Author Topic: New PC Build Cost Breakdown By Percents (Read 434 times)

eskimo2 · « **on:** August 27, 2007, 05:26:05 PM »

The point of this thread is to help guide new game machine builders in selecting parts within a specific budget. Below I have listed the costs of parts by percent of the total machine cost of my new PC. Note: This is NOT necessarily an efficient or appropriate breakdown since I am a total PC building noob. What I'm hoping is that more experienced builders will take the following list and adjust it to what they feel are more appropriate percents.

* Joystick, throttle and rudders not included
* OS ~ Fixed $100+

Monitor          ~ 15%
CPU          ~ 15%
Motherboard       ~ 10%
Ram          ~ 10%
Video Card       ~ 10%
HD (2)          ~ 10%
PSU          ~ 10%
Shipping (or local tax)    ~ 5%
Case          ~ 2%
USB Hub       ~ 2%
Optic Drive       ~ 2%
Surge Suppressor    ~ 2%
Keyboard + Mouse    ~ 1%
Fans (extra)       ~ 1%

38ruk · « **Reply #1 on:** August 28, 2007, 03:43:02 AM »

If i had to guess on the video card %'s for the systems ive built of the last 10 years i would have to bump it up to about 30-35% lol .

SOB · « **Reply #2 on:** August 28, 2007, 09:16:57 AM »

My upgrade: $697

CPU - 17%
Motherboard - 17%
Memory - 11%
Video Card - 40%
Case - 6%
PSU - 7%
Shipping - 2% (no sales tax in Oregon)

Video Card percentage could go up to 47% (with the other components' % dropping), depending on whether I decide to make the jump to the 640MB card.

Krusty · « **Reply #3 on:** August 28, 2007, 12:47:57 PM »

I think it's misleading to break it down to a %.

There is no set %. I can choose a CPU that takes up 50% of my budget, or one that takes up 5% of my budget.

If I want to pop in a celeron 2.6GHz I can get one for $50. If I want to pop in a Conroe X6800-whatever I can easily spend $500.

If I have a CPU that costs $180 and a vid card that costs $130, I can easily choose the next lowest CPU, drop down to $140 (hypothetical numbers here, just for example) and then spend upwards of $170 on the vid card and still have the same budget.

There's too much give and take, too much of a balance going on, parts-wise, to limit them to a %.

My $0.02.

Fulmar · « **Reply #4 on:** August 28, 2007, 03:39:51 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by SOB
Video Card percentage could go up to 47% (with the other components' % dropping), depending on whether I decide to make the jump to the 640MB card.

If you'r deciding between the 320mb and the 640mb 8800GTS, get the 320mb. The 640mb only excels past the 320mb at high resolutions beyoud 1600x1200. If you play games at 1024 or 1280. Get the 320mb. Use that extra money on upgrading a different part like faster processor, better motherboard, or more ram. Maybe bigger HD.

I have the 640mb and I am very pleased with it. I run games at 1600x1050 and bought the 640mb only because the 320mb version was not released at the time of purchase.

eskimo2 · « **Reply #5 on:** August 28, 2007, 04:47:37 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by Krusty
I think it's misleading to break it down to a %.

There is no set %. I can choose a CPU that takes up 50% of my budget, or one that takes up 5% of my budget.

If I want to pop in a celeron 2.6GHz I can get one for $50. If I want to pop in a Conroe X6800-whatever I can easily spend $500.

If I have a CPU that costs $180 and a vid card that costs $130, I can easily choose the next lowest CPU, drop down to $140 (hypothetical numbers here, just for example) and then spend upwards of $170 on the vid card and still have the same budget.

There's too much give and take, too much of a balance going on, parts-wise, to limit them to a %.

My $0.02.

The point is if you are building a game machine within a budget, how much should you allocate to the various parts to get the most bang for your buck? No one part should be lame and hinder performance compared to the rest of the system. Two people above are saying that the importance of a video card justifies 35%-40% or more of the total cost. It sounds like my video card may be the weakest link of my system by far.

oops, posted within the quote.

Krusty · « **Reply #6 on:** August 28, 2007, 05:20:56 PM »

If you're building a budget gaming system you can't just go by %. Say your budget allows for $600, and you can hypothetically make the lowest end system possible that will still play "game X"

Drop to $500 and all of a sudden you keep the same cost ratios, but the system is a total POS, unable to be upgraded down the line, and unable to run "Game X"

Instead of adhereing to a %, you need to consider them as components. You NEED certain components, regardless of how much % they take out of your budget. If your Socket775 mobo with PCIe all of a sudden becomes a Socket478 with AGP, because you were trying to stay on budget, you've just shot yourself in the foot.

With a shotgun.

Rather than think about "how much of the total" it is, you should think rather "how much is the total going to be now?"

Let me clarify. I think you're putting the cart before the horse. It's all well and good to hope for a certain budget, but if it doesn't pan out it's folly to scale back the machine to fit %'s. Either you can afford the video card, or you can't. Either you can afford the CPU or you can't. IF you can't afford one, you get a placeholder at a fraction of the cost, and replace it later when more funds come in.

Example: I bought my motherboard and vid card based on performance. The mobo supports 1033MHz FSB Conroes. Only, I couldn't afford the CPU. So I got one that *also* took my existing 800MHz FSB 2.6GHz P4, and upgraded that 6 months later. I didn't scale back the motherboard, or the vid card. If I had, the "upgrade" would have been more of a "sideways-grade."

Krusty · « **Reply #7 on:** August 28, 2007, 05:23:20 PM »

On further thought, I'll leave it at this:

You're going about it with a philosophy I disagree with. However, you're perfectly free to follow that philosophy. If you don't agree with me, no worries.

Fulmar · « **Reply #8 on:** August 28, 2007, 05:29:39 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by Krusty
What Krusty said.

eskimo2 · « **Reply #9 on:** August 28, 2007, 06:29:07 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by Krusty
If you're building a budget gaming system you can't just go by %. Say your budget allows for $600, and you can hypothetically make the lowest end system possible that will still play "game X"

Drop to $500 and all of a sudden you keep the same cost ratios, but the system is a total POS, unable to be upgraded down the line, and unable to run "Game X"

Instead of adhereing to a %, you need to consider them as components. You NEED certain components, regardless of how much % they take out of your budget. If your Socket775 mobo with PCIe all of a sudden becomes a Socket478 with AGP, because you were trying to stay on budget, you've just shot yourself in the foot.

With a shotgun.

Rather than think about "how much of the total" it is, you should think rather "how much is the total going to be now?"

Let me clarify. I think you're putting the cart before the horse. It's all well and good to hope for a certain budget, but if it doesn't pan out it's folly to scale back the machine to fit %'s. Either you can afford the video card, or you can't. Either you can afford the CPU or you can't. IF you can't afford one, you get a placeholder at a fraction of the cost, and replace it later when more funds come in.

Example: I bought my motherboard and vid card based on performance. The mobo supports 1033MHz FSB Conroes. Only, I couldn't afford the CPU. So I got one that *also* took my existing 800MHz FSB 2.6GHz P4, and upgraded that 6 months later. I didn't scale back the motherboard, or the vid card. If I had, the "upgrade" would have been more of a "sideways-grade."

OK, I get what you're saying, I think.

A $500 system is going to have a different breakdown than a $1,000 system which would also be different than a $1,500 system and so on. Would you say it's appropriate or worthwhile to consider the cost breakdown by percents of a system if given a particular budget?

Krusty · « **Reply #10 on:** August 28, 2007, 10:17:29 PM »

This is only my opinion, but personally no. Prices vary so much from part to part that there's no constant to assign a % (again, pure opinion).

RATTFINK · « **Reply #11 on:** August 29, 2007, 01:48:05 PM »

Quote

* Joystick, throttle and rudders not included
* OS ~ Fixed $100+

Monitor ~ 15%
CPU ~ 15%
Motherboard ~ 10%
Ram ~ 10%
Video Card ~ 10%
HD (2) ~ 10%
PSU ~ 10%
Shipping (or local tax) ~ 5%
Case ~ 2%
USB Hub ~ 2%
Optic Drive ~ 2%
Surge Suppressor ~ 2%
Keyboard + Mouse ~ 1%

Making a sweet computer.... priceless!

DustyR · « **Reply #12 on:** September 08, 2007, 06:41:47 AM »

I do know that a properly build computer is priceless. The one I'm on now is a replacement (HP off of the shelf) for the one I build after the CPU fan took a dive and smoked the MOB. My wife said it best when she said that this one just doesn't have the ability to run all of the programs seamlessly that she needs to run. I do not think that you can figure by %. Krusty reflects my belief that you build according to your wallet and what you plan on improving down the road.