[MrNedRewMan]

Hey TSRians

I've been looking to get a gaming pc for a while as I've heard it's a lot better than console gaming, and have realised its superiority after getting a few games in the steam summer sale. Problem is my computer kinda sucks for gaming.

So I've been looking around online, but I don't really know what to look for. It would be great if someone could give me some recommendations.

My current pc has a processor of 2.8 Ghz, not sure about RAM or graphics card. I'm looking for a pc which will last me at least a couple of years with a max budget of £400.


Ned

[dragonrabbit]

You could always make your own, I'm tempted to do that myself :3 It's much cheaper (apparently) than buying a ready-made PC. Just a thought

[Crystal Fighter]

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/produc...=43&catid=2053

but then you need to consider getting a PSU (power supply unit), case possibly, hard drive etc.. PC gaming is far superior, but is expensive compared to consoles!

[MrNedRewMan]

(Original post by dragonrabbit)
You could always make your own, I'm tempted to do that myself :3 It's much cheaper (apparently) than buying a ready-made PC. Just a thought

Thanks for the advice.

I've also been considering it, but I'm far too lazy and know far too little about it to try :L


Ned

[The Assassin]

What's your budget / requirements?

EDIT - never mind I saw. 400 is far too little if you want a good one - but I'll try and build one.

[Sammydemon]

(Original post by Dajaffer)
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/produc...=43&catid=2053

but then you need to consider getting a PSU (power supply unit), case possibly, hard drive etc.. PC gaming is far superior, but is expensive compared to consoles!

Only if you want it to be and perhaps only in the short term (referring to the lower cost of PC games).

(Original post by The Assassin)
What's your budget / requirements?

EDIT - never mind I saw. 400 is far too little if you want a good one - but I'll try and build one.

Not so.

[James A]

(Original post by MrNedRewMan)
Thanks for the advice.

I've also been considering it, but I'm far too lazy and know far too little about it to try :L


Ned

Check out my sig


My budget was around 400 quid too, including windows 7

[The Assassin]

(Original post by Sammydemon)
Only if you want it to be and perhaps only in the short term (referring to the lower cost of PC games).



Not so.

Disagree - if he wants to play some good games at a decent FPS then it's too low. Even if he gets an AMD processor, he'll need a good graphics card like the 550 Ti if he wants it as a gaming machine (which would go over his budget). I don't know what games he wants, but if he's expecting good settings for games like Arma 3 / BF3, etc. then it's pretty difficult at £400. Things like Runescape would be okay though.

Edit - From PC-Specialist. Perhaps you're right in a sense - apparently this can play BF3 at low-med settings, so it's worth a shot. It's seem decent.

Case
STYLISH PIANO BLACK ENIGMA MICRO-ATX CASE + 2 FRONT USB

Processor (CPU)
AMD A4-3300 APU (2.5GHz, 2 Cores) & AMD Radeon™ HD 6410D Graphics

Motherboard
ASUS® F1A55-M LE: FM1 A-SERIES, SATA 3.0GB/s, USB 2.0

Memory (RAM)
4GB SAMSUNG DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 2GB)

Graphics Card
1GB AMD RADEON™ HD6670 - DVI,HDMI,VGA - DX® 11

Memory - 1st Hard Disk
500GB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 16MB CACHE

1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
12x BLU-RAY ROM DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW (£52)

Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT

Power Supply
350W Dual Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan

Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER

Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)

Network Facilities
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs

USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD

Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence

£418.

[ThatPerson]

(Original post by The Assassin)
Disagree - if he wants to play some good games at a decent FPS then it's too low. Even if he gets an AMD processor, he'll need a good graphics card like the 550 Ti if he wants it as a gaming machine (which would go over his budget). I don't know what games he wants, but if he's expecting good settings for games like Arma 3 / BF3, etc. then it's pretty difficult at £400. Things like Runescape would be okay though.

Edit - From PC-Specialist. Perhaps you're right in a sense - apparently this can play BF3 at low-med settings, so it's worth a shot. It's seem decent.

<snip>

I'm not sure if OP mentioned that they had accessories, so if they require a monitor, keyboard, I think with a budget at £400 they are demanding too much and should stick to console gaming because it is more cost effective.

The 6670 is a low end card so it won't last very long in gaming terms. I'm sure it can run BF3 at low settings though but it might choke up in the intensive bits, and while PC Specialist may say low-medium, I'm willing to bet that most settings will be turned right down at low. Heck a 3450 I had ran BC2 at bare minimum once I'd optimised it, but it would stutter any time the screen got very active and it wasn't an enjoyable experience.

Although I think BC2 had more destruction and was more dynamic. My point is, £400 is not going to cut it for modern gaming.

[MrNedRewMan]

(Original post by ThatPerson)
I'm not sure if OP mentioned that they had accessories, so if they require a monitor, keyboard, I think with a budget at £400 they are demanding too much and should stick to console gaming because it is more cost effective.

My point is, £400 is not going to cut it for modern gaming.

Thanks for your feedback.

It seems like the consensus is that £400 isn't enough for a decent gaming PC.

With that in mind, I'll probably just stick to console gaming, as I know I wont have enough for anything above £400.

Thanks for the help to all who have responded to the thread

[Iqbal007]

(Original post by MrNedRewMan)
Thanks for your feedback.

It seems like the consensus is that £400 isn't enough for a decent gaming PC.

With that in mind, I'll probably just stick to console gaming, as I know I wont have enough for anything above £400.

Thanks for the help to all who have responded to the thread

If you already have a monitor, keyboard and mouse..........why not, but you'll get quite a lot of things on high settings, when it comes to really intense games like BF3, you can expect medium with decent fps to be fair.
Other wise save up a bit more, my build was £570 without OS and Hard drive, but mine can play most things max out in HD.

[MrNedRewMan]

(Original post by Iqbal007)
If you already have a monitor, keyboard and mouse..........why not, but you'll get quite a lot of things on high settings, when it comes to really intense games like BF3, you can expect medium with decent fps to be fair.
Other wise save up a bit more, my build was £570 without OS and Hard drive, but mine can play most things max out in HD.

My current monitor, keyboard and mouse certainly aren't up to gaming standards, so I would need to get a new set of those.

And I'd hugely struggle to even get the £400, It would be about a year before I could get around £600 and by that time the new consoles should be about to come out so there's not much point in investing in a gaming pc.

[Iqbal007]

(Original post by MrNedRewMan)
My current monitor, keyboard and mouse certainly aren't up to gaming standards, so I would need to get a new set of those.

And I'd hugely struggle to even get the £400, It would be about a year before I could get around £600 and by that time the new consoles should be about to come out so there's not much point in investing in a gaming pc.

Well I tend to use a standard keyboard and mouse ........................even my screen isn't high resolution to be fair, but I get a lot out of it

New consoles to be fair will be overrated and pointless and very costly in terms of games.

[Eridani]

(Original post by The Assassin)
Disagree - if he wants to play some good games at a decent FPS then it's too low. Even if he gets an AMD processor, he'll need a good graphics card like the 550 Ti if he wants it as a gaming machine (which would go over his budget). I don't know what games he wants, but if he's expecting good settings for games like Arma 3 / BF3, etc. then it's pretty difficult at £400. Things like Runescape would be okay though.

Edit - From PC-Specialist. Perhaps you're right in a sense - apparently this can play BF3 at low-med settings, so it's worth a shot. It's seem decent.

Case
STYLISH PIANO BLACK ENIGMA MICRO-ATX CASE + 2 FRONT USB

Processor (CPU)
AMD A4-3300 APU (2.5GHz, 2 Cores) & AMD Radeon™ HD 6410D Graphics

Motherboard
ASUS® F1A55-M LE: FM1 A-SERIES, SATA 3.0GB/s, USB 2.0

Memory (RAM)
4GB SAMSUNG DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 2GB)

Graphics Card
1GB AMD RADEON™ HD6670 - DVI,HDMI,VGA - DX® 11

Memory - 1st Hard Disk
500GB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 16MB CACHE

1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
12x BLU-RAY ROM DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW (£52)

Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT

Power Supply
350W Dual Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan

Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER

Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)

Network Facilities
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs

USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD

Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence

£418.

Out of interest, why did you go for micro atx? Surely the extra pci/pcie slots would be more beneficial, especially if upgrading in the future.

[The Assassin]

(Original post by ThatPerson)
I'm not sure if OP mentioned that they had accessories, so if they require a monitor, keyboard, I think with a budget at £400 they are demanding too much and should stick to console gaming because it is more cost effective.

The 6670 is a low end card so it won't last very long in gaming terms. I'm sure it can run BF3 at low settings though but it might choke up in the intensive bits, and while PC Specialist may say low-medium, I'm willing to bet that most settings will be turned right down at low. Heck a 3450 I had ran BC2 at bare minimum once I'd optimised it, but it would stutter any time the screen got very active and it wasn't an enjoyable experience.

Although I think BC2 had more destruction and was more dynamic. My point is, £400 is not going to cut it for modern gaming.

Exactly what I'm saying.

(Original post by Eridani)
Out of interest, why did you go for micro atx? Surely the extra pci/pcie slots would be more beneficial, especially if upgrading in the future.

That's true, but I was trying to keep the price closer to his maximum spending value (it's already ~£20 above). Also, if he was to upgrade with dual graphics cards (the current I put isn't even that good) he may as well just buy an Intel PC, with a good motherboard (Z77 for example) from the get-go, so he can really get a good quality gaming PC. Bit of a waste to upgrade with another GPU from then, IMO.

OP I believe you should just save up a few more hundreds so you can get an i5 processor, Z77 mobo, and at minimum a GTX 560 Ti. The current one I suggested (and most PCs at £400) ain't gonna cut it for good games.

[Intriguing Alias]

I helped my friend build a PC for him - had a FX-4100, 8GB 1600MHz RAM and a Radeon 6850. Easily plays any game at at least medium (most on high or maxed). I think total spending came to about £350. Sure spending more would be nice but £400 is very doable.

[Camoxide]

http://www.scan.co.uk/savedbasket/ff...10c4ce0e7ac967

[Intriguing Alias]

(Original post by Camoxide)
http://www.scan.co.uk/savedbasket/ff...10c4ce0e7ac967

This is a great build, OP. Put a 6850 there for an extra £15, though (not 100% necessary but definitely worth it).

[just george]

how about:

Processor: amd A8-3870K (£79) http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/1149...-mb-l2-ca.html

Mobo: Sapphiretech Pure Platinum A75 PT-A8A75 (£60.51) http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/1064...5-pt-a8a7.html

Ram: G. Skill 4gb ddr3 1333mhz (£17.54) http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/9262...-pc3-1060.html

HDD: Seagate Barracuda 500gb (£50.99) http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/1062...ternal-ha.html

PSU: Cooler Master GX 450W (£35.90) http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/1016...er-supply.html

Dvd Drive: LG 24x DVD Rewriter (£14) http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/1207...-rewriter.html

Case: Novatech Cougar ATX Case (£16.98) http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/c...ov-cougar.html

GPU: XFX HD 6850 (£89.99) http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/c...685x-zcfc.html (or for £10 more, a HD6870 @ pixmania)

total: £364.91( + whatever postage pixmania chucks on)

and could add a monitor, if you keep an eye on the discounts, such as this one http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/8060...ull-hd-lc.html
(Acer 21.5inch 1920x1080 resolution - £79)

[AdamskiUK]

Stick with console gaming - just RENT gaming titles instead.

Don't take this as an advert, but I've used Lovefilm for Xbox/PS3 for the past 2 years and I've totted up how much I would've spent and it's saved me well over £2000! I've had over 35 brand new titles delivered to my door 1/2 days after their release and not paid a penny over £10 a month for it all!

I also got a chance to play things I wouldn't normally!