Not everyone can afford a GTX1080, or a Fury-X, but everyone wants to have a capable PC that’s good for office work but at the same time also capable of gaming. For those who are on a budget, well this guide is for you.
For our Php20,000 AMD PC Gaming Build Guide, we have three different builds to choose from and we have provided a description on what build would be best for you below.
Take note that this build is not VR Ready and don’t expect to play AAA games in high settings at 1080p. The prices listed here are from Dynaquest.com and PCX.com.ph as of July, 29, 2016.
Table of Contents
| Part | Name | Price |
|---|---|---|
| CPU: | AMD Vishera FX-6300 3.50GHz | 5,350 |
| GPU: | Asus R7 360 OC 2GD5 | 5,650 |
| MOBO: | ASRock N68C-GS4 FX | 2,350 |
| RAM: | Gskill RipjawsX 4GB Dual 1600 CL9 | 1,690 |
| HDD: | Western Digital 1TB | 2,290 |
| SSD: | N/A | N/A |
| PSU: | Huntkey Green Power 500 Max (500Watts) | 1,700 |
| CASE: | Tecware Infinity | 1,240 |
PRICE: Php 20,270
The AMD Vishera FX-6300 might be a few years old, but it still gets the job done. Although it’s not the best processor out there, it is more than capable enough to handle games thanks to its 6-core processor clocked at 3.5Ghz, and the price is perfect for our budget.
The downside of any FX series processor was due to the fact that they don’t have an integrated GPU, unlike most of Intel’s Core series, and their famously known APUs. Thus we need to have a dedicated GPU for this setup, so we chose the Asus R7-360 2GB GDDR5 OC Edition. The card good enough for playing casual competitive games in high settings at 1080p and is also sufficient enough in playing today’s AAA games in mixed low/medium settings and resolution (depending on the game).
The reason why we chose the FX-6300 over the lower end FX-series processors is because the CPU won’t limit the card (R7-360) and will most likely lessen the bottleneck effect if you plan on upgrading to higher end GPUs in the future, unlike the FX-4300. Despite the FX-4300 having a 300Mhz advantage on its clockspeed, today’s games are utilizing more cores than before, thus performance will significantly change due to the addition of 2 extra cores from the FX-6300. Below are the benchmarks of the R7-360.
| Part | Name | Price |
|---|---|---|
| CPU: | AMD A10-7870K 3.90-4.10GHz | 6,100 |
| GPU: | N/A | N/A |
| MOBO: | ASRock Fatal1ty FM2A88X+ Killer Series | 4,740 |
| RAM: | Gskill RipjawsX 16GB 8GBx2 DDR3 2133 | 3,450 |
| HDD: | Western Digital 1TB | 2,290 |
| SSD: | N/A | N/A |
| PSU: | Huntkey Green Power 500 Max (500Watts) | 1,700 |
| CASE: | Tecware Infinity | 1,240 |
PRICE: Php19,520
Personally I’d go against APU setups within this price point and consider investing in a traditional CPU + GPU setup for long term usage because an FX Series processor beats an AMD APU in computing performance. You’ll also most likely no longer need the integrated GPU cores inside the APU since you’ll be having a more powerful dedicated GPU. That being said, there’s nothing wrong with an APU. Actually AMD’s A-series APUs, thanks to its “dedicated-integrated” GPUs, are extremely useful for budget gamers and for those who want to play without breaking the bank.
Here we chose the AMD A10-7870K, a quad-core CPU with 12 dedicated graphics cores clocked at a high 3.90Ghz up to 4.10Ghz. Despite a few years of age, the APU alone can handle Dota 2 and CS:GO at 1080, and is also capable in playing todays AAA in low settings at lower resolutions. The main factor to consider with this build is the RAM since graphics memory and computing memory are shared modules unlike a dedicated GPU + CPU setup.
For the RAM we chose a 16GB dual channel kit high profile DDR3 2133Mhz from Gkill though any brand will do. The main factor to considering when buying RAM for an APU is that speed is extremely important. While it doesn’t necessarily mean that faster speeds are better, in some cases (especially for rendering, AAA games, and high end computing that uses a lot of memory), you will definitely see the difference. Below we have the benchmarks of the A10-7870K processor’s performance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqLHZT4uOHs
| Part | Name | Price |
|---|---|---|
| CPU: | AMD Godavari A10-7860K 3.90-4.0Ghz | 5,150 |
| GPU: | Asus R7 360 OC 2GD5 | 5,650 |
| MOBO: | Gigabyte GA-F2A68HM-S1 | 2,350 |
| RAM: | Gskill RipjawsX 4GB Dual 1600 CL9 | 1,690 |
| HDD: | Western Digital 1TB | 2,290 |
| SSD: | N/A | N/A |
| PSU: | Huntkey Green Power 500 Max (500Watts) | 1,700 |
| CASE: | Tecware Infinity | 1,240 |
PRICE: Php 20,070
Same as the build above, this time we downgraded the APU to the A10-7860K (Godavari). Performance-wise there isn’t really much of a difference between the A10-7860K and the A10-7870K, but if we get a cheaper motherboard, a lower profile RAM, and choose the A10-7860K over the A10-7870K, then we have enough money for a dedicated graphics card.
Once again we chose the Asus R7-360 2GB GDDR5 OC Edition due to its low price point and efficient gaming performance. If you might have heard of AMD’s “Duel-Graphics Configuration” (APUs graphics cores and the dedicated GPU working simultaneously), it is not applicable here. The R7-360 and later versions are not compatible with this APU for the dual graphics. The point of the third build is to have a much better gaming performance compared to a standalone APU setup. Since dual graphics is not applicable, the APU will only function as a regular CPU so we focus primarily on the gaming performance of the R7-360. Below we have the benchmarks of the R7-360.
Php20,000 is still a bit low if you plan on gaming at 1080p especially if you love playing AAA games but if you’re just playing Dota 2, CS:GO, or any other casual competitive game, Php20,000 is enough.
If you’re not sure which build to choose, here we state the differences and the advantages of each build.
All of them are actually almost equal in terms of performance. If you look at it the second build is kinda like the mix between the first and the third. While all of them are good for upgrading, the ones with the dedicated GPU will out best the standalone APU. Choose the first if you plan on upgrading while having an FX Series processor, choose the second if you want to have an APU as your main processor, and choose the third one if you want to have an APU as your processor but want to have a decent gaming experience instantly out of the box while willing to sacrifice on other components.
By the end of the year, the RX-470 and RX-460 will have been released. We will be updating our guide and provide a new one. Expected performance of the RX-460 and 470 are significantly better than the current R9/R7 series GPUs that AMD offers right now in the Philippines. The RX-470 is expected for 1080p gaming, and the RX-460 is expected to be great for casual competitive games. We will update the guide by then.
Are you looking for a cheaper rig? or a new laptop? Check out our:
blank13 says:
Compatible po ba sa AsRock N68C-GS4 FX yung AMD Vishera FX-8370E ? Thank you.
curios says:
sir, hindi ba talaga gagana ang dual graphics settings sa r7 360?
Anthony Balon says:
Is there no Love for Nvidia Intel Counterpart?
Abe Olandres says:
It will be published tomorrow.
Rence says:
HyperX Fury 8GB RAM, 1600 pesos lng :) much better
lol says:
hey, your articles are improving. cheers.
ezme says:
I think Athlon x4 + a more beefier gpu can handle maxed hd gaming
fcsean says:
Worst time to buy one since RX 460, 470 will be released in August and Zen is supposed to come out at the end of the year or next
Rowena says:
Can of these builds play Ark: Survival Evolved and/or Witcher on low to medium settings?
Haroro says:
ARK? Yes, basta 8gb Ram with 2gb Graphics atleast.