Budget Gaming PC - £650

DefiantAsh

DefiantAsh

DefiantAsh

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I've had a look, can't for the life of me figure which are the best components to get to fit within my budget.

Any chance anyone on here can spare a few minutes or so?

Needs everything apart from OS. I have a copy of Windows 7 64bit Pro.

I'd like a Mechanical Gaming Keyboard, no idea which are the front-runners, and maybe the G400 for the mouse if budget allows.

Not bothered if its AMD or Nvidia, as long as it can play the new release games at 1920x1080 on high (if possible) with decent fps.

Might be able to stretch a little further if the difference is worth it!

SEE BELOW FOR FINAL SPEC
...

Final Gaming PC Build. Had some extra money so upped the CPU, changed the case to allow for the more expensive CPU, added some gaming peripherals and now I think its ready to buy! Any thoughts?

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £179.99
1 x Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 7850 OC Windforce 2X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card w/ FARCRY3, Sleeping Dogs & Dirt Showdown PC Games £155.99
1 x Samsung S22B300HS 22" Widescreen LED Monitor - Glossy Black £99.98
1 x MSI Z77A-G43 Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - FREE Alpenföhn Civetta Cooler!! £72.98
1 x CM Storm Quickfire Rapid Mechanical Gaming Keyboard £66.98
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 500w Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020059-UK) £49.99
1 x BitFenix Shinobi "Core" USB3.0 Gaming Case - Black £46.98
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (ST500DM002) £44.99
1 x Plantronics GameCom 780 7.1 Surround Sound USB Gaming Headset £39.98
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £35.99
1 x Logitech G400 3600DPI Gaming Mouse (910-002279) £25.99
1 x TP-Link N600 Wireless Dual Band USB Adapter (TL-WDN3200) £19.99
1 x Samsung SH-224BB/BEBE 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £17.99
1 x OcUK Value 1mtr HDMI Male - Male Cable(CDLHD-301) £2.59
Total : £876.92 (includes shipping : £13.75).

Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
To get the ball rolling......

YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 7850 OC Windforce 2X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card w/ FARCRY3, Sleeping Dogs & Dirt Showdown PC Games £155.99
1 x Samsung S22B300HS 22" Widescreen LED Monitor - Glossy Black £99.98
1 x Intel Core i3-3220 3.30GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £89.99
1 x MSI Z77A-G43 Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - FREE Alpenföhn Civetta Cooler!! £72.98
1 x Toshiba (7K1000.D) 1TB SATA 6GB/s 32MB Cache - OEM (DT01ACA100) £54.98
1 x BitFenix Shinobi USB3.0 Gaming Case - Black £46.98
1 x XFX Pro 450W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £43.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £35.99
1 x Samsung SH-224BB/BEBE 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £17.99
1 x Steelseries Kinzu V2 3200 DPI Rubberised Black Gaming Mouse (62022) £17.99
1 x OcUK Black Gaming Keyboard (5105GU) £10.99
Total : £664.36 (includes shipping : £13.75).

 
Last edited:
psst. no hdd ;p

YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 7850 OC Windforce 2X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card w/ FARCRY3, Sleeping Dogs & Dirt Showdown PC Games £155.99
1 x Samsung S22B300BS 22" Widescreen LED Monitor - Glossy Black £99.98
1 x Intel Core i3-3220 3.30GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £89.99
1 x MSI Z77A-G43 Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - FREE Alpenföhn Civetta Cooler!! £72.98
1 x Toshiba (7K1000.D) 1TB SATA 6GB/s 32MB Cache - OEM (DT01ACA100) £54.98
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 430w Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020058-UK) £38.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £35.99
1 x Xigmatek Asgard Pro Gaming Case - Black £32.99
1 x Creative A220 2.1 Speakers (51MF0400AA008) £25.99
1 x Samsung SH-224BB/BEBE 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £17.99
1 x Steelseries Ikari Optical Mouse (62000) £14.99
1 x Logitech K200 Media Keyboard (920-002733) £13.99
Total : £672.55 (includes shipping : £14.75).

 
YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail £169.99
1 x Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 7850 OC Windforce 2X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card w/ FARCRY3, Sleeping Dogs & Dirt Showdown PC Games £155.99
1 x Iiyama ProLite E2208HDS 22" Widescreen LCD Monitor £99.95
1 x Asus P8Z77-V LX2 Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £79.99
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 600w Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020060-UK) £56.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (ST500DM002) £44.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £35.99
1 x BitFenix Merc Beta Gaming Case - Black £29.99
1 x TT eSports Challenger Gamers Keyboard £24.98
1 x Samsung SH-224BB/BEBE 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £17.99
1 x Gigabyte M6900 3200DPI Gaming Mouse £14.99
Total : £753.25 (includes shipping : £17.85).



or a i3-3220, for £650.

Something in that ballpark anyways. Post a build and we can tweak it a little (most likely, PSU, motherboard).
 
honosuseri said:
Spotted but I didn't mean to post that basket (copied from wrong tab). Internet is playing silly buggers (bro is hogging it) so I'm quitting for now. OP has a rough idea of what's possibubble now :)
Click to expand...

Haha cheers, that spec is nice though, I'd probably bump up to an i5 and put a HDD in it and it would be good to go!

Cheers lads!
 
DefiantAsh said:
Haha cheers, that spec is nice though, I'd probably bump up to an i5 and put a HDD in it and it would be good to go!

Cheers lads!
Click to expand...

That mobo is voltage locked so isn't ideal for overclocking an i5K. The Asus LX2 mobo would be a better choice if you want an i5K from the get go, the gigabyte Z77-D3H is good but I wouldn't pay £90 for it. I'm sure you will see a few other alternatives posted :)
 
honosuseri said:
That mobo is voltage locked so isn't ideal for overclocking an i5K. The Asus LX2 mobo would be a better choice if you want an i5K from the get go, the gigabyte Z77-D3H is good but I wouldn't pay £90 for it. I'm sure you will see a few other alternatives posted :)
Click to expand...

I wouldn't have a clue when it comes to overclocking. Keep it stock, no problems ;).

So maybe a lower i5 which isnt overclockable would be better, and would bring the price down just a tad, maybe?
 
DefiantAsh said:
I wouldn't have a clue when it comes to overclocking. Keep it stock, no problems ;).

So maybe a lower i5 which isnt overclockable would be better, and would bring the price down just a tad, maybe?
Click to expand...

Overclocking with the K CPUs you basically just need to up the multiplier in the Bios. Being able to tweak the voltage helps push for higher overclocks. It really is very very simple. The nice thing about the MSI mobo is that it includes a cheap little heatsink to help tame the temps on a mild overclock. If you can set a max budget for an i5 build then the boys can get to work
 
honosuseri said:
Overclocking with the K CPUs you basically just need to up the multiplier in the Bios. Being able to tweak the voltage helps push for higher overclocks. It really is very very simple. The nice thing about the MSI mobo is that it includes a cheap little heatsink to help tame the temps on a mild overclock. If you can set a max budget for an i5 build then the boys can get to work
Click to expand...

I'm hoping to keep it as close to £650 as possible, so I will be able to get a Chromebook for notes taking and when I'm visiting home.

How about going the AMD route, a little cheaper, but will i see any difference in performance in games, or even applications like Photoshop?
 
DefiantAsh said:
I'm hoping to keep it as close to £650 as possible, so I will be able to get a Chromebook for notes taking and when I'm visiting home.

How about going the AMD route, a little cheaper, but will i see any difference in performance in games, or even applications like Photoshop?
Click to expand...

I wouldnt advise going AMD. If your budget was lower then the FM2 socket from AMD does make sense. Your budget screams i3 and 7850 to me, if you want to pay more for an i5 then so be it
 
honosuseri said:
I wouldnt advise going AMD. If your budget was lower then the FM2 socket from AMD does make sense. Your budget screams i3 and 7850 to me, if you want to pay more for an i5 then so be it
Click to expand...

Oh, fair enough. The ivybridge i3's won't have problems handling photoshop will they? If the mobo is suitable for a i5 as well, I will probably upgrade in march if anything.

i3 and 7850 is looking like a winner for me I reckon!:D
 
DefiantAsh said:
Oh, fair enough. The ivybridge i3's won't have problems handling photoshop will they? If the mobo is suitable for a i5 as well, I will probably upgrade in march if anything.

i3 and 7850 is looking like a winner for me I reckon!:D
Click to expand...

The i3 has hyperthreading so it's a "faux quad core" is the best way to describe it. The GPU can be used to help boost some software suites too
 
honosuseri said:
The i3 has hyperthreading so it's a "faux quad core" is the best way to describe it. The GPU can be used to help boost some software suites too
Click to expand...

Sorted then :). If you aren't busy, could you link a mobo which is suitable for the i3 3220 and a compatible i5 cpu so I can switch at a later date? :cool:
 
The MSI i used is ok, as I said it comes with that cheap little cooler as a bonus, it can mildly overclock an i5K (no voltage adjustment remember). The Asus Z77 LX2 Olivier has used would be a better mobo for £10 more for the i5K but to do any serious overclocking you would want to add an aftermarket heatsink
 
You can do the overclocking later, for £10 (+£30 for a CPU cooler later), it's a no-brainer if you want to eke out more performance out of your system at a later date. I really wouldn't sniff at an easy 30% CPU clock boost (does not equate to 30% overall performance boost, but close :)).

And the G43, and the DS3H are voltage locked. all others, the LX2, the D3H, ect... will give you the full potential (well up to a reasonable clock of 4.4GHz, 4.5GHz, which is plenty).

If you don't want to clock at all ever ever, or thinking you will just replace your parts instead when the time comes, then just go with a H77, B75 (or H61 with a SandyBridge CPU) motherboard, and a locked CPU. That will save you some bucks.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 7850 OC Windforce 2X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card w/ FARCRY3, Sleeping Dogs & Dirt Showdown PC Games £155.99
1 x Intel Core i5-3470 3.20GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £149.99
1 x Iiyama ProLite E2208HDS 22" Widescreen LCD Monitor £99.95
1 x ASRock H77 Pro4-M Intel H77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £67.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (ST500DM002) £44.99
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 430w Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020058-UK) £38.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £35.99
1 x TT eSports Challenger Gamers Keyboard £24.98
1 x Samsung SH-224BB/BEBE 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £17.99
1 x Zalman T1 Mini Tower Case - Black £17.99
1 x Cooler Master Xornet 2000DPI Gaming Mouse £14.99
Total : £684.83 (includes shipping : £12.50).




Note : very small form factor (169 x 425 x 340mm). So if you are space-restricted or you want to carry it around, it's always a bonus.
 
Last edited:
Thanks olivier :).

I read in another thread that the Zalman T1 Case is pretty shoddy, but having not seen it before then I can't really comment.

Is this the case? If it is the case, that the case is pretty pants, then I could always switch to an i3 3220 and use a little extra for a nicer case and put some towards a G400.

edit; such much case :rolleyes:
 
AMD Option:
YOUR BASKET
1 x Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 7850 OC Windforce 2X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card w/ FARCRY3, Sleeping Dogs & Dirt Showdown PC Games £155.99
1 x Iiyama ProLite E2208HDS 22" Widescreen LCD Monitor £99.95
1 x AMD Piledriver FX-6 Six Core 6300 3.50GHz (Socket AM3+) Processor - Retail £99.95
1 x Gigabyte 990XA-UD3 AMD 990X (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard £84.98
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA 6Gb/s 16MB Cache - OEM (ST500DM002) £44.99
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 430w Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020058-UK) £38.99
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £35.99
1 x BitFenix Merc Beta Gaming Case - Black £29.99
1 x OcUK Black Gaming Keyboard (5105GU) £10.99
1 x Gigabyte M6800 1600DPI Gaming Mouse £8.99
Total : £632.22 (includes shipping : £17.85).



Not the best, could always look at Trinity though.
 
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