THE BUDGET BUSTER

LET’S BE FRANK, there’s not a huge amount of difference between our two builds. Spec for spec, they’re both fitted out with a similarly priced processor, similar memory, and like-for-like storage. Yet it’s the small details, the less-performance-affecting choices we’ve made, that really separate the two systems.

The most obvious being the two cases. Going up against the AMD build’s Cooler Master MasterBox Lite was always going to be a challenge. With its absolutely absurd arsenal of modern-day features, including three RGB front fans, colored accents, tempered glass, and stellar internal layout, we needed something that could give it a fair run for its money. The BitFenix Nova TG brings that fight down hard. Coming in at a street price of $50, it’s 20 bucks cheaper than its competitor. Featuring an old-school internal layout, tons of room for storage, and a seriously slick tempered glass panel, BitFenix hasn’t held back when it comes to kicking. Airflow could be better up front, but given how little heat we expect this machine to produce, there’s an argument to be had for not needing it that much anyway, at least until you decide to upgrade at a later date.

Apart from the case, we also opted for a slightly pricier PSU, courtesy of EVGA, and some lower spec DDR4, to save a few bucks, purely because higher frequencies wouldn’t particularly benefit this Intel rig in any meaningful way. Although it’s not included in the pricing, using the remaining budget we snuck in a nice magnetic white 12-inch LED strip running along the top of the case as well, just to make it pop a little more. It’s a small luxury, using a little extra cash, and completely superfluous, but we may as well take advantage of that tempered glass side panel while we have it.