflow when compared to other similarly priced cases. Its also in the name; the A from P300A stands for Airflow! We are loving this case because it comes with many features that are found in products with a much higher price tag. Great airflow, solid metal build, an edge to edge tempered glass panel, space for additional fans and lots of space for cable management; what’s not to like?

Many cases at this price range went the route of crazy designs and RGB paired with plastics all over the place; like people usually say, lights improve frame rates, right? Well we don’t want to be those guys but RGB certainly doesn’t. This case is a great example of a simple product packed with quality features and a well-thought layout. Its front panel is not closed but it features a mesh material with dust filters that allow air to freely pass through the build, cooling it and maintaining the consistent performance of your other components.

Power Supply

For powering your build we’re going to use a very popular PSU in the form of the Corsair CXM 550W. It stands out as a quality and well-revised product from a reputable company with a good track record. It features all the cables you need in our recommended build in a semi-modular form factor that helps you keep the case tidy; the Corsair power supply allows you to put aside the cables that you’re not going to use except the 24 PIN that you’re obviously going to use in order to power the Tomahawk motherboard.

550W is more than enough for this type of build because you’ll almost never go above 200W of total system power consumption; that’s how efficient both the AMD Ryzen 3 3300X and Nvidia GTX 1660 Super are. We’re using a 550W PSU because its a great model and its value will increase in time if you will be upgrading your system after a few years; you will still be able to use the same power supply thanks to its universal compatibility and especially the presence of 2 x 6+2 PCIe cables which can hold much more power-hungry graphics cards.

How will this build handle Valorant and other eSports games?

Now that all the build aspects are sorted out, we guess you’d want to know what was all this fuss about. We guarantee you’ll be impressed with the capabilities of this “little” ~$700 build as much as you’d wonder, how is it possible for such a cheap build to run games so well. With every build that we plan and recommend, we prepare a set of helpful benchmarks in order for you to understand the performance of the build and to be able to compare it with other performance figures online.

We know that you’re most likely using other resources besides PremiumBuilds but we thrive to be as complete as we can! Here are some helpful benchmarks of the Ryzen 3 3300X + GTX 1660 Super combo:

As you can probably see, popular eSports games that need high FPS in order to have a competitive edge work very well on this build. That’s no surprise because we optimized the system for such a use; in order to fit the budget, a faster GPU than the GTX 1660 Super would mean a downgrade on the CPU which would’ve damaged the frame rate consistency of these high fps games. Similarly, a downgrade on the GPU would’ve probably meant some more FPS in a low graphics game like CS:GO but less FPS in more graphically focused games like Modern Warfare or Valorant. The Ryzen 3 3300X quad core / 8 thread unlocked CPU strikes a perfect balance with the GTX 1660 Super for a build at the $700 budget and it shows!

Have leftover build money and your monitor is sub-par?

The main purpose of this Valorant gaming PC build is to be able to run eSports games at high frame rates with as little stutter and frame inconsistency as possible. While the build itself will certainly succeed at this mission, a proper monitor would complete the experience. It’s useless to buy many nice clothes and not be able to show them off because you can’t wear them, right? That’s the thing with high refresh rate monitors; they allow you to see frames at a faster rate by displaying the image 120, 144 or 240 times a second, unlike the locked 60 some of you may be familiar with. It’s so easy to grow addicted with the smoothness of high refresh rate, just get into a tech store and ask to play around with such a monitor; just moving the mouse on the desktop will give you a strong idea of what you should expect.

There are many popular 144hz monitor options that will come at a great price thanks to the competitivity of the market. As a bonus of this build recommendation, we’d like to also show you a few monitors that would work great along with this build!

Both of these are great performers with great IPS or VA panels and a generous 144Hz refresh rate. MSI’s Optix line is of great value for the consumer and we would really recommend checking these two out because for approximately $200 they make for very compelling gaming monitors! Also, being IPS and VA panels with 1 ms response time, the color accuracy, viewing angles and overall image quality will be very good so you’re not sacrificing on those just for the speed. Stay tuned for our VA vs IPS vs TN monitor technologies comparison; it’s coming soon!

Closing Thoughts

Planning out a speedy eSports gaming build isn’t an easy task; we would even consider harder than a high end build where you have the budget for everything and can’t really go wrong with the pair between top processors and top GPUs. High FPS value builds like this one need to be perfectly weighted and tested for any bottlenecks; it’s not enough to just get the priciest components in your budget because that may not be the best option FPS wise. It would be hard or even impossible without some cheap second-hand parts to beat the brand new system we have here that we thoroughly tested in order just to get it right for you!

Appreciate that you stuck with us till the conclusions; that means we didn’t do this boringly and we thank you! It’s probably time to make up your mind because we are in a very competitive component market right now and the value some of the manufacturers bring to the table is just stellar. We also hope that this article’s sections have been in-depth enough to answer most of your questions and you weren’t left with too many questions; if you do have them, we love to answer in the comment section below! We will also be doing complete building video guides in the future so stay tuned for that.

The post Best Budget Valorant PC Build for 144+ FPS Gaming appeared first on PremiumBuilds.

Virtual Reality (VR) has come of age in 2020 and now is a great time to build a VR capable rig. With immersive titles like Half-Life: Alyx, sims with full VR support such as Project Cars II and DCS World and a host of innovative ways to use the immersion of VR there’s a wealth of software to experience. GPU’s have finally become powerful enough to render smooth detailed scenes at a frame rate and resolution that maintains immersion and good quality headsets have become affordable.

In this article, I’ll explain what features make for the best VR experience and recommend entry-level, mid-range and high-end VR gaming rigs to suit any need or budget in 2020.

VR Builds: What to prioritise.

A gaming build capable of VR isn’t hugely different from any other gaming PC. It requires adequate CPU power and RAM for a smooth consistent gameplay experience but the main area to focus on is the GPU: to generate an immersive VR world the GPU must render each frame twice from different viewpoints, one for each eye. Immersion requires smooth consistent frame rates.

Because of these demands, a VR gaming PC should have a higher tier GPU than normally considered adequate for monitor-based gaming. In terms of the PC itself, this is the only additional spend to ensure great VR performance.

The other major expense is, of course, the headset itself. The Oculus Rift S represents an excellent entry point to VR gaming at around $300, whilst the Valve Index is a $1000 cutting edge headset that boasts very high resolution and refresh rate. You can read our VR headset roundup here.

Best Entry-Level VR-Ready PC Build

Experience VR Gaming at $670!

This build represents a fantastic entry point for VR gaming with a comparatively powerful GPU, very capable CPU and adequate supporting hardware. It’ll game well at 1080p alongside demonstrating that experiencing VR in the home needn’t break the bank! With good headsets starting at around $300 you should be able to obtain this set up for under $1000 all in.

Component	Design	Selection	Price
CPU		AMD Ryzen 3 3300X 3.8 GHz	$120
Motherboard		MSI B450M PRO-M2 MAX Micro ATX	$75
Memory		G.Skill Aegis 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory	$65
Storage		PNY CS900 500 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive	$55
Video Card		Asus GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER 6 GB TUF GAMING OC	$230
Case		Thermaltake Versa H18 MicroATX Mini Tower Case	$55
Power Supply		Thermaltake SMART 650 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply	$70
		Total	$670

CPU

The newly announced Ryzen 3300X is an excellent entry-level gaming CPU. Whilst it has 4 cores multithreading helps pick up the slack in any games that require more CPU threads. Benchmarking shows it performing admirably and it’s on a par with the more expensive Ryzen 5 3600 in almost all titles. Using the supplied cooler helps keep costs down.

Motherboard

The MSI B450 Pro M-2 MAX is an entry-level B450 motherboard but it’s Ryzen 3000 compatible and offers good basic functionality. There are 4 USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports and an additional 2 USB 3 ports. There’s a spare PCIe 1x slot to add a wifi card if you require it but this motherboard will have no problem extracting the maximum potential out of the CPU.

Memory

Given the 2 memory slot capacity of the motherboard, it makes sense to start out with 16Gb Ram which is adequate for almost all current games. This Aegis 2x8GB stick kit from G.skill, and is clocked at 3000mhz.

3600mhz is generally considered optimal but performance gains aren’t going to be apparent in games where the GPU is the limiting factor so we’ve opted for the lower clock speed and $20 savings here.

Storage

A budget 500Gb SSD from PNY, the CS900, gives us plenty of space to get started and costs just $55. It’s DRAM-less which isn’t optimal but it’s still far faster than any Hard Disc. If you have some extra to spend a 1TB Crucial P1 SSD would be a fine upgrade over this at around $100, or else pair this drive with a 2Tb HDD if you need more space.

Graphics Card

The GPU is the key to VR performance and we consider a GTX 1660 Super the start point to a consistent and enjoyable VR experience. This GPU has the Displayport output required to run a VR headset such as the Oculus Rift S and benefits from a dual-fan design for quieter operation. The AIB model of the 1660 Super we have opted for is the highly-regarded ASUS TUF Gaming OC.

PC Case

The Thermaltake H18 is a good budget offering with decent airflow and looks at the price point. With a sleek black design that is certainly non-intrusive, a tempered glass side panel and ergonomic cable management make this micro-ATX case a great bargain at just $55.

Power Supply

We’ve stuck with Thermaltake SMART M for the 650W Bronze certified PSU for this budget VR-ready build. Case and PSU availability and pricing have been pretty chaotic in recent months due to trade wars and then the Covid-19 pandemic so it pays to be on the lookout for bargains.

Best Mid Range VR-Ready PC Build

An Excellent VR platform at $1200

In the mid-range territory, a budget of $1200 for the tower gives you a very strong VR gaming PC – thanks to the value and competitiveness of AMD’s CPU and GPU advances over the last year.

Parts List	Design	Selection	Price
CPU		AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz	$172
CPU Cooler		Cooler Master Hyper 212 Black Edition	$39
Motherboard		MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX	$115
Memory		G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600	$84
Storage		Crucial P1 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME SSD	$120
Video Card		Sapphire Radeon RX 5700 XT 8 GB PULSE Video Card	$400
Case		Fractal Design Meshify C ATX Mid Tower Case	$105
Power Supply		Cooler Master MWE Gold 650 W 80+ Gold	$100
		Total	$1135

CPU

At the mid-price point for our VR build, we decided to opt for the much-lauded Ryzen 5 3600 CPU. This 6 core 12 thread CPU redefined what we expected from mid-range CPU’s when it launched. The Zen 2 7nm architecture achieves high clock speeds whilst keeping power consumption and temperatures low, boosting performance. This CPU performs more than adequately across a wide range of titles.

CPU Cooler

We’ve paired the Ryzen 5 3600 with the capable Cooler Master Hyper 212 Black Edition air CPU cooler. This updated version of Cooler Master’s air tower cooler uses heat pipes to dissipate the CPU’s heat. It’s primarily an aesthetic and noise conscious choice over the bundled AMD Wraith Stealth cooler and with just 65W to cool there’s no need to spend more.

Motherboard

The MSI B450 Tomahawk Max has been the go-to recommendation for Ryzen 3000 series CPUs and with good reason. It has strong voltage delivery circuitry and a host of features such as USB-C on the rear panel, and BIOS flashback making updates possible even without a compatible CPU. If you’re looking to utilise PCIe 4.0, it may be worth looking at the newly announced B550 motherboards.

RAM

G.Skill offers their Ripjaws V RAM at 16GB 3600Mhz with tight CL16 timings for a reasonable $84 – the optimum RAM speed and latency for Ryzen builds. This ram allows a 1:1 timing ratio between the RAM and the ‘infinity fabric’ memory controller in the Ryzen 5 3600 lowering memory access latency and optimising performance. At the price, it’s a good way of ensuring you’re getting the most out of your Zen 2 CPU for virtual reality.

Storage

1Tb of SSD storage comes courtesy of the Crucial P1 M.2 NVME drive. At $115 it’s a great all-round NVMe SSD drive and well suited to gaming, workloads and running your OS. It is QLC nand which is slower than the more expensive TLC NAND but the controller masks performance deficits well in day to day use. We consider this drive an excellent choice for a VR gaming machine giving a lot of fast storage at a very reasonable price.

Graphics Card

At the mid-range, the AMD Radeon RX 5700XT makes a compelling case. 8gb VRAM and very high performance combines with great pricing at $400. Sapphire is a well-respected brand and their Pulse model of the 5700XT hits the sweet spot of price, performance and cooling. Whilst initially there was concern over AMD’s drivers these have been well and truly addressed through driver updates now that this GPU is nearly a year on the market so you can buy it confident that it will provide an awesome gaming performance in VR and even driving a 1440p monitor if you choose to.

PC Case

The Fractal Design Meshify C ATX case represents a great choice at $105. It includes a PSU shroud, tempered glass side panel and a mesh front panel for great airflow to help keep the 5700XT cool. It includes magnetic dust filters throughout and provides a pleasant building experience with integrated cable routing and good build quality.

Power Supply

The power supply is again a Cooler Master unit but we opted for the gold-rated MWE Gold 650W PSU on this occasion. It’s fully modular for a clean build and ships with a 5-year warranty.

Best Enthusiast VR-Ready PC Build

Ready for the most demanding VR titles for $2000

Parts List	Design	Selection	Price
CPU		AMD Ryzen 7 3700X	$295
CPU Cooler		NZXT Kraken X53 240mm AIO	$130
Motherboard		Asus TUF GAMING X570-PLUS (WI-FI)	$190
Memory		G.Skill Ripjaws V 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600	$154
Storage – NVME OS Drive		ADATA XPG SX8200 Pro 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME SSD	$150
Additional Storage - SATA		Crucial MX500 2 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive	$230
Video Card		EVGA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER 8 GB KO GAMING	$710
Case		NZXT H510 Elite ATX Mid Tower Case	$150
Power Supply		Cooler Master MWE Gold 650 W 80+ Gold	$100
		Total	$2109

CPU

The Ryzen 7 3700X brings huge power to this build. The 8 cores with simultaneous multithreading ensure a consistent experience in even the most demanding titles whilst also excelling in productivity and workstation tasks for demanding users. Whilst higher core count AMD CPUs are on offer and may make sense for power users the 3700X hits the sweet spot of value and will remain capable for years to come.

CPU Cooler

We’ve opted to pair it with the NZXT Kraken X53 240mm AIO cooler. This unit fits perfectly with the case for a hassle-free build and has ample cooler capacity for the relatively efficient CPU.

Motherboard

Asus’s TUF line of motherboards adds features and aesthetics without the very high cost of their ROG Strix X570 motherboard line up. The TUF Gaming X570 is Ryzen 3000 compatible and offers native Pcie 4.0 support, strong voltage delivery circuity and inbuilt Wifi and Bluetooth. It also has gigabit LAN and USB 3.2 Type-C support on both the rear panel and via an internal header for the Case USB-C port. This is a fully-featured motherboard that will support expansion in the future, but delivers excellent performance now.

Memory

As stated 32Gb RAM can be a requirement for complex simulation games and also provides ample resources for video editing and other productivity work. Here we’ve opted for G.Skill Ripjaws V 32GB 3600Mhz CL16 RAM in 2x16gb sticks. Again this configuration allows for dual channel operation and a 1:1 Memory controller and Infinity fabric clock ratio optimising Ryzen performance.

Storage

This build boasts a two-tier storage set up. The Adata SX8200 Pro gives 1Tb of exceptionally fast and durable NVME storage for the Operating System and key programmes. The additional 2Tb SATA SSD from Crucial’s MX500 line up is plenty fast enough for game and data storage. Whilst the motherboard supports PCI-e 4.0, the price premium for compatible NVME SSD’s isn’t justified for anything less than full workstation builds – so we’ve kept prices down but maintained performance here.

Graphics Card

Finally, the GPU which is the cornerstone of this enthusiast VR-ready build. Whilst it’s always tempting to opt for the highest-end card spending over $1000 on an RTX 2080 Ti isn’t necessary for a truly high-end VR experience. Instead, we’ve let our head overrule our heart and chosen the $700 RTX 2080 Super.

With 8Gb VRAM and full RTX Turing capabilities, this GPU defines high-end performance. It’s capable of 4k AAA gaming or driving multiple displays at high refresh rates for flight sims or racing games, and rock-solid VR performance is just a party trick to it. The EVGA RTX 2080 Super KO variant offers EVGA’s well-regarded customer support which is always important for a $700 component. The iCX cooler and twin fan design ensure quiet operation when not gaming whilst over 3000 Cuda Cores ensure top-level performance.

PC Case

For our high end build we’ve opted for the clean lines and integrated RGB of the NZXT H510 Elite. This recently refreshed case features USB C on the front panel, RGB fans and lighting strips and a straight forwards build with the compatible and matching NZXT cooler we’ve selected.

Power Supply

Powering the system is the Cooler Master MWE Gold 650W PSU due to it’s attractive pricing when other PSUs have risen in price or disappeared from the shelves.

I hope that this article has demonstrated that VR is now well within reach for those considering a new build in 2020 and given you some inspiration to go hunting for your own Premium VR build!

If you have any questions or want any feedback on your upcoming VR-ready PC build, feel free to get in touch with us here and we will do our best to help out!

The post 3 Best VR Ready Gaming PCs for 2021 (Budget, Mid-Range, High-End) appeared first on PremiumBuilds.

We’re entering the territory of strong gaming PCs with this $700 build. This build mainly improves on the GPU power of our $500 gaming PC build, needed for that extra gaming performance. The Ryzen 5 2600 CPU is still great for this type of list thanks to its unlocked 6 cores and 12 threads for a great price and (if needed) great upgrade path down the road. Its the only CPU that makes 2 of our build lists in different price brackets; it’s that good.

We’ve gone ahead and chose to pair the powerful RAM and CPU/motherboard combo with a GPU that currently dominates the $250 price bracket, the Nvidia GTX 1660Ti; though you can save a little bit of money without a big performance deficit by going with the Nvidia GTX 1660 SUPER.

This build will be enough to play every game at 1080p resolution and Ultra graphics, or if you fancy competitive games more, you’ll be happy to see 144 fps and more in many of the eSports games out there like CS:GO (this one will run over 250 fps surely), Fortnite, PUBG, Apex, CoD, etc. This $700 build is everything a 1080p gamer would want and should be enough for anyone that doesn’t yet want to step in the high-end class.

Best $700 Gaming PC Build – The Parts List

Perfect for 1080p 144hz, entry 1440p gaming performance

CPU

We’re going to use the same CPU as in our $500 gaming PC build since frankly, we’re going to mainly improve on the graphics aspect of the build, CPU power is more than enough at this price point of $700. 6 cores and 12 threads is still the sweet spot in 2020 and applications are continually optimized to benefit from more threads; thus, this processor punches well above its price and it’s well worth the buy to get into the Ryzen ecosystem. The Ryzen 5 2600 is a small and very power efficient workstation beast that is incredibly punchy for its price. It can game and stream at the same time and do some rendering on the side with very decent performance. In this $700 gaming PC build, you probably can’t find a more suitable and balanced CPU for a good gaming PC; a more expensive CPU wouldn’t allow enough budget for the GPU while a less expensive CPU would probably bottleneck the GPU in 144hz gaming.

Graphics Card

The Nvidia GTX 1660 Ti GPU is a good upgrade from the RX 570 in our $500 gaming PC build; with its 60% performance uplift, this card is able to comfortably run the latest games with great performance at 1080p and will nicely drive 144hz monitors in at least all the eSports games out there. If you want to competitively game at 1080p, you need nothing more than this on the graphics front. Power consumption and noise levels are also on the low side, the card being very efficient even with overclocking dialled in.

Motherboard

Because we’re using the same CPU as our $500 build, there’s no reason to change the great motherboard that we chose for that build, the ASRock B450m Pro4. The power requirements didn’t change and the board will perform excellently here as well. Capable of pushing the Ryzen 5 2600 to its limits while looking clean, staying cool (thanks to its good VRMs) and boasting good I/O on its back are solid claims for this motherboard at this price range. Its BIOS is not the best looking in class but it still has all the options you need to run default or tweak to your heart’s desire. This motherboard is great to get even if you plan on upgrades later on because its ability to drive even the latest Ryzen 3000 CPUs and probably the upcoming 4000 series next year.

Memory

At this price point you have no excuse not to get the 2x8GB | 3200MHz memory. Fast RAM provides a significant boost in performance over the lower clocked memory in areas such as 1% and 0.1% low FPS – meaning that you will notice little to no stutter during gaming (which we know its always annoying). CPUs, especially the Ryzen series, love memory speed because it reduces access latency.

This results in improved loading and responding times, increased maximum FPS and minimum FPS; gameplay smoothness is big enough of a benefit to opt for fast RAM and 16GB is plenty for this $700 gaming oriented build. You may be inclined to want 32GB for future proofing (so two sticks of 16GB of RAM) but you won’t notice any great benefit from it without upgrading your CPU to higher tiers.

Storage

An SSD is mandatory for any price-range build 2020 and this $700 build has a great SSD to keep everything running fast and smooth. This particular implementation features fast storage with cache for even the most intensive transfers; in small words, this SSD never slows down.

PC Case

For this list, we can afford a great looking case with tons of functionality. The Phanteks P300 will certainly ‘wow’ you in areas like cooling performance, all-around looks and ease of setting up.

Power Supply

For this build we chose a Corsair CXM 550W PSU thanks to its excellent value in the midrange market. 550W is a sweet spot that will be exceeded only by the most power-hungry builds and judging by other aspects such as great build quality, semi modularity and sleeved cables, this PSU is hard to beat in its price range and this is why it makes this list. The extra cables that your build doesn’t use can be saved for future upgrades.

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A $500 PC build today can provide tremendous value to the buyer. If you’re looking for a responsive system that can play even the latest games at 1080p with a good amount of details and still have enough power to do the hardest of daily tasks, look no further. With as little as $500, this system does it all and it should be enough for most people; even a starting point for anyone switching from Console to PC. We regard this build highly thanks to the Ryzen 5 2600 and Radeon RX 570 motherboard-CPU combo, which is a godsend for builders on a budget. Every component in this build is carefully chosen to make sure everything is compatible and the building process goes smoothly and without any trouble.

You can also get similar components to the one in the list below; for example, there’s no issue if you get a Gigabyte RX 570 instead of the XFX RX 570 we featured. As long as you do a little bit of research on different components, you can mix brands with no issues. Different companies do different implementations of similar components; that’s why you see a lot of different GPUs/SSDs/RAM/etc of the same type but with different naming. Get you components based on availability and pricing but keep the component models close to this list.

Just $200 more expensive than our $300 office build, it gives us some breathing room to create a good 1080p entry gaming machine that will play most games in High/Ultra details with very good frame rates. List of improvements over a basic office PC include the CPU, RAM and PSU.

Below is the parts list for our $500 budget gaming PC build – perfect for 1080p at high/ultra settings, as well as great workstation capabilities.

Best $500 Budget Gaming PC Build – The Parts List

CPU – AMD Ryzen 5 2600

Out of the same Ryzen 2nd generation series comes the Ryzen 5 2600 which features 6 unlocked cores and 12 threads (that’s an additional 2 cores and 8 threads over the previous 2200G!). This CPU is a small workstation beast that is incredibly punchy for its price. It can game & stream at the same time and do some rendering on the side with very decent performance. In this $500 build list you probably can’t find a more suitable do-it-all CPU for a good gaming PC.

Graphics Card – XFX RX 570 4GB RS XXX

This list has a dedicated GPU in the form of the RX 570 which is for almost 3 years now, the best value budget card. It can usually be found new for a little over $130 or used under $100. The 4GB and 8GB variants don’t present much performance difference and if you’re on a tight budget, I’d suggest getting the 4GB one. It’s very hard to take this GPU’s crown because it treats 1080p gaming very well still, even with the latest titles.

Motherboard – ASRock B450M PRO4

A small upgrade on the previous office PC motherboard (seen in our $300 PC build guide), the ASRock will allow better overclocking capabilities for the Ryzen 5 2600 and better I/O; it also boasts better VRMs (Voltage Regulator Modules) for cooler running under load. If you can’t find this board in your region then a similarly priced B450 AM4 motherboard (like the products from MSI/ASUS/GIGABYTE) will do the job well. A comparison of the top motherboard brands can be found here.

Memory – G.Skill Aegis 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4-3200

At the $500 price point you can easily afford to get the 2x8GB | 3200MHz memory that provides a significant boost in performance over the lower clocked memory modules. CPUs, especially the Ryzen series, love memory speed because it reduces access latency. This results in improved responsiveness, better average FPS and much better minimum FPS; gameplay smoothness is enough of an argument to go with such memory modules and 16GB is enough for this gaming-oriented build. Just make sure you are always getting dual-channel memory for your builds (two identical RAM modules).

Storage – ADATA SU635 240 GB SSD

An SSD is mandatory for a build in 2019 and this build has a small one to keep everything within budget. Consider shelling out $20 more for a 480/500GB SSD if you’ll be installing a lot of apps and games.

Case – Cougar MX330

For this list we’ll be using one of the best ATX cases in this price range. The Cougar MX330 case comes at a very good price for its features; a sturdy side panel, PSU shroud and multiple cable management options. For the price and the design, this case is hard to beat and easily makes it into this list.

Power Supply – Cooler Master MasterWatt 550W 80+ Bronze

The PSU is a decent upgrade over the one featured in our $300 office/light gaming PC build – in the sense that it features higher wattage output and modularity; essentially, you’ll be able to only use the cables that you need and not crowd the case with the ones that you won’t be using. Save them for future upgrades.

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Sometimes all you need for yourself, a friend or a family member is a PC that just works in daily tasks. Previously, this market was covered best by OEM PCs coming from companies such as Dell or HP and while they still have a lot of the market share, building your own little workstation often comes with big advantages in performance and quality of your components. With a pretty easy learning curve, building your own computer will just allow you to get the best components for your needs and budget often without the risk of getting lower quality parts (exactly how the OEMs do it in order to keep the price down and margin high). This list below is a strong recommendation if your budget is around $300, which we think is the best $300 gaming/workstation build out there in 2021.

Most people in the market for a working machine don’t want to spend a penny over what’s essential for their system to run good enough for their daily work habits; So if your old PC is giving you headaches regarding performance/noise or you just want an up-to-date system that can breeze through daily tasks like browsing the internet, reading, office work or even some content creation on the side, there’s probably no better alternative than this list below. Don’t get fooled by the small price tag because this machine has all the components you need for it to run smoothly and with no hiccups.

Without further ado, here is our recommendation for the best gaming/office PC under $300.

Entry-level $300 office/light gaming build – The parts list

Component	Design	Model	Price
CPU		AMD Ryzen 3 2200G	$78
Motherboard		ASRock B450M-HDV	$60
Memory		OLOy 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-2400	$50
Storage		ADATA SU635 240 GB 2.5" SSD	$25
Case		Cougar MX330	$44
Power Supply		EVGA BR 450 W 80+ Bronze	$40
		Total	$297

CPU – AMD Ryzen 3 2200G

We chose a Ryzen 2200G CPU because its easily a great performer on daily tasks. Sporting 4 true cores, a 3.7GHz boost clock, a small but powerful iGPU (integrated GPU), very small power consumption footprint and an unlocked clock multiplier (if you somehow need an extra boost of performance), the 2200G will happily deal with everything you throw at it. The great advantage of this CPU lies in the iGPU which is simply good enough for any gaming or rendering you want to do on the side.

iGPU

The Vega 8 on-board graphics of this CPU is no slouch. It can hold its own in fairly new titles as long as you turn down some settings – so you can definitely get into some gaming from time to time. RAM performance is key here and thanks to the Dual Channel RAM in this list, the iGPU will be able to perform very well.

Motherboard – ASRock B450M-HDV

Another good advantage of the Ryzen 2200G CPU above is that it works great on many cheap motherboards; so you don’t need to shell a big amount of money for it. As a bonus, if you ever want to upgrade your CPU in the future, a B450 motherboard makes it easy because it features forwards-compatibility with any AM4 CPU on the market! We recommended a nicely priced B450 motherboard, the ASRock B450M-HDV, for the 2200G but feel free to get any similar one for this build because they essentially, don’t differ that much. Try to stay away from A320 motherboards though.

Memory – OLOy 16GB (2 x 8Gb) DDR4-2400

While 8GB would’ve worked good enough here, DDR4 RAM has great availability for cheap prices. A single stick of 8GB would’ve limited the performance of the 2200G CPU (because of the impact of single-channel memory) and 2 sticks of 4GB (Dual Channel) would’ve limited you from upgrading in the future.

Find yourself a $50-$60 2x8GB (16GB) DDR4 RAM kit and enjoy your PC never running out of memory. It’s simply too cheap not to buy 16GB of RAM even for an office PC in 2019, even at a $300 price point for the whole gaming PC.

Storage – ADATA SU635 240GB

An SSD is mandatory in a modern PC. It features reading and writing speeds up to 7-8 times faster than a normal hard-disk and lately, the prices of these little storage devices have always been a bargain. The list above has a 240GB one, the ADATA SU635 but if you feel like needing more on your PC, get a 480/500GB one for some few extra dollars and call it a day. Adding a HDD along-side the SSD is also an option if you need to store a lot of data like files/pictures/movies but its a very wise choice to have your Operating System and your most used applications installed on the SSD.

PC Case – Cougar MX330

The Corsair MX330 mid-tower ATX case comes at a very good price for its features; a sturdy side panel, PSU shroud and multiple cable management options. For the price and the design, this case is hard to beat and easily makes it into this list.

Power Supply – EVGA BR 450W 80+ Bronze

The EVGA BR 450W is an average quality 80+ Bronze power supply which also features 2×6+2 PCIe connectors if you plan on pairing the PC with a GPU in the future; nothing special here but the quality and value is good.

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