Helping a console gamer build a great gaming PC for under £850

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TheYorkist

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Greetings everyone

I would really appreciate some constructive advice on my first PC Build - I have been a console gamer for a long time and never had a proper PC at all, but from what friends have told me, buying a pre-built machine is not the proper way, it’s much 'easier' and 'cheaper' to build it yourself they say.
A little background on general stuff

This build is primarily for gaming as I have craved the bigger online games, messing around with mods and the PC exclusive games + everything running on 60fps+ in 1080p+ would be incredible
I have a budget of £850 which really needs to include the monitor + mouse and keyboard
I live in the UK so if you recommend things that are initially cheaper until shipping and VAT are slapped on that will be no good.
I work full time so having a top spec PC is not justifiable as I will only be gaming on it after work / on weekends
As well as gaming this PC needs to cover the basics that a normal PC should

http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/p/Z4zb6h
Above is a link to the parts I have in mind for my first build. Some of the items (The CPU, Graphics Card, Memory, Monitor & Keyboard + Mouse [cheap I know]) are the products I chose myself but the others were recommended by friends or I changed them based on their advice.

I have plenty of questions which I hope you more knowledgeable persons can answer such as:

Will everything fit / go together
Is SLI necessary for a 970 4GB GPU (of which the selected MOBO does not support with NVIDIA)
What are some cheaper & if possible better alternatives to what I have
Is this set up fairly future proof or will it need upgrading by the end of the year
What do I need to bear in mind when building a PC for the first time – do you have any good YouTube/video tutorials for first time builders
Will this machine be easily upgradable if needs be
What are some useful ‘hacks’ when building a PC like this

In short, referencing all the parts I have lined up, do all these go hand in hand to make a great gaming PC that can achieve a good enough difference from my PS4 to justify spending £850 plus have the functionality a great PC should have

Are all the parts compatible and future proof – and are there any ‘diamonds in the rough’ or cheaper/better alternatives which could my first PC improved for less.
Please be fair on a console gamer looking to enter the world of PC gaming, constructive advice on the above + tips for building my first PC would be greatly appreciated and I hope that I can start to map out a confident plan based on your advice.

Any further things you want to learn about my idea for the PC please let me know

Thanks very much
 
Solution
D
your upgrade path is mostly limited by board and socket type, the board should hold up to single card upgrades for a few years. you wont get a much better cpu in z97.... but thats the best there is now so.... yea. A useful series is the neweggTV how to guide...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPIXAtNGGCw

there are 3 eps in total.

SLI is not necessary unless you want huge monitors, and you might be better off running a 980 at that price point.
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Icaraeus

Icaraeus

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A GTX 970 won't be that big of a difference from a PS4, but if you want to build a PC then it's best to go with H97 instead of Z97 motherboard. G Skill Ares is lower profile, meaning that it can be small enough to help prevent clashes if you were to try and buy some crazy aftermarket cooler for the CPU (completely unnecessary if you won't overclock).

The CX PSUs from Corsair aren't very good quality. The only good Corsair ones are HX, AX, TX but they're expensive. I would go for the alternative Seasonic, Antec, XFX, EVGA or Superflower. With the money saved you can get a better quality monitor. Try and get at least 27 inches.
 
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guanyu210379

guanyu210379

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+1 about the PSU suggestion from Icaraeus.

Do not worry the parts should be compatible.

GTX970 will perform better than PS4..I have both GTX970 rig and PS4..so I know.

Now for monitor,
I would not pick any monitors below 24" these days.
1080p or 1200p @ 24" is the mainstream as for today.
If you sit 2-3 feet away from your monitor, you will want or need 2560x1440 for 27" and 1920x1080 (or 1200) for 24".
If you go 1080p on 27", you will start to see pixels, meaning, your games will not look that sharp.
A single GTX970 is a good sweet spot for 1440p for most games, but just not for the new demanding games like Witcher 3 or GTA V.
If you want to run 2560x1440 for Witcher 3, you might want to do 2 GTX970s in SLI.
Note: If you decide to go GTX970s on SLI, you must increase the PSU to at least 650W.
 
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drtoast

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the 970 is pretty huge compared to a ps4.... Id like to see the ps4 take on witcher 3 in 1080 45-50fps in ultra.... it would die screaming in agony.

If you have a z97 board selected, drop the ssd.... it will only really speed boot times, no effect on the gaming performance. use the money to get the 4690k, which in the uk is about £170. use the leftover on a hyper 212 evo. Then away you go, thrashing games mercilessly.

And when it slows down in a few years... you can drag it a bit further with the zchip and k series cpu and cooler, by overclocking it.... it will happily reach 4.5/4.6ghz on that air cooler suggested.
 
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joeh_87

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Are you serious a GTX 970 wont be that much of a difference compared to Ps4?

All my games i can run at 1440p with far greater than 30fps.. i'd say that's a considerable difference compared to PS4 performance.

and Guanayu a single 970 is fine for for Witcher 3 & GTAV maybe not completely maxed out, but You can get both games running at 60fps at 1440p with still amazing visuals

I'm currently running Witcher 3 & GTAV and never drop below 55fps :) @ 1440p.
 
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drtoast

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your upgrade path is mostly limited by board and socket type, the board should hold up to single card upgrades for a few years. you wont get a much better cpu in z97.... but thats the best there is now so.... yea. A useful series is the neweggTV how to guide...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPIXAtNGGCw

there are 3 eps in total.

SLI is not necessary unless you want huge monitors, and you might be better off running a 980 at that price point.
 
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guanyu210379

guanyu210379

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@joeh_87:
with a single GTX970 you must already turn off HairWorks, set Shadow quality to high, Draw distance to high, the rest you can set to ultra. But this is only for 1080p or 1200p.
If you go 1440p without SLI, you must further lower the settings.
I do not find that enjoyable.
My new Acer XB270HU is not being used for Witcher 3 due to that I still have only a single GTX970.
I am still running my old Dell U2412M for Witcher 3.
But then again, you are correct. This is also a matter of own preferences.

@Icaraeus:
yes, it is a big difference, going from 30fps to 60fps on almost everything set to ultra is already a big difference.
 
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Icaraeus

Icaraeus

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You will not see pixels at 1080p on even a quality 32 inch display.
 
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drtoast

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well personally i have them all on and get 45 stable.... i get 60 for those settings off...

you can edit the .ini to lower the hair aliasing it defaults to x8 to reduce performance hit... can get 50 with that... but i liked the cool hair... worth 15 fps xD
 
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joeh_87

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it is BIG difference...

and @Guanyu, Yes Hairworks is on Galret only and shadows Medium, Rest High/Ultra. visual difference on that game is not massive tbh, even Low looks pretty damn good :)

I don't mind lowering details tho, ever since i got my GTX970 and using custom resolution 1440p for games I just cannot go back to 1080p lol. next buy will be a 1440p native monitor.
 
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Icaraeus

Icaraeus

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You also don't see pixels on 110 inch at 3 metres away.
 
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