How-To: Build A Powerful 1080P SFF Gaming PC for $700

Looking to upgrade or replace your current desktop PC without breaking the bank in order to do so? Then you absolutely want to build your own custom PC, as it eliminates all of the extra costs for things that you do not need and the implicit cost you are paying for the brand name.

First, let me explain what I want out of my desktop computer. What I wanted was fairly simple: the fastest, most powerful machine that is capable of handling mid-high range gaming. Most importantly, I wanted it to do all of these things for the absolute lowest price. If this does not describe your similar intentions, then you may want to search elsewhere for certain components, which I will try to mention, as they may be unnecessary for your situation. 

Note: the custom PC that I chose to build is a SFF (small form factor). This means exactly what you'd think: it is smaller than the traditional, clunky desktop of the past. However, these are not quite as small in size as the NUC, but because I wanted to run games on high quality settings, I opted to not go with a NUC, because they simply are too small to pack the power necessary to do so. 

Build For Budget Mini-ATX Desktop PC:

1) Processor: Intel Core i5 4690k ($230)

The processor is the most important component in determining the performance of your computer. Therefore, it is essential that you determine the right processor to fit your needs. The Intel Core i5 4690k offers the greatest performance for the price (~$230). For any user who does not need extremely CPU-intensive processes (i.e. photo and video editing software), the core i5 is more than powerful enough to handle any tasks you would ever need. It is also very fast; the Geekbench benchmark test proved to be about 2.5 times as fast as my current 2012 Macbook Pro, which has an intel i7 quad-core 2.9 Ghz. processor. 

2) Motherboard: ASRock B75 Pro3-M ($100) 

I must admit, I have absolutely no idea about the intricacies of different types of motherboards. What I can say is that the only real difference is between which ports and connectivity options each offers, and whether or not all the other components are compatible with the specific motherboard that you choose. All I know is that this motherboard has all the necessary ports and fits the processor listed above, as well as any of the Intel processors. It is the recommended one on the website that I read tech. information about, so that's the one I chose.

3) Memory (RAM): 8GB Crucial Ballistix Sport ($60)

RAM is basically the amount of memory that your computer is able to utilize at any given time. When your computer slows and crashes because you opened too many programs or too many tabs, that is indicating to you that you have attempted to exceed the RAM capacity of your machine. For casual use, you could get away with 4GB if you are a person who simply wants to use their computer to check e-mail, browse the internet, etc. But generally, if you can afford it, I would recommend getting at least 8GB of RAM to be sure that your computer will consistently be able to handle any multi-tasking that you may have to do. Especially since I wanted to do limited gaming with my computer, I definitely needed the 8GB. 

4) Internal Memory (Hard Drive): 240GB Kingston SSD V300 ($85) & Seagate Barracuda 1TB HDD ($50)

Obviously, internal memory is the amount of storage your computer will have. The important thing to note here is that the drive that I chose happens to be an SSD, instead of the traditional HDD of the past. The SSD option allows for significantly increased boot-up and program load times. Until now, they have been extremely expensive, and they are only recently becoming affordable for the everyday person who is not a tech guru. The reason that I included the 1TB HDD is so that I can have plenty of room for storing all of my files without having to put them all on the SSD, which would reduce it's speed. You could also opt for a hybrid drive, which combines both into one, if the motherboard that you choose only has one slot for internal memory. 

5) Graphics Card: Sapphire Radeon 7770 ($100)

The graphics card is going to determine the quality of the graphics of your system. This is the main component that may differ if you do not want to use your computer for gaming. And there may be others with different preferences for cards, and they may be right, because I do not know anything regarding video cards, but I do know that this specific card is capable of performing high-quality gaming on very taxing games, such as Watch Dogs, and is also very affordable. Enough said.

6) Power Supply: Corsair CX430M ($50)

What matters here in determining what is best for you is the wattage output that your system will require. Below is a link to a website that you can input your CPU details and it will identify the needs of your system. If you are using the build with the parts I have listed above, this power supply will suffice.

      --Wattage Output Based on CPU: http://support.asus.com/PowerSupply.aspx?SLanguage=en

7) Case: Linkworld Blade Steel Body Mini ATX ($40)

This is the most subjective part of the build. It is truly a matter of personal preference to determine the right one for you. I chose this one because it was steel and I know that I am prone to tragedies, and I would be devastated if something happened to my new custom PC. Also, it looks pretty sweet.

Total Cost of Mini ATX Build: ~ $700

There you have it. Now just wait a couple of weeks to get all of your component pieces, and you've got an extremely powerful, yet portable, system that is capable of producing the same quality of graphics as a PS4 or Xbox One. The standalone cost of buying a current-gen gaming system and a computer with similar specs. could easily cost you $1200-$1500+. 

Total Money Saved: Somewhere between $500-$1000.

The Imminent Demise of the Traditional Desktop PC (also, the state of Apple's Corporate Policies)

My Macbook Pro has been an incredible machine for around 3 years now. I am by no means an Apple fanatic or fanboy in any way, but I am more than willing to give credit where it is due, and their exorbitant prices are certainly a result of the unparalleled quality and stability of their products. As a testament to this, their operating system is so well designed that it is essentially invulnerable to malware.

Despite this, I am no longer willing to put up with their business practices, which are ridiculously restricting and controlling. And Yosemite is great looking, but it seems like it pretty much broke every app and functionality of the laptop, and every time I want to do something, it seems I must install drivers and countless other workaround-type operations. Even the hardware of their products is much more deliberately difficult to upgrade and customize. 

What good is a product that I can't even make my own to allow it to do the things that meet my needs? The answer is: their bottomline might be affected if you could upgrade it yourself for cheaper rather than buy the entirely upgraded model for an outrageous price. They are currently attempting to exert their influence over other luxury items that make up the biggest investments in a person's life (i.e. cars, homes, etc.), so look forward to the continued dominance of this corporate juggernaut. And since I mentioned juggernauts.. anyone willing to buy an I, Robot? (couldn't resist mentioning)

All of these things have led me to be in the market for a new PC. Initially, I was curious about the advent of Chromebooks. These are very affordable laptops (about $200-400, depending) which are designed on the idea that you do not physically store anything on the hard drive of the computer itself, but instead, to their cloud storage service (some laptops offer 1TB free cloud storage with purchase). This allows the computer to possess very minimal internal memory, which is expensive, in order to be able to be very fast as well as relatively cheap intended for casual use. They also feature a new OS, Chrome OS, whose fate is as of yet uncertain. They are also very sleek and modern looking, only adding to their appeal.

After looking through Chromebooks, I somehow stumbled upon the announcement of Intel's new NUC kit. This is the future of the traditional desktop PC. Basically, you buy this mini PC, which is about the size of a router. They run about $350-400. This only includes the GPU and CPU, however, and they come standard with very little in the way of internal memory and RAM, so those you upgrade at your own choosing. Also, you need to provide your own computer screen, keyboard, and mouse, but that's fairly straightforward, as you probably already have those things laying around somewhere. They include a multitude of ports for all the connectivity options that you would ever need. So, for about $500 on average, you have a fully functional, very capable, portable, compact, PC and possibly even gaming machine that connects to any TV screen that you desire, or multiple monitors even. While they may not be capable of extremely intensive tasks, for the everyday user, they are capable of doing anything and everything that you would ever need.

The PC market is bracing for the continued downtrend in sales, and I believe that in the next 2-3 years, they will become the archaic and clunky boxes that they were destined to become. A relic of the past, as Moore's law continues to prove itself as valid.