Building an $850 gaming PC with budget components

Building a Perfect Computer

Beginner's guide to building a computer

This $850 computer is made from very cost effective perspective, which will make the individual capable of playing high graphics games without exceeding the budget at all.

The case: NZXT Source 210 Elite - NZXT Source 210 Elite is quite an expansive sized case which is made from a steel body which is as light as feather and lasts longer than expected. It's big enough to house in large components and spacey enough to allow hands to move freely. The case has grips to take off drive bays without a usage of a screwdriver, slots are given for routing the cables along fine, and there are fan grills for better airflow and ventilation. The case is all in all designed with precision. Bonus add-ons are 120mm fans, USB 3.0 ports and front side audio ports. The NAZXT cases are famous for their spacey interior and easiness to attach / detach components (Henry, 2014).

The power supply: Corsair Builder Series CX500M 500W Power Supply - This 500 watt power supply from the home of Corsair is capable of powering all the components (400 W. And remainder power for extra usage). Corsair is known for its performance. I decided to use a better power supply after the old 430 W. For extra mileage. Since I had the extra budget, hence I decided to buy this 500 W. power supply. My computer needed some extra juice under budget and this power supply seemed suitable (Henry, 2014).

The CPU: AMD FX-6300 Six-Core 3.5GHz AM3+ Processor - AMD FX-6300 Six-Core is a powerhouse processor suitable for normal computing as well as powerful gaming. It is a multipurpose processor capable of handling both. Additional cores are sometimes required by people other than gamers (Henry, 2014).

The motherboard: MSI 970A-G43 ATX AM3+ Motherboard AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Motherboard - For its price, this motherboard is a surefire winner since it offers great power management and wonderful functions. It has 4 dual channel memory slots to begin with, 6 SATA III ports, 6 USB 2 ports, 2 USB 3 ports, gigabit Ethernet and 8 channel audio. No on board video exists for that matter. Apart from that, it has over clocking features as well, which can be put to good use when needed. Apart from that, when the need arises to upgrade my motherboard for heavier configuration, this motherboard gives me the flexibility of doing so with SSD, more RAM and a heavier graphics card (Henry, 2014).

Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (OEM)

Linux is even more cost effective, but compatibility is needed with mainstream applications. Even though with 8GB RAM, we went for the slick 64-bit Windows 7 version, for its security features and continued upgrades (Ralph, 2010).

Keyboard: Microsoft Comfort Curve Keyboard 2000

While browsing online for a keyboard, we came across this low priced keyboard for $13.49. It's a steal deal for me (Ralph, 2010; Amazon.com: Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & more, n.d).

Mouse: Microsoft Comfort Optical Mouse 1000

It's not the best mouse out there, but definitely better than the conventional low cost ones which come with $500 computers. Since, it's as cheap as dirt, the computers entire cost was within my stipulated budget (Ralph, 2010).

I was sure almost anyone can assemble a computer. But, I was thoroughly confused when I saw all the parts of a computers lying separated the first time around. The manuals were written in a difficult manner rendering it useless for a layman like me. I knew that I had my work cut out after reviewing the manuals. I was well aware of the important parts as well as the generic parts and their specific locations. This was similar to my homework which was so mysterious and difficult. Computer parts aren't inexpensive, and it's frightening to have the essentials of the computer in your hand and one wrong move can ruin it all (Hernandez, 2014).

On my first attempt in trying to piece things together, work felt like pain. I was fully aware of the delicate parts and didn't want to exert more pressure on them then needed to. While putting the processor in the motherboard, I ensured that I put in as directed in the packaging. I was still confused after putting it correctly and when I tried to lock, it gave a loud crunching sound, which I mistook for processor breaking (Hernandez, 2014).

Let's just not mention the scare, the thought of touching the motherboard gave me, since I had read all about the static electricity associated with it and the highly imperative suggestion of wearing rubber gloves to avoid shocks and steer clear from the metallic components of the motherboard. A person can discharge too, but still, it's not easy to take the situation lightly. There were many other smaller issues as well; for instance the motherboard didn't fit in exactly like it was supposed to. I had accidentally mixed up the screws and by the end was confused which screw went where and the thought of using thermal paste on processor slipped my mind. I even forgot that I had purchased a special heat sink for my processor. Then, I remembered to attach it to the processor, but then it got hooked with the processor so deeply that it was detaching the entire processor. In case, I would break something, I didn't try too hard. The manuals and YouTube videos weren't helping me at all, rather adding to the frustration. I looked over my bunch of cables and the sight scared me (Hernandez, 2014). Since, it was my first time, I worked on it for almost 7 hours before putting everything together. In the end, my back was hurting after crouching on my table for so long and was thoroughly exhausted.