Php30,000 Intel Gaming Build Guide 2016

People have been asking us for a Php30,000 Intel build guide that is capable in VR. Well, here it is. Our Php30,000 Intel PC Gaming Build Guide for 2016.

Here, we focus mostly on using the latest components from Intel and Nvidia. While there are no problems whatsoever in using AMD graphics cards with Intel processors, we use Nvidia as our main GPU source. For itscounterpart, we suggest you go choose the RX-480 as performance is pretty much almost the same (the 1060 wins in various games).

In both builds, we chose the GTX 1060 – an extremely power-efficient, cost-friendly graphics card from Nvidia that is on par with the GTX 980 (and in most cases better) which was Nvidia’s Flagship graphics card back in 2014.

Trending

GCash partners with PayPal to streamline freelancer payments

Aside from being VR Ready, the GTX 1060 also has higher memory, higher bandwidth, and better in most performance benchmarks in various games (with the exception of some AMD optimized games such as Hitman). We also utilized Skylake’s standard of DDR4 RAM rather than DDR3.

We divided the guide into two parts. One utilizing an i3-6100, and the other one is an i5-6400. We’ll provide more details of the guide below.

Build 1:

PRICE: PHP30,910

Despite being an entry level processor, the i3-6100 still packs a punch thanks to its dual-core hyper-threaded structure that clocks at 3.7GHz. Performance-wise, the processor is good enough for various tasks. Here we paired it up with a GTX 1060, specifically Zotac’s Mini version. Due to our budget, we stick with the ITX version because buying the Amp! edition of Zotac would cost around Php33k, unless you can afford it.

The reason why we chose the GTX 1060 is because of its price-to-performance ratio. The 1060 is extremely reliable, and just as fast as the 980 and in some cases, even faster. Since we used an i3 processor, we’ll spend the remaining money on an SSD for faster boot times and to assist the processor in reading times.

For gaming performance, you can definitely expect this build to max out settings at 1080p, with the processor only bottlenecking the card if it is CPU intensive. In some cases, the i3-6100 will cause a bottleneck to the GTX 1060, but only if the game is intensive such as Rise of the Tomb Raider, or the like. When playing games such as GTA V and other “less” intensive games, performance will be relatively good.

Trending

Globe eSIM QR code is for single-use on one device

In virtual reality gaming, despite that the minimum specifications of the Rift and Vive are an i5-4590, the i3-6100 will still suffice in some non-intensive VR games. Below are videos of the GTX 1060’s performance paired with the i3-6100 in games.

Assassin’s Creed Syndicate

Rise of the Tomb Raider

GTA V

Doom

The Witcher 3

Build 2 (i5 alternative):

PRICE: Php30,500

The only difference between the first and second build is that we didn’t go with an SSD and stuck with a higher end i5-6400. The i5-6400 is Intel’s entry level Skylake i5 processor that’s quad-core with no hyper-threading, has a clock speed of 2.7GHz with a turbo boost of up 3.3GHz.

Trending

POCO’s limited sale: only ₱1 on C65, M6 Pro, X6 5G

Performance-wise, this is not as fast as the i3-6100, but due to it having 4 physical cores rather 2 cores and 2 virtual cores, it is more efficient than the i3 when used for games and apps that require more processing cores than mere clock speed. If you have more money, go for at least the i5-6500 to have a base clock of 3.2GHz with a turbo boost of up to 3.6GHz.

Despite lacking an SSD, this is still more powerful than the build above in certain circumstances such as VR, and most of the AAA games today. Since more and more games are utilizing multi-core processing now, having 4 physical cores are much more effective than having 2 cores and 2 virtual ones.

If you have a bigger budget (at least Php3K more), go for an i5-6500 and a GTX 1060 Amp! Edition by Zotac. That way you’ll have a faster card and processor that’s significantly better than the build above. Below are videos of the i5-6400 paired with the GTX 1060 in games.

GTA V

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siwiVv338vo

Need For Speed 2015

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9VukOccZGI

Overwatch

Crysis 3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wR-5_G7JbCU

The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aFWyQQ4TLs

Bottomline:

Php30,000 is a sweet spot for VR Gaming. Utilizing the GTX 1060’s power, we have two builds that are great for 1080p gaming and is definitely a great place to start at if you’re beginning to build your own rig.

• Build 1 – i3-6100 and a GTX 1060
  
  • Great gaming performance though will bottleneck the GTX 1060 in certain games.
  • Weaker than the i5-6400 when placed in intensive multicore processing apps/games.
  • Choose this if you only want an SSD in exchange for a slightly weaker processor.
    
• Build 2 – i5-6400 and a GTX 1060
  
  • Better than the i3-6100 build above.
  • Bottlenecking is less of an issue thanks to its 4 physical cores and high clock speed. Investing a bit more for an i5-6500 is a sweet spot for gaming and rendering.
  • Choose this build if you want to have a good start at gaming and VR ready performance at the cost of an SSD.
    

In my opinion, the second build is better. The reason I provided two different builds is because some are requesting a build with an SSD. I also don’t recommend using a Pentium G4400 and anything lower due to massive bottleneck issues. It is better to invest a bit more on better processors for longer effect.

• Php10,000 Brand New Build Guide 2016
• Php10,000 Secondhand Build Guide 2016
• Php10,000 Hybrid Build Guide 2016 (Brand new and old components)
• Laptops around Php30,000