New build around £800 budget

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orkie

orkie

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Hi all, planning to build a new computer and would like some assistance on wether I am choosing the right parts for the right money :) Will mostly be using the PC to play MMOs etc.

Approximate Purchase Date: As soon as I get the green light from you guys :D

Budget Range: Around the £800 mark

System Usage: Medium gaming, internet browsing

OS: Yes, Windows 10

Preferred Website for Parts: Any reliable UK sites

Overclocking: No

SLI or Crossfire: No

Your Monitor Resolution: 1920x1200


With a very quick look, this is what I came up with:
https://www.scan.co.uk/savedbasket/663c629d-cdf0-4d38-ab68-42415b077004

Case: How important is the case? I have two cases from previous computers that I could scavange and save money on, one is a big antec case that I feel will be adeqate, but not sure if there would be any drawbacks etc.

Hardrive: Full ssd would be nice as I will not require more than 250GB of storage, so assume 480GB would be enough. Just not sure on reliability, compatibility etc (this would be my second time building a pc after 5 years so not very knowledgeable).

CPU: Planning to use the retail heatsink as will not be doing any overclocking etc, assume this is all good?

Any tips and suggestions welcome

Thank you

 
Solution
Barty1884
Depending on the specific game, MMOs tend to be a pretty good balance of CPU & GPU intensiveness (although some games can lean pretty heavy one way or another).

Cases can be reused, provided they will accommodate the board size, and in older cases, you'd forgot some elements (like front USB ports if your old case had 2.0 ports etc). You're not really giving up too much in most situations.

You're on the right track with your build, but I'd make a few changes:

I'd suggest looking at this (assuming you'll reuse a case):

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor (£164.34 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: ASRock H170 Pro4 ATX LGA1151...
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Barty1884

Barty1884

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Depending on the specific game, MMOs tend to be a pretty good balance of CPU & GPU intensiveness (although some games can lean pretty heavy one way or another).

Cases can be reused, provided they will accommodate the board size, and in older cases, you'd forgot some elements (like front USB ports if your old case had 2.0 ports etc). You're not really giving up too much in most situations.

You're on the right track with your build, but I'd make a few changes:

I'd suggest looking at this (assuming you'll reuse a case):

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor (£164.34 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: ASRock H170 Pro4 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard (£74.51 @ More Computers)
Memory: Crucial 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory (£51.99 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Samsung 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£65.97 @ Dabs)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£37.98 @ Novatech)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 390 8GB PCS+ Video Card (£249.59 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 620W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (£59.99 @ Amazon UK)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) (£74.99 @ Ebuyer)
Total: £779.36
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-28 16:02 BST+0100

Same i5 you suggested, a better quality PSU, an R9 390 (which trumps the 960 easily - and the added VRAM is a bonus).
250GB SSD + 1TB HDD is still the way to go. Substantially more storage overall than the 480GB SSD you selected, and a better performing drive too.
 
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orkie

orkie

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Thank you very much for your suggestion.

A few questions:

The computer is actually for my brother, and he has this superstition that Nvidia graphics cards are better, so was wondering if getting a gtx 970 instead would be an issue? Quick Google searches suggest that the R9 390 still performs much better even with the lower price tag, but if the difference is not significant, than I rather not have him held this against me. The game he currently plays is Blade & Soul.

SSD + HDD combo:
Is it the case that you install OS and software/games you want to run quick in the SSD and stuff like pictures/movies keep them in HDD?

The case will definitely be big enough to fit everything ( its massive). It will also 99% sure have usb 2.0 front ports, would they still work at slower speeds or will they not work at all? My brother won't mind slower but will need them to function.

Also: does anyone know if there is anything that can be done with old components, recycled/donated etc? As after this build, there will be 2 computers with relatively old but still functioning components that could still be used.

Thanks again
 
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Barty1884

Barty1884

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1. Getting the GTX 970 won't be an issue, no. Not sure what to tell you here, if there's a substantial nVidia bias. The 390 is the better card, simply put. You could always throw the 390 in there & not tell him.....then when he comments on how good a performer it is, you could tell him then? haha. Ultimately, you can throw any GPU in that build and have no issues.

2. Essentially, yes. Install the OS to the SSD and any frequently used programs. Use the HDD for all "mass storage", game files, music, videos, pics etc. You can map the drives so certain folders show as on the C drive, but are actually held on the HDD - but that creates it's own issues/headaches. Better to simply select the HDD via the "install location" or "drive path" when installing a program/file. Only some games benefit from being on the SSD, and only benefit as far as initial load time. Keeping all games on the HDD, reserving the SSD for the OS & programs (including Steam if used) is probably the best option.

3. Current boards have a USB 3.0 & USB 2.0 header. If your case has 2.0 connectors, you attach that to the 2.0 header on the motherboard (the header is pins, the connector is black for 2.0 whereas it's blue to blue for 3.0).

As far as what to do with old components, you can either sell (parting out & putting on eBay generally gets you the most money out of it) or you can donate/recycle. Most countries have options for donation or recycling (haven't been back home in a while, so not sure where there is in the UK - Google should help out).
 
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orkie

orkie

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Cheers for the information :)

Just having some issue with finding stock for the PSU and motherboard you linked, any suggestions to similar quality/price alternatives? Amazon has another seller for PSU but with some very unconvincing delivery times and much higher price


 
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Barty1884

Barty1884

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There's numerous motherboard options. H170 or H110 chipset will be fine.

As for the PSU, it depends. Overall you want a quality unit in Tier 1 or 2 from here: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html

If you're going with the R9, you'll want a quality PSU, minimum 600W.

For the nVidia card, I'd have to check to be 100%, but I'd think a minimum 450W - again, quality unit.

XFX & SeaSonic seem to be the cheaper quality PSUs in the UK.
EVGA SuperNOVA T2, P2, G2, B2 are all good quality units too..
 
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orkie

orkie

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Thanks for everything, ordered :)
 
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orkie

orkie

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Went for the Nvidia. I know its silly but otherwise my brother will call me 3 years down the line and tell me "I told you to get Nvidia, this forum says that AMD cards are not as good for this game" blah blah blah

 
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Barty1884

Barty1884

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While it's true, some games are optimized better for AMD or nVidia, the gap really isn't what it once was.

I can appreciate the bias, it happens all the time. Might be worth trying to talk him round before you build with the GTX and you can return it...........the performance is significantly better with the R9.

That being said, sometimes there's just no reasoning with some people.
 
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orkie

orkie

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He is one of those people when he sets his mind on something haha. I could have convinced him but like I said, I dont need the potential hatred down the line :p
 
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