Budget gaming build - Intel G4560 or AMD 2200G / 2400G?

[budgetgamerguy]

Hey guys, I'm a long time reader of Anandtech (back when Anand used to write the articles himself!) but never got around to making a forum account until today.

As my username might suggest, I'm a bang for buck kind of gamer, so I generally prefer to stay a bit behind the bleeding edge and get reasonably priced hardware that still runs games well.

With GPU and RAM prices being what they are, I've held off building anything the past few months hoping supply issues would sort itself out... well, a quick look at GPU and RAM prices at most PC parts sites would suggest otherwise.

Anyhow, with no end in sight it seems to the inflated GPU and RAM prices, I've decided to bite the bullet and just build the best gaming PC I can for my budget, which I've set at $400 USD, though this isn't a hard budget limit and I'm open to exceeding it slightly, within reason. I am re-using my old Coolermaster case, PSU, SSD and 24" Samsung 1080P monitor, so pretty much only need a CPU, motherboard, RAM and GPU to get up and running.

My initial research, based on various tech site and YouTube reviews, was to opt for an Intel G4560 paired with a GTX 1050, which seemed to be a good combo for 1080P gaming, for shown in this video by JayzTwoCents: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoqO-JkmlnQ

The G4560, being a dual core CPU, does seem a bit weak but according to that video, runs games as well if not better than a Ryzen 3 1200, for a lower price.

I was pretty much set on the G4560 / GTX 1050 based build until I found out about the recently launched Ryzen 2200G and 2400G CPUs with integrated Vega graphics. I have to admit that the graphics power of the integrated Vega GPUs surprised me, my previous experiences with integrated graphics is that they pretty much suck when it comes to actual 3D gaming. However with the 2400G basically matching a GT 1030 GPU in most games, and the 2200G only a bit behind that, it got me thinking whether the G4560 and GTX 1050 is still the best approach?

I'm leaning towards the G4560 / GTX 1050 build because the GPU is still a lot faster than the integrated Vega GPUs, but the G4560 being a dual core will probably start struggling in future games sooner than the quad core AMD CPUs will.

I've priced out my potential builds on Amazon and the cart price comes down to this:
Pentium G4560: $67
MSI B250 Pro VDH: $65
Kingston HyperX 2x4GB DDR4-2400: $102
Gigabyte GTX1050 2GB: $135
Total: $369

Ryzen 2200G: $99 OR Ryzen 2400G: $169
MSI B350 Tomahawk: $80
Corsair LPX 2x4GB DDR4-3200: $116
Total: $295 for 2200G or $365 for 2400G

Another option is to add a GTX 1050 to the 2200G build, but that would push the total to $430, a bit more than what I had in mind budget wise, but I'm thinking it may run future titles better than the G4560 due to better multi-threading ability?

Sorry for the long winded post by the way, in case that was too much to read:

TLDR: For a budget gaming build, would you recommend a Pentium G4560 plus GTX 1050 or the new Ryzen 2200G / 2400G CPUs?

Thanks in advance

 

[LTC8K6]

I can't see any sense going with Kaby Lake at this point.

Your minimum Intel CPU should be the I3-8100 which is currently on sale at Newegg for $109.
That brings you out of your budget, so go with the 2200G setup, imo.

 

[Gideon]

TLDR: For a budget gaming build, would you recommend a Pentium G4560 plus GTX 1050 or the new Ryzen 2200G / 2400G CPUs?

Thanks in advance

It really depends on the titles you'll be playing and whether you plan to upgrade the rig in the coming years. With the G4560 you will be almost certainly severely CPU limited in a couple of years.

G4560 + GTX1050 will probably net you the most frames in current (and older) lightly threaded games. But it will suffer in heavily threaded ones. Just look at this comparison to 1500X (which will perform similarly to the 2400G) in RotR, GTA V etc (time under 60FPS). Considering the amount of cores we are getting on new platforms (4+ even on i3), You will almost certainly be severely CPU limited in a couple of years. You could of course upgrade to a Kaby lake i5/i7 in the future, but by that time the GTX1050 will show its age as well. That means that in a couple of years you'll probably want both a new CPU and a GPU.

While the 2400G is no match to a GTX1050 in raw GPU performance, you could probably skip the CPU upgrade by the time you feel that the integrated GPU is underwhelming (in a year or two). With the 2200G it's not that clear-cut, but then again it's cheaper and still definitely faster than the G4560 in multi threaded tasks. If you plan to upgrade both the GPU or CPU later anyway, 2200G might be the best choice.

The upgrade path I have in mind would be something like:

1. 2200G/2400 now
2. GTX2050 ti / GTX 2060 somwhere in a year, when the prices do come down (or the rumors are correct, that Nvidia blocks Mining on gaming cards etc)
3. Ryzen 3xxx series 6-core somewhere in 2019-2020. (built on the 7nm process, and should reach 5 GHz)

That would blow any Kaby Lake i5/i7 out of the water with a similar GPU and for any newer Intel CPU you'd need a new motherboard. There is a slight risk though that MSI will not bother to validate/stabilize the new CPUs in its first-gen Tomahawk motherboards, despite them being AM4 socket. So you might run into stability/compatibility issues with the 3XXX series.

Also if you do anything really besides gaming on the rig (or at the same time while gaming), the Ryzens are probably the better choice.

Yet, if you don't plan to do any upgrades at all in the coming years it's really hard to say ... probably I would go with the Pentium. Though if at all possible I would really wait for cheaper Coffee lake boards and squeeze an i3 into the budget. Bear in mind though, in the long term it's always more cost-efficient to upgrade rather than pay up everything upfront.

P.S.
If you buy the Tomahawk, make sure it comes with the Ryzen 2xxx compatible BIOS (otherwise your APU will not boot and you have to go through all kinds of trouble).

 

[Bouowmx]

Current: AMD Ryzen 3 2200G + NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050

Future alternative: Intel Core i3-8100 or Pentium G5400/5500. Future because the cheaper motherboards, ex. H310, don't exist yet.

Slightly exceeding budget to include dedicated GPU makes sense since you are optimizing gaming performance.

 

[LTC8K6]

If going with a GTX1050 , then go with R5-1400 or i3-8100 cpu, imo.
But that seems to be outside your budget.

Makes no sense to buy an APU and then not use the graphics, imo.

It seems like you are budget minded, so overall I'd go with the 2200G/2400G option and no DGPU.

 

[budgetgamerguy]

Thanks for the reply guys! Hmmm, a lot to consider, based on the points you raised. Sorry I forgot to mention the games that I intend to play the most, they are mainly BF1 and PUBG, though I do occasionally go retro and play a few rounds of Starcraft II every now and then.

I am a bit concerned with how the G4560, being a dual core, would run games, even though it does seem to do well in the reviews that I've seen. I sold my old Pentium G3258 / Radeon 7850 system to partially fund this build, it still ran older games OK but was really struggling with BF1 and PUBG, with frequent dips below 30fps and reducing settings to low still resulted in stuttering which I assume was due to the CPU not coping well with the load. Though it appears the newer Pentiums now have hyper-threading which is supposed to improve gaming performance a lot.

@Gideon thanks for the heads up about the potential BIOS issues, hmm, I was under the assumption that the Ryzen 2200G/2400G would run in all existing AM4 motherboards? Looks like I have to do a bit more research on this!

@LTC8K6 actually I thought the same about wasting the GPU on the 2200G, but I would really like to play BF1 and PUBG at decent framerates at 1080P and I'm not sure if the Vega 8 GPU can get playable framerates for these games at 1080P? I know I can run it at 720P but honestly games look very ugly and blurry when downscaled, so I much prefer to stay at 1080P if possible.

The 1400 is a bit beyond my budget, yes, as is the i3 8100, which I considered also, but the motherboards seem a bit pricey, the cheapest Z370 I could find was $115, when are the cheaper motherboards supposed to come out for the new Intel CPUs?

Also, is the 1400 or 8100 that much better than the 2200G?

Thanks again for your help guys!

 

[epsilon84]

I'm gonna go against the grain here somewhat and say the G4560 + GTX 1050 system is probably the way to go if decent Battlefield 1 and PUBG performance is what you are after. I doubt the 2200 or 2400G APUs can maintain 60fps at 1080P in those games, especially PUBG. If you are OK with sub 60fps in these games then the Vega iGPUs should be sufficient. I just use 60fps as a target because personally I find that my aiming gets badly affected below this figure.

In saying that, even though I recommended the G4560 setup, note that BF1 MP is very CPU intensive and the G4560 is going to struggle, regardless of in game settings, especially in 64P maps, so keep that in mind. You'll still get stutters during heavy firefight scenes, though it should run a bit better than your old G3258 because of HT. PUBG should run OK, honestly its not very well optimised at all, but you should be able to get 60fps at 1080P medium settings, if my experience is anything to go by.

FWIW, I run a GTX 1050 with a 2500K @ 4.5GHz, which is probably a bit faster than a G4560 and likely closer to an (overclocked) 2200G. If you can afford it, go the 2200G + GTX 1050, you will also get a better upgrade path, if not then the G4560 + 1050 would be my next best bet, followed by the standalone 2200G/2400G APUs without discrete graphics.

 

[LTC8K6]

Go with the 2200G/2400G and no DGPU first.

If that's not enough, then you can buy a DGPU later?

 

[LTC8K6]

R3-1300X would probably be a good CPU candidate if it weren't MIA.

Keep in mind that Zen+ is coming soon and that may affect your choices.

 

[PeterScott]

If going with a GTX1050 , then go with R5-1400 or i3-8100 cpu, imo.
But that seems to be outside your budget.

Makes no sense to buy an APU and then not use the graphics, imo.

It seems like you are budget minded, so overall I'd go with the 2200G/2400G option and no DGPU.

It makes lots of sense. Why would you buy a R5-1400 when the 2400G is essentially same price, the APU is essentially free convenience item. So if your GPU fails or you move it to another system, you still have a basic GPU.

If choosing between gaming on a G4560/GTX1050 vs 2200G/2400G it is no contest in favor of the GTX 1050 Combo.

I would start with the GTX 1050 and looking for a MB/CPU/RAM combo to fit into your price range. Better if you can swing a real quad core like a 2200G/1200/i3-8100, but not the end of the world if you can't and have to go with the G4560.

 

[epsilon84]

It makes lots of sense. Why would you buy a R5-1400 when the 2400G is essentially same price, the APU is essentially free convenience item. So if your GPU fails or you move it to another system, you still have a basic GPU.

If choosing between gaming on a G4560/GTX1050 vs 2200G/2400G it is no contest in favor of the GTX 1050 Combo.

I would start with the GTX 1050 and looking for a MB/CPU/RAM combo to fit into your price range. Better if you can swing a real quad core like a 2200G/1200/i3-8100, but not the end of the world if you can't and have to go with the G4560.

Yeah, I think, at least in the OP's case, its best to view the Vega iGPUs as 'backup' or 'temporary' GPUs in case he can't afford a 1050 because the 2200G + 1050 is a bit over budget.

In a nutshell, I think the OP should do whatever is possible to fit the GTX 1050 into the build. Yes, the G4560 is a bit underpowered in the latest multi-threaded titles but I don't think you will see much difference between it and a 2200G for example, when paired with a GTX 1050. I would still prefer the 2200G, as it will be more 'future proof', but the G4560 is a good compromise if that is the only way to fit a GTX 1050 into the budget.

The following charts will show why I think its important the OP tries to fit the GTX 1050 into the build rather than rely on the 2200G/2400G APUs, as we are talking literally a 2 - 3x improvement in framerates at 1080P: https://www.techarp.com/reviews/amd-ryzen-5-2400g-apu-review/4/

 

[Kenmitch]

If your one of those guys clinging on to Windows 7 it eliminates the 2200G/2400G as they require Windows 10.

Only advice I'd give other than skipping the Pentium is think it thru before you take the plunge. Nothing worse than buyers remorse!

 

[AtenRa]

Hey guys, I'm a long time reader of Anandtech (back when Anand used to write the articles himself!) but never got around to making a forum account until today.

As my username might suggest, I'm a bang for buck kind of gamer, so I generally prefer to stay a bit behind the bleeding edge and get reasonably priced hardware that still runs games well.

With GPU and RAM prices being what they are, I've held off building anything the past few months hoping supply issues would sort itself out... well, a quick look at GPU and RAM prices at most PC parts sites would suggest otherwise.

Anyhow, with no end in sight it seems to the inflated GPU and RAM prices, I've decided to bite the bullet and just build the best gaming PC I can for my budget, which I've set at $400 USD, though this isn't a hard budget limit and I'm open to exceeding it slightly, within reason. I am re-using my old Coolermaster case, PSU, SSD and 24" Samsung 1080P monitor, so pretty much only need a CPU, motherboard, RAM and GPU to get up and running.

My initial research, based on various tech site and YouTube reviews, was to opt for an Intel G4560 paired with a GTX 1050, which seemed to be a good combo for 1080P gaming, for shown in this video by JayzTwoCents: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoqO-JkmlnQ

The G4560, being a dual core CPU, does seem a bit weak but according to that video, runs games as well if not better than a Ryzen 3 1200, for a lower price.

I was pretty much set on the G4560 / GTX 1050 based build until I found out about the recently launched Ryzen 2200G and 2400G CPUs with integrated Vega graphics. I have to admit that the graphics power of the integrated Vega GPUs surprised me, my previous experiences with integrated graphics is that they pretty much suck when it comes to actual 3D gaming. However with the 2400G basically matching a GT 1030 GPU in most games, and the 2200G only a bit behind that, it got me thinking whether the G4560 and GTX 1050 is still the best approach?

I'm leaning towards the G4560 / GTX 1050 build because the GPU is still a lot faster than the integrated Vega GPUs, but the G4560 being a dual core will probably start struggling in future games sooner than the quad core AMD CPUs will.

I've priced out my potential builds on Amazon and the cart price comes down to this:
Pentium G4560: $67
MSI B250 Pro VDH: $65
Kingston HyperX 2x4GB DDR4-2400: $102
Gigabyte GTX1050 2GB: $135
Total: $369

Ryzen 2200G: $99 OR Ryzen 2400G: $169
MSI B350 Tomahawk: $80
Corsair LPX 2x4GB DDR4-3200: $116
Total: $295 for 2200G or $365 for 2400G

Another option is to add a GTX 1050 to the 2200G build, but that would push the total to $430, a bit more than what I had in mind budget wise, but I'm thinking it may run future titles better than the G4560 due to better multi-threading ability?

Sorry for the long winded post by the way, in case that was too much to read:

TLDR: For a budget gaming build, would you recommend a Pentium G4560 plus GTX 1050 or the new Ryzen 2200G / 2400G CPUs?

Thanks in advance

What games are you playing ??

 

[budgetgamerguy]

@epsilon84 thanks, I think I'll stick with my original plan of a GTX 1050 then, I wasn't anticipating such a large difference between the GTX 1050 and the 2200G and 2400G.

@Kenmitch nah I moved on to Windows 10 as soon as it was released

@AtenRa, sorry I forgot to mention it on my original post, mainly BF1 and PUBG and a bit of Starcraft 2

 

[LTC8K6]

It makes lots of sense. Why would you buy a R5-1400 when the 2400G is essentially same price, the APU is essentially free convenience item. So if your GPU fails or you move it to another system, you still have a basic GPU.

If choosing between gaming on a G4560/GTX1050 vs 2200G/2400G it is no contest in favor of the GTX 1050 Combo.

I would start with the GTX 1050 and looking for a MB/CPU/RAM combo to fit into your price range. Better if you can swing a real quad core like a 2200G/1200/i3-8100, but not the end of the world if you can't and have to go with the G4560.

I can't advise buying a Kaby Lake board, though.

I'd probably go with the APU and see if the graphics were enough, and if not, then add the DGPU.

 

[whm1974]

Myself I would get the 2200G/2400G and wait for dGPU prices to drop back to normal. There is not sense in getting a dual CPU when quad core are only a little bit more.

 

[whm1974]

Looking at Newegg's prices for the 1050, they are ranging from $150 to $200. I would pay that much for the 1050 when we should be able to get the 150Ti and 1060(3GB) dGPU for the same price.

 

[budgetgamerguy]

@whm1974 hmm the GTX 1050 is on sale for $135 at Amazon right now, which seems a pretty good deal compared to most other sites that I've seen. I actually looked up the MSRP of the GTX 1050 and its supposed to be $109, I guess a $25 price increase isn't too bad considering how overpriced it is everywhere else?

I would prefer to just have the machine ready to go from day one rather than wait months for the GPU that may or may not come back to its original MSRP

Does anyone know of any budget oriented AM4 motherboards that have guaranteed compatibility with the 2200G out of the box? The last thing I want is for everything to arrive and the CPU not boot up :/

 

[whm1974]

@whm1974 hmm the GTX 1050 is on sale for $135 at Amazon right now, which seems a pretty good deal compared to most other sites that I've seen. I actually looked up the MSRP of the GTX 1050 and its supposed to be $109, I guess a $25 price increase isn't too bad considering how overpriced it is everywhere else?

I would prefer to just have the machine ready to go from day one rather than wait months for the GPU that may or may not come back to its original MSRP

Does anyone know of any budget oriented AM4 motherboards that have guaranteed compatibility with the 2200G out of the box? The last thing I want is for everything to arrive and the CPU not boot up :/

I think MSI has boards available with the Raven Ridge UEFI, although their Mortar series has gotten three star reviews instead of four or five at Newegg.

 

[Kenmitch]

@whm1974 hmm the GTX 1050 is on sale for $135 at Amazon right now, which seems a pretty good deal compared to most other sites that I've seen. I actually looked up the MSRP of the GTX 1050 and its supposed to be $109, I guess a $25 price increase isn't too bad considering how overpriced it is everywhere else?

I would prefer to just have the machine ready to go from day one rather than wait months for the GPU that may or may not come back to its original MSRP

Does anyone know of any budget oriented AM4 motherboards that have guaranteed compatibility with the 2200G out of the box? The last thing I want is for everything to arrive and the CPU not boot up :/

Not sure of any out of box guaranteed to work MB's but AMD will send you a boot kit to get you up and running if needed. Not sure how long it takes to get but you would need info off the APU box to complete the request.

 

[slashy16]

Get the I3-8100 and 1050. I have an nvidia 1030 which is better than the Ryzen APU and it's performance is terrible in any modern game. I usually have to drop the quality to low if I want playable frame-rates at 1080p.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Yeah, I think that the 1030 is really borderline these days to play AAA games with, unless you REALLY crank the settings all down to ULTRA-LOW, and even then...

I consider a minimum gaming PC for modern titles, to have a 1050ti 4GB or above. The 1050 2GB in a pinch, if you really can't afford the ti version. But modern games want 4GB of VRAM these days, 2GB barely cuts it.

 

[slashy16]

You could also look at purchasing a GTX 970. I have managed to score some recently off craigslist for about $160usd each.

 

[SirDinadan]

I usually have to drop the quality to low if I want playable frame-rates at 1080p.

Why is it surprising that you have to go for low quality settings at 1080p with a budget dGPU? It is a budget for a reason. On the same note, of course no APU solution can compete with a mid-range dGPU.

What the OCed 2200G achieved IMO that it made very hard to recommend the GT 1030 / RX 550 for new builds. If you want now a PC with a long-lasting platform and only game occasionally / with older titles / ESport, now an APU can do. And if you want to drop in a dGPU later you have 4 capable Zen cores.

 

[slashy16]

It's not surprising at all to me. I was trying to make clear how pathetic and unfun gaming on a 1030/Vega APU is.