March has come, and it’s time to take another look at the cost of video cards. Alas, despite a slight decrease in the cost of bitcoin, a miracle has not yet happened: graphics accelerators that can be considered gaming are still prohibitively expensive (current prices are shown in the table below). It is also sad that there are no positive dynamics in this issue. Yes, there are more and more models on sale, but prices for a number of accelerators continue to grow – apparently, there are still enough people willing to buy a device with a 2- or even 3-fold markup. Even frankly weak “plugs” of the GeForce GT 710 and GT 1030 class have significantly increased in price over the past month. So the newly introduced GeForce RTX 3060 is not shy about selling at double the price. 

I sincerely believe that there is no point in participating in this action – otherwise, prices will not drop to an acceptable level for a very long time. Although the final choice is always yours, dear readers.

And yet, taking advantage of my official position, I chose a different tactic. For several months now, categories have been recommending real builds intended for subsequent system upgrades. It is assumed that in the summer, when video cards begin to appear in the required quantity, you can easily upgrade such a system unit. In the meantime, Intel assemblies recommend processors equipped with integrated graphics, and for AMD systems in a pair to the processor – the simplest “plug” of the GeForce GT 710 class. Naturally, another video card can take its place, for example, it can be an adapter from an old PC or bought from hands. There are a lot of options, and there is no single correct solution. Installing the “plug” in assemblies, I adhere to the unshakable rule of “Computer of the Month”: in the section, only new components with a guarantee are recommended, which can be bought in domestic stores.

Computer of the Month – March 2021

The next issue of “Computer of the Month” was released with the support of the X-Com Shop online store, which has branches in Moscow and St. Petersburg. At the same time, the store delivers goods to all corners of the country, cooperating with the “Post of Russia” and transport companies. 

X-Com Shop is a partner of this category, so in “Computer of the Month” we focus on the products that are sold in this particular store. Any build presented in Computer of the Month is just a guideline. Links in “Computer of the Month” lead to the corresponding categories of products in the store. In addition, the tables show the actual prices at the time of this writing, rounded up to a multiple of 500 rubles. Naturally, during the “life cycle” of the material (one month from the date of publication) the cost of certain goods can both increase and decrease.

For beginners who still do not dare to independently “make” a PC for themselves, a detailed step-by-step guide on assembling the system unit has been published. It turns out that in “Computer of the Month” I tell you how to build a computer, and in the manual – how to do it.

⇡ # Starting assembly

Initially, the starting assembly recommended video cards of the level GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER and Radeon RX 570 8 GB. These accelerators made it possible to play any modern games in resolution Full HD at least using average quality graphics. Now the starting assembly is designed for a quick upgrade of the video card up to the level GeForce RTX 3060.

Let’s once again: before you the third edition of “Computer of the Month” with real assemblies, which offers a system unit with the possibility of a subsequent (and, I would like to believe, soon) video card upgrade. We went through this: the mining fever ended, the prices for video cards returned to adequate values, and on the market  used devices many different options appeared at a very attractive price. It turns out that by buying a GeForce GTX 1650 today for 17-22 thousand rubles, very soon you will not sell it even for half the price. The problem is that today the GeForce GTX 1650 can also be considered a “plug” – this video card is, at best, suitable for games using average graphics quality. You can verify this, for example, by reading the recently published article “Time to try something new: testing video cards in different games in ultra-wide 21: 9 format”.

Not everyone likes my approach. For a starting assembly with a Core i5-10400 in March, you will have to pay 40 rubles, taking into account rounding. Subsequently, by installing a GeForce GTX 000 SUPER class video card, you can comfortably play in Full HD resolution at medium-high graphics quality settings, but such an assembly will also allow you to swipe at a GeForce RTX 1650 level adapter. you can play at high and maximum quality settings; by installing GeForce RTX 3060 or an analogue – mainly at maximum, and including in WQHD resolution. However, right here and now for 1660 (!) rubles, you can assemble a system with a 4-core Core i3-10100F (8 rubles in BOX-configuration) and GeForce GTX 500 (1650 rubles for ASUS GTX22-O000G-LP-BRK – the most affordable model offered in the X-Com Shop ). Even if I still save on the motherboard (1650-4 thousand), the power supply and the case, such a configuration will still be much more expensive – even if it will allow playing modern games at at least some graphics quality settings in Full HD. But personally, my hand does not rise to advise you this …

In the comments to the last release, they ironically recalled that in 2018, despite the next mining boom, I recommended various video cards in the assemblies of that time. So, in February in the starting configuration there was a GeForce GTX 1050 for 12 rubles, in the base configuration – a GeForce GTX 000 Ti for 1050 thousand, in the optimal – GeForce GTX 14 for 1060 thousand rubles. Well, now, three years later, we can take the GeForce GTX 30 Ti for 1050 rubles and the Radeon RX 20 XT 000 GB (more efficient than the GeForce GTX 5500 8 GB adapter) for 1060 rubles. Sensitive difference? In my opinion – very much. Even in 6, the GeForce GTX 45 could not be called a fast video card, but then it was “dragging” AAA games in Full HD resolution. Now video cards with similar performance are much more expensive. 

The second notable complaint: the lack of a starter assembly with the AM4 platform. An equivalent alternative to the Core i5-10400 is the Ryzen 5 3600, which costs 1 rubles more. Besides, you need to buy a discrete video card for this chip, which is at least 000 rubles, if we also take into account the purchase of a GeForce GT 3. The budget will have to be increased by almost 500 rubles, which is quite a lot in my understanding.

But to be honest, I don’t see any other alternatives comparable to the Core i5-10400. Once again: the assembly is designed for a quick upgrade, which means that the processor should have good gaming performance. We can take, for example, Ryzen 5 3500X (12 rubles), but together with the GeForce GT 000, such a bundle will be more expensive than the same Core i710-5. We can take the Ryzen 10400 PRO 5G (3350 rubles) – only this option will perform significantly worse both in resource-intensive tasks and in games with a good discrete video card. And the Ryzen 12 PRO 500G also disappeared from the sale – this chip, however, is inferior in games to the Ryzen 5 4650  on averagea decent 25%. And so it is clear that the built-in GPU “firmware” turns out to be noticeably faster than HD-graphics Core i5 and discrete GeForce GT 710.

By the way, why did I cling to the GeForce GT 710? As already mentioned, not all users will be taking discrete graphics into a new system unit. Someone uses a video card from an old PC, and someone will go looking for a good and affordable used solution (the main thing is not to run into outright rubbish). There is no point in hiding that the GeForce GT 710 is a typical “plug”, the performance of which is sufficient only for displaying images in Full HD resolution. In this regard, both the GeForce GT 730 and the Radeon RX 550 look more interesting. The only problem is that the older NVIDIA model costs an average of 6 rubles, and the AMD accelerator is very hard to find on sale. And if you find it, then at a price of ~ 000 rubles. Such a “plug” as the GeForce GT 9 looks interesting, and it will allow you to comfortably use a PC in Ultra HD resolution, and even old games pull at the very least. The average price, according to Ikskom, is 000 rubles. But I recommend the GeForce GT 1030 only for advanced and maximum AMD builds.

And yet, if you already have an old graphics card that will allow you to sit out these difficult times, or you plan to take a used adapter, then the Ryzen 5 3600 is a good choice. In this case, focus on the optimal assembly (processor + board + memory + other components from the starting configuration).

And also it is impossible not to notice how much the price of Intel’s F-series chips has fallen. The same Core i5-10400F costs less than 13 rubles in Ikskom. Naturally, if you already have a video card, then you should take this six-core processor and save a lot – it will definitely not be superfluous as part of the starting assembly.

It is unlikely that the fact that RAM and storage devices are becoming more expensive – manufacturers are experiencing a shortage of chips and components (oh, this year of shortages). Prices are growing slowly so far, but it is clear that 4-3200 thousand rubles have to be paid for inexpensive DDR7-8 RAM kits, and not 5,5, as it was before. Nevertheless, 16 GB even in a budget computer is the minimum for today.

⇡ # Optimal assembly

Initially, this assembly used video cards of the class GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER and Radeon RX 5700, allowing you to play with high quality graphics even in resolution WQHD. Now it begs here GeForce RTX 3060 (and analog AMD when it is presented).

I think that the starting and optimal Intel assemblies are quite different from each other, although in both cases the same CPU is used – Core i5-10400. The fact is that this configuration uses a board based on the Z490 Express chipset, which allows the use of high-frequency RAM kits and which will receive support for Rocket Lake processors. Let me remind you that motherboards based on the H410 and B460 Express chipset will not officially support the new Intel chips. The 11th Gen 470-core and 490-core Cores will only be compatible with H5 and Z10400 motherboards. That is why I propose to invest in the purchase of such a device: replacing the same Core i7-11700 with a Core iXNUMX-XNUMX in the future will give a very decent increase in performance in all modes.

Rocket Lake processors, as you know, will go on sale in April. The chipmaker will release 6-core Core i5 and 8-core Core i7 / i9 – 10-cores based on the new Cypress Cove microarchitecture will not. And there will be no 4-cores – Comet Lake will be replaced by updated Comet Lake Refresh processors.

IMPORTANT: I would wait for the release of new products on sale – it is possible that in the coming months Intel will change the central processor in the optimal assembly. Hopefully, the cost of the Core i5-11400 will please you at the start of sales – in the USA, you can pre-order this chip for $ 215 (16 rubles at the current rate at the time of this writing).

Hopefully the updated LGA1200 builds get cheaper. Last year, I said that motherboards based on the B560 and H570 Express chipsets, which will go on sale along with the Rocket Lake chips, will allow you to overclock the RAM – now this has been officially confirmed. This means that buying an expensive Z590 motherboard makes sense only for those who will overclock the “stone”. Well, regular readers know that I recommend such processors (with the letter “K” in the name) only for expensive assemblies, since any Intel chip in overclocking requires a high-quality motherboard and an effective cooling system.

Well, I’m curious about AMD’s response. The Ryzen 5 3600 looks more interesting than the Core i5-10400 in resource-intensive applications, but it turns out to be a little slower in games. But we know that Rocket Lake processors will deliver up to 19% IPC (instructions executed per clock) over the current generation of Comet Lake desktop chips. This is a pretty decent performance boost on a single platform.

If you have not read the last issue of “Computer of the Month”, then the lack of a basic assembly in the heading may confuse you. Well, for the second month now I have given up (albeit temporarily) from it. In the era of video cardlessness, as you might guess, there is no need for it – the basic and optimal configurations become very similar. In the January release, the difference in the cost of these assemblies was 4-5 thousand rubles, and it was dictated mainly by the upgrade of the motherboard, case and power supply.

I have repeatedly said that there is little point in overpaying for the Ryzen 5 3600X and Ryzen 5 3600XT models – the same 3600 is not much worse, but it costs much less (16 thousand versus 19,5). The same patterns can be applied to the Core i5-10400, comparing the 6-core Intel with models such as the Core i5-10500 and Core i5-10600. Perhaps only the overclocked Core i5-10600K stands apart (on AliExpress, the version with thermal paste under the lid can be taken for 15 rubles), but the rest of the hardware of the corresponding level must also be taken for it. “Store” Core i000-5K costs 10600 rubles.

If it were not for the mining boom, then the main event in February for PC gamers would be the release of the GeForce RTX 3060 model, the recommended price of which is 33 rubles (000 less than the GeForce RTX 7 Ti). The video card is notable for the fact that it received 3060 GB of GDDR12 memory, which is 6 GB more than the GeForce RTX 2. Of course, the current situation looks comical (the GeForce RTX 3080 Ti and 3060 have only 3070 GB), but this gesture clearly shows that even NVIDIA thinks that 8 GB is not enough for video cards in the middle price range. That’s it, the era is gone, and I wrote about this back in 6 in the article “How much video memory is needed for modern games.”

The optimal build at one time, when it could be considered a gaming one, was recommended for those who wanted to switch from Full HD resolution to WQHD. GeForce RTX 3060 in this format proves itself very worthy. And yet, to be honest, there is a slight disappointment with the performance of the new NVIDIA product. So, “three thousand and sixtieth” is equal in performance to the GeForce RTX 2070 (in games that do not use ray tracing), but is inferior to 2 and 29% of the Radeon RX 5700 XT and GeForce RTX 3060 Ti, respectively. Let me remind you that the recommended price of the GeForce RTX 3060 was only 17,5% less than the cost of the Ti version. I still hoped that NVIDIA would “sell” us at least the performance of the GeForce RTX 2080 in a new wrapper and with more memory.

Alas, buying a GeForce RTX 3060 at a normal price turns out to be unrealistic. Now this video card is being sold at double the price – apparently, they are buying it for 60-70 thousand. The device is also notable for the fact that a separate driver has been developed for it with a built-in algorithm for tracking mining attempts using a GPU. If it detects that the video card is used for something other than its intended purpose, the driver will automatically reduce the hash rate of cryptocurrency mining by about half, making it unprofitable for mining. But, as you can see, NVIDIA clearly went wrong …

There are already rumors about the appearance of the Radeon RX 6700 and Radeon RX 6700 XT – these video cards will compete with the GeForce RTX 3060 and GeForce RTX 3060 Ti. The presentation of new products is scheduled for March, and, of course, these will be paper announcements of video cards.

⇡ # Advanced build

In these assemblies, you can easily install a video card of any level, but usually I recommend GeForce RTX 3070 and Radeon RX 6800 for comfortable gaming with maximum graphics quality in resolutions Full HD and WQHD.

The Core i7-10700, which has fallen in price by 2 rubles over the past month, will definitely be replaced by the brand new 000-core Rocket Lake. This is an advanced assembly, and in this case I see no reason to take outdated hardware. All this I say to the fact that now, if you want to take a system unit based on the LGA8 platform, you should wait for the release of Intel’s new products on sale – our site, of course, will release detailed details of all the most interesting Rocket Lake models.

They say that the deficit on the Ryzen 5 5600X is decreasing – indeed, at the time of this writing, the price of this 6-core processor dropped to 27 rubles. This option looks much more interesting, but you still need to buy a discrete graphics accelerator for the AMD chip.

Let me remind you that at the end of the year our website published an article “Computer of the Month. Special issue: building a compact gaming PC more powerful than a console and enjoying Cyberpunk 2077 ”- came out at an unfortunate time, as in the last days of December video cards disappeared from sale. Nevertheless, in this material you will find a detailed comparison of Ryzen 5 5600X with Core i7-10700 and Ryzen 7 3800X in a large number of games using GeForce RTX 3070 and Radeon RX 6800 video cards. In the processor-dependent resolution, the Intel assembly was only 2% faster. which means that both systems have almost the same performance. Interestingly, the configuration with Ryzen 5 5600X outpaced the stand with Ryzen 7 3800X by an average of 7%, although in some games the difference reached up to 14%. Of course, if we had used a faster graphics card, the difference between Zen 3 and Zen 2 would have increased even more.

In previous releases, I offered the Ryzen 5 PRO 5600 as an alternative to the Ryzen 7 3700X, which cost $ 24 last month. Now the 500-core Zen 6 looks more interesting, the difference has decreased to only 3 rubles. Interestingly, the “regular” Ryzen 1 500X costs the same as the PRO version. And a model with integrated graphics appeared on sale – Ryzen 7 PRO 3700G (7 rubles). This 4750-core, unfortunately, has only 27 MB of L000 cache. Yes, it will allow you to save on the purchase of a “plug” for an advanced assembly, but after installing a powerful gaming video card of the level of GeForce RTX 8 and Radeon RX 8, the assembly will be seriously inferior to the configuration with Ryzen 3070 6800X. So I still vote with a ruble for Zen 5!

It is a pity that the Ryzen 7 5800 announced back in January has not yet appeared on the open sale in computer stores.

In February, three reviews of the Radeon RX 6800 XT were published on our site at once: versions of SAPPHIRE, PowerColor and XFX. Yes, we in the editorial office decided to test new video cards and tell you about them – the time will come, and this information will be useful to our readers. Therefore, it is frankly unpleasant to hear comments like “Why publish reviews of devices you can’t buy?“. Well, for example, then, that we are employees of a site about computer equipment and technologies.

However, now AMD’s new products look much more interesting than NVIDIA video cards, and if you are ready to overpay for this or that model in the era of video cardlessness, then it is better, in my opinion, to take the Radeon RX 6000. Judge for yourself:

• Radeon RX 6800 costs 110-130 thousand, and GeForce RTX 3070 – 125-137 thousand.
• Radeon RX 6800 XT costs 120-130 thousand, and GeForce RTX 3080 – from 200 thousand rubles.
• Radeon RX 6900 XT costs about 150 rubles, and GeForce RTX 000 – from 3090 rubles.

Yes, GeForce RTX 30 graphics cards are better in games that use better tracing. But now, at a particular moment in time, this adaptability is not worth such an overpayment. Yes, even in 2021, we can safely say: it is quite possible to do without rays and DLSS. Personally, I agree with the opinion of my colleague Valery Kosikhin, who in testing 40 video cards in Cyberpunk 2077 wrote: “This is not to say that ray tracing transforms the look of Cyberpunk 2077 at high overall graphics settings, but it is a valuable addition to the game’s aesthetics.“. Keyword – addition.

Some readers worry that a 600-650 W PSU will not be enough for an advanced build with a Radeon RX 6800-level graphics card. But these fears are not justified. Check out the article “What kind of power supply is needed for a modern gaming PC” – from it you will learn that a system with a Core i9-9900K and GeForce RTX 2080 Ti draws a maximum of 470 watts. In overclocking, the power consumption of such a PC increases to 620 W, therefore, for the maximum assembly, I recommend a unit with a power of 750 W or more. A truly powerful PSU is needed only for SLI-bundles. So, a pair of GeForce RTX 3090 and an overclocked Core i9-10900K with the simultaneous launch of Prime95 and the game “The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt”, I think, will come close to the 1 kW mark. But we do not offer such assemblies in “Computer of the Month”.

And yet, take a model with a good power reserve for your new PC – it certainly won’t be worse, and in most cases it will only be better. Even for an inexpensive gaming system unit, which consumes about 220-250 W at maximum load, it still makes sense to take a good model with an honest 600-650 W. Because such a unit will be quieter (and in the case of some models – absolutely silent), it will be colder and more efficient.

⇡ # Maximum assembly

In these assemblies, you can easily install any video card, and the ideal contenders are GeForce RTX 3080 and Radeon RX 6800 XT.

AMD’s top-of-the-line build noticeably changed in March. The fact is that the Ryzen 9 5900X has disappeared from sale. At the time of this writing, it was possible to buy it, judging by the data from Yandex.Market, only in one Moscow computer store – for 59 rubles. For now, I put Ryzen 000 7X in the maximum assembly, which, on the contrary, is getting cheaper from month to month. But in the future, the 5800-core AMD will definitely return here – this is, in my opinion, the best gaming processor of today.

Let me remind you: in terms of minimum FPS, the Ryzen 9 5900X outpaced the Core i9-10900K in four cases out of 12 – the stand used GeForce RTX 3080 and used a very processor-dependent Full HD resolution. The 10-core Intel turned out to be noticeably faster in two games. In other AAA projects, you can safely put an equal sign between the AM4 and LGA1200 platforms. The systems are also equal in Ultra HD resolution, which was recommended for maximum build in the pre-mining era. Ryzen 7 5800X, in fact, is not very much inferior to its 12 “head” tribesman – 1 FPS in Full HD resolution when using GeForce RTX 3080 graphics. Another thing is that Ryzen 9 5900X will be much faster when performing work tasks, and the maximum assembly is traditionally also recommended for those who create content, not just consume it.

By the way, when running working applications, the Core i9-10850K is not inferior to the Ryzen 7 5800X – there is a certain parity between these chips. If you want to take a faster “stone” for performing resource-intensive tasks, and it is not possible to buy a Ryzen 9 5900X, then I strongly recommend getting a Ryzen 9 3900 model (34 rubles).

In the Intel assembly, I traditionally recommend using the Core i9-10850K, and this choice is dictated by the price of this 10-core. On sale, in addition to it, you will find four models at once: Core i9-10900F (36 rubles), Core i000-9 (10900 rubles), Core i37-000KF (9 rubles) and Core i10900-44K (000 rubles ). If we talk about the operation of these chips in the stock mode, then they demonstrate a similar level of performance, although the difference in price can reach 9 thousand rubles. So, when all 10900 cores are loaded, the difference in frequency between the cheapest and most expensive models is only 48 MHz. The difference in frequency between Core i000-12K and Core i10-300K is only 9 MHz, but both chips are equipped with an unlocked multiplier – if you wish, overclock both processors to 10850-9 GHz  within the maximum buildwill not be difficult.

As I said, there will be no 10-core models among the Rocket Lake chips, and the flagship Core i9-11900K will also have 8 cores and 16 threads. In such a situation, I’m afraid changing the Core i9-10850K to the Core i9-11900K or Core i7-11700K will be useless. However, on March 30 you will find out about everything yourself – Ilya Gavrichenkov will definitely prepare a detailed review. But it is already obvious that Intel will roll out a scattering of new 8-cores with similar performance and different prices. Naturally, in a brand new PC it will be necessary to take models that will look the most interesting in the “performance – price” coordinate system.

⇡ # Useful materials

Below is a list of useful articles that will help you choose certain components, as well as when assembling a PC yourself: