Need a Gaming PC Specced! [£300 Budget]

[TheGameNerd]

Hey, so I'd like to spec a new Gaming PC for £300. Before you shout at me for my low budget, I'm planning to upgrade it in the future, and I have a spare AMD Radeon HD 4000 series (I'm pretty sure it's around a 4870), so that'll do for now.

I'd prefer an Intel based PC, if that's okay I've had past experiences with AMD CPUs. Bad experiences.

Here's my outlines, feel free to improve:

CPU: Intel i3 based PC?
GPU: Already got an AMD Radeon HD 4870
RAM: 6GB or 8GB?
Motherboard: Dunno, a Z68 or something?
PSU: 500W or higher?
Case: Doesn't really matter as long as it holds the components and is reliable.
HDD: Something around 500-700GB

I've already got the peripherals, so don't worry about them.

Many thanks, Will.

EDIT: Yeah, it's definitely a 4870 (1GB).

 

[RJC]

A little over:


YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3330 3.00GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £139.99
1 x Asus P8Z77-V LX2 Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £72.98
1 x Antec High Current Gamer 400W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £40
1 x Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (BLS2CP4G3D1609DS1S00CEU) £35.99
1 x BitFenix Merc Beta Gaming Case - Black £29.99
Total : £332.45 (includes shipping : £11.25).



Another option:


YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i3-3220 3.30GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £89.99
1 x Asus P8Z77-V LX2 Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £72.98
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 600W V2 '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020048-UK) £56.99
1 x Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (BLS2CP4G3D1609DS1S00CEU) £35.99
1 x BitFenix Merc Beta Gaming Case - Black £29.99
Total : £299.44 (includes shipping : £11.25).

 

[TheGameNerd]

A little over:


YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3330 3.00GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £139.99
1 x Asus P8Z77-V LX2 Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £72.98
1 x Antec High Current Gamer 400W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £40
1 x Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (BLS2CP4G3D1609DS1S00CEU) £35.99
1 x BitFenix Merc Beta Gaming Case - Black £29.99
Total : £332.45 (includes shipping : £11.25).

Wow, this looks good. A little better specs than I was expecting for the price. i5 and a Z77, great

 

[Idleman]

What case do you have at the moment?

 

[Defconluke]

RJC - you've got a 400W psu with the i5 but a 600W psu with the i3.
Use the 400W one with the i3 build and take another £15 off it.

 

[MORE SPEED]

Do you have a HDD?

 

[RJC]

RJC - you've got a 400W psu with the i5 but a 600W psu with the i3.
Use the 400W one with the i3 build and take another £15 off it.

Method in my madness!

I had 2nd thoughts with my original spec, the i3 system the op could upgrade to a K series and overclock then might upgrade to a higher performance gpu.

 

[Idleman]

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i3-3220 3.30GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £89.99
1 x Asus P8Z77-V LX2 Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £72.98
1 x Antec High Current Gamer 400W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £40
1 x NZXT Source 210 Elite Midi Tower Case - Black £39.98
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £35.99
Total : £293.04 (includes shipping : £11.75).

 

[TheGameNerd]

What case do you have at the moment?

No case atm, I'm on a laptop.

 

[TheGameNerd]

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i3-3220 3.30GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £89.99
1 x Asus P8Z77-V LX2 Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £72.98
1 x Antec High Current Gamer 400W '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £40
1 x NZXT Source 210 Elite Midi Tower Case - Black £39.98
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £35.99
Total : £293.04 (includes shipping : £11.75).

This looks good, fits in with my budget as well. Is the i3 the same as the i5 performance wise?

 

[TheGameNerd]

Do you have a HDD?

I think I might have a spare one somewhere

 

[RJC]

I think I might have a spare one somewhere

SATA?

 

[TheGameNerd]

SATA?

I dunno. If I were to buy another HDD, which should I get, and how mush would it be?

 

[RJC]

500GB:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-364-WD&groupid=701&catid=14&subcat=940

Edit:

Couple of options:


YOUR BASKET
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) £72.98
1 x Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (WD5000AAKX) £46.99
Total : £128.68 (includes shipping : £7.25).