Finally performance in the gaming PC up to 600 euros again. The guide reveals what budget gamers can expect from the cheap calculator at the end of 2022 and why building your own is worthwhile.
For a long time, gamblers with somewhat smaller wallets led a rather dreary existence. Corona, inflation and scrapers turned my favorite hobby into an ordeal. In the last two years, the prices of graphics cards and processors have skyrocketed and it was a real art to get a gaming machine under 600 euros. In the meantime the situation has improved somewhat. And yet it’s still not easy to get a reasonable gaming PC under 600 euros – but it’s not impossible either.
One thing in advance: Less than 600 euros is not possible in new titles with more than Full HD resolution at medium to high detail levels. At least when gamers assemble the computer themselves. If you buy a finished gaming PC, you can expect a little less. Because with the ready-made PCs, gamers die a death: either a low-budget graphics card is working in the PC and the processor is too weak, or the processor is quite decent, but with an integrated graphics unit.
It is usually weaker than a low-budget graphics card. That’s why we compare two ready-made PCs below and then look at what you get for the same money if you build the calculator yourself.
ALTERNATE We Love Gaming-PC Budget Edition 5600G
It starts with the Alternate We Love Gaming PC Budget Edition 5600G for 599 euros. The AMD Ryzen 5 5600G processor works in it and is not a bad choice for the gaming computer. In connection with a decent graphics card, gamers can enjoy the six-core for a long time because its CPU performance is easily sufficient to calculate all current games. However, Alternate does without a dedicated graphics card and relies on the AMD Radeon Vega Graphics integrated in the processor. That’s not bad at all for an integrated solution, but it still doesn’t make gamers really happy.
It mainly depends on the titles you want to play. The graphics unit effortlessly processes e-sports games such as “Dota 2” or “Counter Strike – Global Offensive” when the games are run in Full HD resolution and high detail settings. However, not with the desired high frames per second. With “CS – GO” there should be around 120 frames per second, with “Dota 2” around 60 to 70. The titles are always playable. It gets trickier with newer games.
With “Cyberpunk 2077” gamers have to lower the resolution and level of detail so that the title runs at all. The internal memory of the PC is also somewhat small at 256 gigabytes (GB). The 16 GB of RAM, on the other hand, is easily enough for gamers. Windows 11 is pre-installed on the computer. A purchase recommendation for gamers who still have a graphics card or are waiting until the prices for the chips have normalized.
Systemtreff Gaming-PC Radeon RX 6400
Gamers take a slightly different approach with the gaming PC system meeting point for less than 600 euros. As a processor, the manufacturer has given its computer a six-core processor in the form of the AMD Ryzen 5 4500. Compared to the Ryzen processor in the alternate PC, it is less powerful in terms of gaming performance. There are two reasons for this: The Ryzen 5 4500 is based on an older architecture and clocks significantly lower in games than the Ryzen 5600G and this is also noticeable in the frames per second.
But that’s not a big problem, because the manufacturer pairs the computer’s brain with dull eyes: Systemtreff has donated an AMD Radeon RX 6400 graphics card to its gaming PC for less than 600 euros. This is the current entry-level card from AMD. And this card is a big mystery in the gaming computer market. Too much to die, too little to gamble, probably fits best. It costs around 170 euros individually. For fifteen euros more, gamers can get a more powerful RX 6500 XT, which should definitely be given preference over the 6400.
Unfortunately, the RX 6400 only offers 4 gigabytes of video memory. In 2022, this is meager even for Full HD resolution. So gamers have to accept compromises in the level of detail with the map. Nevertheless, it is of course significantly more powerful than the integrated graphics unit in the alternate PC. The system meeting PC is rounded off by 256 GB of internal memory and 16 GB of working memory.
X-HARDWARE X-Gaming 4700S
Here is the X Gaming 4700S
Manufacturer X-Hardware is taking a similar path to Systemtreff with its gaming PC under 600 euros. With 512 gigabytes of internal memory, the computer offers twice as much storage space as its likeness. It gets interesting with the processor: Ryzen 4700S works in it. And this processor is a curiosity, because AMD only sells it in combination with a motherboard that also has 16 gigabytes of RAM. However, this bundle cannot be upgraded in the future. Both the processor and the main memory are firmly soldered. Of course that’s bad.
Like the Ryzen 5 4500, the processor is based on the Zen2 architecture, but offers two more cores. Presumably, these are stocks of AMD chips that should actually be installed in the XBox Series X. In any case, the specifications of the console processor and Ryzen 4700S are very similar. Unfortunately, the chip’s integrated graphics unit is deactivated. And that’s really a shame, because unfortunately the processor cannot be combined with every graphics card. And that, too, sucks as far as future upgrades are concerned. According to AMD, gamers can pair the following cards with the processor:
And as if that weren’t wild enough, the manufacturer pairs the processor with a GTX 1650 – a card that AMD says shouldn’t even go together with the processor. However, the assumption is that the GTX 1060 and 1650 use the same drivers, which is why the interaction works. In terms of performance, the 1650 is on the same level as an RX 6400 from the Systemtreff PC. So this computer is by no means a machine for the future.
Homemade gaming PC
After this quite wild excursion through the world of ready-made PCs, the question now arises as to whether it is worth doing it yourself. Long story, short answer: It’s worth it, but it will also be an atypical mix of components. When it comes to the processor, we rely on the Intel Core i3 12100F, whose four cores, thanks to their high clock rates, outperforms all processors from ready-to-use computers. We save ourselves an additional cooler and instead use the supplied Intel cooler.
We use an ASRock H610M-HVS for the processor. Unfortunately, this only offers two RAM slots and a graphics card slot, but it is cheap and that has to be enough for us. Because the mainboard only swallows DDR-4 RAM, we install a cheap 16 GB bar. The second slot remains free if more RAM is required later. A be quiet! PC power supply ATX 500W System Power 9 BN246 fuels our system. 500 watts are enough for the gaming PC under 600 euros. If you want to install a better graphics card later, you should buy a more powerful power supply.
But we don’t want that at the moment and are relying on a Radeon RX 6500 XT. Not a monster card, but faster than any graphics card in comparison. The 1 terabyte SSD that we build into the computer is not faster but larger. And we’re almost done with that if it weren’t for a case to cobble our PC into. We keep it simple and choose the FD-CA-CORE-1000 fractal design.
All components together cost 611.49 euros. target just missed. There is potential for savings with the housing. Another tip to save money would be to keep an eye on the used graphics card market. However, buying used hardware is always risky. And you always have to consider the power adapter. A used RX Vega 56, for example, costs around 160 euros on Ebay. But it consumes far more power than the RX 6500 XT. Accordingly, you have to invest the saved 40 euros in a better power supply, but you also get a bit more graphics performance.
In summary, the self-made PC definitely beats its ready-made opponents. It’s more flexible in terms of upgrades and offers the best bang for the buck, although of course you have a little more work to do.
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