£800 Gaming PC Build summer 2014

Boston Stump · Sep 8, 2014

I'm strongly considering re-kindling the PC gamer in me. I have a budget of £800 which will not include a monitor, keyboard, mouse, mousepad, speakers or headset.

I've shamefully been using an xbox 360 for the last 3 years, so this build will have to be as impressive as an xbox one/ ps4 or basically as good as it can be.
I cherish smooth play over graphics but would love to see impressive graphics as well. I may also use for Photoshop, music recording and editing BUT nothing hardcore, just bedroom projects.

This will primarily be a gaming PC. Titles I do want to play are Alien Isolation, Day Z, Dying Light, Battelfield 4, Skyrim, etc. I like large open world games primarily as well as the cinematic ones like Bioshock and Mass Effect.
I want to play upcoming games over the next 3 years or more without having to upgrade. Obviously graphics settings will slowly reduce.

CONCLUSION

I don't know how to distribute my budget and have never built a PC before. Only in the past 48hours I've got to grips with what each component actually does. It will probably be built for me by a build website unless you convince me otherwise. Is it easier than people think?

Please can you give me:
1) lists of the best rigs you can come up with for £800 max
(I'd like windows 7 hp and don't mind how plain the casing is - as long as it functions well)
2) lists of your preferred UK PC build websites

Thanks for reading,
Joe

LukaBoki · Sep 8, 2014

Would like to overclock the CPU?

Boston Stump · Sep 8, 2014

Update:
I don't think I will over clock the CPU as I'd like to play it safe with my first gaming computer. I may in the future but for now Im drawn towards an intel i5 CPU,
but not sure which one, which ever works best and fits the budget.

thanks for replying!

ksarex · Sep 8, 2014

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (£153.00 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty H97 Performance ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£38.90 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory (£60.87 @ Ebuyer)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£83.99 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£52.74 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 290 4GB Tri-X Video Card (£259.55 @ Scan.co.uk)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case (£43.19 @ Aria PC)
Power Supply: XFX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (£58.99 @ Amazon UK)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer (£10.22 @ CCL Computers)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) (£69.96 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £831.41
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-08 13:10 BST+0100

I put the 750w power supply in case of crossfire the r9 290 in the future... If you are not interested in that you can just get the 550w model and save 15 pounds.

Edit: I wouldnt buy that windows copy from amazon that i posted before... Sorry for the extra pounds. As i already mentioned you can save by buying the smaller PSU.

LukaBoki · Sep 8, 2014

Try this:
PCPartPicker part list: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/tsY9nQ
Price breakdown by merchant: http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/tsY9nQ/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (£153.00 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper TX3 54.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler (£23.50 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H97-D3H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard (£75.54 @ Aria PC)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory (£68.69 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£45.00 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£35.94 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: Asus Radeon R9 280X 3GB DirectCU II Video Card (£229.99 @ Aria PC)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case (£43.19 @ Aria PC)
Power Supply: XFX 650W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (£62.98 @ Aria PC)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer (£15.60 @ Kustom PCs)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) (£69.96 @ CCL Computers)
Total: £823.39
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-09-08 13:09 BST+0100

Boston Stump · Sep 8, 2014

I think extra wattage is a good idea because I may upgrade after a few years.
Would 16gb ram be overkill for this budget then?
Don't mean to poke holes, but I noticed there's no cpu cooling system and wondered if it's always a necessity or only with overclock?

Thanks for your answer, it's very helpful to finally get options dedicated to my needs

LukaBoki · Sep 8, 2014

Boston Stump :

16GB is more than enough,since you only do gaming,while 16GB is enough when video editing.
You can always feel free to upgrade from 8 to 16GB of RAM anytime you want.
It is better to get a CPU cooler,as it is more effective than the stock heatsink and it is quieter at the same time.

ksarex · Sep 8, 2014

About RAM , what LukaBoki said... Yes aftermarket coolers are more efficient but you wont have any problem with the stock one.
As you can see we posted some similar components. I think the mobo i posted is really really good for its price. Also i would never choose the SSD LukaBoki chose. It is cheap but the performance is pretty much mediocre...

Boston Stump · Sep 8, 2014

Great, well I'll stick with 2x 4gb ram for now.
Just had a read about the Radeon R9 280X and it seems to be competing with th GeForce GtX 770.

Does anyone have opinions on a noticeable difference? They seem to perform very much the same on most games, except the 280x wins strong on Bf4, yet overall the 770 seems to take the lead between the two with less heat exhaust, less power comsumption and less noise.
I know there isn't much difference in practicality here-it's just on paper, just wondering what your personal opinion is between these two.
Thanks!

ksarex · Sep 8, 2014

Well you mentioned the main difference between the 2 cards, power consumption. The other thing that should be mentioned, is that Nvidia will be announcing its new GPU line up in the following weeks(9-10 September event- 20 september release date). So if you prefer a gtx card , you can be a little patient . When the new cards are released there will be a price drop on gtx 770 and probably 280x and 290, or you can buy one of the new products then.

LukaBoki · Sep 8, 2014

You can go with the R9 280X or the GTX 770,that is totally up to you.
Also,the XFX 650 will be enough for both of them and it allows for upgrades in the future. You can easily use a GTX 780 Ti with the XFX 650W.

@ksarex I'm using the Kingston V300 120GB and I'm pretty happy with it.The system boots in like 8 secs,the games load up in 4 and all other programs that are installed on it. I am aware that there are better options,but the 240GB SSD is like $100 and for that price it's good.If you want a better SSD,get the Samsunh 840 EVO,Intel 730 series or Crucial M500/MX100.Also I saw you said that you can CF with the 750W.That's next to impossible as one Tri-X draws a lot of power (http://www.anandtech.com/show/7601/sapphire-radeon-r9-290-review-our-first-custom-cooled-290/5). You will need a 850-1000W high quality PSU in order to run them in CF mode.
What you said about the new GTX 800 and 900 series is true.The prices will probably drop by at least $50 and you will be able to buy a better GPU for that budget.
@OP If you're impatient,then you can degrade the CPU to an i5 4460(which is still a pretty good CPU,I am personally using it and I'm very happy) and get an R9 290.

Boston Stump · Sep 8, 2014

ksarex :

Okay so I'm drawn towards the 290 because of performance and potential price drop, so I'll wait a while and see.
I think I'll go for a 120 Gb Samsung EVO SSD to save £30 and put that towards a second 2TB seagate HDD.
I'll use the EVO for the OS, Photoshop and other programs, while the 2TB Seagate will be used for games, music, movies, images etc.

What are your opinions on using the SSD to store games? I've heard good and bad
Do you think anyone can build a computer easily if they do some homework and watch a few How To videos?
A 25% increase in price through a PC building company is not very appetising
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0bUghCx9iso How to Build a PC, that simple?

LukaBoki · Sep 8, 2014

Boston Stump :

Yes,use the 840 for the OS and programs you use the most,while games and music goes onto the Seagate.
SSDs are great for storing games too. On my old PC,CoD4 took forever to load(maybe not forever,probably like 20 secs),and when I installed it on the SSD,it loaded so fast,we're talking like 4 secs.That's 5 times faster!!

Anyone can build a PC,even you can do it.It's pretty much the same whether you're building the best,most ultimate $10000 gaming PC or a not so ultimate,but still great $1000 gaming PC,or even a $500 PC.It's the same no matter what.

Boston Stump · Sep 8, 2014

Turns out the Kingston used to be really great and affordable because it was "synchronous NAND" until they changed it to asynchronous NAND in Jan 2014 which made it a total rip off and not worth spending on at all - you where both right

I'm just happy I brought something to the thread.

Well thanks guys, I'll compare the differences and come to some decisions over the next few days, post what Ill buy via pcpartpicker for anyone else in the future with my budget and think I'll build it myself.

LukaBoki · Sep 8, 2014

No problem.
PM me if you have any other questions/problems.
Make sure to choose a solution.

ksarex · Sep 8, 2014

Glad we could help.

Boston Stump · Sep 8, 2014

looking at case fans,
Arctic f12 PWM 4 Pin 120mm - £5 each
Do I need a couple of these? The corsair 200r atx has 2x 120mm fans installed, is four optimal for this sort of set up or overkill? Obviously budget doesn't really apply here.

Thanks

LukaBoki · Sep 9, 2014

If you want a cool and quiet system,then Noctua NF-F12 PWM are your best option.
I wouldn't really buy them,since more fans doesn't necessarily mean cool'n'quiet.
Use your PC for a week or two,check your temps every now and then,and if you really think you need fans,then get them
2 fans will be plenty though.

Boston Stump · Sep 9, 2014

LukaBoki :

Okay so here's my amazon wish list, managed to find the parts I wanted for few £s less.
Thank god for amazon
----------------
CPU - Intel Core i5 4690 3.5ghz
MotherB - Gigabyte GA-H97-D3H ATX LGA1150
RAM - G.Skill Sniper series 8GB (2x4)
SSD - Samsung 840 Evo 120gb
HDD - Seagate Baracuda 1TB 7200rmp
Case - Corsair 200r ATX mid tower
PSU - XFX 650w semi modular ATX
DVD - Samsung SH 224DB read/write DVD CD optical drive
OS - Windows 7 Home Premium 64
Keyboard - Gigabyte Force K3
Mouse - Anker 8200 DPI 9 Button
--------------
Total excluding GPU= £602 ($969)

Now, I have two options
If the - Sapphire Radeon r9 290 Tri X - does reduce to at least £220 (currently £260 @ SCAN.co.uk) after release of new GPU's - I'll go for it, but will I need more power and a better cooling system? If so, how much will they cost?
Estimated Total = £820

Alternatively,
If the Asus Radeon R9 280X and similar also drop to £200, I could go for that and then upgrade the 120 SSD to a nicer 240gb
Estimated Total = £825

What would you do? I'm swaying towards the 290 option but not if I need £££ more PSU etc
Thanks for the fast support, explanations and suggestions you've really helped

LukaBoki · Sep 9, 2014

I would wait for the new 800 and 900 GTX series to come out and see if the prices drop.
Also,the XFX 650W will be enough for system,even with the R9 290.

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