Looking To Buy Components To Build My Own Gaming PC

[iLejend]

Hi everyone,

Like the title says. I'm looking to buy components to build a gaming PC suitable for the up coming generation of games. That is, basically able to run games as graphically demanding as BF4 on High/max settings at 1080p, with a solid 60fps. ( I'm not too concerned in always running games on max settings if that is not within my budget, High settings will be enough )

I'm not too bothered if there are occasional drops in fps to 50fps when running the most demanding games at high/max settings. But I am bothered if fps drops below 50fps at any point of gaming.

To get things started, I think I've found the graphics card I wish to buy, but I'm not entirely sure if this will do the job for next few years ? What do you guys think ?

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2gb-msi-radeon-r9-270-gaming-28nm-5600mhz-gddr5-gpu900mhz-boost-975mhz-plus-bf4-game?utm_source=google+shopping&utm_medium=cpc&gclid=CN6j89myx7sCFZLKtAodsg4AFw

With all this in mind, what CPU and RAM do you guys suggest ? And what about the Motherboard and HDD/SSD. And also, a Case for all this. etc. ?

My budget for the entire computer is £600

Please note I already have a monitor, and that is not part of my budget.
Also, I need not buy the parts now, rather I plan on buying the parts a couple of months from now.

 

[Warsam71]

Hello iLejend,

I was going to ask you if you've ever used PC Part Picker and noticed you're in the UK; so with that in mind, have you heard of Overclockers UK? Here is the link to their site: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?groupid=43&catid=2473

Now, the R9 270 will do the trick (I'm keeping in mind your budget and your res/fps comments in your post - otherwise the R9 290X would have been the way to go imo, especially when you say "next few years"). The 270 will deliver 50 fps depending on the game(s) you'll planning to play.

For CPU, I suggest you look at the FX series processors, for example the FX-8320 or FX-8350 (both of these CPU have had a great track record - the 8320 will save you a little extra cash...)

If you chose any of the above CPUs, you'll need a AM3+ socket motherboard; I suggest the ASUS SABERTOOTH 990FX R2.0 AM3+ which also has had good consumer reviews, just do a search you'll see. I've had a few ASUS MBs in the past and haven't had any issues. By the way, you may be able to find these two (CPU+MB) paired/bundled already, for example: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1515346

About RAM - 8MB will suffice, 16MB will definitely be better (doh ) If you are thinking about going with Win7, make sure to get the 64-bit version.
The motherboard I mentioned above supports all these memory speeds: 1866/1600/1333/1066. Corsair or G.SKILL are great manufacturers. Either one is good.

HDD/SSD, get both if you can. Get a 1T or 2T as your storage device and a 2560GB SSD for running programs. Western Digital and Samsung respectively is what I'm thinking about.

Case, I have a Cooler Master, never had issues with space, PSU and cooling, the latest Stacker cases are great!

Hope the above helps you...and good luck!

 

[iLejend]

Hello iLejend,

I was going to ask you if you've ever used PC Part Picker and noticed you're in the UK; so with that in mind, have you heard of Overclockers UK? Here is the link to their site: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?groupid=43&catid=2473

Now, the R9 270 will do the trick (I'm keeping in mind your budget and your res/fps comments in your post - otherwise the R9 290X would have been the way to go imo, especially when you say "next few years"). The 270 will deliver 50 fps depending on the game(s) you'll planning to play.

For CPU, I suggest you look at the FX series processors, for example the FX-8320 or FX-8350 (both of these CPU have had a great track record - the 8320 will save you a little extra cash...)

If you chose any of the above CPUs, you'll need a AM3+ socket motherboard; I suggest the ASUS SABERTOOTH 990FX R2.0 AM3+ which also has had good consumer reviews, just do a search you'll see. I've had a few ASUS MBs in the past and haven't had any issues. By the way, you may be able to find these two (CPU+MB) paired/bundled already, for example: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1515346

About RAM - 8MB will suffice, 16MB will definitely be better (doh ) If you are thinking about going with Win7, make sure to get the 64-bit version.
The motherboard I mentioned above supports all these memory speeds: 1866/1600/1333/1066. Corsair or G.SKILL are great manufacturers. Either one is good.

HDD/SSD, get both if you can. Get a 1T or 2T as your storage device and a 2560GB SSD for running programs. Western Digital and Samsung respectively is what I'm thinking about.

Case, I have a Cooler Master, never had issues with space, PSU and cooling, the latest Stacker cases are great!

Hope the above helps you...and good luck!

Thank you so much for your in depth reply !

I got a question. When you said "the r9 270 will deliver 50fps depending on the game" do you mean a consistent 50fps or do you mean a consistent 60fps with occasional drops to 50fps within different aspects of gaming (at high/max settings) Keep in mind I want to be able to play any game that may launch within the next 3 years or so, at a consistent 60fps, but occasional fps drops to 50fps is fine. (again at high/max settings)

With that said, I am willing to go slightly over my budget if it means I wont have a solid 60fps with a r9 270. But the r9 290x seems a bit too much for me. How about the r9 280x ?

Also, what power supply unit should i buy ?

Let's suppose I opt for the r9 280x over the 270, can you give me a link to where i can buy an r9 280x with the best value for money ? As I've noticed some are more expensive than others. And isn't the MB you mentioned only PCIe 2.0 ? would this not bottleneck the R9 280x which is PCIe 3.0 ? ( I might be wrong, not sure if the MB is PCIe 2.0 )

Also, since I don't plan on buying the hardware immediately, rather I plan on buying them around April 2014, do you think the price of the r9 290x will fall by then?

One final point, do you know where I can find a bundle of the CPU and MB you mentioned but from a UK seller ?
And can you link me websites where I can buy all the hardware mentioned at the best prices ?

Thanks a lot for your help !

 

[Warsam71]

Hello iLejend,

I was going to ask you if you've ever used PC Part Picker and noticed you're in the UK; so with that in mind, have you heard of Overclockers UK? Here is the link to their site: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?groupid=43&catid=2473

Now, the R9 270 will do the trick (I'm keeping in mind your budget and your res/fps comments in your post - otherwise the R9 290X would have been the way to go imo, especially when you say "next few years"). The 270 will deliver 50 fps depending on the game(s) you'll planning to play.

For CPU, I suggest you look at the FX series processors, for example the FX-8320 or FX-8350 (both of these CPU have had a great track record - the 8320 will save you a little extra cash...)

If you chose any of the above CPUs, you'll need a AM3+ socket motherboard; I suggest the ASUS SABERTOOTH 990FX R2.0 AM3+ which also has had good consumer reviews, just do a search you'll see. I've had a few ASUS MBs in the past and haven't had any issues. By the way, you may be able to find these two (CPU+MB) paired/bundled already, for example: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1515346

About RAM - 8MB will suffice, 16MB will definitely be better (doh ) If you are thinking about going with Win7, make sure to get the 64-bit version.
The motherboard I mentioned above supports all these memory speeds: 1866/1600/1333/1066. Corsair or G.SKILL are great manufacturers. Either one is good.

HDD/SSD, get both if you can. Get a 1T or 2T as your storage device and a 2560GB SSD for running programs. Western Digital and Samsung respectively is what I'm thinking about.

Case, I have a Cooler Master, never had issues with space, PSU and cooling, the latest Stacker cases are great!

Hope the above helps you...and good luck!

Thank you so much for your in depth reply !

I got a question. When you said "the r9 270 will deliver 50fps depending on the game" do you mean a consistent 50fps or do you mean a consistent 60fps with occasional drops to 50fps within different aspects of gaming (at high/max settings) Keep in mind I want to be able to play any game that may launch within the next 3 years or so, at a consistent 60fps, but occasional fps drops to 50fps is fine. (again at high/max settings)

With that said, I am willing to go slightly over my budget if it means I wont have a solid 60fps with a r9 270. But the r9 290x seems a bit too much for me. How about the r9 280x ?

Also, what power supply unit should i buy ?

Let's suppose I opt for the r9 280x over the 270, can you give me a link to where i can buy an r9 280x with the best value for money ? As I've noticed some are more expensive than others. And isn't the MB you mentioned only PCIe 2.0 ? would this not bottleneck the R9 280x which is PCIe 3.0 ? ( I might be wrong, not sure if the MB is PCIe 2.0 )

Also, since I don't plan on buying the hardware immediately, rather I plan on buying them around April 2014, do you think the price of the r9 290x will fall by then?

One final point, do you know where I can find a bundle of the CPU and MB you mentioned but from a UK seller ?
And can you link me websites where I can buy all the hardware mentioned at the best prices ?

Thanks a lot for your help !

Hi iLejend,

I'm pretty sure (confident) the R9 270 will deliver 60fps and depending on the game's settings (high vs ultra or medium vs high), there could be a drop to 50fps. Games that are optimized for AMD video cards will naturally perform better. There are also other tweaks you can do (for example disable anti-aliasing, adjust texture and object rendering, etc. that get help deliver higher fps). If you plan to avoid upgrading the video card in the next three years then going with the R9 290X is a more sensible route.

By the way, here is a link to the R9 Series specs page: http://www.amd.com/us/products/desktop/graphics/R9/Pages/amd-radeon-hd-r9-series.aspx#5

About OverclockersUK: click on System & Bundles and select System Configurator. Then select a base system, and finally begin customizing by selecting the components you'd like and that fit your budget. Also, I suggest you to sign-up and start a new thread in the forum - there are a lot of savvy and helpful guys (including the moderators) there that will not hesitate to provide you their recommendations - very helpful.

Good luck!