Reasonable computer for reasonable money. August 2023. Video cards are getting cheaper!

Time is flying inexorably forward, and it is already August outside, which means that the time has come for our last summer publication under the heading “intelligent computer”. Let’s say right away that the market is now relatively quiet and calm, there are practically no new products, so do not expect drastic changes in assemblies. The purpose of this material is to update prices and make appropriate adjustments with them, if necessary.

Affordable PC for work and play at minimums

The first PC on the list is traditionally without a video card and for a minimal amount of money. You can play and work on it. Ideal for those who want to build a computer here and now, as well as those who are not chasing sky-high fps and maximum graphics quality in games. Allows you to get 30-40 frames in The Witcher 3, Rise of the Tomb Raider and Far cry 5… Comfortable 60 frames in CS: GO, Overwatch and Rainbow six: siege and, finally, the royal 100 fps in Valorant… Good news – AMD Ryzen 3 3200g, which underlies the assembly, has fallen in price by a whole thousand since June, the bad ones – all other components, on the contrary, have risen in price. However, the final price for a computer turns out to be almost the same as it was, and this is good news.

• An inexpensive and powerful platform for its low price with flexible upgrade options. Need a slightly higher fps with slightly higher graphics settings? No problem – we install a video card of the level in the PC GeForce GTX 1660, and our Ryzen 3 3200G will cope with it with a bang. Need a serious ultra-quality GPU? You can install it, but then you have to replace the CPU with a more productive one. For example, on Ryzen 5 5600X, but remember that it does not have integrated graphics, so you will need to buy a graphics card first.
• Decent memory. We are guaranteed to take 3200 MHz at CL16 in case it is overclocked. All you need is a free program Ryzen DRAM Calculator, 1.45 V voltage across DIMMs (DRAM Voltage, VDRAM, VDIMM) in BIOS and one or two days of time. Overclocking will dramatically improve overall PC performance, but the difference will be most noticeable in gaming applications. Fast memory directly affects the performance of the onboard graphics chip.
• An optimal cooler for such a system, which has a backplate, and therefore a reliable clamp. Choosing a slightly cheaper model will lead to problems with excessive noise and elevated temperatures, but purchasing something more expensive will not give any tangible result, the processor is far from hot.

Cons of assembly

• Not the most ventilated case with one 120mm blower fan. Not such a significant drawback, considering that this is the most affordable and pretty good quality case with tempered glass. For our system, which will practically not be heated, it will definitely not become a problem.
• Power supply without modular design and multi-colored yellow-red wires. Wires are not a bad thing, they can be hidden, minus is more significant – a whining spinner, but you need to understand that this is the scourge of all power supplies in this price category.
• Only 8 GB of memory. When upgrading to the Ryzen 5 5600X, you will definitely have to buy two more modules.
• When switching to Zen3 the cooler will have to be replaced with something more expensive and efficient, since the entire 5xxx processor line suffers from increased heating.

System up to 100 thousand rubles

The second system in a row for today, during the assembly of which we will perform a “feint with the ears”. We’ll choose a processor that is cheaper than the previous PC, but at the same time we will win in the number of fps. How? Very simple: unlike Ryzen 3 3200g, at Ryzen 3 3300x there is no integrated graphics, that is, it will not work without a video card. But the processor has eight threads, and the cores themselves are built on a more recent microarchitecture, so if we plan to have powerful graphics and want a high frame rate in games, 3300x is the right choice. Plus, we will pair it with a well-overclocked RAM, which will allow the CPU to reach its maximum, and look at the cooler more efficiently. The latter is especially important, since the automation of AMD Ryzen processors is tuned to increase their clock frequencies in case the cooling system has a certain margin of “strength”, and this is a potential hundred or two megahertz.

This time we chose the video card a little simpler – GeForce RTX 2060… Recall that in the last part of the “reasonable computer” in the system “up to 100 thousand” we featured RTX 2060 Super… Why is that? The fact is that last time I had to choose from what is available, and apart from 2060 Super there was simply nothing in stores. Now all that is needed is on the shelves, but pricing fails. For 2060 Super they ask for 65 thousand, while for this amount you can already buy RTX 3060… In principle, one could consider it, but not the fact that the 3300x will adequately cope with it in games that stubbornly lean on the CPU, and then, such a GPU simply does not correspond to the class of the system. Therefore, we choose the RTX 2060.

Build pros

• An inexpensive system in which the base in the form of a processor and a memory subsystem is only slightly inferior to computers for much more serious money.
• Memory and cooling will look appropriate when switching to older processor models (if any are needed), including eight-core ones.

Cons of assembly

• All the same complaints about the case and the power supply that were related to the first assembly in today’s article.

Balanced system for AAA games

We select the third system, focusing on maximum comfort when playing single AAA titles with minimal hardware costs. We will not fight for every penny, we will allow ourselves a little “walk”, but within reasonable limits, so that the amount spent fully justifies itself. What should you choose? Same as last time – processor-based platform Intel Core i5-11400F… Within the 17 thousand that are asked for it, there is simply no worthy competition for this CPU. For this money, we get six cores and twelve threads, that is, the most golden mean, and in addition, sufficient core clock frequencies that will allow us to squeeze all the juices (well, almost all) from any pre-top video card to choose from (in games dependent on processor power). We will choose something with a chipset for the role of the motherboard B560… Models based on it are inexpensive, but they give the user full control over the memory subsystem, which means that it can be overclocked, simultaneously tightening the timings, which is what you need.

Build pros

• A platform with an exemplary price-performance ratio.
• In games, the Core i5-11400F competes with the top-end PCs, and this at its modest price.
• The platform supports all modern technologies, including PCIe version 4.0.
• The platform does not limit you in configuring the memory subsystem, including overclocking it.

Cons of assembly

• You have to do a little work with the case. One included 120mm fan is not enough to provide adequate airflow to the entire system. The surcharge for a set of additional turntables is small – 1200 rubles, but still.
• The price tag for the selected video card is still far from an adequate level, but alas, these are today’s realities, although a positive trend is beginning to be traced.

Esports without compromise

And again, no change. If you need a fast processor in order to play esports titles at the highest framerate possible, then you need to look towards a platform based on AMD Ryzen 5 5600X. We chose it last time, and we will choose it now. Video card – GeForce RTX 3060 Ti… To play in Full HD resolution, it will be enough with a huge margin in all esports disciplines, except Call Of Duty: Warzone… Here she will work at its peak, drawing about 180 – 240 frames per second. More is possible, but it will depend on the degree of overclocking of your CPU and RAM. It makes no sense to put a video card more powerful, because in e-sports, graphics settings are usually reduced to the minimum, and the main load falls on the central processor. The 5600X’s ability to download any 3080 Ti full in such conditions is no longer enough. However, the same can be said about any other processor, they have not yet been invented.

Build pros

• Cool and promising system that will not require any additional investment for a very long time.
• Choose from a wide range of processor upgrade options, up to AMD Ryzen 9 5950X with 16 cores and 32 threads.
• A powerful motherboard that does not require replacement, even if the most power hungry processors are installed in it. At the same time, the fee for its capabilities is relatively inexpensive.
• Excellent memory from Crucial, is the same as in the previous assembly. Will fully unleash the capabilities of a CPU with Zen 3 architecture, as it is able to operate at the maximum frequency of the memory controller for them. At the moment it is 2000 MHz, that is, 4000 MHz DDR4. Possible CL timing at Ballistix u4 at a voltage of 1.45 V at such a frequency – 16. An excellent indicator.

Cons of assembly

• Comparatively expensive case, but such is the price for its effective purging, and this is important: inside there will be a productive and hot video card and an equally hot processor. Remember, the hotter the Zen processors, the more actively they reset their core frequencies. Competent cooling is a must for them.
• CPU cooling system in the face Deepcool AS500 in this case, matched up. Yes, it is enough to work in stock, but when you start overclocking, you’re lost. The AS500 will make a lot of noise and still will not be able to provide a comfortable temperature regime inside the system unit. We’ll have to change it to a more efficient cooler. We would recommend Noctua NH-U12A…

Sturdy Mid-End PC

So we got to the Mid-End configurations. An interesting category, since there are a lot of really interesting pieces of hardware competing in it, and it is rather difficult to choose one.

However, as always, the choice is determined by prices and, if you start from them, then it becomes easier to decide and, perhaps, the best step would be to purchase a platform with Intel Core i7-10700KF on board. Yes, there is Ryzen 7 5800X with bOLarger cache memory, which will provide it leadership, at least in games, but the difference in price from 10700KF is not worth it. You could also swing at i7-11700K, but personally we have not tested it yet (stay tuned, the review of the processor will be released relatively soon), and again, it is significantly more expensive. We are not sure if its superiority in price is 100% due to its superiority in processing power. In general, we choose 10700KF.

Mid end
Component	Name	Rubles	$
Cpu	Intel Core i7-10700Kf OEM (Socket LGA1200, Comet Lake-S, 8 cores, 16 threads, 3.8 – 5.1 GHz)	23,700	325
RAM	2x 8 GB DDR4-4000 MHz, CL19 Patriot Memory Viper 4 Blackout (PVB416G400C9K)	10,000	137
HDD	3 TB HGST HDS723030ALA640 (7200 RPM, 64 MB Cache)	13,000	178
SSD	1 TB Samsung 970 EVO Plus MZ-V7S1T0BW (PCIe 3.0, M.2 NVMe)	13,500	185
Cooler	Noctua NH-U12A	9,000	123
Motherboard	MSI MPG Z490 Gaming Plus (Z490, Socket LGA1200, 4x DDR4 2133 – 4800 MHz, 2x M.2: 2242/2260/2280/22110, Realtek ALC1200 audio, LAN 2.5 Gbps, USB Type-A, USB Type-C , PS / 2)	14,000	192
Frame	Fractal Design Meshify 2 Black – TG	16,500	226
Power Supply	Super Flower Leadex Platinum (SF-850F-14MP) 850W	14,000	192
Video card	Palit GeForce RTX 3070 Ti GamingPro 8GB (PCIe 16x 4.0, 8 GB GDDR6X, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, HDMI 2.1, TDP ~ 290 W)	85,000	1164
System unit:		198,700	2722
Upgrade		Surcharge
Cooling replacement	EKWB EK-AIO 360 D-RGB	13,000	178
Plus two memory modules	2x 8 GB DDR4 4000 MHz Patriot Memory Viper 4 Blackout 4000MHz CL19 (PVB416G400C9K)	10,000	137
Replacing the processor	Intel Core i9-10850KF OEM (Socket LGA1200, Comet Lake-S, 10 cores, 20 threads, 3.6 – 5.2 GHz)	35,000	479
After the upgrade:		224,000	3201
Well		73	one

Build pros

• Fast, modern and long-lasting system, equally well suited for play and work.
• An advanced motherboard with a powerful power supply subsystem. It can easily cope with increasing the clock frequencies of the i7-10700KF to the possible limit (paired with air or liquid cooling), it can also cope with a 10-core 10850KF, with which it will be possible to replace the originally proposed processor. By the way, it is possible to build a full-fledged professional streaming system on the basis of the latter.
• Chip memory Samsung B-Die, and these are the fastest chips on the market today. They take the highest frequencies at the lowest timings. For example, 4400 @ CL16 or 4400 @ CL17. Such indicators will allow DDR4 memory to compete with the first revisions of the upcoming DDR5, since each new generation of DDR, although it raises the frequencies, it always does so at the expense of greatly overestimated timings. Remember: when DDR4 first appeared, 3000 MHz and CL15 modules were considered fast. Now these are already rather weak indicators typical of memory kits in the budget segment.
• Housing from Fractal Design… One of the best in terms of airflow, ease of assembly and quality of workmanship. Supports virtually all liquid cooling configurations. Most likely, it will not have to be changed even after a few years when switching to a new platform.
• Luxurious, quiet and efficient CPU cooler. Best in performance so far. What he cannot cope with, only a liquid cooling system can cope. Вот её мы и рекомендуем устанавливать, поскольку воздушные кулеры, какими бы замечательными они ни были, не позволят разогнать ЦП так, как в паре с хорошей СЖО. Про акустический комфорт и говорить нечего, качественная СЖО в любом случае будет тише, так как лучше держит тепловой удар (резкое и внезапное повышение температуры на кристалле процессора).
• Поддержка материнской платой стандарта PCIe 4.0, что позволит установить любые грядущие NVMe-накопители с самыми впечатляющими показателями скорости чтения и записи (необходима свежая версия BIOS).

Минусы сборки

Мама, мне для учёбы

В категории Hi-End по-прежнему продолжает доминировать линейка платформ на базе процессоров AMD Ryzen 9: Ryzen 9 5900X and Ryzen 9 5950X… Судя по всему, пока не выйдет 12-е поколение процессоров от Intel, ситуация не изменится.

Плюсы сборки

• Пик производительности на сегодняшний день. Система с огромным «запасом прочности». Улучшить в изначально предложенной сборке можно разве что систему охлаждения. Кастомный вариант СЖО позволит добиться ещё более высоких частот процессора и обеспечит недостижимый для заводских систем акустический комфорт. Морочить голову со сборкой не нужно, на рынке уже появились полностью готовые комплекты. Достаточно прикрутить пару фитингов и обрезать шланги, следуя лежащей в коробке с СЖО инструкции.
• Второе, что можно сделать, — заменить стартовую материнскую плату на ASUS Crosshair VIII Dark Hero с чипсетом X570: получите больше USB-портов и больше посадочных мест для NVMe накопителей. Конкретно её мы советуем потому, что это одна из лучших плат для Ryzen 9 в принципе, но главная изюминка в том, что у неё нет вентилятора на южном мосту. Здесь он охлаждается пассивно при помощи радиатора. Соответственно, у вас не будет проблем ни с шумом вертушки, ни с её потенциальным выходом из строя. Вдобавок такой подход к охлаждению искореняет ситуации, в которых работающая вертушка чипсета забирает часть прохладного воздуха у стоящей рядом с ней видеокарты.
• Полный карт-бланш по части разгона. Материнская плата топового уровня выжмет из ЦП всё, что только возможно. Кастомная СЖО станет этому отличным подспорьем, но основные залежи производительности в данном случае, спрятаны в оперативной памяти от G.Skill. Уже с завода выбранный нами комплект работает на частоте 3800 МГц при CL 14, но это не предел, можно больше.

Минусы сборки

• Запредельная цена.

Итоги

Ну что же, прошла всего-то пара месяцев, а цены на комплектующие поменялись весьма заметно. Особенно это касается видеокарт. Наконец-то безумство майнинга начинает стихать, и цены на GPU приходят в норму. Да, конечно, до рекомендованных производителями сумм предстоит ешё очень и очень долгий путь, но собирать ПК теперь уже не кажется идеей сумасшедшего.

Хочется верить, что следующий выпуск «разумного компьютера» принесёт ещё больше позитивных новостей, а на сегодня мы заканчиваем. Всем быстрых компьютеров и высокого fps, увидимся!