TechSpot PC Buying Guide: Five price points, five killer builds

[Julio Franco]

The TechSpot PC Buying Guide offers a comprehensive analysis of today's best desktop PC hardware spanning five well differentiated budgets. Starting at ~$400 for an affordable PC, followed by two well-balanced enthusiast-oriented machines, a premium high-end build, and finally a dream machine packing the baddest hardware available, period.

The Budget Box

• Decent performance • For everyday computing • Gaming with add-on GPU

The Entry-Level Rig

• Good performance • Fast for everyday computing • Casual gaming

The Enthusiast's PC

• Excellent performance • Great Multitasker • Perfect for gaming

The Luxury System

• High-end performance • Heavy multitasking • Hardcore gaming

The Extreme System

• Workstation-like performance • Extreme multitasking • Extreme gaming

Read the full article here.

https://www.techspot.com/guides/buying/

 

[Potato Judge]

No love for the RX 580 or GTX 1070. This makes me sad.

 

[Nobina]

Blue LEDs also give you better cooling and 5% performance increase. Make sure you add them.

 

[Vulcanproject]

No love for the RX 580 or GTX 1070. This makes me sad.

The problem with this 'enthusiast system' as I see it is that a GTX1060 3GB is only suitable for 1080p at most which would be disappointing for me spending $1100 on a system. It's not even faster than an Xbox One X.

Whereas keeping the system the same but having a GTX1070 or Ti is spot on for 1440p, much better for a $1250 system. There is a whopping gap in gaming performance between the $1100 system and the $2500 one!

In the end I suppose I wouldn't be building at all at this point until new cards arrive, which will happen this year.

 

[oldikes]

Case on entry level rig is unnecessarily expensive for the sake of tempered glass, save ~20-30 on case and shoehorn an 1050Ti in there IMO. 1050 can game, but 1050Ti is worth not having tempered glass over IMO.

 

[misor]

The build links on the main page: " https://www.techspot.com/guides/buying/ " all point to " https://www.techspot.com/guides/buying/# "

on topic, I really like the budget build: https://www.techspot.com/guides/buying/page2.html

 

[Julio Franco]

The build links on the main page: " https://www.techspot.com/guides/buying/ " all point to " https://www.techspot.com/guides/buying/# "
on topic, I really like the budget build: https://www.techspot.com/guides/buying/page2.html

Thank you. Now fixed.

 

[Julio Franco]

No love for the RX 580 or GTX 1070. This makes me sad.

The problem with this 'enthusiast system' as I see it is that a GTX1060 3GB is only suitable for 1080p at most which would be disappointing for me spending $1100 on a system. It's not even faster than an Xbox One X.

True BUT read for better context: No point in checking out the Buying Guide spec tables if not reading the article itself (at least the guide that corresponds to the budget you prefer), we put a ton of effort on balancing the builds and suggesting alternative routes. Mixing and matching is also encouraged on certain parts of the builds. Case in point, with the GTX 1070, we just thought it'd be too much money for most (due to inflated pricing) but suggested for gamers nonetheless.

 

[Julio Franco]

Case on entry level rig is unnecessarily expensive for the sake of tempered glass, save ~20-30 on case and shoehorn an 1050Ti in there IMO. 1050 can game, but 1050Ti is worth not having tempered glass over IMO.

You're right. I've made a small adjustment based on your feedback, thanks!

 

[Uncle Al]

Personally I found this article VERY useful. I don't completely agree with all of it but it's great information for any home system builder that may not be up on the current technology or nomenclature ..... well done!!!

 

[GreenNova343]

No love for the RX 580 or GTX 1070. This makes me sad.

The problem with this 'enthusiast system' as I see it is that a GTX1060 3GB is only suitable for 1080p at most which would be disappointing for me spending $1100 on a system. It's not even faster than an Xbox One X.

True BUT read for better context: No point in checking out the Buying Guide spec tables if not reading the article itself (at least the guide that corresponds to the budget you prefer), we put a ton of effort on balancing the builds and suggesting alternative routes. Mixing and matching is also encouraged on certain parts of the builds. Case in point, with the GTX 1070, we just thought it'd be too much money for most (due to inflated pricing) but suggested for gamers nonetheless.

Exactly, & you did a great job of explaining that in the body of the article. I'd add multiple likes if I could...

 

[Vulcanproject]

True BUT read for better context: No point in checking out the Buying Guide spec tables if not reading the article itself (at least the guide that corresponds to the budget you prefer), we put a ton of effort on balancing the builds and suggesting alternative routes. Mixing and matching is also encouraged on certain parts of the builds. Case in point, with the GTX 1070, we just thought it'd be too much money for most (due to inflated pricing) but suggested for gamers nonetheless.

I did read the article and I did read the talk about the GTX1070 and I do get that. But I just felt it's a strange choice to write the 3GB GTX1060 as the 'default' nonetheless for an $1100 machine (in a category written $1200 on the introductory page as it happens) apparently aimed at gaming.

So I replied as such to the person commenting above me. It's only my opinion and the price ranges selected are also arbitrary I recognise that.

However I also did point out that really I felt this article should have a great deal of warning about just how old these video cards are and how we are at the very tail end of an Nvidia generation. If it's meant as a comprehensive guide to building a new machine from scratch that is critical info.

Maybe you are reluctant to muddy the waters further. In that case I would suggest as soon as Nvidia sneak some news out about new cards the article is updated to at least link to it as a consideration.

 

[GreenNova343]

https://www.techspot.com/review/1411-radeon-rx-570-vs-geforce-gtx-1060-3gb/page8.html

https://www.techspot.com/review/1393-radeon-rx-580-vs-geforce-gtx-1060/page8.html

The GTX 1060 6GB model averages 10% (1080p) to 15% (1440p) better performance than the 3GB model. However, it's much more than 10-15% more expensive. Newegg currently shows the least expensive dual- or tri-fan 6GB model runs $300 USD, while the least expensive dual- or tri-fan 3GB model is $228 USD (https://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007709%20601303641%20601303642&IsNodeId=1&Description=gtx%201060&bop=And&Order=PRICE&PageSize=36). That's a gap of 30%...& it's not like either one is really meant for 1440p gaming (or even 100+FPS/1080p gaming). That's why, for this price point, they picked the 3GB model...& then recommended that if you wanted a better GPU, that you go to the GTX 1070 (which is way better than the 6GB 1060).

 

[Julio Franco]

Indeed, that's the case @GreenNova343.
It's a matter of balance and making a call, which we did.

However I also did point out that really I felt this article should have a great deal of warning about just how old these video cards are and how we are at the very tail end of an Nvidia generation.

We did that, too, but only on the Luxury build because we think it'll be the most affected sooner with a drop-in replacement for the GTX 1080/Ti. We do believe we're being thorough and we'll update the guide eventually when needed. In the meantime, we'll also update our Best Graphics Cards feature and we plan to have a day-one next-gen GeForce GPU review when that happens.

It's hard not to miss stuff with an all-encompassing guide and we appreciate the input.

 

[Vulcanproject]

I added the emphasis to the $1200 tag on the introduction because that was where I guess I was expected to see a GTX1070 or something close to it. However you opted to be really more at $1100 and kept it well below the $1200.

You can pickup a GTX1070 and be closer to (albeit over) the $1200 budget than the $1108 budget with a much weaker card.

I'll only reiterate that I wouldn't be spending over $1100 on a gaming PC to have it being just about adequate at 1080p with little future leeway because of the want of VRAM. Personally I would be targeting that higher level of GTX1070 for like $1250 and being kick *** at 1080p for a while to come or good for 1440p now.

Arbitrary price points however, as observed.

 

[Sausagemeat]

Lol, you can never please everyone with these things. Personally I struggle with Ryzen in the more premium machines. But I can see the author has accounted for that by just putting both Ryzen and Intel!

 

[Matt Price]

You forgot about graphics design and Video Production folks here. Not all of us are into games except for our Bally and Midway boxes over in the corner asking for us to Dominate Ms. Pacman.

 

[BlueEagle]

True BUT read for better context: No point in checking out the Buying Guide spec tables if not reading the article itself (at least the guide that corresponds to the budget you prefer), we put a ton of effort on balancing the builds and suggesting alternative routes. Mixing and matching is also encouraged on certain parts of the builds. Case in point, with the GTX 1070, we just thought it'd be too much money for most (due to inflated pricing) but suggested for gamers nonetheless.

I did read the article and I did read the talk about the GTX1070 and I do get that. But I just felt it's a strange choice to write the 3GB GTX1060 as the 'default' nonetheless for an $1100 machine (in a category written $1200 on the introductory page as it happens) apparently aimed at gaming.

So I replied as such to the person commenting above me. It's only my opinion and the price ranges selected are also arbitrary I recognise that.

However I also did point out that really I felt this article should have a great deal of warning about just how old these video cards are and how we are at the very tail end of an Nvidia generation. If it's meant as a comprehensive guide to building a new machine from scratch that is critical info.

Maybe you are reluctant to muddy the waters further. In that case I would suggest as soon as Nvidia sneak some news out about new cards the article is updated to at least link to it as a consideration.

Yes the 3GB 1060 is a ridiculous choice at that overall price point. The AMD cards are finally available and affordable again. The RX 580 8 GB would be a better choice, as would the 6 GB 1060 or a 1070. With the 580 there's the added bonus of better OpenCL support and thus cryptocurrency mining capabilities. And FreeSync monitors are cheaper than the NVIDIA counterpart.

 

[Sausagemeat]

Yes the 3GB 1060 is a ridiculous choice at that overall price point. The AMD cards are finally available and affordable again. The RX 580 8 GB would be a better choice, as would the 6 GB 1060 or a 1070. With the 580 there's the added bonus of better OpenCL support and thus cryptocurrency mining capabilities. And FreeSync monitors are cheaper than the NVIDIA counterpart.

Where I live in the UK a new RX580 still costs quite a bit more than a 1060 6GB, actually their pricing is closer to the 1070. Pretty sure it’s the same sort of situation in the states. Meaning that for me I don’t think these AMD cards are a smart or realistic choice just yet. Maybe that will change but it needs to change soon, I imagine an 1160 will come along and offer more for less. I’m curious as to what AMD are going to do when these new Nvidia cards launch.

 

[GreyFoxx]

Swap 1060 to 1070 and it's golden

 

[EnterAnother]

Really good article, but there seems to be one mistake. ASRock AB350M board from Budget Box lacks video output ports? It is useless for a build with APU and a user who wants to use integrated graphics.

Editor's note: Glaring mistake on our part. We've made the correction based on your feedback. Thank you!

 

[Wizwill]

An extremely engaging article with timely contents which kept me thoroughly gauged for about a half an hour. I truly enjoy build articles that have a realistic components and are not just advertisements for certain manufacturers. Kudos!

 

[Capaill]

For the Enthusiast case, I'd humbly (because I have one) suggest moving to the Phanteks Pro M Tempered Glass case for $7 more. You lose the fan hub but don't need it as you are going with air cooling and you gain slightly better airflow and that lovely tempered glass side window while keeping the excellent Phanteks build quality. Of course there are other options but suggesting a case with an acrylic window for Enthusiasts doesn't work for me.

 

[DukeD]

No love for the RX 580 or GTX 1070. This makes me sad.

The problem with this 'enthusiast system' as I see it is that a GTX1060 3GB is only suitable for 1080p at most which would be disappointing for me spending $1100 on a system. It's not even faster than an Xbox One X.

Whereas keeping the system the same but having a GTX1070 or Ti is spot on for 1440p, much better for a $1250 system. There is a whopping gap in gaming performance between the $1100 system and the $2500 one!

In the end I suppose I wouldn't be building at all at this point until new cards arrive, which will happen this year.

Of course the performance difference may be associate with the price of one being more than double of the other?

 

[Pange]

The problem for the luxury system is that it comes with a price of $2,500 without the monitor, headphones & speakers and mouse & keyboard which actually comes down to a total of $3,000+ which is quite expensive. It would be great if it were down to just $2,500 or $2,000.