Php20,000 AMD Gaming Build Guide 2016

Not everyone can afford a GTX1080, or a Fury-X, but everyone wants to have a capable PC that’s good for office work but at the same time also capable of gaming. For those who are on a budget, well this guide is for you.

For our Php20,000 AMD PC Gaming Build Guide, we have three different builds to choose from and we have provided a description on what build would be best for you below.

Take note that this build is not VR Ready and don’t expect to play AAA games in high settings at 1080p. The prices listed here are from Dynaquest.com and PCX.com.ph as of July, 29, 2016.

Build 1:

PRICE: Php 20,270

The AMD Vishera FX-6300 might be a few years old, but it still gets the job done. Although it’s not the best processor out there, it is more than capable enough to handle games thanks to its 6-core processor clocked at 3.5Ghz, and the price is perfect for our budget.

The downside of any FX series processor was due to the fact that they don’t have an integrated GPU, unlike most of Intel’s Core series, and their famously known APUs. Thus we need to have a dedicated GPU for this setup, so we chose the Asus R7-360 2GB GDDR5 OC Edition. The card good enough for playing casual competitive games in high settings at 1080p and is also sufficient enough in playing today’s AAA games in mixed low/medium settings and resolution (depending on the game).

The reason why we chose the FX-6300 over the lower end FX-series processors is because the CPU won’t limit the card (R7-360) and will most likely lessen the bottleneck effect if you plan on upgrading to higher end GPUs in the future, unlike the FX-4300. Despite the FX-4300 having a 300Mhz advantage on its clockspeed, today’s games are utilizing more cores than before, thus performance will significantly change due to the addition of 2 extra cores from the FX-6300. Below are the benchmarks of the R7-360.

We Happy Few

Doom

Star Wars Battlefront

Dead Rising 3

Build 2 (Standalone APU):

PRICE: Php19,520

Personally I’d go against APU setups within this price point and consider investing in a traditional CPU + GPU setup for long term usage because an FX Series processor beats an AMD APU in computing performance. You’ll also most likely no longer need the integrated GPU cores inside the APU since you’ll be having a more powerful dedicated GPU. That being said, there’s nothing wrong with an APU. Actually AMD’s A-series APUs, thanks to its “dedicated-integrated” GPUs, are extremely useful for budget gamers and for those who want to play without breaking the bank.

Here we chose the AMD A10-7870K, a quad-core CPU with 12 dedicated graphics cores clocked at a high 3.90Ghz up to 4.10Ghz. Despite a few years of age, the APU alone can handle Dota 2 and CS:GO at 1080, and is also capable in playing todays AAA in low settings at lower resolutions. The main factor to consider with this build is the RAM since graphics memory and computing memory are shared modules unlike a dedicated GPU + CPU setup.

For the RAM we chose a 16GB dual channel kit high profile DDR3 2133Mhz from Gkill though any brand will do. The main factor to considering when buying RAM for an APU is that speed is extremely important. While it doesn’t necessarily mean that faster speeds are better, in some cases (especially for rendering, AAA games, and high end computing that uses a lot of memory), you will definitely see the difference. Below we have the benchmarks of the A10-7870K processor’s performance.

GTA V

Dota 2

Rise of the Tomb Raider

Shadow of Mordor

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqLHZT4uOHs

Build 3 (APU w/ dedicated GPU):

PRICE: Php 20,070

Same as the build above, this time we downgraded the APU to the A10-7860K (Godavari). Performance-wise there isn’t really much of a difference between the A10-7860K and the A10-7870K, but if we get a cheaper motherboard, a lower profile RAM, and choose the A10-7860K over the A10-7870K, then we have enough money for a dedicated graphics card.

Once again we chose the Asus R7-360 2GB GDDR5 OC Edition due to its low price point and efficient gaming performance. If you might have heard of AMD’s “Duel-Graphics Configuration” (APUs graphics cores and the dedicated GPU working simultaneously), it is not applicable here. The R7-360 and later versions are not compatible with this APU for the dual graphics. The point of the third build is to have a much better gaming performance compared to a standalone APU setup. Since dual graphics is not applicable, the APU will only function as a regular CPU so we focus primarily on the gaming performance of the R7-360. Below we have the benchmarks of the R7-360.

Assassins Creed Unity

GTA V

NBA 2k16

Battlefield 1 Closed Alpha

Bottomline:

Php20,000 is still a bit low if you plan on gaming at 1080p especially if you love playing AAA games but if you’re just playing Dota 2, CS:GO, or any other casual competitive game, Php20,000 is enough.

If you’re not sure which build to choose, here we state the differences and the advantages of each build.

• Build 1 – FX-6300 3.50GHz and R7-360
  • Best build for upgrade-ability between the three. The FX-6300 beats the A10-7870k in raw computing performance
  • Gaming performance out of the box is good enough for casual competitive games but will lack on power when used against AAA games on high settings. If you plan on upgrading, just buy a higher end GPU and possibly a better processor (i.e. FX-8350 or above) to avoid future bottlenecks.
  • Choose this build if you plan on upgrading in the future.
• Build 2 – AMD A10-7870K (standalone APU)
  • Second best build for upgradeability since we have a better motherboard and significantly faster ram compared to the three. The only reason why this is second best is because, the A10-7870K is weaker in compute performance compared to the FX-6300. And in future generations (if the socket is still the same), an FX series processor will always beat an APU in compute performance (as long as they are in the same line)
  • Since there is no GPU present, this build is good enough in playing casual competitive games, and some AAA games in mixed low/medium settings at low resolution.
  • Same as the first choose this build if you plan on upgrading in the future. The only major difference between the first build and this one is that when paired with a high end graphics card, the FX-6300 will most likely lessen the bottle-necking issues, but it will no doubt still have some. If you want to have an APU as your main CPU in the future, then this is for you.
• Build 3 – A10-7860K and R7-360
  • Weakest compute performance compared to the three but is still a good choice.
  • Gaming performance out of the box is good enough, but since dual graphics wont work here, don’t expect this build to be better in gaming than the first one.
  • This build is almost the same in gaming performance as the first one, but will lack in computing. Choose this if you want an APU as an alternative rather than an FX processor.

All of them are actually almost equal in terms of performance. If you look at it the second build is kinda like the mix between the first and the third. While all of them are good for upgrading, the ones with the dedicated GPU will out best the standalone APU. Choose the first if you plan on upgrading while having an FX Series processor, choose the second if you want to have an APU as your main processor, and choose the third one if you want to have an APU as your processor but want to have a decent gaming experience instantly out of the box while willing to sacrifice on other components.

By the end of the year, the RX-470 and RX-460 will have been released. We will be updating our guide and provide a new one. Expected performance of the RX-460 and 470 are significantly better than the current R9/R7 series GPUs that AMD offers right now in the Philippines. The RX-470 is expected for 1080p gaming, and the RX-460 is expected to be great for casual competitive games. We will update the guide by then.

Are you looking for a cheaper rig? or a new laptop? Check out our:

• 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

Check out our Php20,000 Intel PC Gaming Build Guide