Help on first time PC gaming build please?

delboyd

Honorable
Oct 4, 2012
53
0
10,640
Hi,

Made an account on here just to ask advice, been searching everywhere but don't know where to start :( This is my last resort haha.

I've long been a console fanboy, never even considering PC gaming as I never appreciated the quality of it.

I currently own a Dell Vostro 200:

- Intel Core Duo 1.8GHz
- HD6570 (put in a few months ago to start playing game a few games and experience PC gaming)
- 4GB RAM 2x2GB (Don't know of specs)
- 320GB HDD

Now, by no means is this PC failing me. It still does what I throw at it and hasn't failed me once, the stock graphics card did however lack even when it came to low-mid quality gaming, hence the HD6570 upgrade which to be honest, did a world of good.

However, I feel like I've got to know the PC platform adequately and would like it to replace consoles in my gaming habits from now on. I have a mere £500 budget for this new build (which I am determined to build on my own from scratch) and would like some experienced opinions on component choices from you guys. I'd be very grateful if one or two (or let's be honest, as many as possible :whistle: :lol: ) could have a quick peak and lend a hand at choosing.

I have no previous experience of choosing components as I've only ever bought pre-builts so I thought I'd fill in the template found here in the forums and let you guys help me out.


Approximate Purchase Date: Between now and Christmas :D

Budget Range: £400-£500

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming (not insane quality, just 'good quality'), web browsing and standard use (word processing etc), video encoding/ripping DVDs for tablet.

Are you buying a monitor: Maybe at a later date


Parts to Upgrade: Complete build from scratch. Bought this



Do you need to buy OS: No

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Amazon preferred. But if price is good enough, anywhere UK based of course :D

Location: Wales, United Kingdom

Parts Preferences: Main reason for asking for advice. Are Intel really that much better than AMD? So far I've considered an i5 3750K and an AMD FX8150 as CPU. Are these OTT? Or adequate?
A new bang-for-buck graphics card would be good too.

I've bought this case: http://www.amazon.co.uk/CiT-Vantage-Type-R-Gaming-Reader/dp/B0064LFTR8

and have decided on this RAM: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004CRSM4I/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_1?ie=UTF8&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

Overclocking: Maybe later date. Not too bothered.

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe

Your Monitor Resolution: 1440x900 at the moment.

Additional Comments: Mainly enjoy games such as GTA IV, Just Cause 2, RPGs (Skyrim etc) and Civilization 5 :)

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: Stated above. Fancy something completely new, need a bit more power these days :)

Basically, can someone/anyone build me a great gaming orientated PC for £500? :D

Thanks in advance guys, really appreciate it :D
 

excella1221

Honorable
Aug 23, 2012
2,415
0
12,160
This is the best I could do if you wanted an i5.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3470 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor (£145.40 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: ASRock B75 PRO3-M Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (£55.99 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory (£32.80 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£45.48 @ CCL Computers)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7850 1GB Video Card (£135.59 @ CCL Computers)
Case: Antec Three Hundred Two ATX Mid Tower Case (£50.13 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: XFX ProSeries 450W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£35.99 @ Novatech)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-222BB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer (£11.96 @ Scan.co.uk)
Total: £513.34
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

Went a little overbudget, sorry.

I noticed your purchase date "between now and December"? It would be a better idea if you came back here when you have a definite date of purchase since prices and new technology change so fast, and the parts we suggest now can and will most likely be different on December.
 

barter

Honorable
Feb 24, 2012
28
0
10,530
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor (£165.17 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: MSI Z77A-G45 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard (£76.52 @ Scan.co.uk)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£45.48 @ CCL Computers)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7850 1GB Video Card (£135.59 @ CCL Computers)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply (£44.17 @ CCL Computers)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-222BB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer (£11.96 @ Scan.co.uk)

Total: £478.89 (Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

this is without ram and case which you say you have, also you will be able to easily overclock this system to 4.2ghz which is simple...i have the 2gig version of that video card and run everything on high/ultra without a problem and was only a few quid more

http://www.aria.co.uk/SuperSpecials/Other+products/ARIANET+Radeon+HD+7850+2048MB+GDDR5+PCI-Express+Graphics+Card+%2B+2+FREE+Games%21+?productId=51340

anyway food for thought...oh and "Shw mae butt" nice to see another welsh person on the board