Build Console Killer PC under $400 for 1080p Gaming

Consoles are one of the most popular gaming platforms for playing video games. The most popular gaming consoles today are Xbox 360, Playstation and Nintendo Wii. A gaming console is a machine that is designed specifically for playing video games. Gaming consoles cost around 300 to 400 dollars and they have a good collection of game titles. All these gaming consoles come with pre-installed hardware i.e. processor, memory, graphics card and you cannot upgrade those things for more performance. The only thing you can upgrade is the hard drive for increasing the storage capacity.

Gaming consoles are not very powerful and they are not capable of running most of the games at 1080p. On the other hand, a PC with almost the same budget is way more powerful and will let you play all the latest games on 1080p resolution at high graphics settings. The graphics and eye candy for games on PC are much greater as compared to games for consoles. Also, you can upgrade your PC components anytime to cope up with more demanding games in the future. So here I am going to build an SFF or small form factor gaming PC under 400 dollars or also known as console killer PC, on which you can have far better gaming experience compared to consoles.

Must Read:

• Build Budget Gaming PC with no Graphics Card
• Best AMD APUs to Build a Console Killer PC

Advantages of Gaming PC over Consoles

• Better Graphics in Games
• More Powerful Hardware
• 1080p gaming
• Scalability and upgradability
• Can be used for other work

Components for Console Killer Gaming PC under 400 dollars

Here the major components that you need to build the best console killer pc for gaming at 1080p at high graphics settings. This will be a small form factor gaming PC but will be way more powerful than a gaming console. Also, it will cost under 400 dollars which is very close to the price of a gaming console.

Processor

Intel Pentium G4400 @ 3.30 GHz

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For a 400 dollar gaming or Console Killer I have chosen Intel Pentium G4400 Dual Core processor. This is a great budget Skylake processor (6^th Generation) and is quite powerful. When paired with a good graphics card it can handle the games at 1080p resolution effortlessly.

Pentium G4400 is clocked at 3.30 GHz and comes with 3MB cache. This processor has very lower power consumption and does not get hot too. The performance of this dual core processor is pretty good and it one of best affordable processors for building a budget gaming build. This is the same processor that I have used for building 300 dolllar gaming PC earlier in this blog.

Intel Pentium Processor G4400 Specifications
Clock Speed	3.30 GHz
No. of Cores	2, Dual Core
Cache Size	3 MB
Socket Type	LGA 1151
Graphics	Intel HD Graphics 510

Buy Intel Pentium G4400 Processor

Motherboard

Gigabyte GA-H110M-A

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For the Pentium G4400 processor, I have chosen Gigabyte GA-H110M-A motherboard which is an affordable LGA Socket 1151 motherboard. This motherboard supports both Intel’s Skylake and Kaby Lake processors and DDR4 RAM up to 32GB capacity.

This is a value for money micro-ATX motherboard that is equipped with high quality components. The motherboard comes with all the basic connectivity options including fast USB 3.0 ports and PCI Express 3.0 x16 graphics slot. Also, it comes integrated with Realtek High Definition Audio and Gigabit LAN.

Gigabyte GA-H110M-A Motherboard Specifications
Socket Type	LGA 1151
Chipset	Intel H110
RAM Support	DDR4 2133 MHz, up to 32GB, Dual Channel
Slots	DIMM x 2, PCI-E X16 x 1, PCI-Ex1 x 1,
Ports	SATA 6Gb/s x 4, USB 3.0 x 4, USB 3.0 x 6
Form Factor	Micro-ATX

Buy Gigabyte GA-H110M-A Motherboard

RAM

Ballistix Sport LT 8GB Kit (4GBx2) DDR4

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For this console killer PC I have picked Crucial Ballistix Sport LT 8GB Kit (4GBx2) DDR4 2400 MT/s RAM. These are two sticks of RAM (4GB each) which you can run in dual-channel mode for enhanced performance in games.

This is a high-quality gaming memory that offers very good gaming performance. It comes with a heat spreader that keeps the RAM cool during hours of continuous gaming.

Ballistix Sport LT 8GB Kit (4GBx2) DDR4
RAM Type	DDR4
Capacity	8GB (4GB x 2)
Clock Speed	2400 MHz
Warranty	Limited Lifetime

Buy Ballistix Sport 8GB DDR4 RAM

Hard Drive

WD Blue 1TB HDD

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According to me, 1TB hard drive would be more than enough for a Console Killer $400 Gaming PC. Here I have picked Western Digital Blue 1TB hard drive which is fast and has loads of storage space. WD Blue is a very popular hard drive model that delivers good performance and is not noisy too.

WD Blue 1TB is a 7200 RPM hard drive and comes with 64MB cache and SATA 6Gb/s transfer speed. It is also very affordable and one of the most reliable hard drives in the market.

WD Blue 1TB HDD Specifications
Storage Capacity	1 TB
Spindle Speed	7200 RPM
Cache Size	64 MB
Warranty	2 year

Buy WD Blue 1TB Hard Drive

Graphics Card

XFX Radeon RX 460 2GB GDDR5

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Graphics Card is the most important component of this console killer gaming PC under 400 dollars budget. Here for the graphics card, I have chosen XFX Radeon RX 460. This is a great budget mid-range graphics card from AMD. RX 460 is based on the latest Polaris GPU architecture from AMD and comes with 896 Stream Processors and 2GB GDDR5 video memory. The performance of this card is comparable to that of GeForce GTX 1050 from Nvidia.

This is quite a powerful graphics card and on this, you can play latest games on high settings at 1080p. The card is also very compact and you can even fit in mini-ITX cases. The card has got dual-slot design with a single fan cooling the whole card. The power consumption of this graphics card is low but it does require 6-pin PCI-E external power from the PSU. It supports all the latest APIs including DirectX 12, OpenGL 4.5 and Vulkan.

XFX Radeon RX 460 2GB GDDR5 Specifications
Stream Processors	896
GPU Clock	1220 MHz
Memory Clock	7000 MHz
Memory Size	2 GB GDDR5
Memory Interface	128-bit
Bus Interface	PCI Express 3.0
DirectX	12
OpenGL	4.5
Output Ports	DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort

Buy XFX Radeon RX 460 2GB GDDR5

Power Supply

EVGA 430W 80+ White

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For the power supply, I have picked EVGA 430W PSU which is enough to power all the components of this console killer PC. This is a high quality and affordable power supply having a maximum output of 430 Watts. It has got 80 Plus White Certification with efficiency 80% or higher. The construction quality of this PSU is very good and it comes with all sleeved cables.

The power supply comes with a single 12V Rail having 34A current on it. For the graphics card, it has 8pin (6+2) PCI-E connector which can be split into 6pin PCI-E connector also. The 120mm fan in this PSU is very silent and is very efficient in operation too.

EVGA 430W PSU Specifications
Wattage	430W
12V Rail	Single, 34A
Fan Size	120mm
80 Plus Certification	White
PCI Express Connector	8pin (6+2)
Warranty	3 years

Buy EVGA 430W Power Supply

Case

Rosewill LINE-M Mini Tower Case

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For case I have selected Rosewill LINE-M Micro-ATX Mini Tower Case. This is a good budget computer case that has got good ventilation and airflow. There is a 120mm Blue Fan on the front and a 120mm fan on the rear for better airflow. On the side panel, there is a provision to install two 120mm/92mm fans if you want to. The connectivity options on the front include two USB 3.0 ports, two USB 2.0 ports, and audio ports. The construction quality of the case is also pretty good considering its price.

This is a mini-tower case but has enough room to fit all the major components including graphics card up to 300mm in length. It also has adequate space for your storage devices including SSDs. Overall it is a great SFF case for this console killer PC build.

Rosewill LINE-M Micro-ATX Mini Tower Case Specifications
Form Factor	Micro-ATX Mini Tower
Front Ports	Audio, USB 3.0 x 2, USB 2.0 x 2
Fans	120mm x 1 Blue LED Fan (Front), 120mm x 1 (Rear), 2 x 120mm/92mm (Side Panel)
Drive Bays	5.25” x 2, 2 x 3.5″ & 1 x 3.5″ / 2.5″
Features	Screwless design, Graphics card support up to 300mm long

Buy Rosewill LINE-M Mini Tower Case

Final Words

The final cost of this Console Killer PC build will come at around or under 400 dollars. This 400 dollar gaming PC is way powerful than a gaming console and will allow you to run games at 1080p with comfortable frame rates. If you have queries regarding gaming PC or its components, then feel free to ask me by leaving a comment below.