Gaming PC Build - £500

Original post by XTimmoX

Whoa guys, let's calm down. I'm sure Nvidia and AMD both have their advantages.. I just want the best for my budget. Let's not argue please..

Any update on your product choice?
I havent been on for a bit

Reply 143

OP

Original post by Iqbal007

Any update on your product choice?
I havent been on for a bit

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (£165.90 @ Ebuyer)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper TX3 Evo 43.1 CFM CPU Cooler (£16.48 @ CCL Computers)
Motherboard: Asus Z87-K ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£81.44 @ Scan.co.uk)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£65.76 @ Scan.co.uk)
Storage: Seagate 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Hybrid Internal Hard Drive (£55.19 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 280X 3GB TWIN FROZR Video Card (£222.34 @ Scan.co.uk)
Case: NZXT Phantom 240 ATX Mid Tower Case (£54.29 @ Scan.co.uk)
Power Supply: Corsair CSM 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (£53.35 @ CCL Computers)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer (£11.05 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £725.80
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-07 23:13 BST+0100

mum and dad are paying for the CPU so I could afford to get a little better GPU.

Reply 144

ChrisJWoodford

Don't know if anyone has mentioned this but JackFrags put together a PC for just over £400. It could be a good starting point
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WQxr59KRto

Reply 145

Jammy Duel

21

Do you actually need an optical drive, since they are largely unnecessary now, and if you do, is there not one you can salvage from an older computer?

Reply 146

newusername96

2

Original post by Jamie73

Remove the IHS then?

lol no way

Reply 147

OP

Original post by ChrisJWoodford

Don't know if anyone has mentioned this but JackFrags put together a PC for just over £400. It could be a good starting point
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WQxr59KRto

yeah I've seen that, in fact it's sort of what started my whole desire to build a gaming PC :tongue:

Original post by Jammy Duel

Do you actually need an optical drive, since they are largely unnecessary now, and if you do, is there not one you can salvage from an older computer?

it's only £10, could be useful incase I ever needed to install OS via CD, or wanted to burn to a CD etc.

Reply 148

Original post by XTimmoX

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (£165.90 @ Ebuyer)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper TX3 Evo 43.1 CFM CPU Cooler (£16.48 @ CCL Computers)
Motherboard: Asus Z87-K ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£81.44 @ Scan.co.uk)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£65.76 @ Scan.co.uk)
Storage: Seagate 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Hybrid Internal Hard Drive (£55.19 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 280X 3GB TWIN FROZR Video Card (£222.34 @ Scan.co.uk)
Case: NZXT Phantom 240 ATX Mid Tower Case (£54.29 @ Scan.co.uk)
Power Supply: Corsair CSM 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (£53.35 @ CCL Computers)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer (£11.05 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £725.80
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-07 23:13 BST+0100

mum and dad are paying for the CPU so I could afford to get a little better GPU.

I would change the cpu cooler for maybe the 212 evo one or the 412 version from the same maker.

Also the R9 280X can be found cheaper even from scan, the gigabyte windforce one is good and the Asus one.

Why that case? Have you looked at the reviews, etc? Also check the Corsair 300R, Antec One 2

Reply 149

OP

Original post by Iqbal007

I would change the cpu cooler for maybe the 212 evo one or the 412 version from the same maker.

Also the R9 280X can be found cheaper even from scan, the gigabyte windforce one is good and the Asus one.

Why that case? Have you looked at the reviews, etc? Also check the Corsair 300R, Antec One 2

That case because I like the look of it

And the Hyper Evo 212 doesn't fit inside that case

And yh but MSI is the best version

Reply 150

Jammy Duel

21

Original post by XTimmoX

And yh but MSI is the best version

The differences between them will be incredibly small, especially those with non-reference coolers, and for the most part the more expensive non-ref aren't worth the extra over the cheaper non-ref. You're going to be looking at a couple of percent at best.

Reply 151

OP

Original post by Jammy Duel

The differences between them will be incredibly small, especially those with non-reference coolers, and for the most part the more expensive non-ref aren't worth the extra over the cheaper non-ref. You're going to be looking at a couple of percent at best.

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/3gb-msi-radeon-r9-280x-gaming-6000mhz-gddr5-gpu-1000mhz-boost-1050mhz-2048-streams-dvi-hdmi-dport-pl

comes with BF4 so why not :tongue:

Reply 152

Jammy Duel

21

Original post by XTimmoX

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/3gb-msi-radeon-r9-280x-gaming-6000mhz-gddr5-gpu-1000mhz-boost-1050mhz-2048-streams-dvi-hdmi-dport-pl

comes with BF4 so why not :tongue:

You can pick up bf4 for £14, so unless it's less than that much more expensive that is hardly a justification :tongue:

Reply 153

Original post by XTimmoX

That case because I like the look of it

And the Hyper Evo 212 doesn't fit inside that case

And yh but MSI is the best version

Ah is that why, just be sure you are happy with the cooling configuration in the case, as the Corsair 300r is rated highly on airflow.

Ah :/
CPU Cooler:
Xilence M303
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro rev 2
Gelid Solutions Tranquillo Rev.2One of the best known coolers on a budget
Cooler Master Hyper T4

Reply 154

Original post by XTimmoX

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/3gb-msi-radeon-r9-280x-gaming-6000mhz-gddr5-gpu-1000mhz-boost-1050mhz-2048-streams-dvi-hdmi-dport-pl

comes with BF4 so why not :tongue:

Powercolor Radeon R9 290 with 8gb 2400mhz ram, may need a bit more wattage

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-166-PC

Reply 155

username234673

17

Original post by XTimmoX

yeah I've seen that, in fact it's sort of what started my whole desire to build a gaming PC

Might be worth trying to get a Z97 chipset motherboard for a little more future proofing. They'll support the Intel 5xxx series CPUs and also M.2 support.

I don't have an optical drive on my PC. If you have another PC to create a Windows bootable USB stick that can also store your drivers, life is good.

Reply 156

Original post by mikeyd85

Might be worth trying to get a Z97 chipset motherboard for a little more future proofing. They'll support the Intel 5xxx series CPUs and also M.2 support.

I don't have an optical drive on my PC. If you have another PC to create a Windows bootable USB stick that can also store your drivers, life is good.

I dunno about that loooool considering ddr4 is out and coming :biggrin:

Reply 157

S Scott

6

Where is the best place to get a gaming pc from in the UK (take into account best value, best components and anything else noteworthy)?

I've been looking at overclockers and chillblast so far.

I know I could save money by building one myself but I find doing it soul destroying... and I can have someone else fix any issues that might come up.

Any advice would be massively appreciated! Thanks.

Reply 158

username234673

17

Original post by Iqbal007

I dunno about that loooool considering ddr4 is out and coming :biggrin:

DDR4 won't be something we need to worry about really. When was the last time you were screaming at your gaming PC due to its lack of memory bandwidth?

Reply 159