new pc build ideas

[the mad monk]

I'm looking for a new pc for my son so he can play his games #cough i mean do his homework, yes us dads know what really happens kids

ive not made a pc since the first i5's came out and things have moved on so fast im a little lost as to what might be best for my money

im looking to spend around £500 on just the tower, i can reuse screen, keyboard etc

he's heavily into games and my 560Ti seems to cope with them but obviously id like something a little better to give it a longer life

http://www.awd-it.co.uk/amd-fx-6350-4.2ghz-zalman-z11-plus-computer-nvidia-gtx-60-4gb-gaming-pc.html

one of these looks good to me, slap an ssd in there too, and hopefully its a decent enough one or is it?

i cant justify spending much more but would something like that suffice or would i do better building my own?

ive not factored in the cost of windows until i know which one to use but that cost will be on top of the tower cost

any tips appreciated

 

[Aspman]

Been a wee while since I've looked in depth but Intel still seem to be leading the the field by some margin.

 

If you can budget for it I'd go with another i5, 8Gb ram and the best gfx you can afford. There is a class action against AMD right now for allegedly lying about the number or cores in their processors.

Black Friday is coming up so you might pick up some deals there.

 

Definitely go for an SSD for the OS. You can pick up a 240Gb drive for £50-60 now and then just use the existing drive if it is big enough for storage.

 

Right now I've got a 120Gb SSD for my OS (£30) and and older Tb drive for storage.

 

The difference in boot times between spinning rust and an SSD needs to be seen to be believed. Right no it takes longer for my PC to get through the BIOS than for Win10 to load. Power button to internet now is about 15sec.

 

For windows try to pick up a cheap copy of Win8 then do the Win10 free upgrade.

Edited 11 November, 2015 by Aspman

[ColinD]

Yep, a i5 is enough for games for a few more generations. You can either go mad for the latest release 'skylake' or take any of the older haswells which will be dropping in price. There isn't a lot in it for a 'performing' machine. Games need single core speed and intel still have that, AMD's ace is more cpus on the chip at a lower cost. So if you were developing the next generation web platform and needing lots of processing cores, an amd would be marginally better. It would also cost you more on electricity.

 

Likewise on graphics, you could blow all of that budget on one card. I sort of only follow nvidia, don't know whjy linux drivers are dire, but the latest is a 980, I have a 660 and it plays some game ok. I believe the hype is a 2Gb card is 'ok' now, 4gb luxury.

 

The win10 update is free for all, so if you have an old win7 use that etc... 

 

Technically you don't need a case, but if you do, you don't need a sparkly shiny new one. Hit ebay for used. I have a MDF sandwich lab bench, 2 bits of 10mm MDF on 4 6"risers, just mount it all on it and away I go.

 

Motherboards, again you can go mad, depends on the processor choice up top. Places like overclockers use 'performant' orientated stuff, but do bundles. Match the motherboard to the cpu then pick the tier of motherboard you want... so do you want raid and whiz bang etc.

 

Don't forget power, supplies need to be matched to needs, so 2 top end cards = more power than a budget card, circa 600w should be enough to get you in the right area. Then they are graded too, bronze and gold, gold being better, more efficient, less heat etc.

 

My current 'game' pc is an i3, 3.3 Gigabyte motherboard and the 660 with a 60Gb ssd and a 1TB 7200 rpm disk. It does ok if I turn it all down It's in a very old case and has 8Gb of ram, enough!

 

I'd be making a list of a asus mobo, 8gb ram, i5 haswell or less, asus geforce strix 9## gphx, a corsair or equiv power supply. HD wise, ssd or spinning rust, ssd is still a luxury, one I like to keep, but a luxury.

 

As to build it yourself or not... It's not changed that much, the bios settings are more complex I think, but you could treat it as a build/learn exercise so your son has an understanding.

 

Plan b would be used guts and replace gphx card, possibly more daunting as you'll need to match powersupply to increased demand. i.e. buy old dell/hp i5 workstation and swap ghpx... alot more research.

 

TL;DR It's not as daunting as it might feel given you've done it before, it's just learning the new numbers/letters. Go for it, i5 is enough.

HTH. 

[DanHarper]

Did a build myself recently and without the graphics card came in at around your budget I think.

 

It consisted of an Skylake i5 6600k bundle from CCL, an extra 8GB of RAM to go to 16GB, and an extra SSD to sit alongside my existing 120GB one (120GB boot, 250GB games but I suspect that will get full soon with some games being 50gb+). Primarily I wanted the Skylake board due to the M2 slot and DDR4, a bit more future proofing... if I will ever use the M2 or notice the DDR4 I don't know :p

 

Reused my case and powersupply which was a decent 700w one and is probably just sneaking in to spec as I've ditched all my spinning rust and optical drives.

 

I coupled that lot with a GTX970 and it will play GTA5 or the new Carmageddon Reincarnation full whack. Everything else I've tested is old so far so not really a good reference.

 

I expect to use this PC for a while... my last Q8200 lasted from 2009 to 2015

 

Oh and SSDs are not optional at these prices, they are essential! Most people don't believe the difference until they have felt it for themselves (my machine used to have RAID0 and the difference going to an SSD is still staggering!).

Edited 11 November, 2015 by DanHarper

[Aspman]

Tower is probably ok but you might need a new PSU.

 

I got a pretty cheap casecom case when I built mine. Came with 2x 120mm fans and space for lots more. Been absolutely fine.

 

Thing to watch on PSUs especially cheaper ones is the cable length and the available leads. Not all PSUs support dual gfx or have enough sata power points.

[the mad monk]

cheers for the input guys, just found the receipt and the last pc i built was jan  2012 so almost 4 years ago then another 5 years prior to that which the son is using e6600 and an nvidia 275

i have an ssd and 560Ti gfx card and it plays mad max just fine so i need something better than this really as while its ok for me and world of tanks, his games will get more demanding as time goes by

i really think ill struggle to get an i5 in this budget range, not if i also want a decent gfx card, i was looking at possibly an nvidia 960 4gb with at least 120gb ssd for boot, maybe a 1tb for everything else, dont need raid although im sure the mobo will do it, onboard sound will also do

also i cant see the need for massive screen resolutions so itll only be used upto hd

i will only be using the screen and keyboard off the old pc, clean it up and maybe i can get a few ££ for it, it was all top quality stuff back when i bought it but the psu is only an antec 550 and no doubt wont have the connections needed

ill have a looksee on ebyuer and see what the total comes to for the bits'n'bobs

[Aspman]

Antec is a decent brand. 500w might do you since processors now actually use less power than before. You can buy adapters and extensions if needed.

 

I've never really thought that expensive mobos were worth spending on. Not unless you're into overclocking which would probably push you down the AMD route anyway.

 

I recommend getting the bigger SSD, it's only another £20 to get a 240 over a 120. I've 120 and with a basic install of Win10, Office, AV and browsers it's nearly half full.

 

If you're happy to build over a bit of time you can keep an eye on HotUKdeals for components as they go on offer. SSDs, memory and Gfx cards come up quite regularly, processors not so much.

[io1901]

 

i really think ill struggle to get an i5 in this budget range, not if i also want a decent gfx card,

 

I'm running a g3240 3.1ghz   and for games its fine and it's only (£50ish) but I've notice you can get an i3-6100 (on an 1151 socket)  for under £100 - which leaves open an upgrade later on.  The GFX  card for  HD gaming seems to be the GTX 960 (but that seems to have got expensive recently >£150 (when a couple of weeks ago there were a lot  cheaper <£140! - price rises before the black friday cuts!!)

Edited 12 November, 2015 by io1901

[the mad monk]

all this came to light when he wanted mad max, his e6600 wasnt good enough but my i5 was so thats why i really want something like that, to keep him happy and keep him off my pc. to be honest once i build a pc, apart from an ssd, ive never upgraded them so i want it to be right from the off. ill keep looking on hotdeals as i use that a bit and keep searching the net, might even pick up a copy of computer mart as it used to be good for built pc's

looks like the 2 main costs will be the cpu and gfx card, and i5 and a 960 are around the £300 mark so it seems its doable at my budget, everything else is cheap enough, bloody christmas has a lot to answer for

[theezenutz]

I upgraded my pc to an I5 4670k last year coupled with 8gb ram and a Radeon HD6870 which is a little dated now but still copes pretty well with GTAV and others.

 

If you are looking at ssd's then give this little item a look over. https://www.overclockers.co.uk/samsung-950-pro-512gb-m.2-pci-e-3.0-x-4-nvme-solid-state-drive-hd-216-sa.html Or this if you want something a little cheaper https://www.overclockers.co.uk/samsung-sm951-256gb-m.2-pci-e-3.0-x-4-nvme-solid-state-drive-mzvpv256hdgl-00000-hd-213-sa.html

 

Blazing fast speeds at 2150mbps no need to use up a sata connector. I will be investing in one for myself in the near future.

 

Don't forget to factor in a decent psu if it's to be used as a gaming rig.

Edited 13 November, 2015 by theezenutz

[kilted]

I find the following link ( linky ) to be good for doing builds - checks compatibility/power draw so you can set the entire system up on it and know if it will run ok.

 

Also gives you a good idea of pricing for the individual bits.

[the mad monk]

cheers guys, those ssd's look amazingly fast but way over budget there, maybe when i win the lottery

that link seems useful kilted, cheers

[DanHarper]

To use the SSDs above you also need an M.2 slot or an adapter, not sure why not using a SATA port is an advantage when most boards have 4-6 these days? Yes they are fast but 2x the cost of a normal SSD which is pretty dam fast as it is. Something more reasonable?

[GentleGiant]

Stick to known brands for the PSU, dont make the mistake I did last year; I went to replace the ageing Cosair 380W psu in my spare PC with a new 700W unit from a company that claims the psu is an unbranded version of a big name - made to the same spec and in the same factory, but nearly half the price.

 

The damned thing couldnt produce enough juice to power up my system unless I took the old AMD 3880 gfx card out!!

 

I have a very nice 700 "Fractal" psu now, powering an Asus 765 gfx card.

[Aspman]

As GG says some manufacturers like to quote peak figures for their PSUs which aren't sustainable.

[mac11irl]

Ohh man... i havnt built a tower since 2001...

I had a 64MB gfx card and a 1gig processor running win98 2nd ed, 512 ram whuch was madness ..

it was the nuts at time!!!

Had to go laptop then due to college and ive been on them since - not much gamimg time available!!

[theezenutz]

To use the SSDs above you also need an M.2 slot or an adapter, not sure why not using a SATA port is an advantage when most boards have 4-6 these days? Yes they are fast but 2x the cost of a normal SSD which is pretty dam fast as it is. Something more reasonable?

To ust an intel I5 processor means you have to buy a motherboard to suit, most motherboards these days will come with an M2 slot if not then it obviously doesn't apply.

 

The reason people would possibly choose that over a conventional ssd is the bandwidth limitations of sata where as m2 slot would have direct access to the pci bus. Also it doesn't take up a drive bay either.  It's not for everyone but technology moves on.

Edited 14 November, 2015 by theezenutz

[DanHarper]

The reason people would possibly choose that over a conventional ssd is the bandwidth limitations of sata where as m2 slot would have direct access to the pci bus.

 

You didn't say that though, you simply said 'Doesn't take up a SATA port', which implies SATA ports are going to be in demand for other things. If he's on a budget he may not go for a skylake i5, plenty of old boards support i5s but do not have M.2 slots. How about sticking to the original brief and not spending over half the budget on a drive?

 

Yes technology moves on, buying at the forefront has and always will be the most expensive way to do it and is only worth doing if you are going to constantly splash cash to stay on the crest of the wave. Anyone else should just buy 6-12months later. Just like SATA SSD prices are tumbling so will the M.2 drives. Now isn't the time to buy them imho.

[GentleGiant]

My philosophy has always to buy one generation behind; you get about 70% of the performance for 30% of the cost. My latest GFX card cost over £300 2-3 years ago, it was about £200 last year, and I paid less than £70 a few days after the latest generation were launched a few months ago.

[theezenutz]

You didn't say that though, you simply said 'Doesn't take up a SATA port', which implies SATA ports are going to be in demand for other things. If he's on a budget he may not go for a skylake i5, plenty of old boards support i5s but do not have M.2 slots. How about sticking to the original brief and not spending over half the budget on a drive?

 

Yes technology moves on, buying at the forefront has and always will be the most expensive way to do it and is only worth doing if you are going to constantly splash cash to stay on the crest of the wave. Anyone else should just buy 6-12months later. Just like SATA SSD prices are tumbling so will the M.2 drives. Now isn't the time to buy them imho.

It was only a suggestion he doesn't have to buy it and no I didn't say it but it's fairly obvious when nearly all conventional ssd's are limited to around 500mb read and write.

 

Anyway as I said it's only a suggestion don't like it don't buy it

Edited 15 November, 2015 by theezenutz

[Jaspire]

I'll add my tuppence worth as I just did the exact same thing for the boy after his Gaming Laptop chucked it.  My budget was 573.00, and this is what I got.

 

If I had money to burn I would have got him an Intel set up, but I don't so I got him:

 

Gigabyte AM3+ 990FX SB950 Motherboard

8GB Crucial Ballistix Sport DDR3 1600Mhz cl9 Memory

AMD Piledriver FX-4 Quad Core 4300 3.80Ghz (Socket AM3+) Processor

Aerocool GT Advance White Mid Tower Gaming Case USB 3.0 with Quiet 12cm Blue LED Fan w/o PSU 

2GB XFX Radeon R9 270X DD Black Edition, 28nm, 6000MHz GDDR5, GPU 1100MHz, 1280 Streams, 2x DL DVI/ HDMI/ 2x mDP 

630W ThermalTake W0393RE, 80PLUS, 1x120mm Fan, ATX, PSU 

Cooler Master Devastator Gaming Backlit MB24 Keyboard & MS2K Gaming Mouse 2000dpi 

24" Acer K242HLbd LED Monitor, DVI/VGA, 1920x1080, 250cd/m2, 100M:1, 5ms, Black, UM.FW3EE.001 

 

I already had a 120GB SSD kicking about, which is used for Windows and Swap Files ONLY.

He then has 2*500GB Hard Drives set up as RAID 0(I think, it was the intention but cant remember if I did it) which were removed from his laptop.

I already had a Wireless N Wifi Card in my PC which I didn't use as it is hard wired.

If you don't have any spare Windows Keys kicking about, search on ebay for Windows 7/8 CD Key, sometimes advertised as Laptop Case Base with Windows COA, that will give you an upgrade to Windows 10 also.

 

My advice would be at your budget go AMD and get the 2nd best.  That lot came to exactly £573.00.

 

If you already have a Monitor, then you should easily be able to get a 1TB hydrid drive and a 120GB SSD in place of that.  I opted not to get him a DVD/Blu Ray to start with, he can network to mine and install any discs from there, but everything he plays is steam and the like so he doesn't need it.  It runs everything flat out no hassle.

 

If you want any help or anything feel free to give me a shout.

 

Lennie

[Aspman]

A suggestion that came to me whilst rummaging in the guts of my PC at the weekend (fixing some borked front USB sockets, USB always stop working for me).

 

When you pick your Mobo, get a full sized one with more than one PCI Expansion slot.

 

I have a spare USB expansion card I was going to pop in but the slot was taken up by a wifi card (use powerline networking which can be a bit flaky so the wifi is a backup).

[VWD]

Places like Novatech and Aria be worth a look, either for a ready biult system or a basic system (Mb+ bits).

[the mad monk]

i ended up buying this 1

http://www.awd-it.co.uk/amd-fx-6350-4.2ghz-corsair-carbide-computer-nvidia-gtx-750ti-2gb-gaming-pc.html

i upgraded the cpu to the 8 core and the gfx card to the nvidia 960 plus i have a 240 gb ssd to add to it, hopefully it'll fly

[GentleGiant]

A suggestion that came to me whilst rummaging in the guts of my PC at the weekend (fixing some borked front USB sockets, USB always stop working for me).

 

When you pick your Mobo, get a full sized one with more than one PCI Expansion slot.

 

I have a spare USB expansion card I was going to pop in but the slot was taken up by a wifi card (use powerline networking which can be a bit flaky so the wifi is a backup).

 

Too late now, but if you are going gaming, you need to be certain the mobo has enough SPACE between and around the PCI-E, and PCI slots to take a gamers GFX without blocking up half the remaining slots; and 2 PCI-E x16 slots - even if you dont plan crossfireing/SLI'ing, as you will be able to use the other for a SATA Express, PCI SSD RAID or NVMe card.

 

Not to mention the new NVMe M.2 cards that are coming out, so a 4 channel M.2 slot or two (or three), would be nice.

 

I spent last night drooling over the Samsung 950 Pro M.2 NVMe card, and trying to justify buying it.