How much you should pay for a high-end gaming PC in South Africa
Most PC gamers play their games at full HD resolution and building a 1080p machine nowadays is relatively inexpensive.
Relatively inexpensive, because the weak exchange rate of the rand made us leave behind the word “cheap” back in 2015.
Building a computer capable of handling games at 1,920×1,080 in high graphics settings became cheaper thanks to the release of new graphics cards.
Nvidia recently launched the GTX 1060, 1070, and 1080, while AMD has released its Radeon RX 460, 470, and 480 cards.
However, if you want to take your gaming to the next visual level, then 60 frames per second in 1440p (2,560×1,440) is the target.
Your rig will also handle new technologies such as virtual reality headsets, like the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive.
To calculate the price of a 1440p build, we used benchmarks from Digital Foundry and looked at pre-built PCs from Computers Only and Evetech.
Based on Digital Foundry’s tests, an Nvidia GeForce 1070 is the cheapest graphics card which will give you 60fps at 1440p.
At Computers Only, these systems sell for between R21,399 and R26,399, depending on the components.
Evetech lists GTX 1070-based machines for between R20,499 and R25,499.
Our build sticks to the same specifications Computers Only and Evetech use (8GB RAM, 250GB SSD), but we selected a more expensive motherboard and used the Intel Skylake i5 CPU.
The build
| 1440p PC build | Component | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Motherboard | MSI Z170A SLI | R3,036 |
| CPU | Intel Skylake Core i5-6400 | R3,341 |
| Graphics | Asus GTX 1070 | R8,498 |
| CPU cooler | Cooler Master Hyper 212X | R592 |
| RAM | 8GB DDR4–2,666 CL16 Corsair Vengeance | R812 |
| SSD | 250GB Samsung 850 EVO | R1,675 |
| Power supply | 600W Corsair CX | R1,373 |
| DVD writer | ASUS 24x SATA | R225 |
| Case | RAIDMAX Tigershark | R584 |
| Total | R20,136 | |
Keep in mind that a build like this requires a QHD monitor for you to see the benefit. A 27″ Dell QHD monitor will cost you R11,999 from Rebel Tech.
Although the GTX 1070 currently runs games at 60fps in QHD, there’s no guarantee this will continue indefinitely.
With Sony and Microsoft set to refresh their game consoles with more powerful versions, it is expected that games will further push the limits of the new hardware available to them.
Before switching to a QHD monitor, you must decide whether you’ll be happy to drop the graphics quality on newer games, or run them below 60fps.
Substitutions
While you shouldn’t see a major gaming performance difference between PCs with 8GB and 16GB of RAM, more RAM is not too expensive.
You can get a stick of 16GB Kingston HyperX Fury RAM for R1,374 (Rebel Tech)
One of the easiest ways to save money on this build is to swop out the motherboard and CPU for cheaper models.
Based on benchmarks, you should be able to get away with an Intel Skylake i3 CPU, or you can use an older Haswell motherboard and i5 processor.
You can also swop the MSI Z170A SLI for an LGA1151 Intel Z170 board – almost R1,000 cheaper.
Should you want to try overclocking, you can spend more on the CPU and go for the Intel Skylake Core i5–6600K for R4,344 (Rebel Tech).
You could also save a few hundred rand on the power supply if you’re not fussed about having a modular unit or going down to 500W.
Unless you rely on game DVDs, you can also cut out the optical drive.
If you ignore the 60fps requirement and just want a card that can run current games at 1440p reasonably well, you can drop the GTX 1070 in favour of an AMD Radeon RX 480.
An 8GB Sapphire Radeon RX 480 NITRO+ will set you back R5,385 at Rebel Tech.
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