~£700 Gaming PC (UK)

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MrOraiz

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Nov 2, 2013
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Hello forum,

Long time lurker, recently decided to build my own gaming PC, as I've been playing on a five year old laptop which is getting slower and slower every day!


**TL;DR: What's best and why for gaming with smooth fps, mostly WoW. Any logical increments or decrements purely with gaming performance in mind.**


I have done a lot of reading about building my own, and although I'm not completely tech illiterate, I honestly can't say I know my stuff. There are plenty of posts already with this sort of budget in I mind, which I have read, and taken into consideration when coming up with my build, but I'm starting my own thread in the hope that some kind souls out there will spend a little time explaining why I should, or should not, chose the hardware I have.

I will be mainly playing WoW, but will also play Minecraft, Skyrim, PoE, Diablo 3, some Anno games, and possibly BF4.
I would like to be able to run WoW on ultra, with a modded UI (TukUI mostly), and not get any lower than 30fps at the worst of times - is this a realistic proposition for this budget? Likewise with the other games, for example; Minecraft having no fancy shader mods or anything, just increased resolution texture packs and optifine.


First off, I have two builds here, one AMD, and one Intel. From what I've read, Intel seems to be favoured, but people are saying you basically get more for your money with AMD - how true is this?


AMD Build:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor (£79.99 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£23.98 @ Scan.co.uk)
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard (£59.00 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£59.99 @ Novatech)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£77.99 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970 3GB Video Card (£276.98 @ Dabs)
Wireless Network Adapter: Asus PCE-N15 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter (£15.99 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case (£47.98 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply (£54.68 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £696.58
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-02 14:37 GMT+0000)

Is this processor decent? I know little about AMD, so I'm afraid I somewhat relied on reviews and ratings from others for this decision.


Intel Build

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (£161.99 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£23.98 @ Scan.co.uk)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (£89.99 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£59.99 @ Novatech)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£77.99 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card (£149.98 @ Amazon UK)
Wireless Network Adapter: Asus PCE-N15 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter (£15.99 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case (£47.98 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply (£54.68 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £682.57
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-02 14:42 GMT+0000)

I realise it probably looks a little silly spending more on the CPU than the GPU, but I've read so many good words about this processor, it kinda seems silly not having it in a build of this budget. I would possibly be able to stretch a bit for a better GPU, would it be worth it?
I would be thinking of OCing the processor to 4GHz, which I think would be stable and a decent performance increase? Would that relate in-game to fps increases or such?

I have an SSD in these builds because it seems a decent price for what I assume to be a 'must have' in a gaming build.

I'm sorry this post is so bloody huge and full of questions, but this is a pretty big spend for me, and really want to get the best I can for what I'm spending (as I know everyone does, but hey), so any input would be wonderfully helpful.
What I'm looking to gain from this post is a little bit of knowledge about what hardware upgrades relate to actually 'playability', e.g. will £50 more on x get me 10 more fps, etc!

I won't be needing a monitor, mouse, keyboard, sound card, or OS.

Will be playing on an IPS 24" 1920x1200 monitor (not yet purchaced), possibly thinking of having an old 1280x720 4:3 (lol) monitor for second screen - browsing web while playing WoW etc! Would a second screen drastically effect performance in the games mentioned?

Thank you very much in advance for any and all replies, your help is greatly appreciated! I would kindly as you to justify any changes you make to either of my builds, and even perhaps why you chose the AMD or Intel build in the first place.

Thanks!
 
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Sakkura

Sakkura

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Aug 22, 2011
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Intel CPUs have significantly superior performance per core, but AMD provides more cores at a lower price. For stuff that can utilize many cores, AMD tends to be better value. For stuff that isn't, Intel has the edge.

WoW is a very old game and thus not coded to take advantage of many cores. So it favors Intel. Though, at the low end, an FX-6300 isn't really going to be much worse than a similarly priced Core i3.

By the way, you can get an R9 280X a lot cheaper than that 7970. There are also cheaper 7970s around.
 
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MrOraiz

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Nov 2, 2013
15
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10,510
Thanks for the quick reply.

I was leaning towards the Intel build, but would like better than an i3, as that's what I currently have, and it's not enough. :)

I also would shop around a little more for parts, not necessarily take what's on part picker exclusively.
 
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MrOraiz

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Nov 2, 2013
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Ok, I've looked and read around a little more, and have changed my spec a little. My budget is very slightly higher, because I thought I might as well spend a little more on a better GPU and not have to change it within the near future.

Edit:Durr, forgot to add the link...

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (£161.99 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£23.98 @ Scan.co.uk)
Motherboard: MSI Z77A-G45 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (£79.49 @ Ebuyer)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£59.99 @ Novatech)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£77.38 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card (£251.72 @ Scan.co.uk)
Wireless Network Adapter: Asus PCE-N15 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter (£15.99 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case (£46.55 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply (£55.68 @ Dabs)
Total: £772.77
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-03 14:31 GMT+0000)

I realise I said this will primarily be for WoW, however I will be playing other games, and I would really love to be able to play games that come out in 2-3-4 years on high still (this, I think, would be realistic with this updated build?).

Any thoughts on needing to change mobo (really don't know much about these - it's what I mostly read up on), PSU or otherwise would be great.

Also, some things I may not have considered, such as thermal paste and case fans - how necessary would these be, and are there any recommendations you have?
Finally, just to check everything here is compatible, and will fit the case.

I really appreciate any input, because this is quite a big undertaking for me (I know it's 'easy' enough to build a PC, but you know, fist time nerves and all!). :)
 
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Sakkura

Sakkura

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Aug 22, 2011
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That looks pretty good (assuming you know you won't need an optical drive).

The motherboard does have fewer power phases than the Asrock Z77 Extreme4, but whether it will make a noticeable difference in practice is hard to say. Reviews haven't noticed much of a difference, but they only test for short periods of time.

The power supply is decent. You could get an XFX Core Edition 550W for a bit more quality at a slightly lower price, but it isn't modular.

The cooler comes with thermal paste. Case fans, well the case obviously comes with some, then you can always have a look at what temperatures your hardware is getting to and how much noise you get. Then add or replace fans if you need. But lots of case cooling shouldn't be necessary this time of year.
 
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MrOraiz

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Nov 2, 2013
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Brilliant, thanks for the reply again Sakkura.

I will be installing from a USB stick, so won't need an optical (although I do have an old one knocking around somewhere that I might be able to use if really needed, but all games are downloaded installers / Steam now anyway).

Again, not overly knowledgeable about PSUs - you say more quality, but (sorry for the possibly idiotic question) what does that really mean? Is it more efficient / safer / more powerful? It's less wattage, but would that affect the build much? If I were to get the semi-modular one, would I need to buy extra cables for the other components, or do they come with the cables they require?

In regards to the mobo, I was only thinking of OCing the CPU to about 4.0, maybe 4.2 (I still have a lot of reading to do about OCing things), that would be fine on the mobo I selected, wouldn't it? Also, I've seen you can OC your GPU and RAM (would there be any point? If so, would this board support that?).

Thank you for your time. :)
 
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Sakkura

Sakkura

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Aug 22, 2011
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The higher quality is mostly going to affect the longevity, or the risk of failure (even great PSUs can die, but the risk is a lot lower). The wattage is a little lower, but where it counts the difference is even smaller (the XFX 550W can deliver 44A on the 12V rail = 528W, the CX600M can deliver 46A on the 12V rail = 552W, ie. just 24W more).

Modular or not, power supplies come with all the cables you're likely to need.

The MSI board would probably be fine at 4 GHz. You can OC the RAM too, but that doesn't affect gaming performance much. With a dedicated GPU you can overclock regardless of the motherboard, and it will help gaming performance (as long as the game is graphically demanding, anyway).
 
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MrOraiz

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Nov 2, 2013
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Ok, so you'd recommend XFX over Corsair, or just that particular model? You've lost me a little with the Amp/Volt bit, so I'm kinda going to have to take your word on this one. :)

Regarding the mobo, would it be safer to get the Extreme4, for OCing? Again, I'm not really sure what 'power phases' mean I'm afraid.
 
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Sakkura

Sakkura

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Aug 22, 2011
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Just that particular model.

The power phases on the motherboard are like a little power supply. More of them puts less load on each of them, which can help them deliver stable voltages and also making them less likely to overheat. Can help longevity when the CPU is running overclocked.
 
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MrOraiz

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Nov 2, 2013
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Well, from what I've read there isn't a huge amount of difference, and I don't plan any major upgrades in the near future (I'll probably keep this for four to five years, then replace!). :)
 
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MrOraiz

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Nov 2, 2013
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Right-ho, this is probably my final build:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (£161.99 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£23.98 @ Scan.co.uk)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (£89.99 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£59.99 @ Novatech)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk (£77.38 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 770 2GB Video Card (£251.72 @ Scan.co.uk)
Wireless Network Adapter: Asus PCE-N15 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter (£15.99 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case (£46.55 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: XFX 550W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£48.99 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £776.58

Took your advice, Sakkura, on the mobo and PSU. Would you think this build is decent for now and the near future, for slight OCing (CPU and perhaps GPU, thought probably wouldn't need), heavy gaming, and reliability (PSU/temps etc.)

Thanks again for all your input.
 
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aaza7

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Aug 26, 2013
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The CPU is great for overclocking and can reach the i5 4670k stock speeds, the GPU meh will be good for a little OC, the CPU cooler is probably one of the best budget coolers around so OC the CPU and keeping itr cool should be great, abd the case is highly rated among most budget builds. This build should be great for the future and will play most games at very high/ Ultra
 
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MrOraiz

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Nov 2, 2013
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heh, was the "meh" directed at OCing the GPU, or just the GPU in general? I've read great reviews and comments about it, that's all. :)

But yes, I'm pretty happy on the final build I have, from the advice I've been given (perhaps would have liked a few more people commenting, just for variance!), and research I've done. Getting excited now though!. :)
 
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sora

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Oct 30, 2013
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This is great!!!! Please tell us how it goes
sig.jpg

sig.jpg
 
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