Building a Budget PC vs a Mid-Range Gaming System: A Comparison

When it comes to building a new gaming PC, one of the most significant decisions you'll make is on the budget. How much are you willing to spend? Are you looking for a top-of-the-line system that can handle even the most demanding games, or are you on a tighter budget and want to know if a used system can still deliver great performance?

In this article, we'll be comparing two systems: a budget PC that was sourced from a UK online retailer for £50, which is equivalent to around $60 in the US, and a mid-range gaming system that costs $500. We've chosen these systems because they represent opposite ends of the budget spectrum, and by comparing them, we can see how well a used system can hold its own against a more expensive, brand-new machine.

Our budget PC features an Intel Core i3-2100 CPU, which is about 50% slower than the mid-range system's processor. However, it also comes with an RX 470 graphics card, which is around 35% faster than the GPU in our $500 system. Additionally, the budget PC has 8 GB of DDR4 memory, while the mid-range system has a more modern and efficient DDR4 RAM. Despite these differences, both systems can handle popular games at high frame rates.

To test the performance of our budget PC, we started with Grand Theft Auto V (GTA 5). We set the game to medium quality settings and turned on "Pure Hair" off, which is an unnecessarily demanding feature that would push even the most powerful systems to their limits. On our budget PC, GTA 5 averaged around 58 frames per second, while the mid-range system delivered 67 frames per second. While there's a noticeable difference between the two systems, it's not as significant as we expected.

Next up was Rise of the Tomb Raider, which is another game that can be run on relatively low-end hardware. We set the game to medium quality settings and turned off "Pure Hair" again. On our budget PC, the game averaged 47 frames per second, while the mid-range system delivered 76 frames per second. Again, there's a noticeable difference between the two systems, but it's not as dramatic as we expected.

Finally, we tested out The Witcher 3, which is another popular game that can be run on a wide range of hardware configurations. We set the game to medium quality settings and turned off "Pure Hair" once more. On our budget PC, the game averaged 44 frames per second, while the mid-range system delivered 74 frames per second. As with the previous games, there's still a noticeable difference between the two systems, but it's not as significant as we expected.

In contrast, Dirt Rally is a game that seems to be fantastically optimized and can run on even relatively low-end hardware. On our budget PC, the game averaged 65 frames per second at ultra settings, while the mid-range system delivered around 75 frames per second. Again, there's still a noticeable difference between the two systems, but it's not as dramatic as we expected.

So, what does this mean for gamers on a budget? Can they expect to get great performance from a used system? The answer is yes, but with some caveats. While our budget PC can handle popular games at high frame rates, there are limitations to its performance. The RX 470 graphics card is around 35% slower than the GPU in our $500 system, which means it won't be able to handle more demanding games or settings.

However, if you're looking for a great gaming experience on a budget, we believe that buying a used system like ours can be a good option. For under $60, we were able to source a complete system that includes the processor, graphics card, and memory. While it may not have all the bells and whistles of a more expensive system, it still delivers great performance and should be able to handle most games at high frame rates.

In contrast, our mid-range gaming system costs $500, which is a significant amount of money for a used system. However, if you're willing to spend that kind of money, you can get a much better performing system that will handle even the most demanding games with ease. Ultimately, it comes down to your budget and what you're willing to pay.

The point of this video isn't to demonstrate the extra performance of a more expensive system but to advocate for the budget build and show how well hopefully it can keep up after a few calculations on paper our $500 system CPU is about 50% better whereas the GPU is about 35% faster so let's get into some games first up it's GTA 5 on the left we have our budget PC and on the right our more expensive PC as you can see our budget build is hitting around 58 frames per second on average here with these settings and our $500 system is pulling slightly ahead with 67 frames per second.

We also ran Rise of the Tomb Raider, which is another game that can be run on relatively low-end hardware. We set the game to medium quality settings and turned off "Pure Hair" again. On our budget PC, the game averaged 47 frames per second, while the mid-range system delivered 76 frames per second.

Finally, we tested out The Witcher 3, which is another popular game that can be run on a wide range of hardware configurations. We set the game to medium quality settings and turned off "Pure Hair" once more. On our budget PC, the game averaged 44 frames per second, while the mid-range system delivered 74 frames per second.

In contrast, Dirt Rally is a game that seems to be fantastically optimized and can run on even relatively low-end hardware. On our budget PC, the game averaged 65 frames per second at ultra settings, while the mid-range system delivered around 75 frames per second.

Overall, we believe that buying a used system like ours can be a good option for gamers on a budget. While there are limitations to its performance, it still delivers great performance and should be able to handle most games at high frame rates. Ultimately, it comes down to your budget and what you're willing to pay.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhello everyone and welcome to another video now this is our $150 budget PC it's made up of used components and features the Intel q6600 a CPU that has become synonymous with used computer markets and auction sites like eBay meaning that no matter where you live you'll likely be able to find it at the heart of a system like this for a great price the other components include 4 GB of DDR3 a 250 GB drive with Windows 7 and because we only paid £50 for it about $60 we were able to Splash out a bit more onog graphics card and bought the standard gtx1050 for £15 available for $17 in the US in total this cost £65 about $177 if you convert the cost of the base unit and add the price of the GPU separately this is a budget bill that would be attainable by many no matter where you live if you wanted to build a new system for under $200 then in all honesty it wouldn't be capable of much so buying used is the better option here here on the other hand we have a more expensive $500 build and in all likelihood if you were spending this much on a system it would be made up of new parts so that's what we've done here this is my case though and you've seen it before but we've accounted for the original cost this PC features an Intel Core i36100 CPU with an rx470 graphics card and 8 GB of ddr4 memory for a total spend of £496 the same can be built in the US for $56 so how much performance difference should you actually expect between a used budget build and a more expensive and new system now the point of this video isn't to demonstrate the extra performance of a more expensive system but to advocate for the budget build and show you how well hopefully it can keep up after a few calculations on paper our $500 system CPU is about 50% better whereas the GPU is about 35% faster so let's get into some games first up it's GTA 5 on the left we have our budget PC and on the right our more expensive PC as you can see our budget build is hitting around 58 frames per second on average here with these settings and our $500 system is pulling slightly ahead with 67 frames right off the bat I'm actually very impressed as not only are both results more than playable but the difference feels quite subtle when playing the game despite the q6600 bottleneck in the cheaper PC it's nice to see it performing so well next up we've got rise of the Tomb Raider with a medium quality preset and Pure Hair off on both systems as that's an unnecessarily demanding feature R q6600 1050 PC is averaging 47 frames per second whilst our half Grand build is seeing 76 quite a bigger margin here than with GTA and whilst the difference is noticeable the cheaper system is holding its own no problem I wouldn't really want to try and turn the settings up any more than this with these specs though and the 470 build has more to give no doubt but I could and would happily play on the cheaper build if it meant saving $300 or p and I'm sure a lot of you guys would agree moving on to the Witcher 3 and on the left side of your screen you'll see an average of 44 FPS and 74 on the right hand side again quite the difference even on medium settings and you'll have to decide for yourself if you think the extra $0000 per 10 frames is worth it I'm still impressed though considering the q6600 00 is about 10 years old now and you'll still have a great gaming experience finally we tested out dirt rally a game that seems to be fantastically optimized and even runs on very low spec systems as I believe we've tested in our other videos here on our sub $200 desktop and ultra settings the game sat around 65 FPS with next to no frame drops throughout despite my awful driving and tendency to shoot through the forest foliage our 470 PC sat at just 10 frames more similar to how GTA 5 compared on both systems and again suffered from no drops or lag it's not just the cost that determines how these systems perform but the games themselves too yes the more expensive PC will perform better with whatever game you throw at it but I think that considering how widely available older systems that feature components like this are and how cheap you can find them it's definitely worth it if you're on a budget if you're having a good time time don't think about how much difference it would make if you spent a little bit more money because no matter how much you spend there will always be a PC that's better than yours I prefer to look at it like this you can easily obtain a whole budget system for the cost of a price your GPU and still be able to play your favorite games no trouble so guys thank you so much for watching I hope you've enjoyed this little sort of comparison video between a slightly lower-end budget system and a mid-range or higher end $500 gaming PC if you did hit that like button below leave your builds down below because I like to see what you guys have as well and as always I'll see you all in the next onehello everyone and welcome to another video now this is our $150 budget PC it's made up of used components and features the Intel q6600 a CPU that has become synonymous with used computer markets and auction sites like eBay meaning that no matter where you live you'll likely be able to find it at the heart of a system like this for a great price the other components include 4 GB of DDR3 a 250 GB drive with Windows 7 and because we only paid £50 for it about $60 we were able to Splash out a bit more onog graphics card and bought the standard gtx1050 for £15 available for $17 in the US in total this cost £65 about $177 if you convert the cost of the base unit and add the price of the GPU separately this is a budget bill that would be attainable by many no matter where you live if you wanted to build a new system for under $200 then in all honesty it wouldn't be capable of much so buying used is the better option here here on the other hand we have a more expensive $500 build and in all likelihood if you were spending this much on a system it would be made up of new parts so that's what we've done here this is my case though and you've seen it before but we've accounted for the original cost this PC features an Intel Core i36100 CPU with an rx470 graphics card and 8 GB of ddr4 memory for a total spend of £496 the same can be built in the US for $56 so how much performance difference should you actually expect between a used budget build and a more expensive and new system now the point of this video isn't to demonstrate the extra performance of a more expensive system but to advocate for the budget build and show you how well hopefully it can keep up after a few calculations on paper our $500 system CPU is about 50% better whereas the GPU is about 35% faster so let's get into some games first up it's GTA 5 on the left we have our budget PC and on the right our more expensive PC as you can see our budget build is hitting around 58 frames per second on average here with these settings and our $500 system is pulling slightly ahead with 67 frames right off the bat I'm actually very impressed as not only are both results more than playable but the difference feels quite subtle when playing the game despite the q6600 bottleneck in the cheaper PC it's nice to see it performing so well next up we've got rise of the Tomb Raider with a medium quality preset and Pure Hair off on both systems as that's an unnecessarily demanding feature R q6600 1050 PC is averaging 47 frames per second whilst our half Grand build is seeing 76 quite a bigger margin here than with GTA and whilst the difference is noticeable the cheaper system is holding its own no problem I wouldn't really want to try and turn the settings up any more than this with these specs though and the 470 build has more to give no doubt but I could and would happily play on the cheaper build if it meant saving $300 or p and I'm sure a lot of you guys would agree moving on to the Witcher 3 and on the left side of your screen you'll see an average of 44 FPS and 74 on the right hand side again quite the difference even on medium settings and you'll have to decide for yourself if you think the extra $0000 per 10 frames is worth it I'm still impressed though considering the q6600 00 is about 10 years old now and you'll still have a great gaming experience finally we tested out dirt rally a game that seems to be fantastically optimized and even runs on very low spec systems as I believe we've tested in our other videos here on our sub $200 desktop and ultra settings the game sat around 65 FPS with next to no frame drops throughout despite my awful driving and tendency to shoot through the forest foliage our 470 PC sat at just 10 frames more similar to how GTA 5 compared on both systems and again suffered from no drops or lag it's not just the cost that determines how these systems perform but the games themselves too yes the more expensive PC will perform better with whatever game you throw at it but I think that considering how widely available older systems that feature components like this are and how cheap you can find them it's definitely worth it if you're on a budget if you're having a good time time don't think about how much difference it would make if you spent a little bit more money because no matter how much you spend there will always be a PC that's better than yours I prefer to look at it like this you can easily obtain a whole budget system for the cost of a price your GPU and still be able to play your favorite games no trouble so guys thank you so much for watching I hope you've enjoyed this little sort of comparison video between a slightly lower-end budget system and a mid-range or higher end $500 gaming PC if you did hit that like button below leave your builds down below because I like to see what you guys have as well and as always I'll see you all in the next one\n"