Upgrading to a new low-ish budget gaming PC

[Muller]

Approximate Purchase Date: e.g.: this week (the closer the better)

Hi all,

This is my first post & I don't really know what to expect. I frequent the site often when looking to resolve problems with my own PC, or to just look at some nice systems to give me an idea on what to buy. I figure it's probably the best place to seek help when looking for opinions on what I should buy.
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Budget Range: Around £800-900. I am looking to order one from overclockers.co.uk, or scan, and would appreciate it if you could customise one based on prices at their store.

System Usage from Most to Least Important: It will be used mostly for gaming & watching the odd movie. Performing daily/weekly excel tasks won't be an issue.

Are you buying a monitor: No.

Parts to Upgrade: Everything.

Do you need to buy OS: Yes. Windows 7 is my preferred choice, though I've read that 8.1 is recommended due to directx 11.2.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: overclockers.co.uk or scan.co.uk. Amazon is an option for pre-built machines.

Location: UK

Parts Preferences: I've decided to opt for a Z97A motherboard & that's as far as I've got. I don't mind how powerful the rest of the parts are - aside from the PSU - as long as I can upgrade them in a few years. I've been looking at i5 CPUs but don't have very much knowledge regarding the CPU cooler that comes with it. A GeForce GPU is preferred.

Overclocking: No.

SLI or Crossfire: SLI.

Your Monitor Resolution: Current display is 1024x768.

Additional Comments: How nice it looks doesn't bother me, only the hardware/upgradability. No preference regarding the noise. The games I play are mostly MMOs & the occasional MMORPG. I haven't found an FPS that I like - or one that can run on my pc! - since COD4. I would like a system that will allow me to enjoy LoL, DOTA & WoW. I will most likely give Elder Scrolls Online a try as well. I forgot to add racing sims such as iRacing.

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: I can afford to now. I plan to tinker with my current PC and learn how it is all put together after I buy a new one.

 

[prit87]

processor i5 4790
gpu gtx 770
2x4 gb corsair vengeance ram
hdd as per your requirement
550watt psu from seasonic or corsair and 750 watt if you want to sli
case as per your choice
budget roughly around 600 £ to 650£ and i will recommend to buy a full hd monitor...

 

[Muller]

processor i5 4790
gpu gtx 770
2x4 gb corsair vengeance ram
hdd as per your requirement
550watt psu from seasonic or corsair and 750 watt if you want to sli
case as per your choice
budget roughly around 600 £ to 650£ and i will recommend to buy a full hd monitor...

Hi Prit87,

Thanks for your speedy reply.

Did you mean an i5 4690? - will the standard cpu cooler be okay for this?

I currently have a geforce 6100, so anything is an improvement. A gtx 660 looks decent for the price. Is the 770 worth the extra money?

I've looked at a corsair 230T & 200R.

Thanks for your recommendations. I have a found a site named pcspecialist that lists everything you mentioned.

 

[RazerZ]

If you can get the R9 270 for a cheaper price than the 660, go for it because it will perform better. It's a mid range card compared to the 770, but from the graphics card you have it will be a massive difference.

The R9 270 should still play games around high settings.

use the uk version of pcpartpicker.com to put it together.

 

[prit87]

processor i5 4790
gpu gtx 770
2x4 gb corsair vengeance ram
hdd as per your requirement
550watt psu from seasonic or corsair and 750 watt if you want to sli
case as per your choice
budget roughly around 600 £ to 650£ and i will recommend to buy a full hd monitor...

Hi Prit87,

Thanks for your speedy reply.

Did you mean an i5 4690? - will the standard cpu cooler be okay for this?

I currently have a geforce 6100, so anything is an improvement. A gtx 660 looks decent for the price. Is the 770 worth the extra money?

I've looked at a corsair 230T & 200R.

Thanks for your recommendations. I have a found a site named pcspecialist that lists everything you mentioned.

ohh yes i mean i5 4690 thanku for correcting me and yes the stock cooler will be fine as u are not going for an overclock and in England the ambient temps are always low so no need for an aftermarket cooler but still if u want u can go for it a cooler master hyper 212 evo will b good it will be around 20 - 25 pounds...and i have suggested u the gpu according to your budget a gtx 660 will also be fine at 720p resolution but gtx 770 will be future proof for your build...i have looked at those cases they are good but my personal favorite for that price range would be nzxt phantom 410 check that case....... it comes with 2x1 120 mm fans and 1x1 140 mm led fan and also it has inbuilt fan controller with low high and medium fan speed settings...

 

[Muller]

Thank you both. This is the finished build:

NZXT Phantom 410
i5 4690
ASUS Z97-A
8GB Kingston Dual-DDR3 1600MHz 1x8GB
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 770
500GB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 16MB CACHE
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER
CORSAIR 550W VS-550 PSU
COOLERMASTER HYPER 212 EVO
WINDOWS 7

I went almost £200 overbudget, maybe because of an increase in price... or the fast-track & new mouse. Most likely the labour is the reason for £100 or so.

Thanks a lot for your help.