Features - QOTW: Can you build a gaming PC for less than an Xbox One?

[Windschreiter]

Hard to do with Scan => came out at £429.77 for this config:


AeroCool V3X Evil Blue Edition Midi Tower ohne Netzteil schwarz/blau € 21,96*
350 Watt be quiet! System Power 7 Bulk Non-Modular 80+ Bronze € 34,33*
500GB Seagate Desktop HDD ST500DM002 16MB 3.5" (8.9cm) SATA 6Gb/s € 39,82*
LG Electronics GH24NSB0 DVD-RW SATA intern schwarz Bulk € 12,45*
Microsoft Windows 8.1 64 Bit Deutsch OEM € 78,44*
AMD A10 Series A10-6800K 4x 4.10GHz So.FM2 BOX € 109,80*
MSI FM2-A75MA-P33 AMD A75 So.FM2 Dual Channel DDR3 mATX Retail € 51,10*
8GB G.Skill RipjawsX DDR3-1866 DIMM CL9 Dual Kit € 63,71*
Zwischensumme: (total) € 411,61 (£339,28)

inkl. 19% UST: (tax included) € 65,72

I know this is a bit off as this is a german shop, but an Xbox one sells for 499€ (Titanfall bundle) in Germany, so that price is beaten. Upgrades could include an FM2+ Board with A88X chipset for upgradeability or a SSD/SSHD.

PS: shop ships to UK too. ~60€ shipping cost for two boxes via DHL International at 29,99€ each, which would put this config very slightly above xboxone in UK.

PS: Intel based Rig would come at a slight premium:

AeroCool V3X Evil Blue Edition Midi Tower ohne Netzteil schwarz/blau € 21,96*
350 Watt be quiet! System Power 7 Bulk Non-Modular 80+ Bronze € 34,33*
500GB Seagate Desktop HDD ST500DM002 16MB 3.5" (8.9cm) SATA 6Gb/s € 39,82*
LG Electronics GH24NSB0 DVD-RW SATA intern schwarz Bulk € 12,45*
Microsoft Windows 8.1 64 Bit Deutsch OEM € 78,44*
Intel Core i3 4330 2x 3.50GHz So.1150 BOX € 104,18*
2048MB ZOTAC GeForce GTX 750 Ti Aktiv PCIe 3.0 x16 (Retail) € 115,94*
8GB Crucial Ballistix Sport DDR3-1600 DIMM CL9 Dual Kit € 55,20*
Zwischensumme: (total) € 462,32(£381,65)

inkl. 19% USTtax included) € 73,81

[scaryjim]

Exactly my point.....

I thought your point was that you doubted anyone would build a £350 PC instead of an XBox One? You know, that being what you actually said I must've missed something somewhere...

Anyway, in my first post in this thread I said I'd drop back with a build list, but I've just had a go and decided it can't be done effectively. If the A8-7600 was out and priced at around £70 - £80 it might be possible, using an R7 240 for dual graphics. But having to set aside around £70 for a windows license kills the build - you either have to compromise on the CPU, like the Hexus build, or the graphics. Of course, the picture could change when DX12 lands, as the many slow cores option should pan out better in DX12 games which makes the AM1 platform less of a compromise. But since DX12 isn't exactly imminent, and it will take a while after it launches before games start taking advantage of it, I really couldn't recommend a PC over a console if the intention was purely for gaming.

Hmmm, perhaps that was your point? It'll certainly be interesting to see if/how console development drives PC hardware development over the next 5 - 6 years, now they're on the same underlying hardware. Will the answer to this question be significantly different in a year's time? Be an interesting one to look back on...

[shaithis]

I thought your point was that you doubted anyone would build a £350 PC instead of an XBox One? You know, that being what you actually said I must've missed something somewhere...

If you were never interested in the XBox, then you aren't building anything instead of it That was my point Very few people are going to go, "I want an XBox One" and then decide that actually they will build a PC for the same money instead....they are (at least for the most part) different markets aimed at different people with different needs.

[scaryjim]

If you were never interested in the XBox, then you aren't building anything instead of it

Ah, yeah, I kind of see what you mean. I suspect there are people who would consider the option between them, genuinely being interested in the XBOne, and still decide that the £350 PC would serve them better, but it would definitely be a choice made at the expense of gaming capability in favour of other things. Their case might be a fairer reflection of the intent of the question. But then you're getting on to definitions of "gaming PC" vs. "PC good enough for gaming", which are subtly but crucially different things

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

You are forgetting that most people don't build a PC themselves,but have to buy a prebuilt one,which means there is an additional premium on top of any self build.

How many people seriously have a clue or even care about CPUs or graphics cards?? A console is a tool for them to play their game,and they could not care less about what is in it. As PC gamers we do need to know about our hardware or get the help of some other person who will do the leg work and research for us.

The other thing is people tend to prefer laptops over desktops,due to portability and the amount of space they take up anyway, and the best you can really do is an AMD A8 or A10 laptop using an IGP for under £400.

Plus the average person won't be having monitors and peripherals lying around - they need to be factored into the build cost.

All the very popular PC games like LoL,DOTA,Minecraft and The Sims interestingly will run OK on an IGP found in a sub £400 laptop,and have cartoony styles which are well suited to be run on less powerful hardware.

OTH,when it comes to FPS and other kinds of games,for a lot of people a console is the cheapest way upfront to play such games even if they look crappier when compared to their PC version. It will still run much better than on their laptop though,and they know even in 5 years Halo 20 or BF7 will still run fine. They don't need to worry about upgrading the hardware.

Consoles tend to be for more non technical people who want plug and play functionality for their games machine and long lifespan,or even for those who are technically able to but CBA farting around with needing to update their machine all the time or keeping up to date with hardware. They know 100% of games for that console will run fine,even if the PC version is better in technical aspects.

At least,that is what I gather from the console gamers I have known.

[ghost_florian]

Can you build a gaming PC for less than an Xbox One? The answer is "No". You will ultimately build something that is filled with compromises, and which can at best be good for standard everyday computing needs. This is what I could come up with in PC Part Picker

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 750K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (£54.86 @ CCL Computers)
Motherboard: MSI A88XM-E35 Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard (£37.75 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£27.59 @ Aria PC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£33.59 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 750 1GB Video Card (£80.75 @ Ebuyer)
Power Supply: XFX 450W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (£20.00 @ Maplin Electronics)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) (£80.10 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £334.64

I have also found the Sharkoon Vaya 2 case for £25 at Scan.

Grand Total: £359.64


What this build lacks is a gaming keyboard/mouse combo, which will cost at least £25-£30 if you shop around. In their build, Hexus seem to think that everyone has a pair waiting to be used, but that isn't always true. Furthermore, the processor will get pretty hot in the chassis, so a better cooler is also needed. Another £15 for a basic one. Lastly, what about sound ? If you're serious about gaming, you will want a pair of headphones with an included microphone. Another £20 at least.

Total realistic cost: £419.64 - £424.64


I would say £500 is a more realistic price point for a gaming rig, complete with everything. If the OS were "free", the Nvidia 750 would "transform" into a 760, which is far better graphics card.

[scottyman]

Running SteamOS will bring the cost down, allowing you to uprate other components - I'd double the RAM and potentially add a 64GB SSD if you can squeeze it in under 350

[daddacool]

Considering you only have to run most games at 720p to match the Xbone that spec should do great

Ha! Brilliant ;-)

[crossy]

Can you build a gaming PC for less than an Xbox One? The answer is "No". You will ultimately build something that is filled with compromises, and which can at best be good for standard everyday computing needs.

I think you've kind of missed the point with the question - I took it to mean to ask whether you could generate a PC configuration that could match an XBone's gaming ability (minus the Kinect of course) for the same money or less.

What this build lacks is a gaming keyboard/mouse combo, which will cost at least £25-£30 if you shop around. In their build, Hexus seem to think that everyone has a pair waiting to be used, but that isn't always true. Furthermore, the processor will get pretty hot in the chassis, so a better cooler is also needed. Another £15 for a basic one. Lastly, what about sound ? If you're serious about gaming, you will want a pair of headphones with an included microphone. Another £20 at least.

The lack of keyboard and mouse in the Hexus setup is something I've commented on. Then again, I'm sure that most folks would regard a controller battery pack for the XBone to be an essential - so maybe that can be used to offset the cost of the PC extras.

Better cooler - tick. However, you might be able to cost-justify that one on the price difference between a couple of titles. E.g. if you regard Titanfall as representative then factoring in 2-3 games as "must haves" will give you enough budget for your basic cooler upgrade.

I'll argue strongly that the headphone+mic cost is equivalent for XBone and PC, plus the microphone aspect is only a big deal if you're doing multiplayer. If you're not then you could probably "get away" with a cheap set of earbuds (<£5 from Asda).

[choppo]

ye I'd knock the OS out of that list and double up on the ram. maby (if its just for games and not general use)junk that hybrid SSD/HDD grab a 60/120 SSD from ebay/ebuyer,ect just for the OS and do the same for a 500gb storage. other than that its not a bad setup.. just need to budget for peripherals (again £20/30 from ebay) nice mouse and back lit keyboard don't worry about a screen (use your TV lol) and your off

[directhex]

ye I'd knock the OS out of that list and double up on the ram. maby (if its just for games and not general use)junk that hybrid SSD/HDD grab a 60/120 SSD from ebay/ebuyer,ect just for the OS and do the same for a 500gb storage

You need an OS, though.

And SteamOS doesn't lend itself well to usage in your scenario, an SSHD works well for how SteamOS partitioning works.

[koocha]

Having another stab at this. This time with Kaveri inside:

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/user/koocha/saved/4rrR


By not having a discreet graphics card I've managed to add a BluRay reader, keyboard, mouse, 8gb RAM and still have 6 quid left over for a cheap gamepad (there aren't any on PCPartPicker)

[DanceswithUnix]

£10 over gets you a pre-built system Windows included: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00HT15RJW

Not sure of the wisdom of crossfiring the in built graphics with an R5-235. That box won't ever do Mantle either if that matters for your preferred game.

[scaryjim]

Having another stab at this.

Oddly, I just decided to revisit this today after discovering some threads showing R7 graphics cards crossfired with as A8 5600k. Again, no mantle or GCN only goodies, but the IGP + R7 240 should give a decent amount of gaming oomph. I'm 44p over, but that could be made up by going for a cheaper motherboard.

Apparently I can't get a nice screenshot, but essentially it's an mATX A78 motherboard, 4GB of DDR3-2000 Corsair Vengeance (high speed to aid the IGP), An A8-5600k, a low profile R7 240 2GB DDR3, all bundled up in a low profile MATX case + 300W TFX PSU and spun up with a 2.5" 320GB hard drive and Windows 8.1. Link to list below with full details

http://www.ebuyer.com/lists/list/331631

EDIT:

Not sure of the wisdom of crossfiring the in built graphics with an R5-235.

True, but you could buy that system + a low profile 6570 or R7 240, sell the r5 and end up with a good spec box - although I'm always dubious about 6GB of RAM, tbh, but the 1TB hard drive would be a nice addition.

That said, another ~ £20 on my build would take you to 1TB + 8GB DDR3-1600, and another £50 would get you a 1TB Hybrid drive and 8GB of DDR3 2400. That's the way of tech I guess - the advance from entry level to mid-spec is a relatively small one financially, and an extra 10% in the budget can buy you massively more performance.

[creon]

and when xboxtwo comes out and your rig is dead just upgrade the board and chip for what might be £200!

[ShiftyStu]

You should definitely spend a little more though if you were ever going to build a console killing PC. Might as well get some nice graphics on your new machine, with new games 750 is kinda pushing it