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Gaming PC build - £400

Last response: in General UK & Ireland Discussions
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July 6, 2012 4:44:45 PM

Just posting this in UK general discussion as i'm not getting many replies in the hardware section. :( 

Hi,

I'm currently looking to build my first PC and i am aiming to do so for around £400 with the hope of later upgrading any components such as GPU and Processor.

Intel system

Pentium dual core g850- £54.0
Z77 motherboard - £72.98
Case £29.98
DVD drive £12.48
RAM 4GB £19.68
Windows 7 OEM - £70.69
HDD - £49.76
6670 - £53.59
PSU - £53.52

Total cost: £416.68

http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/processor...
http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/motherboa...
http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/cases/cas...
http://www.cclonline.com/product/73600/SH-222BB/BEBE/Op...
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/4gb-corsair-ddr3-xms3-pc...
http://www.cclonline.com/product/55272/GFC-02050/Operat...
http://www.cclonline.com/product/66223/ST500DM002/Hard-...
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2gb-msi-hd6670-1334mhz-g...
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/600w-corsair-builder-ser...

Please could i have any feedback on the specs of the computer or improvements that will make it preferably cheaper/ ro more powerful for the same price.
I'm looking to use it to play games such as Skyrim, Fallout, Rfactor 2 and Total war with the hope of upgrading it around Christmas so that it will be able to play new releases such as Rome Total War 2

Thanks.

edit:

i'm thinking i could use a 6670 instead of a 6770 as it runs Skyrim on high and Battlefield 3 on medium from what i've seen, and it is quite a bit cheaper than the current gpu. I don't mind a lower gpu at moment as i'm going to have to upgrade gpu next year anyway for Rome 2.



More about : gaming build 400

July 6, 2012 5:21:31 PM

you will struggle on bf3 with that processor, however for £400 thats a really good build, swap the gpu and cpu at a later date and you'll be fine.

The only thing that you could do, is go second hand for the GPU, and get a bit more power, and it will have lost less value when you come to resell.
July 6, 2012 5:43:11 PM

Thanks for the reply, i'll probably do what you say about going second hand on the gpu as it is a good point that you've made. :) 

So would that probably be the best set-up i could build for that price apart from going preowned?
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July 6, 2012 6:16:24 PM

When do you plan to update that CPU? If its in 12 months or more then there will be a new socket/generation so if I was in your boots I would be buying a cheaper motherboard and better CPU now, if its in under 12 months then really I would urge you to just save up hard and buy outright rather than buy a CPU now then essentially flush it down the bog in less than a year.... you could sit an i3 on a H61 board for that money or a Phenom II on an AM3+ board.

other than that save 2 quid here on the DVD

http://www.cclonline.com/product/73600/SH-222BB/BEBE/Op...

£4 saved on HDD

http://www.cclonline.com/product/66223/ST500DM002/Hard-...

You could save another 4 or 5 quid getting 1333mhz RAM all in that would be a bit over an extra £10 toward CPU

*edit* check E-bay for GPU's stuff like this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ZOTAC-GTX460-SYNERGY-EDITION-...
July 6, 2012 6:45:27 PM

Thanks for the replies.
What i'm thinking of doing is getting the 6670 or another card as cheap as i can via ebay and then i could use that money saved to put towards upgrading.
As for the motherboard i don't really know much about it and i was told on another forum to go for a z68/z77 rather than a h61 board. What are the major differences that i would notice between the two different chipsets?
And finally the reason i chose that motherboard other than being advised it was a good quality mobo is because it is quite good and allows me to upgrade to a processor such as i5 or i7 which i thought would be good for most of the next genaration of games.

Planned updates will be around new year as that's probably when i will have enough money to upgrade.


Also for reference on what gpu to buy im using youtube footage and a site called pass mark
http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/high_end_gpus.html
July 6, 2012 7:36:19 PM

Hi :) 

You need a MUCH better graphics card to play modern games like BF3 on anything but low....

All the best Brett :) 
July 6, 2012 7:41:44 PM

apparently it'll run BF3 on medium, i'm fine with that. As i said it's only for 6 months and then i'll upgrade t another GPU.

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/343017-15-gddr5-rad...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JK5uUwm7Zg

TBH, i doubt i'll even run bf3 i barely played shooters on console as i got bored of them. I normally play RPG's such as Skyrim etc which aren't demanding on graphics and games like Rfactor and iRacing. The reason i'm going to upgrade at Christmas is so the pc will be able to play games such as Rome 2.
July 6, 2012 9:02:09 PM

Ok, i've edited in what wr6133 suggested and i am now looking at the gpu.
How would a gt 430 run? it seems to do ok from what i've seen especially as it's only £40 new.

What's the best graphic card for around £50?
July 6, 2012 9:09:13 PM

at that level nothing at all interesting
July 6, 2012 9:12:42 PM

so should i just stick with 6670 as it's going to be changed in a few months,
edit - i'll also look on ebay again.
July 6, 2012 9:32:40 PM

Ok i have finished all the specs, only changes are the gpu and i have spent £10 extra on the power supply so i can put in a gtx 670 or AMD 7950 when i upgrade.
July 6, 2012 9:43:01 PM

So far 6670 which is fine for me as i've always played on consoles so i won't mind medium graphics, i'm just looking on ebay now to see if there are any cheap gpu's like you said.

edit: I've sent you a PM about a card on ebay.

edit 2: would a dell card work? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Dell-nVidia-GeForce-8800-GTX-...
July 6, 2012 9:57:03 PM

i'd not go for the 450, it'll be slower than the 6670. the 8800 will be ok, but it old hot and hungry .6670 vest choice imo
July 6, 2012 9:58:37 PM

Ok i'll stick with it then (6670), Thanks for your advice :) 

edit: I think i'll try to do as wr6133 said and get the i5 processor now rather than later.
July 30, 2012 9:42:12 PM

im selling a gtx 460 if ur interesed and 4 gig ram
August 1, 2012 10:17:38 PM

skiberdee said:
im selling a gtx 460 if ur interesed and 4 gig ram


Thanks for the offer but I can't buy it at the moment as I've had to put back buying the PC for a couple of weeks.
January 16, 2013 12:08:56 PM

get windows 8 significantly cheaper faster and better!
!